Yay! Guess who? Sorry I've been taking so long, but I wanted to do this right!

Special shouts to KACULLEN and TORONTOSUN. Truly amazing

Okay enjoy!

So there she was.

With a brand new purple blouse, soaked in chili and a frown on her lips.

She kept thinking back on her day, wondering how the hell she got herself into this mess. Her mind took her back to two weeks ago.

Flashback

Rick sat there on the front step with her. He swore he was never gonna talk to her again. Swore Kate Beckett was no longer a part of his life, yet there he was. He knew she'd want to talk first, so he sat there waiting for her to gather her thoughts while he tried not to think about how beautiful she looked. But boy did she ever!

She had on a green three-button top that went perfectly with her gorgeous hazel eyes. The first two buttons were popped, allowing him to just barely see her newly developed chest. Her jeans fit, oh so perfectly, accentuating her curves and clinging to her long, toned legs. She didn't have much make up on, which didn't really matter because her natural beauty shined through. To top it all off, her golden brown locks were pulled back into a messy bun, and the way she was angled near him, she looked as the she had a halo. Rick used all his strength not to push a fallen strand of her beautiful hair behind her ear. He instead tried to focus on what she was saying.

"Look, I know you're mad at me and you have every right to be. I should've told you what was happening instead of leaving you high and dry and dropping of the face of the Earth."

"Kate..."

"Rick I-"

"Just let me finish"

She didn't respond, instead she turned to face him a bit more and grabbed his hand, urging him on.

"It was never about you 'ignoring' me or missing m calls or even going away without telling me." He saw her confused look and continued on.

"It was the first week of August. I called you that Saturday but you didn't pick up so I just thought you were busy. I figured I'd come back and try again later so I went downstairs with the intention of cooking dinner. When I got there my mom was passed out on the floor. I looked next to her and found an empty bottle of Scotch." He began to get chocked up and she gave his hand an encouraging squeeze.

"Long story short, she was going through things with my step dad and she decided to get drunk but she went overboard. I got her to the hospital in time and she ended up just needing her stomach pumped."

"Rick-"

"I called you. I called you in the ambulance, then again in the hospital then a bunch when I got home. I called and text and tried to Skype you for an entire week. Seven days of pure hell with a sick mother and my girlfriend no where to be found. It really hurt. I thought you cared about me-"

He had jumped up while he was speaking and was now towering over her but she cut him off by putting her hands on either side of his face.

"No no no. Don't even think that way. Ever. Of course I care about you and I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should've been there, or checked up on you or just done something. Please please forgive me."

He had his eyes pointed straight at the ground but she wouldn't have that. She used her finger to tip his face up. She stared deep into his crystal blue eyes and saw an emotion she'd never seen from him before: pain. All Kate could think about was relieving him. She leaned in and did the only thing she knew would help. She kissed him.

He was utterly shocked by the kiss at first and was unresponsive, but considering he had no time to enjoy the one she'd given him earlier and because he really missed her, he fell right into it. He loved having her back in his arms. Loved the feel of her against him. Especially loved the developing that occurred while he was away. Mhmm his girlfriend. His girlfriend. Oh God his girlfriend!

As much as he didn't want to Rick pulled himself away from the kiss. He immediately registered the look of hurt on her face.

"I... we just... I can't...look Kate. I forgive you for this summer and yeah, I missed you too..."

"But?"

"But I'm with Meredith. She may not be you but she's really funny and sweet and she came all this way... I can't just dump her. And I especially can't cheat on her."

She really wanted to argue with that but knew she couldn't. After accepting it and giving him a swift goodbye hug, she walked home alone. She wanted to be upset, wanted to blame him or hate Meredith, but she truly couldn't. This was kind of her fault. She decided she'd just wait it out. She would still be his friend and hang around him no matter how much it hurt.

And she made good on her promise. For a week and a half she was there for him. Anytime he needed her, she was there, even if it was about Meredith. Every seemed to be going pretty well. Rick was happy and that made her happy.

She didn't know that he suspected Meredith was cheating on him. She didn't know he went home every night and looked at old videos of him and her together. She didn't know that he had an entire book of doodles and stories all devoted to her. She didn't know that every hour of everyday, he wished he and Kate were still together. She didn't know because he didn't tell her. He let everything run it's course.

End flashback.

And there she stood. Regretting today. Thinking over what could've gone different.

They had been at lunch and Rick decided he'd sit with Kate and the gang instead of Meredith and her jock friends. He could feel her glare from across the room, but Kate's laugh blurred everything. God he loved her laugh. He made a mental note to ask her to record it for his ringtone.

During a story, he had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to get close to Kate. By instinct, he ended up playing with her hands and laughing when she giggled at the tickling of her palm. Before either of them had registered it, Meredith had come over and dumped a bowl of chili onto Kate's brand new purple shirt (which he couldn't stop staring at) and stormed out. Luckily, no one else in the lunch room had caught the display and Kate was able to bolt out of the back door into the outside seating area before anyone saw.

30 minutes had gone by before she registered the sound of the door opening. She turned her back to hide the big gaping red stain on her shirt.

"Go away." She truly didn't want anyone to see her this way.

"Kate." She turned at the sound of the voice as well as the feel of a strong hand on her shoulder.

"Rick, just- just go away. I'm just gonna sit out here until I rot and become a part of the grass." He chuckled at that.

"It's not funny."

"Actually it kinda is," he pulled out a pocket mirror "look at yourself!"

She gave herself a quick once over and stifling a laugh said, "I think I pull this off quite well." She struck a pose and he laughed harder.

"Oh...yeah... definitely gorgeous."

After about a 2 minute laughing fit, he ran his hand down her arm, stopping at her fingers and lacing his through. She couldn't help but notice how well his fingers fit the spaces between hers. She decided to speak.

"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble with your girlfriend." He chuckled at that too.

"Hard to get me in trouble with my girlfriend when I don't have one."

"I thought-"

"I broke up with Meredith this morning. I guess she's not taking it to well." He said pointing to the now orange looking stain on her shirt.

"I was going to ask you out at lunch today before she turned you into a Mexican buffet."

She laughed at his description and looked down at their joined hands.

"Yep, so... guess I'm single now." He made a fake pouty face and peered at her from under his eyelashes.

"Awe, poor Ricky. Lemme see if I can fix that." She leaned in to kiss him, but was stopped when she saw his hesitation.

"What is it?"

"Well... it's just...I like you and all, but that 'mystery meat' its starting to smell." He held up an over sized blue shirt.

"Thanks. Turn around."

"Why? I've seen you change before."

"Yeah, but that was before I had... uh..." she glanced down at her chest then back up at him, hoping he'd gotten the message. He did and turned around handing her the shirt and some wet naps. She slid off the stained shirt and threw it in the trash. She then slid on his shirt and ripped it off at the bottom, just above her navel. She pulled her leather jacket on to tighten the sleeves a bit.

"Okay, I'm good."

He turned around and immediately went slack jawed.

"Oh Katie, you're killing me!" He finished his statement by crushing his lips into hers. He pushed back until she was firmly pressed against the tree behind her.

So there she was.

In an altered blue shirt, soaked in cologne with her boyfriend on her lips.