Megan Ward Online

[NewsGirl]

Chapter 24...

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Kate called over her shoulder as she dashed by Clarice and into her office. Her phone was ringing off the hook, almost as though it was trying to make itself known over all the other noise and activity that filled the busy Manhattan Publishing offices. Kate knew that sounded crazy, she really did … but there was something about the nonstop, incessant ringing that truly did make it seem as though whoever was on the other end of the line had something incredibly urgent to tell her. She somehow managed to set everything in her arms down on her desk without dropping it all over the floor, taking a brief moment to be thankful for small miracles before she flopped into her desk chair and reached for the phone. It stopped ringing the instant she put her hand on it, her entire office falling silent in comparison to the loud noise that had filled it just seconds before.

“All morning so far,” Clarice said, her arms laden with folders, mock ups, and faxes as she followed Kate into her office. “I swear the phone hasn’t stopped ringing once all morning. It’s been an absolute madhouse here. Your messages,” she said, handing her a sheet of paper with so many names and numbers on it that Kate was fairly certain it would take her the rest of the morning just to return the calls. “And these are also for you,” she added, handing her the stack of faxes. “Most of them are contracts. They’re all organized according to the time they were sent, except for the one at the top. That one’s from the contracting company you spoke with yesterday about the satellite office, so I figured you’d want it to take priority over all the others.”

“Have I told you lately that you’re a lifesaver?” Kate asked. “And a superstar, too. What would I do without you? Don’t answer that,” she said, looking up at Clarice as she took all the papers from her. “Because I know you well enough to know that you’d say something incredibly modest and humble in response, and then I’d be forced to tell you that you either have to agree with what I say or you’re fired. I’m getting to be quite the tyrannical boss, don’t you think?”

“But in the best possible way,” Clarice said, a teasing tone in her voice as she handed Kate the folders and mock ups she was holding. “Business proposals from the charity department and the revised Home Living mock ups,” she explained. “Candice said she altered the layout slightly based on your suggestions from yesterday and she wanted you to take a look at the revised copy before she needs to send it out to the printers at noon.”

“I need to clone myself,” Kate said as she looked at the piles of work that now sat on her desk. “That’s the only solution I can possibly think of. I also need to thank you for covering for me this morning. I’m really sorry that I was so late. That’s what I was trying to say before, but I think the full meaning got lost in translation during my race to get to the phone in time.”

“You’re the boss,” Clarice said. “That means you’re allowed to be as late as you want whenever you want. I did the best I could to fill in until you got here, but it’s been a little difficult since Callie’s not here either and she set it up so that all her calls are being forwarded to you. It’s been double the insanity. I kinda feel like I need a martini and it’s not even ten o’clock yet.”

“I’m really sorry,” Kate apologized again. “I never meant for you to have such a hectic morning. I wasn’t expecting to be so late. It was just one thing after another. The twins woke up late and then my little boy decided it would be fun to be a monkey and make his mommy chase him all around the nursery two times over. And then the nanny called to say she was going to be late,” she continued, thinking back to how apprehensive she had gotten when the phone had rung so early that morning. She had immediately assumed it was in reference to Sonny’s restaurant, her stomach instantly tied up in knots at the thought of anything else going wrong. To say she had been relieved when it had just been the twins’ nanny calling to let them know she was having car trouble and would be a bit late that morning was an understatement.

“No need to apologize, honest,” Clarice said. “These things happen. I just hope I didn’t mess anything up for you. I did my best to keep everything as organized as could be, but things were so crazy that…”

“Stop,” Kate commanded, holding her hand up as she looked at Clarice. “Right this instant. I don’t even want to think about what things would have been like here this morning if not for you. Look at all this,” she said, nodding toward the stacks of papers on her desk. “Not only were you able to handle everything, but you were able to keep it all organized and under control. I don’t want to hear you apologize again, and that’s not a request. It’s an order. Are we understood? I expect an answer, Clarice,” she said, folding her arms over her chest and adopting the sternest voice she could manage. It threw her for a minute as she heard the words come out of her mouth, realizing that she sounded exactly the way she had for entirely too many years before Sonny had come back into her life. Even though she was only teasing now, it served as yet another reminder of how dramatically he had changed her life in more ways than she could even begin to count.

“We’re understood,” Clarice said. “No more apologies. But in all seriousness, if anything’s missing or doesn’t make sense, please let me know. I was kind of being pulled in twenty different directions all morning, and even though I did my best to make sure that everything was…”

“Clarice,” Kate said in a warning tone. “What did I just tell you?”

“Right,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “I’m gonna go get back to my article for Couture now that you’re here. Callie actually asked me to write an extra one for the next few issues since she’s trying to lighten her workload, and I couldn’t be happier. I just need for there to be forty-eight hours in a day. You should have heard Milo’s response when I had to cut our phone call short last night so I could do some research on Mariana’s new line of springtime scarves. He kept asking why on earth anyone would wear a scarf in the spring when it’s warm out. It was rather cute. Then again, everything about him is rather cute.”

“Don’t tell me,” Kate said, making an exaggerated show of pointing to her engagement ring and wedding band. “Tell him.” Clarice could only laugh at Kate’s not-so-subtle hinting, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear as she looked at her boss.

“All in good time,” she said. “At least I hope. I’d better go finish my research for that article now. I have a phone interview with Mariana at noon and I need to have everything finalized before then. Let me know if you need any clarification from anything I did this morning,” she added quickly, hurrying across Kate’s office and out the door before she could playfully scold her again.

“Clarification,” Kate repeated out loud, shaking her head as she looked at the mountains of paperwork on her desk. She pulled the folder with Kristin’s photocopied documents out from under the bottom of one of the piles, sighing as she looked at it. “What I wouldn’t give for a little clarification right now.” She had brought the folder with her to work, hoping that she would have at least a little time to comb through it for what she was certain would be the thirtieth time since Stephen had brought it over the evening before. Staring at the hours upon hours of work that she had ahead of her, though, she knew the only hope she had of being able to devote any time to the mystery surrounding the lawsuit would be if she skipped her lunch break and played detective during that time instead. Taking one more glance at the folder, Kate quickly put it in her top desk drawer, knowing that it was going to be too much of a temptation if she left it sitting out. She wanted to help Sonny more than anything, wanted to do whatever she could to somehow make this situation right for him. She knew he was strong enough to face whatever the world threw at him and she had meant every word of the pep talk she had given him that morning, but it was still her natural instinct to want to help. She wanted to take care of Sonny like he always took care of her, wanted to do everything in her power to take away the hurt and pain that she saw cloud his deep, dark eyes whenever the topic of the lawsuit came up. It was as though every attack on her husband was like a sledgehammer to her heart – a sledgehammer that she was determined to send flying in Kristin’s direction instead.

“Kate, your phone,” Amanda said, popping her head into the office as she walked by on her way to a meeting with one of the charity’s newer investors. Kate jumped slightly at the sound of the web designer’s voice. She had been so lost in her thoughts about Sonny that everything else had faded away and she hadn’t even heard her phone ring. It hadn’t been the first time something like that had happened, and she was completely certain that it wouldn’t be the last.

“Thank you,” she said as she glanced up. “You’re the best.” She couldn’t help but smile as Amanda immediately protested, just as she did whenever she gave her a compliment. She made a mental note to ask her if she reacted the same way to Adam’s compliments, giving her a quick nod as her way of expressing her thanks before reaching over and grabbing her phone before it could stop ringing. “Kate Corinthos,” she said, an involuntary smile immediately sweeping across her face from her words. She knew most people would think it was absolutely ridiculous, but even after being Sonny’s wife for more than a year, she still positively loved to call herself that. It was something she had dreamed of for so long, ever since the days when she had used to doodle ‘Connie Corinthos’ in her notebooks at school, and something that she knew would never fail to make her smile or give her that special little frisson of excitement in her heart.

“Hey beautiful,” Sonny said. Kate’s eyes sparkled at his words. That was another thing that would never fail to make her smile. Just hearing her husband’s voice on the other end of the phone was enough to make her heart leap. Just the sound of his voice was enough to make her happy.

“Hey yourself, handsome,” she said. “To what do I owe the honor of this phone call? It hasn’t even been two hours since I kissed you and our dear hearts goodbye before I left for the city. Not that I’m complaining,” she added quickly. “I will happily allow you to distract me from my work as often as you like, even if I just got to the office a little while ago. Are you at the restaurant now? Did Elena show up? Is everything alright with her car?”

“On my way to the restaurant now,” Sonny said. He had told Kate to go ahead and that he would stay with the twins until their nanny arrived … partially because she had a much longer commute than he did and partially because he was looking for any excuse possible to avoid the stress and frustration that had become all too big a part of his work days as of late. He hated that he was doing that, hated himself for allowing Kristin to impact not only business at the restaurant but also his own outlook on the dream he had worked so hard to achieve. “Elena got to our house about twenty minutes ago. It was just a flat tire that they were able to fix for her right away. I didn’t think I was ever gonna get her to stop apologizing. She felt so bad about making us late for work, even though I kept telling her we understood and we were happy to take advantage of getting to spend a little extra time with Hope and Noah this morning.” He deliberately left out the part about how the twins had both cried when he left, his heart breaking all over again as he thought of the way they had stretched their little arms out to him as he kissed them goodbye and slipped out the front door.

