Kate was thankful that she had the next two days off today. The only downfall was that she was on call, but since a body hasn't dropped for three weeks, it was highly unlikely that she'd be called in. So, she took today as a cleaning day and so far her room was taking the longest. Maybe if she cleaned her room more than she her son's room it wouldn't be so dusty.

She was just about done when she ran out of Pledge. She continuously shook the can, hoping more would magically appear. When it didn't, she walked out of her room and toward the kitchen. She knew there was another one under the sink, but before she went to grab it, her eyes fell on Noah. He was standing by the living room window while on his tiptoes. His face was as close to the glass that it could get and his hands were directly next to it.

"What are you lookin' at, buddy?" she asked when she reached him. She peaked through the blinds to see that the whole street was covered in snow. And it didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

"Is pretty," Noah said, pointing to the window. "Play!" he shouted and ran toward the door. He grabbed onto the door handle and tried to get out.

"It's too cold to go play outside," she said, running over to the door and holding it closed when it opened a little. It was impossible not to laugh when he grunted and continued to pull the handle. "Come on," she finally gave in and picked him up so he was under her arm. "You can watch a movie in my room."

Just before they were about to go into her room, knocking came from the door. She looked down at her son who was swinging his arms, paying no attention to the noise. When she opened it, she was beyond surprised.

"Maddie!" she exclaimed, setting her son down to give her friend a hug. "H-how did you find me?"

"I've been meaning to look you up ever since I saw the paper with NYPDs best detective," Maddie teased with a smile.

"My dad, huh?"

"Still the same house number," Maddie smiled.

"Well, come in. Come in," Kate let her into the apartment, closed the door, and locked it so Noah wouldn't get out if he tried.

"Who's the little guy?" Maddie asked while taking her shoes off.

Noah was too busy touching the snow that she dragged in. He picked it up and held it in his hands, filled with amazement when it eventually disappeared.

"That's my son, Noah," Kate said as she ruffled his hair.

"Are you serious?" Maddie's eyes were very wide. She knelt down in front of Noah and studied him for a second. "He definitely has your looks," she said. "I'm your mommy's best friend," she smiled at him and got a shy one in return. "He's so adorable!"

"Trust me, he can be loads of trouble," Kate replied with a nod.

"Like someone I know," Maddie nudged her friend with a laugh.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Kate asked.

"Sure," Maddie answered while taking her coat off and looking around the apartment. "You did good, Becks."

"I guess so," Kate said as she poured the coffee into two cups. She handed one to Maddie and lead her into the living room. "So what have you been up to?"

"I run a restaurant now," Maddie answered very proudly.

"Good for you," Kate replied with a smile.

"I'm guessing you have a man since you have a son."

"Actually, I don't. He chose his job over Noah. Broke my heart and everything," Kate said while looking into her cup. "But Noah makes up for it," she smiled at her son who was rolling a few of his cars in the kitchen. "How about you? Any special guys?"

"I'm seeing someone, but nothing too special. There's no spark."

"Yeah, you were the one who always looked for the 'spark' with boys in high school," Kate teased before taking a cautious sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It would be nice to find the one, you know?"

"I know, but I'd rather worry about Noah."

"Well I don't have a kid so, that's out of the question," Maddie laughed and looked over at Noah. She was still astounded that Kate had a son and how much he looked like her. "So, what are you doing today?" she asked, looking back over at Kate.

"No set plans. Why?"

"We should go out to dinner or something. Do you work tomorrow?"

"No, but I'm on call just in case a body drops," Kate answered.

They continued talking for about thirty minutes. Laughing with an old friend was something Kate really needed these days. She ended up looking over at her son with a smile on her face.

She tilted her head to the side. "Noah, what are you doing?"

Noah came running over with a box of Fruit Roll Ups. He stopped a few feet away from his mom because he didn't know the other lady and shook the box. When the top opened, the Fruit Roll Ups came flying out. He turned it upside down so they would all fall onto the floor.

"Is this what you would call trouble?" Maddie asked with a laugh. "I'd call that adorable."

"Noah…" Kate couldn't help but smile. She got off the couch and squatted down next to him. "Now, put them back in the box. You can only have one."

He quickly picked them up and put them back in the box except two. He held onto both of them and held them to his mom.

"Only one," she said.

"No," he shook his head. "This many," he held them up.

