A/N: I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the delay! I've been swamped, and I haven't had time to finish it until now! Hope I am forgiven, and hope you guys like this part…
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The light made Kate groan in frustration. She was so tired; couldn't the sun just leave her alone for once? She stretched, and opened her eyes. Rick's room in the Hamptons. She reached over for his side, but the side was cold. Is he up already? Hope he hasn't been waiting for me to wake up. She thought.
She rose from the bed, and felt how sore she was. Wow, and after only two times? He really is big, isn't he? Kate had not slept with that many men; she was only twenty after all. Still, she had some experience, and she had never had this good sex this early in the relationship before. Hell, she had never had this good sex ever.
Walking in to the bathroom, she checked herself in the mirror. Damn it, he managed to make a small hickey on my neck after all! Still, it was nothing to the giant blue spot on the inside of her thigh. She rolled her eyes; trying to convince herself she hated them. Although, there really was not much she could do about the fact that she liked his need to mark her as his own. When did I start thinking it was okay to belong to someone? I'm really losing it, aren't I?
After dressing herself in a bikini and a summer dress, she went down the stairs, the smell of bacon and eggs meeting her. In the kitchen she found Rick standing over the frying pan. She went up to him and slid her arms around his waist.
"Mmm, something smells good" She wasn't just talking about the food.
He turned in her arms, sneaking his arms around her as well. "Good morning, beautiful" he said sincerely, a big smile on his face. He bent and kissed her, before pulling back and locking eyes with her. She could not help the blush that crept across her cheeks. Her gaze turned down, afraid that if she would keep the stare, her blush would just worsen. He just responded by kissing her forehead before turning back to the pan.
She took a step back, before walking over and leaning onto the kitchen counter beside him.
"You know, that giant mark on my thigh is going to be visible when we take a dip in the pool later. Besides, you also made a small one on my neck."
He looked at her mischievously. "And what are you gonna do about it, Officer? You said it was okay, after all."
She grinned back. "Well, I guess I did, didn't I? Still, I believe you could use some punishment of some sort."
His eyes darkened a bit. "Oh, and what might that be?" He said expectant. Just then Kate heard small steps closing in. there, in the door stood a small, five year old with messy hair and a cute kitten pajama.
"Good morning, Pumpkin" Rick said.
"Morning, daddy" she said back, rubbing her eyes with a small fist. "Morning Kate"
Kate was surprised to be acknowledged by the tired looking kid. "Hey, Alexis" she answered sweetly.
"I'm making bacon and egg, honey. You want some?" He asked his daughter.
"Yay! Bacon!" Alexis cheered.
"I'll take that as a yes" Rick smiled. Kate could not help but to smile too. The girl really was a little princess, and her father was so proud of her Kate could almost feel it herself.
They sat down and had breakfast together, talking about what to do that day, laughing over old stories Alexis told about how her father had fallen in the pool once, while trying to pick up a towel on the pool side. After breakfast Rick said he had to get Alexis dressed. Just as Kate was about to offer doing the dishes, Alexis interrupted her.
"Actually, daddy, can Kate help me?" Alexis asked shyly. Rick looked at Kate, asking with his eyes if it was okay for her. She nodded, but still felt her stomach twist and turn a bit. She was dressing her boyfriend's child now? Well, this isn't moving fast at all, she thought sarcastically.
"Yeah, sure kiddo" He said after seeing Kate nod. Alexis smiled, before running off to her room. Kate smiled coyly at him, before following his kid to her room.
When Kate entered, the little girl was already standing in front of her closet, the doors open to a wide collection of clothes.
"So, what do you wanna wear, sweetie?" Kate could not help the pet names; it just felt natural to call her by them.
Alexis blushed a bit, and lowered her gaze, before almost whispering out. "I wanna wear a summer dress, like you". Oh…. Oooh... That is why she wanted her help; she wanted to wear the same.
"Yeah, sure you can" Kate said, before turning to the closet, looking for a dress similar to hers. A smile spread across Alexis's face. After looking for a while, she found a cute, little pink thing with small flowers all over. This will do, she thought.
"Here you go, is this any good?" Kate handed over the dress. A shy smile on Alexis's face told her she had done well. "So, go change in the bathroom. Do you want me to help you with your hair?" Kate asked, figuring Rick probably did, and so should she.
Alexis looked at her with big puppy eyes. "Can you make twin braids?" She asked, almost a whisperer.
"Of course I can, sweetie." Alexis's eyes grew big, and a beautiful smile spread across her face. She walked over to Kate, and slid her arms around one of her thighs.
