Here is chapter 22, enjoy!
Kate sent Jackson back in the house to check on Alexis.
"Meredith, what are you doing here?" Rick almost growled, watching her come up the few stairs that led to the porch.
"I'm here on vacation. I rented a villa down the beach. I was working on my tan when I saw Alexis. She was being groped by that … that black guy!"
"Well, that black guy is her boyfriend. And what right do you have to interfere in her love life like that?" Kate asked, really angry.
"What right? I'm her mother! You are no one to her and you're the one interfering in her life. And you're trying to turn her against me. But who are you? Just because Rick's screwing you at the moment doesn't give you any right on my daughter!" Meredith yelled.
Before either Rick or Kate could react, Alexis appeared in front of Kate.
"What did you just say?" she asked in a threatening tone. "I'm not your daughter. You may have given birth to me but your role as my mother stopped there. You were never there for me, even as a kid. You left before I was even one year old! Why are you trying to play mother now? As far as I'm concerned, Kate is my mother."
"It's ok Lex, I …" Kate started, taking her hand.
"No it's not ok Kate. She has no right talking to you like that. You've been more of a mother to me these last few years than she ever was." Alexis said, squeezing her hand. "You're my mother Kate, not her." She said, nodding towards Meredith.
"I think it's time you leave now Meredith." Rick said, looking at his daughter in his fiancée's arms, both of them in tears. "Jackson, can you take them inside please?"
The young man nodded and led the two women inside, settling them in the living room.
"So, I see you're not going to do anything about that black boyfriend of hers?" Meredith asked, looking disgusted.
"Of course not! Why would I do anything? She's happy with him and that's all that matters. You should be happy for her." Rick said, astounded by his ex-wife's attitude.
"Well, I'm not ok with it. I won't see her as long as she's with him." Meredith declared.
"I don't think that'll be an issue for Alexis given the way you have treated her the last few times you saw her." Rick couldn't help but say.
"And you're happy about that right? Your Kate ends up being the hero in all of this …"
"Stop it Meredith! Why do you have to be such a drama queen? You are the only one to blame for your relationship with Alexis. You were never there for her and you never even apologized for all the times you stood her up when she was a kid!"
"And I'm sure Kate is …"
"I'm not talking about Kate, I'm talking about you!" Rick yelled. "You are not the center of the world Meredith, nobody wants to make you look bad. You're doing it to yourself. And you better not pull something like that on Alexis ever again! You've done enough damage already. Consider yourself lucky if she calls you or writes you an email in the next year. Now leave, this is a private property and after what you just did, I won't hesitate to call the police." Rick said, turning around and heading inside the house.
"Is everything ok? I'm sorry if I caused trouble, really, I .." Jackson said.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault. That woman is crazy. Just be grateful Alexis hasn't inherited any of her character traits." Rick said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Dad, can we go out for lunch? I really want to get out of here for a while and it's almost 2."
"Sure. I'm certain a change of air could be good for everyone." Rick said, looking at Kate who nodded and got up from the sofa.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
During lunch, Alexis got back to her normal self little by little. After having too much seafood for their own good, the girls decided to do some shopping, taking the car and leaving the boys to their own devices. As they were going through the mall, Kate could see that Alexis had something on her mind. She didn't want to pry but she was afraid her mother had really hurt her.
"Are you ok Alexis?" Kate finally asked after a few minutes of silence.
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Alexis said, smiling.
"Come on, I can tell something is bothering you. Is it because of what your mother said? because she's …"
"Oh no, that's not about her at all. I'm just … well, it's kind of embarrassing." the teen said, blushing slightly.
"You can ask me anything Alexis, you know that right?" Kate asked, leading Alexis to a nearby bench.
"Yeah, I know, but it's still embarrassing." Alexis laughed. "I just … I was wondering if maybe you and Dad could go out tonight? Like, most of the night?" she asked, crimson red.
"Sure. We could do with a night out." Kate said. "But you don't have to be embarrassed for wanting to spend some alone time with your boyfriend Alexis." she continued, smiling.
"I know, but it's weird to ask you to leave the house. I mean, we got used to being at college, alone. Jackson has a studio near campus and … well … we don't have to worry about that you know? And it's not necessarily to … do anything but … after what happened this morning I need some time with him."
"Did it happen before? you getting this kind of reactions?" Kate asked.
"Yeah, a couple of times. But I really don't care. I know Jackson takes it hard though. He tries to act as if it were nothing but I can see it. He's always more … reserved for a while after. He says that he doesn't care for him, that he's used to having some reflections from time to time, but that he doesn't want it to attain me. I really don't understand people. It's the twenty-first century for God's sake!"
"Some people can be narrow-minded. And some others can say they're ok with mixed couple but still don't really like it when they're confronted to it." Kate said, squeezing Alexis's hand.
"You and Dad did not think about that right?" she asked, suddenly realizing that it might have been a shock for them at first.
"No, of course not!" Kate said, smiling reassuringly at Alexis. "Your father's only reaction was not his color but the fact that he was a Gates."
"That sounds like Dad." Alexis laughed.
"Do you mind if we go back to the house now? I could use a nap and your father needs to make some reservations. You'll have the house for yourself until tomorrow morning."
"How are you going to convince Dad?"
"Oh, don't worry about me, I know how to make him do whatever I want." Kate said, seeing the teen blush. "Oh no, not like that!" she continued, blushing too. "Well, like that too, but that's not what I was thinking about." she laughed, hoping to avoid an awkward silence.
O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O
When the two girls got back to the house, Rick and Jackson were having a Guitar Hero competition. When Jackson won and Rick started to pout, Kate decided to put her plan to execution. She sat down next to her future husband on the couch while the two youngsters were out on the porch.
"Rick, stop pouting. It's really not attractive."
"But he's the best at everything! EVERYTHING!"
"Oh come on, I'm sure that's not true. Now, stop pouting and get your phone, you need to make some reservation." Kate said with a decided tone.
"Why?"
"Because tonight, you're taking me out. So you need to call a restaurant. A romantic one but one where you actually have something to eat in your plate. And then you're taking me to the movies, it's been an eternity since I've been to the movies."
"Not that I'm complaining about the plan but what brought all that on?" Rick asked.
"Well, I realized that tonight is the last one we can have just the both of us, before everyone arrives for the weekend. And I want some romantic time with you." she said, kissing him lovingly for a few minutes. "Oh, and you should book a hotel room too. You definitely don't want your daughter to be two doors away from our bedroom for what I want to do to you tonight. Now, I'm going to take a nap." she said, getting up from the couch and walking to the stairs. "I'll need all my energy for tonight."
Rick couldn't move, his eye wide open following her up the stairs. As soon as she disappeared from his sight, he searched frantically for his phone. He started with calling the best beach-front hotel.