'Twas The Night Before... Ch. 02

Still... She ached, remembering the look of joy and relief on Kathryn's face this morning in the courtroom. She'd wanted to talk to her afterwards, but once the judge had denied the custody petition, it turned out she hadn't been ready to face her.

She went into the tiny kitchen in the back. "Hey Julio, hanging in there, mijo?" she asked her cook.

"Busy night, hermana" he said, sweating over the grill. "Whatcha got?"

She set her order slips in the clip above the food window. "Table six, chicken nachos, fried cheese and two dozen wings, extra hot. Couple on the bar top, two bacon burgers, both medium with the works and fries."

"You're killing me, Megs," he said good-naturedly, as he set two cheesesteaks, the plates piled high with fries, in the window for her to take.

She went back out of the kitchen, delivering the sandwiches to one of the tables, then checked her customers along the bar top again. Everyone was okay on drinks, so she bent over the sink and started washing dirty glasses trying to catch up on her side work. She sensed someone approach the bar across from her.

"What can I get you?" she asked, without looking up from the sink.

"A second chance," she heard a voice say.

She jerked her head up to find Kathryn standing across the bar from her, biting her lip, with a pensive look on her face.

"Kat," Megan said, stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"Megan, I'm so sorry. I need to... I have to apologize."

Megan stared at her, her face turning hard as she remembered Kathryn's words to her.

"I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose Cait. I thought..."

"Kat..." Megan said, sighing and looking away. "Maybe we should just cut our losses."

"No Megan, no, please..." A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry, I was wrong to push you away."

Megan leaned forward and kept her voice down, checking to see if any nearby customers were eavesdropping. "Kat, you're clearly not ready to accept who you are yet. If you were, your first thought when this shit went down wouldn't have been to throw me away as if I was a liability to you. I wanted us to be a family. I wanted to fight for you. You just saw me as the lesbian that Amanda could use against you."

"You're right, I did. And I was wrong! I did because I was scared, but I've never been more wrong in my life. I wanted us to be a family too, I still want that! Please, give me another chance!"

Megan didn't say anything, she just leaned down and started washing glasses again.

"Why would you do all that work on my case and get MJ to come represent me if you didn't want to be with us?" Kathryn asked.

"Because I love Caitlyn and I didn't want her to lose her mom!" she said in a hard voice, "The fact you'd even ask me that..." She looked up and said, "How do I know next time you get embarrassed that you're with a girl you won't ditch me again, huh?"

"What do you need, Megan? How can I show you how much I want us to be together? How much you mean to me?"

"Nothing comes immediately to mind," Megan said, folding her arms and looking away. "Hang on, I have to help these guys."

She went down to the end of the bar where a couple had just sat down. They ordered a pitcher of beer. Megan pulled two glasses out of the freezer and set them on the bar then started filling a pitcher from the tap, her mind racing. What did I need from Kat? Was there anything that can fix—

"Hey!"

Megan jumped, almost dropping the pitcher, as Kathryn's shout rang out through the bar. She spun her head to see Kathryn standing on top of the bar, looking down at her.

"Everyone shut up!" she yelled again. The crowded bar fell silent except for the music of the sound system. Dozens of pairs of eyes were on Kathryn as she stood over everyone. Julio came through the door from the kitchen and opened his mouth to yell at Kathryn, but Megan caught his eye and shook her head.

"Kat, what the hell?" she hissed.

"I want everyone to hear this!" She looked around the room as she pointed at Megan. "See that woman there? I love her! I may have screwed up one of the best things that's ever come along in my life, but I just want you all to know, everyone here, that I love her! She's smart, she's beautiful, she's sexy, she's funny, and she loves my little girl like she was her own! She's as good a mom to my daughter as I am, and Cait thinks the world of her, and she asks me every day when her Mom-Megs is coming back and all I can tell her is that I hope it's soon!" Tears had started running down her cheeks as she turned back to Megan. "Megan, I love you, and I don't care who knows it. I want everyone to know it. As long as you know it too."

"Kat, I—Shit!" she exclaimed, as the pitcher she'd been filling overflowed, covering her hand with beer foam. She shut off the tap, shaking her dripping hand off while she reached for a bar towel. She wiped her fingers as she walked towards Kathryn. "I don't... I don't know what to say." She was acutely conscious that everyone in the room was looking at her.

"I don't care, Megs. You don't owe me anything. I just needed to say it. I needed you to hear it. I needed to tell you that I was wrong and I'm sorry. And that I love you."