“I can’t wait until I can do that every morning,” Kate said. “This satellite office can’t be built fast enough as far as I’m concerned. Good news on that front, by the way. The builders faxed over the finalized contract this morning. With any luck, you’ll have a new neighbor by the start of the summer. Have I mentioned how excited I am to work next door to you? If you’re well-behaved, I may even let you sneak over for a kiss or two every day. I mean, I am going to have a new office with completely new furniture and all. I’ll leave the meaning behind that up to your imagination. Somehow I think you can figure out what I’m referring to. Although I guess that would go against the whole idea of you being well-behaved, now wouldn’t it?” she quipped. She paused as Sonny didn’t answer her, instantly concerned by the silence on the other end of the phone. “Sweetheart?” she prompted. “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine,” Sonny said quickly, not wanting Kate to worry. “I was just thinking that I hope my restaurant is still around by the start of the summer, that’s all. With the way things have been going lately, I’m beginning to…” He trailed off, shaking his head slightly as he cleared his throat. He knew he had to stop thinking this way before his worst nightmare became a self-fulfilling prophecy. “What I meant to say is that I can’t wait to test out that new desk of yours,” he said. “And to sneak over when you least expect it and surprise you with a kiss or two. It’ll be especially fun if you’re on the phone. I wonder how long it’ll take me to be able to convince you to hang up and pay attention to me instead. What’s that they say about business and pleasure? That you should always mix them, right? He smiled as he heard Kate giggle, imagining the rosy blush that he knew was on her cheeks at that very moment.

“Somehow I don’t think that’s quite it, Mr. Corinthos,” she said. “But I have to tell you, I like your version much, much better. We’ll have to see what we can do about answering that question of yours. I should remind you, however, that I’m as competitive and persistent as you are so you can expect retaliation. I’ll pop up at your restaurant when you least expect it.” She was doing her best to make the conversation light-hearted, wanting to keep it focused on the future and all the good times that lay ahead rather than the near disaster that was looming on the horizon at the moment. She knew that was what her husband needed right now, so that was what she was determined to do.

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” Sonny said. “I can’t think of any visitor I’d rather have than my beautiful fashionista. And to answer your question from before, you owe the honor of my phone call to the fact that you forgot to call me when you got to your office. You can call me suffocating and overprotective all you want, but I just wanted to make sure you got there safely. And make no mistake,” he teased. “It is an honor to get a call from me. I’ll be expecting you to show your appreciation later.” Kate laughed out loud, blocking out the mountains of work sitting on her desk as she swiveled around in her desk chair and gazed out the window.

“Oh really,” she said. “Why do I think I know what you have in mind, Mr. Latin Lover? I suppose it might be rather fun to let you tackle me like we both wished you had time to do this morning. Or there’s always the option of me attempting to make you dinner again, although I don’t know that that would be the wisest idea considering last night’s fiasco. It’s a good thing my Super Sonny swooped in to save the day or I probably would have managed to destroy our entire kitchen.”

“I’m ignoring that,” Sonny said. “Because it couldn’t be further from the truth. You did a wonderful job, love, especially since you were watching the dynamic duo at the same time. Besides, if everything had gone right the first time that wouldn’t have given me the chance to help you out the second time around. Think of all the fun we had.”

“We sure did,” Kate said, smiling as she thought of the way Sonny had stopped sporadically in the middle of their cooking to twirl her around the kitchen to the music playing on the radio. “Except for when you thought it would be a good idea to teach me how to make homemade tomato sauce instead of using the kind from the jar. I dropped your suit off at the dry cleaners on my way to work, by the way. They weren’t sure if they could get the sauce stain out, but they promised to try.”

“No big deal,” Sonny said. “It’s just a suit. Having it ruined is a small price to pay for watching you try to make that sauce yourself. You’re really cute when you get frustrated, has anyone ever told you that?”

“You’re really cute all the time,” Kate answered. “And I know I’ve told you that on multiple occasions, so I won’t bother with the second part of the statement.” She sighed as a new email notification popped up on her computer, realizing that she hadn’t even touched the emails waiting for her when she got into the office, let alone all the new ones that had been accumulating ever since. It was going to be a long day, and she knew it … but one thought back to her morning with Sonny and the twins was all it took to make her smile. She knew how blessed she was to have each and every day start off with so much love. It was something that had been missing in her life for far too long and something that she never took for granted.

“I hate to go, love, but I just got to the restaurant,” Sonny said, his voice snapping Kate out of her thoughts and back into the present. “And I don’t wanna say anything to jinx things, but there’s actually a decent number of cars in the parking lot. That’s a good sign, right?” Kate thought she was going to cry from the tone in Sonny’s voice and the almost innocent hope that filled it, her heart breaking all over again for her husband as she thought back to the days when the parking lot at his restaurant had been so full it had been nearly impossible to even find a spot. She not only loathed Kristin for what she was doing to Sonny’s business, but also for the way she had effectively made him doubt himself and his abilities. Sonny was the strongest, most confident person she knew and it positively infuriated her that Kristin had taken some of that away from him.

“Right,” she said firmly. “It’s more than a good sign. It’s a wonderful sign, and one that shows how much faith and confidence your customers have in you. Things are going to turn around now. I have a good feeling about it.” She said a quick prayer that she was right, pulling open her desk drawer and staring at the file folder of Kristin’s documents inside. Maybe just one more read through before she got started on her work wouldn’t hurt.

“I love you,” Sonny said. “More than you know. Thanks again for the pep talk this morning. Thanks again for making me believe that everything will be alright.”

“Always,” Kate said. “You never have to thank me for that. And I love you too, but you know that already. Have a good day, darling. I’ll be thinking of you.”

“Right back at you,” Sonny said. “I’ll give you a call when I get a chance. Miss you already.” Kate waited until he said goodbye before hanging up, her eyes darting back and forth between the folder of Kristin’s documents and all the work sitting on her desk. She knew what she really needed to be doing now … but she also knew what she really wanted to be doing.

“Helping my Sonny it is,” she said, grabbing the folder from her desk drawer. “Just one quick read through and then I’ll work through lunch to make sure…” She trailed off as her phone rang again, setting the folder down on top of all the contracts, mock ups, and other paperwork. “Wow, you really must miss me,” she said as she picked up the phone, assuming it was Sonny calling again because he had forgotten to tell her something. What she heard next made her nearly fall out of her chair.

“Oh no, Mrs. Corinthos,” a woman’s voice said. “I can assure you that I most certainly do not miss you.”
- - - - -
Callie smiled as she reached for Stephen’s hand, intertwining their fingers and swinging their arms back and forth as they walked down Fifth Avenue. There was an icy chill in the air as the cold winter wind swept through the streets of Manhattan, a chill that would normally have caused Callie to wind her scarf even tighter around her neck but today did just the opposite. It was a chill that was so distinctly opposite from the warmth she felt in her heart that she didn’t even mind the fact that one particularly strong gust of wind was enough to send a shiver coursing through her entire body. It was a shiver that paled in comparison to the warm rush of joy that overtook her every time she looked at her husband, the warm rush of joy that overtook her every time she thought of their daughter and the fact that she would be born in just a few weeks now.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Stephen asked uncertainly, peering up at the cloudy sky. “They said there’s a chance of snow today. Maybe we should head home before we push our luck. Suppose it starts to snow and the roads get all icy?”

“But we just got here!” Callie exclaimed. “What happened to spending the whole day together and choosing an outfit for our little girl to come home from the hospital in? Do you know what I think?” she teased, stepping to the side as a group of people walked by. “I think you’re intimidated by Fifth Avenue, that’s what I think. You see all these stores and boutiques and you wanna go running for the hills. Luckily for you, you have a wife who’s willing to calm you down and show you the ins and outs of what it takes to be a savvy Manhattan shopper. I can be your tour guide, so to speak.”

“This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?” Stephen teased. “Do I at least get a reward for good behavior? Since you insisted on switching up the plan and going to some of the shops before lunch instead of after, I think that means I should get to choose the restaurant. Deal?”

“Deal,” Callie agreed. “Just as long as you choose somewhere that makes onion rings. I can’t tell you how I’ve been craving them all morning. There’s a café that Kate and I go to for lunch sometimes that makes the most amazing ones you can possibly imagine. I usually just get soup and a salad, but sometimes I can’t resist splurging. And I feel like splurging today,” she said, a cheerful smile on her face as she looked up at her husband. “We just had a wonderful doctor’s appointment and got nothing but terrific news about our daughter. That definitely calls for a celebration.”

“Thank you for placating me and telling Dr. Lee about that little episode last night,” Stephen said, following Callie over to one of the boutiques and pulling open the door for her. “You know I trust you and your judgment implicitly, but I just feel better now that we talked it over with her too.”

“So do I,” Callie confessed. “Even though I knew what caused it, I have to admit that it frightened me more than I was letting on. It was just a few minutes, but that feeling of sheer helplessness was just horrible. I was trying so hard not to panic because I knew that would only make it worse, but when I couldn’t make the room stop spinning…” She trailed off, shaking her head slightly as she walked into the store and a blast of warm air hit her in the face. “Never mind,” she said. “It’s over and done with now, and rehashing it is only going to cause us to worry. Kelly said our little baby doodle is perfectly healthy, so that’s all we need to be focusing on right now.”

“Along with the fact that it’s important for you to keep taking it easy,” Stephen said, looking at Callie as he unbuttoned his coat. “Dr. Lee said that multiple times. And that it’s essential for you to keep your stress levels as low as can possibly be. Oh, and don’t forget that you should always carry some crackers and fruit with you in case your blood pressure drops again.”

“Yes, sir,” Callie said, saluting playfully. “I think you went into the wrong field, honey. Forget the financial district and all those important business deals you make. I think you should go back to school and work toward getting a medical license in obstetrics. Clearly you’re a pro. Who needs bank mergers and financial planning when you can focus on ultrasounds and little babies? Yes, I think that’s definitely the way to go,” she said, glancing down as she unbuttoned her coat. “Now might not be the best time to put in your two weeks’ notice, though, what with all the added expenses we’re going to have starting next month. Maybe you should wait until the end of your time off after our little girl is born and then quit. What do you say?” She turned to look at Stephen when he didn’t answer, a playful smile on her face as she poked him on the arm. “Hey you,” she said. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s nice to answer your wife when she asks you a question? Honey, are you alright?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at him. “You look upset.”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly. He wanted to kick himself for having such a noticeable response to Callie’s playful teasing, knowing that if he kept reacting in this way it was only going to take his intuitive wife a very short amount of time to figure out that something was bothering him. There had been far too many close calls the night before, both at dinner and at Kate and Sonny’s, and he knew he needed to work on perfecting his ability to keep his feelings hidden before it was too late. It would be an understatement to say that Callie’s comments about quitting his job had hit a nerve, but he knew it would be disastrous if he even so much as let on about that in the slightest.

