Title: Here's the Skinny
Summary: The summer has come and is nearly gone. Castle and Beckett have a weekend getaway planned to say farewell to free time. Set about 3 months after "Always".
Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters I write about. If you recognize a name, odds are it isn't mine. But seeing as this is a fanfic website, you probably knew that already.
Thanks again to Sunshiny-Kate, the best beta a writer could ask for!
Alexis heard the buzzer go off, annoucing the presence of a visitor, so she put her place holder in between the pages and set her book down on the coffee table. She crossed the living room and looked through the peephole, then opened the door.
"Good morning, Kate." She said with a smile.
"Morning, Alexis." Beckett replied.
"Come on in." Alexis stepped aside so Beckett had room to come in, then shut the door. "Dad isn't back yet."
"I didn't think he would be." She set down the large paper bag she was holding. "I came to pack for him so we could leave sooner."
"Good idea. He takes forever to pack." Alexis laughed. "He's worse than most girls. But don't tell him I said that."
"Secret's safe with me." Beckett grinned.
"What's in the bag?"
"A surprise for your dad." She nodded towards it. "Take a look and tell me if you think he'll like it."
Alexis bent over and pulled the sides of the bag apart so she could see down inside it. It took her a minute to figure out what is was, but as soon as she did, she burst out laughing.
"He's going to love it." She told Beckett.
"I thought so myself."
"Are you planning on letting him use that this weekend?"
"Yep."
"Oh man. Dad's going to freak." Alexis started laughing again. "I bet you anything he does his little girl shriek."
Beckett started laughing at that.
"I bet you're right."
"Hey, do you want some coffee before you start packing?" Alexis asked when they'd both stopped laughing a few moments later.
Beckett glanced at her watch and nodded.
"Yeah, it's only 10:30, and from what Castle told me, his meeting won't even be over until around 11:00. That's plenty of time. I don't take long to pack."
Alexis chuckled and headed to the kitchen with Beckett following. She began to brew a new pot while Beckett got two mugs down. At first it had been weird for Alexis to have a non-family member in the house often enough to learn where the dishes went. When she'd come home the day after graduation and found the two of them eating lunch, both wearing his clothes, it had been a shock. But as the summer had gone on, and it became more obvious that this thing between her dad and Beckett was solid, she'd grown used to it. She'd gotten to where she liked it, actually. Sometimes the fear would still hit her, the worry that Beckett would leave, which Alexis knew would devastate her dad. Then she'd see the way Beckett looked at him, with awe and love and pride shining in her eyes, and she'd know she had nothing to be concerned about.
"Where's Martha?" Beckett asked, bringing Alexis back to the present.
"At her school. She is teaching a death scene class today."
"Sounds morbidly thrilling."
Alexis chuckled, but the beeping of the coffee pot timer interrupted any further reply. She poured some of the steaming hot liquid into the mugs Beckett was holding out. They already had the correct amounts of milk and sugar in them, something else Beckett and Alexis knew about each other now, so they took their drinks to the living room to enjoy them.
"So." Beckett began as she settled down on the couch. "Are you sure you can't come with us this weekend?"
"Yeah." Alexis sighed and sat on the cushion at the other end. "Some friends and I going to do some shopping for school."
"I thought you had everything already." Beckett took a sip of her coffee. "Didn't you go shopping with your dad last week?"
"I did, but I thought of a few more things I need, just odd and ends stuff. And your surprise would kind of be ruined if I came too."
"Nah, I'd just make him wait until we all got back. It'd be more fun for you and me that way anyway."
"That's true." Alexis smiled. "But, no. I'm good with staying here. You and Dad haven't really had much alone time, what with me and Grams being around." A slight blush lit up her cheeks, but she continued. "And since you're going back to work next week I know you may not be able to go on weekend getaways too often."
Beckett sighed and leaned forward to set her coffee on the table, then scooted to the middle of the couch.
"Alexis, I need to tell you something."
The red-head studied her curiously for a moment before responding.
"Okay." She nodded. "What is it?"
"I love your dad."
"I know you do, Kate."