"I said only one, Noah," she responded, gently taking one out of his hand and putting it back in the box. She took the other one from him and opened it. "Here."

"So… wanna go to a club tonight?" Maddie asked.

"If I can find a sitter, sure."

"Awesome! If you can't find one, I'm sure we could do it some other time."

"Let's hope I do," Kate replied, watching her son eat his snack.

"Alright," Maddie said, getting up. "I should get going. What's your number so I can call you later?"

Kate gave her, her number and walked her to the door. She had to hold onto Noah's hand so he wouldn't run out.

"I'll talk to you later, Becks. Bye, Noah," Maddie waved with a smile.

Kate closed the door and looked down at her son. "Let's see who can watch you tonight."

"No," he shook his head.

Just then, her phone started to go off. She quickly took it out of her pocket, hoping that it wasn't the precinct. When she saw the number that appeared, she smiled.

"Hey," she answered, letting Noah lead her into his room.

"Did you see the snow?" Rick asked.

"I did. Noah thought he was going to go play in it," she replied and watched as her son went to grab something from his closet.

"That's why I'm calling. I was wondering if you guys would like to go sledding later. I know the perfect place."

"Isn't it too cold for a two year old?"

"If it gets too cold we can hang out inside."

"About what time would we be leaving?"

"Maybe a couple of hours. Alexis really wants to go," he chuckled.

"Let me find a sitter for later tonight and I'll head over there."

"What's tonight?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prying.

"Just going out with my best friend from high school. Hopefully we won't be out too late."

"If you don't find anyone, I'd be willing to watch him."

Noah carried his LeapPad over to his mom and held it up. She gladly took it and sat down on the floor. He immediately climbed onto her lap before she turned it on. She was glad he did this because it gave her more time to think of a reply to give Rick.

"Are you sure? I don't want him to be uncomfortable or anything," she finally said.

"He'll be too busy having fun with us that he won't even realize you're gone. I won't just sit him in front of the TV like most sitters do."

"First, let me see if my dad can. If he can't I'll let you know."

"And I'll be picking you guys up in two hours. Sound good?" he asked and she could hear the excitement in his voice.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

"See you guys soon."

"Bye," she ended the call and set her phone on the floor next to her. She wrapped her arms around Noah's small body. "Wanna go sledding with Alexis in a little while?" she asked.

Noah tilted his head back so he could see his mom's face. He gave her a big smile. "Yeah!"

"Okay, but first I need to finish cleaning my room," she kissed the side of his face and lifted him up. She carried him into her room and set him on the bed. "You can stay in here while I finish, okay?"

"Okay," he nodded and continued playing with his LeapPad.

…..

"Daddy, it's too hot in this," Alexis whined, trying to pull her snow suit off at the same time.

"But you need to stay warm while we go sledding. I can't let you catch a cold," Rick responded while looking for his hat and gloves in the closet.

"Can I take my hat and gloves off for a few minutes?" she pleaded.

"Okay, okay. Here," he turned around and pulled her gloves and hat off. He set them on the ground in front of her. "Better?"

"No," she pouted, hoping it would get him to take all the snow suit stuff off.

"Aha. Found them," he smiled at her before putting his own hat and gloves on.

"Too hot," she crossed her arms and looked down at the floor.

"You won't say that when we go outside," he smiled and put her hat back on her. "You can take your hat and gloves off once we get in the car since it will be warm in there."

"What about my coat?" she asked with a smile.

"We will have to see how warm the car is, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed.

Rick took her hand in his and walked out of the loft. He chuckled when Alexis skipped to the elevator and pushed the down button.

"Can I go down the big hill this time, Daddy?" she asked while continuously pressing the down button.

"Maybe," he answered and gently pulled her hand away.

"Is Noah gonna go on a sled?"

"Yes, but he will have to ride with his mom or myself."

"Why?"

"Because he's a lot smaller than you. I don't want the snow monster to hurt him," he answered and tried not to laugh when Alexis' eyes went wide in fright. "I'm only kidding. There are no such things as snow monsters."

"Not funny," she pouted as the elevator doors opened.

"I know."

Once outside, Rick held onto his daughter's hand a little tighter. He didn't want to lose her in the streets. He did over the summer and it was not fun.

"Where's the car?" she asked impatiently.

"Right here," he answered and opened the back door. He let her climb onto her seat and pulled her coat off. "It's warm in here so, you can keep it off until we get there," he said as he buckled her in. "All set?"

