*carefully crawls out from under the stone I've been hiding under since the summer*

I hope not all of you around here hate me. I know I haven't updated since my summer vacation. It's absolutely my fault. I just wouldn't feel comfortable with anything I've tried to write in the last months. I know you all have been waiting and I'm really sorry. Forgive me? You can count on one thing though, I'm not leaving you all here. I'm not abandoning this story. I know where I want to go, I just have problem writing the in-betweens.

xx Kate

Dreamworld

Chapter 26 "Happy Birthday, Sweetie"

Kate was standing outside of Marlowe Prep Elementary waiting for her daughter to finish school for the day. Over the last couple of minutes a large number of parents and nannies had gathered. They all were talking about the kids they were waiting to pick up.

"I've never seen you around here before. You a nanny?"

Kate turned around and found herself looking directly into a pair of foreign eyes, said eyes traveling clearly south of her own eyes. But not only that he was clearly looking at her assets, no, he was standing so close to her, she could feel his breath on her cheek. She took a step back from him, her actions earning a pair of raised eyebrows and a confused expression. "No, I'm not a nanny. I'm picking up my daughter," she replied curtly, signalling him she had not much interest in talking to him.

"Your daughter? You're way too young to already be a mother. How old are you? Twenty? Come on."

There it was, the shameless flirting.

"Thank you, I guess… "

"How old are you, hon? And what's your name, by the way?" He smiled slyly. "I'm Eric."

"Hello Eric. Has nobody ever told you, that you don't ask a woman for her age?"

"Aww, come on," he pouted and laid his hand on her shoulder.

Kate stepped away from him, effectively shrugging his hand off of her shoulder.

"You still haven't answered my questions."

"Am I obliged to answer them? I don't think so." Upon hearing the school bell ring she nearly let out a loud sigh of relief as it signalled the end of school. "Look, Eric, I'm not interested in you. I'm just interested in picking up my daughter and spending some time with her, okay?"

He shrugged. "You don't see her much? You're not with her father anymore?" he tried again.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Matter of fact, I live with them. I'm just not home much because I'm studying."

"If you say so. Hey, you wanna grab some coffee with me later? Talk a little, get to know each other?" He nodded to himself. "Here, I'll give you my number and you can call me later."

"Didn't you listen to what I just said? I'm not interested. I don't want to get to know you or grab coffee with you. "

"Aww, come on. I know you want to?"

Letting out an enraged groan she replied, "look, I don't know how big of an ego you've got but as you're so full of yourself, it must be big… "

"Oh, my ego sure will be of a satisfying size for you," he grinned.

"Wow, you're really full of yourself, aren't you? Let me make it a little easier for you to understand. I'm not interested in you, in getting to know you, in grabbing coffee with you, in dating you, in getting to know the size of your 'ego' or anything else. All right? Did you get that or do I need to spell it out to you to note down?" She took a deep breath. "I'm in a very happy relationship and I have no desire of cheating on my boyfriend. And as for your 'ego', I'm sure it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as sleeping with him, got that?"

Before Eric had the chance to form any kind of a reply, a whoosh of red hair crashed into Kate's side.

"Mommy!"

Kate wrapped her arms around her daughter and gave her a big smile. "Hey there, sweetie! How is my birthday girl doing? Did you do anything fun at school today?"

"I'm six now, mommy! School was fun, we played a game because it is my birthday today. I'm so glad you came, mommy!" The young girl hugged her tight. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, sweetie. So much."

"Who's that, mommy?" the small girl asked, glancing up at the man standing next to her mother.

"That's Eric. We were talking," she explained shortly. "Are you ready to go?"

Alexis nodded.

"Perfect. Because we're going to Remy's and I hope you're really hungry."

"Yaaaaaaay! I'm hungry, mommy ! I could eat a whole whale!"

"Great, let's go, sweetie." She took her daughter's hand and they turned to go when Eric grabbed hold of Kate's shoulder.

"Hey! I thought we would go out! You forgot to take my number!"

Kate rolled her eyes. She turned around to him again. "One last time, mister. I am not interested. I have a boyfriend and a daughter. Now leave me alone, will you? Bye."

