Walter stepped out of the Section One black van and ran into the hospital. It was not a crowded hospital, like those in the city or even Medlab. Walter looked around at the warm colors and moved to the desk marked "INFORMATION" . Walter looked at the volunteer at the desk and tapped at the desk. The lady looked up and smiled at Walter.

"Hello." The woman said brightly and Walter blinked. He never remembered hospitals being so warm and nice. They were always sterile, like Medlab was still like.

"I am looking for someone." Walter says and the lady laughs politely.

"A patient?" The woman asks and Walter nods his head as he watches doctors and nurses walking across the lobby in a friendly conversation. Walter shook his head and looked back to the woman.

"Name?" The woman asks for the third time and Walter licks his lips and swallows.

"Katherine." Walter replies and the woman again laughs politely.

"Last name?" The woman asks and Walter begins to panic. What was Katherine's last name? He couldn't remember. She had used so many. Walter swallows and smiles at the woman.

"Don't you know the last name?" The woman asks and Walter laughs now, nervously.

"Jones." Walter replies as he crosses his fingers behind the desk. He looks around as the woman types the name into the computer. Walter starts to become nervous and looks at the girl. She looks up with a smile.

"I can't believe it. We have three Katherine Jones here. Do you have an address?" The woman asks and Walter nods his head. He knew the street, but not the exact address. Did it even have a number address.

"Well.. the street is Old Mountain Snow Road." Walter says as he leans over the desk and tries to look at the computer. The woman turns the monitor and Walter leans back down. He couldn't believe how hard it was for him to Katherine.

"Oh.. I know that road. Old Mountain Snow Road has that big fancy hotel on it. You have to pay a couple thousand dollars just to get a tour." The woman says and Walter smiles politely and she looks to the computer screen.

"Our computers are quite old, and slow." The woman say and Walter sighs and looks around. The woman stands up and picks up the phone. Walter looks worried as a security guard walks over towards the desk. The woman smiles and nods him to his side of the desk.

"Joe, I keep on getting an error on this." The woman says and Walter looks to her and Joe shakes his head.

"I know some things about computers." Walter offers and the woman looks at Joe and he shrugs his shoulders.

"They are just plain old, but they aren't going to come back on-line for another hour if you have to reboot." Joe says and the woman allows Walter to come on her side of the desk.

Walter punches a few buttons and smiles at the woman. She smiles back at him and gently rubs his arm. Walter pulls back and turns back to the computer.

"Here is a quick trick. Exit out to this screen, hit your main screen button… double click on the icon…" Walter says and the information pops up. Walter smiles as he quickly sees the information that he needed.

"Your Katherine Jones will be in Room 508. That is the fifth floor, in the right hand corner." The woman says and Walter stands up.

"Thanks for helping me with the computer. I wrote it down." The woman says as she holds up the pad of paper. Walter smiles.

"I hope it works all the time." Walter says and Joe the guard looks to Walter.

"Let me show you where the elevator is." Joe says and starts to lead Walter away.

*

Walter walked down the hallway and looked at the closed door with the room number 508. He stopped and stared at it. Madeline and Birkoff had not been able to gather more information on Katherine's condition, as there was incoming intelligence that was deemed more important.

Was this her last hospital stay? Was it going to be brought to an end so quickly? He felt he fear coursing through his body as he started to slowly walk towards the door.

"Katherine?" Walter asked as he knocked on the door lightly. He leaned his ear against it and he heard nothing. He looked down the hallway in fear and looked around. A nurse was walking towards him.

"She wears her headphones when she is here. Just walk in." The nurse said as she pushed at the door. Walter continued to push at the door and walked slowly in. Katherine's back was towards him, and he did not see any IV lines or anything. It must not have been too bad, unless Katherine was refusing treatment.

"Katherine!" Walter calls out but he gets no response. It is not until he walks underneath the television that she moves suddenly. Her hands fling off the headphones and her face lights up with a smile. Walter looks at Katherine in surprise. She looked better now than she did when he last saw her.

"Walter!" Katherine cries out and Walter looks at her and sits down.

"Are you ok?" Walter asks and Katherine laughs and reaches for a hug.

"Will you hug me! I am just fine!" Katherine says and Walter stands up and hugs Katherine tightly.

"I was so worried." Walter says and Katherine nods her head.

"That was what Madeline told me. She said you flew out of there quickly." Katherine says and Walter's heart begins to speed.

"You talked to Madeline?" Walter asks and Katherine nods her head.

"Very nice lady. Told me that you couldn't even drive yourself, which is plum crazy. They put me on some new drugs.. and I'm out of here tomorrow morning… 9 o'clock sharp." Katherine says and Walter touches her head and looks at her carefully.

"Are you sure?" Walter asks and Katherine broadly laughs.

