Thank you all for your continuing enthusiasm and support.
Kate was awakened by the sounds of Lily fussing, and Alexis trying to soothe her. A glance at the alarm clock showed that it was a few minutes past 7 AM. Rick was asleep beside her, his arm draped over her abdomen, spooning her, her back to his front. She carefully moved his arm and slipped out of bed, then headed into the living room, where she found Alexis talking softly to Lily and bouncing Lily gently in her arms.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" Kate asked, pushing her hair behind her ears as she walked to Alexis's side. She took Lily from Alexis and held her close, gently shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she swayed the baby. Lily's cries began to quiet almost immediately.
"I'm sorry, Alexis, we should have told you, we have discovered that Lily doesn't like to be bounced. She likes to be swayed back and forth instead," Kate fretted.
"Oh, hey, that's okay. It's been a very busy week," Alexis hastened to assure Kate. "I've got it now. Next time it's just you and me, Tiger Lily, I will sway you instead of bounce you, okay?"
"Tiger Lily?" Kate asked with a smile.
"Well, Dad already claimed 'Sweetpea,' you call her 'Sweetie' when you don't call her by name, and your dad calls her 'Lily Jo,'" Alexis said. "If you'd rather I didn't-"
"She's your sister, Alexis. Of course you can give her a nickname. And given her gene pool, I'm sure the day will come when she is a tiger, won't it, Lily?" Kate asked, addressing the baby now.
Lily cooed at her mother, and Alexis looked at Kate and Lily and said, "The swaying worked, but I think what she really wanted, what she really needed, was her mom."
"Was that it, Lily? Did you miss me?" Kate asked. She shifted Lily in her arms, still swaying gently back and forth, so that she and Lily could look into each other's faces. "I'm right here, baby girl." She kissed Lily's forehead, and gently wiped her wet cheeks with her fingertips. "That's better, huh?"
Alexis watched Kate and Lily together, the way Lily moved her limbs and responded to Kate's voice, the unconditional love in Kate's eyes, voice, and body language, and she said, "Happy Mother's Day, Kate."
Kate shifted her gaze from Lily to Alexis and beamed at Alexis. "Thank you, Alexis," she said. "This is the first time I've even acknowledged this day since 1998. And I think it's gonna be a great one."
Kate noticed the shift in Alexis's eyes, the nervousness and anxiety in them. Before Kate could ask what it was about, Alexis blurted, "I've, um, I've been thinking...and I need to ask you something."
"All right," Kate agreed.
"You know Meredith," Alexis began, "and my relationship with her...or more accurately, my lack thereof… Well, I never really missed having a mother when I was growing up because you can't miss what you never had, right? The other kids had moms who lived with them and did things with them and took care of them when they were sick and came to school for Parents' Day and violin recitals and stuff, and I didn't. But that was okay, because I had Dad to do all that stuff for me and with me, and I wouldn't change that, and I had Gram.
"You've never pushed me to define the relationship between you and me, Kate. You've been there for the past eight years, and you've given me advice and helped me out with problems, and you make my dad happier than I've ever seen him. I haven't actually spoken to Meredith since the day you and Dad..." She trailed off, not wanting to go back to that horrible day even in conversation. "I sent her a Mother's Day email a few days ago, and it bounced back. She apparently changed her email address, and didn't bother to tell me. And so I tried calling her...six times...and it went to voicemail every time. I finally stopped calling. And she never called me back. She didn't even acknowledge my graduation a few months ago.
"I know we've never defined our relationship, and you've given me all the space and all the breathing room you thought I would need. More than I needed, really."
Her heart pounding nervously, Alexis looked directly into Kate's eyes before continuing. "And all of this is my incredibly long-winded way of saying that in my heart, as far as I'm concerned, you're my mom, Kate. And so I've been wondering for the past few days...well...Would it be okay with you if I started calling you 'Mom'?"
Kate looked at Alexis in amazement. Alexis mistook Kate's immediate lack of response and surprised look and said, "You know what, it's okay. Never mind. Forget I said anything. I-"
"Alexis, I would be honored if you called me 'Mom,'" Kate interrupted.
"You would?" Alexis asked hopefully.
