I know i'm a bit late but BONNE ANNEE everyone !

Five minutes. That's how long it took Detective Kate Beckett to go from the precinct to the loft with lights flashing and siren yelling. That was a record. She could also have broken the record for having run up four flights of stairs in less than two minutes. When she arrived on their floor, she found her father pushing Meredith out of the loft, Alexis crying in Claire's arms and Rick yelling at his ex wife. When she saw Kate, Meredith seemed to calm down.

"This is not over!" she declared firmly, looking at Rick before passing Kate in the hallway.

"What is going on?" Kate asked as she passed the door.

Before anyone could answer, Alexis had flown in her arms and Rick had broken down on the couch. Kate looked at her father with big eyes, terrified at what they were going to they, judging by everyone's reaction. She turned to Rick to see him get up and walk to their bedroom.

"Go talk to him, I'll take Alexis." Her father encouraged her.

Kate let go of Alexis, transferring her slowly into Jim's arms. She walked slowly to the bedroom. She opened the door tentatively, afraid of what she was going to find on the other side. She wanted to help him, no matter what the problem was, but she didn't know how to console people. This was one of the things she was not good at. She closed the door behind her and found Rick curled up on their bed. He grabbed her as soon as he could reach her, literally crushing her to his chest. She just stayed there, knowing he would explain everything when he calmed down. She tried to sooth him as much as she could, caressing his back, kissing him softly, whispering sweet words in his ear. They didn't move or talk for a few minutes.

"Why can't you be Alexis' mother? I swear, that woman doesn't deserve the title!" Rick finally said.

"What happened?" Kate asked calmly. She waited patiently for an answer but none was coming. "Come on baby, tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened …" she whispered, trying to get him to talk.

Rick sat on the bed, his back against the headboard, drying his face. He took a deep breath but the rears just couldn't stop rolling down his cheeks.

"She … she said she wasn't sure I …" he just couldn't go on. Kate saw his face close and his eyes could have killed.

"She wasn't sure you what?" Kate asked calmly, taking his hands in hers.

"She said she wasn't sure I was Alexis' father!" he finally said, before breaking down once more.

Kate was stunned. She couldn't believe what she just heard. She wanted to move but she couldn't. After a few seconds, she finally went to him and hugged him as strongly as she could. After a while, his breathing evened out. She looked at him through her own tears and saw he had fallen asleep. She kissed him softly on the forehead before trying to get up without disturbing him. When she got out of their bedroom, she found her father on the couch. Alexis was nowhere to be seen.

"How is she?" Kate asked as she sat next to her father on the couch.

"She went to call Ashley. She's pretty shaken up but she decided it's not going to change anything for her. She said, and I quote 'he's been my dad for eighteen years, she's been my mom for eighteenth months, she doesn't have a say in the matter. He's my dad and it's not going to change, ever.' If I didn't know better, I'd say she's your daughter." Jim laughed.

"I really don't understand Meredith! She has the perfect daughter and she does everything she can to destroy her … I hate her!"

"Hey, it's going to be ok Katie" Jim soothed her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"No it's not going to be OK dad! Rick is a mess, I'm sure Alexis is not better even if she tries to hide it and I can't do anything to help any of them. I'm failing them just like I failed Mom." Kate said, on tears.

"Katherine Beckett, I forbid you to say you failed your mother. You have a good job and good friends. You have a man who loves you more than anything and his daughter loves you just as much. You have your own family now Katie, you're happy and it's all that matters for your mother, wherever she is. You CAN'T fail her as long as your happy, it's all she had ever wanted for you."

Jim kept his daughter in his arms while she cried. He had often wanted for Johanna to be there for certain moments but he had never needed her as much as in this moment. He was brought out of his thought suddenly when Kate got up from the couch.

"I need to check on Alexis." she simply said, heading for the stairs.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

She was in the kitchen preparing lunch for everyone when Rick emerged from their bedroom. He walked directly up the stairs and she could hear him open Alexis's door. She was worried about him. She wanted to follow him, to check on him, to make sure he was ok.

"Leave them alone for a while, they need it." her father said, as if he could read her mind.

Just as she was going to talk, Clair and Andy came back from wherever they had been.

"Do you need help?" Claire asked Kate, heading to the kitchen while Jim was taking care of Andy.

"No, I'm fine thanks. But if you could set the table, it would be great."

"Sure!"

By the time the table was set and everything was ready, Rick and Alexis came back downstairs. Kate was still in the kitchen, preparing the salad, when she felt Rick arrive behind her an dput his arms around her waist.

"Hey. How are you?" he asked.

"I should be asking you this very question." Kate said, turning around to face him, searching for the answer in his eyes.

"I've seen better days," he simply said, "but I've also seen worse. Thank you so much for being here!" he almost cried in her neck.

"Hey, I'll be here for you, no matter what, no matter when, no matter where. You know that, right?" Kate said, kissing him softly before burying her face against his chest. "I really hate her you know!"

"Well, that makes three of us." Rick laughed

They stayed like that, in each other's arms, looking deeply in each other's eyes, for a few seconds.

"I love you. So much." Rick said before kissing her.

What had started as a simple, loving kiss heated up pretty soon. Kate wanted Rick to feel loved, supported, she wanted to give him anything she had in this hard time. Rick wanted to show Kate how much her presence through this situation meant to him, how much he loved her, how much he needed her. The couple was so engrossed in what they were doing, they didn't hear Jim and Alexis calling them from the living room. They were only interrupted when Andy collided with Rick's legs.

"Hey there little man!"Rick said, picking him up. "I know you're jealous but she's mine, only mine, and she'll always be mine." he told the boy, kissing Kate one last time before going to join the others.

Kate followed him with the salad and they all sat and began to eat. Everything went fine during the meal. The situation was not exactly what would be called relaxed but it was better than two hours before.

So, when the door bell rang during dessert, no one even imagined that the day could go worse …