I rewrote chapter 7 a little. I know a lot of you liked it. But I didn't really. So I took some of the reviews of those who offered constructive criticism into account and rewrote parts of it.

I suggest you go back and read it again. Otherwise you'll be a little confused about this chapter.

O-o-o-o-o

Rick walked down the stairs. He had just carried Alexis up and put her into bed. He figured one day of forgetting to brush her teeth wouldn't be that bad. They'd just have to be extra thorough tomorrow morning.

After they'd finished their coffees Kate had thanked him again for all he'd done for her that day and had picked her daughter from the couch, adjusted her on her arms and had carried her out. He'd called for his car service to safely take them home. Claire would be way more comfortable in the high back booster seat he'd ordered with the car than in the back of a cab.

Now that Kate and Claire were gone and Alexis was asleep he had nothing to occupy his mind with anymore. He could write but he just wasn't in the mood to dive into the world of Derrick Storm right now.

He found himself thinking about Kate. He hadn't allowed himself to think about her too much during the day but now all the admiration he had felt for her came crashing in.

She was gorgeous. She had those big beautiful interesting double-colored eyes. And her body… just…awesome. But not only her appearance had made an impression on him. She was smart too and a devoted mother. And she was kind of mysterious. There was something in her eyes that aroused interest in him, something hidden. Some sadness. He wanted to know her story. She was so strong but could be gentle too. And he actually felt honored that she had let him see her in a weak moment, had let him see her cry. He had the feeling that she normally held her emotions in check, especially in front of strangers.

And he had opened up to her too. That wasn't something he did easily. As much as he was pretending that his life was an open book he actually liked his private life to stay just that, private. But he had shared personal information with her. He had told her about his deepest hurt recently. Meredith's infidelity still left him feeling unworthy and incapable more times than not. He hadn't had anybody he could talk to about it despite his mother. He'd told her of course and she'd been angry at Meredith and had been sympathetic with him but he hadn't felt like she did really understand how deep it had hurt him. His mother was so incorrigibly optimistic and bounced back from every difficulty life threw at her so easily that he didn't think she could understand how much of a lasting effect Meredith's cheating had on his self-perception and self-confidence.

Kate hadn't done anything, hadn't said much when he'd told her but somehow he had felt comforted just by telling her. She'd seemed understanding, her demeanor had been empathetic, the way she'd listened so compassionately despite the fact that she had to have her own problems on the forefront of her mind had been beautiful to him.

She probably didn't know how much that short moment had meant to him but he hadn't felt so understood in his heartache ever since he'd caught Meredith cheating. She couldn't know but to him that moment had been curing. Not so much as he didn't feel any pain anymore. Of course not. But enough to let him believe that one day he'd overcome the hurt his wife's infidelity had inflicted over him.

He hoped they were going to see each other again. He hoped that they were able to give each other comfort. He hoped he could be of help for her to overcome the hurt of her family breaking apart as much as he hoped that spending time with her would do the same for him.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened the messenger app.

Hope you got home alright and are able to get a good night's sleep after the hell of a day you had. Sleep well, Kate. Goodnight.

Rick

After he sent the text he went to his office and opened his laptop. He'd decided he'd write. He probably wouldn't produce anything he could use for his next Derrick Storm novel but his fingers itched with words he yet wasn't conscious of.

O-o-o-o-o

Kate woke up when she heard the door to Claire's room open. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and sighed. Just after six. On a day off.

She listened to the tip-tap of Claire's naked feet on the hallway and closed her eyes when she saw the doorknob to her bedroom turn. There was no reason to show Claire that she was already awake. Maybe her daughter would just climb into bed with her and fall asleep again if she thought her mother was still sleeping. That way they could both catch another hour or so of sleep.

The bed dipped, the blanket was lifted and then a warm little body placed itself next to Kate.

„Mommy?" Claire whispered. „Are you awake?"

Kate adjusted herself a little, slung an arm over her daughter and buried her nose in the little girl's hair.

„No" she breathed back.

„Okay" Claire whispered and cuddled closer. Kate smiled into her daughter's hair. Yeah, she'd get to sleep a little longer.

Claire's body relaxed in no time, the little girl asleep again and Kate followed right away into the sweet numbness of sleep.

After what felt like five minutes though the little body in Kate's arms felt very much awake. Claire wasn't cuddly when she wasn't sleepy or sad and she shifted a lot. Kate felt her try to relax, try to let her mom sleep a little longer but she'd get impatient in a few minutes, Kate knew. Nonetheless she enjoyed that her daughter was being mindful of her and tried to be as patient as she could. So she waited but prepared herself mentally to get up.

„Mommy" Claire whispered again with a hint of impatience in her voice. „I'm awake" she stated, not caring to whisper anymore.

Kate opened her eyes to look at her daughter who was now sitting crosslegged on top of the covers.

„Okay" she said and looked at the watch again. Wow, they'd slept a little over an hour.

„I'm hungry" Claire complained.

„I'm getting, I'm getting up" Kate said and pushed the covers off. „What do you want for breakfast?"

„Cereal" Claire answered immediately.

