Thanks for all your nice reviews. I love reading them.
O-o-o-o-o
Alexis woke up and blinked a few times. Her eyes always felt a little heavy after just waking up. But then she looked around and noticed Claire who was blinking the sleep from her eyes too.
„Hello" Alexis grinned at her best friend.
„Hello" Claire grinned back. „We had a sleepover" she cheered.
„Yeah" Alexis said. „That's so awesome. Do you think my daddy and your mommy had a sleepover too?"
Claire shrugged. „I don't know. We could check" she suggested.
„Or we could play" Alexis mused and Claire agreed enthusiastically.
„Mommy loves to sleep in anyway. She's always very proud of me when I don't wake her up before eight."
Then they got up from bed and noticed that they were still dressed in yesterday's clothes. Since both of them were thought that brushing your teeth twice a day was very important they went to Alexis' bathroom. The little girl knew where her dad stored the new toothbrushes. They just needed to get a chair from Alexis room so they could get to the shelf. Then they both brushed their teeth very thoroughly.
After that they decided that they needed to dress in something else. Since they were going to play princess shorts weren't fitting at all. They needed dresses. Claire needed a blue one and Alexis a green one. When they were finished they looked at themselves in the mirror.
„Our hair is messy" Alexis noticed. „I can brush mine but I can't braid. Can you braid?"
Claire shook her head.
„But if we want to play Frozen we need braided hair" Alexis told her. „You need one plait and I need two. My daddy could do them."
„I don't know if mommy can do them. I don't usually like my hair braided." Claire shrugged. Her mother sometimes wanted to do something with her hair but Claire hated it. She sometimes agreed to ponytails but not often. Braids? No. They weren't for Claire. If they were playing Anna and Elsa though…
„Then let's get my daddy to do it" Alexis said and leaded her downstairs.
O-o-o-o-o
Rick was mixing pancake batter. He'd let Claire choose what she wanted for breakfast. First she'd wanted to go for cereal but then Alexis had told her about her favorite breakfast. Blue Elsa-and-Anna-pancakes. And since Claire seemed to be as obsessed with that movie as Alexis she'd immediately agreed.
So now he was mixing blueberry juice with the rest of the contents while he watched Alexis and Claire play in the living room. After they'd woken him up and he'd done their hair they'd asked him if he would build a fort out of blue blankets, cushions and other blue and white stuff with them so they would have a Frozen-castle. And how could he say no to building a castle?
He was just about to make the first pancakes when he saw Kate coming down the stairs. Her hair was a little messy and she was still wearing the t-shirt and boxers he'd borrowed her to sleep in. She looked younger without any make-up and unkempt hair. Adorable somehow. Not that he would say that out loud.
„Good morning" he greeted cheerfully.
„Morning" Kate mumbled sleepily. She seemed to have just woken up and immediately gotten out of bed. „How long have they been awake?" she asked, referring to their daughters she could hear giggling in a blue fort.
„About one and a half hour" he informed her.
Kate groaned. „I'm sorry, Rick. I didn't hear them getting up. Sorry for sleeping so long."
„It's not a problem" Rick smiled at her. „I'm glad you could sleep in a little. I bet you don't get to do that a lot."
Kate chuckled a little. „No, never"
„Not that 7:30 am is really sleeping in but you know what I mean" Rick added while he put the first pancakes on a plate.
„Why are your pancakes blue?" Kate asked, her face contorted in disgust.
Rick laughed and explained it to her.
„You're just the perfect dad, aren't you?" Kate asked. „Getting your child to eat fruit by making Elsa-pancakes, building forts at seven in the morning."
Rick looked at her surprised. The perfect dad. He didn't think of himself as that. Sure that would be great. But he was far from perfect. He just did what he could. That Kate thought that highly of him though meant a lot to him.
Kate met his gaze. She didn't think much about her comment. His expression though was a mixture of feelings. Pride, modesty, surprise and something that Kate couldn't read.
