Hey everyone, here's the new chapter. I'm sorry I didn't post earlier but I'm finally all moved in and I got my Internet connexion back (not without trouble) so here it is, I hope you like it.


Kate was sitting in the park, waiting for Rick and Alexis to arrive. They had planned a picnic for lunch today and it seemed like the Castles were late. Just as Kate was taking her phone out of her bag, she heard someone call for her. She turned around to where the voice was coming from. Alexis was running to her, her red hair floating behind her. Kate had trouble staying on her feet when the girl literally jumped in her arms.

"Hey there Alexis." Kate laughed, kissing the little girl on the cheek.

"If I jump in your arms, will I get a kiss on the cheek too?" Rick asked, coming up to them.

"If you jump in my arms, we will both crash on the ground and you will certainly end up crushing me." Kate laughed, kissing him on the cheek anyway. "Come on, let's find a spot to eat, I'm starving."

Once they were set up, Rick opened the basket he had brought. When Kate discovered the food he had prepared, she just had to ask.

"Rick, you know it's a picnic right? It's not a high end buffet for a charity or anything."

"I know. I just wanted to make it special, for you."

"It's sweet. But you know, a picnic is not fancy. Sandwiches or salads are perfect picnic food."

"Oh, so you won't mind if I keep the cupcakes I made for dessert. It's too fancy for a picnic right?" Rick asked playfully, knowing very well that Kate Beckett could not resist the sight of a cupcake.

"You have cupcakes? Where? Are they in there?" Kate asked, trying to take a look inside the basket.

"Can we start with dessert, please?" she asked Rick, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Kate, we can't start by dessert, it's for the end of the lunch." Alexis said very seriously.

"Listen to the four-year-old Kate." Rick said to Kate, "she is very wise."

"Fine." Kate said, pouting as she sat back down.

Alexis giggled. "You're just like dad when Gram says he can't have ice cream for dinner."

"Ice cream uh? That's good to know..."

"Ok let's eat. Who want some Italian ham?" Rick asked quickly, wanting to change the subject as fast as possible.


Once they had finished eating, they got everything back in the basket and moved closer to the playground for Alexis. After having been covered in sunscreen, the little girl ran off, leaving Rick and Kate on a blanket under a tree close by. Rick had his back against a tree, his legs straight in front of him. Kate was lying on the blanket, her head on Rick's lap, watching Alexis play with another little girl in the sandbox. She got out of her contemplation when she felt Rick massage her scalp with his hands. She turned her head towards him and smiled brightly. She still couldn't believe how much had changed for her in the last couple of months. She had graduated with very good grades, she had come back to New York, she had met Rick and Alexis … it was just the perfect start to the rest of her life.

"What are you doing for the fourth of July?" Rick asked, continuing to comb her hair with his hands.

"I don't know. I don't have anything planned yet. Why?"

"Would you like to join Alexis and I? It's a Friday this year so we could make a weekend out of it."

"I'd love to." Kate said, smiling brightly. "What do you usually do?"

"Well, that's the surprise part. We usually go to the Hamptons, have a barbecue on the beach and fire some fireworks."

"That sounds really nice. But don't you think we're a bit late to book something in the Hamptons? I'm sure everything has been booked for a long time."

"We don't need to book anything."

"Do you plan on going camping?"

"Nope"

"Then what? I love you but I'm not sure that I want to spend two or three nights in a car with you and a four-year-old." Kate said, getting confused.

"We're not going to stay in the car." Rick laughed.

"Then where are we going to stay?"

"At my place?"

"You have a place in the Hamptons?" Kate asked, making sure that she had understood correctly.

"Yes. I bought it when I divorced Meredith. I needed a place for myself and Alexis where we could escape her." Rick explained. "It is right by the ocean and it has a private beach."

"How rich are you? You have a huge loft in the city, a house in the Hamptons … I didn't know books paid that much." Kate said.

"Well, it was hard to get them started but once people started to buy them, it didn't stop. Apparently people like them." Rick laughed.

"Well, if my mother is anything to go by, I think I can imagine." she laughed. "She is really a mega fan you know? I think I might start reading your books. Maybe just to make her stop telling me to read them."

They stayed looking at each other without talking for a moment. Just looking in each other's eyes.

"Can I ask you a question?" Kate finally asked.

"Of course. Anything."

"Why did you and Meredith get divorced. Not that I'm not happy about it because it gave me you and Alexis but … what happened?" She asked, almost shyly.

"She cheated on me." Rick simply said, looking away from her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I ..." she said, sitting next to him and cuddling against his chest.

"It's ok Kate. You have every right to know. I would have told you if you hadn't asked. Well, maybe not right now but I would have told you."

"Still, I'm sorry to make you think back about a hard time." Kate said, kissing him softly. "I will never, ever, cheat on you Rick. I don't plan on ever being with anyone else that you for the rest of my life."

"I know you wouldn't Kate, don't worry."

"Is that when she left Alexis as well?"

"Yeah. But if I think about it, I would say that she left her before. Not physically but in every other aspects. She didn't really get interested in her. I already had to beg her not to have an abortion. I thought it would get better when the baby was here you know? But it didn't. There were some moments when everything was fine, when I thought she was coming around. But no. It lasted a day or two, but never more. Every time something didn't go in her way – which happens a lot with a baby – she would just … leave her to me. Not that I minded at all but still. She was her mother. What kind of mother leaves the room as soon as her child starts crying? Anyway, one day I came back from a publishing meeting and I found Alexis crying her little eyes out in her playpen. Once I had calmed her down, I went in search of Meredith and found her in our bed with the director of a film she wanted a part in. Needless to say, I was not happy. I yelled at her to get out of the loft and not to bother coming back. And she didn't. She was the one who served me with the divorce papers. And I didn't see her until the day we met you. That's why I was so shocked that day. First to see her and then that she wanted to take Alexis. And why I was so scared when I got the papers saying that she wanted Alexis back."

"What did my mother tell you yesterday?" Kate asked, clearing the emotion of the her voice while wiping her tears away.

"She said that that she didn't have a chance to get her. Alexis doesn't know her. I mean, she doesn't remember living with her. And Meredith doesn't know her daughter. I called her several times to come and see Alexis, for her birthdays or when I knew Meredith was in town but she never answered or called back. So I just stopped trying."

"I'm sorry. I know I don't have anything to apologize about but I cannot imagine a behaviour like that. I cannot imagine someone who would not want you or Alexis. You're just … the perfect family!"

At a loss of words, Rick simply kissed her with everything he had. "Thank you."

They got settle against the tree again, each of them looking at Alexis who was now playing on the swings, and wondering who could abandon such a cute and perfect little girl.