Crash
Chapter 1
Kate came home, opened the door, and walked in. She immediately saw Castle was in the kitchen. He had heard her coming in.
"How was your day?" Rick inquired.
"It was boring. Boring, boring, boring! We didn't get a single call or respond to anyone else's. We were always too far away."
Rick checked the time. "Well, dinner will be ready in about 15 minutes, giving you just enough time for a shower."
"Thanks. Where's Alexis?" She didn't see her.
"Last I looked, she was in her room playing."
Kate headed for their bedroom and took her belt off after removing her weapon and putting it in the safe, away from Alexis. Not that she didn't trust her because she did, but she didn't want to take any chances. She stripped off her uniform, threw it in the hamper, and hurried into the bathroom, where she stepped into the shower.
Finished, Kate dried herself, put on comfortable clothes, and came out of the bedroom. Smiling, she made her way into the kitchen and gave him a quick kiss. "Need any help?"
"Thanks, but I think I've got it."
"In that case, I'm going to check on Alexis." Kate went upstairs and entered her bedroom. She stood there for a minute and watched her play, amazed at Alexis' imagination.
"How's my angel?"
"MOMMY!" Alexis got up off the floor and ran to her mother. She flew into her arms and was picked up. The little girl hugged her tightly, and Kate hugged her back just as hard.
"Were you good for Daddy today?" Kate watched her nod her head. "That's my girl. Go wash your hands, it's almost time for dinner."
"'Kay, Mommy." Kate put her down and watched as Alexis ran into the bathroom. She had her own bathroom and a step stool with two steps and rails, allowing her to reach the sink.
Alexis raced back to her mommy and showed her her clean hands. "Come on, let's go downstairs." Kate took her hand and escorted her little girl down the stairs.
"What's for dinner, babe?"
"We're having spaghetti with meat sauce." Rick saw the sad look on his daughter's face. "Except for you. You're getting your very own pizza."
"YAY!" Alexis was overjoyed with that news.
Rick knew she would like that. He made it especially for her. "If you ladies would set the table, please? I'm just about done."
Kate and Alexis got busy setting the table. Once everything was ready, Kate and Rick made a plate for themselves, and Alexis got her mini pizza. She also had a glass of milk while Rick and Kate enjoyed their wine.
Kate took another bite and smiled at her husband. As usual, everything tasted great. "What did you do with your day?"
"I got in some writing while Alexis played on the floor of my study. I got pretty far, too, if I say so myself."
"'ej nuq Data'laH'a' nuq?" Kate asked her daughter in her native language. ("What did you do today, my angel?")
"SIbI' jIHeghjaj," Alexis replied. ("I played a game wif Daddy.")
"'ej tlhIHvaD nuq Dajatlh?" Kate questioned her. (Oh, and what game did you play?")
Rick spoke up. "pe'vIl 'e' vIHar." ("I taught her to play poker.")
"RICK! You didn't!" Kate was aghast at his answer.
"We used pieces of candy for our bets. She cleaned me out."
"I beated Daddy." Alexis was proud of herself.
"That's a good girl." Kate eyed her husband. "Candy instead of chips, I can understand, but you shouldn't be teaching her that game."
Rick didn't see the harm. "We only played three hands. It's fine, Kate. She won, didn't she?"
But Kate put her foot down. "No more poker for you, young lady."
"Aww." Alexis was bummed. She wanted to win more candy from Daddy.
"Eat your pizza, sweetheart." Kate glared at her husband. "And I want to talk to you."
Rick swallowed hard. He knew he was in trouble now.
~oo0oo~
Together they watched a movie, Muppets from Space. However, Alexis didn't last long enough to finish it. Kate picked her up and carried her upstairs, where she got her out of her clothes, into her pj's, and tucked into bed.
"ma'avtaHvIS macha'chuq." Kate brushed back some of her long orange hair and kissed her forehead. ("Sleep well, my angel.")
Rick was cleaning up in the kitchen from tonight's dinner when Kate entered with her arms crossed over her chest. "POKER? Really, Rick!"
He tried to defend himself. "It was a harmless game, at least to Alexis. All she won was some candy. It's not like we were playing for money or anything."
"Still, poker?" She glared at him. "Lucile, where were you while these two played poker?" Kate questioned the air.
"I was right here, watching," Lucile replied.
"And you let them? I thought better of you, Lucile." Kate needed to take her anger out on someone, and that someone would be Lucile.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Kate, but I didn't see the harm. As Mr. Rick stated, it was only for tiny pieces of candy, and Alexis didn't eat it all."
Kate uncrossed her arms and relaxed a little. Then she laid down the law. "No more playing poker. You hear me, husband?"
"Yes, dear, I hear you. Message received loud and clear."
"Good. Now, how much writing did you get done?" She would judge whether Rick got a lot done or not.
"I finished three entire chapters."
Kate was quite surprised. Usually, he was the King of Procrastination. Rick would do anything but write. More often than not, it involved him playing with his toys and boy, did he have toys.
