Chapter 6
Weeks pass and he doesn't hear from her. He's gone on with his life. He has been taking care of his daughter. He has been writing a new book. Admittedly, the book is about her abduction, but at least he's writing again and he thinks it's some of the best stuff he's written yet.
"Dad?" Alexis asks him one night, during dinner.
"Yes, Pumpkin?"
"Have you heard anything from those two police officers who came by a couple of weeks ago?" He's surprised that she remembers the two men since she hardly interacted with them. They must've left an impression. "Did they find their friend?"
"They did, honey," he smiles. "And they were very happy that they did."
"And you helped them?" she asks.
"I did help them a little bit," he admits, "but I don't doubt that they would've found her without my help."
"Was she okay?"
Rick thinks about how to answer her question. He doesn't want to tell her the full story, even though she's very mature for her age. He doesn't want to scare her. But he doesn't want to lie to her either.
"The people who took her weren't very nice to her, so she wasn't really okay," he carefully tells her.
"But she will be okay, right?" Alexis asks him with big eyes that are filled with sympathy for Kate.
"I hope so, Pumpkin," he says. He wishes that he could call her and ask her how she's doing. Then again, he could just call Detective Ryan and ask him. But he'd like to talk to her again.
"I hope so, too," she says quietly. "Her friends were really nice."
"Yeah, they were," he says and then changes the subject to the new project she's doing in school. He fully intends to distract her the rest of the evening with the Harry Potter marathon he promised her. He won't let her watch all the films in one go. They've made a compromise to watch one film a day. Today will be the first film and by the end of the week, he's promised her that they're going to watch the latest one in the cinema since it's just been released.
"Okay! We've got the popcorn, candy and hot cocoa," he says. "Am I forgetting anything?"
"Yes!" she exclaims. "You forgot the blankets! You can't have a Harry Potter marathon without blankets."
He points to his nose and then to her, to tell her he's got her. "Smart girl," he says and opens the closet to grab some blankets.
As he tosses them over the back of the couch, there's a knock on the door. He frowns in confusion. He doesn't know anyone who would just come over without calling first.
The door opens to someone he thought he'd never see again. She looks almost shy as she stares up at him in surprise as if she hadn't expected him to open the door.
She looks so different from what she looked like when they first met. Now, she's wearing jeans and an NYPD sweatshirt that looks very comfortable. Her eyes don't look as haunted as they did when he left her at the precinct, but she still seems skittish. Her eyes shoot from him to the hallway and back, as if she expects someone else to be there. As if she thinks that someone has followed her.
"Kate?" he asks incredulously.
"Hi," she says, "I – I came by to… ah… I wanted to return your coffee cup." She stammers through the sentence as she holds up the reusable coffee cup he gave her the morning after they met. He hesitantly raises his hand to take the cup from her.
"How are you?" he asks her as he opens the door further to let her through. She hesitates before crossing the threshold.
"Better every day," she tells him honestly. After she brushed him off at the precinct with an I'm fine he expects her to do the same now. He doesn't expect her honesty. He gives her an appreciative smile for it.
"Glad to hear it," he says. He then remembers that his daughter is still on the couch waiting for him. "Alexis, come here for a second. I want you to meet someone."
Kate's eyes grow big for a second. "Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," she tries to apologize, already half turned and on her way to leave again.
"Nah, we we're just getting ready for a Harry Potter marathon, weren't we, Pumpkin?" he says as Alexis climbs over the back of the couch to meet her father's friend. "Kate, this is Alexis. Alexis, this is Kate. She is the friend of the two detectives who came by a couple of weeks ago."
"Hi, Alexis," Kate says and she holds out her hand to shake the girl's. "I'm honoured to meet you."
"Hi," Alexis answers shyly. "I'm happy that your friends found you. Dad said that the people who took you were mean to you."
Kate smiles a little and meets Rick's eyes for a second. "I heard your dad helped save me. That kind of makes him my hero." He notices that a faint blush colours her cheeks as she stage whispers the words to his daughter, acting as if he is not allowed to hear them.