"I told your dad a while back that he raised an amazing person in you, and he did. I didn't meet you until you were fifteen, but I've always liked you. And it didn't take long for that like to turn to love. I love you like a daughter, and I have for a long time. So if you want to call me 'Mom,' that's more than okay with me."
Alexis blinked back tears before rushing forward and throwing her arms around Kate, carefully hugging both her and Lily. Kate held Lily tightly to her and then hugged Alexis with her other arm. Kate felt a few tears welling up in her own eyes as she hugged her daughters, because Alexis was no less her daughter than Lily.
Rick had awakened almost immediately after Kate had upon hearing Lily crying, and he had gotten out of bed too, intending to follow Kate and help her deal with Lily. But he had stopped in their bedroom doorway when he had seen Kate with Alexis and Lily, and there he had stayed, hearing the conversation between Alexis and Kate.
After meeting Kate, after they had begun to become them, Rick had changed his will, after talking to Kate about it, so that if anything had happened to him, Kate would be Alexis's legal guardian. Unbidden, he realized he needed to update his will now that Lily had arrived. Well, he and Kate needed to make a joint will, which they hadn't done after getting married, he amended, before his train of thought returned to its previous track, about Alexis and Kate.
He had hoped for a long time—while following Kate's lead, knowing she didn't want to push Alexis, and since all of them, including his mother, gave Meredith a wide berth and never really expected too much from her because she never really gave anything unless she herself was getting something out of the experience—that Kate and Alexis would grow closer eventually.
He had never considered that Alexis might want to claim Kate as her mother, and call her 'Mom,' but he was misty-eyed himself at seeing and hearing how much this moment obviously meant to both Alexis and Kate. He had known years ago, when he had asked Kate to take care of Alexis for him if anything happened to him, that Kate would be an amazing mother. Now, all these years later, both of his daughters would have Kate for their mother.
Sometimes, he reflected, the universe works things out exactly the way they are meant to be.
With her unerring instincts, and the prickle coursing up the back of her neck, Kate knew that Rick was there, watching from the doorway of their bedroom, that he had probably heard everything she and Alexis had said, but was not intruding on the moment because it was theirs.
Alexis moved back slightly, one arm still around Kate's back, the other wiping at her eyes. "Dad," she said, catching sight of Rick standing in the doorway of his and Kate's bedroom. "I'm sorry we woke you."
"I'm not," he replied as he walked across the room to join them. He kissed the top of Alexis's head, then the top of Lily's head, and then he kissed Kate gently on the lips, keeping it PG because of Alexis and Lily. "I don't get to spend too many mornings with all of my girls."
Kate pinned Rick with a look. "Your girls?" she repeated.
"Um, well, I meant...that is, ah..." Rick stammered.
Kate burst out laughing. "Sometimes you're too easy," she told her husband.
"Is that a complaint?" he asked.
She shook her head. "An observation," she replied.
"Happy Mother's Day, Kate," he said.
She beamed at him, her eyes still alight with mischief and mirth from a moment earlier, when he had thought he was about to get in trouble for referring to her as one of his girls. "Thank you," she said. "Now, I'd better feed Lily again, and then she needs a bath, and I need a shower, and what time are we meeting Dad and Martha for brunch again?"
"Eleven," Alexis and Rick replied in unison.
"Well, good, then we have plenty of time, don't we, Lily?" Kate asked as she walked Lily over to the couch and sat down with her to nurse her, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch as a shield, since she didn't want to make Alexis uncomfortable.
"I'll make some coffee," Rick said.
"I'll cut up some fruit," Alexis added, following her father to the kitchen. As they worked in the kitchen, Alexis said, "So, I guess you heard that, huh?"
"I did," Rick said, sliding the coffeepot into place as the dark liquid began to drip through the filter and into the pot.
Alexis looked up from the cantaloupe she was slicing. "Is it okay with you? If I call Kate 'Mom'?"
"It's okay with Kate," Rick replied, "and that's what really matters. But yeah, it's absolutely okay with me."
"I'm doing this partly because I didn't want to make things too confusing for Lily as she grows up," Alexis said. Then she laid down the knife she was using and wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. "But I'm doing it mostly because Kate is the only real mother I've ever known, and I want to acknowledge that. So it's mostly selfish, I guess."
