Chapter Text
The next morning, Kate turned the tables on the girls. Behind her, Rick snickered as she crept into the girls’ room, her eyes falling on the redhead’s sleeping face. She stood at the foot of Alexis’ bed and waited for Rick to stand by Carrie. They met eyes and melded minds, holding up fingers to count down. Three. Two. One.
She fell onto the bed, catching herself on her biceps, giggling at their antics. “Wake up. Wake up! I'm hungry! Come on, why aren't you up yet?” Underneath her, her stepdaughter giggled, pulling the blankets up around her head.
“Ten more minutes.”
“No! Food now!”
In the bed next to her, Rick did the same, attacking Carrie with his fingers as she fought to stay under the covers. “What are we doing today? Will it be lots of fun? I never have any fun, you know!”
Alexis had surrendered, flailing as the blankets lay abandoned. “Stop! Please, stop!” She pushed Kate's hands away as she tried to catch her breath, so Kate gave her a moment to recover. “Why are we in charge of breakfast? You guys are the adults, it's your job!”
“Yeah!” Carrie chorused from the other bed.
“Sure, but when we said ‘fun weekend’ we weren't talking about you two.” Rick teased, his face serious.
“Yeah, we kind of want to be kids again.” At this, Kate fell forward, landing on top of Alexis, and snuggling in. “This bed is so comfortable, I don't think I'll ever get out.”
Alexis coughed under the extra weight, laughing as she pushed Kate to the side. “Mom, get off!”
Kate groaned as she rolled over, giving the redhead room to breathe. “You never share your things with me. Didn’t your Daddy ever teach you to share?”
From the other bed, Rick poked his head up, pausing the tickle attack on the brunette. “In her defense, she didn’t have anyone to share with until Carrie got bigger.”
“That’s true,” Kate conceded, “I guess you just haven’t had the practice.” She squirmed so she could lie on her back next to Alexis, her eyes trained on a spot on the ceiling. “But seriously, what are we having for breakfast?”
“Do we have to make it?” The redhead countered, her voice unsure.
“Not all by yourself. We can all help.”
There was a thud on the floor as Carrie rolled out of her bed, crawling across the floor to join the party on the other bed. “Can we have smoothies?” Her squeaky voice was hoarse from laughter and sleep, and made Kate’s heart skip a beat.
“Of course, Bean.”
Alexis pushed herself up, her hands rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I want pancakes.”
“Only if they’re chocolate chip.” Rick replied, coming to stand by the foot of the bed. His eyes ghosted over each of them, his grin stretching as he watched Carrie climb up and settle on top of Kate.
Kate pulled the young girl close, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Do you want to help cut the fruit for smoothies while I go get your brother?”
The girl pushed off of her almost as suddenly as she had climbed on. “I want banana and blueberries in mine!” She ran, thundering down the stairs without them.
Rick held up a finger and walked toward the door. “I should probably follow her.”
As he followed her downstairs, his steps more sure, Kate turned to the redhead who occupied the small bed with her. “Do you want to start mixing the batter for the pancakes?”
Her blue eyes met Kate’s as she grinned. “Can we make blueberry ones too?”
“Of course!” Kate laughed, pushing herself up. “I’ll be down to help in a minute.”
The thundering of his older sister must have woken Oliver, who was sitting up in his crib, waiting for someone to grab him. His gummy grin made Kate's heart melt as he saw her. As she lifted him, he settled his head into her neck, happy to be in her arms. "Hi, sweet boy." She greeted him, her hand rubbing soothing circles into his back. "Are you gonna let me put you down for your diaper change?" Oliver only yawned on her shoulder in response, his arms resting by his sides. "Oh, you're still sleepy." She brushed her finger around his hairline as she laid him down on the changing table. "Trust me, Tater Tot, I feel your pain."
It didn't matter that her husband had tried to loosen her up, or wear her out before they slept. It didn't matter when he slept next to her, his arm draped protectively over her, his snores soft in her ear. The tape on her nightstand called out to her. She kept trying to push it out of her mind by thinking of her family, by remembering Alexis' shocked face when they found her in her old apartment. Telling herself that her family deserved better drove her to wait. But that didn't mean she wasn't thinking about it.
Lifting her son again to her chest, they made their way downstairs. "Maybe we'll have a big family nap today. What do you think of that, Oliver?"
"You can't be tired already! We just woke up!" Carrie called from the counter, where she was carefully cutting pieces of banana.