"Good. Now, I plan on sticking around for as long as I can. But the last thing I want is to come between the two of you. So I don't want you to ever think you are in the way or that I don't want you around just so I can have alone time with him. You were his long before I was."
"I don't feel like I'm in the way of anything." Alexis smiled. "In fact, I'm happy that you're here for him now."
"What do you mean?"
"He may not say anything, but he started getting all empty nester right before I graduated, even though I'm not going far away to college, and I'll probably be home all the time. Having you here to...distract him...has made this easier for everyone." Her eyes grew wide at her own words. "Wait, that came out wrong. I didn't mean that you're just some distraction."
"I know what you mean, Alexis." Beckett smiled. "He's actually helped to distract me from some things too. All three of you all have. But trust me, the empty nest thing hasn't stopped. He talks about you more than you realize. He's going to miss you." She smiled again. "I will too. And Martha will."
"I'll miss you guys. But I'm seriously going to be here like all the time." Alexis laughed.
"Good."
Beckett and Alexis looked up at Castle, who was standing across the room.
"How long have you been there?" Beckett asked.
"Long enough." He answered cryptically as he approached them.
When he reached the couch he leaned over and kissed Alexis on top of her head, then brushed his lips lightly over Beckett's.
"Hmm." She hummed against his satiny skin before pulling away. "Well, don't let it go to your head."
"Don't let what go to my head?"
"That we were talking about you." Beckett grinned. "Doesn't happen that often."
"Duly noted." He smiled.
Suddenly he turned and started to sit down, wriggling in between them, forcing Beckett to move over so he wouldn't end up in her lap.
"Dad!" Alexis said on a laugh. "Rude much?"
"Yeah, Castle." Beckett scolded mockingly. "Watch yourself."
"I'm not scared of you guys." He replied as he put an arm around each of their shoulders.
"You should be." Beckett tried to sound stern, but the sparkle in his eyes as he looked at her broke her down and she laughed. "So, not that I'm complaining, but why are you here already? Did your meeting end early, or did you just skip out?"
"Are you suggesting that I'm shirking my professional responsibilities?" He gasped.
"Yes."
"Who's being rude now?" He raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, no, I didn't skip out. We just got done faster than expected."
"And you had nothing to do with that?" Alexis asked.
"I might have hurried things along." He confessed.
"Mmmhmm." Beckett said knowingly.
Castle sighed happily and leaned further back into the cushions, pulling Alexis and Beckett back with him.
"Can you blame me?" He asked. "Why would I want to be in a boring work meeting when I have this waiting on me at home?"
"Oh, Castle." Beckett laughed into his shoulder. "Let's be frank here. You'd do almost anything to get out of a meeting of any sort."
"She has a point, Dad." Alexis added with a laugh of her own.
"Don't ruin my attempt to be totally adorable with your logic." He huffed, earning another laugh from both women.
Alexis closed her eyes and laid her head down on his shoulder, sighing contentedly as she snuggled into his side. Castle turned to Beckett with a smile that spread up into his eyes, and she reached up to stroke his face lightly. This was what they had become. Content. Of course things were far from settled down. Beckett was indeed starting back at the precint the following week. Gates had agreed to let her back under two conditions. The first was that Beckett would be unable to take the lead on cases until further notice, which she was fine with. The other, which they were trying to figure out how to get around, was that Castle wasn't allowed to come back with her. Maddox was still at large and Beckett was still struggling with the idea of giving up on her mother's case. But all in all, these last three months had been good for all of them, even Alexis and Martha.
"Hi." Castle whispered, bringing Beckett out from her thoughts.
"Hi yourself." She whispered back with a smile.
She shifted slightly and pressed her lips to his, closing her eyes in blissful abandon.
"Quit being gross." Alexis murmured.
Beckett laughed against Castle's sudden pout, but he couldn't maintain it and soon was laughing too. She closed her fingers around the fleshy part of his cheek and pinched it gently as they pulled away. Still smiling, she stood up.
"Where are you going?" Castle asked.
"To pack for you." She answered.
