This is set in the same timeline as "Complications." If you want to know how they got to this point, I suggest you read that one first. This is for everyone who requested a sequel, but especially for SD, who told me that she wanted to see this conversation take place.
I'm hoping to get these characters for Christmas, but in case I don't, I should make a note that I'm just borrowing them for a few minutes.
It had been an excruciatingly long two weeks on his book signing tour, and the only thing Rick Castle wanted more than to collapse into his own bed was to have Beckett in his arms again when he did so. He shook his head as he de-boarded the plane, knowing full well that at eleven in the morning, the odds of getting to indulge in either of those two activities were pretty much non-existent.
He made his way to baggage claim and waited with the countless other travelers for his bag to appear on the carousel. As he stood there, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Alexis, letting her know he had arrived in New York safely. If she hadn't been taking finals today, she would have skipped school to meet him at the airport, but he had insisted that her finals were more important than meeting him.
He considered texting Beckett as well, but decided he would wait and call her once he had gotten his luggage and caught a cab. Things had actually been going great between the two of them for the last five months. It hadn't necessarily been easy, but they had managed to juggle their personal relationship with their work relationship. In fact, things had been going so well that Kate had actually stopped offering resistance when he invited her to spend the night at his place. However, something had happened in the last couple of days that had made her seem distant when they talked. He was quite certain that he hadn't done anything to piss her off, seeing as how he'd been out of town for two weeks, but it didn't ease his fears any that something had changed between them.
He saw his suitcase slide down the chute and moved to intercept it. He checked the tag to make sure it was indeed his and smiled when he saw his name in Alexis's familiar handwriting. Pulling the suitcase behind him, he headed out the doors to the waiting line of taxis.
As he stepped out into the warm May morning, he couldn't help but pause and take a deep breath. As much as he enjoyed traveling, it was always good to get back home. He started towards the taxi stand again, but stopped in his tracks when he heard a familiar, authoritative voice behind him.
"Richard Castle?"
A smile bloomed on his lips as he slowly turned around to face her. "Detective Beckett," he acknowledged, only slightly mindful of the curious gazes they drew.
"I suppose you thought you could just sneak back into town and not have to deal with the repercussions of your absence for the last two weeks," she stated as she slowly approached him.
"On the contrary, Detective," he replied as his eyes soaked up the sight of her. "I had every intention of reporting directly to the police station."
"And you expect me to believe that?" she asked as she slowly circled him, her eyes taking in every detail of his appearance. It had been an incredibly long two weeks of existing on phone calls, e-mails and text messages.
His fingers itched to reach out and touch her, to pull her into his arms and claim her mouth as his, but he held himself in check. "I wouldn't lie to you, Detective."
She stopped directly in front of him and her eyes locked on his. A smile finally appeared on her face before she closed the short distance between them by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.
His arms immediately found their way around her waist and pulled her closer as their mouths got re-acquainted with one another. It was several long moments later when they finally broke apart for air.
"God, I've missed you," Castle said as he pulled away far enough to look at her.
"I've missed you, too," she replied.
He reached a hand up and pushed the hair away from her face. "Not that I'm complaining, but why are you here?"
"We wrapped the case yesterday," she replied. "The husband confessed."
"I told you it was the husband," he said with a smile.
"Yes, you did," she agreed as she stepped out of his embrace so he could get his suitcase. Once he had it in hand again, she placed an arm around his waist and he wrapped one around her shoulders as she led them towards her car. "Anyway, we spent most of last night and this morning finishing the paperwork, so the captain gave us all the afternoon off."
"That was very considerate of him," he said.
"That's what I said as well," Beckett agreed. "Especially since it meant that I would be able to pick you up at the airport and have you to myself for at least an hour."
"I'm not sure that an hour is long enough for what I have in store for you," he commented as they reached the car.
"You are such a tease," she replied as she opened the trunk for him.
