God Said

Chapter 10

Rick was in the kitchen with Alexis who was sleeping in her little carrier when he heard the front door. He eventually saw Kate enter and head straight for the refrigerator where she got out a can of Diet Coke, popped it open, and began drinking.

"What did they say?" Rick was curious.

Kate smiled. "They adjusted the tuition my parents paid since I'm not living in the dorms and I don't need a cafeteria card. My potential roommate hadn't been selected yet so they simply removed my name. Looks like you got yourself a roommate."

"Excellent! And your classes?" She had gone to the University for more than just that.

"I applied for what classes I wanted, now I just wait. I need to find out what day I get the class and at what time. With my luck I'll get one at 7:30 in the morning." Later she'd get word if she got them and when.

"You're sure this is a good idea?" Kate was still adjusting to him and Alexis being her roommates.

"You don't want to be my roommate? We could go out on dates when you have the time this way," Rick reminded her. That was why he had done this.

"I know. I just… I worked out in my head that I was never going to see you again and now you're my roommate. I guess I'm still adjusting to the new reality." Kate was trying at least.

"We'll get used to it. So you ready for the taxi?" His Ferrari only held two people and he didn't have a babysitter.

Kate checked her pockets to make sure she had everything she was going to need. "Ready." She watched Rick pick up the phone that was now working and called for a taxi for the three of them.

They were all out front when the taxi showed up and Rick gave him the address.

oO{}O{}Oo

"This is my idea so just choose one. If it makes you happy you can buy the helmet, jean clips, flashing lights, and lock," Rick offered. It was his idea that she get a bicycle for the days she was running late or simply didn't want to walk it.

oO{}O{}Oo

Kate was out front with her much-too-expensive bicycle, wearing her helmet and leg clips to keep her jeans from getting caught up. She had a light up front, a blinker in the back, reflectors in her spokes, and a blinker for her backpack that she didn't yet have and her bike lock.

Rick and Alexis were just driving away in a taxi. It was up to her to bike home. It had been a while since she had been on a bicycle and she wished she had her Harley to ride. It was just that there were places to park and lock up a bicycle but no place to park a motorcycle. So she had to admit that Rick had the right idea.

With a sigh she got on her bike and pushed off for the trip home.

oO{}O{}Oo

"Honey! I'm home!" Kate burst out laughing since it was too damn funny. She left her bike in the entrance way for now and went in search of Rick. She found him putting a diaper on Alexis in his bedroom.

"I don't see any broken bones," Rick said with a grin.

"Nope, got home in one piece. Thank you." She didn't have the money for a bicycle. If she'd been in her dorm room she wouldn't need one.

"My pleasure. Your mother told me she taught you how to cook so you're cooking dinner tonight," Rick informed her.

Kate choked on her Coke. "What!? She would." She was going to give her mother a piece of her mind when they talked.

"Just don't kill us." Rick kissed her cheek and took Alexis into the living room and then out into the nice green backyard. He laid her down on the grass after putting down a blanket first, just in case, so she could feel it for the first time.

"NO PROMISES!" Kate yelled at him. "Cook dinner," she complained. She had managed not to cook dinner even though her aunt had threaten her. Now she was wondering if this was her mother's idea or her aunt's. Not that she would put anything past Sophie. Now she needed to figure out what to cook using what they had.

Instead she went outside to sit with Rick on the grass and watch Alexis. "She's watching you." Rick could tell.

Kate got down on her stomach and faced Alexis who was within arm's reach. "Are you watching me? Did you know your daddy has suicidal tendencies?" Kate reached out and played with her hand and heard Rick snort out a laugh.

"He wants to get his stomach pumped. You're really lucky you have formula." Kate kept playing with her and ignored the look Rick was giving her. "Nothing like a ride in an ambulance with lights and siren."

"Kate!" Rick needed her to stop.

"I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Alexis." Kate stuck her tongue out at him and went back to playing with Alexis.

"How is the bed?" She'd had a chance to sleep in it now.

"It's nice. The sheets are amazing. Where did you get those?" Kate asked him. "They're going to spoil me."

"Good, that means you won't move out," Rick said in relief.

"I'm not moving out. …Besides, I don't have anywhere else to sleep now." Kate played that over in her head. "That's not what I meant."