"Let me come help." He started to get up, causing Alexis to open her eyes.
"No." Beckett held up a hand to stop him. "I'll take care of it. You stay here with Alexis."
"Do what she says, Dad. You'll take forever." Alexis winked up at Beckett, who bit back a smile.
"Why do I feel as if there is a mutiny afoot?" Castle huffed.
"Because you have an over active imagination and you say things like afoot." Beckett responded, earning a laugh from Alexis.
Before Castle could reply with whatever smart remark was forming in his head, Beckett leaned down and kissed his smirk away. Then she turned and headed to his bedroom. She didn't hear any more of the conversation she'd left behind, but she was fairly certain the two Castles were probably debating the proper times for using words such as afoot. Once she was in his room she didn't waste any time. Having spent most nights there since she'd first come to him nearly three months ago, she was familiar with where he kept everything. Ten minutes later she was finished and carrying his necessities for the weekend out to the living room.
"Want me to get the rest of it?" Castle asked from in front of the refrigerator.
"This is everything." Beckett said with a shake of her head. "And where is Alexis?"
"She's upstairs getting ready to go meet her friends to see a movie. They texted her a few minutes ago." He pointed to the bag Beckett was holding. "That can't be everything. It's too small."
"It's just the weekend." She set the bag down by the front door and picked up the paper bag she'd left there earlier before walking over to the kitchen counter. "Don't worry. I packed everything you'll need."
Castle shut the refrigerator door and moved around the counter until he was standing right in front of her. She put the bag on a barstool and slid her arms around his waist. He embraced her too, his massive arms and hands covering nearly the entirety of her back.
"The only thing I need this weekend, Kate, is you."
"I don't know if that's incredibly romantic, or horrendously cheesy." She replied softly.
"You like it either way."
"Oddly enough, I do."
Castle erased her smile with an electrifying kiss. His tongue flew into her mouth, lighting a fire in her belly. He tightened his hold on her and she groaned, the vibrations strong enough that he felt them in his throat. Suddenly, Beckett pulled her lips from his and looked up at him.
"What is it?" He asked before she could speak.
"Castle, just how private is the pool at your place up there?"
"It has a fence set up so that unless you're in the pool, around the pool, or on the porch above it, you can't see in." He gave her a curious raise of his eyebrows. "Why do you ask?"
"I needed to know if I should pack another swimsuit." She lifted up on her toes until her mouth was practically touching his ear. "Because the one I packed for myself is for your eyes only."
His arms drew her even closer as his hips bucked forward of their own accord.
"You say something like that again when I'm unable to do anything about it, and you'll be on trial for murder." His voice was thick with desire.
"Please." She smirked. "At the most it will be criminally negligent manslaughter resulting from reckless use of words."
"I love it when you talk legally to me." He grunted.
"If you're good, maybe I'll read you your rights later." She winked.
"Don't I have to be bad in order for you to read me my rights?"
"Not for the rights I'd be reading you."
This time Beckett initiated the kiss, but before it went any further than a simple mashing of lips, she heard Alexis coming down the stairs and pulled herself out of Castle's arms.
"Okay." Alexis said into her phone. "I'll see you in a few minutes." She ended the call and slipped the phone into her purse as she stepped off the stairs.
"Alexis." Beckett waved her over. "Do you have time for me to give Castle his present now?"
"I have a present?" Castle asked excitedly.
"I do." Alexis answered with a smile, ignoring her father's gleeful outburst.
"Good." Beckett grabbed the paper bag from the barstool and handed it to Castle.
With all the patience and finesse of a small child, he pulled out the contents and dropped the bag to the floor. He stared at the black object as he tried to figure out what it was. It was hard plastic, and had a strap with a buckle hanging down from both sides. The top had two ear like projections sticking straight up, and the front was molded into two separate eye holes, each with their own piece of clear plastic in them. It was finished off with a piece of the black plastic jutting out between the eyes that was shaped like a nose. He suddenly realized what he was looking at and he shrieked joyfully.
"Told you." Alexis said to Beckett with a laugh.
"You got me a Batman mask." Castle whispered loudly in awe.