He quickly deposited his suitcase and closed the trunk so he could pull her into his arms again. He leaned against the back of the car as his mouth devoured hers, his hands sliding under the edge of her blouse to feel the smooth skin of her lower back. Her own hands found their way to his waist, her fingers pulling the edge of his shirt from his waistband so she could feel his bare skin beneath her fingertips.
He reveled in the feel of her, his concerns about a distance between them fading with every stroke of her tongue against his. His hands splayed across the expanse of her back, pressing her more firmly against his body, the tightening in his groin reminding him exactly how long it had been since he'd held her in his arms.
Her soft moan as she rubbed against him echoed in the nearly empty parking garage. Hearing the sound reminded them that they were in a very public place and they reluctantly parted from each other. "It really wouldn't do to get arrested on my first day back in town," he commented as he moved his hands back to the relative safety of her hips.
"I'm sure that's not how Captain Montgomery anticipated me spending my afternoon off," Beckett agreed.
"Perhaps we should take this back to my place?" Castle suggested.
He saw the momentary hesitation flash in her eyes before she smiled. "Your mother is at rehearsal today, right?"
"Yes," he replied. "And Alexis is taking finals until three this afternoon."
She nodded and stepped away from him. "Get in the car."
XOXOXOXOXOXO
They had made it to his apartment in record time, and had even managed to make it all the way to his bedroom before finally giving in to their desire for one another. Their initial joining had been fast and hard, both of them desperate to reconnect with the other and neither one willing to slow down. They had surprisingly actually made it to the bed, although the trail of clothes from the door to the bed told the tale of their haste.
Castle chuckled as he stared up at the ceiling, one arm under Beckett's shoulders holding her securely to his side. "You really missed me, didn't you?" he asked.
"You're incorrigible," she replied.
He rolled onto his side to look at her. "I noticed you didn't deny it."
She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. "No need denying the truth," she said when they parted. "I did miss you."
He kissed her again, moving his body to cover hers and shifting his weight to his elbows so as not to crush her. "I missed you, too," he admitted as his lips trailed down to the smooth column of her neck. "And not just the amazing sex."
She angled her head slightly to give him better access as her hands went to his back and began tracing random patterns. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah," he agreed as his lips moved across her collar bone. "Although I did miss that, too." His lips continued to trail across her skin and she let out a sigh at the feeling of contentment she felt in his arms.
"You're going to be getting a call from Detective Mike Brancher in a couple of days," she told him as he shifted to trace his tongue across the top of her left breast.
He paused in his ministrations and looked up at her. "Brancher? Is that someone I know?"
She sighed and dropped her eyes from his. "Not yet."
"What's going on, Kate?" he asked softly.
She finally lifted her eyes back to his, but her response was barely a whisper. "He works cold cases."
Her distance of the last couple of days suddenly made complete sense. "Your mom's case?"
"Indirectly," she replied. "They got a lead on another case, but their investigation led them to my mom's case."
"The similar murders?" he probed gently.
"Yeah," she replied. "He talked to me on Wednesday afternoon. I told him what you'd told me last year and he said he'd like to talk to you when you got back in town."
"I'm so sorry," he said.
"I know," she replied. "So am I."
"Are you okay with this?" he asked.
"I'm getting there," she admitted. "Maybe it's better this way, letting Brancher handle it."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She moved one hand to his face, her fingers trailing lightly against his skin as she spoke. "I very nearly lost myself trying to solve my mom's murder, Castle. I'm not willing to put myself through that again. Even knowing that you would be there to save me again, it's not a risk I want to take."
His eyes reflected his confusion as he looked at her. "What do you mean, 'again'?"
She smiled shyly and turned her face into his neck. "Freudian slip?" she offered, knowing full well that he wasn't going to let her off that easily.
"Are you holding out on me, Beckett?" he asked as his hands moved to her side and he began tickling her.
She squirmed beneath him, trying in vain to get away from his probing fingers. "Okay, okay," she finally gasped through her laughter. "I give."
