Thank you all for your continued support and enthusiasm. Additionally, I'd like to give a shoutout to NYAZ for inspiring me to deal with the Meredith question regarding Alexis and Javier's upcoming wedding.


The last person Rick expected to hear from was Meredith, but there she was, on the other end of the line when he answered his phone a little less than an hour before he and Alexis were going shopping for Alexis's wedding dress.

"So, Alexis tells me she's getting married in August," Meredith said after Rick said hello.

"Meredith?" he asked. He hadn't seen or heard from her since he and Kate had been shot over four years ago.

"Yes," she said.

"Oh," Rick said, unsure of what to say. "Yes, Alexis is getting married on August 15."

"That's what she said last night," Meredith continued. "I had texted her yesterday, I have a new phone and a new number, and then she called me and we spoke for a couple of minutes." She paused, then said, "I guess she's following in your footsteps in a way. She's marrying a cop. I heard from him first, actually. He said that he thought it would be a good idea for me to get in touch with Alexis, so I did. He sounds like a good guy, but I wouldn't expect Alexis to pick someone who wasn't."

So Esposito had tracked down Meredith. Rick instinctively knew that Kate must have known about this, because Esposito didn't have any more use for Meredith than the rest of them did, but either Espo worked faster than Kate thought he would, or she was looking for a delicate way to mention it. He could imagine how those couple of minutes Alexis had spent talking to Meredith had gone. "Yes, he's a good guy. Will you be attending the wedding?" he asked.

"I wish I could, but I'm doing a play in London, and I can't get away," Meredith replied.

"Did you tell Alexis that?" Rick asked, closing his eyes briefly. He wasn't surprised by Meredith's behavior, but he also didn't want Alexis to suffer because of it, especially on what should be the happiest day of her life.

"I did," Meredith said, "and she was great about it. She also told me that she graduated law school in May and she's studying for the bar exam now. She's doing really well, it sounds like."

"She is," he said, at a total loss as to where to take the conversation from here.

"She's happy, right?" Meredith asked after a long silent moment in which Rick thought they had lost the connection. "She sounded happy, but I...well, I don't really know her well enough to know if she was just...you know...acting."

"Alexis is very happy," Rick said.

"She never was one for acting or putting on airs," Meredith replied. "She doesn't lie either. You and Martha raised an exceptional woman. And I'm sure Beckett did her part too." She paused. "Speaking of Beckett, I hear you've got a full house now. Another girl and identical twin boys. You must be in your element. You always were a big kid yourself."

"I'm very happy," Rick confirmed. "And yes, Kate and I have three children together."

"Don't you mean four?" Meredith asked.

Rick didn't know what to say to that, so he said nothing.

"Rick?" Meredith asked.

"I'm still here," Rick said.

"You and I both know I wasn't much of a mother to Alexis," Meredith said. "If she has a mother-daughter relationship with Beckett now, I can't begrudge her that. I wasn't there for her. I didn't put in the time. She at least told me she was getting married and offered to send an invitation. She didn't have to do that."

Again, Rick wasn't sure what to say. But "That's very...evolved of you, Meredith," came out of his mouth.

"Don't tell my agent, but I think I'm finally starting to act my age," Meredith said. "In some respects, anyway." She paused. "Alexis didn't give me her home address, and I would like to send a gift. Is it all right if I send it to the loft?"

"Of course," Rick said. And then, he said, "If your plans change and you can get away and decide to come to the wedding after all-"

Meredith cut him off. "It's not going to happen, Rick, but thank you for being more magnanimous than I deserve. But then, you always were. And Alexis seems to have inherited or learned that from you. I bet your other kids will too." She paused. "I know you'll make sure Alexis has everything she wants and needs."

"That's not going to be my job for much longer," Rick said wistfully.

"Then make the most of the time you've got left," Meredith said. Then she chuckled. "Look who I'm telling." She paused. "Well, at least I didn't scar you or Alexis for life. There's something to be grateful for, anyway." She took a beat, then said, "I've got to go."

