Opening Day

Author: Amanda Lynn

Synopsis: Kate finds a way to peak Rick's interest in baseball. In honor of Opening Day for all Baseball fans out there. Hope you enjoy.

Rated M

Takes place in Season Six

In order to escape all the stress of wedding planning, Rick and Kate decided to spend a few days I the Hamptons, alone. They had arrived on Thursday evening and had spent the evening celebrating Rick's birthday. After last year's extravaganza, they had opted this year to have a quiet celebration. Sure they'd enjoyed a family dinner with Martha, Alexis and Jim on the evening before, but this weekend was set aside as a time for them to relax and unwind. Friday they'd spent a leisurely day simply enjoying each other's company. Saturday they had ventured out to explore some of the local shops. It was now Sunday morning and they were seated at the kitchen island.

"So, Detective Beckett, what would like to do today?" he asked as he passed her the bowl of fresh strawberries. Biting down on one, she felt the juices begin to run down her chin. "Mmmm, these are so good." Rick leaned forward to kiss the juice off her chin.

"Let's see, we could take a walk. We could watch TV. We could go to a movie or watch one here." She opened the weekend paper they had purchased yesterday and began to peruse for some other possibilities. "Oh my gosh, how could I forget. It's Opening Day." She looked up at him full of excitement.

Rick was confused. "Uh..Opening Day?"

"Yeah, it's Opening Day for the baseball season. My dad used to take me to Opening Day every chance he could get. It was so much fun. Like a chance to start anew. New team members, new uniforms, upgrades to the stadium, new foods to try. We must have attended at least 20 Opening Days once I got old enough to go with him." She scanned the paper once again. "Oh no, we don't have much time. The game starts at one."

Kate was in full Beckett mode plotting out what needed to be done. She had such a look of wonder on her face that Rick was determine to make this day special for her but he didn't know much about baseball. In fact, he knew very little. Growing up as the son of a Broadway Diva didn't leave much time for sports. Neither did the prep schools he attended.

"It's a little too late to make it back to the city for the game."

"That's okay, since it's sold out, they're going to broadcast it. Come on, Rick, we need to get going," she said as she jumped up and began clearing the island of their breakfast dishes.

"Hey slow down, Slugger, why do we need to get going and where is it we need to go?"

She looked at him like he had lost his mind. "We need to prepare for the game, you know, Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, beer. Oooh, hot dogs. They won't be as good as the Yankee Stadium Dog but we can make due. Come, on, times a 'wasting." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him up the stairs. "Let's grab a quick shower and then we can head to the store."

Twenty minutes later, they headed into town. Kate pulled into the local grocery store and just about jumped out of the car. He laughed and followed her in. He'd hadn't seen her this excited about anything in a long time so he held back some so he could enjoy the show. Kate breezed around the store tossing things they would need into the cart. If fifteen minutes, she was proceeding to the check-out line.

"Are you serious? You think we are really gonna eat all of this stuff? He was amazed by the cart full of items she had accumulated. Again she looked at him like he was from another planet.

"Of course." To his look of skepticism, she responded, "the game usually lasts about four hours." Taking two of the bags and leaving the others for him, she headed out to the car. "Hurry up, Rick, let's get a move on."

He gathered up the remaining bags and grabbed the carton of beer. What exactly was he getting himself into? Four hours? Really? Games lasted that long. He hadn't really thought about it because he had never really watched a game on television. Sure he had noticed them on at the sports bars but they had never really captured his interest. For him, it was more fun to watch the people around him or join in the conversation of the people he was with. The other thing that hit him was that, they had come to the Hamptons to get way and to spend some time together without their jobs, friends and family getting in the way.

Still, he could see how excited she was and if she loved watching baseball then he would too. They would still be spending time together even if he didn't know what was going on.

Kate managed to find two baseball hats at the store. Granted they weren't official Yankees hats but they were navy blue so they would have to do. She set out the snacks on the island while Rick filled a cooler with ice and chilled down the beer. Kate looked around and deemed everything ready. She'd decided that they'd wait on the hot dogs for a while since they'd eaten a late breakfast.

"Okay, Castle, load up. It's time for the game to begin," she said as she slapped the baseball hat on his head.

They took their goodies downstairs into Rick's gaming room/TV room where they could enjoy the game on his 55" screen. They settled on the sectional sofa and proceeded to watch the game. Kate was enthralled. "Castle, this TV is so big it's almost like we are actually there." And so they watched and snacked and drank beer. The game so far was nothing to shout about. It seemed like neither team could get anything going. She had to admit it was pretty boring. After five scoreless innings and several fat-laden snacks and a couple of beers, she began to get drowsy. Rick had already dozed off.

Then suddenly, it seemed as if the TV erupted. The Yankees centerfielder had just hit a homerun. The first of the season. The stadium exploded with noise. That brought both Kate and Rick fully wake. "Something happened?" he asked still not fully awake.

"Yeah, Peters just hit a home run and scored. Six innings in and we finally have a score."

Rubbing his eyes, Rick said, "So it's over?"

Kate began to realize now much Rick didn't know about baseball. She really did love this man. He was willing to go along with her enthusiasm for the game because it made her happy and that made him happy. She thought this might be a good time to enlighten Rick about the finer aspects of the game and she could do it in a way he'd never forget.

"No, babe, it's not over." She leaned over a kissed him.

