Chapter 47 – 34 Weeks

They spent the next afternoon at the beach, they were trying to do anything to keep Alexis' mind off of her mother, and it seemed to work for the most part. They spent the day in the ocean swimming and even took her to Santa Monica Pier to ride a few rides and play games. Alexis was even clingier towards Kate than she had been lately. Kate was accepting of it, she knew that Alexis needed her right now and at the very least she could be that person for her since her mother did such a poor job of it.

Rick had tried contacting Meredith multiple times throughout the day, hoping that she would want to spend time with Alexis since they had flown all the way across the country, but she hadn't responded, not even a text message until later that night when Rick told her that they would be flying home the next afternoon. Meredith asked to see Alexis for breakfast but requested that she spend that time alone with her. Of course Rick was apprehensive but eventually he decided that it might actually be better if they had a little bit of alone time with each other.

Meredith showed up in their hotel lobby the next morning to pick her up on time, which Rick appreciated, he gave the little girl a hug and kiss and asked Meredith to have her back by noon so that they could catch their flight. That gave them a few hours alone together and Alexis seemed excited to spend that time alone with her mother.

Rick was shocked and disappointed when he got a text a little over two hours later, around 10am from Meredith who said they were on their way back to the hotel. He made his way down to the lobby to wait on them and when they came through the doors they both seemed to be in good spirits.

"Hey dad!" Alexis said as she walked over to him.

"Hey Lex, everything okay?" He asked.

"Everything's fine, I think Mom wants to talk to Kate."

Rick looked up to Meredith who had a smile on her face and didn't seem to be in a bad mood at all.

"Kate?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I need to talk to her about Alexis, in private if you don't mind. And you don't have to worry Rick, I wont attack her or say anything out of line."

"Umm, okay, let me take Lex up to the room and I'll get Kate, you okay to wait here."

She nodded, "Actually I'll be in the restaurant at the bar."

"Okay, I'll send her down."

Meredith turned and started towards the restaurant, and Alexis and Rick took off towards the elevators.

"What's this about?" He questioned the little girl, hoping that she might clue him in a bit.

"I don't know, but she was nice all morning, maybe she wants to apologize."

Rick looked down at Alexis and gave her a smile. There was no way Meredith was apologizing, he was married to the woman for four years and she never apologized once.

They made it back to the room and Rick filled Kate in on what was going on.

"She wants to talk to me?" Kate pointed at her chest.

"That's what she said, look… If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"No. I'll go, I mean what harm can it do. I just want to get along with the woman but more importantly I want her to be there for her daughter."

"Well, tell her, this is your opportunity, you won't be stepping on my toes."

Kate changed into a flowy dress and threw on a cardigan to go down and meet her. When she walked into the bar area, she took a seat next to Meredith.

"Rick said you wanted to talk?" Kate spoke first, and Meredith acknowledged her for the first time since entering the restaurant.

She nodded, "Look, Kate, I know Alexis loves you, and it's quite evident how much you love her just by the way she speaks about you. She's in love, I mean… I wish she adored me the way she adores you."

"She would if you were around more Meredith."

"Look, I never claimed to be a good parent, truth be told I wasn't cut out for it. Me getting pregnant was an accident, one I wasn't prepared for, and I tried for a while, but I… I just couldn't cope, I couldn't do it. So instead I ruined my marriage and I ran away from my life, and I left behind that precious little girl."

"Do you regret it?" Kate asked.

"Sometimes," She sighed, "Kate, I love her, but I don't know how to be a parent, and I don't know how to show her the love she needs."

"Well sometimes you just have to suck it up and put her needs ahead of your own. You think I was ready for this?" She asked, pointing to her stomach, "I wasn't ready for this, I wasn't expecting it, but you know what, this is my life now, and instead of running from it, I'm trying really hard to embrace it for what it is. It's not easy, I struggle every day, but I have to be strong. I have to be strong for my son, for my fiancé, and for that little girl, because she depends on me. She needs me there to protect her and love her, so I do it. No questions asked, because I love her. That's your job, you're suppose to be doing that."

"I can't do that Kate."

"Then let me." Kate shot back at her.

"I can't just give you my child."

"Meredith, I know it's not even my right to ask for her, and hell I don't even know why I think I can handle that at my age when I'm about to have a baby, but I know that I can't watch her suffer anymore. So if I have to swallow my pride and ask you to please let me adopt her, then I will. She needs a mother, one that will be present in her life, and you have proven you can't do that. We won't pretend you don't exist, in fact you can see her whenever you want. You are more than welcome to come see her anytime, and we can even bring her here from time to time. But she needs a mom, and if you care about her, if you love her then you can do this for her."

Meredith sat quietly for a moment, staring straight ahead, trying to hold back her tears.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"What?" Kate asked, a shocked expression planted on her face.

"I'll do it, for her. You're right, she needs you. She doesn't need me, she doesn't need what I can provide. So I'll sign the papers, but I want to tell her myself."

Kate nodded profusely and repetitively, shocked at what Meredith was saying. She didn't think that this was where the conversation was heading but she wasn't going to stop it now. If Meredith was agreeing then Kate wasn't going to stop her. Kate shot Rick a text telling him to bring Alexis down to say goodbye to her mom.

When they walked in Kate stood up and walked towards Rick, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the side.

"Hey Lex, I think your mom wants a minute alone with you to say goodbye, we will be waiting out here."

The little girl looked to her mom, and back at Kate and when Kate gave her a smile and a nod the little girl smiled back and walked towards her mother.

Rick and Kate walked back out to the lobby and had a seat on a bench.

"You okay?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

A smile spread across her face, "I'm great Rick, she's gonna let me adopt her."

"What?"

"Yeah, we had a productive conversation and she agreed that it was best for me to adopt her, that she needed a mom in her life that was present. She wanted to tell Alexis herself, and I told her that she could still see Lex whenever she wanted, that we wouldn't keep her from her."

Ricks hand shot up to her face and he pulled her in for a kiss, it was slow and passionate, and full of love.

As they broke apart he smiled, "I love you, thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For being a great mom to our kids."

Kate let out a chuckle, "I just went from being almost a mother of one to a mother of two. What is my life?"

"Are you sure, you're not second guessing this right?"

"Richard Castle, there is nothing I want more in this world then to marry you and be a mother to our kids. I know this isn't going to be a walk in the park, but it's gonna be okay as long as I have you all."

"Kate!" Alexis shouted as she ran towards them, "Mom's gonna let you adopt me!"

Kate smiled and stood up, hugging the little girl as she ran into her legs, "I know baby."

Meredith followed Alexis over.

"So, I guess whenever you get things figured out with your lawyer, just let me know." She nodded and smiled down at Alexis.

And then she grabbed Kate and threw her arms around her, "Please take care of her." She whispered, and Kate nodded.

Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I was busy moving into my new house and we didn't have our Internet set up so I couldn't post. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I am currently working on the next chapter and I don't have much left to do, so if I get a good response to this chapter I'll post that tonight.

Thanks for the reviews and support; you guys have been awesome lately!