Kate sipped at her water as she scanned police reports on her tablet. To the other passengers seated around her in the airport lounge, she appeared poised, calm, controlled – a business traveler in a gray jacket, gray pants and black turtleneck, her dark hair slicked back into a neat bun.
On the inside she was fizzing with anticipation, feeling that surge of adrenaline that rose within her whenever she was planning something special. Her cell phone buzzed, and when she saw who was calling, her face relaxed into a wide smile. She answered the phone quickly, struggling to tamp down her excitement so it wouldn't show in her voice.
"Hey Castle," she said, "you're up early." It was 11am in London, 6am in New York City.
"Just wanted to check on you before you got stuck in a meeting," Rick said. "How did the interview go?"
Kate sighed. "It… you know, it… went. You know it's not exactly my favorite thing to do. Never has been, never will be. I mean, it's probably a little ironic that I don't blink when I interrogate a witness or a suspect, but being questioned by a reporter just makes me feel… weird."
"Totally different ballgame, Beckett," Rick said with a soft laugh, "and for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that reporter wouldn't want to be in an interrogation room with you either. I'm sure you were amazing."
Kate heaved another sigh. "I don't know about that. All I can think about right now is getting on that plane to New York tomorrow." Her voice softened. "I miss you guys so much."
"Kate," Rick said, "we miss you too. Elaine has gone from counting down the days to counting down the hours – she's driving me a little crazy, but honestly, I'm counting down too."
Kate laughed. "How is the little munchkin? And the boys?"
"They're doing great; they just can't wait for their mom to come home."
"I can't wait either. It's been a long week. Is Nathan over that cold yet?"
"Pretty much. We're all good, Kate. Don't worry."
Kate closed her eyes. Much as she always loved to listen to the love and reassurance in that deep, rich voice, it was time to go, before there was an airport announcement or something else that would give away her location. "I should go, Castle," she said, "and so should you – it's Saturday. Catch an extra hour or two of sleep while you can."
"Fat chance. Elaine will probably be up any second."
"True," Kate laughed softly, recalling many early mornings with a lively brown-haired girl hurtling through her parents' bedroom door, ignoring their bleary eyes and tumbling onto their bed to ask for her favorite cereal.
"Noel hit a home run for his team yesterday," Castle continued.
"Yay Noel! Tell him I said congratulations. I can't wait to hear all the details… I really should go, Castle. I have that wrap-up meeting to get to, and it looks like it's going to be a long one. I should get some work done before I head over to Scotland Yard."
"Okay. I'll call you later. Your dad's coming over to take the gang to the park his afternoon."
"Is Nate feeling well enough to go out?" Kate asked in concern.
"You know I wouldn't let him go if he was really sick, Kate. He's fine, almost back to a hundred per cent – and the weather's great today, perfect for the park. He's been cooped up at home for a few days and he's itching to go out, get some fresh air. And your dad will keep a close eye on him."
"I know. I'm just… fussing. The park does sound like fun… I can picture them now – Dad, Noel and El tossing balls back and forth – and Nathan reading on a bench." Kate smiled. Nathan liked the outdoors, but unlike his twin brother and younger sister, he was not the sporty type.
"Sounds about right," Castle responded, "I'd go with them, but I should get some work done. I promised Gina new chapters this week."
"Yeah, well, maybe Gina needs to appreciate that you've had an unusually busy week." Kate couldn't hold back the edge that crept into her voice. She understood that Gina had a job to do, and she had actually grown to like the other woman over the years, but sometimes, especially when Gina pushed hard for new material, Kate still got a little… protective.
And Rick liked it when she got protective, as evidenced by the trace of fond laughter in his voice when he replied. "It's okay, Beckett. The new chapters are almost ready anyway… it has been a crazy week, but strangely I've been more inspired this week than I have in the past few months."
"Really?" Kate said, "Well, in that case, maybe I should go away more often."
