no amount of guilt can change the past

 Caitlin wasn't sure she could adjust to all this family stuff. After all, she'd gotten on at the Children's Institute and had a massive amount of files to get through as well as her own paperwork to file. And then there was Mario. 

Maybe she was seeing too much of him. It didn't help that he and Deano crowded the kitchen. She could tell it didn't sit well with either Megan nor Cori. Yes, it was a crowded apartment if they weren't in the disinfected hospital with their Dad.

She was numb, perhaps overwhelmed. But her dad was happy to see them. They'd even got a hold of Rico by video chat so it was all going to Mario's plan. The big family reunion.

Of course, it gave Caitlin a migraine. How could this possibly be? She hadn't had a headache in ages. 

"Maybe I just need-" She thought Deano could finish the sentence but he looked at her as if he would be no use to her if they were ever on a Family Feud episode.

"What?"

Lord knows, where the coffee can of pot went too. She was sure his brother had it under lock and key.

She knew she should just focus on work and not let this whole thing with her Dad hit her so hard. But he looked so sad with the Cancer treatments.

He was losing hair. He needed special socks and gloves just to keep warm sitting out next to a sunny window. And that smile. Oh, she never remembered him smiling that much when she was a kid.

As the days went by she heard the news that Megan and Cori would be moving to Melvin's old place and this Cyrus fellow was coming. So much for a vacation. Cori was going through all of Melvin's stuff. Of course, she wanted to help, but there was no way she could, not with her job and her Dad.

She couldn't even ask Mario if he thought their father would ever pull through. Perhaps he didn't even know, but the fact remained she was nothing like him. Where did he find this kind of family strength? It couldn't be from Dad. If only she could care like he did, she might actually be the sister he needed.