A/N: I try not to do this at the beginning of a chapter but I have to say you guys are amazing! This story has been online for about 24 hours, maybe just a little bit over now and I have over 30 story alerts. I think I got a total of 60 emails from fanfiction . net today and they made me so happy! You guys are awesome. Here's the next chapter!
Chapter 2
Mid June 2001
Kate was packing up her desk for the afternoon and was almost ready to leave when her cell phone rang.
"Beckett." She answered professionally, hoping it wasn't another body drop. She really just wanted to go home and spend an evening on the couch with her daughter.
"Kate? Hi, it's Rick, from the park last week?" His voice sounded uncertain, like she wouldn't remember who he was. Well it wasn't like she was going to forget meeting her favorite author anytime soon. Not that she'd ever tell the man that though.
"Rick. How are you?"
"Well thanks. Look I'm calling to see if we could set up that play date for sometime this week. I've caught up on the manuscript and will be finished by tomorrow afternoon if all goes well. Alexis has been bugging me all week to make this call and set this thing up. She's really excited about it."
"Yeah, Alyssa's been bugging not only me but her grandfather to make the call." Kate heard Rick laugh on the other end of the phone. "I'm working a lot of this week unfortunately. I hate working in Aly's school holidays but sometimes it's unavoidable." Kate sighed and made her way out of the station, phone still against her hear.
"Well, it's up to you but Alyssa could just come over here while you're at work. I mean, I understand if you're uncomfortable with that. You've only met us once, but the option is there." Rick offered.
Kate thought about it for a moment before replying.
"Actually, that might work really well for us." Her father had a doctor's appointment on Thursday afternoon and didn't want to take Alyssa with him. Normally she wouldn't put her daughter in the care of someone, especially a man, she had only ever met once but she trusted this man, who had been in the public eye for so long. It gave him a little bit of credibility. And should anything go wrong, how hard could it be to find a minor celebrity? "Would Thursday work for you?"
"Yeah sure. Would you like to drop her off or would it be better for me to pick her up?"
"I'll drop her off." She trusted him, but it was still important to know where her daughter was going to play.
Rick gave her their address. It was in a fairly high class area, which was to be expected. Kate was inquisitive to see what his apartment looked like. His daughter hadn't been dressed in the big brand name clothes when they met last week so she didn't take him for someone to be impractical with money, then again, he had a lot of it and she'd only met him once.
"Great. Will eight o'clock be okay? I have to be in at the precinct by nine." Kate said.
"Eight will be fine. We'll feed her breakfast and everything." Eight was usually when he and Alexis got up on summer break but they could get up a bit earlier for just one day.
"Okay, thanks."
"Well, we'll see you then." The end of this conversation was rapidly becoming awkward.
"See you then. Bye." And then Kate hung up.
Alexis woke up at six on Thursday morning. She didn't even look at the clock on her bedside table before she ran down the stairs and into her father's room. She didn't stop at the threshold though; instead she took a running leap and landed on the bed, just shy of her father's chest. The bouncing of the bed woke Rick up and he blinked his eyes in surprise at his daughter's sudden presence in his room.
" 'Lexis, it's six o'clock." He said, looking at the numbers on the digital clock next to his bed. "We agreed to get up at seven this morning, remember?" His voice was still low and gravely with sleep.
"But I'm just so excited Daddy! Alyssa is coming over! Can we play laser tag? Oh can we watch movies and color and play hid and go seek? With laser tag?" Alexis was far too awake for this hour of the morning in Rick's opinion.
"Yes Alexis, you two can play whatever you like." Rick was attempting to sit up and rub the sleep from his eyes. "So I take it we're getting up now?"
"What are we going to make for breakfast?" Alexis asked instead of answering.
"Before we start breakfast how about you go back upstairs and get ready for the day. Tell me your morning routine." Rick had found that if she repeated her list of things to do before breakfast in the morning she remembered it better.
"Make my bed, get dressed, put my pyjamas in the hamper, brush my teeth, make sure my room is tidy, and then come down and sit at the breakfast bar." Alexis listed off from memory.
"Well done, now go get started on it. I'll make my bed, get dressed, brush my teeth, and meet you there okay?"
"What about tidy your room?" Alexis asked.
"My room is tidy." Rick said and Alexis looked around and nodded in silent agreement.
"Good morning Daddy." Alexis clambered up next to Rick and kissed him on the cheek. He gathered her into a hug.
"Good morning pumpkin." He said softly and let her go after one more moment. Alexis left the room while Rick stood up to start what he suspected was going to be a long day.
Alyssa squeezed Kate's hand tighter with excitement as they caught the elevator up to the Castle residence.
"Do you think we'll be able to color and play hide and seek and watch movies?" The young girl asked her mother as she bounced on the balls on her feet.
"I'm sure you and Alexis will get to do heaps of fun stuff today. You need to calm down a little bit though, okay sweetheart?" Just as Kate finished her sentence the elevator stopped on the top floor and the doors opened.
