"Is that her?" Meredith asked on a disgusted tone.
"Yes, that's her, and she has a name. It's Kate." Rick answered, trying to remain calm.
"Hi, I'm Kate, and you must be Meredith." Kate said, trying to stay polite and introduce herself to Alexis's mother.
"Oh, look at her, she polite and all. You pick them young now Ricky." she laughed, walking to his bedroom.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rick asked.
"I'm taking a shower. I spent hours on a plane."
"The bathroom is upstairs." he said.
"Oh come on, Kitten, all my stuff is in your bathroom." She said, smiling.
"All your stuff has been thrown away three years ago Meredith. Who do you think you are? This is the first time we see you since the divorce and you just show up pretending nothing happened? Why aren't you going to a hotel or one of your boyfriends?" he all but yell.
"Rick." Kate said, taking his arm and looking at Alexis.
Meredith took advantage of the moment of inattention to slip in Rick's bathroom.
"I'm sorry Pumpkin. I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry Pumpkin." he said, picking his crying daughter up. "Don't cry, please. I'm sorry, I'm not going to yell anymore. Please don't cry, it will ruin your pretty butterfly face."
"Kate said I was a princess butterfly."
"You sure are Sweetie, the most beautiful butterfly princess. Hey, why don't you go upstairs and put on your Cinderella costume, then you would look exactly like a butterfly princess." Rick said.
Alexis nodded, rushing up the stairs.
"Are you ok?" Kate immediately asked, turning back to Rick.
"Now that you're here I am." he said, pulling her in his arms. "What are we going to do? She's going to ruin our evening." he continued after having kissed her.
"Hey, she's not going to ruin anything. We're going to do exactly as we planned. Home made pizza, movie night in a blanket fort. And then I had private plans to celebrate the father of the birthday girl." she said, whispering the last part in his ear.
"I think I like that." Rick said, smiling.
"Oh, and I learned something about you today." Kate said, smirking.
"Oh my God, what did she tell you. Whatever it is, there is a high change it's an exaggeration."
"Hey, it's her we're talking about, not you." Kate laughed. "And I hope it's not an exaggeration."
"What did she tell you?" he asked again.
"She said you told her that you love me."
This stopped him. How should he do this? Should he deny it? It was still quite early in their relationship. Maybe it was too early and it would make her run away. But at the same time, it was true. So true. It was still new and yet it was stronger than what he had ever felt for Meredith. And she just said that she hoped it was not an exaggeration, right?
"I did. I do love you Kate Beckett." Rick said, looking at her in the eyes.
"I love you too Rick." she whispered, tears gathering up in her eyes.
After this more than emotional revelation, they could not seem to be able to keep their lips to themselves. They broke apart only when they heard Alexis go down the stairs but they could not keep the smiles off their faces.
"Well, now you really look like a butterfly princess Pumpkin. How do you feel about making home-made pizza?" Rick asked, walking to the kitchen.
"Yay!" Alexis yelled, running after him.
"Alexis, honey, don't yell in the house." Meredith said, emerging from Rick's bedroom.
Kate threw her a glare and joined them in the kitchen.
"So, what do you want to put on that pizza?" she asked, passing behind Rick and letting her hand caress his back.
"Everything. Usually it's ham, peperoni, chicken if we have some, tomatoes, mushrooms and the most important ..." Rick enumerated.
"Tons of cheese!" Alexis completed.
"Wow, that sounds … delicious. Heavy but delicious." Kate laughed, opening the fridge to see what they had.
"Can you make me a salad?" Meredith asked. "There is no way I'm eating your disgusting pizza."
"You know what, if you want a salad, you either make it yourself or you go to a restaurant to eat it, the latter has my preference. There is no way you're ruining my baby girl's birthday dinner." Rick said on an everyday tone.
By the shock that appeared on Meredith face, both Rick and Kate realized that she didn't even remember it was her own daughter's birthday.
"Happy birthday Sweetie." she said.
"Thanks." Alexis answered, not looking up from the pieces of ham she was disposing on the pizza.
"Why are you really here Meredith? Because until now I knew why you came ..." Rick said.
"I have an audition here in New York tomorrow. I knew I could stay here." she said as if it were the most normal thing on earth.
"Well, the thing is, you can't stay here. The guest bedroom is not made."
"Oh I don't count on sleeping in the guest bedroom." she said alluringly.
"Well, there is no way you're sleeping on my couch so you'll have to go to a hotel."
"I seem to recall that our bed was pretty large, Ricky."
Kate could not believe what she was hearing. How could this woman talk to him like that. And in front of their daughter!
"Well, if you must know, I threw this bed out a week after I kicked you out, for obvious reason." he said, shivering at the memory of discovering his wife and her director in their bed while Alexis was sleeping in his office. "And the only woman who will sleep in my bed tonight is Kate. I'd like you to leave now. If you want to see Alexis, come back tomorrow afternoon."
"I can't. I have to leave tomorrow after lunch to go back to L.A. I'm staying here tonight. You are not going to deprive her of her mother, are you?" she asked, trying to make him feel guilty.
What happened next surprised the three of them. Alexis hit her fist on the table and turned completely red.
"You are not my mommy. You're never here, you never read to me, you never take care of me, daddy is mad when you're here or when you call, you never care about me, you never took me shopping like Kate did and you didn't even remember it was my birthday. You're not my mommy!" Alexis yelled really loudly, fat tears rolling down her red cheeks in hysterics, before jumping into Kate's arms.
No one moved for a few seconds, except for Alexis who was sobbing in Kate's neck. Silently, Meredith gathered her things and left. Once he recovered from his shock, Alexis took Rick from Kate and went to her bedroom, leaving Kate to finish the pizza.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Once Alexis had been calmed, the evening got back on tracks. The over-charged pizza was eaten eagerly, the blanket fort was built and the three of them watched two Disney Princess movies. Alexis was asleep on her father by the end of the second one. After successfully getting out of the fort with Alexis in his arms, he went to put her to bed. Kate tidied the most she can and folded the blankets on the couch. She turned around when she heard Rick get down the stairs.
"Is she going to be ok?" she asked, walking to him and embracing him.
"Yeah, I think so. She talked to me for a while after she ...I don't even know how to call it. Anyway, she told me what the two of you talked about in the coffee shop this afternoon."
"I hope it's ok? I ..."
"You're perfect with her Kate. I completely trust you with her."
"Thank you;" Kate simply said, burying herself in his chest.
"Now, I recall you saying something about celebrating the father of the birthday girl?" He said, moving them to the bedroom.
So, what did you think of that one?