"How many more do you have?" Rick complained while entering the loft with two boxes.
"You said you wanted to help," Kate answered as she set her load down and stood up with a loud exhale. "I think there's a few more."
"This is exhausting."
"You're not the one who had to put them in the truck."
"You made me stay with the kids."
"I made you? Really?" She constricted her arms across her chest. "If I remember correctly you offered."
Rick opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly shut it because she was right. He watched her push the boxes against the wall and head to the living room. As she bent over the pack and play she set up for Noah since he was still sick, he couldn't help but stare at her firm, round…
"Daddy!" Alexis exclaimed from the stairs.
He quickly spun around to see his daughter sliding down the steps on her bottom. When she hopped off the last one, she dashed for him.
"Are you done?" she questioned while looking up with a bright smile.
"Not yet."
"Incoming," Esposito said from the hall. He charged into the loft and almost collided with Alexis, but she was lifted into Rick's arms. "You have a lot of crap, Beckett. This one is so heavy."
"That's because those are some of her books," Rick laughed as he pointed out the writing on the side of the box.
Esposito let the box drop on the floor, creating a loud thud.
Kate sharply turned on her heel to face the door. "Was that necessary?" she growled at Esposito. "You made him jump and wake up when he just fell asleep a half hour ago."
Esposito glanced over at Rick with a frightened stare and decided not to say anything. He ended up smiling and receding to the door.
"I'll grab some more boxes then I'm taking my truck back," Esposito teased, which ended up getting him a wrathful stare from his partner. "I'm kidding, but I will be right back," he announced as he headed into the hall.
"Daddy, look," Alexis gently demanded while holding up a nail. "We got to hang the thing."
Rick quickly took the nail out of her hand. "I told you not to play with these."
She furrowed her brows and glared at him. "You didn't."
"I told you not to go into the room until all of Noah's things are in there."
"But you gotta hang the thingy!"
"I know and that will be done after we put Noah's things in his room, okay?"
"Fine," she huffed and wiggled to get out of her dad's arms. Once on the floor, she ran over to Kate and pressed her face against the pack and play net.
"Hey, kiddo," Kate greeted and smoothed back Alexis' hair with a smile.
"Come play, Noah," Alexis said to her friend while bouncing on her feet.
Noah flipped the hook on his pacifier a few times before letting his eyes fall on his mom. He sluggishly got himself onto his bottom and held his arms out to her with a whine.
"Come here," Kate murmured as she hoisted him out and onto her hip. "Your fever is almost gone and I know you still don't feel good." She lightly kissed the side of his face before he let it rest on her shoulder.
"Watch a movie?" Alexis questioned while attempting to climb into the pack and play.
"Sure." Kate grabbed onto the back of the girl's shirt to stop her. "Only if you quit being a monkey."
"Monkey," Alexis softly giggled before running over to the DVDs for an animated movie. Without be told how to, she turned the DVD player on and inserted the disc.
"Mommy's going to keep unloading Javi's truck while you watch a movie, okay?" Kate questioned Noah as she carefully set him on the couch.
"Help," Alexis called out while holding two remotes. She didn't know how her dad got to the right channel, so she held them up to Kate.
After Kate put the TV on the correct channel, skipped the previews, and hit play for Kung Fu Panda, she set the remotes on the couch. She then slowly leaned down and kissed Noah's forehead.
"I'll be right back."
Two steps away from the couch and Noah was already crying for her. She silently sighed and squatted down in front of him.
"Stay," Noah whined as his pacifier fell out of his mouth. He quickly picked it up and put it back.
"I got an idea," Alexis shouted before sliding off the couch and into the kitchen.
She opened the freezer side of the fridge and yanked out the jolly rancher popsicles. She quickly backed away to let the other things fall onto the floor before she set the box down. While she pulled out two popsicles, she noticed her dad setting the things that dropped back into the freezer.
"You need to be careful, silly," he said with a grin. "Or ask me to help you."
"Help open?" she questioned while holding the two popsicles up to him.
