Chapter 16

It had been a great week in the Hamptons, Rick and Kate had spent most of their time cuddled up in their king sized bed, the fireplace keeping them warm. It had been a perfect bonding experience for the two of them. Rick had started to become comfortable with the fact that he was in a committed relationship with the woman of his dreams. Although Kate had veered away from any conversations about the wedding, Rick felt that while they were on cloud nine, and it was time he feel her out on where she stood.

They had decided on eating breakfast at their kitchen table for the first time since they had arrived. As they sat next to one another, picking off each others plates and stealing kisses. Kate was steady working on the crossword puzzle in the paper, when he spoke up.

"Hey babe, been thinking about the wedding."

Her head perked up quickly and she gave him a nervous look.

"What about the wedding?"

"Well if it was up to me, I'd take you to city hall immediately, but I understand if you don't want that yet."

She took a deep breath, turning to face him and taking his hand in hers to reassure him. "Look, Rick.." she paused.

She called him Rick, something she had been doing less and less of now that they were getting closer. This made him nervous, maybe he was right, maybe she was nowhere near ready to talk about marrying him. Hell, he was a completely different man now, maybe she felt differently.

"It's okay Kate, you don't have to explain." He interrupted before she could finish.

She turned back to the window, stealing a glance of the ocean as they sat in silence for a moment.

"Rick, I love you, and I know that you care about me, and want this… but, I just don't think we are ready to get married yet. I take that back, I don't think you are."

He glanced up at her, confused, how could she think he wasn't ready yet. He had done everything for her, gone above and beyond for her over the last month.

"Well," He pulled his hand from hers, grabbing his plate and standing up to take it to the sink. He needed to create space before she saw him angry.

"Rick, don't walk away from me." She spat out, a little more hateful then she had intended.

"I'm not walking away," he threw back. "I just need space from you right now. I don't want to say something I don't mean."

"No." She stood up and followed him into the kitchen. "If you have something to say, say it to me. We don't hide in our relationship Rick!"

"Fine.." he threw the plate into the sink, turning quickly, placing his hand on the counter to prop him up. "Who are you to tell me I'm not ready? I think you're making excuses, I don't think that I'm what you want anymore.. – and I don't want to waste anymore time playing house."

"Playing house?" She laughed, "Rick we are adults, who are having a baby together."

"Is that what this is now? Two adults having a kid together."

She laughed again, "You're kidding right? I love you, you know that."

"So what? I don't love you? Or do I not show that?"

She reached her hand out and ran it down his arm, moving closer to him so that she could look him in the eye.

"You show me everyday how much you care about me and this baby Rick, and don't think for one second that I don't appreciate everything you've done. I know you love me, but I also think you deserve the chance to really fall in love with me again. I don't want you to ever feel obligated to this, but I'm going to be exactly who I was to you before, and you're doing a great job of being the man I love. One day, we will get married, but our life together is not defined by that title, not right now anyways. Right now, I'm Kate, you're Rick, and we are Mommy and Daddy. This baby comes first to me, and I want her parents to be in the strongest most beautiful, passionate relationship. So we will work on that, and when the time comes… We will get married."

"So… we agree that we are working towards our happy ending?"

"I've already got my happy ending right here." She ran her hand up his chest, tugging the collar of his shirt towards her so that she could place a kiss on his lips.

"mmmmmm," she moaned as he pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

"I love you so much Rick, don't ever think differently." She whispered into his neck as she rest her head there, wrapping her arms around his body.

"How sweet." A voice chimed in from the doorway of the kitchen.

Kate's head flung over first and her eyes were met by an all too familiar set.

She choked back, "Jackson."

"Hello Miss Beckett."

Rick looked nervously between the two of them.

"Rick," Kate looked back at him and grabbed his hand. "This is your father, Jackson Hunt."

"My… what?" A look of anger overtook him as he looked back to Kate. He quickly made his way away from Kate walking towards Jackson, "You son of a bitch, what has been going on? You owe me some answers.."

"Now Son, I know you don't remember how we met, or anything about me, and that's fine, but this isn't about your memory or your ego for that matter. You have no one to protect from me… that's my job after all, to protect you."

"Protect me?" Rick gritted out, "From what? Because right now you're the only person that has the answers I need."

"I can't give you any answers, nothing that will make any sense, or that will benefit you in any way."

"What does that mean?"

"I told you that you're safe now, those men that kidnapped you, they've been taken care of. As far as who they were and what their motive was, well… that's classified information."

"Classified information?" Kate jumped in, "he could have lost his life… I mean he lost his memory, and…"

"That was on purpose, they didn't want you to be able to remember anything."

"So, they what.. gave me amnesia."

"They have their ways."

"Is this some kind of conspiracy."

"Oh please, Richard. You are better than that, smarter than that."

"So that's it? I'll just never know what happened to me? I'll never get my memories back?"