"I hardly did anything," he mutters. He knows that isn't exactly true, he basically gave Ryan and Esposito her location.
"I heard you found me," Kate corrects. "So I also came by to thank you again. Sorry it took so long."
"You're welcome," Rick tells her sincerely. "It was my pleasure."
"Dad," Alexis says quietly, "can we ask her if she wants to join us for the marathon?"
"Sure, go ahead and ask her," Rick answers. He's sure that she already heard the question, but he lets Alexis ask her anyway.
"Kate?" she starts. "My dad and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for our Harry Potter marathon?"
Rick thinks she's about to say no. For all he knows, she's an incredibly private person and there's no reason why she would want to spend a night watching movies with someone who's practically a stranger and his daughter.
But she surprises him again by saying, "I'd love to, Alexis."
That's how they end up on the couch ten minutes later, gazes glued to the television where Harry is serving his aunt, uncle, and cousin bacon and eggs. Alexis is snuggled into his side and it wouldn't surprise him if she doesn't even make it through the film without falling asleep. She's had a pretty exhausting day. That afternoon she went to Paige's birthday party and from what he's heard, Paige's mother tired them out pretty thoroughly.
Kate is seated on his other side. Her eyes are on the screen, but he's not sure if she's watching the film. Her back is stiff against the back of the couch and her jaw is set. He's got to try and make her relax a little bit. It looks like she needs an evening off.
"I wish I could talk to snakes," he mutters when Harry sets up the python against his cousin. "That one seems really nice. I think it'd make for very interesting conversation."
"Shush, Dad," Alexis tells him. "You're ruining the film with your talking."
"Sorry," he says sheepishly. When he eyes the woman on his other side, her jaw seems less tense than a moment before, but he might be just imagining it. That is until a small smile starts playing around her lips and she turns her head to looks at him. Busted.
He quickly turns back to the TV and pretends that he wasn't just blatantly staring at her. She already told him that his staring is creepy and he doesn't want to make her even more uncomfortable than she already is.
He keeps making tiny comments on the film. Every time Alexis tells him to shut up – just not those words, he raised her better than that – and every time Kate seems to relax just a little bit more.
"I really hate Malfoy in the first couple of films," she suddenly mutters.
"Yeah, me too," he says. Then he puts on a high voice and yells, "Wait 'till my father hears about this!" Alexis giggles at his antics and he would bet his Ferrari on it that he hears Kate chuckle.
After that, Kate and Alexis start making jokes about the film too and none of them can watch it seriously anymore. Not even Alexis.
Alexis manages to stay awake during most of the film because of their banter, but it has been a long day and by the end of the film, she's having trouble keeping her eyes open.
After he's put his daughter to bed, he re-joins the woman on the couch.
"Thank you again for saving me," she says quietly. "And for tonight. It really helped getting my mind off of it."
"You're welcome," he smiles. "How've you been?"
She visibly hesitates before answering him. "It's… It's been difficult. I had a couple of days off after… after I got back." She looks down at her lap, at her clasped hands. "But being at home with nothing to do… I'd rather have a case to focus my thoughts on, so I returned as soon as my captain let me back into the precinct. That helped. Working helps. But as soon as I get home, I have my mind to myself again and the nightmares start replaying themselves."
She stutters, as if she thinks she might have said too much. She looks up at him, eyes panicked. "I should go," she suddenly says and jumps up from the couch. "It's getting late and I have to work in the morning."
He doesn't want to push her too much and from what he just saw, she already told him more than she ever intended to tell him. Or anyone, probably. So he follows her to the door and helps her into her coat.
The moment he thinks she's going to leave, she stands on her tiptoes and kisses him on the cheek. He smiles, "What was that for?"
"To say thank you again," she mutters, then she looks up at him. "If there's anything I can do to repay you…" She leaves it hanging, but he gets it.
"Don't be a stranger."
