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At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 16

"I miss you." Kate sighed and rolled onto her side, holding her phone close to her ear.

It had been almost a week since Rick had gone on tour and, although they talked every day, she had missed him a lot more than she'd expected. Her week had thankfully been calm and quiet after the whole incident with Jake and the kids. He had kept his distance and Kate was grateful because she just didn't have the energy to deal with him at the moment.

"I miss you too." Rick replied and she could hear him shift around in bed. It was early morning and he was thankfully coming back to New York tonight. She couldn't wait to see him. "How's your dad?"

"He's okay. Doing much better." She tried to stiffle a yawn unsuccessfully. "He went to an AA meeting yesterday, said he is going to start going to those again."

"That's good, right?"

"Yeah." She sighed again, feeling lazy and tired. "I just hope he sticks to it." She told him and smiled when he reassured her for the millionth time. "Hey, we're having a party tomorrow for Liv's birthday. Do you think you, Martha and Alexis can make it?"

"I'll definitely be there, but I'm not sure about mother and Alexis. But I'll talk to them. I'm sure they'll try to come." She heard him yawn on the other side of the line. "What do you think she'd like as a birthday present?"

"I don't know. She's been really into astronomy lately because that's what she's studying at school. She's got this science fair thing coming up and we've been working on our very own solar system." She explained with a smile. She had been trying her best to help Olivia build a small replica of the planets for her project this past week and things were looking pretty good if she said so herself.

"Oh, I know!" He said suddenly and she could hear that little boy excitement in his voice. "Have you ever taken her to the Planetarium?"

"No, and I like where this is going." She grinned and stretched her body lazily before sitting up. "Maybe we can take her tomorrow?"

"Well, yeah, but it'd have to be at night if she wants to see the planets and stuff. I used to take Alexis there when she was about Olivia's age. She loved it." He told her and she found herself nodding, even though he wasn't there.

"We're doing her party in the afternoon, so it'll probably work out. Anyway, I should go. Check on the kids." She said and heard his agreement. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Love you." He said and Kate felt silly for still feeling the butterflies go crazy in her stomach whenever he said he loved her.

"Love you too, Rick." She breathed and hung up before she felt any more pathetic for being this ridiculously in love with the man.

"Mom?" She turned to the door and found her daughter leaning against the doorsill, looking sleepy.

"Hey, honey. Come here." She scooched over in order to make room for the girl and smiled when Olivia immediately jumped on her bed, making herself comfortable on Kate's pillow. Laying back down, she wrapped an arm around her daughter's waist and pulled her warm body closer, placing a kiss on her nose playfully. "Morning, bug." She whispered and tickled Olivia lightly, making the girl laugh.

"Morning." She replied and turned around, hiding her face in the crook of her mom's neck.

"Everything okay, Liv?" Kate asked, a cloud of concern shadowing her mind.

"Yeah, I just..." She felt her little girl sigh and pulled away slightly to look at her. "I was just wondering if dad is coming to my birthday party tomorrow." She confessed and Kate closed her eyes, letting out a breath.

"I'm sure he will, Liv, but I'll give him a call just in case, alright?" She tried to reassure her and Olivia nodded, a sad look still lingering in her eyes. "Do you miss your dad?" Kate asked quietly and felt the girl nod against her neck, her arms reaching over to hug her mom closer.

"I miss how things used to be for us." She said quietly and Kate felt her heart ache for her daughter. "I miss when he wasn't yelling at us or fighting with you all the time."

"Oh, baby, I know. I really wish things could be different, but everything is going to work out. You'll see." She rubbed soothing circles on her back, wishing so badly that her child didn't have to suffer through this.

"I had a bad dream last night." Olivia said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah? Want to share?" Kate asked gently, combing her hair with her fingers.

"Daddy took us away. Me and Alex." She whispered and Kate felt the girl's tears on her skin. "And he said we would never see you again." Her voice came out shaky, barely above a whisper, and Kate pressed a kiss to her forehead comfortingly.

"Oh, Liv." She sighed sadly, holding her little girl close. "It was just a dream, honey."

"I know. I know it was just a bad dream." The girl tried to contain her tears, brushing them away hastily with the back of her hand. "But what if he really does that, mom? I mean, he already said that we were going to live with him no matter what."

"But that's not how it works, Liv. Don't worry, we're going to figure it out, your dad and I, okay? This is just a tough time, but we're going to get through it. I promise."

"Yeah?" Olivia looked up at her so imploringly that she had to swallow hard to contain her own tears at seeing her baby suffering.

"I promise." She repeated, placing another kiss on the girl's forehead and took a deep breath.

She could cry alone later.

Since she had promised her daughter, Kate called Jake later that day. Their conversation was tense and exhausting, but by the end of an endless five-minute phone call, Kate managed to get him to agree to come to their daughter's bithday party the next day. Just the fact that she had to convince him to see his own daughter on her birthday made her sick and she just felt confused by this man. If he didn't even want to come to a birthday party, what the hell did he want custody of the kids for, right?

Deep down, she honestly thought that he was just doing this to get her to back down, to drop the idea of a divorce. If she didn't sign the papers, then it would be a win-win situation for him. He didn't get divorced - thus not tarnishing his beloved reputation, she thought, rolling her eyes - and he wouldn't have to deal with the kids.

It was ridiculous.

She had talked to Garrett Bishop, her lawyer, about what had happened the weekend before and he suggested that, if it was something that became a pattern, then maybe they could get psychologist to talk to Olivia and Alex about how they felt about this situation. It would help her case and it would be good for the kids to talk to someone, especially Olivia who had full understanding of what was going on.