"Ready," she smiled before pulling her hat off.

Rick closed the door and patted the window before running to the driver's side. He got in as fast as he could and blared the heat a little more. He was happy that the streets weren't too busy today, thanks to the snow.

The ride to Kate's could have been shorter if some idiot wasn't on their phone while driving. Cops were never around when things like this happened. Too bad Kate wasn't in the car, but she probably wouldn't have arrested the guy on her day off. And she was also a homicide detective. He wondered if that mattered when making arrests like these.

"Are we there yet?" Alexis asked out of impatience.

"One more block," he answered with a lot of happiness in his voice.

Within the next five minutes, they pulled up in front of Kate's apartment. Rick took his phone out and shot her a text saying that they were here. When he saw them coming out of the building, he got out of his car to help her get Noah's car seat in the back.

Once the seat was secure in the back, Kate placed Noah in it and buckled him. She gently pulled his hat and gloves off so he wouldn't get too hot. She kissed his nose before shutting the door and getting in on the passenger side.

"Hi, Alexis," she greeted as she buckled herself in.

"We're going sledding!" Alexis cheered. "Daddy said that Noah can't sled by himself."

"Not yet, sweetie," Kate replied with a smile. "He's still too little."

"That's what Daddy said," Alexis nodded and looked over at Noah who was looking out the window. "We can build a snowman," she smiled.

"Snowman go boom!" Noah giggled, but Alexis didn't find it funny.

"No! You can't do that!" she yelled at him.

"Hey, hey," Rick said louder than her. "We can build two. One for you and one for Noah to knock down."

"Yeah," Noah slowly nodded with a big smile.

"That's mean," Alexis huffed.

"How about we turn a movie on?" Rick asked, trying to get rid of the little argument. "Finding Nemo sound good?"

"You have those little TVs on the backs of the seats, don't you?" Kate rolled her eyes with a slight smile.

"Yup. The portable DVD player kept getting lost or broken so, I gave in and had them installed," he said as he pulled over. Once the car was in park, he quickly put Finding Nemo in and turned the volume up, but not too loud.

"So, where are we going?"

"Pillgrim Hill in Central Park and then random hills we find ourselves," he answered with a smile.

"The one that gets crowded?" she asked while biting down on her lip.

"It's really fun for the kids. They can make other friends and have races," he reassured her. "Last year I got a group of kids to help build an igloo. It was awesome!"

"Maybe I should have brought a leash," she joked to get over being nervous.

…..

Rick pulled the kids on one of the sleds toward the hill. Kate walked behind him, keeping an eye on her son because he kept trying to stand up. And the first time, he fell off the sled and was left behind for a few minutes.

"Here we are," Rick announced.

"Wow there are a lot of kids here," Kate said while scanning this part of the park.

Noah pushed one of the sleds to the top of the hill. He quickly sat on it and tried to get it to go down. Alexis watched him then realized that he wasn't supposed to go down by himself.

"Daddy!" she yelled and pointed to Noah.

Kate quickly looked over at her son who was slowly going down the hill. She instinctively dove to grab the edge of the sled to stop him. She held onto it as she sat down and pulled it back up.

"Noah James," she said out of breath. "Don't you ever try to do this again."

"Fast!" Noah pointed down the hill with a big smile.

"Alright," she replied and lifted him up so she could sit on the sled too. She let him sit between her legs as her arms wrapped around him.

"Let's push them, Daddy," Alexis said and ran toward them.

"One. Two. Three," Rick counted and they both pushed them down the hill.

They ended up going backwards because Kate tried to avoid hitting a little kid. She also kept a pretty good grip on her son because he kept trying to stand up. When they finally got to a standstill, Noah got up and clapped.

"Again!"

"In a second," she replied, standing up to get the sled and head back up the hill.

As she looked up she saw her son already running to Alexis and Rick. She smiled and chased him, causing him to laugh and fall. He slid down a few feet and decided it was best to crawl up.

"Our turn!" Alexis shouted and sat on her dad's lap. "Can Noah come with us?"

"You have to hold onto him really tight," Rick answered and held his hand out for Noah.

"I'll put him on," Kate said with a smile and sat her son in front of Alexis. "Hold on tight."

"Got him," Alexis smiled and held onto Noah as tight as she could.

