A/N: Let's just assume that the loft Martha owes is similar to the one Castle owes in the show ;o) Just to make it easier for the visual aspect ;o)

Chapter 2

One month later

While on their ride to the Rodgers, Kate Beckett couldn't contain her excitement. She literally couldn't wait to see Rick again, her new friend. Questions like: "Is he going to be there?" "Do you think he will play with me again?" and many others were fired on end at her parents, who could do nothing else but tell her to be patient and she will see. Johanna and Jim Beckett didn't know whether Rick was going to be there or not. For all they knew, he might just as well be at boarding school that weekend. Kate Beckett had spent a majority of her time asking for Rick to come read her a story. Johanna had had a difficult time to explain to her daughter that it wasn't quite possible. Rick was at boarding school, a concept the little girl got confused with. This entailed another set of endless long questions.

What hurt Johanna Beckett most though was when she inadvertently told her daughter, that Rick might have better things to do than to spend an evening reading stories to a five year old. But he's my friend, the younger girl would shout back upset. It broke Johanna's heart but there was nothing else she could do against it.

The cab came to a halt right at the entrance of the building the Rodger's lived in. Kate jumped with two feet onto the pavement thrilled and full of hope to meet her friend again. Johanna tried to fight back the idea what would happen if he weren't around tonight. She would have to deal with it when the situation arose.

In the elevator Kate Beckett nervously grabbed her mother's hand who gave it a soft reassuring squeeze in return.

"I wanna buzz!" she exclaimed giddily when the elevator door's slid open. Rushing past her parents who were having a hard time keeping up with their energetic bundle.

"Okay, but not so fast Katie! Wait for us." Jim managed to get out before she rounded the corner and got out of sight. Both parents sighed and chased behind the running girl. It had been a bad idea to tell her what door to knock at.

The latest flung open right as the Beckett's stepped up behind their daughter revealing an ever so cheery Martha Rodgers welcoming the three inside the loft. Suddenly Kate Beckett turned into the shyly little girl. She seemed to be impressed and rather taken aback at the vast open space in front of her eyes. The expanse room made her feel quite uneasy, at least for as long until she spotted her dear friend trotting down the stairwell.

"Rick!" she exclaimed, leaped off the couch and threw herself right into the teenager boy's legs. "You're here!"

She clung to his legs which made him stop dead in his track. To everyone's surprise, Rick lifted her up into his strong arms so they could hug appropriately. Few feet away Martha Rodgers' heart melted with love at the sight of her son and her best friend's daughter embrace. She knew her son all too well and could feel he had missed her too. He was the one who even asked to be home if the Beckett's were going to have dinner over. Martha though had warned him, that the parents might hire a babysitter for the evening, meaning she might not be around for that night. All things turned out for the better after all.

"Of course I'm here cutie pie. Where else do you want me to be?"

His friends weren't here, so he was free to do and to act which ever way he wanted to. He liked that little girl. Secretly he had always wished for a younger sibling, whether a sister or a brother didn't matter, but he was well aware of his mother's busy schedule. He attended boarding school after all for a reason. It was easier for her instead of hiring a nanny, which he used to have when he was as young as Kate. In some way he envied the little girl. She had a loving mother and father; which didn't mean his mother didn't love him. It was just different. A family… He didn't have a father; at least not one that was present in his life.

Kate shrugged, "Don't know… at the school of yours. Mommy said you sleep there too."

"While I might sleep there too, doesn't mean I sleep at school. It's a separate building next to the actual school building."

The young girl seemed to be pleased with that answer so Rick set her back onto the floor. The two strode over to the couch, where Rick greeted the Beckett's respectfully. While the dinner was still cooking on the stove, Rick and Kate took that time to reconnect.

"What's wrong with you?" Rick wanted to know upon Kate's unusual deadly silence, nudging her side playfully.

She rebuked with a "hey" before shrugging nonchalantly, and then adding, "Your house is big. Mommy said I need to stay put. She doesn't want me wandering around and break stuff that isn't mine."

Rick had to laugh at her words, "Eh, don't worry. My mother is used to that. I use to break something every week! What do you want? I'm a boy, right?" A smile grew on the little girl's face as he sensed her feeling more relaxed after that admission. To make it even better, he said, "You want to come to my room after dinner, if you want? We could watch a movie or play some video games…"

Rick didn't really know why he had said that to a five year old and a girl at that. He might have some of his childhood movies stored somewhere but he clearly didn't have many video games suitable for her age.

Just like the previous time, her jaw dropped and he reminded her of the bugs if she didn't close her mouth right away. She giggle just like a girl would.

"You got your own TV in your bedroom and a computer? Wow!"

"Sure. Mother thinks that by spending money she can make up for lost time." Kate snickered. "What's so funny?" he asked tickling her side which made her laugh delightfully.

"Why you call your mommy, mother? That's weird. Can't you call her mommy too?"

"I'm fifteen. Fifteen year old boys don't call their mother mommy. I could call her mom, but I'm used to mother. It has always been said that way."

Their conversation was interrupted since dinner was ready. Right afterwards the two made a quick beeline up the stairs. Rick found it adorable to watch the little girl stress out about the stairs. She wasn't used to them, Johanna Beckett had informed him and he thus gladly held her hand on the way upstairs as she carefully took one step at a time. Once on the upper level she let go of his hand and bounced excitedly across the hallway and into the teenager's room.

"You've really got a TV!"

"Of course I do, I told you. Do you think I'm a liar?"

"No." she replied shyly. A silence briefly settled in between them "I wanna watch The Great Mouse Detective."

"I'm afraid I don't have that movie. It just came out in theater and isn't available on tape quite yet." A pout appeared on Kate Beckett's face. Rick couldn't help thinking how cute she looked with a pulled lip. "But I got the Muppets"

"Oh yeah." Both settled onto his bed once the tape was in the recorder. A couple of clicks later the movie started to display on the TV set. "Mommy won't let me on the bed with my shoes on."

"Then take them off!" the boy told her rolling his eyes overdramatically, sighing "Girls…"

Half way through the movie Rick noted as Kate started to yawn. At the beginning they were some casual yawns until they started to get more frequent. A loving smile appeared on his face when he realized she was struggling to stay awake. It was funny to observe her fight sleepiness, her head unconsciously drifting from his shoulder into her lap as she comfortably settled herself against him. Minutes later the little girl was off into dreamland. One sideways glance to his alarm clock told him it was half past eleven. He remained this way for another while longer before cautiously getting off his bed so he could play some video games. An hour later, Johanna showed up in the doorframe along with Jim. They found their daughter still asleep on Rick's bed.

Neither didn't want to bother the little girl's slumber, so Jim lifted his daughter up into his arms to carry her. At the lower level she briefly woke up and in a semi-sleep called out for "Rick". She didn't want to go home, pretending to want to stay here and sleep over. As much as Martha wouldn't mind having the young girl over, she informed the girl nonetheless that her son would need to head back to boarding school the next day. Kate's entire surroundings swept by in an oblivious haze and half an hour later she was tucked under the warm sheets of her bed.

tbc