Rick wagged his eyebrows at her. "You can sleep in my bed," he teased.

"Rick!" Granted she wasn't a virgin and had given her fair share of blow jobs but she really liked Rick and didn't want to screw this up by having sex too early. He might decide he didn't like her any longer and throw her out.

"Okay, I'll stop teasing. But you're still cooking tonight. Be right back." Rick got up and headed for the bathroom in his bedroom. He had to pee.

"Is your daddy always like this?" Kate asked Alexis who did nothing special. "Looks like I'm going to find out."

oO{}O{}Oo

"How is it?" Kate hadn't eaten a bite yet. She had taste-tested while cooking, yes, but hadn't really eaten any.

"You're cooking more often," Rick told her.

Kate took a bite to see if he was lying to her. Surprisingly she actually liked it. "Maybe I was listening." Then suddenly the phone rang.

Kate jumped up. "I'll get it." She was betting it was either her aunt or Sophie and she did want to talk to them since they obviously knew ahead of time about this.

"Hello?" Kate waited.

"KATIE!" Johanna was happy to hear her voice. She had left Kate alone the entire trip though she had talked to Jamie a few times to check up on her.

"MOM!" Kate was really happy to hear her voice. She had become her best friend after getting out of her wild Beckett phase and done with boyfriends.

"How is the house, Katie?" Johanna wanted to know everything.

"You really agreed to this?" Kate wasn't sure her mother hadn't been drunk at the time.

"I listened to Jamie, Sophie, and even Rick himself. Twice even, followed by having Sophie call me. Your father still has reservations, I'll grant you," Johanna admitted.

"YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" Kate heard her dad yell and she started laughing.

"I can't believe you found my favorite author. What were the odds! But Katie, I need you to tell me if...if you like him?" Johanna would pull the plug before it was too late if she didn't.

Kate looked at Rick who was keeping Alexis busy while stealing a bite of her dinner.

"Yeah, Mom, I do. He took me to a bike shop and bought me a bicycle to get to class on. I still have to get some rain gear for when the weather's bad. I'll find out about my classes in a couple of days.

"I even cooked dinner tonight, which is getting cold at the moment. Isn't it really late there?" It was late here so it had to be almost tomorrow there.

"It is and I'll let you go eat. WAIT! Did you say you just cooked?" Johanna was stunned.

"Gotta go, Mom, talk to you later." Kate hung up on her. It was bad enough to have Rick teasing her; she didn't need her mother teasing her, too.

"That was Mom checking up on me," Kate told him as she sat down to finish her dinner.

Rick grinned at her. "I'll bet she wanted to make sure I'm not a mass murderer like in one of my books."

"Ha, ha. Next time I'll add the entire container of paprika to your food," Kate threatened him.

Rick deliberately smiled sweetly at her. "Then you'll have to take care of Alexis all by yourself. At least until you fly Sophie out here."

Kate shook her head. "She's starting nursing school the same time I'm starting law school. Fine, no paprika. Does that make you happy, Alexis? I'm not going to kill your daddy." Kate reached for her and Alexis reached back but missed her hand by a good bit.

Since Kate cooked Rick was cleaning up while Kate took care of Alexis.

"What's the matter, baby girl? Why are you crying?" Kate picked her up and checked her diaper. "OH, that's why." Kate went into Rick's bedroom for the first time and saw that his bedroom and bed were way bigger than her bedroom and bed were.

"Daddy gets a King and I get a Queen." Kate took her to her changing table and started taking off her diaper. "It's just wet, lucky you. Lucky me!" Kate took it off and dropped it into the one marked wet and not the one marked poopy.

"He has one marked poopy?" Kate chuckled a little. "Okay, now we need to clean you up and get you dry. A little dab of A and D ointment and… How does this diaper go?" Kate tried folding it but found that didn't work.

"There, that will work. Now what did I do with that pin? If I pin you let me know, okay?" Kate carefully pinned the diaper in place and pulled up her rubber pants. Alexis was quiet.

"I DID IT! Maybe I should've gotten lessons from Sophie. If you tell me Sophie's better then me I'm never changing another one of your diapers ever again." Kate pointed at Alexis who just cooed and smiled at her.

