She asked. He refused. She was used to it. Patients always came first. She thought this time would be different. Given the circumstances. A late call on a Thursday afternoon from her OB/GYN to meet in their office seemed serious. Are so that's what she thought. Which was why she didn't go alone. Having company as the doctor gave her the news that would change her life forever didn't make it easier but it gave her the strength she needed to pull herself off of the chair and walk out of the hospital.

"Just eggs and flour." She looked over at him quizzically.

Keir nodded from the other side of the island. He hadn't left her side since he drove her to the hospital. She was grateful for it. There was no way she would've been able to steer a vehicle home with tear-filled eyes.

"Making pasta is simple." He began, slicing a red onion with the precision and speed of those chefs she watched on TV. "It's the process that people trip up on. It requires patience and care. And most people don't have the time for something that costs less than five dollars at the store."

"Time is a gift. Time is priceless. Trust the timing." Katrina recited the words that were tattooed on the flesh of his left pectoral from memory.

The blade in his hand froze in the middle of the onion. His eyes no longer stung from the bulb but watching the tears run down her face and splatter on the granite made him misty. Her pain sent shockwaves through his chest, making his heart beat faster like a man being chased by a predator. Although in this situation his predator was a four-legged beat. It was something no human had control over. Even the doctor that was going to perform the surgery couldn't guarantee complete success—just statistics and percentages. Numbers. Numbers couldn't ensure death wouldn't pay them a visit.

"I got you." It was the only true thing he could promise her at that moment as he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her as she placed her head on his chest deep in a body-shaking sob. "K, I got you." He kissed the top of her head, her hair tucked behind an orange scarf she tied on that morning since she was too wrecked with worry to detangle any coil.

"I-I'm...scared. What i-if.." Her voice trembled and began stroking her back. Up and down. Up and down, his hand slid smoothly giving her the comfort that she needed. "I die. "

"Die!?!" He abruptly pulled away from her and held her face, tears dampening his palms. "No one's dying. Not you. Not her. No one."

"But..." She closed her eyes remembering all the medical terms and outcomes the doctor spewed from the other side of the desk with images of her most recent ultrasound that helped her make the diagnosis of *placenta accreta. "I could hemorrhage which can lead to death."

"But you're not." Keir eyed her knowingly.

Katrina stepped away from him, drying her face with the sleeve of her cardigan. "I had a birth plan. It was all set up. I practiced LaMaze. Got the breathing exercises down. Took pilates to be ready for a taxing and strenuous delivery. I made a playlist." She stroked her belly as soothingly as Keir had done to her back. The only good news the doctor bestowed on her was that the baby was completely healthy and was predicted to be fine throughout the procedure.

Her lip quivered, "I won't be able to do this again." She let out a deep breath and said what she really wanted to. "I'm not doing this again."

"I get it." Keir expressed that before taking a sip of hot tea she brewed up. It was chamomile, he was sure they'd need a refill.

"Are you sure?" She asked, studying his face for anything that could give her the reassurance that she needed. "Keir, I'm going to get the hysterectomy after the cesarean because I don't want to get pregnant again. Do you understand?"

His hand froze on the bag of flour, "Is this your way of asking me if I want kids?"

"No, this is my way of telling you that I'm not having another baby for anyone." She held the side of her belly, feeling her little girl kick. "So, if you want kids then I'm not the woman for you."

"Katrina Bailey..." He paused. "Are you still keeping the Evans?

"Not likely." She shook her head.

"Good to know." A smile started to grow on his face as he neared her. He interlaced his fingers with hers and rested his other hand at the base of her neck. The warmth of his fingertips sent a chill down her back while the fire in his eyes heated her chest "Katrina Bailey..no Evans, there are a lot of things I'm uncertain about pertaining to my future. I'm not going to be a TA forever and I miss architecture. But I'm certain of one thing...you're the woman for me." He whispered the last words holding her gaze even though she dropped her for a second. "And if a baby costs me you, that's too high of a price."

She heard him. She felt the intensity of his words but she couldn't fight the urge to ask him again. The third time is the charm and all. "Are you sure?"

"Certain." He smiled and then pecked a kiss on her forehead. "Now, are you ready for this lesson cause homemade pasta is superior"

Katrina's face was still dewy from shed tears and her head was still full of worry but she was ready to learn something new. "The student becomes the teacher." She said sidling up to him. "And I had fresh pasta before. My mom made it all the time. I just don't know how it's made."

"We'll, now you'll know." He playfully nudged her arm with his.

She refused to let her brain travel down the pathway that it wanted to go. Remember why she didn't know how to make the carb or cook many dishes from scratch with the confidence and ease that Keir could. The reason why she refused to step foot in her childhood kitchen. It was the reason her dad and her survived on takeout before he remarried. He found a woman that loved to cook like her mom and even though that woman offered to teach her she refused because she didn't want to learn those lessons from her. Her mother's replacement.

But now she was ready. The timing was right.

Her phone rang, brightening next to her teacup. Her hands were covered in a mixture of flour and eggs there was no way she was touching it.

Clive's head popped up, pulling him from his slumber.

"Want me to get it," Keir said. "Hold it to your ear."

"No." She told. "I'll call him later. No. I'll call him tomorrow."

Maybe it was petty. But she was in a petty kind of mood. If Terrence couldn't put his child first then she didn't feel like answering his first call. 

*Placenta Accreta is a serious pregnancy condition that occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall making it difficult or impossible for the placenta to be detached during childbirth which will lead to hemorrhaging.

Do you think Katrina should be upset with Terrence for not staying for the meeting with her OB/GYN?

What do you think it means that Keir went with her?

Do you think Katrina believes that Keir understands her stance about not having another baby? Do you?

What do you think it means that Katrina lets Keir teach her how to cook?