Love on Ice

Chapter 20

It is now one month later

Kate had two days off and took her morning shower without Rick since he was missing from their bed. She found him a little later in the kitchen without Maria or Alexis and he was drinking something that looked suspiciously like alcohol. "Little early, babe." Kate ran a hand down his arm and kissed his cheek. "Where's Maria?" Kate had gotten used to having Maria cooking for them. She seemingly always had something ready for the family.

Rick answered one of her questions, "Vacation. We're on our own for a week," finished his drink, and rinsed out the glass.

"So why are you drinking this early?" Kate decided on toast that happened to be cinnamon raisin toast and some fruit.

Rick led her into why he was drinking. "You remember that fight with those three Rangers players?"

"Those three idiots that started a fight? What about them?" She knew broken bones would heal.

"The league finally handed down fines and suspensions." They both knew that with Kate being a cop and filling out her report of the event that Rick was blameless.

"They didn't!" Kate stopped buttering her toast. "You didn't start that fight. Those three were being stupid."

"I ended the season for three players. If he doesn't recover from his broken kneecap I ended his career." Rick knew the league wasn't just going to dismiss that fight.

"And?" It shouldn't even exist but if they did it should be light. But Rick was drinking way too early in the morning; he must think it's bad.

"Two hundred thousand and a five game suspension." It was bad enough and without Kate he was betting it would have been even worse.

"WHAT! They can't do that! What did they think you were supposed to do? Let those three kill that guy? Can you appeal?" Surely he could do something.

"I can appeal but don't expect too much. If you think mine's bad you should see what those three got. The league is trying to cut down on the on ice fighting. This fight was different so they've decided to crack down." Rick was thinking it might get reduced but not removed completely. "At least they waited until after the season to make a ruling." He might have been suspended and missed playoff games or games before the playoffs if they had ruled quickly. He was betting the league had waited until the police had completed their evaluation and filed a report.

"Well shit! …Do you have the money?" Two hundred thousand was nothing to sneeze at. She certainly didn't have the money.

Rick nodded. "Yeah, I have it." Not all of his money was immediately available but he had enough cash on hand to cover it. "Speaking of suspensions and time off, would you be interested in going on vacation? I was thinking an entire week. I usually take a vacation after the season is over."

"Vacation?" Kate wasn't against the idea. It was just that she was so focused on her work. She wanted to be a senior and lead homicide detective. She had a team but she wasn't really senior even if she was in charge.

"Somewhere in Europe, perhaps. It's just a few hours across the pond. Or there's a scenic Canadian Rail trip I've been thinking about. We've been to the Bahamas so maybe Jamaica. Unless you have somewhere you really want to see." Rick was willing to listen to her ideas.

"I liked Russia when I went there for a semester in Kiev."

"You speak Russian?" Rick didn't know that. She was full of surprises.

"YA svobodno govoryu po russki. I speak Russian fluently though I'm a little out of practice."

Rick was very impressed. "Well maybe a multi-city rail trip that includes a city in Russia. We might end up being Saint Petersburg."

"Saint Petersburg might be nice. I'll let you plan so I can ask Montgomery for a week off." Kate was willing.

"Consider it done." Rick stepped across to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. Since they hadn't had sex this morning Kate deepened the kiss and let her hand wander down and cup him.

A sleepy sounding voice called out, "Mommy?"

Both Rick and Kate groaned at the interruption. Kate sighed then twisted to face her. "You're up. We should get you into the tub since you didn't have a bath last night." Kate reluctantly left Rick's arms to take Alexis back to her bedroom.

"I'll be in the computer room planning. We can go out for breakfast if you two are interested." Maria was gone and Rick wasn't in the mood to cook.

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Kate had Alexis squeaky clean and dressed so they went looking for Rick to decide what to do today and tomorrow for her two days off. She was guessing he was still in the computer room since he'd mentioned it.

"Have you found something already?" He wasn't working on his book.

Rick showed her the map. "There are two that include Russia. One is Moscow to Beijing while the other is Moscow to Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia. One night in Moscow with stops at Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibrisk, Irkustk, Lake Baikal, Ulan Ude, and three nights in Ulaan Baatar."

Kate was ashamed to say that she had never heard of any of those places. She knew of Moscow and Beijing but had never been to either of them.