"Wise choice." Kate picked her up and held her close. "You want to go watch your daddy clean up from dinner?" Kate took her to the kitchen where she stood there and watched.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Rick questioned her.

"You made me to cook so you get to clean. That was the deal," Kate reminded him.

Rick raised his eyebrow. "We had a deal? Where was I?"

"Probably off playing with Alexis and not paying attention to me," Kate told him.

"I find that hard to believe," Rick said. "You're very difficult to ignore, Kate."

"Thanks! …I think?" She wasn't sure if that was a compliment or if she was just insulted. However, she did watch him get closer and lean down to kiss her. She, of course, kissed him back.

Maybe being his roommate had extra benefits she hadn't taken into account.

oO{}O{}Oo

"HONEY, I'M HOME!" Kate yelled as she left her bike just inside the door.

"Living room," she heard. "Are you planning to say that every time?" Rick inquired.

"I haven't decided." Mostly she was just teasing him but maybe she would. "My class schedule." Kate waved it at him and sat down next to him. "I'll take Alexis." She put her on her back between her legs so she could play with her toes and get her to smile at her.

"Let's see what we've got here. Tuesday at 7:00 AM!" Rick saw that one right off.

"Yeah, I got a bad one." Kate ignored Alexis to take a peek at her schedule again while Rick looked it over. Only Alexis didn't like that so she announced her presence.

"SORRY!" Kate went back to paying attention to her.

"The next closest is 8:00 am." Rick kept looking. "Uh-oh. 11:00 am, 12:30, and 1:30, all in one day. Who did you insult to get that? That doesn't give you time to eat anything."

Kate sighed. "Yeah that's the other bad one. But the 1:30 class is my last one for the day so I'll be home early. And spend all that time on homework." Kate hung her head and then remembered to keep paying attention to Alexis.

"I'll help you. Just tell me how and I'll do whatever I can," Rick told her.

"Thanks." Kate didn't know how he was going to help but it was sweet of him to offer.

"It's what roommates are for." Rick leaned toward to kiss her and Kate met him halfway and kissed him back.

"Oh! Here are the car keys," he said. "You need to go find yourself some rain gear so you don't get soaked to the bone and catch a cold."

That made Kate smile as she took the keys from him. She was going to get to drive the Ferrari again. She clutched the keys to her chest. "Thanks." Kate leaned toward him to kiss him again.

Rick smiled. "It's what roommates are for."

Kate was warming up to having him for a roommate. Besides she was getting kisses and maybe one of these days another date.

oO{}O{}Oo

Kate found Rick in the kitchen once again this morning. "Here's your breakfast bar and here's your lunch. You can eat it while running between classes," he told her since he knew this was her first day of class after class after class with no chance to eat lunch.

"Thanks!" Kate put her breakfast bar in her pocket, took her paper bag lunch, and raised up to kiss him goodbye again this morning. She had to admit she was getting in a whole lot of kisses this way.

"Go turn in your homework and I want to know what they think of it," Rick said. "I did my best." He hadn't actually done the work for this one but he had corrected all of her spelling and grammar mistakes. It was some of his best work.

"You were sweet." Kate gave him another kiss, put her backpack on her back after putting her lunch in it, and headed for her bike. "See you later. Tell Alexis bye for me."

oO{}O{}Oo

Kate came home, unlocked the front door, and leaned her bike against the wall. She closed and locked the door, then dropped her backpack on the floor, and went into the kitchen. She pulled out a cold can of Diet Coke and headed for the living room where she saw Rick sitting at the dining room table pounding away on his typewriter.

She'd had a shitty day but she wasn't going to disturb him while he was writing so she spun around and went into his bedroom to find Alexis.

"Hi, sweetie." Kate put down her can of Coke, picked her up and kissed her, and held her close. Then she picked up her soda, went into the living room, and sat down with Alexis on her back between her legs again.

"I had a shitty day, how was your day?" Kate asked her. "How bad was my day? I'm glad you asked. My day was so shitty it makes me wonder why I ever thought I could be a lawyer. My parents never warned me there would be days like this," Kate told her and all Alexis did was lay there smiling up at her.

"And your daddy's ignoring me. I want my welcome home kiss." Kate picked up Alexis and kissed her but didn't get a kiss back; it would have to do. "No, you can't have my Coke." Kate took a big drink and kept playing with Alexis while she listened to Rick typing away.