Kate pushed them down the hill and laughed when she heard Rick screaming down the hill. This family was so hard to keep up with, but incredibly fun. Something her and Noah haven't had with other people in forever.

"Don't eat the snow!" Alexis yelled while walking back up the hill.

"He can eat it, just not the yellow kind," Rick said to her and lifted Noah up since he kept sliding down. "Some needs a little more strength in their legs."

"Your turn," Alexis said to Kate and Rick.

"We can't leave you two by yourselves," Kate said to Alexis.

"Let's all try getting on the sled together," Rick suggested with a childish grin.

He sat down in the back and patted the spot in front of him for Kate. She shook her head with a smile and sat in between his legs. Next, Alexis sat in front of her with Noah. They were all pretty squished and laughing when they went down the hill slower than before. They waited a few minutes before getting up. They tiredly walked back up the hill and sat down for a few more minutes.

An hour went by until Noah's eyes fell on a bigger kid standing on a snowboard at the top of the hill. His eyes went really wide and he ran over to him.

"Hey little dude," the kid said and gave him a high five. "You have to be bigger to try a snowboard," he smiled and guided himself to go down the hill.

Noah decided it would be fun to run down the hill. Less than halfway down, he fell on his stomach and continued to slide because of the material of his snow suit.

"Noah, wanna go get hot-" Rick stopped when he noticed that Noah wasn't near them. His eyes scanned the hill and he saw him sliding down it. "Noah!"

"What?" Kate was confused and let her eyes fall where Rick's were. "Oh my god!" she stood up and ran down the hill. She slid to a stop by her son and grabbed his hood to stop him. "Jesus Christ, Noah," she said.

"Let go!" he yelled at her.

She ignored his yelling and picked him up. When she got back to Rick and Alexis, they were standing.

"Can we build a snowman now?" Alexis asked with her shy smile.

"Sure, but let's go to a different part of the park," Rick said while looking at Kate.

They finished building the snowman after twenty minutes. It took them awhile because Noah kept trying to run off. And every time he came back, he would destroy parts of the snowman.

"Perfect," Alexis finally said while observing it. "Can we go home and have hot cocoa?" she asked her dad. "It's cold."

"Of course," Rick answered with a big smile. "Besides I think being inside would be a good idea."

"I think so too," Kate added in before hoisting Noah up a little more. "Someone doesn't like to listen," she said to him and got a smile in return, making it hard for her to be mad.

A good fifteen minutes went by until they walked into Rick's loft. He helped his daughter out of her boots, gloves, snow pants, coat, and hat. He hung them up so they wouldn't get the floor soaked.

"Cocoa!" Alexis shouted and ran to the kitchen, waiting patiently.

Kate set Noah and his diaper bag on the floor. She had to hold him still in order to take his snow things off.

"You are so energetic today," she said as he ran off. "I have no idea where it came from," she said to Rick who was hanging his coat up.

"Must be the fresh air?" he gave her a sidewards smile.

"Are you sure you want to watch him tonight? I might be out until midnight or later…"

"I can handle it. Plus, my mother will be here in the morning. Her and Alexis have a little date at 9am, which means I can sleep in," he helped her out of her coat and hung it with the rest. "Until then, let's have some hot cocoa."

…..

"Noah James, it is bath time. Hiding won't make it go away," Kate said while searching for her son.

She stood in the middle of the living room and crossed her arms. How could a two year old hide and stay quiet so well? The search went on for another ten minutes until she heard small knocks coming from the apartment door. She gave up looking for her son and opened the door.

Noah looked up at his mom with a giant smile while holding Maddie's hand. "I found someone," Maddie said.

"Oh my god," Kate ran her fingers through her hair and let them inside. She bent down in front of Noah and took his hands. "Don't you ever, ever leave this house again. You're too little and you could be taken from me," she said with a meaner voice than anticipated, but it was hard not to since she this made her scared.

"More like he would have gotten hit by a car," Kate looked up at her friend. "I grabbed him just as he took a few steps from the curb."

Kate closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip. "Maybe I shouldn't leave him with Castle. He's causing so much trouble today and I don't know why."

"Does he usually try to leave the apartment?" Maddie asked while taking her coat off.

"Yes, but he has never succeeded before."

"Maybe you should get one of those chain locks and put it out of his reach," Maddie shrugged and walked into the living room.

