Title: Literary Appreciation

Summary: Something from Kate's past helps her move forward. Minor spoiler for Kill Shot.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: The usual. Sadly.

Author's Note: Yeah, I got nothing. This one just popped into my head, fully written, for no apparent reason. *shrugs* Thanks again to Manuxinhace, muse and beta-extraordinaire, for handing me the toothbrush to deal with the extra sweetness of this one.

Beckett sighed, and promptly sneezed. The clouds of dust that assailed her nose bore testament to the amount of time the cardboard box in front of her had been left closed.

Blinking to keep the dust away, she reached for the flap again, and opened it up. After all this time, she was finally going through the boxes she had left packed since her last move, when her apartment had been blown up. Bemused, she realised that perhaps the simple fact that she had left it so long to open the box had protected it from the blast. Containing an assortment of things from her childhood, she'd stashed it away when she moved out of her father's place to attend the academy.

Still trying to come to terms with the loss of her mother, she had packed all the remnants of happier times into a couple of boxes, and that's where they stayed. They had followed her through all her adult life, unopened. Until today, that was.

Her conversations with her therapist had stirred up things in her mind that she'd forgotten, and her admission that she was ready to move forward brought to her attention things she thought she had left behind years ago.

Her thoughts still partially on her last session, she began to pull out things from the box: a photo album, the pictures of her and her friends from pre-school slightly faded with age , the pressed flower from her prom, a shoe-box full of old letters from boys she had crushes on in high school, and a small rosewood jewellery box.

Gently, she picked up the wooden box, her fingers tracing the silver inlay for a moment. A bittersweet smile on her lips, she eased the lid open, and caught her breath. It was still in there, after all these years. The sight of the contents caused her stomach to clench as she blinked back moisture in her eyes.

Sitting on the floor in her bedroom, she felt the bittersweet tears carve a path down her cheeks as she held the box in her hands, filled with the memories of a mothers love. Almost able to hear the gentle sounds of her mothers voice as she read her favorite story, Kate gently closed the box once more, wiping her face on the sleeve of her shirt before standing up slowly.

Placing the box on her bedside table, she quickly tidied the rest of the things away. A faint smile pulling at the edges of her lips, she flopped back onto her bed and sighed, relaxing for the first time since she started the impromptu spring-clean of her apartment. Her thoughts turning once more to the box and what it held, she closed eyes and let her memories wash over her.

Several hours later, her bedroom lit only by the moon streaming through her unclosed curtains, she stretched. Standing up slowly, she turned the lamp on and pulled the curtains closed. Stripping off her shirt and pants, she tossed them into the laundry basket as she rummaged through her drawers, looking for a baggy t-shirt to wear to bed. Grinning in triumph, she removed her bra and dragged the shirt over her head, taking her hair out of the ponytail as she slid between the cool sheets.

The darkness filling the room as she clicked off the lamp, Kate snuggled down and closed her eyes again, drifting off to sleep once more, thoughts of happier times filling her head for the first time in years.

"So tell me, Castle..." Beckett asked, washing down her mouthful of burger with a sip of her shake. "Did you read mystery books even as a kid?" Genuinely curious about his own back-story, she nudged the conversation towards a topic she was keenly interested in. She knew she had a fair idea about the sorts of things her partner read these days based on the glimpses she had caught of the bookshelves in his office, but her trip down memory lane had made her curious if he had had a similar experience with books at an early age.

Privately, she figured that he would have been an early starter, reading things that were way ahead of other kids his age. Her train of thought was interrupted when he replied.

"Not so much." Castle answered. He grinned when he caught the look of surprise as it flashed across her face. "You thought I'd have been an Agatha Christie kid, didn't you?" Laughing quietly, she nodded. He swallowed a mouthful of his own shake before continuing. "Actually, my reading was pretty tame until I hit high school... I was into pretty much the same things most boys my age were into... books about cowboys, and later space men, aliens and the like..." He grinned, thinking of a certain brown leather coat and suspenders, hanging in his closet. "And despite what anybody else may tell you, Space Cowboys are cool too." Wiping his lips with the napkin, he sighed as he considered the empty plate in front of him. "What about you, Beckett? I always had you pegged as a Jane Austen fan..."

Scrunching up her napkin with one hand and tossing it at him as she slurped the dregs of her shake through the straw, she let out a happy sigh as she put the drained cup down. Looking across the table at him, she considered him for a silent moment, before a shy smile teased at her lips.

"Actually, probably my favorite book when I was little would have to be Peter Pan..." She replied. Castle leaned forward, elbows on the table as he sensed another layer of the Beckett onion about to be peeled back. The expression on her face told him louder than words that she was opening up, sharing something intensely private with him. Honored, he waited patiently for her to fill him in. Her face softened as she spoke, recalling the gentle sound of her mother's voice.

