Hi guys, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, hope you like this one
Chapter 19
Livie hugged April and Tali tightly "I'm going to miss you guys" she said, she felt them squeeze her back "we'll miss you too but don't worry we will talk soon, major Skype session soon yeah" April said, Livie nodded before she pulled away to allow them to hug Alexis and she bent down to hug Libby, as she did so she looked around, everyone was saying their goodbyes hugging and arranging to stay in contact, they had been here for over a week and they had all decided that it was time to head home now, they all had school starting in a couple of weeks and they had to prepare and their parents had to get back to work, Ryan, Esposito and Lanie had already headed back a few days ago having to go back to work again.
"aw don't cry Libby" she said "we will talk soon I promise" the four year old looked at her sadly "promise" she said, Livie smiled and held up her little finger "pinkie promise" she said, they all moved outside where everyone was loading their bags into their cars and her mom was getting Skye ready, she moved over to help and a smile slipped onto her face as the horse blew hot air in her face, April and Tali moved over to help "I am sure there will be some fancy writer dinners soon" April said "Tali can tag along or something" "sounds fun" Tali said "next holidays though we have to meet up" "definitely" the other two said as they finished readying the horse and led her into the trailer behind their car, once they had finished bolting it up they turned and said their goodbyes again hugging their newly made friends.
Kate watched Livie saying goodbye to her friends and she smiled as she moved forward to hug everyone, those three girls were special that was for certain, they had managed to bring three teams that would otherwise work separately together, and become united and she was certain that unity would last for a long time, as would the unity of their children, friends forever, in their adolescent alliance.
Once they were done Rick locked up the house and everyone clambered into their respective cars and after a great deal of waving they all pulled out of the drive and headed as a convoy through the town and, after a while Rick turned the car in a different direction to Tony and Booth and they headed back to New York, Kate looked in the rear view mirror, Alexis and Livie were both staring out of the windows quiet after their friends went home, "hey" she said turning in her seat to look at them "cheer up girls, home again to see everyone, all your friends, the team again" she grinned at them "Grams" Alexis added, they all smiled, Kate looked at Rick "did you tell her what happened" he nodded "how did she take it" he looked at her "well it is hard to say with mother, you know what she was like, she was frightened and all but I couldn't tell if she was over reacting or not, you know being a drama queen as usual or she was actually hyperventilating" Kate laughed.
XO
When they approached the city Kate looked at it uncertainly, wondering if all the pain and desperation she had felt before this trip would return, she wondered if she would feel crippled again after everything she had been through, they drove around it, to Livie's yard where they unloaded Skye and settled her back down again in her stable and returned her stuff and the trailer to its rightful position before they headed back to the car and drove back into the city.
As the buildings got taller and closer together, she looked out and saw that everything was the same, it was as if no time had passed, that time whilst they had been locked away, hurting and scared, it was as though time had stopped whilst they were there, and now that they were back it was starting again, but she knew that that wasn't the case, whilst they had been hurting, people had carried on with their lives, oblivious to their pain, it just proved that although when you were little the world appeared to revolve around you, it actually didn't, people lived their lives and everything happened, regardless of one person.
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and looking in the mirror she saw Livie appear smiling gently at her, she smiled back catching hold of her daughter's hand and holding it as they drove back into the city towards their home.
It felt nice to be riding back up to their loft apartment in the elevator and when Rick unlocked the front door they all felt a warm sense of comfort and safety wash over them and Livie sighed in relief dropping her bag and looking around happily, Kate leaned against Rick and watched them before looking up at her husband as he cleared his throat "so how about hot chocolate and TV catch up" he asked, they all grinned and nodded, Livie bounced over "don't forget the marshmallows" she said, he grinned and bent allowing her to hop onto his back and he gave her a piggy back ride into the kitchen "of course how could I forget" Kate smiled and looked at Alexis who grinned at her, Kate wrapped her arm around the 17 year old and followed her husband and giggling daughter into the kitchen.