In response, Rick pulled away from Alexis, who was reading recipes, to come to her side. "I never even asked how you slept last night."
She pressed a kiss to his cheek before walking to the cabinets. "I'm fine, don't worry." He studied her, his blue eyes fixed on her as she pulled down a stack of plates. He didn't seem to believe her, but didn't push. He wouldn't in front of the kids. Instead, he made his way back to Alexis, and began reading the instructions to her over her shoulder.
While Kate set the table and ran the blender for Carrie, Alexis made blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, and Rick cooked bacon in a pan next to her. They all sat down together and had a lively breakfast, Alexis and Carrie chattering about all the things they wanted to do over the weekend, Rick listening to their plans with rapt attention, and Oliver chiming in with noises of approval.
It was when Kate was putting away leftovers that she had to throw a wrench in their plans. "Why is there no food in the fridge?"
From his spot at the head of the table, Rick looked up, sheepish. "I haven't had the time. I was planning on going while you had your day alone with everyone tomorrow."
"And in the meantime, what were we supposed to eat?"
He shrugged. "Takeout?"
As the refrigerator door closed, she laughed, letting the tension in her shoulders relax, her head shaking at the ridiculous man she married. Carrie and Oliver joined in, the youngest's laughter forced as he looked around for attention. Kate rejoined them at the table, pressing a kiss to the baby's head. "This is exactly why Mumma shouldn't get crazy cases." She turned to address her husband. "We're going today."
"That's not fun!" Carrie blanched from the seat next to her.
"Well, that's life sometimes, kiddo. We have to do things we don't want to." Leaning down to whisper in her daughter's ear, she giggled. "And sometimes to make ourselves feel better about it, we go out for ice cream after."
Rick clapped his hands together, making the small body in front of Kate jump. "There we have it! Grocery shopping and ice cream. Let's get dressed!" They didn't need convincing, both girls jumped up and thundered up the stairs, debating the best ice cream flavors between the two of them.
Once they were out of earshot, Rick retrained his gaze on her. "You never answered me earlier. How did you sleep?"
She took a breath, trying her best to figure out how to answer him. "Remember the last time something came up about Mom's case?" His shoulders fell, his eyes becoming sympathetic. "It's not even nightmares that I have to worry about, it's my mind that won't shut up, and keeps me awake thinking of everything that could be."
"So, not great." She grabbed a sponge and wiped down Oliver's tray, only nodding at his understatement. "So why not just listen, get it over with? So at least if it's nothing, you can sleep?"
"Not until the weekend is over." She could see in the way he set his jaw how frustrated he was with her stubbornness. But she wasn't going to sacrifice her family for her Mom's case, not again. Lifting Oliver, she walked toward the stairs to get him ready for the day. "I kind of just want to drop it, please."
Rick sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry."
"It's fine." He cared. And he didn't know what to do. She couldn't be upset with him for that. "I'm fine," she called from the stairs, "and I love you."
Grocery shopping was not exactly easy with three kids. It only got worse when her husband was just as bad as the children, grabbing every sugary thing that made his taste buds water. Between him and Carrie, their cart was full of cookies and cupcakes that Kate had to put back. When the Oreos went back on the shelf, Carrie began to whine. “But Mom! Dad said yes!”
“Yeah! Dad said yes!” Rick piped up from behind Kate, his hands resting on her hips.
“Well, we don’t need them.” She shot Carrie a look that stopped her next whine in it’s tracks. “Besides, I wanted to bake cookies tonight.”
This had Alexis turning, her blue eyes wide with excitement. “The famous cookies you made the first time you babysat me?”
Kate laughed. “Those are the ones."
After getting enough food to feed an army for at least two weeks, they brought it all back home. The girls helped put everything away, the promise of ice cream looming in their future. After bathroom breaks and a diaper change, they were on their way to the nearest ice cream parlor.
Oliver was content eating some of Kate’s mint chocolate chip, the green ice cream dribbling on his chin. Rick had some chocolate, caramel, cookie dough concoction that he ate with a grin. Alexis was always happy with cookies and cream, while Carrie enjoyed peanut butter cups in hers. They ate in relative silence, savoring their respective flavors. It was Alexis that spoke up first, her bright blue eyes meeting Kate’s. “Mom, do you remember the first time you babysat me?”
