"Rick."
It's the first thing that greets him most days. The sharpness of his name on her lips, it always manages to grab his attention.
"You've already taken over a million videos and photos Rick." Kate's voice floats to him through the speaker implanted in his phone, her words echoing into the dark office; bouncing off the closed curtains. "Why don't you put the phone down and just relax?"
The camera jiggles a bit before it focuses back onto Kate.
She's relaxing in one of the deck chairs by the pool, a book in one hand and a glass of lemonade in the other. Her toned figure and white bikini is covered with a lace cover-up, one that she had brought from the store in the Hampton mainland.
She's sheltered by the blistering sun with the supplied umbrella, her wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses adding further protection.
"What can I say? The camera loves you." He can practically hear the goofy grin in his voice, the lightness that he hasn't heard in months.
The camera he's holding focuses in on Kate's unimpressed stare, her glass of lemonade and book being placed down onto the small, wooden stand next to her. She shuffles out of the deck chair with ease, her cover-up fluttering in the soft breeze.
There's a door sliding open in the background followed by the clink of a gate and the faint sound of footsteps.
"Looks like someone's in trouble," Alexis murmurs from afar.
The camera rotates swiftly, catching Alexis walking to the poolside where Martha sits, feet in the pool and cocktail in hand.
"C'mon babe," Kate says, the camera switching back to her. "Put it down."
Her hands are on her hips, eyebrows arched high in an unimpressed stature. But he can see behind her facade, can see the way the edges of her lips twitch up ever so slightly.
"But these are the memories we have to preserve Kate," he says almost childishly, both him and the camera in his hands inching closer to her. "In fifty years, when one of us are long gone, don't you want to look back on how youthful and happy we were?"
Kate rolls her eyes, hair lifting ever so slightly with the breeze.
She looks angelic, the sun shining directly above her and outlining her slim figure. Her eyes may have been covered by sunglasses but he knows her. He knows that the playful glint in still there, shining brighter than ever.
"I'm sure I'll love to look back on these memories," Kate teases, inching closer to him as well.
"Hey! I'm not that old!" Castle protests quickly. "Plus, what makes you think that I won't be the one looking back on these memories when I'm old and grey?"
He squeezes his eyes shut when her laugh echoes out from the speaker, the familiar sound clenching at his heart a little bit harder. He regrets the words almost every day.
"We'll look back on them together then," she says in compromise, stepping right into him.
Castle flips the camera to face the front, pulling Kate to his side and in shot of the camera.
They were flirting with the deep side of the pool and Castle had taken a cautious step forward, making sure to keep both himself, Kate and the camera out of the water.
Castle almost laughs bitterly at his appearance from over a year ago. He regretted the sunburn he had sported but he would any other day over the increasing lines in his face.
The camera's held to the side of them, the device not interrupting their locked embrace but instead capturing it. They're facing each other, both of Kate's arms wrapped around Castle's neck while his free hand is placed at her waist.
He moves first, melting his lips against hers in a familiar tandem dance. The camera in hand had fallen to her waist, focused now on the concrete bit still able to capture the sound of waves and Alexis' laughter.
She had pulled away first, he remembered, resting her forehead against his almost breathlessly.
"I love you, so much. You know that right?" Kate had whispered to him, a sigh leaking into her voice.
"It never hurts to be reminded," he had replied with a teasing smirk.
She had slapped his chest with a playful grin and a roll of her eyes.
"I love you too, Kate," he says, smearing yet another kiss against her lips.
The camera shakes all of a sudden, an audible thump being heard, as the screen focuses on the pool. It had somehow landed on a stray towel, avoiding the concrete ground.
The pool was in view, flecks of water splashing against the camera. Kate's long legs could be seen from behind, the lace fabric sheltering her body, riding up ever so slightly. She was in the middle of a laugh as Castle's popped up from under the water with a gasp.
"You pushed me in!" He had cried, not unlike a petulant child.
"Because I love you."
Castle brings a hand up to his cheek, swipes away the tears that had gathered there. His phone is illuminated with the thumbnail of the video, the device gripped tightly in his hand.
There's a knock at the door of his office and he looks up, almost expecting her to walk in. He manages to hold back the disappointed sigh threatening to escape when his daughter walks through, the light from the living room making his eyes hurt. He forces a smile, one that falters ever so slightly when he sees the lace, black dress she's wearing.
"Grams and I are heading over now," she informs quietly, nervously playing with the bracelet on her wrist. Her eyes shine when he focuses on her, a reminder that he's not the only one affected. "We were wondering if you wanted to come with us."
He shakes his head not even bothering to stop the flow of tears.
Alexis nods— not that he catches it —and exits the office, closing the door and bathing the room back into darkness.
He'll go by himself; catch a taxi so he can break down without his family to witness.
I just want you Kate. I love you, I miss you. Always.
It's become his personal mantra just like watching the videos has become his routine.
He thumbs the plastic of his phone, has to smudge away the tears that had fallen onto the screen. He presses the play button with a slow, defeated tap.
"Rick."