“Are you sure?” Callie asked. “Because you were doing that thing where you knit your eyebrows together, and I know you only do that when you’re worried about something. Did I say something that upset you?”

“No, not at all,” Stephen said. He wasn’t sure that he had ever hated himself as much as he did at this very moment. Not only had he been lying to his wife about something that was going to have a direct impact on both of their lives, but now he had inadvertently made her think she was to blame for the concern that he was trying so hard to mask. “You could never upset me, princess,” he said, reaching for Callie’s hand and giving her a gentle squeeze. “I just got lost in my thoughts for a minute. I promise you that I’m not worried about anything. Well, maybe except for how much money we’re going to spend today,” he teased, doing his best to sound as convincing as possible as he looked around at all the tiny baby clothes that filled the boutique. It was both frightening and appalling to him what a skilled liar he had become in just the past day, and even though he despised himself for it, he knew that it was imperative he keep up with this cheerful front when he was with Callie. “Something tells me the outfits here are considerably more money than the ones in a department store, huh?”

“Maybe,” Callie said. The sparkle returned to her eyes as she glanced all around her, an excited smile on her face as she took in the racks upon racks of adorable clothes. “But our little baby doodle is more than worth it, and besides, it’s not like we can’t afford it. You and I are lucky enough to be in a position where we can give our daughter anything her heart desires. And trust me, her little heart will definitely desire something like this,” she said, walking over to a rack and pulling off a tiny yellow and pink dress. “Tell me this isn’t adorable. Go on. I dare you.”

“No can do,” Stephen said, desperately trying to ignore the slight panic overtaking him as he realized that he and Callie just might not be in a position to give their daughter everything for very much longer. That was something he knew he couldn’t let on about, though, at least not for the next several weeks. “You’re right. It’s adorable. So is this the winner? Is this our little girl’s coming home outfit?”

“Of course not,” Callie said, smiling as she looked at her husband. “This is your first lesson on what it takes to be a savvy shopper. Never buy the first thing you pick up. You never know what else you’re going to find. This outfit is adorable, but it just doesn’t speak to me,” she said as she hung it back up on the rack.

“Excuse me?” Stephen asked, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth as he stared at his wife. “All that wind outside must have done something to my hearing, because I could swear you just said that outfit doesn’t speak to you.”

“That’s because I did,” Callie said. “Just trust me on this one. I’ve worked in the fashion industry long enough to know when an outfit just works. We’ll know the perfect coming home outfit for our daughter when we see it, just like we knew the perfect name when we saw it. It took us months of going through every baby name book known to man, but when we saw the perfect name combination, we just knew. This will be the same. Just look for the outfit that speaks to you,” she said again, giggling at the slightly bewildered expression on her husband’s face.

“Okay, sweetheart,” he said dutifully. “If you say so.” He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Callie wander in between the racks of clothing, the excitement that was sparkling in her eyes so palpable that he felt as though he could actually reach out and touch it. That was another reason why he couldn’t bring himself to tell her the full truth about what had happened with Kristin the day before. She was so overjoyed about their daughter’s upcoming birth, so glowing with happiness, that he could never do anything to ruin that for her. He refused to do anything that would put even the slightest damper on what was supposed to be one of the happiest times of their lives, even if it did mean having to lie to his wife in the process.

“Just so you know, I’m exercising wonderful self control right now,” Callie called over her shoulder as she sifted through a rack of tiny clothes. “I’ve seen about fifteen outfits that I want to buy so far. Kate was right,” she said to Stephen as he walked over to join her. “This shop has the most precious clothes I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me not to buy everything? But today is about one outfit and one outfit only. Today’s about buying our little princess the outfit she’ll wear when we bring her home. When we bring her home,” she repeated, tears springing to her eyes as she looked at Stephen. “Do you have any idea how wonderful that sounds?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I do, because it sounds just as wonderful to me. It’s kinda hard to believe that it’s almost time, isn’t it? Sometimes I feel like we’ve been waiting forever.”

“And sometimes it feels like only yesterday that we found out I was pregnant,” Callie said as she wiped away her tears. “I’ll never forget that day as long as I live. Apparently our daughter won’t either,” she added, smiling as she felt the baby give a gentle kick. “Either that or she really likes the outfit I’m holding. What do you think?” she asked, holding out the aquamarine and white dress. “Too fancy, right?”

“Well that depends,” Stephen deadpanned. “Are we planning to take her to some sort of gala? I thought you said we were picking out her outfit for when we bring her home from the hospital, but I must be mistaken. Oh, unless you’re trying to give her an early start for her first prom? You might wanna check with Kate in that case so she can make sure Noah’s tie is color-coordinated. That’s what you two do, right? Color coordinate things?”

“And just what is wrong with that?” Callie teased. “Kate and I are esteemed fashion prodigies, thank you very much. We know what we’re doing. That’s an adorable idea, by the way, a baby prom. I’m going to pass it along to Kate in case she wants to base a photo shoot around the concept for Baby Couture once it launches.”

“Only you,” Stephen said, chuckling as he shook his head slightly. “Only you.”

“Nope,” Callie countered. “Definitely not only me. I can guarantee you that Kate would feel the same way. Do me a favor and remind me to call her for a minute when we’re at lunch, okay? I can’t remember whether or not I told her about the date change for Couture’s next cover shoot, and I want to give her a heads up in case anyone asks about it. You wouldn’t believe the…” She trailed off as her gaze focused on an outfit hanging on the far wall of the store, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she grabbed Stephen’s hand and all but dragged him over to it. He had to leap to the side as she nearly caused him to crash right into a rack of clothes, an amused smile on his face as she made a beeline for the outfit she had set her sights on.

“Let me guess,” he teased. “It spoke to you.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Callie asked. “I’m going to use my super powers of intuition to deduce that you are, but I’m so excited right now that I don’t even care. Honey, look!” she all but squealed, pulling a tiny lavender outfit from the rack on the wall. “I’m going to plagiarize from Kate here, but I can’t help it. I swear this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Look at the little white hearts, how adorable are they? And how fitting,” she said, smiling as she glanced down at her stomach. “Since our little girl has captured our hearts so completely and she’s not even born yet. It even comes with a matching sweater and hat,” she continued, her voice tinged with enthusiasm. “I’m thinking that there’s a good chance it’ll still be pretty chilly when she’s born, so this way we can ensure that she’s nice and warm when she’s outside. Oh, and it’ll coordinate just perfectly with the blanket that your mother bought her. What do you think?” she asked, holding the outfit up in one hand and the sweater and hat in the other.

“I think I owe you an apology, that’s what,” Stephen said. “I never should have teased you before. You were right about knowing the right outfit when we saw it. And this is it,” he said, smiling as he took the tiny sweater and hat from Callie. “This is perfect.”

“She’s going to look so precious,” Callie whispered. “And so angelic. I don’t know what she’s going to look like yet, whether she’ll have dark hair or light, brown eyes or blue … but I know she’s going to look like an angel. And a princess,” she added, a soft smile on her face as she gazed down at her stomach. “She’s going to look like the sweetest, most beautiful princess you’ve ever seen.”

“Of course she will,” Stephen agreed. “Because she’ll take after her mommy. My Cinderella,” he added, smiling as he looked at the diamond shoe pendant hanging from its platinum chain around Callie’s neck. She had worn it countless times since he had given it to her as her wedding gift the summer before, but somehow it was different this time. Seeing the delicate diamonds glittering beneath the overhead lights of the boutique as they bought their daughter an outfit for what would easily be one of the most special days of all of their lives, Stephen couldn’t help but get a little emotional himself. He had used to imagine what it would be like to do something like this with Callie – to tell her how he really felt, to marry her, and to build a life and family with her. He had been the last of his group of friends to settle down, but not because he hadn’t wanted to. It had been the complete opposite. He had wanted to so badly, had wanted so much to tell Callie how he felt. But something had stopped him every time, up until Kate had worked her magic and all but forced him and Callie to finally speak the words they had been carrying in their hearts for so long.

“Sweetheart?” Callie asked, her dark eyes shining with curiosity as she gazed at Stephen. “Are you okay? You kinda have this faraway look in your eyes all of a sudden. That’s been happening a lot lately. I noticed it when we were at Kate and Sonny’s last night, too. Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s better than alright,” Stephen said, grateful that for once he could answer his wife’s questions honestly. Because, at the moment, the disaster from the day before was the furthest thing from his mind. Kristin and their boss were nothing but a distant thought, his entire attention focused on Callie and the sweet little baby who he knew was kicking her right at that very instant just from the smile on her face. “I’m spending the whole day with my wonderful wife, getting to have a special date with her and buy our little girl a very special outfit. How could everything not be alright?”

“Good answer,” Callie said, tilting her head up and brushing her mouth against Stephen’s. “Very, very good answer. I’m so glad we’re doing this. Kate was right, there’s something truly special about it. In fact, I’m enjoying it so much that I’m tempted to ask her if I can have the rest of the week off too. I adore my job, but I have to admit that the idea of spending the rest of the week with you sounds like absolute heaven on earth. What do you think?” she asked, walking over to a display of little socks and booties to choose a matching pair for the outfit. “Any chance you could convince your boss to let you take a couple extra days off?”

“Somehow I don’t think that’ll be a problem,” Stephen muttered under his breath. He cringed as Callie turned around to face him, instantly worried that she had heard his comment that he never meant to actually be audible.