"Good idea. Until then, it's bath time, mister," Kate said as she lifted her son up and struggled to carry him in the bathroom because he was trying to get down. "You can come in here with us if you want, Maddie," she yelled to her friend.

Maddie quickly walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She sat down on the toilet and pulled the Cosmo magazine off the sink.

"So, who's Castle?" she asked before flipping the next page.

"Noah's friend's dad," Kate answered while she lifted her son's shirt above his head.

"Castle as in Richard Castle?"

"Yeah…"

"Becks, you're dating your favorite author!" Maddie set the magazine down and focused on her friend.

Kate lifted her son into the tub and sat him down. She handed him one of his toy boats and watched him play. She wasn't dating Castle, she was just letting their kids play together and he always had her come along. If they were dating they would be alone somewhere, not with two toddlers running around.

"No, I'm not dating him," she finally answered while rolling up her sleeves.

"You want to. I can hear it in your voice," Maddie teased.

"He's… charming, but I don't know. I think I should focus on Noah right now," Kate replied before slowly pouring water over Noah's head.

"No! Stop!" Noah tried to cover his head.

"We go through this every time," Kate said to Maddie. "You think he'd be used to it by now."

"Must be a boy thing. The whole not wanting to get clean," Maddie shrugged. "But you should totally go after Castle or do you call him Rick?"

"I call him both names," Kate answered while carefully rubbing shampoo in Noah's curly hair.

"Becks, you need to just go for it."

"I don't think I want to, Maddie. He just got through a messy divorce and I'd rather not be his rebound."

"So you do want to date him."

"Maddie!"

"Fine. Whatever," Maddie responded giving a her friend a glare before picking the magazine back up.

"Stand up," Kate said to her son. She gently washed his body before letting him sit back down. "You can play for a little bit," she smiled at him and turned toward her friend. "Where are we going tonight?"

"Not sure yet. Club hopping sound good?" Maddie asked.

"As long as we don't have to wait outside for too long, sure."

Just then, Kate felt a large amount of water land on lap. She looked toward the tub to find Noah splashing around like crazy. The sound of Maddie laughing, made her give her a look to shut up.

"Noah…"

He immediately stopped when his mom's attention was fully on him. He squinted his eyes at her and gently patted the water.

"He is just like you, I swear," Maddie said through her hands. "Causing trouble when not being watched and instantly being good when he is."

"Shut up," Kate rolled her eyes. "Don't splash like that, okay? You can only do big splashes in pools," she said to her son as she touched the water to see if it was cold. "Time to get out."

"Here's his towel," Maddie handed her friend the light green towel.

…..

"This is his place?" Maddie asked when they were outside Rick's loft.

"Yeah," Kate answered before knocking. She put Noah on her other hip and waited patiently.

When Rick opened the door, he instantly smiled at Kate. He let them in before introducing himself to Maddie.

"I'm Rick," he held out his hand.

"I'm Maddie."

"I presumed," he smiled while shaking her hand. "Did someone take a bath before coming here?" he asked Noah who nodded with his fingers in his mouth. "Alexis just got out of hers."

"We're gonna build a fort!" Alexis exclaimed from the living room.

Kate set Noah down before taking his coat and hat off him. She hung the coat up and stuffed his hat down one of the sleeves.

She handed Rick his diaper bag. "Everything's in there," she said. "But if something happens, please call me."

"Nothing is gonna happen," he reassured her. "Just pure fun."

"Okay," she smiled and knelt down in front of Noah. "I'll be back in a little while, okay?" his small arms clung onto his mom when she hugged him. "Be a good boy," she kissed his cheek before waving goodbye to Rick and Alexis.

"Have fun, ladies," Rick said before they walked out the door. "I like your pajamas, Noah."

Noah plopped on the floor with his watery eyes glued to the door. He put his fingers back in his mouth before actually crying.

Upon hearing the crying, Alexis came running over as fast as she could. "What's wrong?" she asked her dad.

"He's upset that his mom left," Rick answered with a frown. He hated when little kids he knew cried because he always felt useless.

Alexis went on her knees in front of Noah and smiled at him. "She'll be back," she nodded. "Wanna help build a giant fort?"

Noah rubbed his eyes and nodded. He let Alexis take his hand and lead him into the living room. When she hopped onto the blankets, he giggled.

"All good, Chief?" Rick asked and got a small smile in return.