„Mommy" Claire cheered when she saw her. She came running towards her. Her hair was braided and she was wearing a blue dress that must belong to Alexis because they hadn't brought spare clothes since they hadn't planned to stay overnight.
„Good morning, sweetie" Kate said, dropping a kiss to her daughter's hair. „Is your hair braided?"
„Yeah. I look like Elsa now. Rick did it. He took braiding classes with Alexis. We should do that too" Claire said.
„There's no need for braiding classes. I already know how to braid. You just never want me to do anything with your hair" Kate told her. „And you never eat anything other than cereal for breakfast at home. How come you choose pancakes today?"
Claire's eyes shone in excitement. „Mommy, Rick said he can make Frozen-pancakes. That's better than cereal"
„Of course they are" Kate laughed.
„They are really good" Alexis confirmed. She had joined them at the kitchen island.
„And they are finished" Rick added and put a plate in front of all three of them after Kate had helped them up the chairs.
O-o-o-o-o
After breakfast Kate helped Rick clean up the kitchen. He was making her laugh with the silliest of things. Like throwing a handful of soap at her. She was surprised at herself for finding that funny. But she did and even threw soap back at him and laughed even harder when he whined when the soap hit his eye.
Claire and Alexis where still playing in the living room in their Frozen blanket fort ice palace. The two girls got along so perfectly. Kate just loved it. With all her other friends Claire seemed to get into a fight about little things every five minutes. Or she got bored with them. Either way Kate had always found Claire's play dates tiring. Not with Alexis and Rick though. Alexis and Claire could play with each other for hours without needing any of them. And she and Rick got along just as well, which was just perfect.
„Mommy?" Claire called. „Your phone is ringing. It's aunt Lanie. Can I pick up?"
Kate turned to see her daughter holding her ringing phone. She thought for a moment. She had closed her case and she was off for the whole weekend. So Lanie couldn't want something work-related. So Kate agreed.
„Claire Beckett" Claire said after taking the call. She listened.
„Hello sweetie" Lanie said. „Where are you and your mom?"
„We're at Alexis' place" Claire told her aunt. And in that moment it dawned on Kate. She looked at her watch. They had a breakfast and shopping date with Lanie today.
„That early?" Lanie asked. „Didn't we have plans for breakfast today?"
Claire just shrugged. „We already had breakfast with Rick and Alexis. Rick made Frozen-pancakes for us"
„Is that so?" Lanie asked with a strange voice. She sounded amused.
Kate walked over to her daughter. „Claire give me the phone please." Claire handed it over.
„I'm so sorry, Lanie. I totally forgot" Kate apologized.
„Never mind" Lanie told her. „Just tell me how come that you are having breakfast at Alexis'place. Who is Richard Castle's daughter if I remember correctly. And pancakes no less. We all know that pancakes in the morning are the edible version of a thank you for last night. What is he thanking you for?" Lanie's voice was suggestive.
Kate blushed. She didn't know why. There was no reason after all. Nothing of what Lanie's tone of voice suggested had happened nor would it. They were friends. Very good friends. And she needed him as a friend and as the father of her daughter's best friend. She really didn't want or need a relationship right now. No less with Rick. She wasn't in any way ready for a relationship and she definitely wouldn't jeopardize her friendship with Rick and Claire's friendship with Alexis by complicating things between them. Despite all this she blushed anyway at Lanie's words and looked over at Rick who was drying his hands on a towel. He watched her. And he would definitely hear what she'd say next. So she had to choose her words with that in mind. Even while she had a million understandable reasons why a relationship with Rick was not at all in her plan she didn't want him to hear her say that. She didn't want to fuel any insecurities he might still have because of his ex-wife's cheating.
„It got late last night and Claire had already fallen asleep so Rick generously offered his guest room" she smiled at him when she said it and he smiled back.