He immediately stopped tickling her and once again shifted his weight to his elbows to look down at her. She smiled as she felt his erection press against her core, the knowledge that her squirming against him had affected him causing warmth to spread throughout her entire body. She shifted her hips, desperate to feel him within her again.
"You're trying to distract me," he stated as he pulled away from her slightly.
"You're already distracting me," she replied. "I'm just trying to level the playing field."
"Talk to me," he encouraged.
"Make love to me," she countered.
He lowered his mouth back to her breast, his tongue once again trailing smoothly against her skin. "When was the first time?" he asked softly.
"The first book signing," she replied with a breathy moan.
"Tell me about it," he stated as he trailed his lips to the other breast.
She moved her hands to his back again, her eyes dropping to watch as he laved attention on her body. "I was obsessed with finding my mom's murderer," she began. "I spent my first years on the force chasing down every lead I could find and even some that weren't even really leads."
He lifted his eyes to hers as his mouth continued its journey down her body. She lifted one hand to his head and ran her fingers through his silky hair. "I knew I was spiraling out of control, so I set a deadline for myself. I gave myself until the release of your next Derek Storm novel to solve the case. If I hadn't solved it by then, I would walk away from it."
"Why Derek Storm?" he asked, pausing only long enough to get the words out before gently sucking one taut nipple into his mouth.
She moaned her approval and pressed him closer as she arched into his mouth. "I'd been a fan since my early days in college," she replied. "By that point in my life, Derek Storm, and by association, you, had become somewhat of a constant in my life. I made the decision that it would be my turning point."
"Tell me about the signing," he said as he switched his attention to the other breast, giving it equal attention.
"You were kicking off your book signing tour here in New York," she replied. "So I scheduled the time off of work and got to the bookstore when they opened."
He trailed his lips back to her neck and brought a hand up to gently squeeze her breast as he shifted his hips against her, brushing his hardness against her wet center. She groaned at the teasing, her voice cracking slightly as she continued, "I still ended up standing in line for over an hour before I reached the table where you were sitting."
He stopped moving then and lifted his eyes to her. "Was I a complete jerk to you?"
"Not at all," she replied softly. "You were exactly what I needed you to be at the time."
He watched as she closed her eyes in recollection, the look on her face causing a surge of tenderness to bloom in his chest. "You asked me who you should make it out to," she continued. "I told you my name was Kate and you just looked at me for a long minute. It almost felt as if you were looking directly into my soul at the moment. You complimented me on my eyes and then you winked at me before looking back at the book and scrawling your message and signature."
"You do have beautiful eyes," he told her.
The compliment brought her from the memory and she opened her eyes with a smile. "Thank you."
"So what profound piece of wisdom did I write?" he asked, hoping that whatever he'd written hadn't been lewd or suggestive.
"You told me to let it go and allow myself to move forward," she replied. "I took it as the universe's way of telling me I was making the right decision."
"So you did?" he asked.
"I did," she agreed. "Somehow, just knowing that Richard Castle thought I should move on gave me the strength to walk away without the answers that I thought I needed."
"Did you question your decision after you met me and realized how much of a nuisance I am?" he asked.
"Never," she replied. "Because you continue to be what I need at the time that I need it."
His lips caressed hers gently. "I think that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"Don't let it go to your head," she teased him.
"I won't," he assured her as he shifted and finally entered her body.
Their second joining was slow and gentle, the fire between them gently stoked into a raging inferno as they rocked together. They fell over the edge together, hands intertwined and lips joined as they gave completely of themselves to each other.
It was quite some time later when Castle rolled to his side and looked down at her again. "Thank you for telling me."
"Thank you for caring enough to listen," she replied.
"You'll get through this, Kate," he assured her.
She laced her fingers with his and shook her head. "No, Castle," she said as she lifted their joined hands to her mouth and kissed his knuckles. "We'll get through this…together."
His smile was all the reassurance she needed.
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