A/N: Yes, I suck at updating, I know. Life got in the way, I didn't have any inspiration to write, you name it. But I am back and I'll be working on this one and on "Through the Looking Glass" as well. Hope you guys are still interested.

At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 13

He felt his blood boiling with anger in his veins. The son of a bitch dared to be here with his family, holding his son in his arms; like he had any right to get anywhere even remotely close to his children. What the hell was this guy thinking he was, anyway? And, Kate. She just stood there, letting it happened, letting this goddamn wife-stealer just take over her life like this.

God, he felt like beating the shit out of this guy just for the nerve of him.

Taking a deep breath, he made his way to where they were all standing, and felt his anger rise even more when Alex just relaxed into his arms like he was his father, like he, Jake, didn't even exist. This was just the last straw.

"Hi, Dad!" Olivia smiled at him, but her happy expression faltered when she saw the murderous look on his face. He couldn't even bring himself to feel bad for scaring his little girl.

"Hi, Jake. Thanks for coming." Kate nodded at him and he nearly growled at her.

"Hi, Daddy!" Alex waved at him from the wife-stealer's arms and he had to resist the urge to force him to put his son down immediately so he could take a punch in the face like a man. He looked sleepy and immediately rested his head on the man's shoulder again.

"Hi, buddy." He managed to get out through the red haze of his anger.

"This is my friend Rick." The little boy introduced and Jake closed his hands in tight fists.

"Oh, so this is the famous Rick I've been hearing so much about." He snarled, unable to keep the animosity from his voice.

"Jake, don't." He heart Kate's warning, but decided to ignore it. This was his chance. He turned to Rick.

"No, no. I have been dying to meet you, Rick. My kids can't stop talking about how awesome you are. In fact, it seems they spend a hell of a lot more time with you than with me. And I'm their father." He watched as Rick shared a look with Kate, like they were having a goddamn conversation without words.

God, they made him sick.

"Jake, don't do this. Don't make a scene. Not in front of the kids." Kate interrupted, but he shook his head.

"You don't get to say anything, Kate. This is between me and him." He said with venom dripping from his voice.

"Would you stop doing this? Look around you, Jake. You're scaring the kids." She moved between him and the stupid son of a bitch, who was still holding his son. Did he not get the hint or was he just plain stupid?

"Stay out of this, Kate."

"Hey, what's going on here?" He heard her partner's voice and turned around to see the Hispanic detective making his way to them. "Beckett?"

Oh, thank God, Kate thought when she heard Esposito's voice. For a moment there she had thought Jake was about to attack Rick, not caring that he was holding Alex at all. Seriously, this weekend just couldn't get any worse.

"It's nothing, Espo. Jake was just leaving, weren't you?" She glared at her ex-husband, but he remained still, like a furious statue, glaring at Rick. "Jake."

"What?" He hissed at her and she rolled her eyes at his stupid attitude and turned to Olivia.

"Liv, I'll see you and your brother tomorrow, okay?" She brushed her daughter's too long bangs away from her eyes affectionately.

"I don't want to go. Not when he's like this, mom." Olivia protested in a whisper. "I don't want to go."

"Honey, your dad is upset, but you guys have nothing to do with it, okay? I promise." She tried to reassure her little girl, but Olivia shook her head. "Jake, stop it. Look what you've done." She lowered her tone for the last part. "Your daughter is scared. Her grandpa is in the hospital and her father is making a completely unnecessary scene. Knock it off, take the kids and we can talk like adults when you cool off."

Jake seemed to snap out of it and looked down at Olivia, who was staring up at him hesitant and scared. Then he looked up at Alex, who was still clinging to Rick like his life depended on it and sighed. Maybe he's just realized what a huge mistake he has just made, Kate thought, shaking her head.

"Come on, guys. Let's go." He told the kids, but both Olivia and Alex stayed put. "Olivia, let's go. Now." He told her sternly and grimaced when he saw his daughter flinch and take a step back, closer to Kate.

"Liv, honey, go with your dad. You can call me any time you want, okay? And I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early." Kate knelt down to her daughter's level and touched her cheek.

"But what about grandpa? I want to see him." She protested, tears welling up in her eyes, and Kate found herself at a loss of what to do. "Please, mom. Let me stay."

"Grandpa is still sleeping. The doctors gave him some medicine to make him better, but he needs to rest and sleep a lot. Maybe tomorrow, if he's awake, I'll bring you up to see him. How's that?" She told her little girl, who nodded grumpily, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Okay." She said with a pout, looking down at the floor. Kate sighed and kissed her cheek.

