Kate had been rethinking whether or not she should've told Rick to ask Meredith to stay. She was trying to be selfless, to be there for him the way he had been for her. But what if that had only made Rick realise she wasn't the one he wanted? Just like in every other confusing and hurtful situation she had been in, in the past, Kate decided to call Laine.

"So I told him to ask her to stay." Kate said, explain the situation to Laine over breakfast.

"Why did you do that?" Laine asked.

'I was trying to be supportive." Kate said, sipping her coffee, clearly anxious.

"Being supportive would've been telling him everything was going to be okay, not telling him to ask his ex-wife to stay." Laine said. She didn't mean to be so blunt but she was concerned for Kate..

"He's just been so understand of everything that I've been through that it just felt wrong to guilt him into doing something he might not want." Kate said.

"I admire where you're coming from but what if he chooses her?" Laine asked, trying to tread lightly but failing.

"Then he never wanted to be with me in the first place." Kate said with a kind of melancholy in her voice.

"Maybe he won't choose her." Laine said, trying to be reassuring.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Honestly, I just want him to be happy." Kate said.

"Even if that means he's not with you?" Laine asked.

"Even then. I've put him through the ringer in the past few months and if he feels like giving Meredith another shot would make him happy, then I'd let him." Kate said.

"Wow. I don't know how you do it." Laine said.

"I don't either. I don't know if this feeling of liberation or whatever will last. Maybe all of this is because a part of me hopes he'll pick me." Kate said.

"I think he will. You guys have spent so much time together in the past few months. Plus you are married." Laine said.

"It's so weird to think that this whole marriage started as a drunken mistake. We were supposed to be divorced by now, having moved on with our lives. But I think maybe all the struggle and effort we've made to just be around each other, it has made this into something real. And as much as I want to set him free and hope he comes back to me, the thought that he might not kills me." Kate said.

Laine didn't really know what to say, so she reached for Kate's hand, trying to reassure her.

"I just think if the roles were reversed, if I had to pick between Rick and Toby, he would've done the same thing." Kate said.

"Things with you and Toby weren't like this." Laine said.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"You never let yourself feel anything real for Toby. You just kept pushing him away but with Rick, despite all the resistance and the obstacles, you've tried to let him in." Laine said.

"Yeah clearly. I've spent most of the time I've known him pushing him away and that might be the reason why he picks Meredith. And if he does, it would mean I fucked up the best thing that ever happened to me." Kate said, suddenly feeling overcome by an all-consuming sadness. The kind of sadness that only comes with something ending. A kind of sadness that makes you feel like you're drowning and no matter how hard you try, you can never float; never catch your breath.

"Have you heard from him?" Laine asked.

"Yeah he texted me last night, asking if we could have dinner at the loft. I think he's cooking us dinner." Kate said.

"That's good. Maybe he wants to tell you he didn't ask her to stay. "Laine said.

"Or he's trying to let me down easy." Kate said.

"Whatever happens, you're going to be okay." Laine said, enveloping her best friend in a hug.

Kate could finally feel the weight of the situation. A part of her had tried to believe that there was nothing worry about, that she and Rick would make it despite all the odds. But she was starting to wonder if any of that was still true.

She reached Rick's loft, feeling like a bundle of nerves. She knocked on the door, dreading the night that lay ahead of her.

"Hey, dinner's almost ready." Rick said, opening the door.

"Hey, everything smells great." Kate said, walking into the loft.

Rick and Kate spent some time just laying the table and talking about general things, both of them were trying to avoid the conversation they knew they needed to have.

"So, the reason why I invited you over tonight is Meredith." Rick said, trying to make sure he knew what to say.

Kate gulped, loudly enough that Rick took notice. She knew he was going to tell her what happened but now she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"I asked her to stay." Rick said, wanting to continue but stopping for some reason.

Kate's face visibly fell. She felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. The pain felt blinding, something she had never experienced before.

Rick hadn't realised what it things sounded like till he saw the sadness on Kate's face.

"I asked her to stay because she's Alexis' mother and because she's my friend and.." Rick said.

"No, it's fine. You don't need to explain. I mean, she's Alexis' mother and I don't get to stand in the middle of that." Kate said, interrupting Rick. She wasn't sure she could hear any of this.

Rick wanted to interrupt as Kate continued talking. He wanted to clear the air, let her know what had actually happened. So he grabbed her face and kissed her, hoping it would tell her everything she needed to know.

Kate was completely taken aback by the kiss, in the best possible way. Once she had realised what was happening, Kate kissed Rick back, running her fingers through his hair. As they pulled away to catch their breath, they both looked at each other and smiled. The kiss was nothing like either of them had ever experienced – something so tender yet passionate.

"I told Meredith I couldn't be with her. I told her I didn't want to be with her because I'm in love with you Kate. And I know over the past few months everything has been really confusing and we haven't known what we are but now I know. I know that I love you and that I want to be with you." Rick said, smiling from ear to ear.

"I love you too." Kate said, kissing Rick again.

It had taken long enough but they were finally here – having turned something that had started out as something neither of them wanted to something neither of them could live without.