FACE TO FACE
CHAPTER 7

Kate didn't sleep that night.

When the sun shone through her window early in the morning, she swung her legs over the mattress and made her way to the bathroom. She moved on autopilot, her brain barely functioning thanks to the previous evening's bombshell news, subsequent fight, and her lack of sleep.

Even though it was Saturday, after she showered and dressed, she grabbed her briefcase and headed into Manhattan. It wasn't the first time she'd gone into the office over the weekend, and it definitely wouldn't be the last. In face, when she stepped onto her floor and heard voices, she realized that she wasn't the only person there.

She lifted her hand in a wave at Kevin and Javier, two fellow associates, on her way to her desk. None of them stopped to chat, and as she lowered herself into her chair and waited for her computer to boot up, she sighed and scrubbed her hand over her face.

What a fucking mess.

She glanced at her phone when it buzzed, noticed Rick's name, and rolled her eyes at his message.

Can we talk?

It was immature, but she had no interest in talking to him yet. He'd overreacted, lashed out at her for no reason, and although she knew that the ball was in his court, she wanted to stew just a little longer.

Her phone buzzed again.

I'm coming over.

She sighed and tapped out a quick reply.

I'm not at home.

Where are you?

When she didn't respond, her screen lit up with an incoming call, and as annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but smirk at the goofy selfie that was his picture. She considered sending him to voicemail, but when she noticed both Kevin and Javier looking in her direction, their curiosity piqued by the incessant buzzing of her phone, she rolled her eyes and answered.

"I can't talk now," she snapped, swiveling in her chair to face away from the boys.

"Okay, well, can we talk later?" Rick asked, his voice desperate, almost begging her. "I feel terrible about last night. Please?"

Kate sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose to try and fend off the headache that was rapidly forming. After a long minute, she gave in. "I can meet you for lunch."

"Perfect. Noon?"

She examined the pile of client folders in front of her, all with work she wanted to get done that day. Technically she could leave it all for Monday, but she needed the distraction. "One," she countered.

If he wanted her forgiveness, he was going to have to work for it.

Rick was waiting for her outside the deli, his hands stuffed in his coat pockets, his shoulders slumped. He straightened when he saw her, and he offered her a small smile, but didn't make any effort to reach for her.

Which was fine with her.

Kevin and Javier had perched themselves by her desk and nagged her all morning for information about the mysterious phone call. She'd been keeping her relationship with Rick to herself - and Lanie - for that very reason. The boys didn't mean any harm, but they prevented her from doing any work. As a result, she was even more annoyed than earlier.

Her face must have shown her mood, because the tips of Rick's ears turned pink, and he shuffled his feet when she approached.

He cleared his throat. "Hi."

"Hi."

"Before we go inside," he said, "I need to say something."

She just raised her eyebrows, and when she didn't respond, he sighed and continued.

"When Meredith and Chris showed up, they took me completely by surprise. I've never thought about having kids, and now that it might happen, and with her, of all people…" He raked his fingers through his hair. "That's no excuse for lashing out at you."

"But you did," Kate interrupted, crossing her arms. "I was just trying to be there for you, Rick. You know, support my boyfriend. And you turned me into the bad guy."

"I know, but-"

"If you're just going to give me excuses, I'm leaving."

His fingers curled around her bicep as she started to walk away, and she turned back to him, her eyebrows raised, met his gaze with hers.

"I'm sorry," Rick sighed. "For everything. It wasn't fair to you, for me to turn on you. I've already made an appointment for a paternity test, so we can find that out as soon as possible. But regardless of the result, I was an asshole to you. There's no excuse for that. And I'm sorry."

Kate tugged her arm from his grasp and took a step back. She'd wanted an apology, and he seemed sincere. Even so, she was wrecked with turmoil, thanks to so many unknowns.

"When will you know about paternity?" she finally asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Could be a month, month and a half."

She nodded. "If it comes back positive? What then?"

"I-" Rick pauses. "I don't know. Obviously I'd support the kid and parent them as much as possible."

"And Meredith?"

"I have no interest in being part of her life anymore, but if the kid is mine…" Rick trails off and shrugs. "I guess that would answer the question."

It was Kate's turn to rake her fingers through her hair. She didn't want to see Meredith ever again, especially as long as Chris was part of the equation. As much as she wanted to be with Rick, she didn't know how much she could put into their relationship until they knew more.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose as she made her decision. "Look, Rick," she started, "I don't know what to do. We've been dating for a month, and things have been going pretty fast." She raised her eyes to meet his, and the turmoil in his gaze had her regretting her words even as she said them. "I think we need to take a step back, at least until you know about the baby."