She intently watched as he ripped the wrappers off of both popsicles and handed them back to her. After they were in her hands, she ran to the living room and stood in front of Noah.
"Happy Birfday," she said with a giggle and held out a popsicle to him.
Noah looked up at his mom who was sitting on the arm of the couch. When he got a smile from her, he hesitantly took the popsicle from Alexis. He pulled his pacifier out of his mouth and held it in his right hand while he licked the popsicle. His eyes widened at how delicious it tasted, which made him bounce in his seat with a smile.
"Good idea, Alexis," Kate said while she leaned down and kissed the top of Noah's head before heading to the loft door. "I'll be right back."
"I'll stay in here," Rick announced from the kitchen.
"Weakling," she loudly teased before stepping into the hall.
"More like I need to keep an eye on the little ones!" he yelled out, but knew she was probably by the elevator by then.
…..
By the time they finished unloading Esposito's truck and moved Noah's boxes into his new room, Kung Fu Panda finished.
Alexis turned to her side to notice that Noah wasn't there anymore. She rushed off the couch and almost fell into the coffee table before she regained her balance.
"Noah!" she yelled while running around the living room, searching for her little friend. She ended up facing the stairs when she heard two sets of footsteps run down them.
"What's the matter?" Kate questioned as she leaned against the rail on the square landing.
"I lost him!" Alexis exclaimed before she ran into the kitchen to search the cupboards since Noah hid in them once.
Kate practically dove off the platform to search the loft for her son. First, she entered Rick's office and when she was about to head back out, she noticed Noah lying on the floor. He had his head on his right arm and was rolling a car with his free hand.
"What are you doing in here?" she softly questioned, squatting down to place herself in front of him.
"Wait Mommy," he replied with a smile, which was hid behind his pacifier.
"You were waiting for me?"
He slowly nodded his head and looked up at her with his eyes.
"Come on." She carefully lifted him into her arms before standing. "Let's go see your new room," she murmured into his ear, which made him grin and hide his face in her neck.
"He's not in the bath-" Rick stopped speaking when he noticed Noah in Kate's arms. "Found you."
"He was lying on the ground and rolling a car," Kate stated with a smile. "Let's go show him his new room."
"Sounds like a good idea," Rick enthusiastically agreed with a fast nod. He headed toward the stairs and stopped at the bottom of them. "Come on, Alexis. Let's show Noah his room."
"Okay!" Alexis practically screamed from the kitchen. She slammed one of the cupboards shut and bolted to the stairs.
Once everyone was in front of Noah's new room, Kate bent down, so Noah could turn the handle and open it. After he pushed the door open, his pretty blue eyes widened. Within seconds of taking in most of the stuff, he started to squirm until he was set down. Right when his feet touched the floor, he ran toward one of the walls and tilted his head back.
"Batman!" he exclaimed with a squeal. He quickly turned his head and noticed all his other favorite superheroes along his walls. "Hulk Mash!" he happily shouted while clapping his hands.
"Told you that he'd love it," Rick lightly nudged Kate's arm, getting a joyous smile from her.
"In dere?" Noah questioned while peering into one of the many boxes on the floor. He lifted his head to see Alexis beside him, which made him grin. "Mine room?"
"Yeah!" Alexis cheered while hopping up and down, causing him to giggle.
He stopped attempting to see what was in the box and ran over to his toddler bed that was in the far right corner, away from the window. He patted the Batman blanket before climbing up. As he laid down because he felt a little lightheaded, he noticed all his favorite colors on the ceiling.
"Thems?" he asked while pointing up.
Rick carefully knelt down on the floor beside Noah's bed. "Those are paint splatters. Alexis was the one who came up with the idea."
"Lessis," Noah stated while turning his head to see his friend biting at her bracelet.
"Show him the thing now, Daddy?" Alexis inquired while looking between her dad and Kate.
"Alright." Rick got back onto his feet and gently lifted Noah into his arms. Since he didn't get any objections, he carried the boy over to his toy box at the foot of his bed. "This is your very first, very special comic book that I'm giving you," he explained while pointing to the picture frame.
