-15 Years Later-

"I just feel so isolated," my client told me.

I nodded in response. "I understand, I felt the same way for a while. But it doesn't have to be that way, you can still relationships with people on the outside," I assured him, glancing at the clock and jumping up. "Um , time's up for today!" I rushed to get my things together.

"Uh...okay..." my client trailed off.

"Gabi will help set up your next appointment, which should be within the next two weeks," I rambled, leading him to the door. I opened it up and gave a smile, "Have a nice evening!" I then ran out the door and into the main hall. I went as fast as I could, being twenty minutes late already.

"I'm here, I'm here!" I announced once I made it, out of breath. "I'm so sorry, Nancy. My last client went over time and I didn't even notice," I apologized.

Nancy shook her head. "It's fine! I don't think they even noticed," she said, looking over to her left. "Harley and Xavier! Your mother's here!" she called.

The two of them turned their heads before running over and hugging my legs. I giggled, kneeling down and hugging them. "Hey, are you guys ready to go?" I asked them

"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Harley exclaimed.

"Me too," Xavier added quietly, but smiling.

I stood up, facing Nancy again. "How were the little ones today?" I asked her.

"I'm not little! I'm five and a half!" Harley crossed her arms.

"Harley, you turned five a month ago," I told her, knowing she didn't understand.

"I know."

I chuckled, turning back to Nancy. "They were fine just like always."

I gave a nod. "Well thank you, I promise I'll be on time tomorrow," I said, leading my kids out and upstairs.

"Okay kiddos, I'm going to warm up some leftover spaghetti for dinner, so sit at the table please," I set my papers from work down and walked over to the fridge.

"Do we get dessert tonight?" Harley asked.

"Not tonight," I answered, putting spaghetti in bowls.

"Please, mommy," Xavier begged.

I took a breath, resisting the urge to give in. "You had dessert last night, you can't have it every night." I put the bowls in the microwave.

"Daddy would let us have dessert," Harley pointed out.

I turned around, hating whenever she said that. "Well, daddy isn't here." I grabbed forks and set them the table in front of the kids. "Food is ready now," I said to get their minds off of dessert and their father.

As I set the plates in front of them and sat down myself, Harley spoke up again. "Where is daddy?"

"I don't know where he is right now," I answered honestly.

"Is he close?"

"I don't know."

"When is he coming home?"

"I don't know."

"Is it soon?"

"Harley, please just eat your food! I can't answer any of your questions right now," I raised my voice, getting annoyed. Harley is that age where she won't stop asking questions. Luckily Xavier is only two and doesn't know what's going on a lot of the time, plus the fact that he's generally a quiet child.

The two of them ate, making a mess of course, but Harley did stop asking questions. "Okay, pajamas!" I announced, clapping my hands together. They started heading to their rooms, when the door opened.

"Daddy!" they both shouted, running over to him.

"Hey, how are my monkeys?" he embraced them both, picking them both up. The two of them giggled, and I couldn't help but smile.

"We missed you!" Harley said.

"Yeah, missed you," Xavier echoed.

"I missed you guys too! This time was long, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, now you have to stay!" Harley demanded.

He chuckled. "I wish I could, but it's work," he set them down. "I do have presents though!"

The kids jumped for joy, and my eyes widened. "Um, it's getting late!" I finally said something. "They were about to get in their pajamas and go to bed," I crossed my arms.

"Mommy, we never get to see daddy!" Harley whined.

"Daddy will be here tomorrow," I assured them.

"Mommy please!" Xavier joined in now.

"How about this, I'll quickly give you your presents as long as you get ready and go to bed after. Deal?" their father asked them.

"Deal!" the kids answered in unison.

They all looked to me now, and I sighed. "Make it quick."

He nodded, grabbing his bag and pulling out two stuffed animals. "For Xavier, a T-rex..." he handed the toy to Xavier who had a big smile as he hugged it. "And for Harles, a unicorn." Harley squealed, taking her toy.

"What do we say?" I hinted at them.

"Thank you," they both said.

"And now what do we do?"

"Bedtime?" Harley guessed.

I nodded, the two of them going to their rooms now. "I'll be up in a minute, okay?" I called to them, then looking over. We stared at each other for a moment before moving closer and then hugging. Just feeling his touch again made me emotional. "You scared me this time," I kept my voice low, pulling away. "You were supposed to be home three days ago!"

"I'm sorry, there was a problem with the jet engine that took longer to fix then it should have," he explained.

"You couldn't call?!"

"I'm sorry, I should have when I had the chance," he apologized, pulling me in with one arm.

I let out a sigh. "You know I'm scared enough just from you leaving," I said softly.

"I know...but I'm here, I'm okay. You're okay, the kids are okay, everything is okay," he assured me.

After a minute, I looked up at him. "You didn't pay for those stuffed animals, did you?" I questioned after thinking about it.

He scoffed. "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that I know you...and the fact that you run a gang that's known for stealing." When he didn't respond, I continued. "You know that I support you and am okay with you running the gang...but don't bring the kids into it. I told you before to not steal things for them."

"I know, I know. I won't do it again, I swear," he promised. I raised an eyebrow. "I swear on our marriage," he added.

I grinned, leaning up and pecking him on the lips. "Let's put these kids to bed."

"And then have mommy and daddy time?"

I rolled my eyes but couldn't hold back a giggle. "It has been a while."

He smiled, wrapping his arm around me as we walked to the kids. "I love you Katie McCann."

"And I love you Jason McCann."