Life, Death, and Time - A Books Of Beginning Collection

Oneshot: A New Year, An Endless Love

Background: Rafe is alive, and with the Wibberlys.

Content: Fluff/Angst/Romance. Serious Kate x Rafe. A reflection on the New Year, the anniversary of the separation, Kate and Rafe's meeting and losing each other, and what the future holds.

Kate sipped a cup of apple cider that Rafe had brought her. Last she had checked, it was nine o'clock. Meaning three hours till midnight. Three hours until a new year that hopefully would be less full of chaos and pain then the old one.

Her parents were watching the countdown on TV with some friends at their house. Their children had been invited, but had declined to come. Spending time with a bunch of adults they didn't really know was not their idea of a good time.

So Kate and Rafe were watching Michael and Emma for the night, drinking cider and watching the snow flurries from the front porch where they were all sitting to get some fresh air. Well, Kate and Rafe were sitting there peacefully. Michael and Emma were arguing.

"You shoved snow in my hair!" Michael yelled. He, indeed, had snow in his hair, which was melting due to his body heat and running down his face, smearing his glasses.

Emma snickered, "oh let it go. You'd do the same to me in a heartbeat and you know it."

"I will not let it go," Michael retorted, "not when I have water dripping down my back and into my jacket. That's not cool Emma."

Emma rolled her eyes, "you're just grouchy cause your girlfriend isn't here to give you a kiss at midnight."

"Wilamena is not my girlfriend!"

"Lie and deny all you want, big brother, but we know the truth!"

"You little-"

"Alright you two, that's enough," Kate called watching the two argue in the snow, "calm down and try to get along or we'll have to go back inside." Michael and Emma grumbled for a moment, but did what their sister said, not wanting to have gotten all bundled up for nothing.

Rafe leaned over to whisper in her ear, "those two never run out of energy, do they?"

Kate sighed, "no, no they do not." But a fond mile crept into her face anyways as she looked at her younger siblings who were now trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. It was nice to see them getting to be young and happy.

She closed her eyes to drink in the peaceful moment - only to find herself getting lost in a memory of another snowy New Year's Eve night. That one had been far more stressful though, not to mention having taken place in New York as a new century rose.

That had been a night. She could still picture it perfectly, from the horrifying revelation about Rafe's destiny that had shaken her world, to the way he came to rescue her from the Dire Magnus and their subsequent dating escape. She remembered the way his hand felt in hers as they dashed across rooftops in the cold and snow.

Rafe put an arm around her and asked, "what are you thinking about?"

Kate looked into his eyes and put the thoughts of the past out of her mind, a smile growing on her face, small but true, "just us."

...............

The night had continued on and now there was less than an hour until midnight. The last of the cider had been drunk and Michael was struggling to stay awake. Emma was 'helping' him do so by whacking him with a pillow whenever he dozed off or pinching his arm if the pillow was not in reach.

Kate just let them have their squabbles, knowing this was just something they did and that they would sort it out. Instead, she found herself slipping back into her memories.