"I'm not going to stay here because I am going to die in a year. I want to go back to my store and spend sometime with you!" Katherine says and she laughs.

"God.. that Madeline can talk. She seems a bit hyper." Katherine says and Walter swallows. It was Madeline's way to cover her own butt.

"She normally isn't that way." Walter says as he moves the chair closer to Katherine. Madeline didn't tell Katherine about what had happened. Walter could tell. Katherine would have kicked him right on out.

"Well.. she said that you had been stressed out. No reason to stress out about me Walter. I just need some of your time. That's it." Katherine says and Walter forces out a smile.

"Now.. she said you would tell me some good news. What was she talking about?" Katherine says and Walter laughs.

"That would be Michael and Nikita!" Walter says as he broadly laughs out.

"Part of the reason why I was stressed out. Nikita is finally pregnant." Walter says and Katherine claps her hands together.

"So the two of them are expecting a little French toast!" Katherine jokes happily and Walter laughs.

"Yes." Walter says and Katherine nods her head.

"So, how far into the pregnancy is she? Two months?" Katherine asks and Walter takes a long breath.

"She is.. in her fourth month. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Part of the tension. I got mad at her.. and you know Nikita..." Walter says and Katherine laughs.

"Oh, she must have been an emotional river!" Katherine says and Walter nods his head.

*

Walter had not slept that night, as he sat at Katherine's side. She had told Walter to go back to the store, but he would not hear of it. Katherine did not know that Walter sat by her side all night because of the guilt he felt for the night prior. Katherine felt it was a great gesture of love.

That day, Walter was tired as he drove, but he did it either way. He would look at Katherine and turn away quickly. He was constantly reminded of the stupid moment he spent in Madeline's arms. He could not believe he had done it to Katherine and promised himself that Katherine would never find out.

"Walter.. I can walk!" Katherine laughs as Walter scoops her out of the car and starts to walk towards the store. Walter sets her down and unlocks the door. He walks her immediately to the bedroom and sets her down.

"You need to rest. I will take care of the store today." Walter says and Katherine shakes her head and pulls at a notebook.

"Heidi will come and tend to the store, Walter. I want to spend some time with you." Katherine says and Walter pulls out the medicine that the doctor made Walter take care of. It seemed that Katherine's sudden lapse was due to her not taking medication and nothing else.

"You have to take your medicine." Walter says and Katherine shakes her head.

"Walter.. They make me go to sleep for four hours. I want to spend time with you!" Katherine says and Walter smiles and hands her two of the pills. Katherine takes them and then Walter checks her mouth.

"While you are asleep, I will call Heidi and tell her to come in four hours, and I will take care of some business with my boss." Walter says and Katherine smiles and pulls Walter down for a kiss. Walter closes his eyes as he feels the guilt rushing over him again.

"That sounds like a good plan… if it includes calling Nikita and Michael and inviting them up for dinner." Katherine says and Walter smiles.

"Let's see how much time I can get up here, first." Walter says as he looks at Katherine. Yes, he was going to call Nikita, but for another reason. He had to explain things to her before she got too worked up again. Walter wanted to do the explaining before Madeline. Madeline had a tendency to make more out of things than what was really there.

"I sure hope Nikita isn't going to need you constantly!" Katherine laughs and Walter smiles.

"From what I gather, Katherine, it has been an extremely difficult pregnancy. She wasn't even allowed to tell Michael for ten days." Walter says and Katherine shakes her head.

"Why? Where you guys under attack or something?" Katherine asks and Walter laughs.

"An internal attack. Someone took over.. And separated Nikita and Michael. Luckily, Madeline was able to protect Nikita." Walter says and Katherine smiles.

"You know what, Walter, I think I like Madeline." Katherine says and Walter laughs hard.

"That medicine must be taking effect!" Walter says and Katherine shakes at her head and Walter takes her hand.

"I really mean it. I think she is strong." Katherine says and Walter sadly rubs her cheek.

"You are the strong one." Walter says as the store door opens.

"HELLO!!!" an operative yells out and Walter turns and starts towards the door.

"Just a second, Man!" Walter calls out and he looks at Katherine.

"You get some rest. I'll see you soon." Walter says and Katherine blinks her eyes and falls to sleep as Walter goes to tend the store.

*

Walter whistled as he swept the floor of the store. It was amazing how dirty a little store got. He looked as another Section One van pulled up and he moved to the door and opened it.

"What a lovely day!" Walter said as three female operatives step out, all of which, Walter knew. They smiled and jogged up the stairs.

"Walter! What are you doing here?" The first one asked who had a brown bag on her shoulder.

"Sweeping. What does it look like I am doing?" Walter asks and smiles. The three all giggle and spread across the store to do some shopping.

