"Please slow down, boys!" Katie hollered as she and Charlotte walked at a leisurely pace behind Sam and Nat.
They were walking along a trail into a local park, joggers and dog walkers passing by. They'd gone out for some exercise after a minor surgical setback for Charlotte during the three weeks since she'd been discharged. Her wound hadn't been healing well and an ill timed nasty cold and ear infection set her back greatly. Without her spleen she had a hard time fighting the virus as easily as she normally would, all minor illnesses were anything but minor now.
"I gotta 'em," Angel said. He jogged up ahead and wrangled the boys, tossing Sammy up on his shoulders as he and Nat strolled back to keep step with the girls. "They're babies, they wobble but they're fast."
"Thank you," she smirked.
"Anything," he winked. "How you doin' Charles?"
Charlie laughed at his most recent nickname for her. "I'm okay. Just wanna be totally better."
"I know and you will, I promise." Katie kissed her daughter's cheek. Noticing a bench a few feet away, Katie led her children toward it. "Let's sit," she said.
On the far end of the bench Charlie and Nat were laughing as she tried to help him with some childish rhyming game while Katie and Angel sat close, Sammy still on his shoulders.
"This is nice," he remarked.
"It is," she beamed. "Thank you for your help, we couldn't have done all this down here without you."
"I love it," he said dismissively. "Don't gotta thank me. You get ahold of him?"
"No," she said coolly. "I talked to Gemma though. There's been no vote on Jax yet, I guess they're waiting for him to fully recover or some shit. I think Ope and Chibs are basically running shit though."
Angel nodded as she spoke. "She talk to him?"
"You're really interested in Happy, aren't you?"
"No," he laughed. "I'm interested in you, Kate."
"Are you doing this to get laid?" She asked him flat out.
"No," Angel said defensively. "I love you, I love Charlotte and Nat and Sammy too. I think you deserve more and I wanna be the one to give it to you." With one hand holding Sam, the other reaching for Katie, he kissed her for the first time since she left him almost a year before. Katie leaned in, a split second lapse in judgement, before pulling back.
"I'm not...ok...right now," she admitted. "Charlotte was really sick, her immune system is shit now and that cold scared the fuck outta me. I worried about Happy, where he is, how he is, my boys are confused, they miss their father and I miss him too. Jumping into anything right now wouldn't be fair to you Angel and it could emotionally scar my kids. I love you and part of me wishes we met at a different time so we could be together but we didn't and I don't know if we ever can."
Katie hesitated, not wanting to break down in public, and gave his hand a squeeze.
"I didn't mean to upset you, mi dulce."
"I know and I'm not using you or trying to lead you."
He nodded and let her hand go. "I know."
Katie sighed and looked away from him, her hand kneading the knot in her neck. "Maybe we should put some space here."
"That what you want?" He asked her sadly.
"I don't know," she said again. "I know Charlie loves you," she whispered. "When we left she missed you, it was hard for her to adjust. She latched on so quickly and so deeply, I hated seeing her miss you like that and now, after all this shit, you've been so constant for her. She, you've saved her life twice now, basically."