"I'll see that you get pictures," Rick blurted suddenly. "Of the wedding."

"I'm not sure I really deserve them, but thank you, Rick, I would appreciate that," Meredith replied. "Goodbye."

By the time Rick said goodbye, Meredith had ended the call.

Kate had taken the kids into the living room with her dad, leaving Rick to speak to Meredith alone once she realized that was who was on the other end of the line. Espo and Ryan had worked faster than she'd thought they would, she reflected.

Rick pocketed his phone and, having gone into the office (he, Kate, and the kids had been in the playroom, while Jim had been in the living room, finishing his coffee) to speak to Meredith on the phone, emerged from the office with an inscrutable look on his face.

Jim and Kate exchanged a look, before Kate looked at Rick, who was crossing the room to join them. They were both down on the floor with the kids, and Jim was supporting Jake propped up against several sofa pillows, while Lily and Kate hovered over Reece, who was lying on his stomach on the floor and had pushed up on his arms, with a look of pure determination on his little face that reminded Rick keenly of Kate.

"Daddy, Mommy and Grandpa think Reecey's about to roll over!" Lily exclaimed, oblivious to the looks the grown-ups were exchanging.

Rick gave Lily a genuine smile. "They do?" he asked as he plopped down on the floor with the others, right beside Kate.

"Yeah!" Lily exclaimed excitedly.

Reece arched his back now, lifting his chest off the floor in the process, the look of Beckett-like determination on his face even more pronounced now. Jim deftly, quickly pulled his video camera off the coffee table, turned it on, and focused in on Reece. Rick, Kate, and Lily were all also focused on Reece now. Jake, leaning unassisted against his pillows now, remained sitting upright, his gaze following those of the rest of his family.

Everyone was silent for what felt like an eternity. Reece kicked his legs and then, as everyone held their breath, he propelled himself from his stomach over onto his back for the first time in his young life, surprising even himself.

"You rolled over, Reece!" Lily shouted.

The whole room erupted in shouts and cheers. "He did it!" Kate exclaimed, looking at Rick with tears of joy in her eyes. "Reece just rolled over for the first time!" She threw her arms around his neck.

"As soon as I saw that look of pure Beckett determination on his face, I knew he would," Rick replied, his arms going around her waist.

"And I got the whole thing on tape, or whatever the expression is nowadays," Jim announced, holding the video camera aloft.

Reece was lying on his back, kicking his legs and chortling one of his baby chortles. "Way to go, Peanut!" Rick exclaimed, releasing Kate and scooping the boy up in his arms. Kate then ran her hand through Reece's silky hair as he blew a spit bubble at her and smiled.

"You're getting so big, Reece, yes you are," Kate said. "And now that you're rolling over, we're going to have to babyproof this place again. More than we already have, I mean."

"That means it's time to call Uncle Kevin again," Rick said.

Kate kissed Reece's cheek, then focused her attention on Jake, picking him up. "You'll be rolling over any day now, Jakey, and we'll never have a moment's peace again," she said. Jake put one of his palms on his mother's cheek and babbled at her. "That's right, Jake," she said. She pulled him closer for a cuddle and nuzzled his neck.

Alexis arrived then, her key in the front door alerting everyone to her presence. "Hi, everybody!" she exclaimed.

"Reece rolled over!" Lily announced.

"By himself? Just now?" Alexis asked, dropping her purse to the floor and nudging the front door shut behind her with her foot before hurrying to join the rest of the family on the floor. "All right, Reece!" she cheered her baby brother. Reece, still in Rick's arms, giggled. "You can show off for me later," she told him.

"Yeah, we have an appointment at a bridal salon to keep," Rick said. He kissed Reece, then Lily, then Jake, and then Kate.

"About that phone call earlier..." Kate said.

"It'll keep," Rick replied so only she could hear him. He got to his feet with a groan and a pop of cartilage in his knee. "Jim, how do you get down on the floor with these guys every day?" he asked his father-in-law.