Walter turned as his cell phone rang. He pulled it opened and noticed the girls watching him.

"Hello?" Walter said and turned to the countertop and waited.

"Walter. How is Katherine?" Madeline's firm voice echoed out towards Walter. He almost felt sick at the voice. He knew he felt guilty enough.

"She is home, and resting. Why didn't you tell me that you spoke with her yesterday?" Walter asked and Madeline is heard licking her lips.

"I wasn't causing problems between you and her, Walter. I wanted to see how she was. I truly want you two to be fine until.. Her time…" Madeline said and Walter looked at the operatives who were now gathered together.

"Madeline?" The one in the middle, with short red hair, asked. Walter nodded his head. The girls all grabbed pops and headed outside. Walter was thankful.

"I don't want you calling her. Soon she will want you to come for dinner, and that will be too difficult to handle." Walter said and he looked out the window as the three operatives laughed together.

"I won't. But don't feel guilty, Walter. You may not want to admit it, but you needed to let that tension out." Madeline said and Walter looks down at the countertop.

"No. I think you needed it and you used my condition to your advantage." Walter said sharply and he swallowed.

"How much time do you need?" Madeline asked after some time. She just ignored the stinging comment and continued on.

"I was hoping to be given free reign on this one, Madeline. I don't know how much time I need, and I don't want to feel like I am cutting Katherine short." Walter said and he looked to the bedroom again. Katherine had only been asleep for an hour.

"I will allow that, but if we need you, I will not tolerate tantrums.. well.. unless…" Madeline said and drifted off. Both of them knew what the unless statement was.

"I understand, Madeline." Walter said tensely.

"What about Nikita?" Madeline asked and Walter closed his eyes.

"She has it figured out, but I feel that it is best that I speak with her." Walter said and he waited to hear Madeline's screams.

"Fine. I think she will listen to you. She feels that I am putting her baby's life in danger again. So, a talk with me would be unproductive." Madeline said and Walter's body tensed up.

"She is out on a mission?" Walter asked and he waited.

"Yes. I will leave a message for her to call you." Madeline said tensely. Walter looked to the window. He waved to the operatives and held up his fingers for a few more minutes. They nodded their heads and went back to laughing.

"I need one more thing." Walter said and he swallowed hard. "I am going to need Michael and Nikita to come up here for dinner. I promised Katherine." Walter said.

"I will arrange for that. You make the plans and I will hold of missions if possible." Madeline said and Walter flipped the phone down. He felt sick to his stomach still as he motioned the operatives in.

"Those drinks are on the house!" Walter laughs and the girls go back to shopping.

*

Michael was walking ahead of Nikita. He looked at the door and pulled the note off of the door. He read it and turned back to look at Nikita as she slowly walked towards him.

The mission, although relatively easy, was long and hard. Nikita had fallen asleep in the van on the way back. Michael had rubbed her shoulders the whole way back. The mission was not pretty, and on top of it, several kids were not saved. Nikita had taken it as a personal failure. Michael cursed at himself and swore that they would no longer go on missions that children might be involved in.

"You have a note from Madeline." Michael says softly and Nikita pulls the note out of Michael's hand. Operations had seen Michael and Nikita returned and called off the debrief. It was a successful mission, and with Nikita's condition and the battered relationship between the two, Operations wanted to let Nikita get some more sleep.

"At least it is Walter." Nikita says as Michael holds the office door open for her and she walks in. She pulls at her chair and sits down.

"I don't think he would mind if you waited for the morning." Michael says and Nikita shakes her head as she pulls her chair closer to her desk.

"She wouldn't be leaving messages on our door if it was meant for the morning, Michael." Nikita says and Michael shakes his head back and forth quickly.

"Nikita, you need something to eat, and to go to sleep." Michael says and Nikita laughs softly.

"I want pickles. I have been telling you that since we got in the van!" Nikita says and Michael closes his eyes and nods his head.

"I should have never let you start eating them. I will go to the kitchen and get some. I want you off that phone by the time I come back." Michael says and Nikita nods her head. She watches Michael exit the office and knows that they will not be going home this night. She picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" Walter asks, sounding tired, but awake.

"Walter. Madeline left a note saying you needed to talk to me." Nikita says as she leans back in her chair. She struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Are you just getting in from your mission, now?" Walter asks and Nikita licks her lips and leans her head back.

"Yes." Nikita responds and continues to fight to keep her eyes open.

"You should just call me in the morning." Walter says and Nikita sits up in her hair.

"Look, Walter… You are awake.. And I am awake. So… is this about you and Madeline?" Nikita says as she leans on her desk. It helps Nikita to keep her eyes opened.

"Nikita… I want you to know…" Walter says and Nikita sighs.

