DRAKE

Our return to San Francisco was melancholy.

Despite both of us keeping busy adjusting back into the familiar rhythm of life there, I think both Kate and I missed Manhattan more than we realized. I liked the California weather and Kate liked her studio in the downtown area but we both agreed that Liam was a priority. When he returned to Manhattan after the summer ended and he would go to live with Brenda in Manhattan, we would as well.

For our remaining time in California, I spent my most of my days and nights with Sophie and Kate since I no longer worked at UCSF, although I made time to pop in and see how my mother was doing. She never recognized me. I suspected that she thought I was Liam, her former husband, if she thought anything at all. It upset me, but I had to accept that there was nothing to be done about it.

I did see Kent and Amanda frequently at the nursing home and we invited both their families to our place for dinner, getting to meet their spouses and children and establish a relationship with them that I hoped would last for the rest of our lives. I would be sad to say goodbye to them when we left, but at the same time, I had to prioritize Liam. His needs for a stable home and to know his father were primary.

On her part, Kate spent more time at her new studio, and for a while, we kept busy but no matter how nice the weather or our view of the ocean, the house on the coast wasn't home. For the next two months, we spent our time alternating between Ethan and Elaine's for dinner, or dinner with my new siblings at the family house.

Our stay in California had been like an extended vacation – filled with excitement because everything was new and the weather was fantastic – but it wasn't home. Until we returned to Manhattan, I had pretty much free access to Liam and he spent a lot of time with us on the beach on the weekends. Brenda was only too happy to allow a sleepover or two and so Liam became used to being around us and was starting to feel more at home.

Of course, we also spent time with Ethan and Elaine. Kate helped Ethan work with realtors back in Manhattan to find the perfect place for he and Elaine to buy. It took some convincing to get Ethan to agree to sell the penthouse, but neither Kate nor Heath wanted it, and so in the end, Ethan decided to list the apartment and find a smaller, more accessible townhouse in Brooklyn. He didn’t want to be apart from Kate or Heath and our two families for more than a month or two at a time. Ethan and Elaine would take the winters off and spend January and February away but they would return for the warmer weather starting in late March so we could all be together as a big happy family.

Finally, the week came when Liam was finished with school. He and Brenda were flying to Malaysia for a week and then he'd fly back with Brenda to stay in Manhattan. Preparations were underway for our own move back to New York and we were busy boxing up our things so movers could come and take them away.

We had one last big dinner at Ethan's and Elaine's place, the night before our flights back to Manhattan. We arranged things so that we took our flights out of San Francisco at the same time as Brenda and Liam and would meet up with them for a quick visit before their flight.

I could feel that Kate was emotional all that day before we left, and several times, I had to take her in my arms and comfort her. Ethan and Elaine weren't returning for a few weeks due to the timing of their possession date for their new house in Brooklyn. Kate had been hoping that we would all leave at the same time but that hadn’t worked out so it would be a temporary goodbye to her father.

Kate hated goodbyes.

We stood in the middle of the living room, boxes of our possessions stacked around us, packing paper crumpled up, a tape dispenser at the ready.

"What are you so afraid of?" I asked, stroking her hair. "Ethan and Elaine will be following us in two weeks. They'll be fine until then. Elaine has everything in hand."

Kate nodded and tucked her face into my shoulder, her arms tightening around me.

"I know. It's just that you never know when it will be the last time you see someone."

"Ethan's fine," I said and rocked her in my arms. "He's healthy enough, all things considered. He's not weak so you don't have to worry."

"I'm trying," she said. "I always expect the worst."

"I understand," I replied and kissed her tenderly. "It's the PTSD. It'll get better with time."

She sighed and we stood like that for a few moments, enjoying the moment. Outside the window, I could see San Francisco bay. I'd miss the view but we could always come out for a visit.

We ended the embrace when sounds of Sophie grousing in her crib came over the baby monitor.

"She's awake," Kate said and slipped out of my arms. "I better get her."

I let go and watched as Kate went to Sophie's bedroom. Then, I returned to packing, slipping a few of our dishes into a box and stuffing paper around them. The movers were coming in the afternoon and the cleaners were coming the next morning to clean the place before our rental agent took back possession. We'd be staying at Ethan and Elaine's for the night and then would go directly to the airport to take our plane to Manhattan once we turned our keys over to our rental agent.

Kate returned with Sophie and we spent the rest of the morning finishing up our packing. Sophie played in the living room, where we'd boxed her off in the center of the room so she couldn't hurt herself. The movers came an hour late, and packed up the truck with our boxes and the few items we'd purchased for the house that we wanted to take with us. By the time five thirty came around, the packing was done and so we did one last check of the house and drove to Ethan and Elaine's for the night, our suitcases in the trunk.

After a last walk on the beach, during which time Kate took pictures of the surf and of Sophie and me walking along in the water, we went up to the house for dinner, which was a somber affair for Kate. I enjoyed Ethan as I usually did, appreciating his dry wit, but Kate was upset at having to say goodbye for even two weeks. At least she knew they'd be following us and arriving not long after. We'd be a big happy family once more when they returned to Manhattan and Liam arrived back from his visit with Chris and his mother in Malaysia.

