A/N: Friendly AU reminder... Again, thank you so much for reading! I haven't been able to reply to the reviews lately, but I do appreciate each and every one of them!

Chapter Thirteen

"Her name is -was- Alexis..."

Kate could see his tears and felt her own beginning to collect and recognized the pain in his eyes. "Rick, you don't have to do this-"

"I know," he replied, then drew in a deep breath. "and I probably just made things awkward, but you get it."

"Get what?" she asked, not quite understanding.

Kate poured a couple of glasses of wine and handed one to him, trading it for the picture. The girl was about eleven, if she remembered right, smiling brightly with her father's eyes and long red hair.

"The emptiness," Rick's voice wavered slightly as he answered, "She would've been fourteen a few months ago."

"She's beautiful." She was at a loss for words as she handed the picture back.

"She was." Rick glanced at it, and his expression - it was like he hadn't looked at it in a very long time. He quickly recovered and put it away as he gave a weak smile. "So... your mother?"

"Yeah," Kate took a drink from her glass, holding the liquid in her mouth for a moment before she swallowed. "She was stabbed to death in an alley. They said it was a random act of gang violence."

Rick watched her for a moment, then said, "But you don't believe that..."

"I don't, but for a time..." she started, but decided tonight may not be the best time to go down that rabbit hole. "Well, that's why I went into the police academy, so I could help other families get closure."

She knew his next question before he spoke. "Why did you leave?"

"I don't have a better way of explaining, other than it was time for a change." Kate shrugged and smiled as she continued, "and I can't complain about buying the coffee shop. It's changed my life for the better, I think."

He seemed to absorb that for a few minutes and sipped from his glass. "I'd like to think so too- I mean..." he smiled and shook his head, then got to his feet. "I should go. Thank you for tonight, Kate. I really had a nice time."

"I did, too," Kate said as she stood and followed him to the door. She opened it, and as he walked past, she stopped him with a quick kiss to his cheek. "That emptiness you feel? It took a long time - years - but it does get easier to carry. Try not to let it pull you down too far. Okay?"

His eyes widened for a moment, then he nodded. "I'll try."