AN: Sorry that I haven't updated, I have been DROWNING in Uni work. But I'm back, with another chapter - some more fluffiness, which is definitely what I needed after that SEASON FINALE OH MY GOD. I watched it online because I'm in Australia... and I spent the better part of the hour after I'd finished watching it sobbing. And occasionally saying "How?" and "Why?" - my poor mother had no clue what was wrong with me.

So here, FLUFFFFFFFY. TO MAKE ME HAPPPPPPY. And if you want to keep making me happy, leave a review! Sorry that I haven't replied to the last ones, there was a glich in the FF system.

IBYL
xo

The next morning we were all up early – Rick had a burst of inspiration at about 6am and kissed me good morning before rolling out of bed and heading to his study. I left the bed an hour later and jumped in the shower before putting on my favourite pair of skinny jeans, a nice warm blue turtleneck, my favourite black jacket and my "killer heels" that Rick loved so much. I wandered into the kitchen and started making breakfast for the three of us. Ten minutes later Alexis appeared at the top of the stairs and smiled, sniffing.

"You made waffles?" She asked.

"Yep. Felt like them." I said with a shrug, and she smiled.
"So when are you moving in officially?" She asked, clearly excited by the prospect which just made me beam.

"Well after I come with you to school, I'm going to head into the precinct for a bit, and provided all is quiet there, I'll head back to my apartment and start packing this afternoon. Your Dad's going to come and help me." I said, and she hugged me.

"Well I can't wait until you're properly here. I'm going to raid your music collection, consider this your warning!" She grinned cheekily and in that moment she'd never looked more like her father.

"What's mine is yours, Lex." I grinned and she smiled. I set a plate of waffles in front of her and excused myself, leaving to find Rick. I got to his study and knocked quietly.

"Waffles are up if you're hungry." I said.

"I'll be two seconds." He smiled, and tapped the keys on his laptop a few more times before closing the lid, removing himself from the chair and giving me a hug, before leading me to the kitchen. The three of us ate breakfast in comfortable silence, and Alexis excused herself to get ready for school. I turned to Rick.

"How about you stay home today and keep writing – I'll only be at the precinct for a while and even then it'll probably just be paperwork. I'll try and leave early so that you can meet me at my apartment and we can start packing everything up. Sound OK to you?"

"On one condition. You have to call me if a body does drop, or if you need anything – anything at all." I grinned and kissed him softly.

"Deal." I smiled, before heading off to grab my bag. Alexis came down the stairs, school bag in hand. We both bid our farewells to Rick and headed down to the car. Before long, we were at her school and ready to tackle the meeting head on. Just before we walked into the school, I took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"We'll be ok." I said gently, and she smiled weakly at me.

XXX

An hour later, Alexis and I were in the hallway outside the headmaster's office. After explaining the situation and admitting that she was wrong to react, Alexis was let off with a reprimand for her actions, but it wouldn't go on any of her records, which was great news. The girl who was being rude in the first place also received a reprimand, and her very plastic mother was outraged. I had to work really hard to not smile, and I sent a sneaky text to Rick asking him if he could meet me out the front of the school for a little revenge of my own. After the meeting finished, I gave Alexis a hug and kissed her cheek, telling her to have a good day. She pulled me into a close hug and whispered in my ear.

"Thanks, Kate." She murmured, and I smiled.

"Anytime, Lex. Go learn something and I'll see you tonight." She smiled and left for class. Trinity and her mom did not share such an exchange – they simply looked each other up and down before walking in opposite directions. I started for the exit and was pleased to find that Trinity's plastic mom was following me. I wandered down the steps at the front of the school and sure enough, Rick was waiting there, leaning against my car. With a quick glance at the woman behind me, I skipped over to him and kissed him passionately, smiling as I did. He wrapped his arms around my waist and smiled as he pulled away from me. I couldn't resist glancing at the insipid woman who was indignantly strolling down the street, glaring at me. I burst into a fit of giggles and Rick, after following my line of sight, did the same, before pulling me close again.