"Glucosamine and chondroiton," Jim replied. "And I never busted my knee skiing."

"Have fun," Kate said.

"Thanks, Mom," Alexis said as she stepped forward to hug Kate quickly and kiss her cheek, then kiss Jake, then Reece, then Lily, and she even pecked a kiss on Jim's cheek. Rick watched this and realized that Alexis truly had taken Kate as her mother. And Kate was going to be Alexis's matron-of-honor. Still, he felt obligated to discuss Meredith with Alexis, although he was torn because he didn't want to put a damper on their big shopping trip. And Kate clearly knew something about his phone call from Meredith, which he had suspected from the second Meredith had mentioned getting in touch with Alexis last night, since Meredith had been almost entirely radio silent in Alexis's life, as far as Rick knew, for the past few years.

"Okay, then," Rick said. "We're off to find Alexis a wedding dress. We'll be back..." He trailed off as he looked at his firstborn. "A week or two at the most, right?"

"At the most," Alexis agreed mock seriously. Then she looked at Kate. "If you haven't heard from one or both of us by 6 PM, call us. Please."

"You're going to find the dress," Kate assured Alexis.

"You think so?" Alexis asked.

"I know so," Kate replied. "I have a good feeling about today."

When they were in the car, and headed to the bridal salon, Alexis said, "So...I heard from Meredith last night, completely out of the blue."

"I heard from her earlier this morning," Rick replied, "also completely out of the blue."

"I don't think it really was completely out of the blue," Alexis said.

"I'm sure it wasn't," Rick replied.

"Mom, Javier, or both?" Alexis mused.

"Probably both," Rick said. He paused. "Are you upset, pumpkin?"

"No," Alexis replied, "I'm really not. I'm not sure I believe she has a role in a play in London...at least, not London, England...but she honestly wasn't angling for an invitation. I guess...I don't know...Mom and Javier probably wanted to make sure I wouldn't have any regrets if Meredith wasn't at the wedding, and so they tracked her down, and I'd even guess that Mom is the one who initially contacted her, because they kinda/sorta know each other. I doubt Meredith remembers Javier."

"I agree," Rick said. "I notice you keep referring to Kate as 'Mom.' Of course, you've done that for a few years now."

"That's who she is," Alexis said firmly, matter-of-factly, in a tone that brooked no argument. "And I think deep down, Meredith would agree. She told me to be happy, and that she was happy for me. But I'm not surprised or disappointed that she's not coming, Dad. I mean, she didn't come to any of my graduations. She didn't know I'm going to be a lawyer. There are so many things she doesn't know about me. And even when I was a teenaged brat, Kate never pushed me in any way." She paused. "Do you remember when you and Gram were trapped in that bank robbery as hostages? Even though it wasn't homicide, thank God, Kate got herself assigned to the case and she spoke to the bank robbers inside. I remember showing up outside the bank, absolutely frantic, and screaming in her face about you and Gram, 'They're all I've got! Do you hear me? They're all I've got!' and she promised me that you and Gram would be okay, and I was still angry and scared and I told her that you two had better be all right. And then that bomb went off, and I thought my whole life had just gone up in smoke.

"She went charging in there with the other officers, and she brought you and Gram out, safe and sound, just like she had promised me, and while I was hugging you both and crying, there was Kate, standing several feet away, just watching the three of us with a little smile on her face. You two weren't together yet, but you were getting there. That was the first time I realized that you meant as much to her as she meant to you. I know she and I haven't always been close, and some of that was jealousy on my part, because I didn't have to share you with anybody, really, until Kate came along. It was just you and me—and Gram—for so long.

"And now everything's different, and it keeps getting better. She's the mother of my little sister and my baby brothers. She's the woman who makes you happier than you've ever been in your life. And I consider myself lucky to be able to call her my mom too." She smiled at her father as they sat at a stoplight. "I had something that Lily and Reece and Jake will never have: you and Gram all to myself for most of my life. But they have something that I'll never have: Kate as their mother from the beginning of their lives. It all balances out."