“Of course.” She wouldn’t ever forget that weekend, spending one on one time with her best friend’s child.
“Do you think we could do a fashion show again, with Oliver?”
Kate laughed. “Is that what you both want to do?” At Alexis’ emphatic nod, Kate turned her attention to Carrie.
The younger girl grinned, her eyes shining as she looked between her mother and sister. “I don’t remember, but it sounds fun.”
At Carrie’s confirmation, Kate narrowed her eyes and stared down her husband. “Only if Dad will wear the fairy wings.”
Both girls whipped their heads in his direction, their eyes wide and pleading as they begged him to wear them. The fairy wings had been retired by him for the most part, once Carrie was old enough for the girls to amuse each other. Now they only came out on special occasions, when someone was sick and needed a good laugh, or when they had a bad day at school.
His eyes twinkled as he watched them, his shoulders heaving as he chuckled. “Okay. You’ve convinced me.”
The table erupted into cheers, making other families turn to watch, but all Kate cared about was the happiness of her bunch. They ate now with more speed, Carrie complaining more than once about brainfreeze, making them all laugh at her scrunched up face. And before long, Alexis and Carrie were practically dragging their parents out of there, rushing toward their house to prepare.
Kate made the executive decision that they would change downstairs. Alexis was fine to carry Oliver over short distances, but she didn’t want to risk anything with the stairs. Like before, Kate rolled paper towels along the floor like a makeshift runway, ending it in the living room. The girls brought a few costumes downstairs and hid them behind the island, where they were going to change. And Rick and Kate waited on the couches, his arm around her, rubbing soothing circles onto her shoulder. She fought to keep her eyes open as she leaned against him. The fun day and lack of sleep was catching up with her.
When the kids were ready, someone pressed play on the stereo, Madonna's Material Girl blasting from the speakers. Then they made their way down, strutting their stuff along the way.
Oliver had never lived through halloween, meaning he only had a few options available in his size. First, they went with Carrie’s old elephant costume, which was still too large for the boy, and hung off of him. He didn’t like the trunk hood either, and pushed it from his head as they walked. Next the girls went as cowgirls, Carrie’s hat perched atop Oliver’s instead, so they were all themed the same. And of course, when they dressed like princesses, they added a tiara to his head and a beaded necklace. After three costumes and the undivided attention of both his sisters, the baby became grumpy, fussing from behind the island. “I’ve got him.” Kate spoke, rushing back to the changing area to find him sitting in his onesie, the kitty costume from years ago grasped in Alexis’ hand. “I think he’s done.” She picked him up, rescuing him from another round of costumes. “But I’m happy to watch the rest of your costumes.”
Alexis grinned. “Tell Dad to get his fairy wings and meet us back here.”
From the living room, he shouted. “Got it.”
On her way back to the couch with Oliver, Kate grabbed the camera from the side table. She wasn’t missing this. Besides, every fashion show was supposed to have photographers.
He almost tripped as he ran back to them, kneeling low so Kate couldn’t see what was up. The giggles from her girls told her that they were having fun, so she pressed some kisses into Oliver’s neck to get him to make the same noises.
When the music started again, Kate was ready, the camera on and pointed in the direction of the island. Carrie came out first, still in her princess outfit, her hair in a makeshift updo, her curls flopping in the top of her head. Alexis wore a long blue cape, like the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, a magic wand grasped in her hands. And Rick emerged behind them, wearing a tiara and all the costume jewelry with his fairy wings, a silver sequined scarf wrapped around his neck. Kate snapped pictures of all of them, their sassy walks down the catwalk making her laugh. She got one of Rick blowing a kiss in her direction, making her giggle. He took a moment to point at her, laughter dancing in his eyes. “You better not sell these to the paparazzi.”
She chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it, babe.”
Later they made cookies and played karaoke, trying to see who knew more Disney songs than everyone else. Carrie surprised most everyone, knowing the words to even classic songs from movies that they didn’t watch as much. Only Kate was unsurprised, watching her daughter with pride. “She has always been the musical one.”
Kate helped with bath time like usual, and read the girls a story, her mind quieting as Carrie fell asleep to her words, the rise and fall of her chest soothing and relaxing her.
That night, instead of letting the tape whisper to her as she slept, she willed herself to think of the laughter of her kids. It took some time, but she fell asleep, wrapped in the arms of her husband. She didn’t know it, but Rick waited for her telltale snores before he let himself drift off.