Finding Love - A Kate & Leo Fanfiction

Chapter 22

Kate's POV

I jumped awake when my phone rang. It was Saturday morning at 4:30. I rubbed my eyes and didn't even look who it was, I just answered. "Hello?" "Hi, Katie.", I heard his lovely voice. I sighed in relief. I was longing to hear that voice for hours. "Leo! I'm so glad to hear your voice.", I said, trying not to wake Bear up. "Did I wake you up?", he asked. "No... well, yes. But that's okay.", I replied, "How was your flight?" "Umm... long and boring.", he said, making me smile a little, "How are you?" "I feel miserable.", I sighed. "Why? What's wrong, Katie?", Leo asked. "I just... miss you so much." My voice was trembling. "Oh, Katie. I miss you too. Don't you cry.", he said, trying his best to comfort me. "Are you still at the airport?", I asked him to change the subject. "I'm on the way to my house.", Leo said. None of us said a word for a few minutes. I just listened to his quiet, even breathing. It calmed me down. "I love you so much.", I whispered with tears in my eyes, "I didn't know love can be that painful. Loving you hurts, Leo. But in a good way." More silence. Then he finally answered: "I love you too. And I don't want you to be hurt." He sighed and continued: "I wish I could be with you right now, to make you feel better." "Me too.", I replied. I heard the car door being opened in the background. "Katie, I have to hang up now. I'll call you in a few hours. You should try to get some more sleep.", he said. I swallowed loudly. "I love you.", I said, waiting for his reply. "I love you, too." The line was silent for a while. Leo finally broke the silence: "Okay I'll call you later." "I love you!", I replied. "I love you, too." Then he hung up. I tried to get some more sleep. And it worked, I fell asleep soon.

I woke up to see Bear next to me. He was smiling at me when I opened my eyes."Good morning, mummy!", he said sweetly. I tried my best to smile back at him. "Good morning, darling.", I said, pecking a kiss at his cheek. "Do you miss uncle Leo, dear?", I asked him, rubbing my eyes. "I do. But you miss him even more, don't you?" He was so cute. He looked at me, his eyes wide open. I put my head back on the pillow and looked at the ceiling. "Well, maybe I do.", I said, trying to hold the tears back. Bear took my hand. "I'm sure he misses you too, mummy. You two have such a special friendship.", he said. I looked at him, smiling a little. Then I sat up and pulled Bear closer. I pecked a kiss on his hair. "I love you, darling.", I whispered and placed my chin on his head. "I love you too, mummy.", he whispered back, "And I wish that one day I'll have such a special friend, too." That made me smile. "I'm sure you will.", I replied, pecking another kiss on the top of his head.

After we had breakfast, my phone rang again. I answered instantly, knowing who it was. "Hi again!", I said happily. "Hey, Katie!", Leo replied, making me smile. Bear looked at me with questioning eyes. "Who is it, mummy?", he whispered. "It's uncle Leo, darling.", I said loudly, I wanted Leo to know I wasn't alone. "Do you feel better now?", Leo asked. I sighed loudly. "A little. But I still miss you loads. And Bear misses you, too!" I could tell he was smiling. "Tell him I miss him, too!", he said. I turned around and looked down at Bear. "Uncle Leo misses you, too!", I told him. He gave me a huge grin. I smiled back at him. I leaned onto the kitchen counter. "Are you very buisy tomorrow?", I asked, hoping for a 'no'. "I am." He sighed. I turned to Bear. "Darling, do you mind if I go outside for a few minutes?" He shook his head. "If you want to talk to uncle Leo in private, that's okay." I smiled at him and whispered a quick "Thank you". Then I took my coat and went outside.
"Okay we're alone now.", I said. It was pretty cold outside. I put my coat on. "Leo, I need you here!", I said, walking up and down in the backyard. "I know. And I wish I could be with you but at the moment it's just impossible.", Leo replied. His words frustrated me. "But there has to be a way!", I said, sobbing, "I need you more than you think! More than I've ever needed someone." Leo sighed. "Katie, baby. I swear if there was anything I could do, I would still be in England." I tried to calm down. "I know. But when you're not around I feel like a piece of me is missing. Why is this so complicated?!", I said, wiping my tears away. Leo didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Leo? Are you still there?", I asked, walking towards the garden swing. I sat down and looked at the clouds. "What? Yeah, sorry.", he replied, "Katie, listen: I'll be back the first chance I get. You just have to be patient. I know one or two months is not a short time. But you have to see the positive side in it. When I'm back we'll have so much time to spend together. And until then we can talk on the phone every day, we can even skype, if you want to." "Skyping would be nice.", I said. "Okay. Then just text me if you want to skype." I nodded, I absolutely forgot he couldn't see me nodding. "Kate?" "Yes! I just... never mind." Leo sighed again. "I want you to know that I miss you at least as much as you miss me! You should go back inside, though. It must be cold in England.", he said. "It is. Okay I'm going back inside. Umm... It's late in LA. You should sleep now.", I replied while walking towards the front door. I opened it to see Bear watching tv. When he saw me, he turned the volume down. "You don't want to be tired tomorrow, do you?", I didn't want our conversation to end like that, but I knew it was best for Leo to go to bed soon. "You're right. I'll call you tomorrow evening, okay?" "You mean in the evening in LA, in the morning here?" I tried to lengthen our conversation. "Exactly! I should hang up now.", Leo said. "I love you.", I replied. "I love you, too.", he said. Then he hung up. I sighed, longing to hear his voice again.

In the evening, Bear sat down on my bed next to me. "Mummy can I sleep here tonight?", he asked giving me that look. He knew I couldn't say no when he looked at me like that. "Of course you can, darling!", I replied, laughing. He lay down, looking at me. "Are you in love with uncle Leo?" I was secretly hoping he would never ask me that question. "Well, uncle Leo and mummy are very close friends, you know? He's a very important person in mummy's life. And maybe we are even more than just friends. I don't even know myself." He smiled. He was so smart and caring. "It's okay. Sometimes I don't know things, too. It's normal.", he said. His words made me smile. "And it would be okay if you and uncle Leo were a couple. I wouldn't mind." My eyes widened. "Really?", I asked, raising one eyebrow. Bear nodded. "I really like uncle Leo, mummy. He has the best bedtime stories to tell." Bear giggled. "You have no idea how happy you make me.", I said, smiling a little. "I love you, mummy.", he said. He took my hand and pecked a kiss on it. "I love you, too.", I replied. I turned the light off. "Goodnight, darling.", I said. Bear groaned. "Goodnight.", he mumbled. I pulled his blanket over his shoulder and lay down.

That was the night I started thinking that everything could be different, if Leo and I were together. Everything could be better. And we would last. I knew we would.