Nobody in the bar moved. Megan looked up at Kathryn for what seemed like an eternity. Then she dropped the towel, put her foot on the edge of the ice bin, jumped up onto the bar and crushed Kathryn in an embrace as the bar exploded into hoots and cheers.

Kathryn, buried her face in Megan's hair and whispered in her ear, "Megs... I still can't tell you if I'm one hundred percent heterosexual or homosexual or bisexual or what, but I know one thing for certain."

"What's that Kitty-Kat?"

Kathryn pulled away just enough that she could look Megan in the eyes. "I'm a hundred percent Megan-sexual."

Megan laughed, and then kissed her.

"Hey, Megs!" Eddie yelled at her as the crowd started to settle down.

"What?" Megan turned her head toward him without letting go of Kathryn.

He pointed down at Megan's canvas high tops on the bar, trying to hold back a laugh. "Use a coaster for Chrissake. How many times do we have to tell you?"

~~ Epilogue - Potomac, Virginia, May ~~

They couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was a sunny and warm spring afternoon, with the lightest breeze blowing, the wind ruffling Megan's shaggy hair as it blew through the nature preserve that overlooked the Potomac River.

"I still can't believe how beautiful you look," Megan whispered, out of the corner of her mouth.

"Focus, Megs," Kathryn whispered back nervously.

Their officiant smiled at both of them before continuing to read from the small book she held.

"A family is a work of art, built by two artists working together with a common vision. Megan, Kathryn, you have brought the pieces of your work of art that is to be your family together, and today you are joining those pieces with the bonds of love."

Kathryn sniffed, and dabbed at her eye with the silk handkerchief she was holding in her free hand, clutching a small bouquet of red tulips in her other. Her long, white silk dress shone in the sun. Megan, resplendent in a matching dress and holding a matching bouquet, smiled at her. Caitlyn stood between them holding a single red tulip, in a pretty white lace dress of her own, complete with pink silk ribbons in her hair and gleaming white patent leather shoes.

"Do you, Kathryn Alice Hayden, take Megan Renée Winerock to be your wife, to love, cherish and support, so long as you both shall live?" the officiant asked.

"I do," Kathryn said, the slightest quiver in her voice.

"And do you, Megan Renée Winerock, take Kathryn Alice Hayden to be your wife, to love, cherish and support, so long as you both shall live?"

"You bet I do, Kitty-Kat!" Megan said with enthusiasm, bringing a soft chorus of laughter from the crowd of friends and family looking on.

"And do you, Megan Renée Winerock, take Caitlyn Alice Hayden, to be your daughter, to love, cherish and support, as though born of your body, so long as you both shall live?"

Megan looked down at Caitlyn and they beamed at each other. "I do, for the rest of my life Pumpkin." She'd signed the adoption papers earlier that morning with Steve's blessing.

"And do you, Caitlyn Alice Hayden, accept Megan Renée Winerock to be your mother, to love and cherish her always?"

"She's my Mom-Megs!" Caitlyn exclaimed, to more laughter.

"Then by the powers vested in me by the state of Virginia, I declare you lawful spouses, and family. Ladies and gentlemen, may I be the first to present, Mrs. Kathryn Hayden, Mrs. Megan Winerock and their daughter, Caitlyn Hayden!"

The onlookers erupted into applause and cheers as Megan stepped forward to kiss Kathryn, then leaned over to scoop up Caitlyn in her arms so the three could share a hug.

"I'll love you always, Megs," Kathryn said, through tears.

"Back atcha, Kitty-Kat," Megan said, then leaned forward to kiss her bride again.

Caitlyn giggled, then chanted, "Mommy and Mom-Megs sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

The End

Here endeth this story of Cait, Kat and Megs. Thank you for reading, friend. This might be my favorite thing I've ever written, and I hope you had half as much fun reading it as I did while writing it.

If you are hungering for more of Kat and Megs, and you haven't read my series Wheels In Motion, there's a lot of juicy flavor of these characters I've left for you there, so go check it out if you are hankering for another glimpse of their little family.

Kathryn and Caitlyn's cram-berry relish

1 bag of cranberries

1 large apple

1 large orange

1 cup of sugar

1 small box of raspberry Jell-O

Quarter and seed the apple and orange. Finely chop the apple, orange and cranberries in a food processor (with the peels!)

Thoroughly mix the sugar into the fruit in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight (Kat was running behind.)

Mix the Jell-O powder with one (1) cup of boiling water and stir until dissolved. Thoroughly mix liquid Jell-O into the fruit. Re-cover, and refrigerate 4-6 hours.

Enjoy! Shout out to my grandma for the recipe!