CH11

Kate stepped into their apartment and found Lanie sitting on the sofa watching TV, or was she waiting for her.

"Well girlfriend, how did it go?" Lanie asks, telling Kate that Lanie was waiting for her.

Kate plops down on the sofa next to her. "I, … It was amazing Lanie, simply amazing."

"It must be good if the look on your face tells me anything. So give, I want details girl." Lanie moves in closer and looks directly at Kate.

Kate squeezes her eyes shut, and then slowly opens them. "I got lost in his smell again; it went into my lungs and spread out from there. I still can't explain what I smell, it just fills me in a way nothing else ever has before." Kate starts off.

"And?" Lanie pushes the story along.

"Rick saw my fangs and then cut his finger on one of them. He put his cut finger in my mouth and I got to taste him. It was like, …. I've never tasted blood so pure and good before." Kate starts to lose herself remembering what Rick tasted like.

"So he knows you're a vampire? Do we start packing?" Lanie needed to ask, but since Kate walked in and not in a panic, the answer was likely no.

Kate shook her head. "He didn't run Lanie; he didn't even try to run. He did the opposite in fact." Getting embarrassed now.

Lanie simply stared at Kate this time. "We kinda had sex in his tub." Kate confides starting to blush.

"You mean he, … You lost your virginity?" Lanie was surprised now. Kate didn't waste time when she found the right guy. Was it her inability to resist him because of the smell?

"No, not that. However he did give me an orgasm, my first. … Plus I bit him Lanie." Kate cringes; she was still ashamed of herself for doing that.

"You bit him." Lanie repeats shocked again.

"I didn't mean to. It's just that, just as he was giving me my first orgasm he put his arm against my fangs that were out and told me to bite him.

He scared me to death Lanie, I was so afraid I had killed him. I was a wreck, I was so scared." Kate had found the perfect guy in her mind and the thought that she had almost killed him, scared her to her core.

"Then what?" Kate had obviously recovered.

"He left to go get his daughter." Kate tells her.

"WAIT, HE HAS A DAUGHTER?" Lanie is now stunned. That wasn't something she was expecting.

"She's so cute and sweet. She fell asleep in my lap while we watched a movie. She's adorable Lanie, and you should see her hair!" Kate liked her. "Which reminds me." Kate jumped up and went into her room to start packing an overnight bag into one of their little duffel bags that used to have money in it.

Lanie followed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going back over to spend the night. I think he might make love to me, and I so want him to." Kate confides as she packs.

"Is he married Kate? … He has a child." Lanie points out.

It got Kate to stop in her tracks. He did have a child and she didn't know if he was married. GOD HE MIGHT BE MARRIED!

Probably was married and was only using her. God she had screwed up so big.

"Start packing Lanie we need to move." Kate goes looking for her big suitcase to put her clothes in.

"Slow down Kate. … Does he know where we live?" Lanie asks.

"He knows what building, just not which apartment." Kate responds still working on packing.

"Did it look like he was married? … Did his place have any feminine touches? Did his closet have any clothes for a woman? … Did his little girl talk about having a mother?" Lanie asks a number of questions.

It got Kate to stop. Everything did look rather manly. Especially the bedroom. His closet only had his clothes, and Alexis had only talked about Rick.

Still he was quick to overlook the fact that she was a vampire. Maybe the smell was artificial in order to attract her. Just why didn't it work on Lanie?

Hunters used scent to cover their existence. Was Rick a Hunter? Just why wait this long to kill her?

Kate couldn't take the chance, they were vampires, and their lives were lived living on the run.

"Just go pack Lanie, we are out of here. … Remember to pack your half of the money." Kate got busy packing, watching Lanie leave for her bedroom to pack.

Kate met Lanie on their deck each with two duffel bags. "You sure about this girlfriend?"

"We're vampires Lanie, we stay alive by always being on the run. Maybe London will be better, or we have to steal a lot of blood and leave completely." Kate stepped over the side and landed on the sidewalk below, bending her knees a little.

Lanie followed a moment later. Together they walked to the building with their shuttle on the roof.

Kate stopped in the side street before the jump up to the roof. "Smell anything?" Kate asks her. Watching Lanie take in a deep breath.

Lanie shakes her head. "Nothing close."

Kate jumps up first, followed by Lanie and make their way over to the shuttle. Kate opens her door while Lanie opens hers and the do their best to stuff the duffel bags in behind their seats.