“What was that?” she asked. “I didn’t hear what you said.”

“Just that I don’t think it’s possible for me to take the extra time off right now,” Stephen said, sighing as he went right back to having to lie to Callie’s face. It made him feel physically sick each and every time, and he was beginning to wonder how much longer he could keep this up. Part of him knew that the longer it went on, the more upset Callie was going to be when he finally told her the truth … but the other part of him knew that there was just no way he could tell her now, not when it was so important for her to stay as calm and stress-free as possible. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wish I could. It’s just that things are really, really busy now and I need to make sure that all my projects are finished before the baby’s born since I’ll already be taking all that time off.”

“No worries,” Callie said, smiling over at her husband before turning her attention back to the display and selecting a pair of white booties with purple trim. “I completely understand. When you’re dealing with bank mergers and multi-million dollar investment deals, you have to know what you’re doing. It could end up hurting your company if someone else just took over all your accounts with virtually no notice. Besides, I could never do that to Kate. She’d be the first one to tell me to take the entire week off to focus on you and getting all the last minute preparations in place for baby doodle, but she’d end up suffering because of it. She’s been so swamped lately, and I know having to take care of all my work on top of it would only compound things for her. You know what this means, right? It means we’ll just have to enjoy today even more. What do you think of that plan, sweetheart?” she asked, gazing down at her stomach. “Do you like the idea of enjoying this day to its very fullest?”

“Can you tell your mommy what would make you enjoy it even more?” Stephen asked, smiling as Callie grabbed his hand so he could feel the baby kick. Her kicks had become a bit gentler again lately as she grew bigger and had less room to move, but that didn’t make feeling them any less magical. If it was this special for him, he could only imagine how Callie must feel. “Can you tell her that you’d love today even more if we stop in a few other stores and pick out something special for her? What do you say, princess?” he asked. “Will you help me pick out a special present for your mommy like we just picked out a special outfit for you?”

“Honey, you don’t have to do that,” Callie said. Her eyes were shining with love as she looked up at her husband, her hand resting atop his on her stomach as the baby continued to kick. “Just spending the day with you is the best present in the world. Getting to hear that our daughter is perfectly healthy and then coming here to buy her an outfit for the day we officially welcome her home … honestly, nothing could be a bigger gift than that.”

“For me too,” Stephen said, leaning over to give Callie a quick kiss. “But I’d still like to buy you something special. Anything your heart desires.” He tried to push aside the nagging thought that was tugging at his conscience, the thought that was telling him this may be the last chance he had to do something like this for her for quite some time.

“You’re a sweetheart,” Callie said. “And I love you. So does our precious baby doodle, if that jab was any indication. Should we go buy your special outfit now, little one?” she asked. “Daddy and I are so, so excited to see you in it. Just a couple more weeks now. You’re going to look so beautiful, dollbaby. I just know it. I think we’d better get out of here now before I’m tempted to buy out the whole store,” she teased as she raised her gaze and looked at Stephen.

“I’d say that might be a smart idea,” he agreed as he smiled at her. “You know, seeing as how you got so many gifts at your shower that we already barely have enough room in our house for them. I don’t know where we could put anything else. The bathtub, maybe?” Callie laughed out loud, taking Stephen’s hand as she led him over to the sales counter.

“Just wait until she’s born,” she said. “Our house is nothing in comparison to Kate and Sonny’s. I’m entirely certain that they’d buy Hope and Noah the moon and stars if they could. I can tell you already that we’re going to want to do the same for our little princess. I already do. Maybe we can do a little window shopping and then head to lunch. Your choice,” she said, her eyes sparkling with a joy that came from knowing how truly perfect her life was at the moment. “Just as long as they have onion rings.”

“Deal,” Stephen said. “Just as long as you promise to drink at least a glass or two of water while we’re there. We have to keep you as hydrated as possible.”

“I don’t think I’m going to drink water ever again after this little girl is born,” Callie teased. “Maybe we can stop by your office after lunch. I’d love to thank Rob in person for that beautiful gift he and his wife sent since they couldn’t make my shower. You just reminded me of that with what you said. They really went above and beyond. Besides,” she teased, “this will give me that opportunity to fake going into labor so everyone’s attention will be on me and you can sneak away to do some more damage in Kristin’s office. Your heroic actions yesterday left everyone even more determined to uncover the truth, including your very pregnant wife.” She paused as she felt Stephen immediately tense up, his grip on her hand tightening without him even realizing it. The color drained from his face as Callie turned to stare at him, the wheels already spinning in his head as he desperately tried to figure out what to say. He had absolutely no idea how to get out of this … all he knew was that he didn’t have a choice. He simply couldn’t let Callie set foot in his office building. That was a catastrophe waiting to happen, and it was up to him to stop it before it was too late.
- - - - -

[NewsGirl]

“Kate, you have to calm down,” Callie said, wincing slightly as she held her phone away from her ear. She was fairly certain that her best friend was getting louder and more high-pitched with every word she spoke, her voice filled with a combination of outrage and disbelief as she rambled on so quickly that it was a wonder she didn’t run out of air.

“I can’t calm down,” Kate said. “I’m so angry I don’t know what to do. Can you believe the nerve? What on earth made that disgraceful woman actually think it would be a good idea to call me? Did she honestly think she was going to change my mind? Is she that delusional to really think I was going to believe her egregious lies? I can’t get over it, I seriously can’t.”

“Is everything okay?” Stephen asked, his gaze fixed on Callie as he watched her press the phone back to her ear. “Actually, I suppose the better question would be what’s wrong? I can tell from the way she’s practically screaming that everything’s not okay. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could hear her back in Port Charles, given how loud she’s talking. Something with work? Or with Sonny’s situation?” Callie held up two fingers to silently tell him it was the latter, her eyes going wide as Kate took a deep breath before launching into another tirade.

“I’m so furious I want to throw something,” she said, her voice so full of anger that Callie could almost feel it even though they were miles away from each other. “And you know me, Cal. I’m usually able to stay calm and collected no matter what. But this woman, I swear she’s just working on my last nerve. What possessed her to call me? Did she actually think it was going to result in a beneficial outcome for her? I know I made myself clear when I met with her a few weeks ago and told her in no uncertain terms that Sonny and I don’t succumb to blackmail, yet she has the audacity to call me again. And to ask for more money!” she exclaimed, her voice rising to a fever pitch. “Half a million dollars! Who does she think she is, telling me that I’ll regret it if I don’t do what she says? That reprehensible, audacious, appalling witch!”

“Deep breath, Kate,” Callie said. “I mean it. You need to calm down. I know you’re upset, and understandably so, but getting worked up like this isn’t going to help. Remember how you’re always saying how important it is to look at things rationally and not let your emotion cloud your judgment? I’m not saying that you don’t have a right to be mad,” she added quickly, not wanting Kate to get the wrong idea. “You have every right in the world to be absolutely furious. I would be too if I were in your place. Actually, I am now and I’m not even the one who Kristin called.” She glanced over at Stephen as he snapped his head up at her words, his fork falling out of his hand and clattering against their table in the café as it fell.

“I’m sorry,” Kate apologized, forcing herself to stop pacing as she reached the window wall of her office for what she was fairly sure was the fiftieth time since she had hung up the phone from her incredibly aggravating call with Kristin. “I never meant to unload all of this on you. You’re supposed to be spending today focusing entirely on your husband and daughter, and here I am ranting and raving about that snit. I’m really, really sorry,” she apologized again. “You called to give me a heads up about a cover shoot and I end up talking your ear off about this while you’re at lunch with Stephen. That was wrong of me, and I apologize.”

“I’m just going to ignore that completely,” Callie said. “You’re my best friend, and you’re obviously very upset. Of course I want to hear what happened, and it goes without saying that I share your anger. That woman really is unbelievable. You’d think it would be enough that she’s trying to destroy Sonny’s life. But to consistently try to draw you into her disgusting scheme even though you’ve made it clear that you would never do anything but defend your husband? What exactly does she think she’s going to accomplish other than making you even more determined to help fight against her?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Kate said, sighing as she gazed out the window at the cloudy sky. “I don’t know if she was just trying to get me riled up or if she gets some perverse kind of enjoyment out of taunting people and upsetting them, but she managed to achieve both with one phone call. I wish you could have heard her, Cal. There was this snide condescension in her voice that made me want to scream. You have no idea how much self control it took for me to stay calm and not say what I really wanted to to her. I don’t care who messes with me, but I won’t stand for people messing with my Sonny like this. I know it wouldn’t have helped the situation if I had started yelling at her, though, so I forced myself to stay as calm as I could when I told her off. I didn’t want her to know how much she was getting to me, so I tried to sound as even-tempered as I could while I told her exactly what I thought of her despicable offer.”

“See, here’s what I don’t understand,” Callie said, reaching for her glass and taking a sip of water as she replayed Kate’s description of her phone call with Kristin in her mind. “Why tell you she’ll make the whole lawsuit go away if you give her half a million dollars and then turn around and tell you there’s more going on than you know about and that this is only the beginning? Why try to get some kind of payoff out of you if she thinks there’s more going on to the situation that would work to her advantage?” She glanced up as Stephen began to cough, concern instantly overtaking her as he grabbed his glass of iced tea and took a long sip.

“I’m okay, sweetheart,” he assured her, taking another sip of his drink. “I just swallowed that bite of my sandwich funny and it made me choke a little. Nothing to worry about,” he said, lying through his teeth and hoping he sounded convincing enough that Callie would buy it. The truth of the matter was that he was instantly worried about whatever Kristin had said to Kate, not to mention the fact that she felt so confident about the whole situation as to call her in the first place. He had a sinking feeling that confidence came from what had happened at the office yesterday, and he was praying that Kristin hadn’t actually come out and told Kate about it. That would be a complete disaster that he didn’t know how he would even begin to handle … not that he wanted to keep lying to Callie like this, either. Each subsequent lie he told to her ate away at him more and more, sadness and anger coursing through his veins every time he was forced to withhold the truth from the one person in the world who he was supposed to share everything with. The only thing he had ever kept from Callie before was the full extent of his feelings for her when he was trying to act as though he saw her as nothing more than just a friend … and that had been difficult enough. This was like pure torture for him. But he knew it was better than the alternative, and if lying to Callie until the baby was born was what he needed to do to protect her and their daughter, then that was exactly what he would have to force himself to do.