"No, Castle." Beckett chuckled. "I got you a Batman motorcycle helmet."
His eyes widened as he looked at the helmet again. Wordlessly, he put it on and fastened the strap under his chin. Beckett reached up to help him adjust it, making sure it fit properly.
"How does it feel?" She asked him.
"Awesome." He replied as he leaned down to kiss her, having to turn his head awkwardly to the side so he wouldn't stab her with the nose as he did so. After a quick peck, he straightened back up, a smile beaming from his face. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"How do I look, Alexis?" He turned to her.
"You look like my dad." She answered with a grin, then glanced at her watch. "Well, I'm going to head out." She walked over to Castle and hugged him. "You two be safe and have fun this weekend."
"You too, Pumpkin." He smiled down at her. "I miss you already."
"Same here." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I love you."
"I love you too."
He let go of her and she looked over at Beckett.
"Bye, Kate."
"See you Sunday, Alexis."
"See ya then."
And with a wave over her shoulder, she trotted to the door and was gone. Beckett turned back to Castle, who was still wearing his helmet, and laughed. He really looked ridiculous in it, but she'd never tell him that.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing." She stepped up to him. "I just love you and you make me happy."
Castle took off the helmet and set it on the counter, then placed his hands on either side of her face. She loved the way his palms covered her cheeks, like they were sized perfectly to fit there. He kissed her softly, almost too softly.
"I love you back, Kate." He murmured against her lips.
"I know you do." She separated from him and she reached up to smooth down his ruffled hair. "Hey, how about we get out of here?"
"I think that's a marvelous idea."
She leaned in to kiss him again, having every intention of being quick. But this time she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Something clicked inside and she desperately had to have more. She pressed her body flush to his and deepened the kiss, teasing the roof of his mouth with her tongue. A few moments later, breathless with need, she stopped and locked her eyes onto his, the brown rings around her pupils darkening with excitement so that all he saw looking at him was green. And if the deepening of the blue she saw reflected at her was any indication, he wanted her just as bad as she wanted him.
"You know, I'm really am ready to get to the Hamptons." She said slyly. "But, if we leave now, we'll get stuck in lunch hour traffic."
"I hate lunch hour traffic." Castle sighed woefully.
"Me too."
Beckett took his hand in hers and headed for his room, trailing him behind her.
"Come on, Rick." Beckett pulled her shirt over her head and smoothed it down. "It's nearly a quarter to 1:00. The traffic should be fine now. Let's go."
He stepped out of the closet, where he'd gone to get a clean shirt.
"Impatient much?" He joked. "You weren't in too big a hurry a couple of hours ago."
"Well, now I am." She crossed her arms.
He laughed and walked over to her, planting a quick kiss on her protruding bottom lip.
"Okay." He smiled. "I'm ready. Let's go."
They walked hand in hand to the living room, then Castle let go and went to turn off the coffee pot. While Beckett cleaned up her mug from earlier, he went through a quick, mental checklist, and then nodded in satisfaction when he felt sure everything would be fine in the house until Alexis got home later. He started for the door, where Beckett was now waiting with his bag that she'd packed for him.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" She asked.
"You said you had everything I needed in that bag."
"Well, yeah, but you need your helmet too."
He looked at the helmet on the counter and then back at her.
"Wait, that's for this weekend?"
"Of course, Castle." She bit back a grin. "I wouldn't have given it to you yet if it wasn't."
His mouth dropped open in surprised excitement before he went to it and picked it up. He practically skipped over to Beckett.
"Where is your motorcycle?"
"In the parking garage."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
He opened the door and ushered her out, pausing to lock it behind him. Beckett had gone ahead to the elevator to press the call button, so it arrived seconds after he walked up beside her. They stepped inside and Castle pressed the button for the lower level parking deck.
"This is going to be the best weekend ever." He gushed.
As the doors slid closed Castle was bouncing from foot to foot while Beckett watched him with a knowing smile on her face. She still had a couple more surprises for him up her sleeve that would assure that this would indeed be the best weekend ever.
