Stay With Me - A KathNiel Story

Chapter 60 (Finale)

Karla and Rommel's eyes were wide when they saw a police car drive away from Kath and DJ's house as they were themselves pulling up into the driveway.

"Oh, no..." Karla breathed, Rommel getting out of the car instantly and Karla was right behind them. They rushed up the path to the front door, not bothering to knock. Their worst fear was that something had happened to Camille, so the relief they felt when they saw her in DJ's arms as he came out of the kitchen was unreal. They held onto each other's arms as if it were the only thing keeping them standing. "We saw the police," Karla said and DJ nodded his head, leading the way into the living room where he let Kath take Camille back. She was sat on the couch with her feet up, her eyes red and swollen from crying but her face lit up around her daughter.

"I bumped into Kath's parents at the grocery store," DJ mumbled and Rommel's jaw clenched as Karla's eyes widened, their eyes going to Kath but she couldn't even look up from Camille. She knew she'd burst into tears if she looked away from her baby girl.

"What?" Rommel choked out through his rising protectiveness.

"They came over to me, begging me to talk to them... I basically told them where they can shove themselves and I came home, but they must have followed me here." DJ said and Kath kissed Camille's head, her baby girl laying her head against Kath's chest and closing her eyes - the police arriving had woken her up and it had taken her a while to settle down again, so it was a relief that she was calming down enough to sleep. DJ knew the fact that Camille was calm also meant that Kath was finally starting to calm down too, since as Camille would pick up on it if Kath was unsettled.

"Teddy lied to me to get me to let them stay... said he was dying of cancer," Kath mumbled, but she let the smallest ghost of a smile come to her lips when she felt Karla kiss the top of her head. "We called the police and they're arranging a restraining order - I don't want to think about them anymore. My baby girl is home, she's not even a day old yet and I want to celebrate her." Kath breathed.

"And that's exactly what we're going to do," Karla assured her, leaning down and kissing Kath's head and Rommel did the same.

"Oh! Shit, I forgot your surprise in the car!" DJ exclaimed, rushing out of the house and Kath's eyebrows creased in confusion but she couldn't help but grin as DJ came back into the living room a minute later with a large box of diapers that he dropped on the floor but he held out what was supposed to be the dessert. "It was once an ice cream cake, I swear... your favorite," DJ said with an embarrassed smile since as he'd let it get ruined in the trunk of his car but his smile grew when he saw Kath's grin.

"It's the thought that counts." Kath comforted him. "You're gonna have to bend down to kiss me, I'm being used as a pillow for your daughter right now." Kath reminded him and DJ chuckled, leaning down and connecting their lips.

"I'll get you a ring soon, I promise... design your dream ring and we'll get it made," DJ said and Kath couldn't help but laugh breathlessly, shaking her head.

"I never thought about those things to have a dream ring... I don't own any jewelry to compare it to... surprise me." She whispered, smiling with DJ as he kissed her again before he kissed Camille's head, the baby girl sound asleep against her Mom.

It was just over two hours later when the whole family has sat around on the couches in DJ and Kath's living room eating dinner that Karla had cooked, saving DJ and Kath from having to cook and they'd have leftovers for a few days - it gave them time to settle with Camille without having to worry about cooking. Kath couldn't help but smile as she looked around everybody, who less than a year ago were all complete strangers to her. She never expected her life to change so quickly and so completely, but she was beyond grateful that it had. She had a Mom and a Dad who loved her and who she loved in return, she had a sister she adored and she loved Marco like a brother. She was engaged to the one man she knew would always stick by her, who'd seen her at her worst and was yet to see her at her very best. They shared a daughter together, a beautiful, tiny little girl who relied on everybody in that room to help raise her right and as Kath just watched in contented silence, listening to the laughter and the teasing that they were all sharing together... she knew she couldn't have ever asked for a better family.

She finally found the one place she belonged, and nothing else mattered.

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