„Yeah, don't think you'll get away with that, girlfriend. But since you're still there and he's probably hearing what you're saying I'll let it go for now. So when can I expect you to meet me for shopping. Since you already had breakfast I'll just grab something on the way."
After Kate had made new plans for meeting Lanie at the shopping mall in an hour she ended the call.
„You've got to go?" Rick asked.
Kate nodded. „Yeah, we are meeting Lanie at the shopping mall. We've got to get a few things for Claire's birthday."
„And you are taking Claire?" Rick asked incredulous. „When you are getting presents for her?" The look on his face was so shocked it was hilarious. But he didn't look only shocked. He looked like he'd been told that Santa Clause didn't exist or something like that. Like she had just shattered something he really believed in.
Kate shrugged. „We were going to get decoration and other stuff for her party and then Lanie would distract her while I would get the presents."
„And let her figure out that you are carrying around her presents?" Rick asked. „No way. Leave her here. She can play with Alexis and you can get her presents."
Kate bit her lip. His offer was tempting. „Okay, I'll ask her if she wants to stay here."
„Great" Rick said and the relief in his voice made Kate laugh.
After she'd asked Claire if she would rather stay at Alexis' place and play instead of having to go shopping with her and Lanie, Kate packed her stuff.
„I'll try to be fast" she promised Rick. „It's Saturday and the mall is probably full of people but I'll do my best to be back at noon to pick up Claire."
Rick shook his head. „Please don't. At least not on my account. I really don't mind watching Claire. She and Alexis are so busy with each other anyway. I might even get some writing done while they occupy themselves."
„Are you sure?" Kate asked.
„Positive. Take your time. Choose great presents for Claire, go shopping for yourself if you want, grab lunch with your friend. I promise Claire will be perfectly fine and I don't mind watching her at all" Rick insisted.
„Okay then" Kate said. „Thanks." And then she stood up on her toes to drop a friendly thankful kiss on his cheek. She didn't even think twice about doing it. Not even when she tried to remember the last time she'd so casually kissed someone on the cheek and couldn't remember doing it in the last few years. She just shrugged at the thought. It was nice having someone she could so casually and comfortably share affection with without having to think twice about it.
O-o-o-o-o
„Hey" Lanie said as she hugged Kate in greeting. „Where's Claire?"
„Still playing with Alexis" Kate said and told her about Rick's shock when she said they'd wanted to take her shopping while she was getting presents.
„We wouldn't have let her see the presents" Lanie defended them. She would have distracted Claire while Kate got her presents. They'd done it that way before. Sure Claire had been younger then and not as clever as she was now. But still. They would have managed.
„I told him that too but he insisted that she stay there. And of course Claire had been over the moon" Kate said.
„Even better. That way we can go shopping for clothes too. And underwear. You are single now. You'll want to have nice new underwear when the opportunity to have a little fun with a hot man presents itself" Lanie stated wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. „What colors does Rick like?" she asked, pretending to be asking a question that had nothing to do with the sentence before.
Kate rolled her eyes. „Subtle as ever, Lanie."
„Well?" Lanie quirked an eyebrow.
„I don't know. And it doesn't matter anyway cause Rick's not going to see any of my underwear. Nor anyone else. So no, I don't need new underwear" Kate said just as they entered a toy store. She's made a list of the things she wanted to get in advance so she hoped they were being fast. Kate didn't really like toy stores. They were too full of the most useless of things and kids that were having tantrums and parents who couldn't deal with tantrums who would get their kids what they wanted so they would just stop crying.
„But you do find him sexy?" Lanie inquired, not dropping the subject. Kate's breakup with Josh lay in the past, she'd settled into being a single mom, she didn't seem upset and she spent an awful lot of time with Richard Castle. So no, Lanie wouldn't drop it. As much for her curiosity as for Kate. Her friend deserved some fun. Even if she couldn't see it.