Rick looked up at her. "You don't like it?" He saw it on her face.

"It's not that. It's just that I've never heard of any of those places." She didn't know what to do if anything in any of those places, save for Moscow.

"Welcome to the club." Rick had never heard of any of these places either. "At least it would be an adventure."

"What's it cost?" If it was too much she would kill it just for that.

Rick showed her the three different cabin levels: Silver, Gold, and Imperial. "Thirty-five thousand per person? No, Rick, just...no. I don't care how much money you make, you need to think of something else. Come on, pumpkin, let's go make breakfast." Kate took Alexis and left Rick behind to come up with a different plan.

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"Just in time." Kate spotted Rick entering the kitchen. She had just finished frying the sausage; the toast and scrambled eggs were done. "We just need juice."

Rick and Alexis were seated at the counter eating. "What's this?" Rick had brought some papers with him.

"An alternate vacation for you to think about," Rick said and kept eating. Then he cut up Alexis's sausage so she could eat it with her fingers since she was trying to eat the eggs with her fingers as well.

"Canada!" Kate looked it over. "Two days in Vancouver, four days by train to Toronto where we have two days. Six thousand three hundred twenty-two dollars per person still sounds expensive but at least it's much less expensive than the last one."

It came with hotel stays, a sleeper car with a Murphy bed and a pull-out sofa bed, a personal bathroom, exclusive access to the beverage car which was all-inclusive, priority dining reservations, and hop-on-hop-off sightseeing in each city.

"This is nine days, babe." She had said a week and this was longer than that.

"Do you not have nine days of vacation?" Finding something for all of them that was one week total was a challenge. Especially when he wanted to impress her and take her somewhere she'd never been. And make it easy on Alexis.

"Probably." She didn't usually take vacations until she met Rick. "When were you thinking?" She was going to have to tell Montgomery something.

"Somewhere around the 4th of July if that works for you," Rick said and watched Alexis make a mess while she ate.

"About two months from now. Should be enough advance notice. Give me exact dates and I'll put in for the time off. Canada, huh?" She hadn't actually thought of a vacation through Canada. She'd been sure he was going to take them to Europe.

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The next month had pretty much become a routine for all of them. Kate drove into work quite early and long before Alexis was awake and up. She would try to get home before Alexis went to bed and even eat dinner with them but that didn't always happen.

Alexis was out of preschool now, however, that didn't stop her from getting a cold. The first one had Kate walking to her bedroom after not finding her waiting for her when she got home. Kate didn't really notice but she did what any mother did with a sick child. She used her hand to feel for a temperature then got a thermometer to check her temperature. She made sure she was all tucked into her bed nice and warm. Sat with her and talked to her until she was told it was time for dinner.

Kate gave up dinner and spoon-fed Alexis what was she was willing to eat. After that she got her out of bed to use the toilet when she needed to then put her back into bed. Got an oral syringe, squirted her medication slowly into her mouth, and kissed her hot forehead, and left her to try and sleep.

"She has a temperature, Rick. Do we take her to the hospital or something?" Even if she herself hated hospitals they did serve a purpose.

He shook his head. "She'll be sick for a few days but she'll recover. Unless her temperature gets any higher or something else happens, she'll be fine. It's May and this is her third cold. She'll have three or four more before Christmas. Just hope she doesn't get one while we're on vacation."

That had Kate looking at Maria for confirmation. "Colds are common, Miss Kate. Be thankful that she isn't a boy. He would have scrapes, cuts, and maybe even a broken bone. Boys are far more active. Alexis is a typical little girl."

Kate was thankful for the information but it had her wondering if she really was ready to be a mommy.

"You take the bad with the good." Rick hugged her and gave her a quick kiss. He loved his daughter and seeing her sick was a small price to pay for having her. "Are you ready for dinner now?" Rick had waited for her while she spent time with Alexis.

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"You're going to have to take my car into work tomorrow," Rick informed her a couple of weeks later.

"Why?" Kate didn't understand. Her car was working perfectly.

"Maintenance. Change the oil and have everything else looked at. We want to keep it working perfectly."

"Oh." She knew cars needed it but didn't know when to do it.

"There's only three weeks until vacation," Rick reminded her.

