Her hands grip the coffee mug as her eyes dance around the empty loft. This must be what it feels like for Castle in the mornings after she's rushed off to work, racing the clock because of his distractions. How the autumn wind brushes against the windows, how she can hear the heater kick on and start to fill the loft with a distant hum. She sips her coffee, not knowing what to do next after nibbling on a piece of day old bacon that had been set aside in the fridge. Castle had been up early for a meeting with Gina across town, Martha was living uptown as she worked on an upcoming play, and Alexis had just settled back into her dorm for the start of the school year. Kate had had the last few days to spend with Castle, catching no cases at work which left her and the boys at home fighting off the boredom. But it was never boring for Kate spending the long days with Castle, tucked in bed or marathoning movies on the couch or watching him write when she thinks he doesn't notice. This was the first day since being together, since being engaged, that Kate had the entire loft to herself and she suddenly found herself getting lost in the high vaulted ceiling and dark wooden floors. Padding across the living room in her socks, she stood at the doorway to Castle's office, admiring his books like she had grown so accustomed to do whenever she found herself getting restless. She sat her coffee cup down on his desk as her hand trailed the spines of book after book. Usually she would take one down, skim a few pages, but this time nothing caught her eye and she meandered back towards the couch, deserting her coffee cup behind her. She stood by the windows, looking down at the street, but the sudden cold weather that accompanied early October kept most people bundled up or off the streets all together. She sighed, leaning her hands against the edge of the couch, eyes back to dancing around the loft, her home, discovering all the things she had never noticed before. Like the notches on the trim to Castle's study where they had marked Alexis' height every year, and higher up were marks for Castle too. How there was a giant scuff mark in the middle of the floor that Kate could only assume was due to some laser tag battle or maybe from one of the many times Martha had held her acting classes here.
She found her feet carrying her towards the closet at the end of the hall where they had stored all of her extra boxes when she moved in a little over a month ago. She pulled one out which was simply marked kate and she dragged it along the floor back in front of the couch. Sitting crossed legged on the floor, she unfolded the flaps and looked inside. It was her keepsake box. Things she hadn't looked at in years, like the photo album that Castle had grabbed a hold of one day during a case she could barely remember, and her very first copy of In a Hail of Bullets, which still had her movie ticket from seeing The Forbidden Planet with Castle tucked away inside. More pictures were scattered throughout the box, and flipping one over she saw a younger Castle, Ryan and Esposito staring up at her, something she must have snapped when trying to use up the film on a camera she'd found back then. She sat the photo on the coffee table but couldn't take her eyes off it. She couldn't pin point the day it was taken, and wasn't even convinced that it was her behind the camera. But it couldn't have been taken very long after Castle had joined their team, maybe just a few months. Yet Ryan had his arm around Castle like they were best of friends, and he was even gripping one of Castle s books in the other hand as Esposito had actually managed a smile right before the photo was taken. They look happy, and it makes Kate smile to herself. She fished around the box until she came up with an empty frame that must have once held a photo that was probably sitting at the bottom of the box now. She placed the photo inside and propped it up on the table. Leaning back against the couch she smiled at it, catching her reflection in the glass.
She spent the rest of the afternoon going through the box, setting photos aside and finding more and more things relating to Castle that she had kept that would just make her blush if he were to ever find them. Still, she tucked most of them away in a small wooden box that she buried towards the bottom under old T-shirts she couldn't find the heart to get rid of just yet. She took a break and made herself lunch before she made herself another cup of coffee and settled herself on the couch. Box and scattered photos deserted, she flipped open In a Hail of Bullets and got lost in the pages, coming up for only a sip of coffee here and there. She was almost halfway through when she heard the lock on the door click and Castle shuffle through the door, but she didn't lift her eyes until she finished the page she was on. By then, Castle had silently made his way over to her and was staring at the disorganized mess she had made of the floor. She just looked up at him and smiled, standing to stretch from being in the same position for so long, she sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his waste. He returned it with the biggest hug, lifting her off her feet a little. You'd have thought he'd been gone for days instead of just for a few hours. She untangled her arms and reached across the table to grab her coffee mug, noticing that it was actually Castle's and that hers still laid deserted in his office from this morning. As Kate made her way to the kitchen, Castle leaned over and picked up the framed photo of him, Ryan and Esposito.
"Hey, I remember this!" Kate just shook her head, it would be just like Castle to remember a simple day when a photo was taken. "Montgomery had found an old camera that still had film left. He took like four pictures of us throughout the day. Except..." Castle pursed his lips and looked at the rest of the photos on the floor. "I don't think you were in any of them. I specifically remember you throwing a fit when I asked you to pose for a photo with me." He turned back to Kate with the biggest grin on his face. Kate laughed out loud to herself, finally remembering the day he was talking about, the day he finally learned that the glare he had gotten so often over the years meant to stop asking. She leaned against the counter waiting for the coffee to brew and shook her head at him with a smile.
"I don't think I came across any of the other photos." She said, swiftly walking behind him and into his study to grab her cold coffee mug. "Want me to make you a cup?" She offered as she headed back across the room and he nodded as he rushed off to the same closet she had been digging through earlier that day. She had both their coffees ready when he came back with a small box that he sat down on the kitchen counter and started digging through. Kate sipped her coffee as she watched, his eyes eager and the smile on his face too adorable for her to look away. It didn't take him long until he let out a sound of triumph as he handed her three old photos. She couldn't keep the smile from spreading across her face as she looked at them. Suddenly the memory of that day flooded back to her as she looked at a photo of the boys with Montgomery, standing together in the bull pen just outside his office, she vividly remembered taking this photo because Castle wouldn't stop fidgeting with his hair long enough for her to take the stupid picture. The other two photos were shots of Ryan with Castle and Esposito with Castle. Esposito looking the opposite of thrilled to be standing that close to Castle, but in the other Ryan and Castle were arm in arm with the biggest smiles on their faces that Kate got lost in until Castle made another excited noise and whipped out another photo and handed it to her. This one made her heart stutter for a moment. It was her and Castle, but they weren't posing. It was candid, she didn't know it had been taken but standing here now looking down at a not so younger version of herself and Castle, she was so happy that it had been. She was sitting at her desk, her head tilted towards Castle as he looked back at her, they looked to be in some sort of deep discussion. It was the perfect photo, taken from what seemed like the direction of the break room, you could see just enough of their faces and just enough of there surroundings. She finally looked up from the photo and stared at Castle.
"How long have you had this?" she asked, gripping the photo tighter than was necessary.
"Since it was taken I guess." he shrugged. "I stashed it away. Montgomery knew you wouldn't have liked that your photo had been taken without your knowledge so he offered me the extra print. I guess he knew i'd like it." Castle just looked at her, not sure if she would be angry or not. But Kate held onto the photo and walked back towards the closet where she rustled around long enough until she came up with another frame. Carrying the now framed photo of her and Castle along with the other framed photo of Castle, Ryan and Esposito, she made room on the table behind the couch and positioned them next to one another. She stood back to look at it, Castle coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her, settling his chin against her shoulder. She leaned back against his chest and twisted around to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Now it's home." she mumbled into his ear, and a smile spread across his face as he turned back, getting lost in the memories.