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Walking into Rick's house, Kate slid her shoes off and hung her coat on the stand.
"Is anyone here?" Kate asked as she joined Rick in the kitchen.
"I don't think so. Alexis has school and Mother is rehearsing today."
"Oh," Kate sat down at the table and looked at Rick. "Hey, do you have anything I could wear? We didn't stop at my apartment so I don't really have any clothes."
Rick jumped up held his hand out to Kate. She took it and they walked into his bedroom, and Rick let go of her hand to walk to the dresser. She took a few seconds to look at everything in his room while he got her clothes. There were pictures everywhere. Of Alexis and him, him and his mother, even one of Alexis with who Kate assumed was Meredith.
Rick handed her a pair of sweatpants and one of his button up shirts, causing Kate to look at him with an eyebrow cocked.
"Uh, what about Alexis?"
"What about her?" Rick started towards the door when Kate cut him off.
"Is she not going to assume something if I'm wearing your clothes?"
"Kate, she's five years old, she doesn't even know what sex is." Kate sighed and shrugged.
"I guess. Where's your bathroom so I can change?" Rick pointed her to the bathroom and Kate shut the door behind her, locking it. She placed the clothes onto the counter and stood in front of the mirror, analyzing herself. She wasn't wearing makeup and her hair was in a messy bun.
Kate walked out of the bathroom, not yet changed, and found Rick cooking in the kitchen.
"Do you mind if I take a bath?" Rick turned around and blinked.
"Uh, yeah sure, towels are in the closet in my room." Kate smiled and thanked him, walking back into his room. She grabbed a towel and started the water.
Half an hour later, new bandages on her head, dressed in Rick's clothes, Kate walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. She didn't see Rick, so she walked back into the kitchen and found a note on the table.
Off to get Alexis, be back soon. R x
Kate tossed the note back down on the table and took a deep breath. If she was going to be staying here, she should probably get a look around, right? She wouldn't go upstairs, just the living room, the kitchen, get a feel of the place. After Kate went through almost 400 of their DVD's, she decided to check out the room next to the living room.
Kate pushed the door opened and walked into the room. It had bookcases on two of the four walls, and a desk against the back wall. There was a laptop on the desk and papers scattered all around it. Assuming it was his study, Kate made her way to the bookcases.
She ran her fingers over the spines of the books, her smile growing as she recognized most of the books. She'd expected a different assortment. She'd expected Russian writers and German writers; she hadn't expected John Steinbeck and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Pulling a few of the books off the shelf, she made her way to the second bookcase and pulled a few more books from over there too. Kate walked back into the living room and set down the six books she gathered on the table, sitting cross legged on the couch.
Kate picked up The Pearl by John Steinbeck, and let herself be reeled into the tale.
xxxxxx
What Kate had assumed was hours later, she felt large hands on her shoulders shaking her awake. Kate lifted her head off of the pillow she had evidently fallen against and uncrossed her legs. Her finger was still on a page in the book and she flipped it open to find that she'd only gotten as far as when Kino found the pearl.
Kate looked up and saw Rick leaning over her. Rick's eyes moved from her temple back to her eyes and he smiled a light smile, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her off of the couch.
"I… Found your study," Kate said as her hand came up to touch her head. She hissed in pain when her finger pressed against the wound on her temple to find it wet. She drew her finger away and saw that the wound had bled through the gauze.
Rick gently lifted the gauze off of her head and walked her to the bathroom, holding her waist when she stumbled into him trying to walk. Dropping the gauze into the barrel, he set her on the toilet and opened the cabinet to get a new wrapping.
Kate waited patiently as Rick set the gauze in her lap, grabbed a washcloth, and wet it. He dabbed her wound, being safe to only wash off the blood and not re-open the cut even more. He wrapped the gauze around her head and stood when he was finished.
"Alexis is upstairs. I just got home from picking her up and found you asleep. She's changing and then I'm going to make her a snack. You up for it?" Kate nodded her head and took Rick's outstretched hand, walking into the kitchen to find Alexis sitting at the table.
"Kate!" Alexis jumped off of the chair and ran to Kate, wrapping her arms around her legs and making Kate take a few steps back. Kate laughed when Rick scolded her because of Kate's injury and picked up the girl. Alexis smiled at Kate and put her hands on both sides of Kate's face, kissing both of her cheeks.
Kate placed two slobbery kisses back on Alexis' cheeks and Rick watched as they both laughed, Kate setting Alexis back on the ground.
"So, Mr. Chef, what are you going to make for us?" Kate sat at the table and leaned against the table, finding that it didn't take Alexis long to follow her suit.
"Well, ladies, what would you like?" Rick leaned against the counter across from the table and folded to his arms, listening to the suggestions they were throwing at him.
Later that night, after Alexis was asleep, Rick and Kate were sitting on the couch.
"Uh, Rick?" Kate asked after a few seconds of silence. Rick turned to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, and Kate's head fell on his shoulder.
"Mmm?" He asked, kissing the top of her head.
"Where am I sleeping?" Kate turned her head to look up at him.
"Uh, wherever you want I guess? We have a guest bedroom." Kate's face scrunched up and Kate kissed Rick's cheek, his jaw, and then his neck before resting her head back onto his shoulder.
"I was in your room earlier. Your bed looks big enough for two." Kate said the words so quiet that Rick struggled to even hear them correctly.
"I- Kate-"
"I don't mean sex, Rick. I just want.. I feel safe. With you." Rick cupped her face and Kate turned her face to look at him. He leaned down and kissed her lightly. It was small, short, but filled with much more than lust, want, need. It was filled with care, and love and security.
Kate had thought about this a lot since the incident in the car. They'd only been dating for a little over a month; she wasn't going to have sex with the man. As much as she doesn't want to say she's in love with him, she can't stop from feeling that she's falling. Kate pulled back and wrapped her arms around Rick's waist, burying her face in his chest.
Hours later, when everyone else was asleep, Rick lay awake, staring at the woman in his arms.
Kate.
He couldn't believe they'd gotten this far in a month. He couldn't believe that she went from the girl who he first met at a college would be lying in his arms right now. He couldn't believe how pieced together she'd become since she met him.
He knew she was broken, and lost, and she still came through with him. She didn't follow him, and he didn't follow her, they went together. They trusted each other and Rick knew that was something that was hard for Kate to do. For only knowing Kate for a month, he felt like he'd known her his whole life.
Rick placed his arm loosely back around her waist and buried his face in her hair, only to have her lean closer into his chest.
Rick let sleep take him over as a smile rested on his lips.
A/N: Sorry this is late, and sorry this sucks! I'm just not feeling too inspired to write lately! (Inspiration usually hits when I'm in school, and it's the weekend so meh~) I will have chapter sixteen up tonight, (even if it's a tad late) but I probably won't be updating until next Wednesday or Friday. Enjoy as always, and review! I love hearing what you guys think