More than Expected

Part 54

June 13, 2014
She stands in front of her mirror just like she did last week, except now she's in a white dress with her gown hanging on her shoulders and her cap in hand. She feels two arms wrap around her and smiles when she sees her fiancé standing behind her, "Hi." "Hey there, grad." He kisses her neck. "I'm not a graduate yet." "Speaking of which, you ready?" He asks. She turns and smiles before nodding. He takes her hand in his before guiding her downstairs where her parents, his mother, and their son. "Katie, you look great."
"Thanks, Mom." Kate smiles before she lifts her son out of her father's arms, "Hi handsome." She coos, "Alright, cap on and on the porch for pictures." Johanna insists. Kate smiles and hands her son back to Jim before slipping her mortarboard on her head and following everyone outside. On the porch, they all get their pictures in with the graduate before they pile into the car and make their way to graduation. Once they arrive, she finds Lanie, Javi, Kevin, and Jenny. Rick follows her towards their friends with Royce in his arms. They all hug, "Hi Buddy!" Lanie exclaims and takes the baby from Rick's arms.
Kate smiles as she watches her friends interact with her son. "All graduates, please enter the building!" Principle Gates announces. Royce is handed back to his father, "I'll see you in there." He says, "I love you." She whispers, "I love you too." He replies and presses his lips to hers. She turns back to their friends, "Let's go graduate." She says as they all turn and walk towards the graduation venue. It's about a half hour later when they're directed to enter the venue and take their seats.
Once they're seated, Principle Gates takes the podium. "Good morning family and friends and welcome to the 93rd Commencement Ceremony of Stuyvesant High School. Today we honor the achievements, hard work, and dedication of our 237 graduates here today. This task would not be possible without your love and support, so a big thank you from our Stuyvesant family for the time and effort you have put in to raising our graduates and guiding them to this point." The graduates applaud their family before the ceremony continues. The valedictorian, salutatorian, and class president speak before Principle Gates announces that it's time to hand out diplomas.
She stands on the side of stage waiting for her name to be called. She looks towards the crowd and finds her fiancé and son. She blows them a kiss which he reciprocates. "Katherine Houghton Beckett." She walks up the stairs and across the stage. She shakes Principle Gates' hand and accepts her diploma before walking off the stage and back to her seat. Once all the diplomas are received, they all stand and sing their alma mater. "Stuyvesant High School Class of 2014, I proudly welcome you to the alumni family. It was my honor to serve as your principle. I now pronounce the Class of 2014 officially graduated!" Once the announcement is made, they all stand and throw their caps as they celebrate. She did it. She graduated.

June 17, 2014
     They've been in their apartment for two days now. They drove down on the 15th and began unpacking yesterday. Today, her parents and Martha fly back to New York. It felt weird that she wouldn't wake up tomorrow morning and see her parents in the kitchen. As for now, they're unpacking the hundreds of boxes. "Katie, where do you want these?" Johanna asks holding the pan set.
      "Um, just put it in one of the cabinets. I'm going to organize everything later." Kate says. Rick and Jim are currently busy putting the bed frames and crib together while Martha is holding Royce as he naps. They get most of the boxes unpacked before they make their way to a small resturant for dinner. "You two are going to be okay, right?" Martha asks, "We'll be fine, Mother. We're gonna take care of each other and this little guy." Rick says as he kisses Royce's head as his son sits in Kate's lap.
      "Well, you know that if either of you needs anything, we're all a plane ride away." Johanna says. They enjoy their dinner before driving their parents to the airport. Kate feels the tears settle in when she hugs her mother, "Take care of yourself, baby." Johanna whispers in her ear, "I will. Thank you, for everything." Kate says. Johanna kisses her cheek and then pulls away to hug Rick and hold her grandson one last time. They all say one last goodbye before Rick, Kate, and Royce get back in the car and watch their parents go inside the airport. Once they've disappeared, Rick puts the car in drive and heads to the apartment. He reaches over and grabs her hand, "Everything's gonna be okay." He assures her and she nods as she wipes the tears from her cheeks, "I know." She smiles and squeezes his hand.
Part 54! Rick and Kate are on officially on their own!