He wanted to do everything to keep her comfortable because even though she felt like a big girl now, she was still his little angel. On one night after dinner, he even went out for her favorite flavor of ice cream. He picked up puzzles and games, coloring books and crayons and anything he could think of that a five-year-old needed or wanted to keep herself occupied. Alexis was still on the mend she needed rest. She still had a little trouble with keeping her balance at times and he thought that it had to do with the fall she had taken. But after the third day (with Rick watching her every move while she slept) she was feeling a hundred percent better. Rick had made an appointment for Alexis to be seen by a pediatrician only if anything for his peace of mind. At first, she flat out refused to go. Her father tried to explain calmly that she needed to be seen. But she only wanted to speak with Kate. Her thinking was that Kate could look at her and determine if she was going to be okay. Kate had explained that while she was a doctor, she did not have the training she needed to care for her in the way that a pediatrician could. So, Kate talked to her and explained that if she wanted, she'd go with her to her appointment. She agreed, only after she explained the process to her. When they left for the appointment Alexis insisted that Kate holds her hand there the entire way. After being seen by the doctor the doctor had told them that this was to be expected due to her head injury. If it did not clear up in the next 48 hours or the symptoms had persisted they were to bring her back for another visit.

Kate had the luxury of having two days off in a row. They decided to use the time to their advantage. The loft in itself was 3300 square feet in size. So, while Alexis was preoccupied with watching a movie, for now, they both sat down at the dining room table and started to plan how they were going to furnish, paint, and make this living space that was the loft into their home. The furniture that Rick brought with him from his mother's apartment had taken a beating during the move. So, what they would do is either donate it or discard it. They started with the bedrooms. The loft had three guest rooms upstairs each with their own ensuite bathrooms. The bathrooms had just been remodeled prior to Rick purchasing the loft. There was nothing to do with them well only to add a personal touch that is. Alexis had the bedroom closest to the top of the stairs for obvious reasons. The other two were for guests if they had decided to stay overnight. Since the guest rooms had no furniture in them at all, they decided to start with paint, curtains, and carpet. They wanted to project the feeling of relaxation within the space. They picked out the best padding and the plushest carpet. The colors of the carpet would designate the paint they would use the paint the walls. They decided to hire a contractor to come into paint, and lay down the carpet. Rick had a friend who he knew from college who had recently set up interior design firm here in the city. So, they decided to use her if they could get an appointment. With the guest bedrooms taken care of, they needed to do something for Alexis' room. This is where Kate's creative side came out. Kate new Alexis loved all kinds of flowers. A new company that had just started to produce various floral prints and all types of children's characters in the form of wall decals had just been formed. With what this company had offered they could put the decals either above or below the border and that would break up the room. They decide to go with Carnation pink for the paint color. It was perfect for a little girl's room. The border they selected would break up the pink paint perfectly. As they looked through the catalog they found various flowers. Orchids, roses, and tulips and a lot of other very exotic flowers as well. The company had a package that you could buy that gave them 50 different flowers. So, they ordered a package and when the carpet, curtains, and painting was complete the three of them would start placing the decals on the wall. They would wait until they heard about her furniture until the designer came and made some suggestions. They only concern was one Rick had made known was that she had a large bed. With Alexis' room taken care of, downstairs was their next floor to tackle. Rick wanted all the modern conveniences for the living room. The furniture he had chosen for the living room had Kate questioning his choices. He had selected a very large pit group leather couch. The leather itself looked like sin. This particular piece of furniture only came in dark colors. Browns and blacks. If he decided to get this pit group, the design of the living room had to match the furniture. Shelving the idea for the pit group, Kate moved off to the question of whether or not to mention additional furniture.

"Rick, I'll agree to your pit group if you agree to let me pick the surrounding chairs or loveseat."

Rick thought about her proposal. He really liked the pit group, but did he trust her? He did unconditionally. After giving it serious thought, he looked across the table and nodded in agreement.

"Kate I trust your better judgment."

Kate became bold and slid a catalog in front of him. She had the catalog open to the page that showed her choice. The company was called Slumberland. The armchair she was looking at had leather armrests and a very plush looking area to sit on.

"I think you'll agree that these chairs will go along great with your pit group. They're comfortable, they have a massage option, cup holders, and even has a compartment for the remotes. And they are not that expensive." she said hoping he wouldn't look at the price of the chairs as she kept her finger over the price.

"Kate, could you kindly remove your finger please?" He noticed the price and said "These chairs are not that expensive babe. So, whatever the cost if you like them we will get them. Remember, I can afford the good things in life now."

