Because Purple EXTRAS - more Ed & Kate!

Home - part 2 of 2

(A/N - this is part 2 of a 2-part story.  Be sure to read part 1 first - Hospital!)

12 Days Post-Surgery...

"...he's been here, right?"

"Mm-hmm..." Nathan sounded distracted - probably on his Nintendo.

I couldn't see them - but was only feet away from the door to Nathan's room. I'd been about to bring him some laundry, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard the tail end of what Lucy was saying. They were both there, but they couldn't see me.

"Nate," she sounded almost like a teacher or a parent trying to get the attention of a daydreaming child.

"Hold on! What? Yeah...it's been fine, I guess. He's helping Mom a lot. And I don't think she's sick of him," he chuckled.

I couldn't see them, but I guessed that Lu was smirking and nodding her head.

"Sooo, what if he stays?" Lucy's voice was very soft.

"Huh?"

"What if he...just stays here?"

"What do you mean...like, for good?"

She didn't voice a reply, but I could just imagine her shrugging and nodding.

Nate made a vague grunt of acknowledgement. "But he doesn't even, like, live in this country, right?"

"Well, he's basically been here for the past few months, right? Maybe he could stay."

"In our house?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"Oh...hmm. Yeah, I guess it's already been a while..."

I started to feel like I really shouldn't have been listening to their private conversation. But I really wanted to know what they thought about Ed possibly staying. Because that thought had definitely crossed my mind lately, too. Often.

Everything they'd said was accurate. We'd basically been together since he flew in the week before our Mexico/Grammys trip. Everything went to shit after that trip, thanks to me, and instead of going back home like he'd originally planned, he stayed, and we took our time to work through everything. THANK GOD. After all of that, it seemed like a terrible idea for him to go back to London. So he didn't, and kept his room at the Carleton Hotel.

But then my surgery happened. He checked out of the hotel and stayed with us, caring for me and helping run the household smoothly. He slept with me in my room. We didn't mention that arrangement to the kids, but neither did we try to hide it. It just...was.

I quietly backtracked down the hallway to the stairs, and retreated back down to the kitchen. Nate's laundry could wait, and so could I, I guess.

The Following Evening

I'd finally had my sutures removed. My first post-op visit was earlier that day, and my doctor gave me the go-ahead to resume light exercise, and said I could start building up from walking to running, again, as well as any other activities, provided I felt comfortable doing them.

Overall, I felt pretty good - I was barely sore at all. The incisions were healing nicely, although they left 3 more scars on my already marked-up belly.

Over that week, Ed and I had got in the habit of walking after dinner. It was a great way to get some exercise, even when I was limited, and it gave us an opportunity to just be together. Sometimes we talked, but sometimes we were just quiet, and that was nice, too. Our walk that particular evening had started out more quiet than talkative, but then I had an idea.