"Impressive." Kate kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now make love to me."
Rick smiled since he could handle that.
~oo0oo~
Kate lay there naked, next to a naked Rick. They were behind a locked bedroom door in case Alexis got up and intruded on them. Kate was utterly sated. Three orgasms did that to her. Her husband had eaten her pussy until she climaxed twice, then fucked her.
"I so want off this planet. I mean it, Rick. I want to go home."
"I know you do, love. This planet has so many problems. From violence to pollution to overcrowding." Rick hugged her close. "So do I."
~oo0oo~
Flashback
~oo0oo~
Kate fell out of her hibernation unit which pulled plugs out of her arms and legs, but she didn't feel any of it. Kate threw up on the floor, ejecting fluids, then coughing hard. She looked to her right and her left. On her left was her husband. He was down on all fours, throwing up fluids followed by coughing.
She looked around her and saw others doing the same thing. There were red lights everywhere. Kate coughed some more because there was still some fluid in her lungs.
Kate turned to look at him. "Babe? I see red lights."
"There are red lights?" At first, Rick didn't understand. "RED LIGHTS!" Then it dawned on him where he was. He turned to look at his wife. "We need to get moving. NOW!" Rick struggled to his feet and helped Kate get to hers.
"Flight deck?" Kate asked.
"Flight deck," Rick confirmed as he took her hand and began pulling her toward the flight deck, which was two decks down. In the beginning, Kate started for the lift. "NO, we take the stairs. I don't want to get trapped in an elevator." Rick dragged her to the stairs. He rushed down them while others were going up them, and he didn't try to stop them. He opened the door to the flight deck and saw shuttle after shuttle but not another soul.
"Take a shuttle already hooked up to a barge. GO!" Rick pushed her toward one of them and headed for one himself. He got in, sat down, and initiated powering up. He put on a headset. "You in place?"
"Yes, powering up now," Kate responded. "But the doors are closed."
"Override, where's the damn override." Rick scanned the numerous controls, looking for the door controls. "Got it. Depressurizing the bay. Stand by."
Kate watched as the doors in front of her slowly opened. Once they were open enough, she surged forward, exited the ship, and flew straight ahead. Her scans showed her husband was right behind her. "Now what, Rick?"
"We find someplace to go," he replied. "But first, we need to get far away. Very far away." All Rick had were his scans. As he watched them, the ship blew up, sending debris everywhere.
"Dammit! Go to FTL now, Kate! Don't input a destination, just go to FTL – now!" Rick activated FTL to get far from the debris of the ship's having blown up.
Rick checked his scans. "Drop out of FTL now," he told her as he dropped out of FTL. It was a short hop.
"Was that the ship blowing up?" Kate questioned him.
"Looks like it." Rick sighed. "I don't know if anyone else got off or not. One way or another, we need to find someplace to go. We only have just so much fuel."
~oo0oo~
End Flashback
~oo0oo~
The problem with her job was she needed to get there way too early to tell Alexis goodbye. Sometimes, if she had paperwork, she even missed putting her to bed. Meaning she missed the entire day.
Kate came out of the bedroom in her uniform with her weapon and sat at the breakfast counter. "I miss Alexis already," Kate moaned. She gave birth to her; she should get to watch her grow up.
"Eat your breakfast." Rick set a plate in front of her with a pancake, two pieces of bacon, and a slice of toast with honey on it.
"Lucile, anything yet?" What Kate was asking was did she receive a signal from a relief ship?
"Negative," Lucile informed her. That caused Kate to stop eating. "I want to go home, Rick. Not to the new home we were heading for. I'll settle for our old home."
"We'll get there one day." But Rick didn't know when that would be. It could be tomorrow, or it could be years from now.
Kate finished her breakfast. "Give Alexis a kiss for me."
"I always do." Rick kissed her, and watched her leave.
Rick waited until he was sure she was gone, then called out to the empty air. "Lucile, you're sure the beacon is still active?"
"Yes, Mr. Rick. The beacon is still active, and before you ask, my scanning ability encompasses the entire system. There is nothing in it."
Rick sighed. He wanted to go home, too. He knew why he left home, but now he would give a lot to live there again. Anyplace but here. This planet was just nuts.
He cleaned up from breakfast since Alexis didn't eat breakfast. Well, not this breakfast. Then he went upstairs to Alexis' bedroom, got her up, and into the tub. Rick stayed. She probably wouldn't drown since there wasn't much water in the tub, but he wanted to play with her.
Then he dried her and put clothes on her. "Come on, Alexis, downstairs we go." Rick took her hand and led her downstairs. He fed her a bowl of cereal. It wasn't healthy, but it was what she liked for breakfast. "Try not to make a mess, sweetheart."
"You want to go grocery shopping with me?" Rick watched her nod eagerly. "Well, finish, and we can go."
~oo0oo~
Rick put Alexis in the cart and pushed it around, selecting items he wanted. Honestly, he selected more than he needed right now. He was thinking that he was saving himself a trip in the future.