It didn't take long for the elevator to reach it's destination, and Beckett stepped out first. She headed towards the part of the garage where she'd left her bike, knowing from the footsteps that Castle was right behind her. She heard him suck in a sharp breath when the bike came into view, and suddenly he was right beside her, grasping her hand like he didn't know what to do with himself.
"You like it?" She asked.
"It's almost as beautiful as the woman who owns it." He said reverently.
He dropped her hand and walked the last few feet to the motorcycle. He ran a hand over the leather seats, taking note of the softness that had come with time. His eager eyes took in the chrome, shiny as the day it'd rolled off the factory floor. The parts that weren't leather or chrome were painted a dark yet brilliant purple. The engine sat waiting to be roared to life and the handles were jutting out welcomingly.
Beckett stepped around Castle to put the bag she'd packed into one of the side bags hanging just behind the rear seat. He assumed that her weekend belongings were in the other one hanging on the opposite side. She grabbed her smooth, plain black helmet from where it hung on one of the handlebars and placed it on her head.
"How long has it been since you've driven one?" She asked Castle as she buckled the strap.
"A couple of years." He replied distractedly. "Wait." He snapped his gaze to hers. "How'd you know I could drive motorcycles?"
"I'm a detective. Its my job to notice things." She smiled. "Including motorcycle endorsements on your driver's license. So, do you remember how it all works, or do you need a refresher?"
"No, I remember."
"Good." She pulled a key from her pocket and tossed it to him. "Put your helmet on and let's hit the road. She's all gassed up and ready to go."
"You're really letting me drive?"
"If you think you can handle it."
"Oh, I can handle it."
He reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her wildly. She pushed him away laughing.
"We'll have time for that when we get to the Hamptons. Let's go, Castle."
He grinned and put his own helmet on, and the sight of the happy pseudo-Batman had freah peals of laughter rolling out of her mouth. He swung a leg over the machine and she waited for him to get settled before she climbed on behind him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and he grabbed one of her hands, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it lightly.
"Thank you." He said over his shoulder as he released her.
"You're welcome." She answered as she took hold of him again. "Oh, and Castle?"
"Yeah?"
"If you crash this thing and kill us, I'm going to kill you."
"Yes ma'am."
It took him a few moments to get fully adjusted to her bike. Once he was ready, he put the key in the ignition and Beckett watched silently as he went through the motions to start it up. He didn't miss a step, and before long, the engine was purring beneath them. She squeezed him gently, letting him know that she was ready and he placed a hand over hers in reply. Then he took hold of both handle bars, revved the motor a few times, shifted into drive, and steered them out onto the waiting city streets.
"Not bad, Castle." Beckett said as she slid off the motorcycle.
"What? My driving or the house?" He swung off and stood next to her, shifting his weight from foot to foot to get his blood flowing.
"Both." She took her helmet off and started to get their luggage out of the saddle bags.
"Oh, no." Castle's words halted her movements. "Let me carry those. On these grounds you are declared to be relaxing."
"Castle, I can carry a bag."
"I know you can. But you need to conserve energy however possible."
"And why's that?" She asked with a smirk.
"I merely am referring to the fact that you go back to working long hours at the precinct in a few days, and you should be well rested."
"I'm sure that's all you mean. Now take that helmet off and let's go inside. I'm sweating to death out here."
Castle did as he was told, and a few minutes later they were standing inside his vacation home. It was well decorated, but not overly lavish. There were oversized armchairs and comfortable looking couches in the living room, but Beckett couldn't see much else from the front hall.
"Do you want a drink?" Castle pointed towards what Beckett assumed was the way into the kitchen.
"You have any beer?"
"Do I have beer?" He scoffed. "Please, follow me."
He set their bags down by one of the couches as they passed and led her around the corner to the kitchen. He opened the large refrigerator door and grabbed two dark brown glass bottles. He screwed off the lids and handed one bottle to Beckett. They both took long drinks, the coldness bringing tears to their eyes.
"What about food?" Beckett asked.
"Oh yeah, we did kind of skip lunch."
"And we had quite a workout before we left."
