A Thousand Years (A Dempeo Fic)

Be Careful What You Wish For

"You're crying," Stella objected, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not," Ellen giggled.

"You is!" Sienna screamed, clapping her hands and nodding to her sister.

"Do you love mommy?" Ellen asked, gently caressing Sienna's blonde hair.

"Yes!" the little girl yelled.

"And you, Stell?"

"I love you lots, mommy!" Stella grinned, revealing her toothless smile.

"I'm not sad, I'm perfect."

She pulled her girls close to her, each one of them on a hip, letting her tired boy lay down, trying to gain the nerve to face all of this.

She was ok. She had to be.

"Mommy?" Stella asked after a few minutes of cuddling and giggling. "Me and Sienna wanted ice-cream"

"Sienna and I," Ellen gently corrected, stroking her daughter's cheek.

"You can come too, silly mama!" she giggled.

Ellen laughed and kissed each of their heads. "Go get your shoes".

The girls ran out of the room, and Ellen took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her iPhone buzzed next to her and she reached out for it to read the text message, being sure it was from Patrick. But she was wrong, it was Kate.

Kate Walsh was an hundred and eighty centimetres of beauty, along with a pair of legs longer than the Highway and long, perfect red hair. She had starred in Grey's years ago - as Derek's wife, actually! - and her funny, carefree and kind nature had won over both Ellen and Patrick.

Shonda Rhimes had wrote for Kate's character a spin-off at the end of season three, but she and Ellen had managed to keep in touch through the years. She was always happy to hear from her, Kate was always able to bring a smile back on her lips. But now she was completely terrified that her text had something to do with the magazines: Kate was capable of asking about it directly, instead of avoiding the subject, thing that anyone considered well education.

With a slightly trembling finger, Ellen unlocked her screen and read the text: Hey, beautiful blondie! Crappy day, uh? Wanna meet? Sure u need a friendly ear & some cookies. No judgment, u know me. xx K.

She typed a reply quickly. Taking the girls for ice-cream, wanna come along? Just remember to code-talk! ;) See u in 15 - E and she added the address.

If she was going to let someone in, it was Kate. She knew her, she knew Patrick, she loved them both. And she was mature and intelligent in every advice she gave. Ellen needed Kate too, maybe.

She smiled slightly, trying to see some light in a dark day. When the iPhone rang in her hands, she unconsciously replied.

"Hello?"

"Ellie."

Oh, crap. It was him, his voice tired and distant, as if coming from miles away.

"Hey."

"Hey? You've ignored my calls for days and now you reply with hey?!"

"What do you want?" she snapped back. She wasn't going to deal with him too, today. She was in this mess because of him. Because of the hair, and the... scent, and his amazing blue eyes and... What the hell had he been doing in Italy and at the same wedding she was at?! Karma. Karma was a bitch!

"I'm worried about you. I wanna talk to you - and...and I miss you like crazy."

Always him. Always like that. He came, he threw a bomb on her and she was done.