After they left the Hamptons and went back to New York, time seemed to flew by between murder cases, weekend visits to Jim, family life at the loft, getting together with friends … It was now Kate's birthday and she had the weekend off, something that had not happened in a while, and she was happy to sleep in.
She did not mind waking up when she felt Rick's lips starting to kiss her. Head, cheek, mouth, neck, shoulder. She forgot all about sleeping when she felt him open the shirt she was sleeping in. A shirt she had stolen from him.
"Good morning." Rick whispered against her stomach, kissing his way up to her mouth.
"What time is it?" Kate asked, trying to keep her eyes open.
"A bit after six."
"You wake me up at 6 on my birthday? Why?" Kate whined, still welcoming his kisses.
"Well, Alexis was pretty exited about your birthday last night and I wanted to be the first one to properly wish you a happy birthday." Rick said, getting rid of the shorts she was wearing.
"Well, I like when you wake me up like that." Kate smiled, responding to his kisses and caresses.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Once Alexis was awake, they all prepared breakfast and the birthday girl had her pancake with a whipped-cream 24 on it.
"What do you want to do today Kate?" Alexis asked.
"I don't know. I don't usually do anything special on my birthday. In fact I think I was working on the last ones." She answered.
"Well, we can do whatever you want Kate, but I made reservations for the two of us tonight so, we have to be back here around five to get ready." Rick said.
"How about … we go to the zoo and we have a picnic in the park?" Kate proposed. "I haven't been to the zoo in like forever."
"Sure. Let's do that!"
"Do you want to go now?" Alexis asked.
"Not now. I have something I have to do before. How about we meet at the entrance of the zoo at 10?"
"Sure, that's perfect." Rick answered.
He knew that she wanted to visit her mother's grave and that she wanted to be alone for a while. After Kate had told him what happened to her mother when the were in the Hamptons during the summer, Rick understood a lot more about her. Like her need for alone time.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When Kate arrived to the cemetery, she felt good. When she walked up the aisles, she felt pretty good. When she stopped in front of her mother's grave, for the first time ever, she felt at peace. Of course she was sad and of course it hurt but for the first time she was able to focus on the good memories of her mother rather than on her death and its tragic consequences. Since she had talked to Rick, he made her think about it and now she was … less depressed than before. Of course, she still cried when she thought about what had happened but now she could also laugh at memories of her. In a way, she also felt closer to her now that she had Alexis. It was as if they could relate on the fact of being a parent. Even if she was not Alexis's mother, every time something happened, she remembered how her mother used to react in such or such circumstance and it helped her move on.
On her mother's grave, there were already two bunches of flowers. One she recognized to be the one her father bought every year on her birthday. He must have send it this year. The second one she couldn't guess so she took the card and read it. That made her cry.
Mrs Beckett, thank you so much for you daughter. She is the most perfect woman that I ever met. You have an extraordinary daughter and you can be proud of her. I'm sorry I'll never get to meet you. Rick Castle.
Kate knelt down in front of the grave and smiled despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. She placed her flowers between her dad's and Rick's.
"Hey Mom. I'm 24 today. But of course you know that. You always knew everything." Kate said, smiling. "I hope you had had a chance to meet Rick. He's so sweet and caring … nothing like the celebrity magazines picture him. I'm so happy with him mom! I think he might be the one. And the fact that he sent you flowers without even telling me shows what kind of man he is. I don't have much time to talk because I have to meet him and Alexis at the zoo soon. Alexis is his daughter. She's so cute and nice. She is the perfect little girl. They're so good to me, both of them. Dad is getting better too. You can be proud of him, really. I love you Mom, but I need to go."
She placed a kiss on the tombstone and left, happy to have talked to her mother and happy for the day that was to come.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
Kate was getting ready for her romantic evening with Rick and she still couldn't believe what a great day they all had.
The visit of the zoo was great. It was pretty busy but it was nice all the same. Alexis bought her a stuffed panda for her birthday present and they played with it. The picnic in the park was also great. It reminded all of them of the first "date" they had together, but this time Rick and Kate could not stop kissing each other on every occasion, as if to make up for their last picnic when the two of them had shown a lot of restraint. But what marked her the most was Alexis's reflexion when they were driving to her place so she could get a dress for the evening.
"Why do you still have an apartment since you're always with us?" Alexis had asked.
That was a really good question. Kate saw Rick smile but she didn't think he had put his daughter to this. When they had entered the apartment, Kate had packed a big suitcase with her stuff and they left to get ready at the loft.
When Kate finally got out of the bedroom, Rick, who was in his office, stopped whatever he was doing.
"Oh my God Kate! You look ..."
"You like?" she asked, turning around for him to see everything.
"I love it, it's so gorgeous. You are so gorgeous!"
"Come on, let's go and enjoy our dinner." Kate said, taking his hand and pulling him to the door.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
The restaurant Rick had chosen was very nice. Very famous but still quite intimate and the food was delicious. They were talking about a lot of things when Rick suddenly stopped and look at her with a smile.
"What?" she asked, smiling at him.
"I have a present for you." Rick said, putting a rectangular jewelry box in front of her.
"Rick, you shouldn't have, it's ..."
"I shouldn't have got a present for my girlfriend on her birthday, really?"
"I was happy with the panda." Kate said, smiling at him.
"Well, the panda was from Alexis. This is from me. Now open it."
"Uh … bossy much?" she asked, trying not to tear up the wrapping paper.
She could see Rick wanting to help her open it. He was the kind of guy who could just not wait to know what his present was. Just like a kid.
When Kate finally opened the box, she gasped.
"Oh my God, Rick! It's beautiful." she said, taking the gold heart-shaped locket out of its box.
There was an inscription engraved: Always.
"Open it." Rick simply said, smiling at her and eager to see her reaction.
She did and she found two pictures inside, one of himself and one of Alexis, both of them making funny faces. She laughed and got up. Not caring about what type of restaurant they were in, she went to him and kissed him.
"Thank you. It's perfect. I love you so much Rick. You and Alexis both." She said, feeling tears gather in her eyes.
"I know. Hey, let's go home." Rick said, getting out of his chair.
They gathered their things and got out of the restaurant, hand in hand.
"Hey, the evening is about to get better honey." Rick whispered in her ear in the backseat of the town car he had ordered.
"I don't think that's possible, Rick. Tonight was perfect." she said, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Well, I know for a fact that my mother has taken Alexis to her place for the night. We have the loft all to ourselves. And I bought your favorite ice cream." Rick said, kissing her.
So, what did you think of this one?
This is what i saw as Kate's dress: www.theoutnet.com/product/326047?cm_mmc=LinkshareUS-_-J84DHJLQkR4-_-Custom-_-LinkBuilder&siteID=J84DHJLQkR4-S4KnO7X1igz_to_qlkbdTg