"Thank you, Kate. Daddy never makes braids. He doesn't know how, even though he has tried." She said, mumbling the last part to her. Kate lifted a hand and ran it through the girl's hair.
"Hey. No problem kiddo. I never had a little sister to do it on, so it will just be fun for me." She smiled at the insecure little girl clinging to her thigh.
"Really?" She asked expectantly.
"Yes. Now go get dressed before your father starts to wonder what happened." Kate could not help the bright smile that shone through in that moment. This sweet girl was so humble and lovely, it was impossible to not like her.
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Rick waited for half an hour, and then he started to wonder what was taking so long. Worried that his daughter was going to scare Kate away, he went up to the little girl's room. He heard Alexis go on about her stuffed animals. Opening the door, he was surprised by the sight. Kate sat behind his little girl, cross legged, braiding the long, red hair, a beautiful smile on her face, telling him she did not mind. Alexis finally noticed him in the doorway.
"Hey, daddy! Kate is making me twin braids. Am I pretty?" The little girl asked expectantly.
"You are beautiful, honey. Finally someone that actually can do your hair, right?" he asked, big grin lighting up his face. Kate smiled up at him. He thought he would see boredom shining through her features. What he did see, though, surprised him. She looked like she was actually enjoying making braids on his perfect, little angel. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I was hoping we could go gather sea shells at the beach afterwards, if you'd like that?"
"Yes, Kate, the beach is so full of super cool shells and they're real pretty!" Alexis said excitedly.
"Oh, well, then I'm looking forward to it" she smiled at the kid, and Rick felt his heart flutter.
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Kate finally finished braiding the girl's hair. "All finished. Ready to go to the beach, sweetie?" Kate asked.
"YES!" She exclaimed loudly, before running off towards the stairs. Kate let out a chuckle. This over excited and truly energetic kid could be so shy at times, it was almost shocking how fast she could go from timid to outgoing in seconds.
Following the girl onto the beach, Kate finally felt like she could enjoy the weather. The sun was shining and she felt more relaxed than she had done in over a year. It was so liberating to let her shoulders down. Sure, she still felt bad for leaving her father, but he would manage alright.
"Hey, Kate, come join us!" Rick shouted from near the water. She walked over to them, and they started walking along the beach to gather shells.
After a while, Alexis was running a bit ahead. Rick took her hand, and she felt her stomach fill with butterflies. Am I really in the Hamptons with my favorite author/boyfriend and his beautiful daughter just enjoying the sun? Never in a million years had she thought she would actually get to have a real conversation with him, let alone actually date him. The whole thing was surreal.
"Kate, look what I got for you" Alexis stretched out her hand to Kate, and gave her a small, but really stunning shell.
"Wow, Alexis, it is beautiful. Thank you" Kate answered, studying the shell.
"I think it is really pretty. Just like you" the little girl added. Kate was a bit out of words from that comment. She had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Rick saved her.
"Still not as pretty as you, princess" He said, before picking up Alexis over his shoulder, and running along the beach, Alexis in his shoulder squealing with delight. Kate had to laugh at that.
"Daddy, put me down!" Alexis said sternly when he had run back to Kate. He did as he was told, but then he got a mischievous grin on his face.
"Well, then it is Kate's turn!" He exclaimed. Kate did not even have time to react before she was hanging over his shoulder, and he was walking out in the water.
"Rick, put me down, put me down this instant!" She shouted at him, trying to sound as stern as possible.
"Okay, as you wish" He said, before flipping her down into the water.
"No, sto-" She did not even have time to finish her sentence, before she was under water. Breaking the surface, she was met by a cocky looking Rick, and Alexis, almost lying on the sand with laughter. Oh, what the hell, Kate thought. She jumped to him, and tackled him down in the water. All she had time to see was his surprised look, before they both fell under.
Coming up for the second time, Kate could see that the little redhead on the beach had officially started rolling in the sand in laughter. The cute laughter made her unable to contain her own, and soon, all three of them were laughing to the point of tears. The Castles really were a couple of goofballs, but that was one of the reasons she could not keep herself away.
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A/N: Yeah, that was it. Again, so sorry about the delay! I can't promise it won't happen again, but I will try to write faster. Just lots of stuff to do, and not a lot of time! Btw, I hope you don't mind my little Rick POV in the middle… I just wanted to get a kind of different perspective on the situation. Tell me if you liked it or hated it. If no one dislikes it, I might use it again sometime.