"Yes, I guess it does," Rick agreed.

"It wasn't that I didn't enjoy looking at wedding dresses with Mom and Gram and Lily and Lanie and Jenny and Sarah Grace," Alexis said then, "but I'm glad I didn't find anything. It feels really right to be going shopping for my wedding dress with you, Dad, just the two of us."

Rick smiled. "Then let's find you that dress," he said as he parked the car and shut off the ignition.

And they did.

It took four hours, seventeen dresses, a very harried salesclerk, and Alexis beginning to panic when the harried salesclerk returned with one more dress for Alexis to try on.

Alexis was in the fitting room for so long, Rick started to wonder if she was all right. "Alexis?" he called.

She emerged from the fitting room at last, a vision in white satin, looking a bit shocked at the sight of herself in the mirror only a moment ago.

Rick got to his feet, none too steady himself at the sight of his daughter in a wedding gown, for it was indeed a gown: white satin with what the salesclerk would tell them, in a few minutes, was a "sweep" train, meaning the fabric of the gown just barely brushed the floor, since it was less than a foot long, ensuring ease of movement while dancing and walking down the aisle. The ball gown-style dress was all white and all satin, with a zipper up the back and a hook-and-eye closure at the top, fitted at the waist and loose at the hips, with short cap sleeves and a bateau neckline.

As Rick and Alexis just stared at each other wordlessly with wet eyes, the salesclerk scurried away quickly, then came rushing back with a veil to go with Alexis's wedding gown, which, as she worked to affix it to Alexis's head, she explained was a classical circle veil, ninety inches in diameter, with a 24-inch blusher, made of nylon tulle and trimmed in half an inch of white satin perfectly matching Alexis's dress.

"You look so beautiful," Rick said softly, trying in vain to swallow the lump in his throat.

"I didn't recognize myself for a few seconds when I was standing in there looking at myself in the mirror in this gown," Alexis replied just as softly. "And then I realized it really was me, and I couldn't stop staring at myself. That's why it took me so long to come out here."

She walked over to the three-way mirror and looked at herself in the dress and the veil; the salesclerk had draped the blusher over Alexis's face. When she saw herself in full bridal regalia, Alexis took in a sharp, deep breath. Watching her see herself in full bridal regalia, Rick felt his heart turn over in his chest. A myriad of images flashed behind his eyes in rapid succession: holding newborn Alexis for the first time; her first tooth, first steps, first word, first first day of school; Laser Tag battles and childhood illnesses; Halloweens, Christmases, birthdays; her high school years, her graduation from Marlowe Prep and the speech she gave, moving her into the dorm at Columbia, their falling-out over Pi and her return home after giving up the apartment she and Pi had taken together; her graduations from Columbia University and law school; seeing her with Lily, Reece and Jake, with Kate, with Esposito.

Rick took a couple of steps toward Alexis, then stopped in his tracks. Alexis turned away from the mirror to look at her father. "This is it," she said confidently, her voice still hushed in reverence. "This is the dress I'm going to get married in."

And so it would be.

On the way back to the loft from the bridal salon, Alexis texted Javier, "Found THE dress and veil. Still need shoes. And I know you're the reason Meredith texted me and called my dad."

Javier texted back, "Great news about the dress & veil. Yes, I tracked her down. It was my idea, but I ran it by Beckett. Don't want you to regret it if she's not at the wedding. I was gonna tell you tonight. Didn't know she'd call you so fast. How angry are you?"

"I'm not angry, just surprised," Alexis replied, and she was a bit surprised that it had been Javier who had directly contacted Meredith. Of course, since it had been his idea in the first place, it made sense that he was the one who had called her, albeit with Kate's knowledge. "She's never really been there for me, so I didn't expect her to come to the wedding even if I had tracked her down first. She's not coming. But I'll have all my family there. Thanks for finding her, but it really wasn't necessary."

