the kennedy's daughter

square one

Christmas Morning 1978

Hyannis Port

Jack helped Kate down the stairs, and onto one of the coaches where all the aunts, uncles, and cousins sat ready to open presents.

Christmas this year was hard for Kate, at this point her pain was almost un- bearable, but seeing the happy face of her father on Christmas morning prevented her from telling him. These days Kate could tell he was always off, he wasn't happy- happy anymore, it just seemed like he trudged on one day at a time.

Kate watched as Rose separated all the children's presents into piles. Jack had already had his daughter's sent over from Washington. But honestly that wasn't really necessary considering every family groups presents where in completely different wrapping paper, but nobody was speaking up therefore she went on with the organizing.

As presents where starting to be ripped open, Jack handed Kate's presents to her one by one as she opened them. As she went to open the last one, Jack's face began to light up. She tore it open to reveal all new gear, from goals to knee pads and cleats. Quickly Kate turned around a hugged her father tightly.

"Thank you daddy!"

"Now we can finally replace those goals from when you where 10"

Kate and Jack's eyes meet as the two started to laugh, which caused Kate a great amount of pain.

-

After the kids cleared out Jack set Kate up in the main room, to watch all the action that was going on without really having to get up. She laid there, listening to the continuous beeping of her pump, watching cousin after cousin go in and out. As the room went quite, meaning nobody was present
she started to drift back to sleep.

-

A couple of hours later, Kate was still fast asleep, her pump started beeping, meaning it was done. Both Bobby and Jack heard it, but Bobby jumped up in front of his brother

"Hey I'll do it, remember I know how to do it!" He said laughing

"Ok Bobby, whatever, you do it" Jack said walking out onto the back patio smiling

Therefore Bobby walked on into the main room where his niece laid, surprisingly still asleep. Therefore he tried his best to not wake her up as he lifted up her, actually new blanket. But when he did so, he found his niece's nightgown covered in blood. Immediately he started to wake her up, shaking and yelling at her.

"Kate?! Hold on I'm going to get Jack, hold on" He said running out of the main room and out onto the patio, where Jack sat laughing with Teddy and Rose

"Bobby what the hell is wrong with you?" He asked laughing

"Jack somethings wrong with Katie"

In that moment Jack stormed past Bobby and into the main room.

"Kate?!" Quickly he unhooked her feed and started hitting her cheeks to get her to wake up.

"Bobby, I've got gauze pads in her medical bag beside my bed go get them"

"And HURRY!" He yelled as his brother ran up the stairs quickly

"Jack?" Rose stood at the doorway

"Kate, Hey, Kate, please wake up, don't leave me like your mother, please just wake up, please" He began to cry

Bobby ran back in, to see Rose standing at the doorway, probably just as white as a ghost.

"Mom everything is okay, go back outside, Jack has this" He said blocking her view

"Bobby there is no damn time to comfort, give me the gauze pads, before she wakes up"

"Jack.... what are you going to do?" Bobby asked as his eyes got huge

"I'm taking this damn thing out, I know how, but if you don't give me the damn things now where both going to have to hear my daughter, your niece, scream bloody murder, cause this is going to hurt like hell"

"Okay, okay"

"Daddy?"

"Shit" Bobby whispered under his breath

"Hey Katie, I love you so so much, but this- this is about to hurt like hell"

As he pulled it out, Kate screamed and screamed intill tears came streaming down. Once it was packed and stopped the bleeding, he picked her up and held her tightly in his arms on the couch.

-

After a long time in the arms of her father, he took her into the hospital where they gave her a blood transfusion. But because of the small hospital and no access to her records they couldn't replace the g-tube. So intill New Years Kate was tube less, and pain free.

She ran and played with her cousins, tackled in football without having to fall to a side. Jack had never seen her so happy, but her continuous smile made him so happy. But of course they had to go home, face reality, that the tube had to go back in. And that's what they did, the following Tuesday after they got home the tube was replaced.

And they started back at square one.