"Batman, Supe-man." Noah paused, trying to figure out how to pronounce the next guy's name. "Robin!"
"Yes, this is the World's Finest Comics No. 2. It's one of my prized possessions and I'm letting you have it."
"Lotta moneys?" Noah questioned while leaning his head back to see Rick's face. "Mommy no buy comics. Lotta moneys."
"Let's just say that it's worth a lot," Rick replied with a cheerful smile.
Noah wrapped his arms around Rick's neck and hugged him. He then let his stare fall on his mom who was wiping at her eyes.
"Mommy 'kay?" he nervously asked with a frown.
"Yes, baby, I'm okay," Kate answered with a slight smile, still trying to get the tears behind her eyes to disappear.
Never did she think Rick would do that and with such sincerity and love in the way he spoke. If it wasn't for the two little toddlers in the room, she would kiss him and never stop.
"I have one too, Noah," Alexis said with a nod. "But not Batman."
"See?" Noah questioned while looking at Rick.
"I'll have her show you," Rick answered as he set Noah on the floor. He watched Alexis take his hand into hers before walking out of the room.
Within seconds of them being out of sight, Rick felt hands on the sides of his face and soft, wet lips against his own. When Kate pulled away from him, he had to regain his breath that she stole.
"W-what was that for?"
"Being you," she hummed while holding his eyes with hers. "Being the most loving man that I know."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," she whispered before pulling him in for another, longer kiss.
This time, he pulled away and was stunned when his lip was being tugged between her teeth. He was ready to push her into the wall and get what he knew they both wanted, but the kids were down the hall and would be back any minute.
"You are such a tease," he playfully growled while pulling her waist to him. "You make it hard to contain myself."
"I know."
"You know?"
She lightly shrugged her shoulders while biting down on her bottom lip with a sly smirk.
"See! Right there!" he basically shouted.
"Oh, you big baby," she deeply laughed before laying her head against his chest. "We will be sleeping in the same bed every night now."
"Sleeping? Who said anything about sleeping?"
"We will eventually have to sleep because I have to work and we have Noah and Alexis to care for."
"True." He rested the bottom of his chin on the top of her head and smiled at the doorway when he saw Alexis and Noah appear, her still holding his hand.
"Mommy," Noah whined while rubbing his eye.
Kate sluggishly lifted herself off of Rick and rushed over to Noah. She gently lifted him into her arms and held him close.
"Little Batman needs to get better soon," she soothingly murmured into his ear.
"Then we can play fun stuffs and go see the fishies again!" Alexis added in with a squeak.
"Yes, we can go see the fishies and the dinosaurs. You two will be living together now, so you will always get to play when you wake up," Rick stated with a bright smile.
"Yeah!" Alexis exclaimed while looking up at Kate. "I love you," she happily spoke while hugging Kate's legs.
Kate kept her eyes locked with Rick's as she used one of her hands to hold the back of Alexis' head. "I love you too, sweetie."
"I got it!" Alexis yelled as she pulled away and ran out of the room.
It wasn't until then did everyone else hear the knocking at the door. Since Henry wasn't working today, the other doorman usually let anyone that didn't look threatening in. Rick didn't think anyone else was coming over until Noah was better, so he exited the room with Kate not too far behind him.
As they descended the steps and stood by the loft door, he nodded to Alexis, giving her the go to answer it.
Alexis pulled the door all the way back and went wide-eyed when she saw who was behind it.
"Hey," Sorenson greeted in an almost whisper with a slight smile.
Alexis narrowed her eyes at the man before running off to go play.
"What are you doing here?" Kate questioned as she rubbed Noah's back and stepped forward.
"I was, um, wondering if I could spend some time with Noah, if he's alright with it," Sorenson spoke while looking into her eyes.
"He's sick right now, but yeah, if he's okay with it," she replied while turning her head to see Noah staring at his dad. "When you're better do you want to go out with your daddy?"
"No mean?" Noah questioned Sorenson.
"I won't do anything like that again, buddy. I'm so sorry that I did," Sorenson sincerely answered, trying to fight back the guilty tears forming in his eyes. "But I'm going to be leaving the state soon and I would love it if we spent some time together."