They watched TV episodes until they could barely keep their eyes open, then Kate turned to her daughter and kissed her gently "bed" she said softly, Livie sighed but nodded and hugged her family before stumbling up the stairs towards her room, Alexis followed after hugging them goodnight and Kate looked at Rick "bed" he suggested, she nodded and smiled and they moved over to their room and slowly undressed, she was just pulling out her nightwear when he came up and wrapped his arms around her, she smiled and turned to look at him, he traced his thumb across her cheek and down her neck and over her chest, he paused when he encountered her scar on her chest and he stroked it gently before kissing her neck "you are so beautiful" he whispered "thank god I didn't lose you" she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair closing her eyes as he kissed her neck gently, she slowly pushed him backwards onto the bed.
He gazed up at her lovingly as she smiled at him "I love you Rick" she whispered, "tell me you love me" he ran his hand through her hair "always" he said softly and she kissed him again pressing her body to his as he held her close, lovingly and comfortingly, she felt his hand slide over her body before it came to a rest at her waist, she sighed and rested her head over his heart, listening to it beat rhythmically, though as her hand ran from his hair to his chest she heard it quicken and she smiled before yawning, "let's get some sleep" he murmured, she rolled off him and curled up against him, safe in his arms, she hadn't dreamed again since that night not long after they had arrived, but she was always aware that they may come back again, Livie's had after her first incident and they still hadn't gone away, she hadn't gotten dreams of this incident yet, but Kate knew they would come eventually, it was inevitable.
She sighed and rested her head against the pillow, she felt Rick gently pull the covers up over her before he lay down next to her, holding her in his arms, she sighed contentedly, for now, everything was perfect, she just hoped that this was the end of the pain and suffering, and that she would be stepping into the light of peace and serenity with her family.
XOXO
Gibbs was down in his basement sanding away at the huge boat frame when he heard the door open and then there was a patter of feet and he looked up to see Tali come scrambling down the stairs, he smiled and dropped the sander "hey shortcake" he said catching hold of her as she launched herself at him "hiya Gibbs" she said hugging him tightly, he smiled and hugged her back before pulling away to look at her "well you managed to get yourself a tan didn't you" he commented and she grinned happily "did you have fun at the beach" he asked she nodded eagerly "Rick brought Livie's horse Skye up and Livie taught me how to ride, it was really fun" he smiled and released her so that she could bend to hug her dog as he came bounding towards her.
He looked up as Tony and Ziva came down the stairs both looking rather tanned as well, Tony had AJ in his arms "hey boss" Tony greeted "hey DiNozzo good week" he nodded "yeah it was fun", he smiled and kissed Ziva on the forehead "you do some relaxing Ziver" he asked, she nodded hugging him. "Hey boss crouch down" Tony said, bending and setting AJ on his feet, slowly Gibbs bent in front of the little boy. AJ looked at him before he let out a giggle and stumbled forwards, tottering the few steps in between them and falling into Gibbs' arms.
Gibbs laughed as he straightened the little boy in his arms "well look at you clever man, walking hey, more trouble for your mommy and daddy right" he giggled and waved his arms around, Ziva smiled proudly at him "was the dog well behaved" she asked looking at Tali who was hugging their dog who was licking her enthusiastically, Gibbs smiled "yeah he was, nice to have the extra company around here" Ziva smiled "come on tateleh we need to get home to put Aiden to bed" Tali stood with a small sigh and hugged Gibbs "thanks for looking after Brodie uncle Gibbs" she said "no problem shortcake" he said "can I come help you build the boat soon" she asked looking at the huge frame, he nodded "of course whenever you want" she grinned and hugged him again before bending and clipping Brodie's lead onto his collar and picking up his stuff and heading up the stairs.
"thanks again boss for having him on such short notice and getting us the leave" Tony said, Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder "no problem Tony but back to normal on Monday" Tony frowned "how do you mean" he asked and then yelped as he received a Gibbs slap over the back of the head "think DiNozzo" Gibbs mock growled, "yep sorry boss" Tony muttered wincing "rule 6" Gibbs said and Tony rolled his eyes "never apologise, it's a sign of weakness ok got it" Gibbs smiled "go on now" he said "get out of here and get your kids to bed" Ziva smiled "yes Tali could do with an early night, I don't think they went to bed early many times, they stayed up and talked a lot" Gibbs smiled and watched them exit his basement, then he turned back to the boat with a smile picking up the sander, it was good to have the DiNozzos back.
