I know it's been a long time since I've written anything new. I had surgery a few weeks ago, and like Castle in The Lives of Others, the pain meds made me kind of loopy. So I decided to wait until I could write something that would actually make sense, rather than confuse you all, and embarrass myself, with something that was truly horrible.
This is kind of late, considering it's a bit of a post ep for Still, but I just rewatched it, so whatever. Hope you all like it.
"You almost ready to leave?" Rick asked.
Kate sighed and pulled her head from her hands. She was sitting on the couch in the break room, trying to block out the noises coming from the rest of the precinct, where the rest of her team, along with just about everyone else, was celebrating the end of the case.
"Umm, yeah." Kate finally replied, taking the hand Rick offered and allowing him to help her up from the couch. As soon as she was standing, her legs started to buckle, but Rick was there to steady her with an arm around her waist. Rick smiled down at her before placing a quick kiss to her temple and leading her back into the bullpen.
Gates had already given them the rest of the day, and the next two off, but Kate had wanted to return to the precinct to grab a few things. Esposito and Ryan spotted the duo on their way to the elevator and raised a hand in goodbye, knowing even from across the room that their boss wasn't up for anything else. Rick could tell that Kate was fading quickly, so he ushered her into the elevator when it arrived and leaned slightly in front of her to press the button that would take them to the garage and to her car.
When the elevator arrived in the parking garage, Kate wordlessly handed Rick the keys and made her way to the passenger side of the car while Rick was left staring at her for a moment before returning back to the present and climbing into the driver's seat where he started the car and began backing out after shooting Kate a concerned look. For her part, Kate smiled at him slightly before turning and looking out the window for the entire ride to Kate's apartment.
When they arrived at Kate's front door, Rick unlocked it and gestured for her to enter before following. He watched while Kate removed her shoes and gun holster and put them away before locking her gun up. When she was done, she turned toward her living room, leaving Rick by the door.
"So," Rick started, wondering if maybe Kate only wanted a ride home, and didn't actually want him to stay. "I'll just-"
"Can you call the Chinese place around the corner?" Kate interrupted. "I haven't actually eaten today." Since this mess interrupted us this morning was left unsaid.
"Sure." Rick said with a smile. "What are you in the mood for?" He knew that whatever her answer was would tell him if he needed to let his mother know that he wouldn't be home; and he also knew that he wouldn't begrudge Kate her decision, no matter what it was.
"Our regular stuff." She replied as she sank into the corner of her couch and stretched her feet out in front of her with a sigh.
With a small smile in her direction, Rick went into Kate's kitchen and grabbed the menu for the Chinese place she'd mentioned and phoned in their order. When he was done, he realized that Kate's reply had only implied that she wanted him to eat with her, not that she wanted him to stay.
After any other case, Rick wouldn't doubt that Kate wanted his presence, but this was one of the bigger incidents that happened to either of them since they'd been dating, and he didn't really know how she was going to process that. After a deep sigh and a quick shake of his head, Rick managed to convince himself to stop acting like an insecure 15-year-old and go sit with his girlfriend.
Rick made his way out of the kitchen, but paused when he saw Kate sitting on the couch with her eyes closed. As if sensing his presence, Kate cracked her eyes open and looked him over for a moment before a smile tugged her lips upward and Rick found himself drawn to the end of the couch where her feet were resting. He lifted them slightly and sat down before placing them back in his lap. Kate's eyes had drifted closed again, but when she felt his hands gingerly working out the knots that had appeared after standing still all day, she peeked one eye open, reminding Rick slightly of a cat.
"This ok?" He asked softly, not really sure if she was sleeping or just trying to relax.
"More than." Kate replied clearly, letting him know that she had no intentions of falling asleep.
They lapsed into silence again, broken only when Kate asked how much longer before their food arrived. Just as her question left her mouth, there was a knock at the door and with a smile Rick stood up and went to pay for their food. When he returned, it was with two bottles of water and their food, which he set on the coffee table. Kate sat up and swung her legs to the floor, allowing Rick to sit beside her as she unpacked the food. Kate was aware of Rick staring at her, and she knew what he wanted to say, but she wasn't ready to talk. Not yet anyway. Apparently Rick didn't get that message though.
"Kate-"
"Not yet, Rick. Please. Just," Kate sighed. "I just want to eat first, ok? Can we do that, please?"
"Yeah." Rick said as he laid his right hand on her left knee and squeezed gently. "We can."
Kate turned and gave him a grateful smile before grabbing a container of food and begging to eat. Rick watched her for a moment more before grabbing his own food. Of course, since he was Richard Castle, he couldn't just let the two of them have a quiet dinner together, so while Kate was momentarily lost in thought, he reached his chopsticks into her container and grabbed a dumpling, even managing to get it into his mouth before she fully realized what he'd done.
"Castle!" Kate exclaimed a second later. "What the hell?"
"Huh?" Rick asked with his mouth full.
"What have I said about stealing my dumplings?" Kate asked, trying to be serious, but Rick knew from the way her lips were twitching that she wasn't really mad.
"You wanna share?" Rick asked with a slightly suggestive smile as he leaned in for a kiss.
"Ew, no. You keep that to yourself." Kate replied, finally allowing the smile to break free.
