Objects in Motion
The past two and a half days had been nothing but pure bliss. They'd passed by in a blur— walks on the beach melting into fireside cuddles; building sandcastles and running through the ocean like toddlers followed by naked dips in Castle's private pool. He had instituted a strict "no swimsuits in the pool" rule for their weekend- one which Kate was more than happy to follow.
Kate could live like this forever— just her and Rick, alone together at the beach. No responsibilities; nothing to do but enjoy each other's company. Even the weight of her decision about the next step in her career had temporarily been lifted from her shoulders, lost in the joy of the time spent with her husband.
Yes, their long weekend had been heavenly so far. But the best part of the whole trip, hands down, was the stubble growing across Castle's face.
"I am never letting you shave again," Kate purred, stroking her fingers across his cheek as she curled into his side on the sofa. True to his word, Castle had abandoned his razor Friday morning, ceremoniously shoving it into a cabinet before they took off to the Hamptons.
"Only if you never wear makeup anymore," he grinned.
Kate chuckled, rolling her eyes as she pulled away from him. "In your dreams," she said, playfully swatting his arm.
"Look at my life. My dreams come true," Castle said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, ducking as he narrowly dodged the throw pillow Kate tossed at him.
"Jerk," he teased, throwing a glance at the pillow on the floor before turning back to Kate, his eyes searching her face. He'd been doing that a lot over the past two days; stopping whatever he was doing in favor of simply staring at her with a look of awe and love in his eyes. Kate felt insecure without her makeup on— it had become a mask of sorts; a way to disguise the fact that she wasn't as young as she used to be, a way of making her look more professional and powerful. Without it, she felt vulnerable, and she'd been avoiding mirrors like the plague all weekend. But the looks that Castle gave her when he looked at her boosted her confidence more than anything else ever could.
He grinned, that look of awe creeping into his eyes once more before his face suddenly turned serious. "Speaking of dreams," he started, "have you finalized yours yet?"
Kate pressed her lips together, sitting back against the couch cushions. "Honestly... no," she sighed. "But I did make a pros and cons list last night. I couldn't sleep," she added, noting the look of confusion on his face, "And I didn't want to wake you."
"Pros and cons list. Okay," he said, grinning. "Can I see it?"
"Yeah," she said, standing quickly to leave the room. She returned a minute later, the piece of paper in her hand, and sank into the couch beside Castle, curling into his side once more as she offered him the list.
"Okay," he said, taking it from her hand. "Pros of taking the Senate job: one, pay increase. True," he noted, raising his eyebrows in approval. "Two, ability to make a difference for all of the people in New York, not just those in the city. Also true," he said. "And cons…"
He moved his finger to the second column, counting the bulleted items. "Six cons? Really?"
"Yeah," Kate sighed. "I was trying to think of one pro for every con, but it was too hard."
"Well, I have another pro for you," Castle said, grabbing a ballpoint pen from the coffee table in front of them. "Pro number three," he started, uncapping the pen and beginning to write. "Proof of the existence of time travel."
"What?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"Remember Simon Doyle?" he asked, grinning. "He said it himself. 'Richard Castle lives in New York with his wife, Senator Beckett, and their…'"
"Castle, Doyle was crazy," Kate said, cutting him off before he could mention the three children the man had also predicted. "That is not a pro. Scratch that off the list."
"Can't," he said, triumphantly recapping the pen with a grin. "It's on there, in ink. Too late. Let's look at Captain now," he said, quickly flipping the paper to the other side.
"Castle…" she protested.
"Pros. One, pay increase," he interrupted. "Two, working in an environment that is familiar. Three, chance of continuing to work at the Twelfth. Oh, that's right. Gates is up for a promotion soon, isn't she?" he asked, turning to her.
"Yeah," Kate confirmed. "Even if she doesn't get it, I don't know if I'd want to stay at the Twelfth to be Captain, though."
Castle set the list on the table, turning back to face her. "Why's that?"
"I don't know," she sighed. "Familiarity is good, but I don't know if that's what I want. I love working with Ryan, Espo, and everyone else, but it would be hard to go from being their peer to being their boss. Everything would have to change," she murmured, "And I don't know that I'm ready for that."
"Everything would change if you were elected for Senator, too," he said.
"Yeah, that's true. But the biggest thing that scares me about Senate is the uncertainty," Kate said, sitting up straighter. "If I go with Captain, I'm guaranteed to get a job. If not at the Twelfth, there will be another precinct in the city that I'll be captain for. With Senate, though, I have to campaign and run for it," she continued, pushing a hand through her hair. "Campaigning for something like that takes a lot of time and money, and there's the chance that the person who runs against me will defeat me, and it will all have been a waste."
"It wouldn't be a waste, Kate," Castle reassured, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Running for elections is a tricky business. You have to learn how to campaign and how to work the people. A lot of successful politicians lost their first election."
"But I don't know if I'm willing to put my all into something that I have no sense of security about," she said.
"You like control," Castle replied. "And the lack of it in the Senate election scares you."
Kate pressed her lips together, nodding in confirmation.
"So I guess the question is: are you willing to risk campaigning and not winning the election? Are you willing to surrender your need for control and take a chance?"
"Or do I want to move one rank higher in the profession I have a passion for and take a job as captain," Kate finished.
They sat in silence for a moment, studying the flames flickering in the fireplace in front of them. The ringing of Kate's cell phone shattered the silence, and she picked it up with a frown.
"It's the precinct," she murmured, sliding her finger across the screen to answer. "Beckett," she said, pulling the phone up to her ear.
The message on the other end was short, clipped and devoid of the emotion that Kate could hear just under the surface of the caller's voice. Even so, she could feel the change take hold of her, beginning with the tightness in her throat at the news and the tremble in her shoulders for what it now meant for her own life.
"Yes, I'll be there," she replied softly, nodding to the caller, though they had no hope of seeing her. "Thank you for calling." Kate waited for a moment, ensuring the call had been disconnected before she placed her phone gently in her lap, heart pounding.
"Beckett, what is it?" Castle asked, concerned. No doubt he'd noticed the slight tremble in her shoulders; the way her hand was shaking as she set her cell down.
"Castle, we're going to have to cut this beach trip short," she said quietly, looking up at him. "Gates was in a car accident earlier. She's in the hospital, and Ryan said it doesn't look good… she's in a coma. They need me to act as interim Captain until she's healed and able to return to work. We need to go back to the city tonight. I start in the morning."