XO
Ziva unlocked the front door and allowed Tony to pass, he was carrying AJ who was whimpering, utterly exhausted so he carried him straight into his room, Ziva looked at Tali as she came in with Brodie, "sort Brodie out and then go to bed" she said "you look tired tateleh" Tali smiled and nodded before sorting her dog out and then heading into her room, Ziva picked up the post and sifted through it before deciding to do it in the morning so she headed towards Tali's room and knocked on the door before poking her head round, Tali was just tying her hair back eying her phone whish was signalling that she had just received a message.
"Amir" she said smiling at her mom "back to normality tomorrow, out running at 0500" Ziva smiled at her and watched as she clambered into her bed, Ziva moved over and sat on the edge and tugged the covers over Tali as she had done when she was tiny, Tali grinned at her and snuggled down "are you going to remain friends with Kate and Brennan and Booth and everyone else" Ziva smiled as she played with her daughters hair for a minute, "of course I am" she said "just like you, April, Alexis and Livie are going to remain friends" Tali grinned "I think after everything we have been through it would be hard for us not to remain friends" she joked, Ziva smiled and leant down to kiss her daughter "layla tov" she said softly "good night" Tali responded sleepily before closing her eyes.
Ziva watched her daughter drift off to sleep before she quietly slipped out of the room closing the door behind her, Tony was unpacking their bags and filling the washing machine "did AJ go down alright" Ziva asked "yup" he said "out like a light" she smiled at him before catching hold of his hands "leave it" she said "we will do it in the morning ok, let's just go to bed" he smiled at her "won't say no" he said and stopped what he was doing and followed her into the bedroom.
XOXO
The blaring alarm made Tali jump as she awoke the next morning, she groaned before she fumbled for the clock and slammed her hand on it before sighing in relief that the noise had stopped then she hauled herself out of bed and over to the chest of drawers and she pulled out her work out clothes and slowly pulled them on before tying her hair back and moving out into the kitchen, she filled her water bottle and then looked at Brodie "I'll take you out later" she told him as she slipped into her trainers and grabbed her keys exciting the apartment and heading out.
She crossed the road and slipped into the park where she spotted a familiar figure already warming up, she jogged over and he grinned as she joined him stretching "hey kita how was the Hamptons" he asked, she grinned "nice thanks, I feel better now, so much more relaxed" he smiled at her "you feel ready to run" he asked "or you been lying on the beach not exercising" she gave him a dirty look "I could still beat you if I hadn't exercised in years slowcoach" he grinned and narrowed his eyes at her, "want a bet on that" he asked before he turned and ran.
Laughing she took off after him catching him up and setting the pace and they ran side by side in silence, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of the empty park, they took a turn and headed off down the road as they arrived at their edge of the park and jogged down it speeding up as they felt comfortable at the pace at which they were running, they ran their usual run through the streets and back to the park, as they neared the finish Amir looked at her "race you to the gate" he said and took off at a sprint, laughing Tali took off and pushed herself to run faster until she caught up with him and at the last second she overtook him racing into the park and raising her arms above her head laughing "I win" she said turning to see him bending over panting "I let you win" he gasped making her giggle and they set off at a walk to cool off "so was it hard to say goodbye to your friends" he asked, she smiled "a bit yeah, especially Livie cus she had to go back to New York but we are planning a mega Skype session soon and me and April plan to meet up, you should come, you can meet her boyfriend Seth".
He looked at her suddenly interested "so it would be like a double date, does that make me your boyfriend" he asked, she punched him playfully on the arm as he said that before looking at him, remembering what Livie and April had said about him "Tali that boy is crazy about you, and I only met him for about a minute, I mean you saved his life, and he is willing to just stay friends because you are unsure, he moved back to America a few streets down from you because he loves you" she looked at Amir standing in front of her gazing at her, she ducked her head uncertainly, she loved Amir yes, but as a friend and she was terrified of losing him as a friend if those feelings changed to love and things didn't work out, she didn't want to lose what they had, he was the only one who understood what she had been through that day at the white house, because he had gone through the same pain and terror that she had, and he was the only one who would spar with her, well her mother would but she went easy on her, Amir had stopped doing that when he realised he couldn't just beat the crap out of her.