Noah turned his head toward his mom, noticing that she was calm. He then reached for the floor until he was set down. He ran forward and looked up.
"Batman?"
"The Riddler," Sorenson responded while squatting down with a playful smirk.
Noah's eyes went as wide as possible as his pacifier fell out of his mouth. "Him know Batman!" he squealed with joy.
"Yeah, that's your daddy's favorite superhero," Kate said with a smile while leaning into Rick's side.
"It's yours too," Sorenson stated, keeping his eyes glued on Noah.
"Makes sense," Rick added in.
"Right?" Sorenson questioned.
"The whole losing a loved one and seeking justice…" Rick trailed off when he noticed the glare he was receiving from Kate.
"Okay, little guy," Sorenson said. "How about you have your mommy call me when you feel better?" he asked since he could sense the tension in the air and felt like he wasn't wanted here.
"Play me?" Noah asked while looking up.
"Of course. We can play with loads of Batman stuff and other toys if you want."
Noah quickly spun around and almost fell over. He stared at his mom with a giant smile.
"Yes, we can call him when you feel better," she sadly agreed.
"Alright, buddy, I'll see you soon," Sorenson promised as he ruffled Noah's hair.
"Can you call me tonight?" Kate inquired before Sorenson left.
"When I get out of work, yes," Sorenson said with a nod before glancing down at Noah and walking away.
Rick walked forward and closed the door, locking it in the process.
"Wow," Kate spoke with her exhale.
"That was a surprise," Rick nearly whispered since he was still shocked.
Noah kept looking between his mom and Rick until they both noticed. He smiled up at them before lifting his arms to Rick.
"We can talk later?" Rick inquired while hoisting Noah onto his hip.
"Yeah, later," Kate murmured while her two boys walked away from the door.
She was not looking forward to Noah being alone with Sorenson, but it had been months and she knew he was stable. The whole bit about him leaving the state confused her. If he was leaving for his job, she would be so pissed, but then again, she wouldn't care because Rick was there for Noah way more than he was. That was all she needed to be okay with the assumption that Sorenson was leaving the state for his job, again.
…..
"What are you doing?" Rick whispered, even though the kids were upstairs fast asleep and he was in his office.
"I love the view," Kate answered with a tired smile while sitting on the window seat.
"What's in your hand?" he raised his eyebrow before walking over to her.
"Baby monitor," she replied while shaking it. "Noah still wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes."
"Ah, I see." He slowly sat down by her feet. "What did Sorenson have to say?"
"He is for sure leaving for his job. He got a better offer in Washington D.C."
"Really?"
"Don't sound so relieved. As much as I dislike that he hit our son, Noah deserves to get to know him."
"That's true and I'm glad that Noah didn't freak out like he did before. That psychologist really helps, huh?"
"Yeah."
"You know," he began to say, but opted out. "Never mind."
"You can't do that."
"Do what?"
She slowly turned her head toward him, narrowing her eyes into his. "Start a sentence and say never mind."
He brought his hand through his hair and gave her his charming smile. "We should have a date night soon."
"Who is gonna watch the kids?"
"Either we can separate them or find someone who would be willing enough to watch them both?"
"Or we could put them to bed before we have someone watch them."
"Ohh, a night out on the town. I like that."
She shook her head with a tired grin. "Where would we go?"
"We could go someplace for a late dinner then wherever you want."
"Mm. We should go dancing."
"Dancing?"
"Yeah."
"Anything you want. As long as you're having fun."
She nodded before bring her gaze back to the window. She observed all the skyscrapers and lights in the night sky.
"What's on your mind?" he murmured while gently pushing some of her hair behind her ear.
"I know Noah isn't too attached to his dad, but I feel like it's my fault he's leaving," she admitted with a sigh.
"Kate, it is anything but your fault. He loves his job and his kid because I could see it in his eyes earlier. He feels guilty and maybe that's why he's running. Maybe he feels it's best for Noah."