„Will you ever eat anything else?" Kate asked chuckling. Her daughter's favorite breakfast had always been cereal which was great because it was so quickly done. Even if there were pancakes or waffles Claire would still eat cereal.

They were seated at the kitchen table, both with a bowl of cereal in front of them. Kate wasn't hungry at all but for the benefit of her daughter she was eating anyway. Having Claire had improved her eating habits very much. Even if she often only ate to be a good example for Claire. Emotional stress had always killed her hunger but she didn't want Claire to develop eating disorders so she made an effort to eat regularly.

„When's daddy getting home?" Claire asked and reminded her rather ungently about the conversations she still would have to have with Josh and then Claire.

„Still at the hospital" Kate replied. She wouldn't tell Claire about their break-up before she hadn't spoken to Josh again and cleared some terms. And anyway she thought he should be there. They should tell Claire together. Even if Kate really wasn't in the mood to see him or talk friendly with him she still thought it would be best for Claire.

„When's he getting home?" Claire asked.

„I don't know yet. I'll text him later and then tell you when I pick you up from preschool" Kate told her. Of course Claire would ask for her daddy. For her all things that happened yesterday were in the past. In Claire's recollection she'd just spent two hours in the company of her new best friend and her father and played a funny game to find her mommy. For Kate though it had been the last straw that broke the camel's back. She was done with Josh.

Telling Claire that her dad was gonna move out would break the little girl's heart which made Kate's heart clench together painfully. But she couldn't stay with Josh any longer. She hadn't loved him for a long time anymore, if she ever had. But she's stayed with him because she thought it was the best for Claire.

„Okay" Claire said. Then she took her empty bowl in her hands. „Are you finished too, mommy?" she asked, looking at her mother's equally empty bowl. Kate nodded. „Can I put them into the dishwasher?"

„Of course you can, my big girl" Kate said and let Claire carry their dishes to the dishwasher. She watched proudly as her daughter put the bowls on top of the counter, opened the dishwasher and carefully put the bowls inside.

„You can go get dressed now, Claire. Summer clothes. It's warm. And don't forget to put on clean underwear" Kate reminded her daughter. She tended to forget that sometimes.

„You too, mommy" Claire said and made her mother laugh with the comment.

„I'll try to remember" she responded.

Inside her bedroom Kate opened her wardrobe, ignored Josh's clothes and picked casual shorts and a t-shirt. When she was dressed she remembered that she hadn't checked her phone since last night and got it from the nightstand.

She brought it to live and saw that she had a message from Rick. She opened it and smiled when she read it. How sweet of him. She was just about to respond when Claire came into the room, dressed in yellow shorts and a blue t-shirt.

„Aren't you going to work today?" Claire asked when she saw her mom wearing casual clothes.

„No" Kate responded and then they put on their shoes, deciding to spent some time at the playground on the way to preschool since they still had time and it was a sunny warm day in June.

O-o-o-o-o

Now that Claire was at preschool Kate was at a loss of what to do. She desperately wanted to relax. She still felt so stressed. But nothing helped. Normally a bath and a book where sure to relax her but she'd tried that already and had remained restless.

She sighed. She probably wouldn't be able to relax until she'd spoken to Josh and cleared how they were going to tell Claire about their break-up. Kate wanted to make it the least painful it had to be for Claire.

She needed Claire to know that she definitely wasn't at fault. And that she was still very much loved by both her parents. Kate would make sure that Josh told her that too.

Kate pulled up Josh's contact on her phone and called. It rang a while until it went to voice mail. She told him to call her back and then hung up. In lack of anything better to do, Kate started putting Josh's things in bags. That way he wouldn't have to stay long.

Kate had just finished putting all his books into a box when her phone ringed. She checked the caller's ID.

„Hey Lanie" she greeted her best friend. Maybe she could help her put things into perspective.

„Hi" Lanie said back. „I talked to Javi. He told me you took the day off but nothing more. So what's wrong?"

„So much, Lane. So much" Kate sighed, flopping down on the couch. She looked at her watch. She still had a few hours until she needed to pick up Claire.

„Tell me" Lanie prompted. So Kate told her about Josh leaving Claire with a stranger in the park.

„I'm gonna rip him apart. I'm gonna take my scalpel and cut him into teeny tiny little pieces. And them I'm going to write it down as an accident" Lanie sweared.

„You do that" Kate agreed.

„What happened then?" Lanie asked after she'd described a few more ways how she'd make Josh die a painful death. „How did you get Claire back?"

„Oh you won't believe that part, Lanie" Kate told her and started to tell her about Richard Castle bringing her daughter back to her.

„Wow" Lanie said after Kate finished that part. „You met Richard freaking Castle. Your favorite author. Is he as hot in reality as he is on TV or on the back of his books?"

Kate blushed. Of course Lanie would ask that.

„He's handsome" Kate replied. She didn't really have the time or the energy to notice or appreciate that but her really was. Not that it mattered. „But he's nice too. Very thoughtful, devoted to his daughter, caring. A very kind man" Kate told her honestly.

„So you like like him?" Lanie asked and Kate could hear her smug grin.