"I'd have been no more than five when mom first read it to me, the book was old even then. She would pull it down from the bookshelf herself, every time. That copy had belonged to her mother, and she always told me that someday it would be mine, and if i was lucky, I'd read it to my children..." She trailed off for a moment, before swallowing. Taking another breath, she went on. "Almost every night for a couple of years, she would tuck me in bed for the night, and sit next to me, reading. We'd get through a chapter a night, before she'd close the book, turn my light out and kiss me goodnight." A sad smile took over Kate's face as she spoke. "It was never the same when dad read it for me, he didn't get the voices right. It was just something special between mom and me..." She eased herself back in the booth, breaking the moment. She chuckled. "You always did remind me of Peter, Castle. If ever there was a boy who refused to grow up, it's you..." Before Castle could respond, her phone rang, and once more their thoughts turned from days gone by to catching murderers.

Kate sat on her bed, the box open in her lap. Almost reverently, she lifted it up as she ran her eyes over it. A satisfied smile on her face, she closed the box and placed it back on the table and turned out the light.

Tomorrow, She thought. I'll do it tomorrow. Decision made, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Castle entered the precinct, coffees in hand. Before he had a chance to sit down, Beckett stood up and reached over her desk. Taking her drink from his hand, she shot him a grateful smile, her eyes slipping closed as the hot caffeine hit her taste-buds.

"Thanks Castle, I needed this like you wouldn't believe."

"No morning would be complete without it, Beckett." He replied. A curious frown formed as he saw her reach into her top drawer and pull out a small, wrapped box. Taking another brief sip of coffee, she placed the cup on her desk and headed to the break room. Tossing a brief look over her shoulder, she wordlessly indicated to him that he should follow along.

Taking his cue, he quickly swallowed a mouthful of his own coffee and placed it next to hers, before following her. Turning in front of the espresso machine, she paused, waiting. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she almost jumped in surprise as he came to a stop directly in front of her.

Extending her hands, she handed him the box she had grabbed from her drawer. Curious, Castle turned it over in his hands briefly. A small box, not much bigger than a ring box, covered in plain white paper and tied with a thin green ribbon, the box gave no indication of it's contents. Squashing the trepidation in her belly, she spoke before she had a chance to talk herself out of it, before he could open it.

"Open it tonight, Rick." Trying to hide her nerves, she spoke quickly. Nodding, he slipped the box into his jacket pocket a second before Esposito entered the break room, making a beeline for the coffee machine.

Oblivious to the moment he had just cut short, the Hispanic detective had barely reached for a clean cup when Ryan leaned his head around the corner.

"Morning guys. Call just came through, we have a fresh body, and it looks like it's a messy one..."

They headed out, the box still in Castle's pocket, a mystery to be unraveled later.

Leaning back in his chair, Castle glanced around his office for a moment before placing the mysterious box on the desk in front of him, preferring to unwrap it in privacy. The look on Beckett's face as she had handed it to him suggested very strongly that it was something personal, and he wanted to savor the moment. His fingers tingling in anticipation, he carefully undid the green ribbon before unwrapping the paper slowly.

About to set the paper to one side, his eyes caught something written on the inside. Curious, he pulled the paper closer, spreading it flat in front of him. Smoothing it out, he saw the distinctive, elegant cursive script belonging to his partner.

For Peter,

Take good care of it,

Wendy.

A smile formed on his lips at her reference to their conversation the day before. His imagination running wild, Castle picked up the wooden box, turning it over in his hands, fingers running lightly over the inlay for a moment, before gripping it, easing the lid open.

His mouth fell open as he registered what lay inside. Nestled on a dark navy velvet cushion lay a small silver thimble, lightly tarnished with age. Gently picking it up, he inspected it. Weightier than it appeared at first glance, Castle turned it over, brushing the pad of one thumb over the tiny indents at the tip. Something small snagged his attention, an imperfection just inside the lip. Bringing it closer, he saw two small letters engraved: KB. The tarnish covering the inscription, he realised that it must have been a present to Kate, and judging by the patina, it had been years ago.

His heart hammering in his chest, Rick realised that with one simple gesture, Kate had handed him a key to her childhood, opening a window to her past, to the innocence she had once cherished. The meaning of the thimble was not lost on the author either. Taken in context, Kate Beckett had just kissed him. No ifs, buts or maybe about it, she had just given him not only a piece of herself, but a Peter Pan kiss. Castle knew now why she'd been insistent that he only open the present at home, because it was all he could do to stop himself jumping in a cab to her apartment and kissing her for real.