“Are you sure?” Callie asked, leaning back against her chair as she looked at him.

“I’m sure,” he said. “I’m fine. I promise.” In reality, he was anything but fine, but he was getting so good at portraying this façade in front of Callie that he was almost beginning to believe it himself at times. It was just that when it was one thing after another as it seemingly had been as of late, it was a bit difficult to handle it all. He had managed to talk Callie out of her idea to stop by his office, telling her that he was sure he’d get pulled in to some meeting or consultation since he was there and he wanted to spend the whole day focusing entirely on her and their daughter with no interruptions. He had rationalized it by telling himself that that would have been completely true had it been applicable anymore, and the glowing smile that had immediately swept across Callie’s face at his words made his upset a little easier to bear. Knowing he had made her happy made him happy … but he still hated himself for having to lie to her in the first place.

“I’m sorry about that,” Callie said into the phone, her gaze still focused on Stephen as she spoke. “Stephen choked on part of his sandwich. I just wanted to make sure he was alright, which he is.”

“I’m ignoring your apology like you ignored mine before,” Kate said. “And I’m also going to hang up now so you can enjoy the rest of your special day with your husband. I never meant to go on and on about this for so long. You shouldn’t have to deal with this right now. Your entire focus should be on Stephen and that sweet little dear heart of yours. It’s just that I needed to get the anger out of my system and tell someone, and I know Sonny has an important meeting with one of the restaurant’s suppliers around this time, so I didn’t want to take a chance on calling him and interrupting. I can’t wait to fill him in, but I know how crucial this meeting is and I don’t wanna take even the slightest chance on disrupting it. I apologize again for you getting the brunt of my diatribe there. I hope it didn’t give you any added stress or anything, because I swear I would never, ever forgive myself if I ever did anything to…”

“Stop,” Callie interrupted, her voice firm. “I mean it, Kate. You’re my best friend. That means I’m always here to listen, just like you always are for me. I know I can come to you with anything, and that goes both ways. You’ve been here for me more times than I can count, and that’s a favor I am more than happy to repay any time. Baby doodle says to tell you that you’re being ridiculous,” she said, smiling as she felt the baby kick. “And that if you apologize one more time, she’s going to make sure that it’s your clothes she ruins with spit up and not mine.” Kate smiled for the first time since she had gotten off the phone with Kristin earlier, taking one more glance out the window before walking over to her desk and sitting down on her chair.

“I’m an old pro at that by now,” she said, gazing at one of her framed pictures of the twins and smiling as she thought of all the times they had made a mess all over her designer clothes. “It’s not exactly the most pleasant experience when it happens to you, but you’ll put up with just about anything for the joy of holding your dear heart in your arms. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from my beautiful babies, and I definitely didn’t let a little spit up faze me … and I know you feel the exact same way about that little sweetheart of yours. Speaking of my goddaughter, how was your appointment? And how did it go finding her special coming home outfit? Just tell me if the shopping spree was a success and then I’ll let you go. I’ve already monopolized too much of your time on what’s supposed to be your special date day with Stephen. I really am sorry for…”

“Kate!” Callie exclaimed. “Stop it! The appointment went really well. Kelly said our little baby doodle is doing wonderfully, thank God. And as for the shopping spree, well let’s just say that I’ve turned into you because I swear I found the cutest outfit ever to bring her home from the hospital in, and in the first store, no less. We went to that boutique on Fifth Avenue you suggested, and I just fell in love with this outfit the instant I saw it. It’s lavender with these tiny white hearts, and it comes with a matching sweater and hat. We even got little booties to go with it. Baby doodle is very impressed,” she said, giggling as the baby kicked again. “At least I think that’s what she’s trying to tell me. I’ll stop over tonight to show you the outfit. I’m excited for you to see it.”

“I’m excited too,” Kate said. “And now I’m hanging up because today is supposed to be all about you, your husband, and your baby girl and nothing else. Go enjoy the rest of your special day together, and if you want to take tomorrow off too to make up for my hounding you during your lunch, please feel free to do it. I owe you one.”

“Ignoring you,” Callie said in a singsong voice. “Completely ignoring you. I’ll give you a call before I drop by later. We’re probably going to stay in the city for awhile longer after lunch and do some window shopping, so it may not be until later this evening. And as for you, promise me you’re going to try not to let Kristin get you too upset. That conniving, cunning witch isn’t worth your anger. She’ll get what’s coming to her, I’m sure of it. Sonny’s going to beat her at her own game and we’re all going to keep doing everything we can to help. Chin up, Kate. It’ll get better.”

“Thank you, Cal,” Kate said gratefully. “For the pep talk, for listening, and for being the best friend ever. Now go finish lunch with your husband and enjoy the rest of your special day together. Make sure to take it easy after the dizzy spell last night, even though it thankfully turned out to be nothing. I’ll talk to you later, and I’m looking forward to seeing that precious little outfit. I’ll even be good and not rush out to buy one in Hope’s size so that it can be special for your little dear heart and only her. Tell Stephen I say hi,” she added. “And please thank him again for everything he did yesterday. I know he probably has to be tired of hearing Sonny and I say it by now, but we’re so appreciative that I just wanted to say it again anyway.” She waited until Callie said goodbye before hanging up the phone, sighing heavily as she leaned forward in her chair and looked at the piles upon piles of work sitting on her desk. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything after she had hung up from speaking with Kristin, so incensed over the phone call that she couldn’t think of anything else. She had forced herself to look over the revised layout Candice had sent her so it could go out to the printers on time and to sign the contract the builders had faxed to her so work could begin on the satellite office, but beyond that she hadn’t been good for anything other than fuming over the sheer audacity that Kristin had.

“That cunning, manipulative, impudent woman,” she muttered, shaking her head as she replayed the phone call in her mind. She could still hear the self-righteous condescension that had practically been dripping from Kristin’s voice as she threatened that this was only just the beginning, could still hear the twisted amusement in her voice as she taunted her. It was infuriating her all over again just to think about it and taking every single ounce of her self control not to pick up the phone again and call Sonny. She knew he needed to know that Kristin had contacted her and what she had said, but she also knew that his meeting with the supplier was simply too important to interrupt. Business had dropped ever since Kristin had started throwing around her accusations, and Kate knew Sonny had a tough fight ahead of him trying to convince the supplier that it was still worth their while to do business with him. It was part of the reason he had been so willing to go into work late that morning, so he would be able to hold off a little longer on facing everything that was waiting for him at the restaurant. Kate had known that even before he said it, and it positively broke her heart. She didn’t know what she could do to make things better for him, but what she did know was that she would do everything in her power to help him fix this situation and make it right again.

“Kate?” Clarice called, knocking lightly on her closed office door. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but you have a special delivery that just arrived. I happened to be up front when it got here, so I offered to bring it back to you. My hands are a little full from it, though, so I can’t quite open the door.” Kate pushed all thoughts of Kristin out of her mind, her curious nature immediately piqued from Clarice’s words as she stood up from her chair and walked across the office to open the door.

“Thank you for the assist,” she said. “The reminder of something as simple as courteousness is exactly what I needed right about…” She broke off abruptly as she pulled open the door and saw Clarice standing there with an absolutely gorgeous vase of flowers. Carnations and lilies surrounded a dozen stunning yellow roses, their beautiful scent wafting up into the air and immediately filling it with sweetness. “My word,” she said, carefully taking the crystal vase from Clarice. “They’re exquisite.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like them,” Clarice said, her eyes wide with amazement. “I was up by the front desk to fax Mariana some follow up questions from our interview that just ended, and I thought I was seeing things when the deliveryman showed up. Somehow I don’t think I need to ask who they’re from.” Kate smiled as she set the vase down on the corner of her desk, shifting all her papers and her laptop to the other side to make room for it.

“He spoils me,” she said. “He just brought me home the most beautiful pink tulips last night, and now this? How lucky can a woman get?” Her smile grew wider as she reached for the notecard attached to the vase, her eyes watering as she read the words that she knew came straight from Sonny’s heart.

To my Kate-

More than twenty years ago, you sat at my side as my girlfriend and held my hand as I poured out my heart to you on the pier at Coney Island. Now you stand at my side every day as my wife, your unconditional love and support giving me a strength so great I can’t put it into words. My Connie was my rock all those years ago, just like my beautiful Kate is for me now. Having you in my life inspires me to be the best I can be, now and always. Thank you for believing in me and my dreams. Thank you for being the one person I can always count on. Thank you for what you said to me last night and this morning, for what you say to me always. With your hand holding tight to mine, I know I can never go wrong.

All my love,
Sonny

“Kate?” Clarice asked tentatively, watching as she clutched the note in one hand and wiped away her tears with the other. “Are you alright?” She nodded, taking a deep breath as she read over the note one more time.

“I’m alright,” she said, deeply touched by Sonny’s sweet gesture that she knew was prompted by them reading her diary together that morning. “I’m better than alright. I’m blessed, that’s what I am. I have the sweetest, most thoughtful, romantic husband in the entire world and the two most special, precious, priceless babies who I get to raise with him every day. It doesn’t get better than that. The only problem is that now I’m going to keep staring at these flowers for the rest of the day,” she joked. “It’s going to be hard to concentrate on anything else.” She paused as she was reminded of what had kept her from her work so far that day, forcing herself to take a deep breath and remain calm as thoughts of her phone call with Kristin flashed through her mind. She refused to let it upset her any longer. She wouldn’t give her that power.