"That we did." He grinned boyishly, and Beckett couldn't help but laugh. "But I don't keep much here food wise, just have lots of beverage choices. Want to order in and later we'll go to the store?"
"Sounds good." Beckett took another swig of the robust beer. "Why don't you order us some food and I'll go unpack."
"Okay. Bedroom is right through that door." He gestured across the room. "Unless you want to sleep upstairs?"
"No, down here is fine." She set her half empty bottle down. "After you order, you want to come join me?" She raised an eyebrow, taking away any doubt as to the meaning of her question.
"I won't be but a minute." He replied.
She went back to pick up the bags and started for the room Castle had pointed to.
"Hey, Castle?" She called out.
He looked up from the phone book he had on the counter.
"Yeah?"
"Order a lot. If you think you're hungry now, wait until after you help me unpack."
Before he could reply, she was walking away, making sure to put a little extra swing in her step. Castle smiled like a fool as he dialed. Good lord, he loved that woman.
Castle was lounging on the edge of the bed when Beckett walked out of the bathroom clad in a towel, and he grinned at her.
"All ready?" He asked.
"Yep. Your turn."
"Okay."
They had gotten back and finished unpacking the groceries a little while ago. It was after 7:00 now, since they'd had an extra round of dessert after their late lunch and then taken their time at the store. Plus, Beckett had told him he could drive for the whole weekend, since he knew where everything was, so he had taken her to see some of the sights before they even made it to the store. Neither was in a hurrying mood, both content to be just be together, so they were enjoying the laid back pace.
After putting their purchases up, she had told him that she wanted to go swimming. He wanted to do whatever she wanted to do, plus he wanted to see this 'his eyes only' bathing suit, and so of course he'd agreed. Now that she was changed, he went to the dresser where she'd put their clothes and opened the top drawer. He didn't find his swim trunks, so he checked the other drawer she'd used for his stuff. His brow furrowed in confusion.
"Hey, Kate, where are my trunks? I can't find them."
"I didn't pack you any trunks."
"I thought you said you packed everything I'd need for the weekend."
"I did."
"We're at the beach."
"Yeah."
"So, wouldn't swim trunks be on the list of things I'd need?"
"It would be if we were swimming with other people." She walked up to him, stopping a couple of feet away. "But I just plan on swimming with you this weekend."
"Still need a swimsuit, Kate."
He sounded slightly frustrated, and Beckett closed the distance between them, pressing herself up against him. She rose to her tiptoes and kissed him, her touch slow and tantalizing. She could practically feel him relax into her, and a second later his hands were in her hair, stroking gently through the wavy locks.
"You have a swimsuit." She whispered against his lips.
"You just said you didn't pack one."
"No I didn't." She pulled away just enough to look at him. "I said I didn't pack any trunks."
"Okay. I don't get it."
Beckett kissed him again, pressing an almost laughing peck to his quirked lips.
"I brought us matching swimsuits." She said as she stepped away from his hold. "If I show you mine, I think you'll understand."
She grabbed the corner of the towel from where it was tucked in at the front and pulled it out. The rest of the soft terry cloth fell in a heap around her feet once she let go.
"Um, Kate?"
"Yes, Castle?"
"You're naked."
"How observant of you."
Realization spread across his face and he highlighted it with a grin.
"This is why you asked how private the pool was."
"You catch on fast." She started for the bedroom door. "Why don't you get your swimsuit on and join me outside?"
She was out of his sight for a full three seconds before he reacted, but then he sprang into action, stripping as he followed her. By the time he made it to the pool, she was standing at the far end, watching him watch her. As he stared shamelessly, his eyes roving hungrily over her lithe body, she suddenly dove in, a veritable picture of grace and utter hotness. When she emerged, she brushed her hair out of her face and looked up at him through droplet covered eyelashes.
"Come on in, Castle. The water's fine."
A/N - Sunshiny-Kate wanted Castle and Beckett to go skinny dipping. I decided I wanted them to as well. The above is what happened in my head after I made that decision. Thanks for reading. -Until next time, Paige.