Settling instead for letting out a happy laugh, a look of wonder covering his face, Castle held the kiss in his hands, warming the heavy silver with his touch. How long he sat there, wrapped in that happy feeling, he didn't really know. Eventually, he stretched, noting the time on the clock. Already gone one in the morning, he stood up and headed for bed, planning what he would say to Kate when he got to the precinct.

Castle sat down at their desk and took a long sip of his coffee. Beckett wasn't in yet, but given that he had woken up before dawn and couldn't get back to sleep and had decided to come in early, he wasn't surprised. Knowing her schedule, he had less than five minutes to wait. A quick check of the time on his phone was cut short as he heard the distinctive sound of heels on the floor boards. Able to pick her gait out by sound alone, he waited until he knew she was nearly at the desk, before lifting her coffee cup up and holding it out for her. Taking the drink from his hand with an appreciative smile, Beckett sipped from it before sitting down.

"Thanks, Castle." She murmured, her eyes meeting his, a slight blush staining her cheeks. She knew he would have opened the present last night, and it was only the regularity of their morning coffee ritual that steadied her nerves. Unwilling to be the first to mention it, she ran an assessing look over his features. Before she could wonder any further, Castle reached into his jacket pocket, the thimble on the tip of his index finger. A soft smile on his face, he raised the silver to his lips, pressing them to it briefly.

"For such a kiss, Wendy, I would fight a thousand pirates..." He spoke quietly, sticking with the storybook metaphor for the moment, knowing that she would read the subtext as easily as any of his books. A flush spreading rapidly across her cheeks, Beckett could not keep the shy, happy smile from forming as she understood his meaning. Lightening the mood, Castle spoke, giving her a suggestive wink. "If you play your cards right, Beckett, I might even pull out the green tights at some point..."

The throaty chuckle spilling from her lips was unexpected, the sound carrying clearly across the mostly empty bull-pen. Startled, Ryan and Esposito glanced up from their desks, having only just sat down. Turning his attention to them briefly, Castle tilted his head in their direction and asked her,

"If I'm Peter and you are Wendy, does that make those two the Lost Boys...?" Her mood already lighter than she had felt in a long time, Beckett couldn't help the unbridled laughter that burst forth at the mental image he created for her, seeing it clearly in her mind's eye. Her amusement was interrupted by the approach of the Lost Boys in question.

"Yo, Beckett... Castle..." Esposito greeted her. "What's got you two in such a fine mood this morning?" Castle turned in his chair, the thimble slipping casually back into his pocket as he let his face assume a nonchalant air.

"Just a bit of early morning literary appreciation, guys." A slightly confused look on his face Esposito shrugged it off, saying,

"Shakespeare aside, the financials came back for our vic... Looks like we have to go interview his boss again. We'll catch you guys later." Waving goodbye with her coffee cup, Beckett took another sip and let the work day begin in earnest.

Castle leaned against the door-frame, watching, a soft smile on his face. Sitting on the bed, Kate ran her fingers gently over the worn covers of the book as she spoke quietly. Peeking over the top of the quilt was the face of their six year old daughter, framed by the same brunette hair as her mother, her eyes a perfect match for Rick's cobalt blue half-closed as she fought off sleep.

"And that, little one, was how I kissed daddy for the first time at work." She leaned forward, pressing her lips gently to her forehead, brushing a few strands of hair out of the girl's face. "Now, I think its time a certain someone went to sleep, isn't it?" There was silence for a few seconds, before a small voice spoke up.

"Mommy...?" Kate was on the receiving end of the most serious look a little girl could muster.

"Yes, munchkin?"

"Is daddy Peter Pan?" Kate chuckled as she replied, shaking her head slightly.

"You know, sometimes I wonder..." Castle shifted, moving into the room. Easing himself onto the bed, he leaned forward, kissing the same spot Kate had.

"Sleep well, kiddo. Love you." He stroked her hair for a moment, watching as her eyes slid closed, her face peaceful. Gently standing up, he held his hands out to help his wife stand.

Arms wrapping around her, pulling her close, he held her for a moment, enjoying the feeling of calm as they looked at the sleeping form of their daughter. Kate sighed, her head resting against his chest, the sound of his heart steady in her ear. Tilting her head back, she nuzzled at his jaw before brushing a feather-light kiss across his lips. Lacing her fingers through his, she whispered,

"Come on, Peter, let's let her sleep." A boyish grin lighting his features, he lead her quietly from the bedroom. Closing the door most of the way behind them, his voice curling through the semi-darkness, Castle whispered back.

"Bedtime it is, Wendy, although I think a grown-up kiss is more in order tonight." Her throaty chuckle all the reply he needed as they headed upstairs, content.