Kate sighed. „He's handsome. I'm not gonna deny that. But I'm not interested in him in that way" she argued. „He's a friend. A very good friend. And Claire and Alexis love each other so much. They are like sisters. It wouldn't be fair to them if we would start a relationship, mess it up and end up breaking our daughters hearts because we won't want to have play dates anymore. So I'm very glad that I'm not interested in him in that way" Kate finished.
Lanie studied her for a few more moments. She could see that Kate really believed what she was telling her. So she would too. For now.
„Okay" Lanie said. „Can we still go underwear-shopping even if you don't need any? Cause I'm dating this guy. Firefighter. He even is in the calendar. Mr August. He's got a very hot friend. Mr June. I can introduce you if you want. I just suggest that you skip the talking and go straight to the action."
Kate grimaced. She hadn't missed that at all during her long-time relationship with Josh. Going out and having to talk to guys that were either incredibly uneducated or terribly unattractive. There rarely were guys that were attractive, smart and single. Lanie had never cared about that. She had no problem having a little fun with someone who couldn't match her own intelligence. Kate though couldn't stand that at all. She would rather stay home alone with a book than having to entertain someone with whom she couldn't have a decent conversation with.
„No thanks" she rejected the offer. „But we can go underwear-shopping if it's so important to you. Maybe I'll even pick up something. I like wearing nice underwear even if no one is going to see it. Makes me feel confident and powerful."
„Great" Lanie clapped into her hands and Kate laughed at her friends enthusiasm.
O-o-o-o-o
„Oh" Claire squealed in delight. „This is so awesome! Can you play the other songs too?" she asked Martha Rodgers.
„Sure I can, darling" Martha smiled at the excited little girl. She really was a cute little thing. Martha had come by around noon and had then met the infamous Claire Beckett. Alexis wouldn't stop talking about her whenever she saw her grandmother. And Rick would talk a lot about her mother who sadly wasn't here for Martha to meet. But she'd decided she'd take advantage of the opportunity and just stick around until Kate came to pick her daughter up. Martha really wanted to meet the woman. Mothers intuition told her that Rick was going to fall in love with her. No matter how many times he told her that they were just friends and that he wanted to keep it that way.
Right now though Martha was enjoying playing the piano for the two excited girls. She'd recently gotten the notes for all the songs from Frozen since Alexis was obsessed with that movie. So she'd played one of the songs and the girls had enthusiastically sung along. It really was fun.
„You are so cool, Mrs Castle" Claire said after the third song. She loved to sing and she loved that Martha could play the piano. Her mother could play the guitar but she'd never played a song from Frozen. And the guitar was just so complicated. Playing the piano seemed to be easy. At least it looked easy when Alexis' grandma did it.
„Oh please call me Martha or grams" Martha said. Castle wasn't even her last name but since she didn't want the girl to call her by her last name anyway she didn't need to explain that.
„Really?" Claire asked in wonderment. „I can call you grams too?" Alexis did that and Claire really loved the nickname.
„Sure" Martha shrugged but smiled. „Why not?"
„That's so amazing" Claire squealed. „Thank you." And then the little girl climbed up on the bench beside her and gave her a hug.
„Yeah, we can share grams too" Alexis smiled at the idea. „But then you share your grandma with me too, right?"
Claire shook her head. „My grandma is dead. A bad man hurt her and she died. Mommy is very sad about it sometimes. But grandma is watching and protecting us from heaven. Next time we visit her grave I'll tell her to watch and protect you too though."
„Okay" Alexis said. „But you have a grandpa, right? Can we share him then?"
Claire nodded. „Yeah. But I don't see him often."
„Then I'll just share grams with you" Alexis offered generously.
Then they made Martha play the next song for them.
„Can you teach me how to play?" Claire asked after a few songs.
