A/N: You guys are awesome. The response to this has surpassed my expectations by a mile. Thank you so much.

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Hiding my Heart

Chapter 7

The next time Kate opened her eyes, she was immediately aware of two things. One, it was already morning, if the light streaming through the gigantic window in Rick's living room was any indication. And two, a pair of bright blue eyes was staring curiously at her, with a wisp of red hair falling in front of it. Blinking groggily, her first reaction was to hide her face in the crook of Rick's neck to escape the harsh light that inundated the loft. She felt him stir momentarily, but he just tightened his hold around her, pulling her impossibly closer, and then his breathing was steady again, a light snore escaping his lips.

That was when she heard a giggle. A childish giggle.

Oh.

The pair of blue eyes. Lifting her head slowly, she found a red haired little girl watching them, her hand covering her mouth, apparently trying to contain her giggles.

Oh.

Alexis.

She looked down at Rick, who was still sleeping peacefully, and then back at his giggling daughter. Biting her lip, she tried to think about how she was going to handle this through the sleepy fog that was dominating her brain, which was proving to be a very difficult task. Alexis kept looking at her curiously and Kate finally gave in, setting her chin on Rick's shoulder, while fishing her phone out of her pocket. Before checking the time, she offered a small smile at the young girl.

"Hi." Alexis whispered and Kate's smile grew. The fact that she was mindful of her dad's sleep was adorable.

"Hi." She whispered back and Alexis smiled timidly at her. Kate checked her phone. It was a little after 7 and she had to go home and change to go to work. "What are you doing up, sweetie? It's still early." She asked quietly and Alexis shrugged.

"I was thirsty." She brushed her too long bangs from her eyes before continuing. "And I wanted to watch TV. The cartoons I like are starting soon." She explained and Kate nodded.

"Did you get a glass of water?" She asked and Alexis shook her head.

"I saw daddy sleeping on the couch and came to check on him. And then I saw you."

"Well, let's go get it, then." She smiled at the girl and tried to sit up, but Rick's hold on her tightened. "I have to go." She whispered in his ear and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "And I know you're awake." She pinched his ear lightly and smirked when he yelped in a very unmanly way.

"Not fair." He mumbled and she rolled her eyes, chuckling. She sat up, but he still kept a hold on her, his eyes still closed.

"I'm going to get your daughter a glass of water. Lexi, tell him to let go of me." She said playfully and Alexis giggled, poking him in the ribs.

"Let her go, Daddy." She said happily and Kate laughed when he squirmed away. "Come on, Ms. Beckett." Alexis reached out her hand and Kate stared at it for half a second before taking it. The girl was usually so shy around her, that seeing her like this was refreshing. Stepping over Rick's legs, she stood up, letting Alexis lead her to the kitchen.

"You can call me, Kate, you know." She squeezed her hand lightly and Alexis looked up at her with a smile.

"Okay." She complied and waited for Kate to pour her a glass of water. "Thanks." She drank the full glass thirstily and handed it back to Kate. "Do you want to watch cartoons with me? They're really fun." She invited, but Kate shook her head, brushing her red hair behind her ear.

"I can't, honey. I have to go to work. Maybe next time?" She crouched down to the girl's level and offered a smile. Alexis looked slightly disappointed, but nodded her understanding.

"Okay." She sighed and reached out to touch Kate's hair. "You're really pretty, Kate." She whispered and Kate bit her lip, touched. "Like Snow White." She added, making Kate laugh quietly.

"You're really pretty too, Lexi. Like a princess. I bet your Daddy tells you that all the time." She smile and Alexis nodded enthusiastically.

"He even got me a Cinderella costume for my birthday." She told her as Kate stood up.

"I bet you look beautiful in it." Kate told her softly and the girl shrugged, taking her hand again as they walked back to the living room.

"I'll show you next time you come over." She promised and Kate nodded, not really sure of what she should say. She and Rick had just had their first date last night. Who was to say she was even coming back here again anytime soon? Of course, she hoped that this thing between them lasted and she could feel this strange connection with him, but it was still too soon to be making these kinds of promises to his kid.

"Hey, did you get your water, pumpkin?" Rick asked when they reached the couch and Alexis nodded, climbing onto it and settling against his side. "Do you have time for breakfast?" He turned to Kate, looking hopeful with those puppy dog eyes of his, and she shook her head.

"I have to go to work. Big case that needs to be solved, remember?" She smiled down at him and he tugged at her hand, pulling her down to his other side.

"Not even coffee? I have these really awesome coffee beans and I can brew you some really quick. Trust me, your life will never be the same after this." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes at his expectant look, his hair sticking up in every direction.

"Only if it's really, really quick." She gave in and he beamed at her, pressing a light kiss to her lips. She was taken by surprise and an involuntary gasp – however quiet it was – escaped her lips. "Your daughter is right next to you." She whispered urgently, trying to keep the panicky feelings under the surface.

"I like you and she likes you and Jamie likes you. We're all good." He whispered back with a small, pleased smile and she sighed, biting her lip. "I love when you do that." He murmured, tracing her lips with his thumb. "So, coffee coming right up. I'll be right back."

