It had been two weeks since AJ had convinced Kat to talk to Brian and she knew she was going to have to face the music eventually. AJ was coming by every day to see if she had spoken to him and she had been putting it off as long as she could.

 AJ was on his way to pick Jake up and take him to the park so Kat started steeling herself for the question of the day. She heard the doorbell ring and when she opened the door she was surprised to see two visitors instead of one.

 “Hi AJ. Hi Brian.”

 “Hi Kat.” Brian answered for both of them. He and AJ followed Kat down the hallway to the kitchen.

 “I’m gonna put it out on the table Kat. You’ve been putting off going to Brian to talk so I brought him to you instead.”

 AJ could tell that Kat was aggravated with him but he didn’t really care. She had agreed to talk to Brian and was just stalling.

 “Sorry for the ambush.” Brian added. “I tried to talk him into telling you.”

 “Why should I?” AJ asked. “She’d just avoid it again.”

 “Hey AJ, that she is me and I’m right here. I can hear you.”

 “Good!” AJ started to head for the stairs. “I’ll grab Jake and see myself out. You two talk!”

 Kat sighed knowing there was no way she was getting out of this. She invited Brian into the living room and sat down on the couch. Once she heard the front door open and shut, she knew it was ok to talk.

 “I’m sorry Brian. I know I was supposed to come and talk to you and I’ve been putting it off.”

 “I’d say no problem but I know you have a problem. I’m not here to tell you what to do. I just want to be a sounding board for you and help you if I can and if you want me to. I promise not to tell J anything you don’t want me to.”

 “Won’t that make him mad, everyone keeping secrets again?”

 “Let me deal with him. This is important.”

 “I don’t even know where to start.”

 “How about the basics? How long have you had it?”

 “Since I was a baby. I went into congestive heart failure a few months after I was born and I spent a lot of my first few years growing up at Children’s Hospital.”

 “How come they never fixed it?”

 “It stopped growing when I was five and they told my parents to keep an eye on it. Everything was going fine until a couple of years ago. I started feeling tired and sometimes short of breath. My cardiologist did an echo and the pressures had gone up.”

 “Have you started to shunt?”

 “I think it’s headed in that direction.”

 “You know once that blood flow reverses direction, your blood will bypass your lungs and won’t be oxygenated right?”

 Kat nodded and her eyes filled with tears.

 Brian left out a soft sigh. “I know I said I wouldn’t say anything but you really need to consider the surgery Kat. It sounds more like a when thing than an if thing.”

 “I know.” Kat replied starting to cry. “It’s just so scary.”

 Brian got up and got her a box of tissues. He sat opposite her and reached out for her hand.

 “I know it’s scary, it’s probably one of the most terrifying things to deal with. But you need to understand that we’re all here for you. We just want you to get better.”

“I want that too. I’m just so overwhelmed. I have a son to think about and it petrifies me to think of what could happen.”

 “I know you’re anxious about the surgery but it sounds like you really need it. You just said it scares you to think of what could happen with the surgery. Try to imagine what it’ll be like if you don’t have it and something happens.” Brian paused for a minute. “Can I be blunt?”

 “Yes.”

 “You have a son who needs you, friends who love you and a whole life in front of you. If you take the risk of not having the surgery and something happens, you’re going to hurt an awful lot of people. Jake needs you to be his mom, we need you to be our friend and AJ needs…”

 “Stop. AJ doesn’t need anything from me.”

 “Is that really what you think?”

 “Yes it is.”

 “Kat, he loves you. Whether he’ll admit it or not, he’s still in love with you. Why do you think he’s so persistent about this?”

 “I assumed it was because of Jake.” Kat said with surprise.

 “Yeah it has to do with Jake but AJ needs you. Everyone woman that J has ever loved has pretty much cut and run on him.”

 “I did.” Kat said quietly.

 “Yes, but you did it for a different reason. AJ has you back and now he has Jake. He needs to have that relationship in his life. I’m not saying that you guys have to get back together right now but you need to understand that he truly does love and care about you. I honestly don’t want to be anywhere near J if something happens to you.”

There were so many emotions flooding through Kat that she didn’t even know where to start. She knew she needed the surgery and she knew what was at stake as far as Jake was concerned. This one a big choice and she had to make it in the best interest of everyone.

 “I’ll call the doctor tomorrow but I don’t want to do it until after Christmas. I want to enjoy the holidays with everyone just in case.”

 The statement coming out of Kat’s mouth made her cry again. Brian put his arm around her.

 “It’s ok Kat. Nothing is going to happen. We’re all going to enjoy the holidays together, you’ll have your surgery and then we’re going to sit back and enjoy life.” Brian said with a smile. “I truly believe that.”

 Kat looked over at Brian with a sad smile. “I’m going to hold you to that.”