As her feet reached the edge of the porch she could see him out in the distance, sitting a few feet away from the edge of the water. She stood there for a moment, bare feet curling around the edge of the step, before she decided to slowly make her way down to him. She wrapped the small blanket around her bare shoulders to shield them from the cold breeze coming off the ocean. It took a little while to make her way to the sandy beach, trying to follow the narrow path as best she could without stepping on anything. She knew he could probably hear the sound of her feet brushing through the sand as she approached him but he didn't turn to acknowledge it. She stood a little behind him, taking in the site of the lazy waves pushing closer to his bare feet that were tucked close to him, his arms wrapped around his knees. She sat down next to him, her right shoulder barely brushing his left as she tilted her head to look in the same direction he was. She didn't know how to make him feel better, which made her feel useless because she was the one who was supposed to know.
It'd been a year since his mother had passed, and even then Kate hadn't been able to comfort Castle anymore than she normally could when it came to his mother or daughter. She could still feel what was left of the pain she had felt when Alexis had been kidnapped. Even after so many years, the pain was still raw sometimes, for both of them. And now his mother wasn't around anymore, and she'd watched him slowly get used to it. Slowly fill the void with writing more; he said he was working on a memoir that would do so much more than honor her. He'd even let Kate read different parts when he'd finished and she could see that it was helping him. But he'd woken early this morning and shut himself in his small study here in the Hamptons house. They had decided to get away for a few weeks and she knew the Hamptons had fewer memories of his mother that could plague him. He hadn't spent much time writing, they had enjoyed the beach and the sun and the bedroom, but Kate knew today was going to be different. She hadn't been able to sleep much herself, and when he'd tumbled out of bed before the sun rose, she quietly followed him. She thought maybe the smell of coffee would lure him out of the study, and then the smell of pancakes, but they'd both cooled quickly as Kate stood staring at the study door unable to decide if going in was a good idea. When the afternoon came, Kate found herself curled up in the corner of the couch with the third book she had started in the last few days.
Castle had snuck up behind her and wrapped his warm arms around her shoulders, nuzzling his face against hers and planting a kiss on her cheek. He stood there for a while, and she leaned into him, trying her best to comfort the feelings she knew he had hidden inside. And then he untangled his arms and with a small kiss on her forehead, made his way back into his study, leaving the door cracked this time.
Kate worked her way around the kitchen, making a small dinner with some of his favorite comfort food in hopes this time the smell would lure him out. But when she'd finished and his plate was made, she stood with it in her hand at the half opened door to his study. She glanced in, his head was in his hands and he sat hunched over his dimly lit laptop screen, the room incredibly dark except for the small strands of sunlight seeping in. She quietly nudged the door open with her foot and whispered a "hey." He looked up, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep, but he smiled the best he could up at her as she walked the plate over to him.
"Thanks." He mumbled, eyes looking down at the plate of food, a smaller smile spreading across his lips as he noticed what she'd made him.
"mhmm" she breathed, trying to make him feel better with a small smile of her own. His eyes met hers and she knew that he wanted to be alone but it wasn't because of her, she knew the feeling all too well. So she left him to his food and curled back up on the couch with her book.
She'd awoken on the couch when the last few rays of the sunset made their way through the window. She knew she couldn't have been asleep for very long, but the book she had been reading was sitting safely on the coffee table and a small blanket had been draped over her. When she sat up, she could see through the study door that Castle wasn't at his desk anymore, and he wasn't in the kitchen either. When she went to see if he was sitting on the porch, that was when she'd noticed someone sitting out on the edge of the beach.
Sitting in the sand next to him, she'd found the small blinking green light in the distance that she'd always liked to watch, and watched it as she remembered the events of the day. Eventually, she could feel his eyes on her. When she turned back to him, he was looking at her with so much in his eyes she had to blink the sudden rush she got. He leaned in softly and pressed his lips to her. It was soft and quick, a kiss she had gotten used to over the years but they were her favorites. She wasn't going to say anything, wasn't going to ask if he was okay. She knew that if he wanted to talk he would, and if not, she would sit beside him until they could both stare up at the stars together. But it didn't take him long to look back out at the waves with a story to tell.
"I wrote the entire story of the bank robbery today." He said, a smile following his words. He laughed a little. "It's actually fun. Writing about all of this stuff. It's testing my memory, but that certainly isn't a day I'll forget." He looked back over to her and she smiled back at him.
"Me either." She said, a lot of meaning behind those words, meaning she was sure that he understood so she didn't have to elaborate.
"I still remember…" He tried to suppress the chuckling that had erupted from him. "I still remember her giving me acting advice when I was trying to send that Morse code message." He shook his head. "Always the critique." He smiled at her, light finally shining in his eyes like it had over the last few months.
"If there's anything I won't forget, it's her walking in after the storm." She grinned at his sudden grimace.
"I wouldn't mind forgetting that one." He said, laughing even more. They sat there laughing to themselves, she was caught up in his sudden happiness, and she could tell he was caught up in the memories. She leaned over and bumped her shoulder with his playfully. He looked over at her, leaning his head on his hand that was propped up on his knee. She let him look as she glanced out at the waves, the rising moonlight dancing across the water. He nudged in a little closer to her, and she offered him her blanket, and jumped in between his knees so he could wrap his arms and the blanket around her. Leaning her body into his chest, she could feel the warmth, his slow breathing felt like home under the stars. She leaned back against him with her eyes closed, and he nuzzled his head against hers, arms wrapped tightly around her as if protecting her from the world.
They sat there for the rest of the night, slowly falling asleep in each other's arms until he woke enough to carry her to the porch where they fell asleep entangled in one of the arm chairs.