"Come on, give me a hug, so you can go." She opened her arms and Olivia stepped into her embrace, hugging her tightly. "I love you, bug."

"I love you too, Mom." She held on tighter to her mother. "What if he gets really, really mad?" Olivia whispered into her ear and Kate felt a knot close up her throat as tears threatened to escape her eyes.

"You call me immediately. Okay? And I'll come pick you guys up." She murmured and felt the girl nod over her shoulder. "But nothing is going to happen, sweetie."

"Okay." The young girl sighed and turned to her father. "Let's go, dad."

Kate sighed in relief and stood up. Crisis number one averted. Turning to Rick, she smiled softly when she saw that Alex was still in his arms, completely relaxed with his head on Rick's shoulder. Now, onto challenge number two: making Alex leave Rick's side.

"Baby bear, it's time to go with daddy."

She touched his back and tried to smile at Rick when he looked at her with concern. She just shook her head and quickly touched his arm to reassure him and to try and find some strength to get through this. Alex looked at her and shook his head, holding onto Rick tighter.

"Alex, buddy." She heard Rick say quietly. "You have to go with your dad now. He's waiting for you."

"But I want to stay with you and mommy." Alex complained in a whisper, apparently getting the idea that it was a secret everyone else wasn't supposed to hear.

"We can hang out tomorrow or some other time, okay?" He reassured the boy, who sighed in defeat.

"Promise?" Alex asked softly and Rick nodded, smiling at him.

"I promise, buddy. But you need to go with your dad right now." He told him and put him down on the floor. This time Alex didn't complain.

"Alright." He sighed again. "Bye, mommy. I love you." He hugged Kate's legs and she smiled down at her little boy, running a hand through his dark hair.

"I love you too, baby bear. Be good to your dad, okay? I'll see you tomorrow." She crouched down to his level to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He hugged her back, then made his way to Jake. When they were leaving, Alex turned around and waved.

"Bye, Rick!"

The writer waved goodbye and Kate groaned, covering her face with her hands. A few seconds later, she felt Rick's hands on her shoulder and looked up at him with wry smile.

"Sorry about that." She leaned back against his chest and felt herself finally starting to relax when his arms encircled her waist.

"Don't worry about it." He kissed her temple comfortingly.

"The guy is a total jackass, Beckett." Esposito chimed in and she laughed.

"You can say that again. He's gone completely crazy since he found out about Rick. It's ridiculous." She said frustrated.

"I thought he was going to punch the hell out of you, man. Alex in your arms or not. He looked that crazy." The Hispanic detective told Rick and he nodded.

"Not much I could've done, right? He is already using me against Kate. I couldn't make things worse." Rick shrugged and Esposito nodded with a chuckle.

"True, true." He turned to Kate and touched her arm. "How's your dad? Any better?"

"Still sleeping, as far as I know." She told him and covered Rick's hand with hers, threading her fingers through his. "Listen, Espo, thank you so much for taking the kids in last night. Really. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"Hey, no problem, chica. You know we got your back, right? If you need anything, just say the word." He smiled at her and she nodded in thanks.

"I know. You guys are the best. I really appreciate it."

"And if that son of a bitch starts harassing you guys again, you can count on me to bust his ass. I was a witness to the little show he put on here just now." He said fiercely and she smiled at him. "Anyway, I should go. Good to see you, man." He shook Rick's hand.

"You too. Thank you for looking out for Kate like this." Rick told him earnestly and Kate squeezed his hand in appreciation.

"You got it. You do your part too and we'll be good." He narrowed his eyes playfully at Rick, who chuckled with a nod. "I'll see you Monday, Beckett."

"See you, Monday. Thank Lanie for me." She called after him and he nodded, waving goodbye at them. "God, this day just couldn't get any worse." She groaned, turning around in Rick's arms to wrap her own around his waist, and rested her head on his chest. "I'm really sorry he said those things to you."

"I told you Kate. Don't worry. He's trying to get to you by doing that. I can take it." He leaned down and kissed her lips.

"You're too good to me, Rick. To me and to my kids." She whispered and kissed his lips again, lingering on his bottom lip for a moment. "Love you."

"Love you too. Now let's go see if your dad is awake. Come on."

He took her hand in his and started leading her to the elevator. She went willingly, praying that this day didn't get any worse.

A/N: Thoughts?