Happy Castle Monday my lovelies. And it's a two-parter tonight and everything. The apocolypse is not coming, I just posted a new chapter of Glass Slipper. Hooray! So here we go, stepping into Rick's world for a little while. We aren't back tracking so it's been three years since we last saw him. I believe the next chapter will also be about Rick so we'll see what happens. So enjoy the new chapter and enjoy Castle Two-Parter Monday!

A quick thank you to my lovely beta for the last minute edit. I love you very much and I will send it to you sooner, I promise :)

Please review and if you want to follow me on twitter you can find me at vatrask

Enjoy 3

Rick unlocked the door to the loft, letting Alexis run inside only to run into the arm of the couch and flop over the end, erupting in a fit of the sweetest giggles that only three-year-olds could make. He sauntered in after her, dropping her jacket along with his own onto the armchair, watching in amusement as his daughter tucked and rolled to lay[1] [Unknown A2] flat on the couch, still grinning happily. He leaned over the arm of the brand-new couch to watch her expressions. "Did you like the museum today?"

Alexis' response was to giggle and reach for the stubble which graced his chin.

Smiling, he picked her up around the waist and tucked her around his arm, falling onto his back on the couch, his callused fingers tickling her sides. "Daddy did, too."

Rick couldn't stop grinning as his daughter wriggled in his arms, half trying to escape his hands. He'd needed a break from work as much as she had needed a break from the turmoil of being a three-year-old – all right, so maybe she just liked spending time with her dad – so an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum was just what the doctor ordered.

Ever since Alexis was born, Rick wanted so desperately to spend as much time with her as he could – he remembered the first time he held her in his hands and vowed then that she would be number one in his life. But with his last three books making the best seller list, his new publishing company, Black Pawn, was desperate for more; and it wasn't as though he could refuse them.

Well, he could refuse to write, but that would have landed him, his daughter, and his blushing wife of three years in a rather difficult situation – one he would not be responsible for. So as long as he continued to write, Alexis would continue to giggle, and that was all it took to cement his decision to keep producing murder mysteries.

Their giggles were suddenly interrupted by what could only be described as moan of ecstasy coming from behind Rick's closed bedroom door. Rick's hands stilled when he heard the sound and sprung into action when he heard the photograph – most likely the one of the Rick and Alexis the day she was born – being knocked off the side table, shattering into a million pieces.

Lifting Alexis on the floor, he guided her towards the stairs, asking her quietly to go to her room. She ascended the stairs slowly, stopping at the fourth step to look back at her father, who was cautiously approaching his study, which led to his bedroom. Turning around on unsteady feet, she sat on the step, her head resting in her palms, to wait for her father's verdict.

Rick slowly approached the door - feeling his daughter's eyes on him, her curiosity a sure sign that the little one was in fact his daughter – still hesitant about who or what might be on the other side, and what the implications would be.

Then he heard a distinctly male voice cry out 'Meredith' and, anger surging though him, he thrust the door open. He stood there in the doorway, his chest heaving with fury and just a pang of hurt, as he watched the pale-skinned woman he had married riding the man beneath her. Her hips moved in a circular motion, her head tilted back, red waves of hair bouncing in time with her thrusts. The room was humid and smelt of sweat – her sweat – the air thick with sex and perspiration from both parties.

All he could see of the other man were his thick, muscular legs, and his thin, long fingers with a death grip on her hips, staining her flesh white in the pink of lust. With her legs straddled wide, his eyes fell to the photo which had fallen and shattered, his heart sinking; it wasn't the photo of him and Alexis but of him and Meredith on their wedding day, her belly swollen with his – their – child.

When he finally did speak, his voice was quiet but amidst the groans of pleasure it was echoing. "Meredith?"

He heard her gasp and her movements stilled as the man beneath her let out a resounding 'shit'. The air was suddenly very still.

After a long, tense moment, Meredith spoke, her voice tight and shaking bother from adrenaline and fear. "Rick?" She wasn't facing him but Rick could tell she was trying to maintain her composure – maybe even pass this off as no big deal – but they both knew what this was; the last straw.

He tilted his head to the side, his chest still heaving slowly and steadily, trying desperately to calm his bubbling anger. "Hello, Meredith." In one swift move, the redhead had rolled off of her personal pony to lean back on her arms, completely exposed to her husband, who instantly looked away, a hand coming to cover his eyes. "God, Meredith, put some clothes on."

"I thought you liked me naked."

He abandoned his last ounce of sanity in favor of turning to gape at her in disgust. "Oh my God, you are unbelievable." He suddenly turned on the man leaning back on his elbows, thankfully covered with a sheet – his sheet – not unattractive, but in this context, the most evil man on the face of the earth. "Who the hell is this guy, anyway?"

The man cleared his throat. "I'm…uh… Joe."

Rick turned once again to Meredith, ignoring the man in his –their – bed. "Joe? Your director, Joe[3] ?"

Her only response was to shrug as she slowly crossed her legs hoping to turn this into some odd sexual scene that would only play out in her head.

"You are pathetic."

Her face fell for a moment and he could have sworn he saw hurt in her eyes but he couldn't bring himself to care over the blind rage he was still feeling. "Come on Richard-"

"No, Meredith," he said firmly, even as she stood with that endearing leer that only she could produce.

She jumped at his harsh tone but still tilted her head, shrugging it off. "Well, fine, I don't think this marriage was working out anyways."

"You think?" he scoffed. He was in disbelief that this conversation was even happening.

Meredith stared at him a long moment, gauging the seriousness of his expression. Knowing that she was fighting a losing battle with maintaining her dignity, she scoffed, rolling her eyes and gesturing towards the man who had yet to move from the bed. "Come on, Joe."

Joe scrambled to stand beside her, still holding the sheet around his waist and refusing to look Rick in the eyes. She was stepping through the doorway when Rick called to her, pleading and almost desperation in his voice – though the desperation was not directed at her. "Please put some clothes on."

She stopped in the doorway, suddenly turning on him in frustration. "Why!"

"Because Alexis is out there."

Her face fell in an instant. Oh god.

"Remember her? Your daughter?"

Of course she remembered her daughter, how could she not? The thought of her daughter listening to any of this conversation broke her heart but there was no way any of this was her fault, right? Rick was supposed to have been out all day, never having to find out that she wasn't committed to this marriage any longer.

Her voice was quiet as she gulped at the lump in her throat. "You'll tell her?"

"You're not even going to say goodbye to her?" The look of disgust in Rick's eyes only fueled her ultimate decision more.

"Oh, I'll be seeing her again." She tilted her head forward in defiance, before snatching the clothes from the floor and turning on her heel into the master bathroom to change.

Joe stood there uncomfortably for a moment, looking between Rick and the bathroom door and was about to open his mouth when Rick raised his hands in defeat. "Go."

The man followed Meredith into the bathroom, shutting the door and leaving Rick alone in the bedroom, still reeking of sweat and betrayal. Closing his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair as he made a hasty escape into the relative openness of the living room.

The first thing he heard was the sound of his daughter on the stairs, sniffling, almost cowering under the railing. Sighing deeply, he made his way over to her, sitting on the step beside her and embracing her when she latched on to his middle in a fierce hug. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

She whimpered into his shirt, shaking uncontrollably. "Daddy?" She looked up at him slowly, her eyes as red as her hair "Is Mommy really gone?"

He looked at her a long moment before pulling her into his side, leaning his head against hers. "Yeah, I think so."

"But I'll still get to see her right?" She looked up at her father with such hope in her eyes that he wasn't sure he could answer any other way.

"You will, I promise."