When we put Sophie down for the night, we spent an hour going over plans with Ethan and Elaine, and then all of us went to bed, because we had a busy day.

Kate finally crawled in beside me after brushing her teeth, cuddling up against me, her arm across my chest.

"I'm so sad," she said and gave me a pout. "I thought I'd be so happy to be leaving, but now I wish we had more time. I barely got to know your new family. Now, we'll only see them on holidays."

"We can always fly out for a weekend, if you want. Any time."

"I know. I just wish we could all be together in one place."

I kissed her forehead and thought about my new family and how I enjoyed talking with my brother and sister and visiting my mother, even if she had no idea who I was. I felt like there was this special hole in my life where they were supposed to be all this time, but I'd been filling that hole with other stuff – work and music and the foundation and the corporation. Now, that hole was starting to feel like I'd found what fit perfectly inside. My mother hadn’t abandoned me. She saved her own life by moving away and finding a new one. She always loved me but couldn’t look after me because of her depression. When she finally got over it, she had a new life that didn’t include me out of shame and guilt.

But she did love me. Before she lost her mind, she told her second family of her regret and how she wanted them to meet me one day.

I squeezed Kate and tried to shut off my brain but it was hard. After more than half an hour of lying awake, my eyes open, Kate rolled over and slipped her arm around my neck.

"You still awake?"

I nodded. "Yes. Can't seem to fall asleep."

She moved closer, and draped one leg over mine. "I know what will help."

Then she kissed me, rolling me over onto my back and lying on top of me. The kiss deepened and I ran my hands down her back to her buttocks.

"And what is that exactly, Mrs. Morgan?" I asked in mock innocence.

"I'm going to make love to you. I've heard that when men have an orgasm, it puts them to sleep. I'm going to test it out."

I smiled in the darkness. "An experiment? Haven't we tried this remedy before?"

She kissed me, one hand moving down my body to grasp hold of my rapidly thickening cock.

"You need to test and retest before you can draw any real conclusions."

When I opened my mouth to reply, she covered it with hers and shut me up.

There were no more words spoken between us except for gasps of pleasure.

The morning went fast as we woke and had breakfast on the patio one last time with Ethan and Elaine before we left for our old place to turn in our keys. Elaine and Kate cooked up a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried potatoes and toast. The five of us sat at the big table and ate al fresco, shaded from the warm sun by a large umbrella.

After we cleaned up, I packed up the rental car and we said goodbye, hugging and kissing Ethan and Elaine before we left.

"We'll be joining you in two weeks," Ethan said when he saw tears in Kate's eyes. "You'll pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel for a few nights until we take possession of the house. We'll Skype any time you want. The time will go by so fast, before you know it, we'll be back home."

"I know," Kate said and kissed Ethan once more before giving Elaine a hug and kiss.

We fastened Sophia in the car seat and then the two of us got in the car. Ethan and Elaine waved at us as we backed out of the driveway and turned around.

When we got back onto the main coastal highway, I took Kate's hand and kissed her knuckles because I knew she was still upset.

"Everything will be fine," I said. "Ethan was right. We'll be so busy getting settled back in that we'll barely notice the time passing. You'll see."

"I know," she replied and turned to watch the highway as we drove to the house. The rental agent was there when we arrived. I did one last walk through with him.

"We really enjoyed the house," I said as I handed over the keys.

"Contact me if you want to come back. Any time."

I nodded and we shook before I returned to the car. I took one last look at the house and yard, catching sight of the beach through a gap in the hedge. We'd had a lot of enjoyable times on the beach and at the house. I expected we would return at some point for a month or so when we had time and hoped that we'd find another place like it.

Then, I hopped in the car and we returned to the highway. We drove to the airport where we'd meet Brenda and Liam and say goodbye to them before we each took our respective planes. I let Kate and Sophia off at one entrance, and after getting a cart to carry our luggage, I dropped off the rental car and made my way back to where Kate waited for me.

Together, we walked to the United lounge where we'd arranged to meet Brenda and Liam for a brief visit before our flight.

There they were, sitting at a table for four people beside the window overlooking the tarmac outside, where a plane was being boarded. I reached into one of the carryon bags and removed a small wrapped toy I bought for Liam the previous day. I wanted Sophie to give it to him before they left so he'd have something from her to remember her while on his trip to Malaysia. I placed it in Sophie's hands as we arrived at the table.

"Drake! Kate!" Brenda said and stood up, coming to us to give us both a hug. "There's little Sophie." She bent down and stroked Sophie's cheek. "Come and say hello to your father," she said to Liam.

Liam stood and came over to me like a well-behaved boy. "Hello Father," he said to me.

I knelt and opened my arms for a hug. "Hello, Liam," I replied. He came into my arms and I gave him a quick hug. He laid his head on my shoulder briefly and then pulled back.

I pointed at the present that Sophie was holding, and who looked like she was going to pop it into her mouth at any moment.

"That's a present for you," I said and Liam turned to check it out.