They spent a half hour turning the entire living room into a fort big enough for adults. Rick ended up bringing popcorn and games into it. They played for a couple hours until he checked his watch.

"Wow. It's late, guys," he said to the kids. He smiled because he could tell they were sleepy. "Let's put a movie in and lay down in the sleeping bags."

"Okay," Alexis nodded sleepily and climbed into hers.

Noah looked up at Rick confused. He has never stayed at someone's house during the night before and it honestly frightened him. His bottom lip started to quiver as his eyes filled with tears.

"Don't worry, Chief. By the time the movie is over your mom will be here," Rick pulled him onto his lap and got the two of them into the sleeping bag.

"You're silly, Daddy," Alexis giggled when she saw them sharing the sleeping bag.

Two hours later, Rick's phone was buzzing. He swatted the air with his free hand not wanting to answer it, but realized that Noah was still here. He quickly searched for it and picked it up.

"Castle," his voice a bit raspy.

"Were you sleeping or something?" Kate asked.

"N-no. Just… laying here," he replied and heard laughing in the background. "What?"

"Would you mind letting us in?" she questioned.

"Yeah, hold on one second," he ended the call and set his phone down.

As carefully as he could, he got Noah off his chest and laid him on the pillow. He smiled when the toddler's thumb instantly went into his mouth. While crawling out of the fort, he realized his hair was probably a tad messy. So, he frantically tried to smooth it down before opening the door.

"You were asleep," Kate shook her head and smiled. "Where is he?"

"He's asleep under the fort," Rick yawned and smiled at Maddie. "You girls have fun?"

"Maddie is… wasted," Kate answered for her and guided her friend into the loft. "Wait here," she gave Maddie a look before walking toward the fort. "Wow," her mouth dropped at how big the fort really was. It covered all the living room furniture, except the coffee table wasn't actually where it should be. "How long did this take?"

"A half hour," Rick answered with a lot of pride in his voice. "I build them pretty quick because Alexis always wants one at least twice a week."

Kate opened the front and peeked inside. Her heart melted at the sight of her son and Alexis sleeping next to each other.

"I don't want to disturb him," she whispered.

"I didn't," Rick shrugged.

"What?"

"I think he was scared to fall asleep in my house so, I let him lay in the sleeping bag with me. When I got up, he stayed asleep."

"Huh," Kate shot him an admirable smile and crouched to walk in the fort.

She looked over at Alexis whose hair was in her face. Gently, she moved it behind her ear. The adorableness of this three year old was intoxicating. It almost made her want to have a daughter of her own, but she didn't really want another kid. Noah was enough. Her eyes fell onto her son and she gently lifted him into her arms. His thumb slid out of his mouth while his head laid on her shoulder.

"He's a heavy sleeper," Rick whispered when they were out of the fort.

"I know," Kate responded before walking over to the door. "Wanna help me put his coat on him?"

"Sure," he smiled and quickly helped her.

"I gotta pee," Maddie interjected.

"You can use my bathroom," Rick smiled. "Follow me."

"I'll be… yeah," Maddie said to Kate and followed the man in front of her.

Once she finished in the bathroom, she opened the door and put her hand up on the door frame.

"Are you gonna date, Kate?" she asked.

"What?" Rick's voice was suddenly higher.

"You know. Kiss, kiss. Bang, bang. All that jazz."

"I didn't plan on it anytime soon. I'm still getting to know her."

"She likes you, Rick," she put her hand on his shoulder. "I'd take advantage of that," she said before almost losing her balance.

"Let's get you home," he said even though his mouth was getting dry.

"Jesus, Maddie," Kate shook her head when she saw her friend being half carried.

"I'll help you bring her downstairs," Rick said.

"What about Alexis?"

"My mother's up in the guest room," he reassured her.

Once they had Maddie and Noah settled in the back seat of the car, Kate turned toward Rick.

"Thank you," she said.

"Anytime, Kate. It was fun," he smiled even though what he really wanted to do was kiss her, but he knew better.

He watched as she got into the car and drove off. He probably stood there for another ten minutes still trying to wrap his mind around what Maddie said. If she was speaking the truth then he needed to ask Kate on a date. A date that didn't involve two toddlers that required most of the attention, leaving it hard for him to flirt


AN: I wrote most of this while sick and it actually makes sense!

Thoughts?