Rick reached for her as she started to step away, but she dodged his hand. "Kate, no-"

She shoved her hands in her coat pockets as she turned around and walked away, ignoring his protests until they were drowned out by the sounds of traffic around her.

She managed to wait until she got home to cry.

Never before had Kate experienced time move as slowly as it did for the next five weeks. Even the days following the accident that took her parents from her, when it took everything in her just to get out of bed, and the days were an endless cycle of mourning, moved faster.

Every morning she woke and went to work, and every evening she cried herself to sleep. Lanie tried to coax her out for drinks after work, but every time she refused. She did meet her friend for their monthly brunch, but let Lanie do most of the talking, and barely even touched her food.

Rick tried to contact her several times throughout the first week, but as she ignored his calls and texts, he eventually stopped.

That hurt more than walking away from him.

One morning five weeks after the last time they'd spoken, she woke with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Although she didn't know exactly when Rick had done the paternity test, or when the results were expected, she had a hunch that it would be very soon.

When she looked at her phone and saw a text from him, she knew that "very soon" was "right now."

Can I come over tonight?

She took a deep breath as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Before answering, she padded into the kitchen and turned on her coffee pot, thankful that she'd at least had the foresight to prepare it the night before.

As her coffee brewed she checked her calendar. She didn't have anything scheduled that afternoon, so in theory, she could leave work at a reasonable hour. Once her coffee was ready she grabbed her favorite mug and took it back to her room, sipped as she went through her morning routine.

She finally responded once she was at the office.

7:30

She ended up leaving work early.

A headache began to form shortly after her arrival, she almost dropped her laptop, and she took the wrong client folder into a deposition. Once a wheel fell off her chair and sent her toppling to the floor, she called it a day.

By the time a knock sounded on her door promptly at 7:30, she was a nervous wreck. She almost trembled with desire at the thought of seeing Rick, but she also tried to anticipate the worst.

She'd already made up her mind that, while she would support Rick if he were the father, she would spend no time with Meredith as long as Chris was in the picture. If Rick wasn't the father...that was less of a sure answer.

She enjoyed their time together, and there was no question that she'd missed him. But they'd hit the ground running, and it scared her. What if they jumped back into a romantic relationship, and she kept falling for him? And what if they crashed and burned? She wasn't sure if she could deal with more heartbreak.

She took a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her leggings before opening the door.

Rick's eyes flicked down her body, and she flushed under the heat of his gaze. He wasn't there for sex, she had to remind herself, but to have a conversation that could determine the course of both of their futures.

But, God, it had been a long five weeks.

Kate stepped to the side, shut the door when Rick came in.

Rick turned around to face her, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Hi," he said after a long moment of silence.

"Hi."

He swallowed, and she ignored the way his throat bobbed, the way his hands in his pockets pulled his pants tight against his front. Knowing what was under those clothes, the various ways he could make her tremble with pleasure, made her mouth water.

"How are you?" she finally managed, winced at the pointed stare she received.

Rick let out a sarcastic chuckle. "How am I?" he repeated. "You ignored me for a week, and we haven't talked in over a month. How do you think I am?"

Her arousal all but evaporated at the anger in his voice. "I'm sorry," she breathed, taking a step forward. "I know I pulled away. It wasn't fair to you, but I needed to do it for myself."

"Did it occur to you that I needed you?" Rick snapped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I've been a ball of fucking anxiety since Meredith showed up with that sonogram. It would have been nice to have my girlfriend there with me."

Kate ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I tried, but you're the one who pushed me away for no reason." She shrugged and opened her door. "If we're just going to rehash our last argument, you can leave."

"No, Kate-" Rick huffed out a sigh and leaned against the back of the couch. "I'm sorry. I'm not here to argue."

She gave him a wary stare, then shut the door and crossed her arms, waiting for him to continue.

"Test results came back. It's not mine."

Kate exhaled a sigh of relief. Of course, that meant that Chris was, a thought she had with no small amount of bitterness, considering he'd made it very clear when they were together that he didn't want kids.

"It's not Chris's, either, by the way. I'd pay to be a fly on the wall of that conversation." Rick chuckled. "Anyway. So, we're done. I told Meredith I never want to see or hear from her again." His face turned serious, and he stood up straight, lifted his gaze to hers. "I don't expect that we'll just go back to where we were," he added, "but I would like to spend time with you again."

Kate hesitated, watched Rick's eyes darken as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. He was trying to be a gentleman, to move at her pace, which she appreciated. But now that she knew they could move forward from the pregnancy scare, all she wanted to do was drag him to her bedroom.

They shouldn't, though. Immediately jumping back into bed would be too fast, and if something else came between them, her heart might break beyond repair.

She knew that, and yet, her cheeks burned under his intense gaze, and her whole body tingled with desire.