However, the phone rings and Kate put down her Coke and picked up Alexis to take with her. "Hello?"

"Katie!" Her mother was calling for an update.

"Hi, Mom! Rick's madly typing away for his next book and I have Alexis. Say hi, Alexis." Except Kate didn't get much. "Alexis says hi."

"Are you babysitting, Katie?" Johanna questioned since she refused to do babysitting jobs when she was in high school.

"NO! Babysitting implies that the parents are gone and Rick is right over there typing." Kate was not babysitting.

"Whatever you say. So how's the roommate working out?" Johanna wanted to hear something. Something like her daughter was finally falling in love with someone.

"Pretty good. I get a breakfast bar every morning since I refuse to eat a heavy breakfast. Today he made me lunch since I wasn't going to have time to eat any. Took me three classes to finish it all. Not sure what dinner's going to be if he keeps typing." Kate looked again but could still hear him typing.

"So it's all about food?" Johanna queried.

"NO! …Okay, fine. I get a morning kiss and another when I get home. But if you tell Dad that I'll deny all of it," Kate warned her.

"So what's the new book called?" Her daughter had inside information and Jo wanted that information.

"I don't actually know. I've never asked him," Kate admitted.

"My daughter is living with my favorite author and she doesn't know. What good are you?" Johanna was bummed.

Kate frowned. "Mom, are you asking me to spy on Rick?"

"Yes!" Johanna began laughing getting Kate to giggle. "So tell me the truth. You're happy to be his roommate."

Kate's smile widened. "Yes, I'm happy to be his roommate."

Johanna continued asking questions. "So when's the next date?"

"Not until I have a day with no homework and I have no idea when that day will be. Uh-oh, Alexis is getting fussy." She wasn't crying yet but it was only seconds away, Kate was betting.

"Diaper change. I'll call you later, Katie. Enjoy your roommate and your classes." Johanna knew that sound.

"Bye, Mom." Kate hung up and hurried into Rick's bedroom to find out if this was a wet diaper or a poopy diaper.

oO{}O{}Oo

Alexis was in her carrier at the table while Rick and Kate were eating dinner. "Mom wants to know the name of your next book. Since I'm your roommate she seems to think I'm supposed to be spying on you so she can get inside information," Kate told him.

"Your mother reads my books?" Rick didn't know that.

"Don't let it go to your head but you're her most favorite author. She has every book you've written. One of them's even signed by you," Kate revealed.

Rick stopped eating. "I've met your mother?" Rick immediately began trying to picture every woman that came to one of his book signings. "That would have been in New York City. …Flowers for your Grave!" Rick pointed at her as he tried to guess. "This is so cool. So what does she look like?" He needed a hint.

"You probably won't remember her," Kate cautioned him. But he kept staring at her. Kate gave in and told him. "She looks a lot like me just older."

"Looks like you." Rick wracked his brain but was coming up empty. "So she wants inside dirt, does she? Do I get a kiss if I tell you?" Rick wanted payment for this.

Kate's eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. "Is this extortion?"

"NO! I'm telling you what I charge for inside information," he insisted. "For today only it's two kisses. This is a one time offer."

"Sounds like extortion to me. Fine, two kisses." Kate leaned over and kissed him and then kissed him again.

"It's called A Brewing Storm. I thought up a new character for a series of books. His name is Derrick Storm. He's an ex-CIA operative who's brought back from early retirement to investigate a kidnapping. But he knows there's more than just a kidnapping of a senator's son. I'm thinking of giving him a blond bombshell FBI agent that he has to deal with.

"I'm working on what her name is but somehow she's involved in this and on the wrong side. I'm still working it all out. Only just getting started," Rick said, telling her everything since he got his kisses.

"That'll get Mom interested, thanks." Kate was happy to get something to get her off her back.

"I've got it! April Showers! …The big titted FBI agent!" Rick exclaimed.

"Does she have to have big tits?" Kate grumbled. "What is it with men and big tits?"

"Yes and there's nothing wrong with the size of your tits," Rick assured her.

"You haven't even seen my tits." Kate countered and watched him start smiling. Forgetting that he had seem some of them when she wore that sundress during their date.

"Not yet," Rick grinned at her.