"we'll see" she said glancing at him, and she saw his face brighten "so do you fancy meeting up for an evening with them" she asked and he nodded "sure sounds fun kita" she grinned and looked at her watch "I gotta get back, we have loads to do now we are back and I promised my uncle Gibbs I would build the boat with him" Amir smiled as they headed back towards her building "that boat nearly done" he asked, she grinned "getting there" she said "hey I still have my boat in the marina maybe we could go out on it some time, it is only a sail boat though, no engine" he laughed "sounds good, is that the last one you made that your uncle Gibbs named Talia" he asked, she nodded and he grinned "do you know how to sail" he asked, she shrugged "getting there" she said and he laughed again as they reached the road "well see ya soon kita, Monday if not before" she nodded "back to school" she said with a sigh "see you Amir" he jogged off with a wave and she crossed the road and headed up into their building.
When she entered their apartment all was still silent, but as she passed AJ's room she could hear sounds so she opened the door to find AJ standing up in his cot peering out, when he saw her he giggled and reached through the bars to her, "hey Aiden" she said moving into the room "mommy and daddy still sleeping little man" he giggled and held his hands up, smiling she picked him up and hugged him "come on let's let mommy and daddy lie in yeah" she dressed him and carried him into her room setting him on her bed, he crawled over to the end of her bed where her old stuffed hippo Bernie sat, he reached out and picked it up gripping its leg tightly "that's mine AJ" she said sitting next to him smiling.
He looked at her and hugged the toy making her smile "you can keep it if you want" she said and he giggled at her clutching the toy, she lay down on her front in front of him watching him, he looked at her before he reached out to touch her face, she smiled and closed her eyes as his fingers brushed across her nose, she looked at him and smiled "don't worry AJ, you won't go through what I have been through, you're going to have a undamaged childhood, no one will hurt you, you are going to remain unbroken , happy, innocent, I promise you Aiden I will protect, as your big sister I swear to you that nothing will ever harm you" he looked at her interested "Tah Lee" he said and her eyes widened "what" she said "Tah Lee" he said again "Tali" she grinned "yeah Aiden that's me Tali, your big sister" he giggled and she laughed again and scooped him up and carried him out to the living room dancing happily.
"you look happy my ninja" she whirled round to see her father standing in the doorway running his hand through his already tussled hair, she grinned at him "yeah I am" she said and scrambled into the bedroom "ima" she gasped, Ziva looked up groggily and smiled at the sight of her two children "what my love" she asked, Tali scrambled onto the bed and set AJ down, "watch this" she said excitedly before turning to her brother "hey Aiden who am I" he looked at her before reaching out to her "Tali" he said and a huge grin split onto Ziva's face and it was mirrored in Tony's as he moved back into the room "wow little buddy" he exclaimed "look at you my man, knowing who your sister is" he giggled
Ziva smiled at her family, this was the life she had never expected when she was growing up, but god she was glad she had it. She had thought she would be stuck as a killer for the rest of her life, not asking questions, just doing as she was told, but now, she had escaped that life and now it was never going to claim her again try as they might, she looked at Tony and he grinned at her, everything was perfect for them now.
XOXO
April was awoken the next morning by Libby leaping on top of her "April" she chimed "wake up", April groaned and pulled the pillow over her head "to early Libs" she mumbled "go back to sleep" "it's not early" Libby said and April peered at her clock "it's 7am kiddo" she said, she heard a laugh from the doorway and peered out to see her dad standing in the doorway "you got more of a lie in than we did" he said "she decided to wake us up at 6" "well she managed to get more sleep than us in the car" April said with a yawn "ok kiddo I'm up"
Libby grinned and then leapt off the bed "you promised we would go to the park when we got back" she said to April as she sat up yawning "yeah I know but not at this hour" Libby pouted "you promised" she said looking at April with her big blue eyes, April groaned "fine let me get dressed and eat something first though ok monkey" Libby nodded and slipped out of the room, instantly April fell back against her pillows "you know she will be back in about a minute to check you are up right" Booth said, April groaned again before sitting up and stretching "coffee" Booth offered "please" she mumbled and with a smile he left, leaving her to get dressed.
She staggered over to her chest of drawers and grabbed a pair of jeans and a button down shirt, carefully pulling them on and then grabbing her trainers and an old fleece. When she staggered down the stairs Libby was already dressed and eating her breakfast eagerly, April took the coffee and yawned again "where's mom" she asked "checking in with Angela" Booth said "she said she had some pretty big news and to go over the moment she was up, no matter what the time" April smiled and slotted two slices of toast into the toaster and then looked at Libby who smiled at her sweetly and innocently.
