Author's Note- A couple of things to address from the reviews. Firstly, Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban was released in the July of 1999, so Kate would have the first three at this point.

Secondly, to the guest who said they 'can't stand the sleeping together without sleeping together- Human beings in this situation sleep separately or have sex'. I honestly believe that sometimes, in order to feel safe enough to sleep soundly, people need someone with them. It's like children and their toy or security blanket. It isn't a sexual need but an emotional one. Sometimes, people just need to be held. I won't be changing their sleeping arrangements, nor will they have sex anytime soon, so if it bothers you that much, please feel free to stop reading.

Just needed to clear those bits up. Read, review, enjoy NYLF xx

"Meredith?" Rick croaked, his voice rising embarrassingly into the next octave. His ex wife giggled behind her hand before giving him a coquettish smile.

"Hey Ricky, you gonna let me in or what?" Rick fumbled over his words for a moment, looking between her and the bedroom where his girlfriend and daughter slept unaware of the intrusion.

Meredith, however, interpreted the move as lust rather than worry, making everything about her as always. "We could go straight to the bedroom if you'd like, just let me in first." She giggled. Rick shook his head, clearing it from all the thought floating around in his mind, before turning back to the redhead in his doorway.

"Now, isn't a good, time." He hedged diplomatically. If he pissed her off she would refuse to see Alexis. And although her mother wasn't the greatest of role models for the girl, although Kate was infinitely better, she was still her mother.

"But I wanna spend Valentines with you. Don't you remember, Kitten? All those Valentines' together? Trying to outdo ourselves? All over the house?" Her voice dropped suggestively as she trailed her hand down his chest.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and Rick's momentary relief at the interruption turned to dread when he realised there was only one person who would be interrupting.

He turned to find Kate standing in the living room. A sleepy Alexis was curled into her chest from her place on her hip, her thumb firmly in her mouth, watching the interaction between her parents, while Kate gently cupped her free hand around the girl's shoulder.

She was looking at him as if he'd struck her.

"Who's that, Kitten?" Meredith all but purred, her hand lying possessively on his sternum. "I didn't know you hired a babysitter." Kate's eyes widened before she turned to him, incredulity and vulnerability dancing in the forest of her eyes.

He opened and closed his mouth, battling for words to reassure her, to correct Meredith, but failing. She shook her head slowly before walking through the loft to the kitchen, preparing a drink for Alexis as if she belonged there. Rick knew better than to presume it was anything but an allusion of ownership.

Meredith wasn't even in the loft and she was already making Kate feel jealous and insecure. Rick sighed internally. They'd worked so hard to get to a point where she trusted him and now his ex wife turns up at their door on Valentine's morning? He had to sort this out, before Kate reverted back into herself too far for him to retrieve her.

"Listen, Meredith, you should have called. I, we," he motioned between himself and the kitchen, "have plans." The redhead scoffed.

"You have plans with our daughter that can't include me?" Rick sighed deeply, watching Kate closely. He could see the tension in her shoulders even as she tried to hide it for Alexis' sake.

"Meredith, you are more than welcome to spend time with Alexis today. My mother was going to babysit, but if you'd like to, you're more than welcome. Kate and I have plans." Rick told her softly but finally. Meredith looked past him to the kitchen.

"You have plans with the babysitter?" She asked, perfectly manicured eyebrows in her hair line. Rick sighed before he felt tiny hands grasp the back of the sweatpants he'd put on to answer the door. He reached down without looking and cupped the back of Alexis' head.

"Who's the babysitter? I thought Grams was coming to play with me?" She asked confused, as she looked up at her mother.

"So who is she then?" Meredith asked impatiently, looking down at her daughter for the answer Rick was clearly reluctant to give.

"Kate?" Alexis asked, only continuing once her mother nodded. "She's daddy's girlfriend." Alexis beamed. Rick watched the colour drain from his ex's already pale face. She gathered herself quickly though and leaned into his chest, resting both her hands on his shoulders as she whispered in his ear.

"It's never stopped us before." She husked, kissing the soft skin beneath his ear. "Just ask her to take the kid out for an hour or two, she never has to know if that's what you're worried about." Rick heard Kate's breath hitch before Alexis left his side and he heard a door slam. He stepped back, not even caring as Meredith stumbled without his body to hold her up.

"Listen, you may be happy to cheat, something you've proved again and again, but I'd never do that. Not to anyone, but especially not to Kate. It's our first Valentines together and I want to make it special for her. If you want to spend time with your daughter, you can come over and stay with her and my mother while we're out, but you won't be in my bed. Not this time." Meredith pouted, a move that he used to find adorable but it now just steeled his resolve. "I'm sure Alexis would be happy to see you." He continued pointedly. Meredith huffed, obviously realising she wasn't going to win.

"Well, I'm in the city for a couple of days, maybe I'll find time to see her later." She flipped her hair before smiling flirtatiously. "If you change your mind though..."

"I won't." He assured her, closing the door behind his ex before going to see if he could find Kate.