His eyes were almost black as they followed her movements, as she locked the door and closed the distance between them. She looped her arms around his neck and lifted herself to her toes, brushed her lips against his. She pressed her body into his, bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from groaning when she felt his hard bulge press against her belly.

He dropped his hands to her hips, his fingers digging into her leggings as he captured her mouth with his. He tugged her into him and moaned, slid his hands to her ass, his strong hands squeezing, kneading, encouraging her to grind against him.

"Rick," she gasped, tearing her mouth from his. Her fingers trailed through his hair, and she gripped the back of his neck, bringing his mouth back to hers. She nipped his bottom lip, smiled at the low groan that reverberated through his chest.

He moaned her name, his eyes fluttering shut when she raked her fingers through his hair and lightly scratched his scalp. One hand drifted up and under her sweater, and she shuddered at his touch, his palm warm on her back.

"May I?" he breathed, his mouth at her cheek, his fingers tugging at her bra.

She couldn't speak; her ability to form words was gone, stolen by the waves of arousal that consumed every cell in her body. All she could do was step out of his arms and lead him to her room.

"I promise, sex was not the first thing on my mind," Rick insisted as they crossed the threshold to her room.

Kate gripped the hem of his sweater and drew it up his torso, dropped it to the floor. "Me neither." She ran her hands over his skin, memorizing again every muscle, every plane, every fine hair. Her hands dropped to his belt and she quickly unbuckled it, lifted her gaze back to his. "But now, all I can think about is you being inside me."

Rick's lips lifted in a crooked grin and he cupped her cheeks, lowered his mouth to hers. Their tongues tangled together, and he began to nudge her backwards, leading her towards her bed.

They tugged at each other's clothes as they stumbled, their mouths finding each other again as soon as her shirt was on the floor. When her legs hit the edge of the mattress she sat, and her eyes dropped to the thick bulge straining against his inseam. She made quick work of the button and zipper, and when she drew his jeans and briefs down his thighs and his cock sprang free, she glanced up at him, smirked when his head fell back with a groan.

She curled her fingers around his thick length, drifted her lips along the shaft before taking him in her mouth.

His hands flew to her head and his fingers buried themselves in her hair as she curled her tongue around his tip.

"Fuck," he groaned, "you're amazing."

She smiled around his cock, as she caressed him with her tongue, stroked him with her fist. She'd missed this, feeling him thicken in her mouth, his fingers tightening in her hair, his desperation almost palpable as he slowly thrust his hips. Before he climaxed, though, she released him with a loud pop, smirked at his curse.

She scooted back on the bed until she reclined against her pillows, and she tucked her thumbs in the waistband of her leggings, began to draw them down her thighs. Her movements seemed to break Rick out of the trance he seemed to be in, and he quickly kicked off the rest of his clothes before joining her.

He batted her hands aside and tugged her leggings and panties off, throwing them off the bed before turning his dark gaze back to her. He crawled up to hover over her, and he propped himself on one elbow, trailed his fingers up her inner thigh, smirked when her hips lifted into his touch. "Patience," he grumbled, teasing her folds with his fingertips.

His touch was too light, too brief, and she threw her head back to the bed, a loud curse falling from her lips when he moved his hand away. She expected to feel his mouth on her, as he was so fond of doing, so when she felt his cock drag through her folds, she arched in surprise, bent her legs at her knees, inviting him.

He pushed inside her with a low moan, barely let her adjust before he set a frantic pace. Neither of them would last, but she rolled her hips in time with his thrusts, dug her fingers into his waist as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder.

He turned his face into her neck, and he panted into her skin, his mouth open at her pulse. As his hips began to jerk wildly, he drifted his mouth along her jaw, buried himself deep and groaned with his release.

She followed him over the edge, gasping, arching into him, trapping his hips against hers with her ankles at the back of his thighs. He shifted to one elbow, and slid his hand between them, pressed his thumb against her swollen clit. She cried out, her hips rolling against his touch in a wordless plea to never stop.

Eventually his touch became too much, and she pushed his hand away, hooked her ankle around his calf to keep him close even when he pulled out of her.

When he rolled to the side, collapsing on his back with a loud sigh, she grinned and turned to face him.

"I missed you," she admitted in a quiet voice, propping her palm against her cheek as she gazed down at him.

He gave her his patented crooked smirk and reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Are you talking to my dick?" he teased.

She nudged his shoulder. "No, asshole. I'm talking to you." She leaned down to take another kiss from his mouth before pushing herself away. She wanted to snuggle, to feel his arm around her shoulders and rest her cheek on his broad chest, but she needed to clean up first.

Although she half expected Rick to be ready for another round, when she returned from the bathroom, she found him fast asleep and lightly snoring, and she smiled as she curled up at his side.