Kate sits in her seat with Lanie doing the same. "What Kate?" Lanie can see tears rolling down Kate's face. Lanie reaches out to take Kate's arm. "What?"

In a broken crying voice. "I can smell him Lanie." Kate squeezes her eyes closed. "If you could smell what I smell. … It hurts. He was the first, I was going to, … He could have been my first." Kate's chest is heaving trying to hold in the sobs that are trying to escape.

"You're thinking the smell is because he's a Hunter." Lanie thinks she understands.

Kate nods her head, if was just the sort of trick a Hunter would use to get close enough to kill.

"So why aren't you dead already?" Lanie knew no Hunter would delay in killing a vampire. "Plus you bit him, did he taste like a Hunter and would a Hunter even let you do that to him?" Lanie offers.

"Doesn't matter, …. He's married with a little girl." Kate's tears are still falling as she fumbles to start powering up the shuttle.

"You don't know that for sure Kate. She may have died. She may even have died in child birth. …. There's only one way for you to find out." Lanie offers. Knowing her friend is falling for him, fast. Though his smell and taste may have something to do with that.

Kate stops trying to work the controls and turns to look at Lanie and wipe away some of her tears. Was it possible?

"Go talk to him and find out. All you have to do is yell and I'll come running. If he is married I'll personally help your break every bone in his body without killing him." Lanie smiles, since it was a joke. Since if she did break every bone in his body, he'd likely die in the process or soon after.

It did however get Kate to chuckle. Leave it to Lanie to brighten her mood. "Now go talk to him, I'll be right here one way or the other. … And if he isn't married, ask him if he has a brother." Lanie grins, getting Kate to laugh a little.

Kate stepped out of the shuttle and walked over to the side of the building and looked around. Not seeing or smelling anyone close Kate stepped over the side and landed on the ground, bending her knees just a little. It was only a five story drop, easy.

The doorman let her in after giving her name and was now standing at his door, almost scared out of her mind. There was so much at stake.

Kate gave the door one very light knock and waited. Once again the door flew open to find Rick standing on the other side and his smell hit her in the face, and started to permeate every open pore in her body.

Kate couldn't help but breathe it in and let it fill her lungs and make her weak in the knees.

"Hi Kate." Rick was smiling and opened the door wide and stepped aside to let her in.

Kate willed her feet to move and not into Rick's chest like she so wanted to do. "Where's your bag?" Rick looked Kate over and then looked outside the door, now confused. That was why she left, wasn't it?

Kate didn't get very far and turned and watched Rick close and lock the door. Not that it mattered, her or Lanie could break it down easy. If nothing else she could run and jump through one of the windows and land on her feet and start running.

Kate did her best to stand up straight and ignore his most delicious smell. The smell that whispered to her that she should be in his arms right now. "You're married." Kate did her best to make it sound like an accusation, and that she was mad.

It forced Rick to blink and shake his head. This was not what he was expecting. Sure he knew they needed to talk. About a lot of things actually, since he still had a lot of questions.

"I'm divorced. … Have been for years. Marrying Meredith turned out to not be one of my finer moments. It did however give me Alexis so I guess I can take the good with the bad." Rick tells her shrugging his shoulders. Everything about Meredith seemed to be bad.

"Kate." Rick stepped in closer to at least touch her, but Kate took a step back.

"You don't believe me." Rick deflated and his shoulder drooped. "I suppose you have no reason to. We haven't actually talked much." Rick tried to think of something that would reach her.

"Kate, go upstairs and wake Alexis and ask HER your questions. She's only 5 Kate. … Well almost 6 in a couple of months. She's growing up fast. Maybe a little too fast." Grown up and gone leaving Rick alone in his old-ish age.

"Go on, first door on the left." Rick motions for the stairs, and flips his hand when Kate doesn't move.

Alexis was 5, had she been taught to lie by the Hunters? Just why all this work to kill just one vampire? They would normally just blow up the entire building they were in and not care about the collateral damage in lives lost.

Kate started backing up and made her way to the stairs, never taking her eyes off Rick for more than a heartbeat.

Kate found the door partially open with a nightlight on inside. Kate opened the door and closed it softly behind her and waited for her eyes to adapt, quickly.

Kate saw her orange hair before she saw anything else. Alexis was still all tucked in nice and comfy.

Kate kneeled down onto the floor and looked at Alexis. She was obviously asleep and looked so peaceful. Kate couldn't help but run her hand through her hair, getting Alexis to wiggle a little.