"Or because he will always put his job before our son." Kate angrily bit down on her bottom lip and glared down at the baby monitor.
"That's how Meredith is." Rick saw how Kate's curious eyes fell on him. "Her so called acting comes before Alexis. The only time it didn't was when she was in labor and home for a few months afterwards. Other then that, I was the mom and dad."
"It's cute that you're Mr. Mom," Kate softly chuckled.
"It happens, but that's not the point. The point is that there are some people that will always put their job before their kids, yet still love them. You and I are not like that, so we don't understand what goes through those kinds of parents' heads. For all we know, they think they are doing what's right for their kid, when really it's not."
"You're so smart," Kate murmured with her head against the wall, trailing her eyes down Rick's handsome face.
"It's what I learned with Alexis. Meredith is very neglectful, but she does love her. Maybe not as much as me, but close."
"I love her too," Kate happily exhaled.
"You have no idea how much that means to me."
"I think I do because you love Noah like I love Alexis."
"Touché."
Kate nodded to herself before turning up the volume on the baby monitor. Her son's stuffy but steady breathing helped her come to terms with Sorenson's leaving.
She hated knowing that Noah would barely know his own dad. Even though Sorenson said he'd call once a week and visit on holidays, it wouldn't be the same. But thankfully, Rick would be in her little boy's life and she couldn't ask for anyone better to be his father figure.
"How about we head to bed?" Rick spoke, which brought her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," she hummed, holding the baby monitor to her chest as she slid off the window seat.
When she was pulled into Rick's arms, she let out a joyous sigh.
"I love you, Kate," he lowly mumbled into her ear. "So much."
"I love you too," she whispered back before his lips met hers.
Once they pulled away, he gently took hold of her hand and led her into the bedroom. She knew what he was thinking, but she was so tired and her mind was still on Noah and Sorenson.
"How about some other time?" she questioned while climbing under the covers.
"That's fine by me," he replied as he followed her and pulled her into his arms. "Your first night in your new home."
"With the man I love," she added in with a smile.
"And the two little ones upstairs."
Kate turned on her side, so she would be facing him. "How do you think you will manage with two toddlers while I'm at work?"
"Well, Alexis starts preschool in September, so that won't be too bad because it will be just me and Noah unless you put him in daycare or something."
"That's totally up to you because you will be the one watching him."
"Um." Rick opened his mouth to say more, but quickly closed it.
"Speak up."
He anxiously itched the back of his head. "We can talk about it in the morning."
He could sense that he was being glared at, but he didn't want to discuss what he was going to say because it was late and they both needed sleep. Besides, it would be better if he told her about him following her at the precinct in the morning, after she had her coffee.
"Why do I feel like you're hiding the biggest secret from me right now?" she inquired with a growl.
"I'm not hiding a secret," he chortled and shook his head. "But let's go to sleep before we only get five hours."
"Five? What time is it?"
Rick turned toward his alarm clock. "Quarter to midnight."
"When did I put Noah to sleep?" she asked out of confusion.
"You never looked at the clock, did you?"
"No…"
"You carried him upstairs at about nine then, you came back down and took a shower before texting Sorenson to see if he was still awake."
"I was on the phone with him for almost two hours?"
"I guess so," Rick deeply chuckled before pulling her closer to him. He rested his chin against the top of her head. "Instead of trying to remember the time and everything, why don't you try to sleep?"
"Mm, maybe," she sleepily answered, snuggling into his chest to take in the scent of his cologne.
"See, you're tired," he whispered into her ear before kissing her forehead. "Night, Kate."
"Night," she replied with a yawn.
He eventually noticed how her breathing became steady and how the weight against him became heavier, indicating that she fell asleep. A smile made its way across his lips as he closed his eyes. He finally had everything he ever wanted: the woman of his dreams, two little kids - though one technically wasn't his, but he considered Noah to be - and they were all living together. He also was almost finished with his last Derrick Storm novel, which meant he really had to talk to Kate about following her around at the precinct.
He would worry about that in the morning. Until then, he wanted to sleep with his beautiful girlfriend and happily wake up next to her.