The next day she woke up early. It was a Sunday and thankfully, since she had become a mom, she managed to have weekends off most of the time. Making her way to the kitchen, she started working on the pancakes for the birthday girl. Olivia loved her special pancakes and they were traditional birthday breakfast food in the Beckett family. When she was almost done, she heard footsteps and turned around to find her sleepy little boy, rubbing his eyes as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Morning, baby bear." She smiled at him and ran a hand through his messy dark hair when he leaned against her leg sleepily. "Did you sleep okay?" She asked and felt him nod against her skin.

"Today is Livie's birthday, mommy?" He asked, looking up at her and she crouched down to his level to give him a playful eskimo kiss.

"Yes, it is. She's turning nine years old today. Do you know how much that is?" She asked him and smiled when he frowned in concentration. He was learning to count and loved his numbers.

"That's almost two whole hands." He said in awe, making Kate chuckle. "That's a lot."

"She's a big girl, your sister. But you'll catch up soon, baby. Remember how old you're going to be in a few weeks?" She brushed his hair away from his eyes as his face lit up with a big smile.

"Five. A whole hand!" He showed her his hand excitedly and Kate laughed, placing a kiss on his outstretched palm.

"That's right. But today is Livie's day, right?" She said and he nodded seriously. "So we're going to make it really special for her, okay?"

"Can I help?" He asked eagerly and Kate nodded, grabbing the orange juice and pouring it into two glasses.

"Let's go wake her up." She told him conspiratoriously and scooped him up in her arms before making her way to her daughter's room.

"Grandpa!" Olivia exclaimed when she opened the door and threw herself into his arms. "I'm so glad you came." She beamed up at him and Kate smiled from across the room. Her father had stayed with them for a couple of days after he left the hospital, but had gone home on Wednesday. Now, four days later, she was sure her kids missed having their grandfather around.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, honey. Happy birthday." He hugged her close, kissing her temple, trying to balance the box he was carrying with only one arm. "I got you a present, birthday girl."

He smiled and passed the box to the girl, who was looking at it curiously. Kate met his eyes and looked at him questioningly, to which he only nodded. They had discussed this at length this past week and Kate had finally okayed it yesterday.

"Oh, my God. Grandpa?" Olivia exclaimed and looked at her grandfather excitedly.

"It's yours, Liv. If you'll accept the responsibility of taking care of her." He told her and Olivia nodded excitedly.

"I do, I do, I do." She reached into the box and slowly pulled out the little ball of fur with slightly trembling hands. "Oh, my God." She whispered to herself, running her finger gently over it. "Mom! Mom, come here, quick!" She waved Kate over and she made her way to her daughter with a smile. "Look! Grandpa got me a kitten!" She said, excitement pouring out of her. The tiny gray kitten opened her eyes sleepily, revealing beautiful green orbs. "Oh, look. Grandpa, she's so adorable! Thank you so much."

"You're very welcome, Liv." Jim smiled down at his granddaughter.

"Mom, can I keep her? Please? I'll take really good care of her, I promise. Please?" She pleaded with her mother and Kate rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile.

"Of course, honey." She ran a hand through her daughter's head and looked up at her father. "Thanks, dad." She gave him a hug and felt him place a kiss on her cheek.

"Don't mention it. She's happy, that's all that matters." He shrugged; Kate pecked him on the cheek with a smile. "But we should probably get out of the doorway because I think more people are coming." He told them and, now that she paid attention, Kate could hear voices as well. Soon enough, Rick appeared in the hallway with Martha and Alexis.

"Hi, darling." Martha greeted her enthusiastically when Kate told them to come in. "Thank you for inviting us."

"It's a pleasure, Martha." She said and quickly introduced her father to her boyfriend's mom, smiling when her dad looked a little star struck. She hugged Alexis and watched as Olivia immediately showed her new kitten to the redhead. Alex had joined his sister and was busy caressing the kitten ever so gently. Finally, it was just she and Rick. "Hi." She beamed at him, so happy to see him after an entire week apart.

"Hey, yourself." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, dangerously close to her lips, making her suck in a breath at the contact. "I missed you so much." He whispered in her ear and quickly kissed her lips.

"Right back at you." She smiled, running her hand down his arm before finding his hand. "Thanks for coming."

"Nowhere I'd rather be. Now where's the birthday girl?" He asked, looking around and found Olivia, Alexis and Alex in a corner of the living room playing with the kitten. "Well, it looks like my present won't be the coolest anymore." He commented jokingly and Kate laughed, leaning into his side.

"Yeah, my dad gave it to her. She's crazy excited about it." She told him and sighed when he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She fell into his arms willingly, breathing him in. "God, I really missed you." She murmured into his neck, placing a quick, open-mouthed kiss there, smiling when he shivered.

"Tease." He gripped her waist a little tighter, pulling her flush against him for a moment.

"Rick! Livie, look, it's Rick!" They heard Alex's voice and separated just in time for the 4-year-old to jump into Rick's arms. "I missed you a lot." The boy told him, arms wrapped around his neck.

"Missed you too, buddy. How are you doing?" Rick asked, pulling away a little to look at him.

"I'm good. You?" Alex asked, playing with Rick's collar absentmindedly.

"I'm better now that I'm here with you guys." He told him and Alex relaxed into his arms, resting his head on Rick's shoulder. "Have you been taking care of your mom and your big sister? You're the man of the house." He tickled the boy, making him laugh.

"Of course!" The boy said in a 'duh' tone, making Rick chuckle. "Right, mommy?" He turned to his mom, who was watching the scene amused.

"Of course you have, baby bear." She kissed his cheek loudly, making him giggle more. "You're my big boy." She told him and frowned when she didn't get a reaction. Alex was looking at the doorway and she followed his gaze.

Jake was standing there, gripping Olivia's birthday present tightly in his hand.

A/N: Thoughts?