O-o-o-o-o
„Mommy, mommy, mommy" Claire stumbled over her own words in excitement. „Come. See what I can do. Come, come, come." She took Kate's hand and dragged her to the piano. Then she climbed on the little bench and put her right hand on the keys. Then she stared at her hand in concentration while she pushed some keys. After a moment Kate could even recognize the tune. There were a few mistakes but her daughter played the chorus of Let it go from Frozen.
„What did you think?" Claire asked excitedly. „Grams thought me. Isn't that wonderful?"
„Grams?" Kate asked confused.
„That would be me, darling" a woman's voice spoke up. Kate turned and noticed the red-haired woman with a luminous smile.
„May I introduce you" Rick stepped forward. „Kate, my mother Martha Rodgers. Mother, this is detective Kate Beckett."
„It's a pleasure to meet you, Katherine. Richard has told me so much about you" Martha smiled at her. So this was Rick's mother Kate thought. She hadn't expected to meet her today but she didn't mind. And she seemed nice. She seemed to be a very buoyant woman.
„It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mrs Rodgers" Kate said back and wanted to shake the other woman's hand but Martha just pulled her into a hug.
„Please call me Martha" the other woman said with a smile.
„I was just about to start dinner" Rick told them. „You are staying again, right?" he asked Kate.
„Um…" Kate made. „Actually, I think we should go home. You already feed us last night."
„Oh no, please stay for dinner. I'm making dinner now anyway. Safe yourself the energy of having to make something yourself when you get home" Rick reasoned.
„I feel like we are intruding" Kate bit her lip and glanced at Martha. She didn't want to intrude on their family time more than she already had. If she'd known that Rick's mother had planned to visit and spend time with her son and granddaughter Kate wouldn't have let Lanie drag her in every store in the mall. Or she would have taken Claire with her like she'd planned in the first place.
„Nonsense, darling" Martha said dismissively. „You are not intruding. We love having guests. Despite Richard and Alexis told me so much about you, I'd like to get to know you too." And then Martha linked her arm with Kate's and pulled her towards the couch. Kate was totally surprised at the action.
„Come on, darling. Let's go sit down. Richard told me you were out shopping today and every woman knows how exhausting that can be. Just relax and let my son do the work" Martha told her and Kate didn't feel like she had much choice than to follow the elder woman. She felt a little bad though. Rick had already done all the work today, watching both their daughters and now he had to cook for her and her daughter again. That didn't seem fair in Kate's eyes at all. But Martha wouldn't let her go help Rick no matter how many times she hinted at wanting to go to the kitchen to do just that.
„Richard enjoys cooking. He always has. He started doing it at when he was about ten years old. And he's quiet the chef now. You'd only be in the way, darling" Martha insisted and kept asking her questions about herself and Claire. And told her stories about Alexis and Rick in exchange.
Talking to Katherine, Martha knew there was no way Richard wasn't going to fall in love with her. If he hadn't already. She was the prefect complementary opposite to him. She was calm and polite and a very good listener. But Martha had no questions that she could be strong and demanding too. She had a job that Richard must find fascinating. And of course she was gorgeous. So Richard could keep denying that he was falling in love with her. But Martha would know better. She'd already suspected it every time he talked about her but now she was certain. She knew her son. It was only a matter of when, not if.
And Martha liked her too. They would fit perfectly together and Kate and Claire would both fit perfectly into their family. So now that she knew all that she would do the best she could to help them along. She didn't have a plan yet but she would come up with something. Something subtle.
O-o-o-o-o
Dinner had been delicious again. Martha had been right. Rick was quiet the chef. They'd eaten all together but after dinner Martha had excused herself because she had a date and the girls had gone upstairs. Kate helped Rick put the dishes away and finally felt a little helpful. She would definitely need to return the favor soon.
After the dishwasher was loaded and leftovers put away Kate called for Claire. Both girls came running down the stairs a minute later.
„Kate?" Alexis asked, looking at her with huge blue puppy dog eyes. She was really very adorable. As was her own daughter who looked at her with the same expression. Oh my. What did they want now?
„Yes?" Kate prompted.
