No snow impeded Charlie's drive to the loft. Kate thanked him for delivering her safely and wished him a good evening. She waved to Eduardo on her way to the elevator.
When she opened the door to the loft, Lily was crying, and Rick was walking her around the kitchen island. "It's okay, baby girl. You're okay. It's just a little bump. Look Lily, Mommy's home."
Kate had shed her coat and boots while Rick was trying to soothe Lily. She met him near the island and lifted her baby from his arms. She kissed Lily's brow and rubbed her back, "Hello, munchkin. Did you fall down?"
"Actually, she was crawling after that ball over there, and little Miss Speedy bumped her head on the corner of the cabinet." Rick leans in to steal a kiss from Kate. She manages to meet his lips with her own, with Lily sniffling against her shoulder. "You'll be okay baby. Mommy and Daddy are here." Rick soothes Lily and wraps his arms around both his loves.
Lily calms down while her parents form a circle of love around her. With the baby no longer in distress, the adults share a kiss and a smile. Rick settles his arm at Kate's shoulder, and the family settles onto the sofa. "How did your visit with Dr. Burke go?" Rick tries to be nonchalant, but Kate knows her curious husband is anxious to hear what was said.
"He's a good listener," Kate calmly replies. She's trying to hide a smirk. She knows her husband, and he wants details. "Do you feel all better now, Princess?"
Lily responds with a nod, slips her thumb into her mouth, and snuggles in where Kate's neck and shoulder meet. Kate speaks soothing words and places kisses near Lily's hairline. "Babe, I know you want details. Let's get everyone fed around here, and this little one to bed. I promise to tell you everything, when we have a chance to be alone."
"There you go, being all logical on me again," Rick kids Kate. "Do you think she's calm enough to be fed? I was going to order Chinese for us tonight. Alexis was here earlier, and I used the time to write. I don't know what she and Lily did while I was writing, but I heard giggles and shrieks so Lily was happy to see her sister. Alexis left about 4:40. She had somewhere to be at 5:15. She didn't tell me where."
"Chinese would be great. I'll take her with me to our bedroom while I change."
"I'll call in our order and fix some dinner for Tiger Lily."
Kate carried Lily with her to pick some soft clothes to wear. Lily watched Kate from the center of the bed with intent eyes and her thumb in her mouth. Kate engaged Lily with words and funny faces while she changed, and Lily smiled or laughed around her thumb. Once Lily was in her highchair and chasing some soft-cooked carrots around the tray, Kate and Rick took turns feeding Lily mashed banana and pureed chicken. Lily had a lovely array of orange and yellow on her face, before she decided she'd had enough to eat. Rick, being the faster eater, had finished his dinner while Lily had eaten hers. "I'll take her up to bathe her, while you finish eating."
"I'll be there in a few. I'll just clean up down here first."
Once Lily was bathed, had a bottle and a story, Kate spent a few minutes rocking her daughter. Rick leaned against the wall and listened to Kate singing softly to their child. They each kissed the sleeping baby once she was in her crib.
At the bottom of the stairs Rick asked Kate, "Would you like a glass of wine?"
"Yes, please. We can sit out here, and I'll tell you about my talk with Dr. Burke."
With glasses in hand, they settled side by side on the sofa. After a few sips, Kate set her glass on the sofa table. She moved to face Rick, tucked her legs beneath her while her knee stayed in contact with Rick's thigh. "I think I surprised Burke. He usually keeps this neutral expression, but he momentarily lost that look when I said I'm resigning."
"Did he have an opinion, or is that not allowed?"
"He asked me why. I told him I'm afraid."
Rick is surprised by Kate's response. "Afraid? Is there a new threat you haven't told me about?"
"Babe, no, no. I'm afraid of dying and not being here to see Lily grow up. I'm afraid of not having the chance to have another child. I'm afraid of missing the important moments in our future. My Mother was dedicated to her job, and I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be a lawyer and help people. Maybe someday I'll go to law school, or see if those politicians are still interested in having me run for state Senate. I do not want to make the same mistake my Mother did. Her job got her killed. She wasn't alive to see me date you, and to tell me "I told you so" when I almost ruined my chance with you. She didn't get to help me plan our wedding or pick out my wedding dress. She missed the chance to have her favorite author become her son-in-law. She'll never experience the joy of being Lily's grandmother. I'm not willing to take the chance that I'll be killed in the line of duty." Kate pauses while a smiling Rick wipes a tear from Kate's cheek. He cups her cheek and leans in for a soft kiss. "I want to have another baby. I want to see Alexis, Lily and any other child we have become their adult selves. I want to go to ballgames with my kids. Take them to the park, the zoo, museums, and the theater. I want to watch my ruggedly handsome husband turn into a handsome silver fox."
"Wait, did you see any gray hairs." Rick interrupts and makes Kate laugh. The laugh was his goal. "Honey, I want all those things with you. I wanted to be certain that you wouldn't regret your decision. It seemed spur of the moment."
Kate interrupts, "It's not. It's not spur of the moment. I've been thinking about this since the moment I held Lily for the first time. Remember how Jordan Shaw talked about her husband tucking in their daughter with stories about Mommy slaying dragons?" Rick nods in reply, so Kate continues, "You're already telling Lily stories about Mommy fighting dragons. Jordan almost died during that case." Kate points at herself, "This Mommy would rather be here with you and Lily. I want to see her first step, hear her first sentence, kiss her booboos and teach her to say please. I want to tuck her in and listen while you tell her those magical stories. Alexis has told me about the stories you made up for her, when she was small. I want to hear the ones you create for Lily. I want to read her the stories my parents read to me as a child. When our kids are in school, maybe I'll look into Kate 2.0."
Rick wraps Kate in a crushing embrace, realizes he's crushing her and loosens his grip. Kate finds his mouth with her own and communicates her love with her lips.
"You make an excellent case, Mrs. Castle. When do you plan to turn in your resignation? I want to plan a party." Rick's smile hasn't been this bright since Lily was born.
Kate is sure she's made the right decision. "Thank you for listening to my reasoning. One of my worries was that you would think less of me…" Kate places her hand over Rick's mouth as he starts to interrupt. "I know, Babe, you would never think less of me. It was one of the things I talked out with Dr. Burke. About my last day of work, I'll discuss that with Gates tomorrow. I left a date out of my letter."
"I noticed that when I read the copy you emailed to me. I'm sure there are confusing rules and regulations that you have to comply with."
"I know I'm not eligible for normal retirement. I tried to decipher the NYPD regulations about that. I'm vested in what I've saved, but the percentage this and years of that are confusing. I'll get what I get when I get it, and your accountant can help us roll it over into whatever works best."
"That's our accountant, Honey. I'm sure Greg will enjoy finding the best way to invest it. Sign whatever you need to sign to allow him to talk to somebody at the NYPD, and Greg will get back to us with a plan at some point. Now I would like to take my soon to be stay-at-home wife to bed. We have something to celebrate."
"Yes, we do Mr. Beckett."
They laughed all the way to their bed.
A/N: My power was out for 29 hours. I wrote most of this before the power went out, but couldn't upload until the power came back up. Thank you to Duke Energy for getting the trees cleaned up and power back on 26 hours ahead of the estimated time.