“I don’t blame you,” Clarice said. “They’re absolutely beautiful. I melt whenever Milo sends me flowers, so I can only imagine how you must feel about getting a bouquet like this. You know, if it wasn’t that I actually know Sonny, I’d have to think he’s too good to be true. I’m so glad you two found each other again. I know how happy you make each other.” Kate nodded, stopping to breathe in the sweet scent of the flowers as she reattached the card to the vase.

“We always have,” she said. “And I am truly the luckiest woman in the world to be able to share my life with him and our amazing family. Not a day goes by that I don’t count my blessings for that. My life is so different now than it was just two years ago, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

“I’m glad you’re so happy,” Clarice said. “You deserve it.”

“As do you,” Kate said. “In whatever form you wish for, especially if it involves a sparkly, shimmering diamond ring. Not that that was a hint or anything, since I already said something about it this morning.” She smiled as Clarice laughed out loud, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink at the thought of Kate’s comment coming true.

“Hopefully one day,” she said. “I’d better get back to my work now, though. It means a lot that you and Callie trusted me with this Mariana interview and article, and I’m determined to make it as perfect as can be. Between that and all my other work, I think I might need a double shot of cappuccino today.”

“Thanks again for dropping these off,” Kate said, smiling as she looked at the flowers. “And thanks again for covering for me this morning. I really, really appreciate it.” She gazed at the bouquet for a moment longer after Clarice left her office, a sparkle in her eyes as she walked back around her desk and sat down. What she had said to Clarice couldn’t have been more true. She really was the luckiest woman in the world. Pulling her laptop closer to her, Kate’s fingers flew across the keys as she typed out an email to Sonny.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful flowers, darling! They’re sitting on my desk, and I’m fairly certain that I’m quite literally going to have to stop and smell the roses at least fifty times before the work day is over. The bouquet is absolutely stunning, and what you wrote touched my heart. I swear to you that I will always be standing at your side, holding your hand and your heart like you do with mine every day. I love you more than words can express. Call me when you’re finished with your meeting so I can thank you again for this breathtaking bouquet. I’m not sure how long it’s supposed to run, and I didn’t want to chance interrupting when I know how important it is. I got a rather interesting phone call a little while ago that I need to tell you about, too. I’ll be waiting to hear from you, handsome. Thank you again for the flowers and for making me feel like the most special woman in the world.

xoxo,
Me

P.S. You should see the looks people are giving me as they walk by my office and see the flowers on my desk. I’m pretty certain every woman is about as jealous as can possibly be! ;-)

Kate smiled as she read over her email before sending it, amusement dancing in her eyes as she wondered whether Sonny would find it any easier to replicate her little winking face than he had the heart symbol in the text message she had sent him several weeks ago. She had been careful to keep her email focused mainly on the flowers, not wanting to come out and directly mention her phone call with Kristin until she actually spoke with him. She knew him well enough to know it was going to upset him immediately, and she wanted to be able to talk it over with him rather than just mention it over email.

“Not that it matters,” she said to herself, pulling open her desk drawer and looking at the folder of Kristin’s documents that she had put back inside. “Because what that witch doesn’t know is that we have the upper hand now and that she’s only making us more determined to stop her in her tracks. As soon as we can figure out that Bensonhurst connection and pin down her motivation, she won’t know what hit her. No one messes with my Sonny like this, no one.” She felt a renewed sense of resolve sweep over her as she looked at the folder, completely oblivious to the fact that in reality Kristin knew exactly what Stephen had done and that she was still the one with the upper hand. Taking one more glance at the folder, Kate shut her drawer and turned her attention back to her work. She had proposals to read, contracts to sign, articles to write, and much more. She set about sorting through the business proposals from the charity department first, smiling as she read the formalized versions of the innovative ideas they had been proposing for quite some time. The grant money from the Manhattan Charitable Endeavors Foundation was just what they needed to turn some of those ideas into reality, and she couldn’t wait to select the ones that the charity staff would start work on in the coming months. She was engrossed in a proposal about ways to further develop the outreach capability of the charity’s website when a gentle knock sounded on her open office door.

“Perfect timing,” she said, smiling as she glanced up and saw Amanda in the doorway. “I was actually just in the middle of one of the website proposals and I had a question about it for you. Come on in,” she said, waving her into her office and smiling as her gaze immediately traveled to the vase of flowers. “From my sweetheart of a husband,” she said. “Aren’t they beautiful?”

“Incredibly beautiful,” Amanda said. “I’m going to tell Adam he’d better start sending me bouquets like this every day. After all, I have a bigger office ever since you promoted me to the lead management position last year, so that means I have a lot of room to display a garden like the one Sonny sent you. We have to talk, Kate,” she said, her voice instantly taking on a serious tone as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Kate’s desk. It was a tone that caught Kate’s attention immediately, one so different from the web designer’s normally cheerful demeanor that she instantly knew something was amiss.

“Of course,” she said, setting down the pen she had been using to take notes on the proposal. “What’s going on?”

“I hate to even have to tell you this,” Amanda said, her voice apologetic as she looked at Kate. “I really, really do. But I just got out of a long meeting with one of the charity’s newer investors, and there’s something you need to know about. I think we have a potential problem on our hands.”
- - - - -
Kate sighed wearily as she pulled into the driveway, grateful to finally be home after what had seemed like the longest day known to man. It felt as though days had passed by since she had left the house that morning, like so much had happened that it couldn’t possibly have all occurred in just one work day. She knew that was due in large part to Kristin and her warped scheme, and just thinking about that was enough to make her angry all over again. “This is your last chance. Take my offer, or you’ll regret it sooner than you think.” She replayed the woman’s words over and over in her mind as she pulled her car keys from the ignition with perhaps a bit more force than she had intended to, her eyes flashing with anger as she grabbed her purse and laptop from the seat next to her.

“Unbelievable,” she muttered as she got out of the car and shut the door. “Utterly unbelievable.” She could feel herself getting upset all over again as she replayed the day’s events in her mind, trying to understand how anyone could possibly be so conniving, cold, and calculated. It was as though Kristin was hell-bent on destroying Sonny’s life through any means possible, as though she would stop at absolutely nothing to get what she wanted. But that was the part that was still troubling Kate, that she couldn’t figure out what exactly it was that Kristin wanted. She knew it was more than just money, and after everything that had happened that day, she was more determined than ever to find out exactly what Kristin’s motivation was and put a stop to her plan before she could do anything else to hurt Sonny. Sighing again, Kate made her way up the driveway, bowing her head to shield herself from the frigid winter wind that swept through the air as it held all of Port Charles in its icy grasp.

“Home sweet home,” she whispered to herself as she walked along the path that led to the front door. “Finally.” All the lights were on inside, the warmth that came from their gentle glow all but radiating through the glass windows and enveloping her in their inviting embrace. It was as though the house was actually shining with love and warmth, as though it was both the literal and figurative light in what had been a day filled with far too much aggravation and gloominess. In spite of everything that had happened that day, Kate still couldn’t help but smile as the thought ran through her head. Sonny was right, she really did see symbolism in everything. Shifting her laptop into her other hand, she quickly slipped her house key into the lock. Forget about seeing symbolism. At the moment, she wanted nothing more than to see Sonny and the twins. She was just about to turn the key when the door flew open, catching her completely off guard and nearly causing her to drop everything she was holding in her arms.

“Welcome home, love,” Sonny said, holding Hope in his arm as he leaned over to kiss Kate. “I was beginning to think you were never gonna get here. Noah’s taking a nap, but our daughter and I have been waiting very patiently.” Kate smiled as she bent down to kiss Hope on the top of her head, gently brushing her finger against the baby girl’s cheek before straightening back up and meeting Sonny’s gaze.

“I was beginning to think I was never going to get here either,” she said. “Traffic was absolutely insane. I think people decided to leave early because of the threat of snow, but then all that ended up doing was causing an even bigger backup on the highway. I’m beginning to think your idea about taking your private plane to work might not be such an unrealistic one after all. Surely I can find a landing strip somewhere in Manhattan … or we can just have one built, how’s that?” Sonny chuckled, taking a step back so that Kate could come inside.

“Works for me,” he said as he shut the front door behind her. “Just say the word and I’ll arrange it. It pays to know people in high places. Although I guess when it comes to Manhattan, that would be you and not me. You’re the toast of the town. That’s another expression that makes no sense at all, in case you were wondering. How is it a compliment to be compared to toast? Well, unless I’m the one cooking it of course. Then it’s the best compliment ever.” Kate laughed out loud, her aggravation and upset washing away as she looked at her husband. She knew him well enough to know that he was quite deliberately trying to take her mind off everything that had happened, and she adored him for it.

“You are seriously too cute,” she said, kissing him on the nose before walking into the living room and setting her purse and laptop down on the chair. “We’ll just add that to the file of phrases you think are ridiculous but use anyway. You know, like the one about the pot calling the kettle black,” she teased. “And we can’t forget about waxing poetic. That daddy of yours is a silly, silly willy,” she said to Hope, unbuttoning her coat and draping it over the back of the chair. She normally never liked to leave her clothes lying around like that, but after the day she had had, she didn’t particularly care. All she cared about was being with her husband and their children.

“She says she knows,” Sonny said, smiling down at Hope as she babbled quietly. “And that that’s just one of the many reasons she loves me. Maybe we should discuss the many reasons why you love me, too. Feel free to start with my dashing good looks and the fact that one flash of my dimples is all it takes to make you feel like you’re gonna pass out.” Kate shook her head slightly, amusement dancing in her eyes as she looked at him.