"How is it selfish?" Rick asked. "I know you've always wanted a mom, Alexis. And Meredith was never going to be the kind of mom you wanted or needed. My one regret is that I was never able to give you the mom you wanted and needed, the mom you deserved."
"But Dad, you did," Alexis said. She looked over at Kate, and Rick followed her gaze. They both looked at Kate, talking to Lily as Lily nursed, and then they looked at each other again. "You gave me the best mom in the whole world. And I even got an adorable baby sister too. It just took time, but she was totally worth the wait. And so was Lily."
"Yes, they were," Rick agreed, as he and Alexis hugged.
A few hours later, the quartet strolled into the restaurant for Mother's Day brunch to find Jim and Martha already waiting. Rick had a bouquet of flowers for Martha, and he had booked a spa weekend for her as his gift from him and Kate. Martha's gift from Lily was a coffee mug that proclaimed "I've Been Called a Lot of Names in My Lifetime, But Gram Is My Favorite." Alexis had gotten Martha tickets to the revival of Hello, Dolly for them to attend together.
Lily slept through brunch in her car seat carrier, but was still the big hit of the meal. "I swear she's gotten bigger," Jim said in a hushed voice as he watched her sleeping.
"Dad, you just saw her yesterday," Kate said. "Babies grow fast, but not that fast."
Jim reached down under his chair in reply, coming up with a package wrapped in floral-print wrapping paper and tied with a pink ribbon and bow. Kate looked from the box to her father in surprise. He just smiled. Kate opened the gift right there at the table.
The box contained two baby books, one new and blank, for Lily...the other thick and starting to yellow with age: Kate's own baby book that Johanna Beckett had kept. "Dad," Kate said in amazement as she looked up at him.
"I noticed you didn't get a baby book at your shower," he said, "and I found yours earlier this year. I thought it was appropriate to give you your baby book, and give you one to start for Lily."
Kate got up and rounded the table to give her father a hug. "Thank you," she said. "I love them both."
Jim hugged her back, then when they were looking into each other's eyes, he said, "Happy Mother's Day, Katie."
"Thanks, Dad," she replied.
Martha handed Kate an envelope as she said, "This is actually for both you and Richard." It was a confirmed dinner reservation for the two of them at One if by Land, Two if by Sea for the night of June 10. "That's six weeks from Lily's birth," Martha said. "I'll baby-sit, of course."
Rick stifled a groan at this. He appreciated his mother's gift, as did Kate, but leave it to his mother to matter-of-factly bring up the six-week period of abstinence required of him and Kate after Lily's birth. Kate gently nudged his ankle with her foot under the table as she said, "This is so thoughtful, Martha. Thank you so much."
"Anything for you, my dears," Martha replied. "After all, you know how special that six-week mark is."
"Yes, we do, Mother," Rick hurriedly said before Martha could elaborate any further. "Thank you."
Rick and Alexis were giving Kate her gifts at home, after brunch. After Rick paid the check, as they were all preparing to leave the restaurant, Lily woke up, but was soothed by the presence of her mommy and daddy and Alexis. She noticed Gram and Grandpa Jim were there too, and was content to just wave her arms around. "I can carry Lily out to the car, Mom, Dad," Alexis said.
The look on Kate's face in that moment was one all of the adults present would remember for the rest of their lives. Yes, Kate had told Alexis that Alexis could call her 'Mom' earlier, but this was the first time Alexis had actually done it...and she had done it not only naturally and matter-of-factly, but also in front of Martha and Jim
Martha clasped her hands over her heart and looked from Kate to Richard with a teary smile. Jim looked surprised but then he beamed at Kate, not at all surprised to hear Alexis refer to Kate as her mom. Rick threaded his fingers through Kate's and winked at Alexis before smiling at Kate.
"If you don't mind, sure, that would be great, Alexis," Kate said. This would take some getting used to, she reflected, but it would be great to get used to it.