Kate moved to sit on the edge of the bed and reached out to shake Alexis a little to wake her up. "Alexis?" Not getting much result, Kate put a little more effort into it. "Alexis?"

Kate watches the little girl open her eyes and then rub one of them with her hand and turn to look who's hand was on her. "Kate?" Alexis was pretty sure it was Kate, but she was still pretty sleepy.

"Hi!" Kate gave her, her best smile. Forgetting all about Rick.

Alexis was quick for someone who had just woken up and was soon up on her knees with her arms wrapped around Kate. It got Kate to wrap her arms around Alexis too.

"You awake? I want to talk with you, I have a few questions." Kate whispers into her ear. Burying her nose into Alexis's hair. Kate could kind of smell Rick on her, but she was different. Maybe it was because she was around Rick all the time, or maybe it was because Rick was her father.

"Okay." Alexis answers back but doesn't let go of Kate.

"I need you to tell me about your mother." Kate instantly felt Alexis stiffen, and could feel Alexis shake her head.

Apparently this was a touchy subject. Kate loved her mother, and at the moment wished she was here. "I need you to tell me about her. I want to understand. … Help me to understand." Kate offered, slowly stroking her hair.

"I don't have a mommy." Alexis answers, never letting go of Kate.

"Everyone has a mommy honey. You can't be born without one. … Or a daddy." Kate may not know a whole lot, but that was the easy part.

"My mommy doesn't want me, she doesn't love me." Kate could feel Alexis only tighten her hold on her.

"Where is your mommy?" Kate tries a different question.

"I don't have a mommy. … I hate her." Alexis tells her.

Ok, this was bad. "Tell me where she is honey." Kate decided to start leaving off the mommy part since that seemed to upset her.

"California." Alexis answers. Except that didn't help Kate much since she didn't know where this California was.

"Is that far?" Kate asks feeling Alexis nod her head. "Really far?" Far to Alexis may not be far to Kate. Getting Alexis to nod her head.

"Does she come for a visit?" Kate tries again. Getting Alexis to shake her head.

"She promises to come, but never does. She doesn't call, she doesn't come to my birthday parties, she didn't attend my school play. She promised she would, but she didn't even try." Kate could feel and hear the tears, which got Kate to start blinking back here own.

Kate loved her mother; she was still alive because her mother and father loved her. Even if it had caused them to be separated for the moment. At least Kate hoped it was only temporary.

How could a mother give birth and then abandon her own child?

"I'm sorry Alexis, my mother loves me. I don't know what it feels like to not have your mother love you too. …She never comes to see you?" Kate tries again. Getting Alexis to shake her head and hear her sniffle.

"Well I love you, and your father loves you. Maybe that's enough for now." Kate offers, squeezing Alexis to her a little tighter.

"Really?" Alexis sniffles again.

Kate pulls away from Alexis so she can place her hands on each side of her face. "Yes, really. It's hard not to love you. I'm sure anyone would be happy to be loved by you and love you back." This got Alexis to launch herself back into Kate, and hug her.

"You should get back into bed and go back to sleep." Kate offers, getting a "NO!" from Alexis.

"You need to sleep honey." Kate tries reasoning with her.

"No, … stay?" Alexis asks.

"You mean stay and sleep with you?" Kate asks, since her original plan was to sleep with Rick, in more ways than one.

"Please. … It's a big bed." Alexis offers. It was just a twin bed, but it was big to Alexis.

"Tell you what, I'll ask your father and if he says yes, then I'll be back. How's that?" Kate offers a compromise, smiling at Alexis. Getting Alexis to nod her head.

"Let's get you all tucked in again and I'll be back." Kate helps her get back into bed and kisses Alexis's head before she leaves. Leaving the door slightly open like she found it.

Kate found Rick sitting at the breakfast bar drinking something. "And?" Rick asks as Kate steps up to him. Though Rick could see a tear that escaped and got wiped away quickly.

"I don't understand, how could a woman give birth and not pay any attention to her own child? … She never comes here, ever?" Kate looked across to Rick.

"Meredith has been in New York a couple of times I think. She was more interested in getting me back into her bed than in paying attention to Alexis." Rick is forced to admit. Even if he did try to get Meredith to act like a mother and Alexis to think of her as being her mother.