"Hey! You can't just leave!"

"Of course I can. Now stop bothering me." When she walked away he grabbed her arm. Kate sprung around and pushed him to the ground, attracting the attention of the other parents standing around.

"My mommy said to leave her alone. Don't touch her!" Alexis yelled at the man.

Another man came over and grabbed Eric. He looked at Alexis and Kate. "Is everything alright, Alexis?"

"No, Mr. Davis. This man grabbed my mommy's arm," she explained and tightly held onto Kate's waist.

Mr. Davis nodded. "Eric, I think it's better if you left Kate and Alexis here alone. I can't imagine that Mr. Castle would be good to find out you tried to hit on his girlfriend."

Eric's eyes went wide. "Castle the author?"

"The one and only, yes. And I would appreciate it if you left us alone now," Kate said.

"Kate, it was a pleasure to meet you. Even if under such circumstances. I'm Carlos, Carole's father," Carlos introduced himself.

Kate smiled at him. "Thank you for helping me out with him. It's a pleasure to meet you, too. I've heard a lot about Carole from Alexis," she replied with a smile at her daughter.

"Likewise, I've heard a lot about you, too. Well, I'm sure we'll see each other around here more often."

"Probably, yes. I'm in town whenever I have the time to."

"You're studying at Harvard, right?"

She nodded.

"I did, too. I'm a defence lawyer." He looked at Alexis who was looking up at her mother waiting for them to go. "I see Alexis is eager to celebrate her birthday with you. I'm sure you've got a lot of things to do."

Alexis nodded quickly.

Carlos smiled at the girl. "I'll see you around, Kate. And Alexis, happy birthday to you."

"Thank you," Alexis replied with a big smile.

"Bye Carlos. And thank you again."

"Of course. He won't bother you again. Bye Kate."

Kate and Alexis waved at the man before finally turning around to make their way to Remy's for lunch.

At Remy's…

Mother and daughter sat at a table right next to a big window, overlooking the busy street before the restaurant. The warm fall sun shone through the window and cast a small halo around the girl's red hair. Both of them were slurping their first serve of milkshakes. Strawberry for Kate and chocolate for Alexis.

"Have you seen daddy already? He was so excited this morning."

"Yeah, I did. Daddy picked me up from the airport after he brought you to school."

"Good." The girl nodded. "Are you staying with us?"

"Yep. Where else would I be able to see both of you all weekend long, silly? Of course I'm staying at home."

Alexis bounced up and down in her seat in excitement. "Can we do something together this weekend? With daddy, too?"

Kate smiled at her daughter. "Of course! You're the birthday girl, this weekend you call all the shots!"

"Yay! Oh, we can go swimming!"

"That's a great idea, sweetie."

"Oh! And can you make dinner tonight? Please! I love your cooking, mommy!"

"I just need to know what you want to cook and then we'll cook it together."

"You'll teach me?"

"Yes, I will teach you."

The smile on her lips nearly broke her face in two. "Thank you, mommy!"

"You're welcome, sweetie. Now, daddy told me you had smiley pancakes for breakfast this morning? And you already got your first birthday present, too?"

"Yes! Daddy gave me a Cinderella dress! He said you helped him choose it."

"I did. Did you like it?"

"Duh! Mom! Of course I did! I love it! But daddy said I couldn't wear it to school 'cause it might get dirty."

Kate nodded. "Maybe you can show it to me later? A princess dress for my little princess!"

"I'm your princess, mommy?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, you are my princess, baby."

"That makes you the queen, mommy! And daddy is the king!"

Kate laughed. "Yeah, that seems fitting."

"Oh! King Castle! I'm sure daddy will like that," the girl chuckled.

"I'm sure he would. We could go buy him a crown or something."

"Yes! And me too! And you! We need to get crowns for all of us!" She smiled brightly. "Oh, can we, mommy? Please!"

"As if I could say no to my princess. We will see if we find some."

The waitress appeared next to their table and placed their plates in front of them. "Happy Birthday, Alexis. I hope you have a great day," the young woman said with a smile at the young girl.

Shyly Alexis looked up at their waitress. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"How did she know it is my birthday today, mommy?" Alexis asked once their waitress was out of earshot.