Back at the loft, Alexis presented Kate with a card that said, "Mom, Thanks for Everything" on the front, and the message inside the card read, "Today is a good day to say how much it means to have the gift of you in my life. It means a lot. And I love you for it. Happy Mother's Day," and she had added in her handwriting, "All my love, Alexis," and a framed photo of the two of them that Javier had taken at Alexis's graduation a few months earlier, their heads touching, both of them beaming for the camera, and Kate visibly pregnant with Lily.
Jim was holding Lily, and the two of them were fascinated with each other as Jim gave her his finger to hold, and she wrapped her tiny hand around her grandfather's finger. "You know, Jim," Martha said, leaning over to him while they waited for Rick to return with his gifts for Kate, "it's not nice to be a baby hog."
"Me, a baby hog? Do you believe she said that, Lily Jo?" Jim asked, looking down at the baby in his arms.
"You've been holding her since we got here," Martha pointed out. "I would like some time with her. She's my granddaughter too, you know."
"If you two can't play nicely, I'll have to take Lily," Alexis said cheekily as Kate looked on, amused.
Jim gently kissed Lily's forehead before carefully handing her to Martha. "There," he said, when Martha was holding Lily. "But I want her back when you're done."
Martha looked down at Lily. "You're the main attraction, kiddo," she told the baby. "I get the feeling your christening is going to be very interesting, because everyone is going to want to hold you. I have a feeling I know who will win that particular honor, though."
"Deputy Chief Gates?" Alexis said to Kate in an undertone.
"Javi and Kevin still can't tell her no," Kate replied in the same undertone. "Lanie might put up a fight, but if I had to choose between the two of them...yeah, I gotta go with Victoria in that case."
Rick returned then, carrying a pink envelope, a large box wrapped in silver foil with a matching bow, a bulge in the breast pocket of his jacket, and a cube-shaped box wrapped in pink-and-white-striped paper. He sat down and handed Kate the box wrapped in pink-and-white-striped paper. "This is from Lily," he said. "We thought long and hard, and discussed this, and it seemed like an ideal present for you." He then handed Kate the sealed pink envelope.
Kate accepted both, opening the card first. A cartoon mama bear lay on her back in the grass, holding her baby bear cub aloft underneath a brightly shining sun on the cover. The baby bear was reaching its hands toward the mommy. Beneath the picture, in the Comic Sans MS font, the card read, "Know What, Mommy?" and the "Mommy?" was in pink, while the "Know What," was in white.
Kate opened the card to find the baby bear holding a bouquet of flowers, with this message: "From the tips of my toes, to the tip of my nose, to the top of my head, and from the bottom of my heart, I LOVE YOU! Happy Mother's Day." Rick had printed "Love, Lily" in block letters under the message.
Inside the cube-shaped box was a coffee mug that said "Best Mom in the Universe," with the planet Saturn beneath the legend. Kate grinned, because "Best Mom in the Universe" was just so like Rick. "World's Best Mom"? Why stop there? No, Rick believed her to be the Best Mom in the Universe...and so did Alexis, and so would Lily, she hoped.
"Lily chose well. I can always use a coffee mug," Kate said.
"Oh, we've already had the conversation about Mommy and her coffee," Rick said seriously. "Now, as for your gift from me, I narrowed it down to two, and I couldn't decide between them, so I got both. One is...well, practical, I guess you could say," Rick replied.
"You bought a practical gift?" Kate asked, surprised and only half teasing.
"I believe it qualifies as practical, yes," Rick said. "The other one, I would say is...well, if I tell you, you'll guess what it is."
"I'm guessing the giant box there is the practical gift," Kate said.
"Yes," Rick replied.
Kate tore off the foil and bow to reveal a jogging stroller. "I know we have a regular stroller," he said, "but in case you want to take Lily jogging with you, now you can."
"I hadn't even thought about this, but this is terrific!" Kate exclaimed. She gave Rick a hug and a chaste kiss.
He smiled. "And now for your other gift." He pulled a black velvet jewelry case out of his breast pocket, with a red bow on top. "Happy Mother's Day, Kate."
Inside the case was a gorgeous pear-shaped emerald pendant necklace in 14-karat white gold. "Oh, Rick," Kate whispered.