"Alexis hates her." It was one more thing that Kate didn't understand, since she loved her mother and was having a pang of withdrawal and missing her. It hurt her heart a little listening to that little girl explain what she thinks of her own mother.

"I know." Rick hangs his head low. Rick still had no idea how to fix that. "Alexis was still just a baby when I came home one day and found Meredith in bed having sex with another man. Seems she was using him to try and get some part. I never did find out if that worked out.

I threw both of them out. Two days later Meredith filed for divorce. I got sole custody of Alexis while Meredith got almost everything else." Rick gives Kate the short version of how he is divorced.

"She wanted sex more than being married or being a mother to her own child?" Kate was still having trouble wrapping her mind around this. Kate stepped up to Rick and buried her nose in him while wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm sorry. … I jumped to conclusions." Kate breathed him in to try and calm herself.

Kate pulled back and looked at Rick. "I need to go get my bag, Alexis made me promise to spend the night with her and it sounds like she could use someone to hold onto tonight." Kate informs Rick of their deal.

"And who am I supposed to hold onto tonight?" Rick moans.

It got Kate to smile since her original plan was to spend the night in his arms instead. "You'll think of something." Kate gives him a quick kiss and heads for the door.

"I'll leave the door unlocked, no need to knock." Rick calls after her.

Kate walked outside and around the building and waited till it was clear to jump up onto the roof, finding Lanie right where she had left her. Sitting in her seat in the shuttle.

"And?" Lanie asks.

The tears in Kate's eyes told Lanie a lot. "He's divorced, has been for a few years now."

"And you believe him?" Lanie asked, after all it was just his word.

Kate however shakes her head. "Alexis told me." Kate hangs her head down, then back up to look at Lanie. "Her mother gave birth to her and has ignored her ever since. … I mean what kind of mother ignores their own child?

Never keeps her promises to come visit, never even calls. And when she is here she doesn't spend any time with her. … I don't understand Lanie. Alexis is cute, smart for her age and you can see she's hurting.

She actually told me that she hates her own mother." New tears started falling down Kate's cheek and were wiped away with Kate's fingers.

"I'll see you tomorrow Kate, you need to get back in there and prove to that little girl that someone on this planet loves her. Someone besides her own father." Lanie exits the shuttle and grabs her bags and then closes the shuttle door.

"Don't forget to introduce me to her Kate, she sounds like she could use all the friends she can get." Lanie was now dying to meet this little girl that had Kate already wrapped around her little finger.

"Thanks Lanie, you're the best." Kate smiled while still sitting in her seat.

"Don't I know it Kate Beckett." Lanie smiled and headed for the roof edge and soon stepped over the side.

Kate grabbed her two bags, closed up the shuttle and followed Lanie over the side of the building. However Kate went back into the building after passing the doorman.

True to his word, the front door was unlocked and Kate just walked right in, closing and locking it behind her. Then carried her bags upstairs to Alexis's bedroom since she didn't see Rick downstairs.

Except Alexis wasn't in her bed. Kate dropped her bags and started searching the room, but not finding her. It got Kate to race downstairs.

Kate could still smell Rick so he was still here, and it leads her to his bedroom.

In here Kate found Alexis all tucked in on one side of the bed with Rick nowhere in sight. Kate stepped over to the bed and kneeled down to stroke Alexis's hair and then kiss her forehead. Then heard Rick enter from the bathroom.

All he had on were a pair of boxers and it got Kate's heart to do a flip. The last time he was this naked was in the bathroom he just came from.

"If you brought your bag you can go change. I thought we could all sleep in the same bed tonight. Alexis could likely use the cuddling and after the day that it sounds like you've had, I figured you could use some too. And I'm only too happy to oblige." Rick was smiling.

It got Kate to run for her bag and change upstairs and run back, leaving her bags behind in Alexis's bedroom.

Rick already had the covers lifted and waiting for her. Kate had switched to shorts and a t-shirt and climbed into bed and worked her way across to wrap her arms around Alexis and pull her in tight.

Then felt the bed dip as Rick got in behind her and soon felt his arms around her pulling his chest in tight against her back. Then she felt Rick kiss the back of her head. "Good night Kate." Rick whispered into the back of her head.

"Night Rick." And Kate nuzzled her face into Alexis's hair. She smelled like Alexis and yet she could still smell Rick right behind her. Kate let their scent fill her lungs and sighed. "Night to you too Alexis." And kissed the back of her head.

It wasn't the night she was planning on having, but she liked it just the same.