By the time April had eaten she was bouncing with excitement "whoa chill Libs" April said "is there a guy at the park or something" "there better not be" Booth muttered as Libby frowned "no" she said "I just want to play" April smiled "go get some shoes then" she said and she shot off "I'll keep her entertained for a few hours" April said "maybe take her to the diner or something" "cheers" her dad said smiling at her "gives me an excuse to tidy up" April grinned and headed back up the stairs to grab her bag, she picked up a few things placing them in the bag and then grabbed her wallet and headed down the stairs to where Libby was waiting trying to tie her shoelaces, she bent to help her with a smile.
"Bunny running, remember" she said making a loop "bunny runs round the tree and then down into the burrow yeah, that gives us two bunny ears" Libby grinned and tried with the other one and after a couple of attempts she managed and beamed happily, April smiled at her and helped her into her jacket and they headed to the hall where she found her dad waiting, he handed her some money "for lunch and ice cream" he said with a smile "thanks dad" she said with a grin hugging him "ice cream" Libby chimed excitedly making her grin "see ya later dad" she called as she caught hold of Libby's hand and exited the house shutting the front door and making her way down the road with Libby skipping along beside her "how long can we stay out" she asked, April smiled at her "as long as you want but we are going to talk to Livie and Tali at 3 remember" "yeah and Alexis" Libby said "of course how could I forget" April said with a smile.
They arrived at the park and Libby eagerly ran in and rushed to the climbing frame, as expected at this early hour it was empty so Libby had the park to herself, April went and sat on the park bench watching her sister before she pulled out her diary and a pen and opened it at the first clean page.
Dear Diary
Well I am back and guess what, I got in trouble again, got kidnapped by a psychotic sniper who turned out to be Livie's biological dad, esh none of us were expecting that, he took Tali and I to keep our parents at bay and Livie to lure her mom into his clutches, apparently he got all possessive when he found out what he considered to belong to him was not with someone else, I can see why Kate didn't tell Livie about him, he was dangerous.
Kate risked so much to help us, she gave herself over to him to stop him from hurting us and risked her life holding him down so that Tali and I could get away, and she nearly died afterwards, he tried to strangle her but Livie stopped him, she shot him, she hides how much pain she is in, a few times whilst we were away she was tossing and turning in the night and one of us would wake her, she was fine after that but rather shaky, I would be too if I had to shoot my dad that I had never met before because he was trying to kill my mum.
I feel for Livie, she really has been through hell, Tali was able to shake it off, she was calm throughout and well, I am used to it, but Livie, she still hasn't totally gotten over the first time she was taken, her marks hold her back, then her mom was shot and now this, abducted by her own biological father who didn't even care about her, if we hadn't found her, she would have died of hypothermia. I got shot again, but not as bad this time, just a graze when I was escaping with Tali.
We are so close now, Tali , Livie and I, well we did go through hell together, protected each other and supported each other, we have an alliance formed, and we helped create a unity between our teams, a unity that we will help keep alive, because you never know when it will be useful to have contacts at NCIS or in New York, or just some great friends, we are planning to Skype each other today, my dad joked that surely we can last more than 24 hours without talking but this is just a tester I told him and I guess that after everything we have been through, we just want to know that we are all ok, that we are all safe.
Well I better go, Libby is coming over, and I bet she wants to play on the swings, then it is time to take her to an early lunch.
Xx
April closed the little book and placed it in her bag and looked up to see Libby coming over "hey kiddo" she said "having fun" Libby nodded enthusiastically "can you come give me a push on the swings" she asked, April nodded "sure come on then" she followed Libby over to the swings and lifted her onto the seat and began to push her "higher" Libby giggled "higher April" "oh you wanna go higher huh" April said with a smile "yeah" Libby squealed "ok then hold on tight monkey" she pushed Libby higher and higher smiling as she laughed in delight "you swing too" Libby exclaimed, smiling April sat on the other swing and pushed off, the two of them swung back and forth laughing as they watched the park and the field slowly fill as people began to arrive, jogging and dog walking or just passing through on their way to work, clutching newspapers and cups of coffee as they hurried to work or to the subway.