“You’d better watch it, Corinthos,” she said. “One day I’m going to find something of yours that’s as potentially embarrassing as my teenage diary is. Surely you saved something from our Bensonhurst days. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”

“I don’t know,” Sonny mused. “I mean sure, I might have saved some things. Bensonhurst represents a lot of difficult things in my life, but it also represents some of the very best. I’m sure I’ve got some things somewhere around here from those days. But something as potentially embarrassing as that diary of yours? I doubt it,” he teased, happy to see the sparkle in Kate’s eyes as she scrunched up her nose at him. She had been so upset on the phone when he had called her after his meeting with the suppliers that he had wanted to cry as he listened to her. She had asked him all about his meeting first, listening quietly as he told her that he had somehow managed to convince the company representative to continue to do business with him. Her joy from his good news had quickly faded as she told him what had happened with Kristin, the anger and upset in her voice so palpable it was like an entity all on its own. His heart had positively sunk as she relayed to him exactly what had happened. It had been all he could do not to call Kristin and tell her off after Kate told him about the phone call, so furious that he had actually had to take a deep breath and count to ten to calm himself down. It was bad enough that Kristin had this illogical, vengeful vendetta against him, but to attempt to draw Kate into it yet again was more than he could take. He could handle it when someone messed with him, but not with Kate. He wanted to protect her from this just like he wanted to protect her from everything, and it had infuriated him to know that Kristin was once again trying to drag her into her twisted scheme. That anger had multiplied tenfold when Kate told him that one of her charity’s investors had pulled out for seemingly no reason at all, and that all it took was a bit of research on her and Amanda’s part to uncover that he was working for a company that had just brokered a deal with the one Kristin and Stephen worked for.

“Don’t doubt it,” Kate said, her voice snapping Sonny out of his thoughts. “Because the more you do, the more embarrassing it’ll be for you when I find something I can tease you relentlessly about. You know, like the whole dimples thing. I see that smirk on your face every time you flash them at me now. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. And don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing now either,” she said, leaning over to give Sonny a quick peck on the cheek. “I know you’re trying to take my mind off everything that happened today, and I love you for it.”

“Is it working?” Sonny asked, gently bouncing Hope in his arms and smiling down at her as she giggled happily. “Because if it’s not, I have about ten other plans lined up. I hate to see you so upset, especially when it’s my fault. It just kills me that I’ve dragged you into this.”

“Sonny Corinthos, you take that back right this instant,” Kate demanded. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, her diamond and aquamarine hoop earrings swinging as she folded her arms across her chest. “You did not drag me into this. First of all, you’re the one who Kristin is targeting here. She’s just using me as a means to get to you, and I refuse to let her be successful in it. Second of all, none of this is your fault and I absolutely will not let you blame yourself for that reprehensible woman’s disgraceful actions. Third of all, I’m your wife. That means I’m your partner. Whatever you face, I face. Whoever tries to hurt you hurts me in the process. We’re a team … and a damn good one at that,” she said. “Kristin Winnfield chose the wrong people to mess with.”

“You’re a spitfire, do you know that?” Sonny asked. “Or a firecracker. Or both.”

“And proud of it,” Kate said. “Even though I’m afraid that I may have made the Kristin situation even worse by telling her off when she called me. You’d think she would have realized that if I turned down her blackmail attempt the first time, I’d do it again. But no,” she said, feeling herself grow incensed all over again. “She didn’t. Because in Kristin’s world, she’s as powerful as can be and we’ll all do anything to comply with her wishes. She actually thought I was going to give her half a million dollars. Just who does she think she is? And better yet, who does she think we are? I get that she’s all high and mighty when it comes to her career, but if she thinks we’re just going to fall in line and acquiesce to her ludicrous demands, then she’s in for a rude awakening. I’m just really worried that I made her even angrier. I swear I’ll never forgive myself if I somehow made things worse for you.”

“Hey,” Sonny said, reaching over and resting his hand on Kate’s shoulder. “Don’t talk like that, love. I want you to stop right now. You could never make things worse for me. It’s just the opposite, in fact. You make every part of my life better every single day. And as for Kristin, I’m proud of you for standing up to her like that. I wouldn’t expect anything less from my Kate. I have no doubt that you told her off in that classy, collected way that only you can do. I promise you that I’m going to fix this somehow. As much as I hate what she’s trying to do to my restaurant, I loathe this disgusting attempt to ruin your charity even more. What kind of person does that? Who tries to mess with a charity that helps millions of people? How can someone be so low?”

“I don’t know,” Kate said. “But what I do know is that there’s not a chance I’m going to allow her to succeed … and I’m not just talking about my charity. I’m talking about your restaurant. She’s not going to get away with doing this to you, darling. We won’t let her.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sonny said. “Not just for how this is impacting you too now, but for all the upset I know it’s caused you. It goes along with what you said before, about how we’re a team. Whatever hurts you hurts me. I was already determined to beat Kristin at this battle she’s insisting on making me fight, but when she brought you into the fold again today she just made me even more steadfast. I won’t stop until I find out what’s driving her and stop her in her tracks. But not tonight,” he said, handing Hope to Kate as the baby girl reached her little arms out to her. “We’re gonna make a pact not to talk about this anymore tonight. Between my meeting with the supplier and your having to deal with that disgraceful phone call and what that witch is trying to do to your charity, I think it’s safe to say we’ve both had our fair share of stress today. That ends now,” he said, giving Kate a quick kiss before taking her by the hand and leading her through the living room.

“Do you know where Daddy’s taking us?” she asked Hope, smiling at her daughter as she rested her little hand on her arm and babbled up at her. “He has that mysterious sparkle in his eyes that he gets whenever he’s surprising me with something. Speaking of which, did you know that your daddy had the most beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered to me at work today? They were so gorgeous, and they just made Mommy melt into a puddle on the floor.”

“A puddle on the floor, huh?” Sonny asked, stopping momentarily to look at Kate as they walked into the kitchen. “So now I make you pass out and melt. Good to know. I mean, I was always pretty sure I had a profound effect on you, but you’re making it sound like I have the golden touch here.”

“Maybe that’s because you do,” Kate said. “That flower arrangement you sent me was the talk of the office for the rest of the day. Do you know how many times I caught people staring at the vase as they walked by? I had to tell a few of them to go find their own prince charming because mine is already taken. One of the editors for Couture actually asked me if you’re real. She said she can’t understand how any man could be so perfect. Oh, and Clarice said if she didn’t know any better she would think you’re too good to be true. You’ve made quite the impression on all the women of Manhattan Publishing. I’d better make sure to keep a tight grip on you the next time you come visit. Someone might try to steal you away.”

“Impossible,” Sonny said as he flashed his dimples at her. “No one could ever do that, because you’re the one who’s stolen my heart so completely.”

“See, this is what I mean every time I say Daddy’s a sweet talker,” Kate said to Hope, smiling as the baby girl blinked her big blue eyes at her. “Did you hear that charming comment of his? It makes Mommy’s heart flutter when he says things like that.”

“Oh, so I make your heart flutter too, now do I?” Sonny asked, his mouth curling up into a grin as he looked at Kate. “You’d better watch it, love. You’re gonna inflate my ego when it comes to the romance department.”

“Somehow I don’t think you need any help from me in that regard,” Kate teased, giggling as Sonny made a face at her. “Something tells me you’ve known you were a Latin Casanova ever since we were kids back in Bensonhurst. And before you ask, yes, I believe I called you that in my diary at some point. I’ll be looking forward to the merciless teasing that comes along with my commentary.”

“Me?” Sonny asked. “Tease you? Mercilessly? You must have me confused with someone else. You know, some other guy who makes your heart flutter and makes you see stars.”

“Thank you very much, that was not in my diary,” Kate said. “At least not yet.” She narrowed her eyes as Sonny began to chuckle, instantly knowing from the gleam in his eyes that he knew something she didn’t.

“Yet would be the operative word there,” he said. “And one that’s not applicable anymore. I thought Hope might like to hear some stories about when her mama and daddy were younger while she was waiting for you to get home from work,” he explained, smiling as the baby girl began to squeal and kick her legs at the exact perfect moment. “So after we played with her toys for awhile, we had storytime with her mama’s diary. She got to hear all about the time we had that special movie night at your house when your parents were away for the evening at that company dinner from your dad’s job. I think she was a little confused about why there were no pictures to go along with the words, though,” he said, chuckling as he thought of the way Hope had tried to grab the diary from his hands.

“No wonder you laughed at me when I called on my drive home,” Kate said. “Here I was making sure our dear hearts weren’t acting like little monkeys for you, and you were sitting and reading to our rosebud while our sweetpea slept upstairs. Why is it that you and your brother only act like silly willies for Mommy?” she asked Hope, tickling her stomach and smiling as she instantly lit up into a laugh.

“Because they know how fun it is to be mischievous for you,” Sonny said. “Especially when their daddy is home to watch. I don’t know that I’ll ever forget that image of you chasing Noah around the nursery this morning, all clad in your work clothes and high heels as you maneuvered your way around the furniture and all their toys. Do you have any idea how funny that was for me?”

“Somehow I think I do,” Kate said, her nose crinkling up as she smiled. “The hysterical laughter helped to give it away. That’s okay, though. It just adds another item to my list of things I need to retaliate for. Relentless teasing about my rather giddy teenage reactions to my incredible boyfriend, check. Uncontrollable laughter when our dynamic duo is transformed into mischevious little monkeys, check. Anything else you’d like to add while we’re at it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she teased her husband. “Actually, come to think of it, you do seem to get quite a kick out of embarrassing me in front of my parents. Maybe I should give you a taste of your own medicine the next time Mike comes to visit. Good idea? Our daughter sure thinks so,” she said, smiling as Hope babbled nonstop, her little legs swinging back and forth as she kicked them fervently.

“What’s that all about, Rosebud?” Sonny asked. “Remember that little talk we had about how you and Noah should always take Daddy’s side? What happened to that deal we made?”