"The emerald is Lily's birthstone," he said softly. He looked at Alexis apologetically. "If I had known you were going to pick today to start calling Kate 'Mom,' I would have had them put your birthstone on here too, Alexis." He shifted his gaze back to Kate. "I'll take it back to the jeweler and have him add an opal for Alexis."
Kate just looked at her husband. "This is amazing," she said.
Rick shook his head. "You're amazing, Kate."
That night, after Jim and Martha had gone home, and Alexis was in her room, on the phone with Javier, Rick had finished cleaning the kitchen, and, seeing the soft glow of one lamp in his and Kate's bedroom, he headed in there.
Kate was lying on her side on their bed, her head propped one hand, Lily stretched out next to her, her thumb in her mouth and her tiny eyelids fluttering, almost asleep. Kate was gently stroking Lily's face and humming softly, and then she began to sing to Lily. Rick stood just inside the bedroom, mesmerized at the sight and sound before him.
"And ah ah ah ah ah, you're my favorite thing
Ah ah ah ah ah, all the happiness you bring
Well it feels like I've opened my eyes again
And the colors are golden and bright again
And the sun paints the skies
And the wind sings her song
It's a better place since you came along
It's a better place since you came along"
Lily's thumb dropped out of her mouth, and Kate went back to humming softly. She knew Rick was there, so she looked up from Lily's sleeping face to his awed one and smiled shyly.
Rick approached the bed and gently sank down on his side, looking from Kate to the sleeping Lily and back again. "I love it when you sing," he said softly. "You have such a beautiful voice, Kate."
Kate smiled, then gently scooped Lily up. Rick stood too, and leaned down to brush a kiss to Lily's forehead. Then he followed Kate to the bassinet, where they put Lily down. She snuffled in her sleep before settling down with a soft sigh.
Rick and Kate stood at the bassinet, watching Lily sleep for a few minutes, their arms around each other, and Kate resting her head against Rick.
Kate went into the bathroom then, emerging in her pajamas (they made their nights early these days because of Lily) to find Rick already in his t-shirt and boxers for bed, and holding another envelope. "What's this?" she asked when he handed it to her.
"Your Mother's Day card from me," he replied. "I wanted us to be alone when I gave it to you."
Kate opened the envelope and pulled out the card. Rick had bought the card stock and handwritten the message himself.
The card read:
"My Dearest Kate,
"You already know how much I love you. At least, I hope you do. But on this, your first real Mother's Day as a mom, I want you to know something else—that I value you for the amazing person that you are in every facet of life, and that I admire you for being an exceptional mom. You are kind and understanding, patient and loving, and seeing you with our daughters (the 's' was a last-minute addition, which was another reason Rick waited to give the card to Kate) makes me fall in love with you more every day.
"Above all, I want you to know that beneath the hardworking, dedicated mother, I will always see the remarkable, extraordinary woman I am blessed and lucky to call my wife.
"Happy First Mother's Day.
Love Always,
Rick"
Kate swiped at her eyes (damned post-partum hormones) before pulling Rick's head down for a sizzling kiss, which he eagerly reciprocated. When the need for oxygen forced them to break the kiss, Kate breathlessly said, "Thank you for giving me the two most incredible daughters in the world."
He smoothed his hands through her hair, tangling his fingers in the tresses before cradling the back of her head in one palm. "Joint effort," he replied softly. "Lily and Alexis both. Never underestimate the ways you've changed and influenced Alexis's life, Kate. You're part of the reason she is the woman she is. And we get to do everything together with Lily right from the start."
"You keep giving things back to me that I had thought were lost to me forever," Kate said, tracing one fingertip down his jawline. "Mother's Day is just the latest."
"I was lost, before you showed up at that book party and flashed your badge at me," Rick replied earnestly. "You found me, and you made me a better man, and you make my life so much richer and better and fuller and more than I ever thought it could be."
He was going to say something else, but the look in Kate's eyes, the love shining there, made him need to kiss her again, and before he could move, she fused her mouth to his once more, and he responded in kind.
Kate's lullaby for Lily is "Better Place" by Rachel Platten. And we don't have a definite birth date for Alexis, at least not that I could find or that I remember being mentioned in canon, so I just made her birth month October, the same as her portrayer, Molly C. Quinn.