They swung back and forth for a while "April" Libby asked "yeah" April said smiling at her "where were you when you disappeared" the little girl asked, April's smile faltered "you don't need to know Libby" she said, Libby frowned at her "But you were gone and you didn't say goodbye and you came back with a sore tummy" April slid off of the swing and crouched in front of her sister, she looked at her before smiling "let's go get lunch yeah" she said, Libby nodded and took her hand following her out of the park.
April took her to the King's Diner where they loved to eat and they ordered their food before sitting down in a booth, April looked at her sister happily drinking her milkshake "you know what mommy and daddy do right Libby" she said finally, Libby looked up at her "yeah they catch bad guys" she said, April bit her lip "bad guys do bad things Libby, and sometimes, people get hurt trying to stop them" Libby looked at her "were you hurt stopping a bad guy" she asked, April slowly nodded, Libby looked at her "could you have died" she asked, "no" April said "of course not monkey, I wasn't going to leave you forever" Libby stared at her miserably "Libby I promise you I will always be there for you, even when I am at college, all you have to do is give me a call and I will be there for you yeah" Libby looked at her "give you a call, like you told me to do at the home" she said, April stiffened at the mention of their time at the foster centre before she nodded "yeah like that kiddo".
Their food arrived and they began to eat "April" Libby said and April looked at her "you promise you won't ever leave me" April smiled "I promise Libby I will always be there to catch you when you fall" slowly she raised her hand over her heart and drew an X "cross me heart and hope to die little monkey" Libby grinned "and I promise to always be there for you April" she said excitedly "pinkie promise" she held up her little finger and April hooked her own around it "we will be there for each other right" she said "cus that is what sisters are there for" Libby grinned "sisters" she proclaimed "sisters" April echoed with a grin, then she checked her watch "come on kiddo, eat up then we can head back and get ice cream before going to talk to the others"
Libby grinned and began to eat again with renewed intensity. Once they had finished and April had paid she took her sister and they headed back on their walk home, they stopped for ice cream and then watched some ducks before April bent and allowed Libby to climb onto her back and she gave her a piggy back home. When she arrived and managed to get in through the front door had dad was sitting at the kitchen table with a file in front of him, "hey munchkin" he said smiling and lifting her onto his lap as Libby rushed forward. "Back only a day and they have you working already" April teased as she hung up her coat "nah" he said "this is the paperwork from the Adam Wesley case" "oh" April said falling silent before she gave a weak smile. Then she looked at her watch "well I had better go log onto Skype so we can talk to the girls, coming Libs" the little girl grinned and nodded and followed her up the stairs eagerly.
XOXO
Kate was woken up by a faint shriek from upstairs, followed by a howl, she sat up suddenly but Rick was already gone, "I'll go" he said running out of the bedroom, Kate hesitated before she followed clambering up the stairs to see Livie's bedroom door open, she carefully crossed over to it and then peered inside.
Livie was shivering and clinging to Rick tightly as he held her tight against his chest whispering to her and rubbing her back gently "it's ok" he whispered "just a dream honey, just a dream", Livie's breathing was fast and her eyes wide but slowly her breathing regulated "it was so real" she whispered, one of her hands clenched at his shirt, neither of them appeared to have noticed Kate standing in the doorway and she left it that way, waiting in case she was needed…
"I know honey, I know, but I promise you that you are safe sweetheart, nothing will harm you again" Rick whispered, Livie let out a gentle laugh still shaking "that's a big promise, I am like Tali and April, we are magnets for danger" Rick chuckled gently "I know honey but for now you are safe, I promise, I won't let anything hurt you now ok, so relax sweetheart" Livie continued to cling to him, and Kate could see her visibly relaxing, she smiled and very quietly headed back down the stairs, Livie was fine, with her daddy.
XO
When Kate woke up the next morning the bed was empty and she was lying covered by the sheets curled up on her side, she could hear laughing coming from the kitchen so she slowly rose and dressed in a pair of jeans and a loose button down shirt, then with a sigh she ran the brush through her long brown curls and headed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where she found Rick cooking pancakes, Livie and Alexis were sitting at the counter laughing at his attempts to flip them, and judging by the state of the floor, more had landed on the floor than back in the pan.
