Here is a new story ... now that the school year is nearly finished, I have time to write again, yeah!
All spelling mistakes are mine ... don't have a beta. If you're interested ...
She had missed this. The fresh air of New York City. Well … fresh only for a true New Yorker, but Kate Beckett didn't care. She was back home after years away at Stanford. Sure, the weather was nicer there, there were lots of bear-chested surfers everywhere … but she still preferred New York. Nothing could beat a walk in Central Park on a beautiful early summer day. That's why she was certainly looking like an idiot to everyone else in the park. She felt so good she was almost skipping down the paths, a huge smile on her face, looking at the trees, the families … she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a child cry.
"Daddy! Daddy please!" a really young girl was yelling.
She was crying in the arms of a woman who was running into Kate's direction.
"Daddy! I don't go!" the girl screamed again.
Kate saw a man getting up from a bench more quickly than must be humanly possible and run after the woman. He did not look happy. And he looked really scared. The woman and the girl were arriving at Kate's side and everything happened very quickly. On reflex, Kate walked directly into the woman, making her stop and almost lose her balance. Kate caught the little girl before the woman fell on the ground. By the time she got back on her feet, the man was at Kate's side, and the girl was in her arms, her face hidden in her neck.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't watch where I was going, I ..." Kate said, trying to sound as natural as possible. "I ..."
"Meredith! What do you think you were doing?" the man asked.
"I was getting my daughter back! That's what I was doing! You cannot keep her away from me!" the woman shouted.
Kate suddenly thought she had made a mistake. Maybe the father kidnapped the girl from her mother. Or maybe …
"Meredith, you abandoned her when she was six months old and never came back! You didn't even show up at the divorce court hearing. This is the first time she has actually seen you somewhere else than on a photograph. And you show up and decide to what … kidnap her from the middle of Central Park! What are ..." the man yelled.
The scene was starting to gather some people. He was stopped when a police officer approached the two people shouting at each other.
"Hey, everything's ok over here?" he asked
"Back off, it's none of your business!" Meredith yelled without even turning around to see who she was talking to.
"Ma'am, either you calm down or you come with me to the station."
"You should take her, she tried to kidnap my daughter! If it hadn't been for this young woman here I ..." he turned around to look at Kate and just stopped talking. He must have been really, really angry with Meredith not to notice how hot his savior was. He was brought out of his thoughts by the officer.
"Kate Beckett?" he asked.
Kate looked at him curiously. Seeing that she obviously didn't recognize him, the officer took his hat off and Kate's face lit up.
"Oh my God Kevin! You're a cop! How come? I thought you wanted to be a doctor!" she said, going to hug him.
However, she was blocked by the girl who was still wrapped around her.
"I'm sorry, let me take her." the father said, moving to take his daughter.
When Kate felt the little girl tighten her arms around her neck, she moved back from Kevin and looked at the girl's father.
"Can I get my daughter back? I wouldn't want to ruin your little reunion here." Meredith said.
Everyone turned to look at her. They had forgotten that she was there.
"You're not taking her." Rick said, getting his anger back. "You abandoned her, you can't just take her back like that."
"Who is the girl living with at the moment?" the officer asked.
"Me!" Rick exclaimed. " We've been divorced for almost four years and it's the first time you've showed up!"
"You didn't give me any choice!" Meredith yelled.
"Ok, calm down right now! You go back to your live. I want to see everyone at the twelfth precinct tomorrow at 11 AM. If you're not here, I'll send people to get you, is that clear?
"Yes officer." Rick answered.
"Ma'am?" he asked, looking at Meredith.
"Sure." she said.
"You too Kate. We'll need you to clarify what happened here.
"Yeah, no problem." she answered. And we have to get together soon and catch up." she said, smiling.
"Sure. Well, let's all get going." he said. He looked at all of them, waiting for Meredith to leave and put his hat back on and left
Rick and Kate didn't move for a few seconds. They just stood there, looking at each other. Rick startled when a kid ran by them. He walked to Kate.
"I'm sorry, let me take her from you."
"NO!" Alexis yelled, surprising the two adults.
"Alexis, come on Sweetie. You cannot stay wrapped around Kate for the rest of the day." Rick said, trying to lighten the mood.
"No." Alexis repeated.
"You know what, I think I have an idea." Kate started, looking for a sign of approbation from Rick before going on. "I'm sure you love cookies Alexis, am I right?"
The little girl nodded against her neck.
"Well, when I left home to come to the Park, I saw my mother baking some cookies and I have to say, she makes the BEST cookies in the whole world. Would you like to have some for your snack?
The little girl nodded softly.
"Well, if it's ok with your dad, we could go now. My parents live just next to the Eastern entrance of the Park."
"Can we go daddy?" Alexis asked quietly, looking at her father for the first time.
"We can go honey. But you should let Kate breathe a little. And you're a big girl now, you can walk." Rick said.
Alexis turned her head and looked at Kate. The young woman, seeing the dilemma in her eyes, Kate proposed an alternative.
"If you walk, you can hold my hand if you want."
"Ok." Alexis said.
Kate put the little girl on the floor and took her hand. The two girls started walking, hand in hand, out of the Park.
For a moment, Rick was stunned. Who was this woman? She was so … beautiful, nice, attractive, sweet. She was … there was no words.
"Hey, wait for me!" he cried, running to catch up with the two girls.
They laughed at him and continued talking, paying absolutely no attention to him. And hat's when he realized that with these two … he was in great trouble.