"That it was a moment of pure, idiotic stupidity. I know that. I want to know what you are going to do now." Nikita says shortly and she rolls her head around and moans lightly.

"It was one night.. And I am not going to tell Katherine. I don't want to hurt her, when I don't know how much time is left." Walter says and Nikita nods her head.

"Fine. I will respect that. As long as this Madeline thing was a one time thing. It was just one night, Walter, correct?" Nikita asks.

"Of course, Nikita!" Walter cries out and Nikita nods her head as Michael enters the office shaking his head. Nikita pulls the large pickle out of Michael's hand and bites into it.

"How is Katherine?" Nikita asks after she swallows her first bite. Now the pickle was waking her up.

"She is tired. I don't think she has a year left Nikita. She doesn't take her medication when I am not around." Walter says and Nikita nods her head and munches down on the pickle.

"Nikita…" Michael says in a warning tone and Nikita rolls her eyes and pulls her legs up underneath her body.

"Are you eating a pickle?" Walter asks and Nikita laughs. Michael sighs in relief. He was almost worried that Nikita and Walter would be in bad shape after Walter's moment of weakness.

"Yes." Nikita says and Walter laughs.

"Well… I will have to make sure Katherine has a lot of pickles on hand when you and Michael come up for dinner." Walter says and Nikita laughs.

"Sure… when is this dinner?" Nikita asks and Michael rolls his eyes and flops down on the bed.

"I am hoping in two weeks, Nikita. Madeline said that seems to be a time that you might be mission free." Walter says and Nikita smiles. She looks at Michael and nods her head.

"Walter.. I have to go.. Before Michael tears this phone from me." Nikita says softly.

"Good night, sugar." Walter says and hangs up the phone. Nikita polishes off the pickle quickly and joins Michael on the couch. She is asleep before her head even hits Michael's shoulder.

*

Katherine walked into the store around noon the next day and wrapped her arms around Walter. Heidi had just walked in.

"Walter… I can tend to the store today." Katherine said and Walter shook his head.

"No. We are going for a picnic." Walter says and Katherine looks at Heidi and takes her hands.

"Heidi.. go home. Enjoy this nice day." Katherine says and Walter turns and stops Heidi.

"Don't listen to her. We are going for a picnic. Spending some time together. Like Katherine has begged me." Walter says and Heidi looks back and forth and heads towards the door.

"I left something in my car. I should go get it." Heidi says and Walter smiles and nods his head.

Walter takes Katherine's hands and holds them.

"We have to go on this picnic Katherine. It is a beautiful day, and we have to enjoy it." Walter says and Katherine shakes her head.

"I have to make the order for…" Katherine says and Walter picks up the notebook and smiles.

"I have already done so." Walter says and Katherine looks at Walter and smiles.

"I haven't done inventory yet, Walter…. There will be plenty of days for picnics." Katherine says. She looks at Walter and then looks away. Both feel the pain of the statement. There might not be another nice day for a picnic. Katherine squeezed Walter's hand and nodded her head.

"I think we should go on that picnic." Katherine says and Walter nods his head and then kisses Katherine's cheek.

"I know the perfect spot." Walter says and Heidi walks back in.

"Am I staying or going?" Heidi asks and both Walter and Katherine laughs.

"Staying." Katherine says and Walter walks to Heidi.

"How would you like to work more regularly?" Walter asks and Heidi's face lights up. Walter nods his head.

"Good, when we come back, we will make a schedule." Walter says and he turns back to Katherine.

Katherine and Walter walk outside and into the sun. Walter wraps his arm around Katherine's shoulders and holds her tightly.

"I talked to Nikita last night." Walter says and Katherine nods her head.

"Are they going to come up for dinner soon?" Katherine asks and Walter nods his head.

"Yes. In about two weeks." Walter says and Katherine claps her hands together.

"Then we have some shopping to do." Katherine says and Walter laughs.

"I already got her all the pregnancy t-shirts I could find in the city." Walter says and Katherine turns and slaps Walter playfully.

"Not for Nikita…. For the baby!" Katherine laughs and Walter chuckles.

"Oh.. the baby!" Walter jokes as he takes Katherine's hand and starts to help her to the van.

"We are going to take this one day at a time, Katherine. I want to spend all the time with you that I can… and if I have to go away for a few days.. I don't want you to stop taking that medicine, because I will be back as soon as possible." Walter says and Katherine smiles and nods her head lightly. Walter nods that she wouldn't listen to him, but he had to try.

"So, are you going to the retreat soon?" Katherine asks and Walter shakes his head.

"I am staying with you." Walter says and Katherine smiles and Walter starts to drive towards the picnic area.

Walter's upset stomach had finally disappeared.

Send suggestions and comments to ranma.
OR
If you would like to send a comment to Nikita507, click HERE!!