"That's for me?" Liam asked, hesitant but eager at the same time.

"Yes," I said and gently removed it from Sophie's hand. "Sophie doesn't understand the idea of giving a present yet, but it's for you from your sister."

I handed it to Liam, who took it and smiled. 'Thanks, Sophia! I have something for you, too."

He went to his backpack and pulled out an unwrapped toy. It was another minion.

"You can have this. You can put it in your mouth. Grandma washed it so it's clean."

"Why thank you, Liam," I said and rubbed his head affectionately. "I'm sure Sophie will love it."

On her part, Sophie happily took the minion from Liam's hands and it went directly into her mouth as expected.

We sat at the table and watched as Liam unwrapped his present.

"It's another transformer," Liam said brightly, holding up the package with the transformer inside. "It's Drift." He examined the transformer. "He transforms into a Mercedes."

I helped him open the package and he proceeded to transform it into its different forms while we had a nice time talking with Brenda about their trip to Malaysia.

"We're on United Airlines and make one stop in Hong Kong before our flight to Kuala Lumpur," she said.

"It's a long flight."

She nodded. "Liam has a Gameboy and has become a big fan of Legends of Zelda. He's got three different versions of the game from a used game store plus several comic books. I think we'll be okay."

"Good," I said and watched Liam, hungry to see him for as long as I could before they left to catch their flight. "We're boarding after you so we can spend some more time together before you go."

When the time came to say goodbye, we walked them to security. After a hug, which lasted longer than I intended, I waved as they went out of sight.

"Well, that's it. Now, it's our turn."

I hugged Kate, feeling quite emotional seeing Liam off and knowing it would be the first time he'd seen his mom in over a month. Part of me hated Maureen for leaving Liam with Brenda. My own mother left me when I was older than Liam. I had forgiven her, now that I met her again and realized that she'd felt she couldn't do anything different and that she had been ready to end her own life. At least I could understand what Liam was going through. And I was determined to be a parent to him, no matter what.

We checked in through security and went to the waiting area outside our own gate. I held Sophie on my knee and the two of us watched out the window at the planes landing and taking off. I saw one United plane and while I wasn't sure it was Liam's flight, I imagined it was him and he was smiling as the plane took off, the transformer clutched tightly in his hand.

After we boarded our own flight, we took our first-class seats. Sophie had a seat beside Kate and I sat across the aisle beside her. I would have liked to have sat beside Kate because she was still nervous on airplanes, but with Sophie beside her, Kate put on a brave face and was generally distracted by having her baby with her.

After takeoff, once we were leveled off and the fasten seatbelt signs flickered off, I went to them and leaned over, looking out the window at the passing scenery. I glanced at Kate, who was gripping the arm rests tightly. She gave me a smile, but I could see it was nervous.

"Only a few hours and we have our layover in Denver," I said with a smile. She nodded and turned back to the window. I handed Sophie her minion and then sat back down, watching the two of them and thinking about the upcoming couple of months back in Manhattan.

The Richardson murder trial would be going on and that would be in the news. It would put a damper on any of my plans to try to win shared custody of Liam, but at least I'd be close to him. I could spend time visiting him at Brenda's and he could have sleepovers at our place on weekends.

Once the murder trial was over and the publicity surrounding it had died down?

I'd be going to court to get shared custody. Then, I'd be converting the spare bedroom at our apartment on 8^th Avenue into Liam's bedroom. Until Maureen returned to Manhattan or California to live, I was determined that Liam would live with me and Kate and Sophie during the week, and visit his grandmother on weekends. As his biological father, I had every right to that if Maureen was going to spend most of her time in Malaysia. I'm sure a judge would look at my current circumstances rather than my past and decide on that basis rather than on salacious gossip about my sex life before I was married.

I hoped that was the case.

The hours passed quickly, and Sophie was a good traveler for the most part, falling asleep soon after we took off at her usual nap time. I moved her seat and sat beside Kate while Sophie slept, our hands clasped as we watched the clouds outside and talked about our plans for getting settled into our apartment once we were back.

"You'll be able to take up with Mersey again," Kate said and leaned her head back, watching me intently. "You should keep playing with them. Once everything is cleared up with the trial, you could go back and finish your fellowship if you wanted."

I kissed her knuckles. "I do want. I was thinking maybe in the new year."

She smiled. "Whenever you feel ready. We should take the next few months off from any stresses and just focus on enjoying our time back in Manhattan. Liam will be starting school and I'll find a studio and finish my new series."

"Sounds perfect."

Our layover in Denver was very short and we had little time except to find our way to our other gate and board our plane. Then, after a meal and time holding Sophie on our laps, we landed in New York, the bright lights of the city at night sparkling like a million diamonds.

As our plane touched down, I held Kate's hand across the aisle. She always closed her eyes until the sound of the reversed engines softened and she knew we had landed safely.

I smiled when she finally opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Well, Mrs. Morgan, we're finally home."

"We are," she said and met my gaze.

As we taxied to the terminal, I pulled her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

We were home and I looked forward to the coming year – a year of change but a year that I knew would be filled with family, friends and most of all, with love.

THE END