"I don't know, sweetie. Maybe daddy made a big announcement in the Ledger to inform everybody that his daughter was turning six today?" Kate replied with a laugh.

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh my! Mom! That would be totally embarrassing. Daddy wouldn't do that to me, would he?"

"I let's hope he wouldn't."

With a nod Alexis grabbed some fries and began eating them.

Late afternoon…

Loaded with several bags from a special store that sells princess dresses for kids and grown-ups, mother and daughter stepped out of the elevator at the loft.

"And tonight we will cook dinner, right?"

"Yes, sweetie." Kate fished the key out of her handbag with slightly shaking hands, anxious to see if her daughter liked her surprise party. She had texted her boyfriend when they were downstairs waiting for the elevator and he had given her the all-clear. Everything was ready. Only the birthday girl was missing.

Alexis stepped into the loft and suddenly there was a chorus of 'Happy Birthdays'. The little girl shrieked happily and looked back at her mother.

"Happy Birthday, sweetie. Surprise birthday party!"

Her friends, all dresses up as princesses, ran towards her to hug and congratulate her.

"We did good, didn't we?"

"You did great, babe," Kate replied and gave her boyfriend a quick peck on the lips.

"We did great, Kate." He smiled at her. "I think our little girl enjoys her birthday party. Let's sneak out of here," he suggested with wriggling eyebrows.

She slapped his chest lightly and tried to look indignant.

"What? There's enough parents here that we could easily sneak out for an hour."

She laughed out loud at that. "You're an idiot sometimes, do you know that?"

"Mmhh, maybe. But you love me."

"But I love you, yes." She stepped on her toe-tips to press a kiss to his lips.

"Mommy?" Alexis asked and poked her finger into her mother's tight. "Stop kissing for a minute, mommy," she laughed.

The couple broke apart and looked at their daughter with an amused smile.

"Good. Mommy? Can you help me change into my dress real quick?"

"Of course. Let's go." She let go of her boyfriend. "See you later."

"Be quick. We want to eat the cake."

Alexis' eyes grew wide. "Cake?!" She tugged on her mother's hand. "We gotta hurry up! There's cake, mommy!"

Kate smiled. "Definitely your daughter."

He grinned at her.

Mother and daughter walked upstairs to change Alexis into princess Cinderella.

Ten minutes later mother and daughter walked down the stairs again, both dressed up as princess Cinderella.

Rick's eyes grew wide when he saw them. Princess Cinderella and her red-haired mini-me. "Wow."

"Daddy! Look! We match!" Alexis called out happily and dragged her mother along behind herself.

Kate grinned at her husband and presented him with his own crown. "I told our daughter we would do everything the way she liked it today and she wants all of us to be princesses today. Well, prince in your case."

"I'm a prince then?" he asked with a grin and took his crown from his girlfriend. "That's so cool!"

She chuckled softly. "Glad you like it."

"You look great. Both of you do. My queen and her mini-me."

"Thanks. Alexis found it and had me try it on. She wouldn't let us leave the store without us, claiming it would be great for Halloween. She is sure we will become lots of sweets this year. She said it was a perfect fit."

"It is perfect, our daughter is absolutely right there. Thank you for making our daughter smile."

"I'm happy when she's happy."

"You two make a beautiful pair of Cinderellas. And I'm Prince Charming, right? Just to be clear, who do I have to kiss now?"

"Duuuh! Mommy of course!" Alexis laughed and ran off to her friends.

Rick captured Kate's lips in a sweet kiss. "You look amazing. I'm sure our poor daughter will suffer from sugar-coma this year. I mean, who could possibly deny you two sweets?"

She chuckled. "Nobody, I imagine. But I don't think she will eat them all at once. She's way more responsible than you were at her age, I imagine."

"No comment."

"Thought so." Kate leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Now, how about you introduce me to these parents over there? I only know one of them."

"You do? Who?"

"Carlos Davis. Carole's father."

Rick nodded. "He's nice."

"He is. He saved me from a guy named Eric today. That guy just wouldn't take the hint and leave me alone."

"Eric?! He hit on you, didn't he?"