She moved over and kissed the top of both the girls' head "morning" she greeted" "morning" they chimed back and Rick grinned at her "you are clearing this mess up Mr Castle" she said as she carefully picked her way through the mess to kiss him, he grinned at her "I had guessed as much" he said "want some" he offered, she smiled but shook her head "no thanks I have to go out, me and Lanie have things to do" she saw Alexis look and her and she nodded slightly and she saw her face split into a grin before she ducked her head hurriedly back to her plate.
Rick looked at his wife "anything I need to know about" he asked, she smiled at him "not yet" she said giving him a kiss before she ducked out of the kitchen to hug both girls before she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door calling her goodbyes out. Rick looked at Livie who shrugged then they looked at Alexis who shrugged to but kept her eyes firmly on her plate, Rick looked at the door again before he shook his head and turned back to his fun in the kitchen "another one kiddo" he asked and Livie nodded grinning, reaching for the chocolate sauce.
XOXO
Kate scrambled out of her car and slipped across the road jogging over to where she saw Lanie waiting, she hugged her best friend "thanks for coming" she said as they headed into the huge building in front of them "no problem girl" Lanie said "I can see you really want to do this and I think that if it will make you happy, I want to be there for you throughout" Kate smiled "I hope it makes the Rick and Livie happy" she said "it is for them that I want to do this" Lanie looked at her "girl of course it will make them happy, quit worrying ok", Kate smiled and they headed off to their location.
XO
It was two hours later when they came out and she let out a long breath "well that was easier than I thought" she said, Lanie grinned "now you just have to get Writer Boy to sign those papers", Kate smiled "I am hoping that won't be too hard" she said "fancy going out to lunch" she asked "my treat" Lanie grinned "sounds awesome, need to catch up, and you need to tell me how the rest of your holiday was"
Kate laughed and led her towards her car and they clambered in and headed off to a coffee shop that they both liked, once they had both ordered their food they sat back" "so" Lanie said "did you do anything that last week or did you lie on the beach" Kate smiled "actually we all went walking a couple of days, hiked as far as we could, ate lunch and then hiked back, the second day Livie took Skye and the girls kept cantering off and jumping over walls, Livie nearly gave Rick a heart attack when she steered Skye at a solid 5ft stone wall, though I felt worried too, but she and Skye leapt it turned around and jumped it again, she wanted to go over an even higher one but I think we all drew a line at 5ft" Lanie laughed "sounds like you had a good last week" she said, Kate nodded smiling.
"It was sad to say goodbye though" she said "Libby bless her looked like she was about to cry, she was hoping we could all stay forever" Lanie smiled "bet the girls didn't want to say goodbye to each other after everything they have been through together" Kate smiled "yeah they were a bit uncertain, kept hugging each other but they are having a major Skype session tonight so that will make things easier" Lanie grinned at her as their food arrived and they quietened for a while eating happily until Lanie looked up at her "how are you doing Kate" she asked softly, "after you know what happened to … him in the room"
Kate looked at her best friend and opened her mouth to respond that she was fine, but then she closed it hesitating, Lanie knew her too well, she would see right through any lie she told, "still shocked" she said softly "I mean I still can't believe it was him, what he did to his own daughter" Lanie took her hand sympathetically "I keep dreaming that we are back there" she whispered softly "but in the dreams it is Livie he is holding with a gun to her head not me, and I can't get out of the basement and he is counting down the time, I start crying out when he hits ten seconds, someone wakes me before he hits zero or I wake myself up when he does, but I always hear the shot and it terrifies me" "oh honey, don't worry they will go away" Lanie said gently, Kate nodded and forced a smile onto her face "I just try to remember him as the man I met at 18 rather than the man who left me when I needed him or the man who tried to kill me, that makes it easier" Lanie nodded and Kate changed the subject "so how are Javi and Ryan, Gates mad at them for leaving so suddenly" Lanie grinned "she was a bit but when she learned what had happened to you and Livie she was much better about it, she says that you need to come back soon though because she doesn't want everyone to think that she is being over lenient or has favourites, though she said you need to pass your psych exam again and your gun test" Kate scowled making Lanie laugh.
