It's dusty in the closet, but it's her day off and she's on a mission so she wipes the back of her hand against her nose to get rid of the tickle that's threatening to turn into a sneeze. A bit further back than she thought she'd put it, but finally she feels the solid leather case she's been looking for. She wraps her fingers around it and tugs, grabbing the strap with her other hand.
She emerges triumphant with a yell of delight just as he's wandering over to see if she needs an extra hand. Or to sneak a look at her ass, one or the other. Or both. They grin at each other and he tucks the locks of hair that had come loose from her messy bun back behind her ears.
"What've you got there?"
She brandishes the case with gusto, wiggling it in a slightly devious manner, and moves over to her dining table, where she undoes the clasp of the case and reverently removes the object from within. "It's my dad's old camera." She's holding it like it's a museum piece, gently turning it over to look at it from all angles. "Oh, look, it has a film in already." She grins, "Castle, I know what I want to go do today."
"And what would that be?" He continues to smile at this vision before him, all excitement at the prospect of the day stretching out before them.
"We should use up the film and get it processed." His smile turns from innocent to the exact opposite, and he wiggles his eyebrows. He earns a slap to his chest for his troubles. "Not like that."
"Oh." Hiding disappointment has never been his strong suit.
"I mean outside! In the city. Come on, it's cloudy but it's not raining, the light will be good. You can be my model, so put something nice on."
"Something nice?" She leaves the camera on the table and rushes off into her bedroom. He hears the sound of the wardrobe door being flung open. "Like what, Beckett?" She reappears with a navy button-down shirt and one of his many pairs of dark brown Italian leather shoes.
"Like not that ratty Green Lantern t-shirt. Here." She holds the shirt up for him.
"Hey! Don't diss my t-shirt!" He untucks it from his jeans and pulls it off. "You just wanted to see me half-naked anyway." He grins cheekily and she rolls her eyes.
"Yes, Castle, that was exactly the plan. Would you hurry up already?" He kisses her nose with a smile as he takes the shirt and shoes from her, and they're out of the door within five minutes.
They'd taken the subway to get to Central Park, because Kate is determined to take the most arty photos of him that anyone has ever taken. And for that, she needs trees and grass and, "no sunglasses, Castle, it's not sunny." She's almost skipping with her excitement as they get into the park, and she plonks herself down on the first available bench to take the camera out and wind the film to the start point. Rick ambles over to join her, putting his arm along the back of the bench behind her as he sits down, and she grins at him before jumping up again a few feet away. He starts to get up again but she calls out, "No, stay there! The background is great."
He turns his head to see what he's sitting in front of. The branches from a couple of trees are obscuring it all mostly, but there's the USS Maine monument and beyond it Columbus Circle. He shrugs and turns back to Kate with a small smile. There must be something beautiful about it that he's just not seeing. "Castle, lean forward and put your elbows on your knees." He does as he's told, clasping his hands together and looking up at her without lifting his head too much. She must like it because he hears the shutter click and she winds the film on. She reaches her hand out to him so he gets up and grasps it tightly, interlocking their fingers without a second thought.
They walk for a little while, keeping quiet as if they don't want to disturb the mood, until they find themselves at Rat Rock. He feels a tug on his hand and lets her drag him over to the outcrop. "Do a pose, Rick," she asks him, and he immediately stretches out on his side with his hand on his hip and knee bent, making a kissy face at her. She laughs, teeth and all, and he can't stop himself from laughing right along with her. He rearranges his body so his feet are pointing down the rock surface towards her with one leg crossed over the other at the ankles, and sits himself up on his elbows. He tilts his head to the side with a questioning smirk on his face and waits patiently for her to focus the camera or tell him to move. But he hears the shutter click and he smiles.
"You're just like David Bailey."
"Wait till you see the finished product before you start adding my name to the list of the great portrait photographers."
They laugh together, walking and stopping for the occasional photo by particularly interesting looking trees or lamp posts or anything else that takes her fancy. Eventually they get as far as Belvedere Castle, and she insists on taking his photo there. "Castle with a castle, what's not to like?" He can't fault her reasoning and poses as if holding the castle in the palm of his hand. She shakes her head with an indulgent smile and takes the photo before making him sit on another bench that has the castle in the background. He leans back with his arm across the back of the bench and his head slightly inclined in the same direction, as if indicating that the someone holding the camera is in fact missing from the photo.
"That's a good one," she smiles at him as she sits in 'her spot' and puts the camera away. "Want to get some lunch before we keep going?"
"Sure. You're going to use up the whole roll today?"
"Yeah, I want to have the prints in my hands by tonight."
"I wonder if there's anywhere that does a one-hour processing turnaround anymore."
Kate looks around and spots what had made her stomach so insistent before. "Look it up on your phone, I'm going to get in line at the burrito truck." She points it out to him before she takes off and he obediently gets his phone out as he follows along slowly behind her.
Rick is swinging his feet as he sits astride the wall, milkshakes in hand. He's keeping an eye on the door of the shop a little way up the street that Kate had disappeared into a few minutes before. He'd found it on his phone, the nearest place to the park that could process film, and they'd got all the shots taken with plenty of time before closing. She'd even let him have a go, and he's really looking forward to seeing if his literary genius had translated into the captured image. He knows one or two are definitely keepers, maybe even framed and on his desk at home, or on her desk at the precinct.
Finally she comes back out of the shop with a smile and a photograph pouch. He lifts the milkshakes and starts to get up off the wall but she stops him. "I'm too excited! I want to look now." He chuckles and sits back down, letting her settle in close with her back to him. He puts the milkshakes down again in front of her and wraps his arms around her waist, chin on her shoulder. She leans back and plants a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you for today." He smiles quietly and shrugs. It wasn't exactly a hardship for him, spending the day with this gorgeous, carefree version of her, the one that couldn't come out to play too much because of work.
"Let's look at the photos." She nods in agreement and carefully takes them out of the pouch, leaving the negatives in there. They both frown and tilt their heads slightly as they look at the first photograph. "What's that shadow thing, there?" He points out a darker area on the paper that seems unexpected considering the light conditions of the day.
"Maybe it's under-exposed." She sounds disappointed and he gives her a little squeeze, so she flicks to the next photo. Another shadow, and she's starting to get annoyed with herself for not getting the settings right. The next photo doesn't seem as affected though, and they both laugh at him holding the castle, even though there's something shadowy on the photo again. It almost looks like a face. Almost. She flips to the next photo and her breath catches in her throat. She feels Rick's reaction mirror hers and they stare at the photo, unblinking, for what seems like forever. Finally, he clears his throat.
"Kate... Kate, that's your mom. On the same bench as me." Her hand is shaking, so he takes the rest of the photos and puts them on top of the pouch for the moment. She's tracing her fingernail over the image, and gasps in realisation.
"The film is double-exposed!" Castle is still looking at the photograph in confusion as she turns to see his reaction. "Dad must've already used the film, or some of it, and when Mom died he just didn't finish the roll before he put it in the box that ended up in my closet!" He tears his eyes away from the photo to look at Kate, in time to see a tear drop from her eyelashes onto what must be the most beautiful smile he's ever seen on her face. She whispers to him in hushed awe, "Rick, I took a photo of you and my mom together."
He lets out an amazed huff of a laugh, so pleased that she's happy that he could jump up and dance for joy. But he just holds her tightly and kisses away the tears, whispering against her cheek, "I want a copy for on my desk."
She grins, "Me too."