"Not that I'm complaining but what was that for?"

For being such a good man. You went along with all my craziness and yet you don't really appreciate the game."

He started to reply but she shook her head. She turned and half crawled over his body. "You know, Rick, I could teach you all about the game of baseball if you like."

Something had changed and he wasn't quite sure what but he nodded. "Can you teach me to catch and throw the ball?" She pulled back somewhat since her nose had been nearly touching his.

"Sure but why do you want to know how the throw and catch a ball?"

He told her about the time Alexis wanted to give him the opportunity to play a game of catch since he'd never had the change with his father. "Sure, I'd be happy to teach you that but I think there's some other things you need to learn first."

Neither of them cared about the game on TV any more. She reached for his hand and lightly began to caress it with her fingertips. She traced each finger and then his wrist and forearm. Next Kate began to pepper Rick's face with kisses. While doing so, she said, "The object of the batter is to get on base." She ran her tongue around the shell of his ear. "It's not easy getting to first base but it's the first step to being able to score. Now you try."

"Okay," he said a little unsure. He turned to lean over her and began to kiss her eyes, her nose, her chin before kissing her lips. His kisses began to grow more insistent and she gently pushed him away.

"Remember, Rick, you're just trying to get to first base so that eventually you can score. Don't get ahead of yourself." He was beginning to enjoy this game so much more than the real one. "Okay, what's next, Obi Wan?"

She gently pushed him until he was lying back. The great thing about this sectional was the recliner feature and Rick had previously extended the footrest so he was now lying on his back. She leaned toward him and began unbuttoning his shirt. Every time she revealed a new patch of skin, she caressed it with her fingers. Once she was able to spread open his shirt, she began to caress his chest. Feather light touches with her nails. She then began to trace a diamond pattern on his chest beginning with his belly button then up to his left nipple and then to his neck, to his right one and back down to his belly button. Kate could feel the stutter in his breath as she slipped tips of her fingers under the waistband of his shorts. She shifted up and over his body kissing and nipping at his nipples. After several moments she once again kissed him, this time using her tongue to slip past his lips. Enjoying the kiss she was reluctant to pull back but did so anyway. She smiled down at him with a seductive grin. "Ready to try for second base?"

He didn't waste any time sliding his hand up under her T-Shirt to cup her breast. His thumb lightly brushed back and forth and he watched her eyes flutter close at the sensation. He pushed the T-Shirt up and out of the way so he could claim his prize. He gently teased her with his teeth until unable to bear it any longer, he reached behind her to unclasp her bra. Next he removed her shirt and bra all in one fell swoop. While his fingers continued to play with her right breast, he took the other into his mouth and his tongue danced over the nipple while his teeth grazed it into a firm peak. He raised his head and kissed her deeply allowing all of the love he felt for her to pour through the kiss.

Soon but not too soon because she was really enjoying this, she pushed him away. "Ready to move on to third base?" He didn't respond but nodded his head enthusiastically.

She laughed as she pushed him once again onto his back. "Getting to third base is really hard," and for emphasis, she ran her hand over the bulge in his pants. She scooted down so she was more in line with his hips and she began to explain. "You need to be a powerful hitter in order to make it to third base. You have to send to ball really deep so you have time to make it around the bases." While she was talking, she undid his belt, unbuttoned his pants and unzipped his fly. She reached in side and gently caressed him. Next she pushed his pants down and while he lifted his hips she pushed them down off his legs. Sitting back up she simply stared at him. He was fully erect and her fingers were twitching to wrap themselves around him. Slowly she wrapped her fingers around him and gently squeezed. "Sometimes in order to gain more power, you have to choke up on the bat." She said as she demonstrated moving up and down his shaft while gently squeezing. "Did you know each bat has a sweet spot? When the batter is able to find the sweet spot, he can use it to his advantage." She touched her thumb to the drop of moisture at his tip and spread it around."

"Oh God, Kate, you're killing me." He flipped them over and in no time had Kate's panties and slacks off. "You know, you're a really good teacher. I think I'm really beginning to enjoy the game of baseball," he said as his fingers explored her center. When he touched her with a bit of pressure and Kate released a deep moan, he said, "I think I found the sweet spot." Kate let him play a bit more finding it difficult to push him away this time. She was ready to do this but she still had one more base to cover. Kissing him deeply she used it to her advantage to roll him onto his back one more time. The she crawled over him straddling him.

She could barely speak but she persisted so that they could both have their just rewards. She positioned herself above him and said, If you make it to home, you may find that you have to slide into the base," and she did exactly that. Rick grabbed her hips holding her still for a moment so the game wouldn't end too soon. She took a shuttering breath. "Do you need me to repeat that for you? He greedily nodded. So she pulled herself up and then slide back down onto him.

He couldn't wait any longer. "Like this?" he asked as he drove his hips into her.

"Yessssss." They continued the dance for a bit before her release came followed quickly by his. As they once again became aware, they could hear the sounds of cheering once again from the TV. She chuckled as she cuddled into his chest. "I think you just won the game, Castle." They lay there together basking in the afterglow of their loving making.

Kate leaned up to kiss him. "You know, Rick, there's one more baseball term you need to learn.

Rick was tracing lazy circles on her back. "Oh yeah, and what is that?"

She lifted her head so she could look into his eyes. "Doubleheader."

Castle's laughter filled the room. "Play Ball."

The End

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