"Yeah. God, that man is a pain in the ass. I told him I wasn't interested but he just wouldn't leave me alone."

"Yeah… He tends to do that a lot. I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

"It was not your fault. If he had just taken the hint and left me alone, it would have been alright. Anyway, Carlos is a nice guy."

"He is. Thank god all of Alexis' friends' parents are nice. I wouldn't let her stay over at their homes otherwise."

She smiled and took his hand. "Good."

Together they walked over to the small group of parents.

"Kate, hi. Nice outfit," Carlos greeted her.

"What can I say? My daughter wanted to go shopping after we had lunch and she wanted me to have a princess dress as well. And who could deny her one of her wishes?"

"True. I can't deny Carole much either," he replied with a grin. "You look good. Princess seems to fit you very well."

"It does, doesn't it?" Rick agreed and kissed her cheek.

One after the other Rick introduced his girlfriend to the parents of Alexis' friends. They were just talking to Hayden's mother when the girls came running over.

"Mommy?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Can we cut my cake?"

Kate sighed theatrically and looked from her daughter to her boyfriend and back. "Well Rick, what do you say? Think we should feed those little monsters?"

"If that's what the birthday girl wants?"

"Yes! She wants that!"

"I guess we should feed you then," Kate replied.

"The cake is in the kitchen," Rick said.

"Come on, let's go cut your cake," she said and grabbed her daughter's hand.

"Is it pink, mommy? Like the decorations?"

"Maybe," she laughed. "Go and sit down at the table, yes? I'll get the cake."

A minute later Kate returned with the carton that contained the cake. She carefully placed it in front of her daughter. "Ready?"

"Moooooom!"

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Lifting the top of the carton she heard the little girl shriek.

"It's pink! A pink castle! Mommy, a pink castle!" She clapped her hands. "Daddy! Thank you!"

"Do you like it?"

"Yes!"

"I'm glad."

She beamed at her father. "Can I cut it?"

"Of course. Just be careful," Kate said and handed her daughter the knife.

"Thank you, mommy." The young girl took the knife and began to cut her cake slowly. When she put the first piece of cake down on the plate her mother held for her she smiled brightly. "Thank you."

I know the chapter was short and they will become longer again. I'm really trying to get a couple of chapters written for you.

Please, stick with me.

I know I don't deserve them at the moment, but please leave some reviews. Leave me some of your thoughts.

Here's some hot chocolate and waffles for you. Happy Saint Nicholas Day for those who celebrate it today!

Hugs,

Kate

A/N:

A guest reviewer asked why I ask for your thoughts when I ignore the anyway and wrote down Harvard as an example. Reading that hurt. I realise why he/she wrote that and I'm sorry it came across like that. I thought I had explained why I made Kate go to Harvard but now saw that I hadn't posted it, only saved it in my notes.
I'm not trying to make everything about Kate in this story. I made her go to Harvard because, yes, I think she deserves it. So sue me if I think she deserves to be a Harvard lawyer. She's not in New York all week long, no, but to me I didn't think that would it seem like she's not putting Rick or Alexis ahead of her own needs. NYU is great too, yes, but I planned from day one for her to go to Harvard in the end. Boston is not too far away from New York, not in my mind anyway. She comes to New York regularly, she is at home for all of her vacations, she is at home for most weekends. I thought you would like that, obviously I was wrong... So now I'm asking you. If you want Kate to be in New York completely, I will rewrite the last two chapters.
I don't want you thinking I don't care about your thoughts and ideas, because I do care. I wouldn't ask if I didn't. I will try and write more of Kate putting them first, if that's what you want, but please keep in mind that she's 19 in this story. She is not 35-year-old Kate Beckett from Castle. She is 19-year-old Katie, a student who's trying to figure out what she wants for her life. She is living with her boyfriend and his daughter, she loves them to pieces, but she also will put herself ahead of them. Not often, but it probably will happen. What do you want to happen? How do YOU see Kate in this story? I really need to know as it seems that we have different views on the characters at the moment and I really would like to write a story that not only I like, but you like, too.
I don't know if I'm making sense here right now but if you do know what I mean then please help me and tell me your side of the story.