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Kate said. “I bet you didn’t promise her applesauce like I did this morning, did you? It’s all about the bribery, dear,” she said, her eyes sparkling as she tapped Sonny on the chin. “How long has our little guy been asleep? I’m trying to figure out if we should wait for him to wake up to give them their dinner or just let Hope have hers now. She seems kind of hungry. Either that or those fingers are just particularly yummy today,” she said to Hope, smiling at her daughter as she tried to put her entire little fist in her mouth.

“I’m thinking both,” Sonny said, chuckling as he looked at Hope. “Noah should be getting up pretty soon. He was already down for his nap when I got home from work. Elena said he was crawling up a storm today and he tired himself out so much that he fell asleep in his swing. She said to tell you she made sure to take a picture because she was certain you’d think it was the cutest thing ever.”

“Are you making fun of me?” Kate asked. “Because that retaliation list is growing longer by the minute. You’re my witness, baby girl,” she said to Hope. “When Mommy teases Daddy in return, he’s officially not allowed to protest because he has it coming. Do you know what else he has coming?” she asked, smiling as Hope gurgled at her in response. “This,” she said, leaning over and brushing her mouth against Sonny’s. “Because even though Mommy shouldn’t be admitting this, I love it when your daddy teases me. It makes my heart happy. You see, Mommy spent far, far too long with no one in my life who could make me laugh like your daddy does. I lived all those years without anyone to remind me what it felt like to really be alive, and that’s something I never forget. So you can go on and tease me all you want, Corinthos,” she said to Sonny. “Because I happen to love it. But you can expect the same in return.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Sonny said, smiling as Kate reached over to wipe her lipstick from his mouth. He was fairly certain she would never forget to do that ever again after Callie’s little quip about it the previous evening. “I happen to love when you tease me too. It’s cute, and it makes me forget all about everything else that’s going on in my life and just be thankful that I have you to…” He paused as a loud gurgle sounded from the monitor on the counter, his dimples sparkling as he and Kate listened to Noah launch into what sounded like an entire conversation with something in the nursery.

“I’ll bet you twenty dollars it’s the stars on the nursery ceiling,” Kate said. “It’s dark enough out that there’s probably not much light coming through the windows, which makes it a perfect time for those stars to glow and sparkle. I’d bet money that our sweet little boy is laying there and babbling up at the glittering stars that we attached to the ceiling as part of their special Thanksgiving surprise last November. What do you say?” she asked, shifting Hope into her other arm as she held her hand out to Sonny. “Do we have a deal?”

“Not a chance, love,” he said, taking her hand and kissing it gently instead of shaking it like she had intended for him to. “Because I’m sure you’re right. They love those stars. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say they’re enchanted by them. I love getting to watch their reactions when we turn off all the nursery lights and just let them stare up at the stars. That was such a wonderful idea you had about them.”

“I just thought it would be a perfect tribute to our precious dear hearts, that’s all,” Kate said. “Our way to celebrate that it had been a year since the stars aligned to bring them into our lives. It makes Mommy’s heart so, so happy that you and Noah love those stars so much,” she said to Hope, hugging her close. “I think it’s so sweet that you’re mesmerized by them, kind of like Daddy and I are mesmerized by both of you.”

“We sure are,” Sonny said, bending down to kiss one of Hope’s rosy little cheeks before straightening up and doing the same to Kate. “I’ll go get our little guy. Do me a favor and don’t go into the family room until I get back though, okay? That’s where I was gonna take you before we got distracted. I have a special surprise set up for you in there. I know, I know,” he said before Kate could say even a word. “Patience isn’t a virtue you possess and I didn’t have to do anything else because the flowers I sent you were already a surprise that touched your heart.” Kate couldn’t help but smile at his words. Sometimes it was almost frightening how well he knew her.

“Maybe,” she said. “I might have been about to say those very things.”

“Not maybe,” Sonny countered. “Definitely. I know you pretty well, love.”

“You know me very well,” Kate said. “Better than anyone, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I promise that our daughter and I will wait right here until you and Noah come back down. No peeking, I swear. But you’d better go right now before I change my mind,” she said, her heart melting from Noah’s little babbles that were coming from the monitor and from the way Hope was looking all around, trying to find her brother. The twins’ special bond was so beautiful that it sometimes brought tears to her eyes.

“I’ll be right back,” Sonny assured her. “Our baby boy and I will hurry, promise.” Kate smiled as she watched Sonny walk out of the kitchen and into the foyer, grateful to see him in such good spirits. He had sounded so stressed when he had called her after his meeting that it had made her want to cry for him. There had been such relief in his voice as he told her that he had managed to use the fact that the restaurant was more crowded than it had been in the past several weeks to his advantage, such relief in his voice as he told her that everything was alright with the supplier, at least for the time being. She knew he was worried about whether or not that would remain the case, though. She could hear it in the words he didn’t speak, in the things he didn’t say. The tone in his voice as he had told her everything that had happened only made her even more determined to find out what Kristin was hiding and even more steadfast in her quest to help Sonny however she could.

“We’re all going to get through this, honey bunny,” she said to Hope, gently bouncing her in her arm as she walked over to the French doors and stared outside at Callie and Stephen’s house. She could tell by the single light on inside that they still hadn’t gotten home from Manhattan, and she hoped that the rest of their special day had brought them nothing but joy. She still felt terrible for interrupting their lunch with her phone call, but she had been so upset that she simply hadn’t known what else to do. “We’re all going to get through this,” she repeated, smiling as Hope reached up and put her little hands on each of her cheeks. She swore that her daughter was agreeing with her, that this was the baby girl’s way of assuring her that everything truly would be okay. She knew most people would think she was ridiculous for feeling that way, but she didn’t care. She knew her babies and she knew their hearts. She knew the love they had for her and Sonny, and it was something that never failed to make her tear up whenever she thought about it.

“Do you see that house over there, sweetheart?” she asked, turning Hope around so she could look out the patio door. “That’s where Callie and Stephen live. Pretty soon your new little best friend is going to live there too. She’ll be here in just a few short weeks now. Isn’t that so, so exciting?” she asked, smiling as Hope let out such a loud babble that she would swear she understood the question if she didn’t know any better. “There are so many wonderful things to look forward to,” she said. “And that’s what we have to focus on. We have to focus on the love. That will make everything else alright.”

“Has anyone ever told you guys that your mama is really, really smart?” Sonny asked, catching the tail-end of Kate’s comment as he walked back into the kitchen with a freshly diapered Noah in his arms. “Because she is. She happens to be the smartest, strongest person I’ve ever known. We’re very, very lucky to have her in our lives.”

“As we are to have you,” Kate said, turning around and walking over to Sonny. “Hi there, sweetpea,” she said to Noah, bending down to kiss him on the top of his head. “Did you have a happy nappy, dear heart? I hear you tired yourself out so much that you fell asleep right in your swing. That must have looked very, very cute.” She fell silent as the twins began to babble at each other, a soft smile on her face as she met Sonny’s gaze and they both listened to the precious little conversation their babies were having with each other.

“Cutest thing ever, right?” he asked, his dimples sparkling as he winked at her. She smiled, nodding ever-so-slightly as she looked back and forth between her husband and the two beautiful babies they shared.

“Right,” she said quietly. “Cutest thing ever.” Her eyes gleamed with curiosity as Sonny motioned for her to follow him into the family room, her heels clicking against the tile floor as she walked. She had to admit that she was wondering what he had up his sleeve, what he had planned for her that was making his dimples shine so brightly that she was quite certain she really might pass out if he turned to flash them at her.

“So like I was telling you before, I think we need to forget all about the Kristin situation for tonight,” Sonny said. “We’ve been spending so much time focusing on it and on trying to figure out the missing clues so we can stop her in her tracks. I’ll be the first one to say how important that is. But not tonight. Tonight is for us. Tonight is about our family. Tonight is…”

“Movie night,” Kate said, a smile spreading across her face as she and Sonny walked into the family room. He had spread a blanket out on the floor, complete with a selection of dvds, a bowl of popcorn, raisinets, and what had used to be her favorite cherry soda when she was younger. It was a scene reminiscent of the one she had written about in her diary and one that touched her heart with its sincerity and sweetness.

“What do you say?” Sonny asked. “I know the movies aren’t the same ones we watched that night at your house, but I didn’t have enough time to go buy those before you got home. I tried to find some good substitutes, and I even included a couple that I thought our little ones might like. You know, dancing green kangaroos and singing pink elephants. Things like that that I figured two little almost seven month old babies would love. And then maybe you and I can watch a movie or two later, after Hope and Noah are asleep,” he continued, smiling as the twins both looked at him as they heard their names. “We won’t even have to worry about your parents walking through the door and catching us this time. We’ll be free to actually sit next to each other without having to jump five feet apart every time we hear a noise.” Kate laughed out loud, her aggravation from the day the farthest thing from her mind as her happy giggles floated up through the air. She remembered what Sonny was talking about as though it had happened only yesterday.

“I say that sounds like a wonderful idea,” she said. “And that I can think of no way I would rather spend this cold, soon-to-be snowy Tuesday evening than by having a special movie night with you and our dear hearts. You know,” she mused, a gentle smile on her face as she looked at Sonny and the twins as they held them in their arms, “I actually don’t think anything could be more fitting. Our life is kind of like a movie. We have the love story that’s been more than twenty years in the making, the past that combines with the present to create our future. We have the challenges and obstacles that are thrown our way, the ones we team up to fight together as we show our dear hearts that whenever adversity comes your way, you have the power and strength to fight it. We have everything we ever wished for and so much more. There is one important way our story differs from a movie, though,” she said, smiling as she met Sonny’s gaze and stared into his dark eyes. “Because movies have happy endings. And as for us, we’re just going to have happiness. No ending in sight. See, because true love stories, true fairytales and movies that come to life, they don’t have an ending. They just have forever.”