Rick smiled back and nodded before he finished chewing.
When they finished their food, Rick stood up and took all the food into the kitchen where he put the leftovers in the fridge and threw away the empty cartons. He was just about to steal another dumpling, just to see if Kate would notice later, when he heard her voice.
"Touch my dumplings again, Rick. I dare you." She called from the living room.
"This is what I mean about your inappropriate remarks." Rick called back, a grin on his face as he put the dumplings in the fridge.
Rick heard Kate sigh as she stood and the sound of her retreating footsteps told him she was going into her bedroom, presumably to change. While she got out of her work clothes, Rick finished storing the food before he decided that her trash was full enough to go out, so he removed the bag from the trash can and left the apartment to walk down the hall to the trash shute and deposited it before returning to Kate's kitchen and replacing the bag with a new one. When he was done, he heard Kate's voice as she came out of her bedroom.
"Rick? Did you leave?" Kate's voice was impassive, but Rick could hear the hint of panic in it, and he didn't quite know what to make of it.
"Only to send the trash down, Kate." He replied as he walked into the room and saw her standing in the doorway to her bedroom in a sports bra and a pair of cotton shorts. He stared at her for a moment before she held out her hand and made the universal 'come hither' gesture until he was standing in front of her. When he was within arm's reach, Kate hooked her fingers through his front belt loops and tugged him closer.
"Kate." Rick said, not really sure what she was trying to accomplish.
"I promised we would talk." Kate said as she stepped backward and tugged on his pants for him to follow. "And we will. But I want to sit in my bed, so that's where we're gonna talk. And you can't sit in my bed in these clothes. So take them off."
"Kate-"
Kate leaned in so her mouth was next to his ear. "And put them in your drawer."
Rick shuddered from her nearness and hurried to comply. When he was done, he was only wearing his boxers, and Kate was tugging his hand for him to follow her to the bed where he climbed in and allowed her to curl herself into his body.
They were quiet for a moment, just basking in each other's presence, before Kate spoke.
"I don't want you to leave, Rick. I want you to stay with me tonight, so stop worrying."
Rick smiled and held her closer to his chest while he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"Then I'll stay. I didn't mean to make you think I was questioning you. I just didn't know what you needed from me."
Kate sighed and shifted, and Rick let her. He knew she'd been slightly annoyed when he'd returned, but he hoped that she wouldn't be too mad.
"I needed you to not have come back." Kate said quietly. Instantly Rick tensed, and Kate knew she had to talk fast to avoid royally screwing this up. "Don't get me wrong, I was glad that you came back, I'm always glad when you come back. But part of me wanted today to be the day when you finally listened to me. I meant what I said about my making peace not meaning that Martha and Alexis had to lose you. They need you, Rick. Both of them."
"But so do you." Rick interrupted.
Kate smiled up at him and rewarded him with a soft kiss to his jaw.
"I do. But not if it means your daughter and mother don't ever get to see you again. I needed you to be safe."
"You should know by know that I'm never going to leave you alone in a situation like that." Rick said. "So you can just stop expecting it. Anything that happens, we face it together, Kate, I mean it. I know you hate when I put myself in danger like that, but that's where I belong. It's where I've belonged for years now, and there's not much that can change that."
Kate sighed and leaned into his embrace. "I know. That's one of the things I love about you."
Rick was quiet, which spurred Kate to continue. "That's another thing I wanted to say to you. I meant it when I said I love you. I know I haven't said it before, and I didn't want you to think I said it just because I thought I was going to die. I mean it, Rick. I honestly love you."
"I never doubted it, Kate. You might not have said it before, but you show me everyday, and that's enough for me."
Kate smiled. "I think that covers everything, then."
"Almost." Rick replied.
"Almost?"
Rick sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah. I still need to know what to do to help you. If you wake up from a bad dream later, I need to know how to help you."
Kate shifted so she was sitting in his lap facing him. She brought her hands up to his face and stroked her thumbs along his cheekbones as she looked into his eyes.
"I need you to be here. Now, in 5 minutes, if I wake up later tonight. I need you to be here. I need you to tell me that everything's ok, that you're here and I'm safe. I just need you to hold me, Rick. That's all I need right now."
Kate punctuated her statement with a soft and sweet kiss to his lips. When she pulled away she smiled at him before pressing a small kiss to his jaw. Rick cupped her chin and pulled her face back to his and kissed her lips again, just as sweetly, yet still full of passion. When they broke apart, Kate shifted slightly and laid her head down on Rick's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her back and hugged her tightly.
"Just like this, Rick. Just hold me, and I'll make it out of this."
"Always." Rick whispered before maneuvering them enough so that they could lay down facing each other. When they were situated, Rick pulled Kate as close to him as he could and wrapped his arms around her again before he pulled the covers up around them. After they were tucked in for the night, Kate ducked her head under his chin and kissed the hollow at the base of his throat before giving him one last squeeze and drifting into unconsciousness.
"I'll always be here, Kate." Rick whispered into her hair before he too fell into the land of dreams.
There you go! I really hope you guys liked it, and that it was worth the wait. Again, I'm sorry for the gap in posting, but I feel like this was worth it.
As always, if you guys have prompts you want me to fill, please let me know, either in a review or a private message.
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)