"You'll probably recover some memories, but none of while you were kidnapped, maybe your life before."

"My life with Kate?"

"Yeah, some of it probably."

"Great! So I can't be what Kate wants because I'm not "me" enough, and I'll never be able to be "me" again."

"Rick, that's not true, you are exactly what I want."

"You know.." he took a deep breath, looking back at Kate. He closed his eyes and ran his hands over them to clear away what Kate thought might be a tear or two. "I need time." He ran his hands up from his face and through his hair, storming past his father and towards the stairway.

"Well, that didn't go according to plan." Jackson rolled his eyes.

"Oh, well what exactly was your plan Hunt?"

She was angry, how dare Hunt just show up in their home like that. How dare he come without answers for them. They deserved answers.

"To help him understand that things aren't ever going to be as they were, to reassure him that he was safe and so are you and your baby. The men that were after you are gone, and no one else will be coming for you. This will be my last contact with you for a while, I need to cut ties to protect him."

"Then why did you even come here, you know he isn't going to be able to deal with that. He just met his father for the first time, and then poof, you'll be gone. Like he hasn't lost enough."

"He has you Kate, and his children."

"What if we aren't enough?"

"You're more then enough, I have no doubt of that. I couldn't have asked for a better daughter in law."

"I'm not your daughter in law, you aren't our family Jackson. You waltz in and say, "here, I've fixed everything for you, see ya." You can't do that to him, you cant."

"You think this doesn't hurt me? That my son had to grow up without me? Well it isn't what I would have chosen for him, or myself, but these were the cards we were dealt. I protect him, and you… because that's what I can do. I can't show up to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, but when my son is on the verge of dying and widowing the love of his life and leaving his child without a father, I'm there…. That's all I can do."

"Well, it's not enough. It will never be enough. Thank you for bringing him back to me, but you should leave."

"That's fine, I'll leave, but Kate… he loves you, he trusts you… just take care of him, and do what's right, marry the man."

"Don't tell me what to do with my life, with our life. You have no right."

"Fine, but I know what it's like to wait for the floor to fall from under you. It won"t happen again. He isn't going away again, he is safe, you don't have to worry about waking up one day and your husband being gone."

He was right, but how could he read her so well, how did he know how she was feeling. Sure she loved Rick and marrying him was the only thing she wanted more then a happy, healthy baby. But she didn't want to face losing him again, and she was scared that as soon as they tried to get married, or did get married, that something else was going to happen.

"I love him, and he loves me and right now our focus is on our child."

"Fine, have it your way, I just wanted to reassure you that the threat has been eliminated. You are free to go about your life the way you were before."

"Our life will never be the same, and I have a feeling it is all your fault. You might not have had anything to do with his kidnapping first hand, but I have a feeling it was because of you."

"Kate, you can believe I am some horrible person but I assure you, my sons best interest are always most important to me. I know they are important to you as well, and just like you… I would do anything to protect him. I know that's why you push me away so much, why you refuse to like me or appreciate me at all. I appreciate the how much you love him, and I'm happy he has someone like you. I wish you all the happiness in the world.." he turned away but before he left the room, without turning back towards her, he paused. "and tell Richard I love him."

And then he was gone.

When Kate found Rick he was sitting in the window of Alexis' bedroom, looking out at the ocean.

She knocked on the door frame before entering and taking a seat next to him on the window seal.

"He gone?"

She nodded, threading her fingers between his and pulling his hand over into her lap.

"So that's it?"

"Yeah, I guess so Rick, and honestly I didn't expect much more then that."

"So he's a nomad?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that, he works for the CIA, apparently. You know, I cant really give you any answers, he isn't exactly an open book."

"Okay… well, I guess i'll just have to come to terms with that."

"I know it's not easy, and I cant even imagine what you're going through."

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't want to take away any hurt or confusion you're going through."

"It's not something I want you to worry about Kate. You've dealt with so much, and you have been such an amazing partner, and friend… lover." He whispered.

"Yeah?" she laughed. "an amazing lover?"

He laughed along with her, "all I ever imagined and more."

"I'm glad you're…. happy? I mean… with our sex life."

"I mean, you said we've always had a good one."

"Yeah, but things have been different… since I'm pregnant. I'm not as…"

"You're great," he reached over and put his arm around her, pulling her body into his and placing a kiss on top of her head. "The best."

"You're a goof."

"I love you, and I'm serious about marrying you… whenever you're ready to take the plunge you just tell me. Until then, I will be patiently waiting."

"Maybe once the baby is born, and we settle into our life, maybe we can revisit this conversation."

"Okay, if you need time, then time is what you'll get. Ball is in your court, I just wanted you to know that I am completely ready, when you are."

We are going to start putting these two back together next chapter, and more baby preparations will occur. Reviews are always lovely. Thanks for the follows and support thus far. I am going to really try to update a few times this week.