"I know, I've been keeping track." She was actually looking forward to getting away. She was used to working long and hard but this vacation meant spending time with Rick and Alexis and not worrying about work.

"Do you know what our room will be like?" Kate asked since she was used to little hotel rooms that had two full-size beds side by side.

"It'll be tiny, I know that much. Barely room to walk around." Rick was thinking they might be living out of suitcases. There might not even be a space to unpack anything into.

Kate was afraid he would say that. "Where are we going to...?" Kate looked at Alexis who was on the floor in front of them playing, lost in her own imagination yet again. "Make love," she added softly.

"We're not. They aren't likely to have daycare and our room will be too small." Rick knew this was going to be a problem.

"WHAT!" Kate was going to die if she didn't get to make love to him. She was wild about what Rick could do to her body and she knew it.

Alexis had heard Kate. "Why did you yell, Mommy?"

"It's nothing, sweetie. Your father just surprised me with something is all."

"Surprise!" Alexis loved surprises so she got up and walked over to Kate. "What surprise?" She wanted to know what it was.

Rick spoke up to save Kate. "I told Kate that you're ticklish."

"NO!" Alexis ran off since she wasn't just a little ticklish, she was a lot ticklish and she knew it.

Rick was up and walking after her and wiggling his fingers. "Tickle, tickle!"

Kate was watching and listening to Alexis squeal and was afraid she might run up the stairs and possibly fall back down them. Instead she saw her run into the elevator and was gone. Kate was laughing. To get away Alexis could have either gone up or down though Kate was betting down since the "B" button was easier for her to reach.

"She escaped me!" Rick was a little surprised.

"That's my girl!" Kate was proud of her and hadn't realized what she'd just said.

Rick raced up to the roof just in case. As safe as the roof was to keep Alexis from going over the side he had to make sure she didn't.

Rick was walking back down after not finding her up there and saw Kate at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him. "Not upstairs."

"Have you tried looking in the elevator? She might not have even yet pressed any button," Kate suggested since the first time she had been in the elevator with Alexis, Alexis had had her press the button.

"Is this why you are the detective in this family?" Rick asked her and walked over to the elevator to open the door.

Kate stood there. "Family." For a second she freaked out until she swallowed it down. She wasn't going to freak out ever again. She was going to make this work. Alexis was calling her Mommy and she had gotten past that. She was living here so she was going to get past this part, too.

Rick was back with Alexis who had been hiding out in the elevator. "You're really good. Do detectives work in Missing Persons?"

"Um, not that I'm aware of. But I don't really know." She was in Homicide, right where she wanted to be so how would she know?

"So where were we before Alexis ran away?" Rick asked. "Oh yeah, we were tickling Alexis!" Rick spoke very fast and tickled Alexis who began laughing and squealing, then ran for it. She climbed the stairs as fast as she could on all fours and ran into her bedroom. She was pretty sure she would be safe there.

"I suppose it's up to me to go rescue her after her daddy has chased her away." Kate walked toward the stairs only to be stopped by Rick who enveloped her in his arms.

"I know I've told you but I need to tell you again. …I love you and you really are special." Rick smiled adoringly at her. She was going to go check on his daughter. It told him that Kate cared about her.

Kate suddenly felt great. "I love you, too." She kissed him back when he kissed her.

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"Here's your carry-on. You need to put what all three of us are going to need into it while I pack what Alexis is going to need." Rick left a wheeled carry-on for her to use while he picked up two large, soft, over-the-shoulder bags.

"Alexis really needs that much?" Kate hadn't traveled with children before and had thought Rick was just teasing her earlier.

"Even this might not be enough. Get ready to buy things at places we stop to keep her occupied," Rick warned her as he headed for her bedroom then down to where a number of books are kept.

"Okay." Kate still thought he was over doing it but surely he knew better than her. She shrugged then packed underwear for both of them along with something to wear. There were various medications, mostly for Alexis in case she got another cold. She couldn't forget chargers for their phones, wipes, Kleenex, passports, photocopies of their passports, and even photocopies of their birth certificates. Then she moved to Alexis's bedroom to pack something for her.

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"Have you got anything planned, Maria?" Kate didn't want her to just sit here and do nothing but clean and watch TV.