"You want some gummy bears?" Rick asked Alexis, who nodded enthusiastically. So, Rick ripped open a small bag of gummy bears and handed it to her. Alexis sat there eating the candies and didn't complain about anything.
Rick had two handfuls of plastic bags and Alexis' hand in his. He made it to his car and put everything in the back seat and Alexis in her car seat. Then he drove home.
He pulled into the underground parking garage and unloaded the car in two trips. "You sit here and eat your gummy bears while Daddy puts away all the groceries." It didn't take long to get everything where it belonged. "So, what do you want to do now?" Rick asked.
"Poker, pwetty pwease?"
Rick moaned. He wanted to play poker with her – honestly, he did. But if he did, Kate would kill him. "You don't need any more candy, Pumpkin. You have your gummy bears, and that's enough."
Alexis thought about it and decided her gummy bears were enough...for now. She wracked her brain for something else they could do. Eventually, the little girl shrugged. She didn't know what to do.
"How about you color in one of your coloring books while Daddy writes?" Alexis nodded, so Rick moved her to the study and put her on the floor with her crayons and several coloring books while he wrote.
~oo0oo~
Rick was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and finished everything. "Where's Mommy?" Alexis asked.
"I don't know. Something must be keeping her busy. I guess it's just you and me," Rick said and served dinner.
After dinner, he sat her in front of the TV to watch a movie so he could clean up from dinner. He put some of it in the warmer for later for Kate. Then he went to Alexis, sat beside her, and put her on his lap. It wasn't long before he noticed Alexis was asleep. So he carried her upstairs, undressed her, and got her into her pj's. "Good night, Pumpkin." Rick kissed her head and left the door open just a crack. He went downstairs, turned off the movie, and turned on the TV.
About an hour later, he heard the front door open and saw Kate drag herself inside. She spotted him and went straight to him, sitting heavily beside him, sighing, and leaning against him.
"Hard day, love?"
"Very."
"Your dinner is in the warmer. You're too late for Alexis, though. I put her to bed already."
Kate groaned. Another day lost, and missing her daughter. Shaking her head, she got up and went into the kitchen, where she opened the warmer and pulled out her dinner. Beyond tired, she sat at the breakfast bar and ate her dinner. Rick sat beside her. "I need a new job, babe. I'm losing too much time with Alexis."
"What are you thinking?" Rick queried.
"I don't know, but it has to be something that will allow me more time with Alexis. I'm missing so much."
"I'm on board with anything you think of," Rick assured her. "You just need to figure out what that is."
Kate sighed again. "That's the hard part. I don't know what to do. One thing is for sure, this job isn't it. It sounded like a good idea at the time."
"You could be a stay-at-home mom. Alexis starts school soon. You could home-school her. That way, you don't miss anything. You'll be here all the time."
"That's not a bad idea at all. I could use Lucile to help me. She has access to the internet. Thanks!" Kate kissed him for that. "Wait, if I do that, I'll be home with you all day." Kate wasn't sure if she liked that or not. She loved her husband, really. But did she want to spend all day with him?
Rick smiled at her since he loved the idea. "Yes, it does."
"Hmm." Kate would have to think about it.
Kate cleaned up after eating, put things in the dishwasher, and went to the bedroom, where she took off her belt and put the gun in the safe. Then she stripped down and went into the bathroom to shower.
While in the shower, she found herself joined by her husband. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He lifted her leg and entered her. He was fucking her in the shower.
~oo0oo~
Later, she had on panties and a sleep shirt and was snuggled next to her husband, who wore just his pajama bottoms. The door was open for Alexis in case she needed it.
Kate made up her mind. "I've decided, and I'm going to resign tomorrow."
"You're sure about everything? You've thought this through?" Rick asked cautiously.
"I'm sure. I want to spend my days with Alexis. I'm tired of coming home and finding her in bed asleep. I hate it."
"If you're sure, then I'll support you. Literally." It was up to him to make them money now.
Kate looked up at him. "I hadn't thought about that. But you're making good money, and the loft and cars are all paid for. All we have are everyday bills. You can support us for that, can't you?"
"Easily."
"Then the decision is made. I'll resign tomorrow and come home early."
"Alexis will be thrilled to see you… as will I."
~oo0oo~
Kate skipped breakfast, went to the 12th, into Captain Montgomery's office, and handed him her resignation. He wanted to know why, and she told him it was so she could spend time with her daughter. She was missing too much of her growing up.
He said he understood. Kate handed in her badge and service weapon, thanked him for understanding, and went home. It felt as though a tremendous weight was off her shoulders. She felt free.
"MOMMY!" Alexis saw her coming in the front door, charged her, and ended up being picked up and swung around. Alexis showed how glad that she was home by hugging her as tight as she could.
Kate hugged her back. "I'm home, and I'm going stay."
"You is gonna stay?" Alexis didn't understand. "No more works?"
"No more going to work. I'm going to be home for you, so I can spend time with you. What do you think of that?"
"YAY!" Alexis was happy. Her mommy and daddy were going to be home with her.