"You deserve the perfect wedding," Javier responded.

"WE deserve the perfect wedding, and we're going to have it," Alexis texted back. "I love you."

"I love you too," Javier replied.


Much later that night, after Rick and Alexis had returned home in triumph, after she stayed for dinner and Javier, Martha and Earl joined them, and after the grandparents and Alexis and Javier had gone home and Lily, Reece and Jake were in bed asleep, Kate, who had recently acquired reading glasses of her own, in black plastic oval frames, was sitting up in bed, reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, reviewing some City Council paperwork on her tablet when Rick got into bed. "So," he said after turning off the lamp on his side of the bed, "was it your idea to give Meredith a heads up about the wedding, or Esposito's?"

"Javi's," Kate said after setting her tablet on her nightstand and then turning her full attention on her husband. "He came to me and said he wanted to track Meredith down just to make absolutely sure that Alexis had no regrets about not having Meredith at their wedding. I told him to go ahead, that I didn't mind if he did it. She is Alexis's mother."

"More like Alexis's birth pod," Rick mused.

Kate bit her lip. "Are you mad at me or upset that I didn't tell you? I didn't know Javi was gonna work so fast. It was just the day before yesterday that he brought it up to me. I guess he and Kevin didn't have much actual work to do at the precinct. I was going to tell you tonight, after I realized Meredith called you this morning."

"I'm not mad, and I'm not upset," Rick assured Kate. "It sounds like Esposito didn't expect Meredith to want to show up. I didn't. I'm sure you didn't either. And Alexis certainly didn't. When I got that call from Meredith out of the blue this morning, I figured you had something to do with it. You and Esposito."

"What did Meredith say to you? Is she coming to the wedding?" Kate asked.

"She's not coming to the wedding, not surprisingly," Rick said. "She said that she can't get the time off, that she's doing a play in London. I find that hard to believe, and Alexis seemed to think it was a convenient excuse too, but that's how Meredith wanted to play it. Neither Alexis nor I gave Meredith any hassle about not coming to the wedding. I was surprised at Meredith telling me that Mother and I raised an exceptional human being in Alexis, and she even gave you your due, saying that you had done your part to make Alexis who she is today as well. She admitted she didn't put in the time with Alexis and really build a mother-daughter relationship with her, which surprised me. I did tell her I'd send her pictures, and she said she'd send a gift, but she's sending it here. She doesn't have Alexis's address, and she and Esposito are planning to move into a new place by the end of the year anyway. Besides, no matter what anyone thinks, Alexis has claimed you as her mother, and case closed."

"She never even considered anyone else for her matron-of-honor," Kate reflected. "I'm still amazed by that."

"She loves you, Kate," Rick said. "She grew up basically without a mother because she had to, and she adjusted and handled it admirably, but once she really realized you were here to stay, and that you actually cared about her too, that was how it started." He paused, then looked at Kate intently, her face scrubbed free of makeup, wearing one of his old t-shirts with a pair of sleep shorts, looking both cute and hot at the same time in her glasses. "There were so many times when Alexis was a little girl that I regretted that she didn't have a mom," he went on. "It turns out I didn't need to regret it—I just needed to get to the point in my life where I found you."

"We've had our ups and downs," Kate said. "Alexis and me...and you and me. But we all ended up exactly where we were meant to be."

Rick's face creased in a smile. "Wait, are you saying that you believe in fate now?" he asked excitedly. "You're always so practical."

"I don't know if it's fate, exactly, but I believe...no, more than believe, I know that I am meant to be your wife, and Lily and Reece and Jake and Alexis's mother."

He reached up and gently, carefully removed her glasses. "You look really hot in them," he said, by way of explanation as he set her glasses on his nightstand next to his own, "but I'm about to kiss you breathless, and I don't want to risk breaking your glasses in the process."

Before Rick could kiss Kate breathless, though, she swooped down and kissed him breathless first.