I couldn't be happier and for once, I truly believed that Kate couldn't be happier either.
And that was everything.
Epilogue
Drake was the happiest I had ever seen him.
That made everything worthwhile -- leaving Manhattan, saying goodbye to my father and Elaine for a while, and going somewhere new. After the turmoil of the last few years, with the attack on me and then the murder of Derek Richardson, the trials and the threat to Drake's safety and my own, I was glad to be starting over. I hoped we'd be happy enough in England with Drake doing what he loved best so that we could stay for a few years.
Drake was in his element -- he was back doing surgery and seeing patients, teaching and running the robotic surgery unit. The bad news of the trial was behind us, and seemed more like an extended bad dream from which we had just awoken rather than anything real.
Drake had the chance to start fresh in England with Michael as his mentor and boss and a robotic surgery unit to set up. For the first month, he was hard at work making sure all the proper equipment was on hand for when the unit would become operational.
When he'd accepted the position with Michael, they had started work, purchasing the equipment they'd need for the unit, doing a search for talented surgeons and OR nurses, and setting a grand opening date when they would start accepting patients. By the time we arrived in January after a nice vacation in Nassau, the only thing left to do was get everything in place for the February opening.
Our home in the Southampton area was beyond anything I could imagine. Drake really went all out to purchase a dream home with everything we might need to raise Sophie, Liam when he eventually (and hopefully) came to live with us. It was big enough for my father and Elaine, who planned on staying there with us during the winter. With eight bedrooms and as many bathrooms, and three sitting rooms, there was more than enough space for all of us. I even had to hire a local housekeeper and groundskeeper to come by and keep the place clean. There was no way I could do it myself -- not and raise Sophie and keep up with my art. Besides all the bedrooms and sitting rooms, the house had a great room with a kitchen fit for a chef and a solarium so we could sit out during the sunny days and enjoy the scenery.
While Drake worked at the children's hospital getting the robotic surgery unit set up, I spent the first weeks organizing the house for my father's and Elaine's arrival. Liam had spent the Christmas and New Year's holidays with his mother and was going back to Manhattan for the rest of the school year. Drake's hopes that Maureen would relent and let Liam come live with us instead of his grandmother were crushed, but he wasn't willing to give up just yet. He'd try for joint custody in a year when there was no more publicity around Lisa Monroe.
It was on a sunny February day that I decided to finally go to the hospital to check out the unit. Michael had been pestering me to come by and watch Drake operate, and I had yet to accept. We'd been in Southampton for a full month and so I decided it was time for me to venture out beyond our home and go to the hospital to watch Drake in his OR theatre using his new state-of-the-art surgical suite. Sophia was at her daycare for the afternoon. The woman who ran the small home-based daycare was a former teacher and had dual degrees in psychology and education, so I felt safe leaving Sophie with her. There were three other children under the age of five, so she'd get some socialization.
Until my father and Elaine arrived later in the week, I was alone and free to do what I felt like.
"Come tomorrow," Michael said on the phone. "Drake's teaching a class and you can sit in the audience and watch while he operates. It's the last surgery of the day and so Drake
will be finished afterwards."
"I have to pick up Sophie from her daycare but how about you coming over for supper with us?"
"Sounds perfect," Michael said. "Don't let Drake know. It'll be a surprise. I'll pick up some Indian take-away and we can make an evening of it."
"Sounds perfect."
So, I took the second car and drove to the Southampton Children's Hospital and made my way to Michael's office. From there, he'd take me to the OR theatre and get me set up in the observation room so I could watch with Drake's new students.
Michael hugged me when I arrived, kissing both my cheeks as was his custom.
"There you are, Miss Katherine," he said and ushered me down the hall to the surgical suite. "The surgery is in progress, so I'll sneak you into the observation room. There are a half-dozen students watching."
"Will they mind if I watch?"
"Not at all," Michael replied. "They'll be too busy watching the surgery to care. Besides, when they see me, they'll all be on their best behavior."
We went to a door and inside I saw a bank of seats like you would see in a movie theatre. About seven students were seated in the front two rows, watching through a huge window. Below was the OR suite, with a large robotic arm poised over a reclining patient. Off to the side was a portable CT. Drake in a surgical cap and gown, with special optical glasses on, stood by the patient's head and several of his staff surrounded the surgical gurney. A small boy lay there, tubes and wires attached to his tiny body.
They were watching a screen where the patient's skull and brain were imaged as a thin wire entered and threaded into the interior.
Drake spoke as he did his work, explaining what each action was intended to accomplish. I didn't follow most of it, but I did understand that they were implanting an electrode that would stimulate a particular part of the child's brain and control his epilepsy.
It was something to watch. Drake sounded calm, and in command as he explained the procedure and what each motion did for the patient.
After about fifteen minutes, he was finished and then the resident closed up the wound. Drake thanked everyone and left the OR theatre, and so did Michael and I, returning to Michael's office to wait for Drake to finish his work for the day. He still had to speak with the family and then he would have a quick shower in the staff facilities and go to his office.
Michael had sent him a message asking him to come to Michael's office before he left for the day, not telling him that I was there so it was a surprise.
"What did you think?" Michael asked as we sat in his office waiting.
"He looked like he was perfectly happy. I remember the first time I saw him operate and thought how calm he was. He's had a hard two and a half years since the attack. I'm so happy you offered him the position."