"I'm spending time with my family. I'll be fine, Miss Kate. It's all planned out." She was getting a nine day paid vacation in essence since Rick was going to pay her even if she wasn't watching over Alexis or the house. "You just have a good time." Maria actually hugged Kate followed by Rick. "You do what Mr. Rick and Miss Kate tell you," Maria told Alexis who looked sad and was ready to cry. "I'll be here when you get home, Miss Alexis."

Kate was driving since her car was the larger of the two and could handle all of the luggage they were taking.

Once they reached the airport Kate watched as Rick got a cart while she was pushing Alexis in her stroller that she didn't want to be in. There were a lot of people and while Alexis was just a little shy of being 4, having her in a stroller like this was just faster and safer.

Since Rick had the bags she let him handle everything, even at the security screening. Kate considered it just her luck that they as a group got singled out for bag screening and having a wand metal detector go over every inch of them. Thankfully they had time for this silliness.

"Sit here with Alexis and I'll be right back." Rick walked off. Kate kept an eye on him but he didn't go far and walked into a store.

"Mommy?" Alexis pointed.

Kate looked then immediately pulled her hand down. "Don't point, sweetie, it's not polite." Though they both watched whoever they were walk toward baggage claim. Kate had seen the type before. She was also thankful that she was past those years or she might look like him, or her since she couldn't tell. He looked like a left over from the Punk years in Britain. Wile clothes, jeans that barely hung from his ass, and a mohawk that looked like spikes sticking up.

Eventually Rick was back and he had an armful of stuff. Kate saw him stash a water bottle and various snacks into one of Alexis's carry-on bags. "Your bag goes in the overhead while these two fit under the seat in front of Alexis, hopefully." They were flying first class so the seats were bigger and there should be overhead bin space available.

Kate already knew that her seat was across the aisle in an aisle seat since first class was only two seats wide on each side.

Their stroller disappeared into the belly of the plane; they stowed their bags, sat in their seats, and waited. Then Kate found out what it was like to travel with Alexis. The tray table in front of her instantly became a new toy to play with and Rick tried to get her to stop. Then out came a coloring book and crayons. Shortly after that Kate watched Rick read to her out of a book with pictures and they hadn't even left the ground yet.

After take-off they were still climbing and Rick brought out some of the snacks he'd bought for her.

They weren't even halfway to Chicago where they would have a layover and change planes. "Potty!" Alexis announced loudly for everyone to hear.

"I'll take her," Kate volunteered since so far Rick had been doing all the work.

Kate soon found just how small a plane toilet was with an adult and one child. She began to question how anyone could ever join the mile high club in a space this small. She might be limber and could bend herself where others couldn't but this was a tight fit.

Once they were back Kate found Rick sitting in her seat. "Your turn." Now it was up to her to keep Alexis occupied and happy and not kicking the seat in front of her or opening and closing the tray table by slamming it. Or talking constantly and far too loudly.

After landing came the task of finding something worth eating since they had a two hour layover and needed to keep Alexis entertained. This was where Kate learned something about Rick and traveling with Alexis.

"What is he?" Rick was pointing like she had stopped Alexis from doing earlier.

"ALIEN!" Alexis proclaimed.

"What kind of alien?"

That had her thinking and being quiet for a moment. "Fishy."

"What colors?" Thankfully he was standing in line at a food stand so they both had time to look him over.

"PINK!"

"What about him?" Rick indicated an airport worker who was pushing his cart around picking up trash and installing new bags. "What is he?"

Alexis was quiet for a time as she watched him. "Rock!" she crowed.

"Rock?" Kate asked since she clearly didn't see what Alexis was seeing.

Alexis used her hands to show it. "Rock." Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"POTTY!" Alexis suddenly said to everyone within hearing distance.

"I think that's my cue." Kate was up and taking Alexis by her hand to the closest restroom she could find. Then picks her up in case she needed to go now, like right now. Kate automatically assumed that it was her job since women went into the women's side and men went into the men's and not little girls.

Rick watched her carry her back to where he was sitting. Kate saw that Rick was ready for her and gave her a book for her to read to Alexis while they waited for their plane.

Kate was getting a hands-on lesson on what it meant to travel long distance with a preschooler.