They finished their meal and then headed back to her car and Kate drove Lanie home where they parted ways with a hug "are you going to talk to writer boy tonight" Lanie asked, Kate shrugged "probably, the sooner I do, the sooner I can get it finalised hey" Lanie nodded "good luck girl" she said and shut the door. Smiling Kate drove home, feeling happy and content.
XO
When she opened the door she heard shouting and laughing and Livie appeared leaping over the sofa and ducking down behind it wearing one of the laser tag vests and holding the laser gun, she grinned and waved when she saw her mom and Kate looked over to see Rick sneaking along the bookcase wearing another vest, he leapt towards Livie who squealed and shot over to her mom ducking behind her, "hi Kate" Rick said moving over and pulling her into his arms whirling her round out the way before setting her down and firing at Livie who ducked laughing and leapt behind a post, grinning Rick turned back to his wife and gave her a quick kiss "Lanie ok" he asked, she nodded smiling "seriously how old are you" she asked "never too old for laser tag" he said with a grin, she rolled her eyes again looking over at Livie peering around the post at Rick, her eyes sparkling.
Kate smiled before looking at her watch then up at Livie "you might have to leave saving the world from the evil Ricks till tomorrow cus you have a Skype session soon" Livie's eyes brightened "yeah, defending the world will be resumed later" she said, switching off her vest, Rick followed in suit "good match" he said holding out his hand which Livie shook grinning before she scrambled up the stairs calling "Lexie, It's time"!
XOXO
Tali grinned as two faces appeared on her screen "hey guys" she said "how's it going in the Big Apple" Livie and Alexis both grinned "yeah not bad" Livie said "how's DC, I miss it already" Tali laughed and then grinned as their screen shrunk to make room for another screen and April appeared with Libby on her lap, the four year old squealed when she saw them "hi Lexie" she squealed "no favouritism there then" Tali said to Livie who grinned, "hi" April said "how's it going" "not bad" they both responded April smiled "so what's new" she asked, leaning back "what has everyone else done today" they all laughed.
XOXO
Kate and Rick were sitting downstairs listening to the girls laughing as they chattered to their friends, Kate looked at Rick "thank you for caring for Livie last night" she said, he smiled at her "any time you know that" she gazed into his eyes "yes" she whispered "I know that but I want to make sure it is always true" he looked at her questioningly and she stood "today when I went out with Lanie, it wasn't just for a girlie day, I wanted to do something and she came to help me" she moved over to her bag and pulled out the file.
"I love you Rick, so much, I never want to lose you but we both know that my job is dangerous, and that one day I might not be so lucky, I am so glad that I found you because you are everything that I wanted for Livie as she was growing up, I want to make sure that she never loses you" she took a deep breath and handed him the file.
Very slowly he opened it and read the first few lines then his eyes widened "legal adoption" he whispered, she nodded "should something happen to me, I don't want Livie to have to lose you too, I spoke to my dad who was her legal guardian should something happen to me and he totally agrees, you are the only one who has ever been like a father to her, and I want you to become her father legally" he stared at her in shock, and she stared at him "that is only if you want to though" she said ducking her head "I mean you might not want another daughter, but I just thought…" she was cut off as his lips came down on hers and he kissed her slowly and passionately.
When they pulled apart they were both gasping for breath and Rick's eyes were slightly wet, "Kate" he whispered "I don't know what to say" he looked back down at the forms "I can't believe that you trust me enough to do this" he said, she looked at him "I have watched you care for my daughter so well recently, of course I trust you" she said, then she looked at him "is that a yes then" she asked "do you want to legally adopt Livie" he kissed her again "of course I do, I have been dreaming of doing it for ages, I love Livie Kate, so much, I would love to really be her father" Kate grinned, blinking back tears "I thought that it was just a mere technicality for the two f you that you weren't father and daughter" she teased "ah now it doesn't have to be" Rick said "now where is a pen", Kate smiled and handed him one "I even asked Alexis and she was up for it" she said happily, he grinned at her, he looked so happy. Kate knew she had made the right choice.
"come on then" she said, "lets fill these in, but let's not tell Livie until we know if we can do this yeah cus we still have a lot to do before we can be sure" he nodded and placed the file on the table, pulling her into his arms as they both bent over the forms to fill them in and hopefully, complete their family
Hi hope you liked it, please review, they make my day.
Only one more chapter to go I am afraid.
Thanks for reading
Mysticgirl