The pair stepped out, still hand in hand, and Kate knocked on the door just across the hall. She heard little feet scampering, getting louder and then stopping on the opposite side of the door. Lager feet then sounded their approach and the door opened wide a second later. Alyssa's hand was out of hers in a flash and the girl was excitedly flinging herself into Alexis who seemed to be equally as excited.
"Morning." Rick greeted Kate. "Want to come in for a moment?" He stepped aside and Kate wordlessly entered. She took a moment to look at their home, take it all in. It was stylish and obviously had pricey furnishings but they were all well used. The worn parts of the apartment, the lived in wear and tear, gave the whole place a homey feel.
"Nice place." She said simply as she followed him to the kitchen.
"Thanks. Feel free to put your stuff down anywhere." Rick was gesturing to the bag she still held in both hands. She smiled and placed it on the kitchen counter before taking a seat next to the two girls already sitting on the stools and talking animatedly.
"Would you like something to drink? Juice, coffee?" Kate spied the coffee machine behind him. "I can make it to go." Rick offered.
"If that's the case, a coffee would be great. Thanks." Rick nodded and set about preparing the machine.
"Flat white, latte, flavor, sugar?" He asked.
"Latte, and vanilla flavoring if you've got it." It was looking as if she would be getting her morning coffee just the way she liked it without having to pay a cent.
"Normal or sugar free?" Kate was impressed now.
"Sugar free. Thanks." Rick finished the latte he was making in the to-go mug and handed it to her.
"Do you have to go right away or do you have time for breakfast?" He asked.
"I've got to leave in a minute. Take a rain check though?" She pulled a card out of her bag that was sitting next to her. "If you can't contact me on my cell for whatever reason, that's my extension at the station. My dad's number is on the back if you need it too. I should be back around five but I'll call and let you know."
"Okay. Well, best let you be off then." Rick said.
"Yeah, sorry I can't stay longer." Kate then turned to her daughter. "Alyssa, come here a sec. Say goodbye." Kate got off her stool and crouched so she was level with her daughter. Alyssa came and stood between Kate's legs as Kate rested her hands on Alyssa's shoulders.
"You be good okay? Remember I love you. I'll miss you today."
"I'll miss you too Mommy." And then Alyssa wrapped her arms around her mother's neck in a hug. "Love you."
Kate whispered something in her ear that made Alyssa giggle before pulling away, a big smile, the same smile, on both their faces.
Kate stood up right again and Alyssa returned to her conversation with Alexis.
"I'll walk you out." Rick said, grabbing Kate's bag and handing it to her. "I'll see you when you pick her up." Rick said by way of goodbye at the door.
"See you then." Kate replied, waving her daughter one last goodbye before walking out and over to the elevator.
The girls and Rick wolfed down the breakfast Alexis' and Rick had finished making just before their new found friends had arrived.
"What do you want to do today?" Alexis asked Alyssa.
"Umm, I don't know. It's your house. What do you want to do?" Alyssa countered.
"Want to go up stairs? I can show you my room." Alexis suggested.
"You know the rules. Clean up before you move onto the next game." Rick told them. He had learned that lesson the hard way, having to clean up after a whole day of activities. Alexis had played with a friend all day and then had fallen asleep before she had a chance to clean up all the mess they'd made that day.
"Okay." Both girls answered in unison. Rick shook his head with a laugh as the girls went upstairs.
"Do you have lots of dolls?" Alyssa asked as the approached the second floor landing.
"Some. How many is lots?" Alexis asked, to which Alyssa shrugged.
Alexis opened the door to her bedroom and Alyssa stepped in, slowly taking in her surroundings in a way that was similar to that of her mother when she had entered the loft barely an hour earlier. The room itself was large and square. There was a feature wall at the head of the bed on the back wall. It was a simple pattern of green, purple, and pink squares. The bed was a king-single, four-poster that looked like it had been ripped straight out of a Disney movie. It's linen was purple and green to compliment the rest of the room's decor. Further along the side wall, at the end of her bed was a door that led to a bathroom. A chest of drawers and a wardrobe sat next to the door. Across the room from where Alyssa was standing was a desk and a book case that was overflowing with all sorts of books. There were picture books and fairy tales along with the Chronicles of Narnia and the Harry Potter books. Then Alyssa's eyes fell on something to her left. Next to a large chest of toys sat a giant dolls house, the biggest the girl had ever seen.
"Can we play with the doll house?" Alyssa asked her friend.
Alexis shrugged. "Okay."
Alyssa was on her knees in front of the house in a blink of an eye, Alexis not far behind her. The were soon caught in a world of their own making, complete with dragons and handsome princes who came to save the princesses.
Rick was in his study finishing off his last chapter when there was a knock on the door and the heads of two small girls peeked in. It was coming on to midday. They had been playing quietly for near three hours, which wasn't entirely uncommon for Alexis.
"Hi there. What have you girls been up to?""
"We were playing princes and princesses." Alyssa informed him as she and Alexis entered the study.
"Cool. Where there dragons?" Rick asked.
"Of course there were dragons Daddy. You can't play princes and princesses without a dragon." Alexis assured him.