He kissed her lips one more time and got up, making his way to the kitchen. Kate sighed and leaned back on the couch, closing her eyes, not sure how she felt about this. Was he this certain, this confident that they would work that he was not afraid of parading what they had in front of his kid? Okay, so it had been an innocent peck on the lips, but still. God, her thoughts were so jumbled inside her head that if she didn't stop overthinking this right now, she wouldn't know which way was up anymore.

She would just go with the flow. Yeah, that was a good plan.

"Kate?"

Alexis' quiet voice pulled her out of her overworked mind and she turned her head to look at the girl, who was sitting next to her mimicking her position.

"Yeah, Lexi?" She asked, curious and dreading what the girl had to say.

"I really like that your Daddy's girlfriend now." Alexis gave her a happy smile and Kate stared at her at a loss. "You're really nice." She added and Kate smiled weakly at her, not knowing what to say to that. "Want to watch a cartoon with me while Daddy is making you coffee?"

"Sure." Kate said, her voice coming out as if in a daze. Alexis scooted closer to her and Kate suddenly felt the weight of her little body leaning against her side. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Kate finally put her arm around the girl's shoulder so she could lean against her more comfortably. It was a good ten minutes later that Rick came back with two mugs of the most delicious smelling coffee and found them like this. She watched as he stopped, dead in his tracks, and stared at them for a long minute, a smile tugging on his lips.

"Morning." He said finally, handing her the coffee mug. She accepted with a timid smile and took a sip as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, wow." She nearly moaned at the incredible taste and turned to him. "What's in this?" She asked curiously, but he shook his head with a grin. "Oh, come on, Rick."

"If I tell you now, how am I going to convince you to come back here? I'm using this as leverage." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes, drinking her coffee.

"You don't have to bribe me, you know?" She nudged his side and felt him put an arm around her shoulders, squeezing it lightly.

"Good, cause you're welcome here anytime." He kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment. "You were really good with her back there." He whispered in her ear and she shrugged.

"Thanks." She gave him a small smile and turned back to her coffee, leaning against his side, and bringing Alexis with her.

"Dad?" They heard another child's voice and footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Couch, Jamie." Rick called back and soon the red haired boy appeared by the couch. "Hey, buddy. How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. I'm hungry." He told him with a yawn and his eyes widen when he noticed Kate was sitting there with his dad. "Hi, Ms. Beckett." He said excitedly. "Are you having breakfast with us?"

"No, sweetie, I was just leaving, actually. I'm late for work." She said gently and saw the boy's excitement deflate.

"Oh." He said, looking down and Kate felt bad. She turned to Rick, lifting an eyebrow questioningly.

"She can come some other day, Jamie." He said, looking at Kate and she nodded with a small smile. "How's that?"

"Promise?" Jamie looked at her, shuffling his feet, and Kate smiled at him, offering her pinky finger to him. He hooked his with hers and smiled.

"Pinky promise." She told him and chuckled when his smile grew.

"I can't wait. We can have pancakes and eggs and bacon and… oh, can we have a smorelette when Ms. Beckett comes, dad?" He turned to Rick, excitement restored, and his father laughed.

"Sure. I'm not sure she's going to like it, though." He told his son and stood up, taking Kate's empty mug. Kate stood up as well, after pressing a light kiss to Alexis' hair.

"I should get going. I'm really, really late." She said and smiled down at Jamie, ruffling his hair, and put her shoes on. "I'll see you soon, buddy. And you can call me Kate, alright?"

"Alright." He smiled up at her and she saw the adorable gap where he was changing his bottom baby teeth. "Can't wait, Kate."

"Why don't you guys sit tight while I walk Kate to the door and then I'll make us an awesome breakfast?" Rick suggested, picking up Jamie and playfully dropping him on the couch, much to the boy's delight. "Come on, I'll walk you out." He took her hand in his and led her to the front door. Once they were outside, he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Hope that wasn't too much for you." He said sheepishly and Kate could see his insecurity shining in his eyes. Leaning up, she pressed her lips against his in a sweet kiss.

"Don't worry about it. Your kids are amazing." She reassured him and felt him let out a sigh in relief. "Thanks for last night. I had a really great time, even if I fell asleep on you in the end." She grinned and he laughed quietly, stealing a kiss.

"When am I going to see you again?" He whispered, resting his forehead on hers, and she closed her eyes.

"With this case going on, I'm not sure." She sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Maybe we can try lunch sometime this week? I told you my hours were crazy." She pulled back to look at him and he shook his head, dismissing it.

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you call me and let me know when you have some free time? Even if it's just breakfast or lunch or whatever. If you get a break, call me and I'll be there." He suggested and a smile tugged her lips up.

"Okay." She nodded, trying to keep her smile at bay.

