WOW, over 200 reviews! THANK YOU so much dear readers !
Kate smiled when she saw her father waiting by the entrance of the center. He was nervous, she could tell. He was going from one foot to the other, one hand in his pocket and the other carrying a teddy bear.
"Hey Dad! You're ready to go?" Kate asked, kissing him on the cheek.
"Yeah sure." her said, going with her to Rick's car.
"What's with the bear?" Kate finally asked.
"Well, the other day you said it was Alexis's birthday so I thought I would get her something, but since we're not allowed to go out of the center, I took this at the gift shop. Do you think she'll like it?" Jim asked, nervous.
"Shell love it, don't worry. But you didn't have to get her anything."
"I couldn't get there empty ended, come on. What kind of a guest would I be?"
"Ok." Kate laughed.
When during the short car ride, she saw that her father was fidgeting in his seat, she laughed again.
"What?"
"You're so nervous!"
"Well, I want to make a good impression. What if they don't like me?"
"Don't worry about that, they're gonna love you. And they're nervous too you know. I think Rick changed his shirt at least five times between the moment he got dressed and when I left to get you." she said. "There is no reason to be nervous dad, I swear."
"But they know where I was, I just want to make sure they know I'm not a ..."
"Hey, nobody is going to judge you in there dad. You're getting better, that's the only thing that counts, ok?"
"Ok. Is that the house?" he asked when he felt the car slow down and come at the end of the driveway.
"Yeah, I know, I was surprised too." Kate laughed, getting out of the car.
They walked to the front door and Kate was about to open it when Alexis appeared from the side of the house, laughing really hard.
"Hey Sweetie, what's going on?" Kate asked.
"It's Daddy. He was … being silly and … he fell into the pool!" Alexis managed to say before bursting into laughter once again.
"Ok." Kate said, trying not to laugh when she saw Rick come toward them, his clothes clinging to his body and making poodles around him. "What happened?"
"I'm so sorry Kate, I … I'm not usually like this Sir, I swear! It just, we were playing with a ball and I kind of … uh … got tangled in my feet and landed in the pool."
"Well, didn't I tell you last night not to play there? I told you someone was going to fall in there." Kate said, putting her hands on her hips.
"Katie, come on, don't scold the man, he's soaking wet. You should help him." Jim said, trying really hard not to laugh with Alexis.
"Come on Fish Man, I'm going to get you a robe, get rid of your clothes here. Alexis, can you take my dad inside while I take care of yours?"
"Sure. What's your name?" Alexis asked him.
"Jim."
"Then let's go Jim." she said, taking his hand and leading him inside.
"Seriously Rick, you fell into the pool, today!"
"Kate, I'm really sorry. I was nervous thinking of meeting your dad so I had to distract myself!"
"I love you Rick." Kate said, kissing him thoroughly while trying not to touch him. "Now, I'm going to get you a robe, take off your clothes and you can go get changed."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
After lunch, the four of them decided to take a walk on the beach. The warm breeze was making it enjoyable despite the heat. Kate and Rick were walking hand in hand behind Jim and Alexis. From what Kate could hear, the little girl was explaining to Jim how the fish could breathe under water. Jim was pretending to be interested and asked her a lot of questions, to which she was happy to answer.
"He seems to like her." Rick noticed.
"Rick, no one can not like your daughter. She is just so cute and perfect!" Kate said.
"Just like her father then?"
"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree ..."
"They look really good together. And she was so happy with this teddy bear. You know, she already named him Mr. Beckett."
"Really?" Kate laughed.
"Really. And she looked very serious about it when she told me." Rick said.
"I'm happy they're getting along so well. He needs that kind of fun to distract him from … everything. But he looks much better than the last time I saw him at the hospital."
"He does look good. And he looks happy to have his baby girl with him too. He couldn't stop looking at you during lunch and he had that smile on his face ..."
"Wow, you're such a romantic Rick." Kate said, kissing him softly. "I saw him look a lot at you too, you know. And he seemed satisfied with what he saw … despite the first appearance.." she continued.
"I'm so sorry about that Kate, I really am and ..."
"I know Rick, don't worry. I'm just teasing you. This was hilarious the way you showed up all wet and dripping … Rick, come back!" Kate said, laughing when he walked away from her to get to Alexis.
"What's going on?" Jim asked, having been replaced by Rick to Alexis's side.
"Nothing, I'm just making fun of him falling into the pool." Kate said, smiling.
"He is good for you Katie. You're smiling again." Jim noticed.
"Yeah. I … I love him dad." Kate said, blushing furiously.
"I noticed." Jim said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "You look at him just the way your mother used to look at me. You look like her so much Katie and she would be so proud of you."
"She would be proud of you too, you know. Not for … your problem with alcohol but for trying so hard to fix it."
"Well, I'm doing it partly for her. I don't want her to be disappointed in me from wherever she's watching. I'm doing it for our family."
"I'm proud of you too dad."
"Thank you Katie." Jim said, kissing her on the cheek. "It's still a long way to recovery but I will make it. You know I … I went to her grave the day before I went to the center and I promised her I would do it. For me but also for you. Because I don't want to miss more of your life than I already did in four years. I swear to you I'll get better and I'll be here for you when you need me. I'll be here to walk you down the aisle, I'll be here when my grandchildren come to the world, I'll be here when you'll freak out because Alexis has her first boyfriend, I'll be here when ..."
"I get it Dad, thank you." Kate laughed. "But don't plan on grandchildren right away, ok? Let's take it one step at a time."
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When she was getting ready for bed that night, Kate was thinking. Thinking hard. So hard that she bumped into Rick going out of the bathroom.
"Hey, are you ok?" Rick asked, catching her before she fell backwards.
"Uh? Yeah I'm fine. I … uh … I need to tell you something."
"Ok. What is it?" Rick asked, looking worried.
Kate walked to the bed on sat on it, her back against the headboard. Rick went with her, sitting Indian style opposite her. He took her hand.
"Talk to me Kate. Please."
"I … I didn't say it to many people because the few I told either pitied me or got scared and ran away. But I don't want you to be like that. I just want to tell you and you accept it. I don't need your pity, I just want you to continue to love me. I don't know what I would do if you left me and ..."
"Kate. Just tell me. I promise I'll still love you no matter what it is. Just tell me please. I'm getting worried here."
"I … uh … It's about my mom. She died four years ago, I told you that." She waited for him to nod before continuing. "She didn't … just die. She was murdered. Stabbed in an alley." Kate managed to say before bursting into tears.
It took Rick a couple of seconds to react to what he had just heard. He moved and took her into his arms, caressing her back and kissing her hair.
This was going to be a long night.
So, what do you think?