"Was this one of your 'marking your territory' moments? Because I can definitely get used to it." He grinned, and I smiled.

"Maybe. Maybe I just really wanted to see you." I shrugged a little, but I knew in my heart it was both reasons. It hurt to be away from him – something I really hadn't experienced before. But I was doing my best to take it in my stride.

"Am I coming to the precinct to keep you company?" He asked jovially, and I nodded shyly.

"Do you mind? I know you wanted to do some writing and it's cool if you can't." I said, but he just grinned.

"I think I'll come with you. Writing can wait." He smiled, before slinging his arm over my shoulder. I leaned into his embrace and enjoyed the feeling of being hopelessly in love.

XXX

That afternoon we left the precinct at about 3. We bid our farewells to the boys before heading to my apartment. Rick had had some boxes delivered, so we assembled a whole bunch and started packing up all my stuff. We stopped every now and then to reminisce about specific things, but mostly we just packed. Rick 'knew a guy' who had a truck available, and few hours later most of my possessions were evacuated from my place, leaving only my furniture. Rick had organised for a few pieces to come to the house in a few days to decorate my 'break-away' room, as he'd dubbed it. That was to happen on Friday afternoon, so we'd begun to organise our poker party for Saturday night. I was actually less nervous than I thought I would be – I'm not the kind of girl who deliberately flaunts her relationship around, but this would be fun. And it's people who are close to both of us, who understand just how much we love each other. Plus, it involved poker! It was going to be a hit.

The truck arrived at the loft within minutes of Rick and I, and boxes were soon dispersed around the loft - clothes in the bedroom, books in the study and so on. Rick's place, or our place, had plenty of space for my stuff, and within an hour or two the house didn't look too different, apart from my stuff intermingling with his. A few of my photos made his mantelpiece, my guitar was perched in the corner of the lounge and my cookbooks now held residence on the unused shelf in the kitchen. I looked around, and I smiled brightly.

"It feels like home." I said quietly, and Rick laughed.

"So it should. It is home now. You, me and Alexis – we're family."

With that simple sentence, my resolve broke and I sobbed into Rick's shoulder, the emotion of the day finally overtaking me.

"Please tell me these are more of those head-scratching happy tears." He said, and I laughed between my sobs.

"Yeah, more happy tears. I've never been so glad to be part of a family, Rick. I mean it." I smiled and he kissed me softly, before wiping my tears with his thumbs. I excused myself to clean myself up and returned to the living room a few minutes later, where Rick was on the phone ordering some dinner. Alexis tumbled through the door and dumped her school bag. I walked over and gave her a hug, and she smiled.

"After school study sessions kind of suck." She mumbled, and I laughed.

"Yep, they do. I'm not even going to try and be positive about them." I said, and she smiled, before looking around.

"So you're officially moved in?" She asked, wandering around the lounge room and taking in some of the new additions. When I nodded, she smiled. "I think there's only one thing missing then."

"What's that?" I asked, curious. What could we NOT have?

"New family photos." She said, grinning. I smiled, though I was on the verge of tearing up again.

"Lex, that may be the best idea you've ever had." I pulled her into a bear hug and she giggled. "Come on, your dad's ordered some dinner, so I say we go bug him until then." I tucked my arm around her shoulder and led her to the kitchen, where Rick was preparing for our food delivery. I left Alexis at the breakfast bar and walked over to Rick, who wrapped his arms around me quietly. I turned in his embrace and leant into his ear, whispering softly.

"You have the most amazing daughter in the world."

"I know." He smiled, before kissing me.

"Ew. Kid in the room." Alexis moaned, and I laughed. Rick grumbled.

"Way to interrupt a moment, pumpkin." He cursed, and I laughed. We were a family, in every sense of the word… and I couldn't wait to see what other wonderfully unexpected things would turn up in my life.