Xx

For the entertainment part of the room, they decided that they would purchase the latest technology. It's just so happened to be a flat screen television was just coming out on the market. The sizes varied from the smallest being 20 inches to the largest which was 60 inches. They selected a Sharp 60-inch flat screen TV and it would mount to the wall right above the fireplace. DVD players had come a long way they were introduced two years ago. They decided to get a Sony DVD player. Along with this, they found a Pioneer 5.1 Dolby surround sound system. If they positioned the chairs and the pit group just right, then it would be like sitting in a movie theater right in their living room. The hardwood floors would be resurfaced and sealed to protect them.

Xx

The kitchen was what neither of them wanted. Of all the room's so far this was the least desirable. First, it did not fit their needs and everything was out of date. They had stripped the old wallpaper off the wall from behind the oven and it had come off in layers that looked to be at least 5 or 6 deep. The bottom layer had a design that neither one could make out, but whatever it was in had been put up there sometime in the mid-50's. As they looked through the Viking catalog they found that while a little on the steep side in cost, the appliances that they would decide on would last for a long time. The kitchen had an open airy floor plan and they intended to use this to their advantage. Standing in the kitchen they decided that the middle prep island would need to go. It was small to start with and they needed a larger one. With the redesigned center island, they wanted to add a Viking 36" open gas cook top. Having compared the Viking with the Miele cooktop, the Miele was a bit smaller so they went with the Viking. Keeping everything uniform they picked out the rest of the appliances all Viking as well. Since they both loved their wine, Rick needs to have a wine cooler. Viking made two a 15" and a 24" the 24" would be the one. It had a dual zone cooling capacity and held about 40 bottles in all.

The refrigerator was where they had a little disagreement. Kate wanted to have a freestanding unit, that would let them free up more counter space while Rick wanted to replace the new unit where the old one was.

"Babe, I know that you want to use the old space, but the new fridge that you're looking at will need more room to fit it in."

"I know. What I was thinking was that if we remove the cabinets and counter top which we had planned to do anyway we could fit this fridge into the same spot, but by widening it just a little."

Kate thought about his idea for a bit. She did like that space would not be taken up by a freestanding unit, but on the other hand, she really wanted the extra counter space. Then she had a thought.

"Rick, what if we moved the convection/microwave oven to the island opposite the wine cooler?"

"Combine the two?"

"Why not? This way we could use the area where the convection oven and microwave was and put the new fridge in that spot giving me more counter top room."

"That could work, the oven and the microwave are small enough to fit under the island. Great idea!"

They settled on the 42" side by side freezer/refrigerator. It would fit exactly into the spot vacated by the ovens. They were finished with the kitchen. Rick would call a couple of contractors to ask for bids on completing the demo and installing everything they wanted to really use the kitchen. Their bedroom was next.

They both loved the king-sized bed that they bought when she agreed to move in, so that was staying. There was little to do with where they spent most of their time together. Other than window dressings and tinting the windows (only because with the blinds open a crack the sun would peek through since the bedroom was facing East) they were left to look at new bedroom furniture. They went with a mahogany wood for the dressers and nightstands. Then when the paint was done, so were they.

"Kate, I think that went well." Rick said.

"You know I think that we have really made this place like our own. It feels like us."

Rick really wanted to tell her that she was finished with the renovations, but didn't have the heart to tell her that when he bought the loft, the rooftop was theirs as well. When the previous owner had moved out the flower garden had been neglected and it needed a woman's touch. He just wanted her opinion about how they could tackle the area, but it could wait until the next time she had some time off.

"Rick, what's got you in outer space?" Kate asked taking his hand into hers.

"It's nothing, Kate. Let's check on Alexis, it is past 10 pm."

Alexis had fallen asleep watching Disney's Aladdin. Rick gathered her up off the couch, grabbed monkey bunky and started for the stairs she never woke up. Kate meanwhile turned off the TV and DVD player turned off the lights downstairs and made sure that the door was secure with the alarm. Heading upstairs to help with Alexis, she thought that they had made great progress with the loft. Now all they needed to do was make it happen. Rick would call the contractors for estimates in the morning and other than the fact that their lives would be turned upside down with all the work being done, she (well, he would need to deal with it since he was home all the time) could not wait until it was complete.

They tucked Alexis in and both of them gave her a soft kiss to her temple. Walking out of her room Kate felt more and more like they were a family, she only wished that they were married. She was the one to blame for him not asking her yet because she had told him that she wanted to wait until her residency at the hospital was finished. But now, she did not want to wait for that to happen. She felt that every day that went by and they were not married, it was another day that they had wasted just living together and not sharing in their dreams. She thought this until her eyes closed lying to the man she was so deeply in love with.

A/N: Next chapter will have a large time jump, and then two or three chapters should wrap this up. thanks for all the reviews and fav's!

P2P