„Can Claire stay here for another sleepover?" Alexis asked. For a second Kate wondered why Alexis was asking and not Claire but then she remembered how she'd always made her friends ask her mother when they wanted something because her mom always had been more reluctant to say no when her friends asked for something. It probably was because she wanted to seem like a cool mom.
„You don't even have to stay here, mommy" Claire told her confidently. „I'm a big girl. I can have a sleepover with my friend without you. I'm not going to get scared."
Kate looked into both their puppy dog eyes. God, they were so cute. But it was too much, they couldn't stay here another night. As much as Rick seemed to enjoy their company it was too much. He was just a good host. He probably wanted to have a normal evening again.
But Kate had another idea. „How about Alexis comes home with us and you have a sleepover at our place? That way Alexis' dad can have some kid-free time too. I already had that today."
Claire nodded. She seemed to be okay with the compromise. But Alexis' eyes had clouded. She looked over at Rick for help. She didn't want to say that she was scared to sleep somewhere else after Claire had been so confident about it a minute ago.
„Alexis is a little uncomfortable with sleeping somewhere else" Rick said carefully. He didn't want to embarrass his daughter in front of her friend. But he could see that she wasn't ready to have a sleepover at their place. „But I really don't mind having Claire over tonight again. I don't need a kid-free evening. And you can even stay here again too if you want. Or not if you don't" Rick said smiling. Maybe he wasn't just being nice and a good host. Maybe he really liked having them here. Kate liked staying there too. She was a little confused of her own feelings. Normally she'd want to have alone-time at her apartment. But staying here and spending time with Rick seemed even better than taking a bath in the solace of her bathroom. She shrugged. If another sleepover was what they all wanted why should she deny it?
„Fine" Kate agreed a little reluctantly. „But I'm going to tuck them in tonight. So you don't have to do that too" she said. But then she turned to Alexis again. „Is that okay, Alexis?"
Alexis nodded excitedly. „That would be awesome"
„No." Claire said a little louder than necessary, notifying Kate of the fact that that wasn't how Claire had planned it. „Rick shall tuck us in" she disagreed. Then she thought better of her outburst and looked at Rick with the same puppy dog eyes she had used on Kate earlier. „Please, Rick?"
„But I want Kate to do it" Alexis said. „Daddy is tucking me in every day."
„Mommy is tucking me in every day" Claire argued. „And your daddy can tell much better stories than my mommy." Kate would be upset with her daughter's preference of Rick's stories if she wouldn't wholeheartedly agree. She'd heard him read to the girls and at an official reading. She loved his story-telling voice too.
„But your mommy is more…" Alexis said but didn't know what she wanted to say, how to describe it. „She's not so… My daddy is so… He's always making so much fun and his stories are all so exciting. I don't want funny and exciting tonight. I want… I want… whatever Kate is" Alexis finished helplessly. At a loss for words how to describe Kate's calmer, more serene and down-to-earth demeanor.
„Calm" Rick supplied. „Kate is calmer than I am. You'll probably fall asleep easier when Kate tucks you in."
„Yeah. I want that" Alexis said.
„But I want funny and exciting" Claire objected.
Rick could feel their argument turning into a fight. Which would leave them both terribly unhappy. So he decided to step in.
„How about Kate and I tuck you in together then?" He glanced at Kate questioningly. She nodded.
„I'd be fine with that" Claire thought out loud. Alexis was more hesitant but then she agreed too.
O-o-o-o-o
Alexis queen sized bed was becoming a little small. At least if this would become a regular occurrence. Kate was sitting against the headboard of one side of the bed, Rick on the other, in between them were both their daughters. Alexis had laid down on her back already. Claire was still sitting.
„Claire come here. Let's cuddle a little while listening to Rick's story" Kate suggested.
Claire shook her head. „I can listen better while sitting" she said.
„Can I?" Alexis asked, pushing herself up a little and looking at Kate shyly. „Cuddle with you then?"