"That's exactly right. Are you girls hungry yet?" The two eight year olds looked at each other. They'd come down to ask to play laser tag but they both turned back to Rick and nodded enthusiastically.
"Well, shall we get pizza then? Do you eat Ham and Pineapple Alyssa?"
"Yup!" The girl answered.
"Pizza it is then. Would you like to do some coloring while we wait for it to get here?"
This time it was Alexis who spoke up.
"Yeah! We can make each other late birthday cards!"
"Awesome!" Alyssa agreed.
"Okay then, let's get you two situated and order the pizza." Rick said, standing from his chair and following the girls into the dinning room.
At five that afternoon Rick's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi Rick, it's Kate. How's Alyssa?" Kate greeted down the line.
"She's good. The girls have been playing all day and are currently in the middle of watching The Little Mermaid." Rick told her.
"Alyssa loves that movie." Kate paused momentarily. "Listen, I won't be able to make it back until late. I was just calling to let you know I'll be sending my dad over to pick Alyssa up." Kate had barely stopped today and she was tired. They still had about seventeen hours of surveillance to look over and the Captain was pushing for a quick close on this case, no doubt because of the pressure he was receiving from those above him.
"Oh. Hey, if it makes things easier she can just stay here the night. You can come over for breakfast tomorrow morning if you're done with work or she can just stay here til you're ready. It's no problem really. We have a spare tooth brush and I'm sure she'll fit perfectly into Alexis' clothes.
"Oh, you don't…" Kate started to reject the offer but was suddenly hit with the all too frequent guilt she felt for dumping her daughter on her father so often. She took a deep breathe and started again. "That would be really great Rick, as long as you don't mind."
"It's fine. I finished the last of my manuscript today while the girls were playing. I just finished sending it to my editor so I'm free for a bit. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Please." Kate, no matter how many times she stayed late at the station, always called to say goodnight to her daughter. She heard Rick calling for Alyssa. There was a rustling sound and then her daughter's voice.
"Mommy?"
"Hello sweet thing. Did you have a good day today?" Alyssa sat down on the couch in the study and Rick stepped out so Alyssa could talk to her mother.
"Yeah! Alexis has the best and the biggest doll house and we made each other birthday cards and played laser tag! Oh, and we had pizza for lunch. You should come over and play laser tag with us Mommy. It's the funnest thing ever!" Kate's daughter raved.
"That sounds like a great day. Listen bug, I can't come and pick you up just yet." Kate heard her daughter's deflated sigh." But, how would you like to have a sleepover with Alexis tonight?"
"Really? Like really really?" Gone was the sorrowful tone of Alyssa's voice, replaced with joy and new found excitement.
"Really. And I'll see you tomorrow."
"This really is the best day ever!" The girl exclaimed.
"I'm so glad that you're having a good time Alyssa. Hey, I love you." She said the last part softly and the girl sobered some.
"I love you too Mommy. Forever."
"Forever. I'll see you tomorrow okay? Can you give the phone back to Rick?" Kate asked and heard her daughter stand and walk from one room to another, opening and closing a door.
"Bye Mommy."
"Goodbye my precious girl." Kate replied. She really just wanted to hug her little girl.
"You there?" Rick's voice came through the line.
"Yeah, I'm here. Thanks for doing this Rick, you have no idea how much this means."
"Well you'll have to tell me sometime. Anything I need to know?"
"Not really. Her normal bed time is seven thirty but she can stay up later."
"Alexis usually goes to bed around then too. Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow then. Turn up whenever, I don't really plan on leaving the loft anytime tomorrow." Rick told her.
"Okay, thanks again. Goodbye Rick."
"No problem. Bye Kate."
The girls watched one more movie after The Little Mermaid before Rick sent them up to get ready for bed. Both girls were now tucked securely into their respective beds with Alyssa on a mattress on the floor of Alexis' bedroom.
"Tell us a story Daddy. Please?" Alexis asked and then turned to her friend. "Daddy tells the best bed time stories Aly."
"Okay. You both comfy?" When the girls nodded in confirmation Rick began the tale. "Once upon a time there were two beautiful princesses. Their names were Alyssa and Alexis and they were best friends…"
By the time he got to the climax of the story where the princesses were scaling the tower walls to escape the evil plans of Sir Cleanit both girls were fast asleep. Rick smiled at them, standing from the chair that he'd been sitting in that usually went at Alexis' desk. He kissed his daughter gently on the forehead so as not to wake her and whispered an 'I love you' before he turned and exited the room, shutting the door silently behind him.
A/N:So what did you think? Along with writing this chapter I also had a discussion about some future chapters with phnxgrl. Thanks for all your help today!
Thanks should also go out to zats, LadyAilith, keal, CastleandBeckett-always, KaylaBeckett93, NCISchick, and fanka77. It's because of you that this update has come around so quickly (and also because I'm loving this story so far!)
Stay tuned for chapter 3 in which we will see the Kate/Rick friendship develop some!
You guys are awesome!
Love Sacha