"Okay." He grinned widely at her and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

When Kate arrived at the precinct, it was already close to 9am. She left her things at her desk and took a sip of the caramel cappuccino she had picked up at Starbucks on her way to work. Looking around, she spotted Ryan and Esposito chatting in the break room and made her way there. She was hungry, since she hadn't had time to stop and get something to eat. She had rushed into her apartment, jumped in the shower and got dressed for work in record time. On the way, she had stopped at Starbucks for another caffeine fix, but in her rush to get to the precinct, she forgot to buy something to eat. Now her stomach complained about the lack of sustenance and she made a mental note to go down to Remy's as soon as she had some free time.

"Morning." She smiled at her boys and they nodded. Taking another sip of her cappuccino, she leaned against the counter. "Anything?"

"We're waiting on Blanchard's assistant. We called and asked her to come in for some questions." Ryan told her, taking a bite out of a croissant. Kate nodded.

"Can you guys handle that? I have to try to get in touch with Senator Donovan and I'm pretty sure that's going to be hell." She said and Esposito nodded.

"Sure, we'll let you know when she arrives if you decide you want in." He grinned at her and she looked at him questioningly. "So, looks like I interrupted something last night." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Kate rolled her eyes, drinking the rest of her coffee. "At least that's what it sounded like." He added with a smirk and Kate threw the closest object she could find – a pen – at him.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." She threw her cup in the trash and passed by him, elbowing his side playfully.

"Do we have to rough him up, tell him to take good care of you? Cause we can be pretty damn intimidating, right, bro?" He turned to Ryan for confirmation and the younger detective nodded enthusiastically, his mouth full.

"Oh, I'm sure." She said dryly, sarcasm dripping from her tone, making her way to the door.

"Come on, Becks, we're just looking out for you." He called after her and she shook her head, amused by their antics, and walked back to her desk.

Hours later, she was still hungry and hadn't gotten very far in getting in touch with the Senator. She had tried calling several times, but could only reach his lawyers, since, apparently, he wasn't taking any calls. When noon rolled around, she was cranky and tired and just wanted this case to go to hell. At least she wasn't sick anymore. That would've just made things a thousand times worse.

Deciding to give herself a ten-minute break, she checked her email and, after deleting junk mail and checking the news, she allowed her mind to wander back to earlier this morning. She had been taken completely by surprise when she woke up with Alexis watching them. It had been a while since she had dealt with kids and she had panicked for a moment there, not knowing what to do. She was glad that Alexis seemed to be more comfortable around her since the other times they had seen each other, the girl was always incredibly shy. Maybe it was the fact that she had been in her own home now that had made her open up like that. Jamie had been taken with her from the start and she knew that her real challenge was Alexis.

With a sigh, she leaned back on her chair. What was really bugging her, however, was that Rick had been so at ease with the fact that his kid had caught them sleeping. And then kissing her in front of aforementioned kid. Not that they had done anything too graphic, on the contrary. But now it made her wonder if this was a common occurrence in his loft. Did he always bring girls back there, which was why Alexis didn't seem really fazed by it? Was she just another one of his conquests? She knew his playboy extraordinaire fame, but what she had seen these past couple of weeks was that he was completely different. Or so she had thought.

Shaking her head to dispel those unwanted thoughts, Kate stood up to go look for Ryan and Esposito and tell them she was going to get some lunch. She shouldn't let her mind go into overdrive with this. Rick had been nothing but nice to her and they really seemed to have this spark between them. Overthinking this was just going to make her do something that would push him away, like she had always done in all her past relationships. They had just had one date. There was no reason for her to be freaking out like this.

Her phone ringing brought her out of her thoughts and she answered it without checking the caller ID.

"Beckett."

"Hi, Katie." Her sister's cheerful voice graced her ears.

"Hey, bug. What's up?" She smiled. They hadn't seen each other in almost a week and she really missed her.

"You tell me. How was your date?" She asked and Kate chuckled. Emily always cut straight to the chase.

"It was great." Kate told her and Emily groaned.

"Come on, Katie. Details." She insisted and Kate sighed. "But not the dirty ones, please." She added, making Kate laugh.

"I'll tell you what. Are you doing anything right now?"

"No, why?"

"Wanna grab some lunch at Remy's and I'll fill you in on the details?" She suggested, finally finding the boys near the interrogation rooms.

"Yes, of course. Meet you there in twenty?" She heard Emily say and confirmed it.

"See you soon, bug." She told her and hung up as she reached Ryan and Esposito. "Hey, is that the assistant?" She asked, looking through the open door to the interrogation room. The woman looked like was in her mid-fifties and looked oddly familiar to Kate.

"Yeah. That's Juliet Carter. She's been working at Peterson & Johnston for the past seven years or so. She was Blanchard's secretary." Esposito told her and Kate felt like she had just taken a blow to the stomach. "Becks, you okay?" He asked concerned, touching her arm.

"Juliet Carter, are you sure? That's her name?" She asked, her voice coming out unsteady. No, it couldn't be. It had to be a coincidence.

"Yeah, why? He asked confused and Kate finally tore her eyes away from the woman sitting in the room, looking nervous, and focused on her partner.

"Because she used to work for my parents."

A/N: Thoughts?