Kate looked at Rick, surprised. Was he upset that his daughter wanted to cuddle with her instead of him? But he shrugged and smiled.
„Sure" Kate agreed.
„Let's switch places then" Claire said and climbed over Alexis to be closer to Rick. Alexis scooted the other way and cuddled into Kate when she reached her. She laid her head on Kate's stomach and slung her arm around her. Kate carefully put her hand down on Alexis back. The little girl was facing away from her father and her friend. From her position Kate thought she'd even closed her eyes but she couldn't be sure.
Claire on the other hand was sitting crosslegged beside Rick, looking at him with bright expectant eyes.
„Everybody comfortable?" Rick asked. Claire nodded excitedly, Kate gave a smile and Alexis mumbled a yes.
„Alright then" Rick said and then started telling a story he just made up. It was about two little girls, best friends. They were having an awesome adventure riding horses, saving a kingdom, rescuing a young prince from a dragon. Claire was hanging on his lips, following every word of the exciting story he was telling, her mouth hanging open in concentration to catch every word. Kate too found herself very entangled in the story despite the fact that he'd made it up for kids. It shouldn't be this gripping for her as an adult. But it was his voice. His story-voice was different from his normal voice. It just casted a spell over her.
Alexis though seemed to be used to it or just very tired since her breathing evened out five minutes into the story. Kate absentmindedly stroked her back while she listened unashamedly entangled. She was never going to be able to satisfy her daughter's request for a story again. There was no way anything she could ever come up with could compare with his story. She could totally understand why Claire had wanted Rick to tuck them in.
„Another one please" Claire asked when he ended the story with a happy end. Kate could understand that request of her daughter too. But Rick shook his head.
„It's time to sleep now" he told her and Kate could comprehend her daughter's disappointment. „How about I make room so your mommy can scoot to the middle of the bed and you cuddle into her other side?"
Claire shook her head. „I'm too excited to cuddle."
„Too excited?" Rick asked and shot Kate an apologizing look. He hadn't intended to wake her up further. It was supposed to be a bedtime story. Kate gave a shrug. Claire usually wanted to go to sleep on her own anyway. She rarely wanted to cuddle.
„Yeah, about the story" Claire told him.
„How about you just lay down then, baby" Kate suggested. „And think about how the story could continue. Or what adventure they are going to have next. And we go downstairs and you tell us tomorrow what you came up with and next time Rick tells you a story he maybe includes your ideas"
„Okay" Claire agreed. Rick including her ideas in a story? That sounded awesome.
„Great" Kate said. „Just remember that you can't think about your ideas out loud because Alexis is asleep already, okay?"
When Claire nodded again, Kate gently put Alexis head on the pillow and got up. Rick did the same. They switched sides, dropped a kiss at their respective daughters foreheads and then made their way out of the room.
„Sorry" Rick said when they were outside.
„What are you sorry for?" Kate asked.
„For getting Claire all excited" he scratched his head a little embarrassedly. „Are you sure she'll be able to fall asleep on her own now?"
Kate just shrugged. „Don't worry about it. She usually takes some time to fall asleep. But she normally doesn't need me or even want me to stay with her. She busies herself with telling herself stories. When she was younger she used to tell them out loud. Sometimes I stood outside her door and listened to her stories. It was very cute. I felt like I was invading her privacy though and didn't do it often. And she's stopped talking out loud to herself a few months ago anyway."
„Okay then" Rick smiled. „Do you wanna stay another night too?"
Kate bit her lip. „If you don't mind?" she asked hesitantly. It wasn't even that she didn't want to leave her daughter here with him without her. It was more that she wanted to spend time with him again. She'd had a good time last night.
„Of course I don't mind" Rick told her. „I wouldn't know what to do with my time if you went home anyway. I would probably start a text conversation with you" he chuckled. „Come on. I'll get you something to drink. What do you want?"