„What?" Kate said. „No. Lanie, no. I just broke up with Josh yesterday. I really have neither the time nor the energy to like like anybody right now. I'm just glad that I finally managed to break up with Josh. You were right of course. I wasn't happy with him. I just didn't want to see it."

„Of course I was right" Lanie said and dropped the topic of Richard Castle for now. „So you broke up with Josh? How did that go? Did you at least slap him?"

„I didn't slap him. But I think I made pretty clear that we are over" Kate told her and went into detail about the things she'd said and the things he'd replied. Then she told Lanie about her hiding in the bathroom and how Rick had followed her.

„He followed you to the bathroom?" Lanie asked skeptically. „And you let him in?" Her tone was unbelieving.

„Well, he was kind of funny. I don't know. His antics cheered me up a little so I let him in" Kate tried to explain herself. Now that Lanie let her incredulity show, Kate became wondered about herself. „He opened up too. It was nice having someone to talk to who went through something almost similar" Kate exculpated herself.

Lanie on the other end of the line bit her lip to not point out that she in fact thought that Kate already was on the way to like like him. She knew her friend was in no place to see it right now though or deal with it, so she kept her observation to herself for now.

„Okay" she just said, accepting Kate's explanation for now. „What happened then?"

And Kate went on telling her about their impromptu dinner at Remy's and Montgomery's call.

„Oh Kate, I'm so sorry" Lanie apologized when Kate told her about her troubles finding someone to watch Claire. „If I had known I wouldn't have left early."

„It's okay. There was no reason for you to not believe Josh" Kate told her.

„Yeah well, I will never again believe anybody about anything concerning Claire without checking with you beforehand" Lanie told her vehemently. „What did you do then? Was your dad available?" she asked carefully. She knew that was a topic that was hard for Kate. Lanie didn't understand why Jim Beckett didn't get his shit together to be there for his daughter and granddaughter. But it was none of Lanie's business so she just tried to help her friend out wherever she could.

Kate sighed deeply. „I called him. But he was drunk as usual."

„So what did you do?" Lanie asked again.

„Rick offered to watch her" Kate said.

„You took that offer?" Lanie asked, trying very hard to keep the incredulity out of her voice.

„He lives next door to the crime scene so I took it. I mean he'd already watched Claire and returned her to me. But I felt a little anxious anyway. And a little like a hypocrite since I broke up with Josh for the exact same thing" Kate nibbled on her lip.

„You didn't do the same as Josh" Lanie disagreed immediately. „You got to know him beforehand. You did the best thing you could have done in your situation. And you thought about Claire while she was with him and hurried to get back to her. I bet Josh didn't think twice after leaving Claire in the park."

„Maybe" Kate said.

„And then?" Lanie asked.

„Wasn't that enough?" Kate asked rhetorically. „I went to pick up Claire and we went home. She's at preschool now and I'm trying to find the least terrible solution for telling Claire about our break-up. Advice would be highly appreciated by the way."

„Just tell him to never show his face again" Lanie said, only half kidding.

„I wish I could" Kate replied. „But you know I'm trying to do the best thing for Claire here. I don't think never seeing her father again is it."

„I know" Lanie said. „But are you even ready to talk to him?"

„I have to be" Kate sighed. „Claire already asked about him at breakfast. Plus I really want to just get it over with."

„So what do you want to do?" Lanie asked.

„I don't know" Kate sighed. „I want Claire to be able to see her father. But I want him to have time for her. To really do something with her when they are together. I don't want him thinking constantly about work when he should be watching Claire. And of course I don't want something like yesterday to ever happen again."

„But you still want him to spent time with Claire?" Lanie asked.

„Not really" Kate said but added „but yes, I want Claire to know her father and feel loved by him. If he just makes time once a month for her then so be it. But when he spends time with her I want him to really be there for her. To listen to her, to play with her, to just be invested."

„You think he would agree with that?" Lanie asked.

„I think so. I mean he is aware that he has to take responsibility for Claire. She's his daughter too. And we decided together to have her" Kate said. „And I know he loves her. Just not as much as his work"

„Then you'll just have to tell him what you just told me about wanting him to spend time with Claire but only when he takes the time to really be there for her" Lanie said. „Let him decide how often that should be. I know you'd want it to be at least once a week but if he just wants it to be once a month you'll have to agree with that"

Kate sighed. „I'd like it to be never. But that wouldn't be fair to Claire. For Claire I want it to be as often as possible."

„I know, honey, I know" Lanie said compassionately.

„I wish things wouldn't be so complicated" Kate sighed again. She'd lost count of how many times she'd done that today already.

Just when Lanie was about to reply, Kate's phone notified her of another incoming call.

She held the phone away from her ear to look at the display. She immediately felt a little nauseous when she saw the name. She ignored the feeling and held the phone back to her ear.

„I've got to hang up. Josh's calling" Kate told her. She really didn't want to talk to him. „Thanks for listening and asking the right questions, Lanie."

„Every time, girl. Talk to you later" Lanie replied.

Then they said goodbye and hung up. After another deep breath Kate accepted Josh's call.