"Did I say I'd been more inspired? I meant less. Definitely less. A lot less. In fact, I haven't written a word since you've been gone-"
Kate laughed, and then checked her father's watch, realizing to her surprise that it was time to board her flight. "Bye Rick. Kiss the kids for me. I love you."
"Love you too."
Ten hours later
Kate was practically vibrating with excitement as the car pulled up outside her home. She was tired, but thrilled to be back in her city, close to the people she loved. She'd spent half of the long transatlantic flight asleep and the other half working, ensuring that things were running smoothly under the supervision of Lieutenant Tim MacAllister, in whose capable and trustworthy hands she'd left the running of her unit during her absence from the office.
Her driver turned to address her. "Welcome home, Mrs. C."
"Thank you Miguel, it's good to be home."
Minutes later, she quietly let herself in, through the back door. She left her luggage in the kitchen, toed off her shoes and stole towards the study. She paused outside the half-open door, listening to the familiar sound of Rick's fingers dancing across the keyboard.
She peeked into the room. From her angle, his face was in profile; gray-streaked hair falling over his forehead, piercing blue eyes intensely focused on the screen in front of him. The black t-shirt he was wearing stretched across his broad shoulders as he typed. She felt the familiar emotions rush through her… he was her anchor, her safe haven, the place she always found love and acceptance. Of all the sights to come home to, she mused, this had to be one of the very best.
Suddenly he turned and looked over to the door, and straight into her eyes. His jaw dropped, his hands rising to scrub at his eyes. He rose to his feet slowly, making his way towards her, all the while not saying a word.
"Yes, it's really me, Castle. I'm home." She laughed joyfully and closed the distance between them, leaping into his arms as they tightened around her.
Her hands bracketed his face as she pulled him into a long, slow kiss. Her hands slipped up to tangle in his hair, down to stroke over his shoulders. The lovers lost themselves in the familiar warmth they always drew from each other.
Rick broke the kiss long enough to shake his head at her in bemusement. "You're never going to stop surprising me, are you, Beckett? You weren't supposed to get here until tomorrow. What happened to the wrap-up meeting?"
"We had the wrap-up yesterday, after our last session. I headed straight to Heathrow after the interview this morning. Car service just dropped me off."
"So – you were already at the airport when I called this morning. And this explains why I haven't been able to reach you since then."
Kate nodded, smiling. "Yeah, did you get my messages about the 'meeting' running late?"
"I did. I was going to call you in an hour to see if you were finally free…. Well played, Inspector Beckett," Rick said, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
He held her close for a long moment, then pulled away to ask, "Are you hungry? I know how you hate plane food. You must be exhausted. I'll run you a bath, then you can take a nap. The kids will be back in a couple - ."
Kate shook her head, pulling him to her again. "I'm not tired – a little jet-lagged, but I'll sleep later. I'd like a bath, but again, later. And as far as hunger goes, if we only have a couple of hours till the three musketeers come home, then I think we'd better take care of that hunger right now, don't you?" She drew the edge of her lower lip between her teeth; a move she knew still drove her partner crazy. "And just to be clear, I'm not talking about food."
… Some time later
Kate sighed contentedly, snuggling closer to her husband, feeling completely relaxed and replete for the first time in days. Their naked limbs were tangled together, her head resting against his chest, his hand anchored in her dark hair. "I needed that," she mumbled. "You have no idea how much I needed that."
"It was a little… frantic," Rick said, a note of apology in his voice.
Kate lifted her head slowly, staring into his eyes incredulously. "Are you kidding me right now, Castle? After ten days away from home, 'frantic' was exactly what I needed – if you'd tried to take it slow, I think I would have lost my mind."
Rick laughed. "I needed that too… I love those children, but I have to say I'm glad they aren't home right now. Speaking of which," he observed, sitting up, "we have maybe an hour before your dad drops them off. Enough time for that bath."
"Later," Kate shook her head and pushed him back down, tightening her hold around him. "I just – I need to stay here – just like this, for a little while."
They sank into a peaceful silence, listening to the slow rhythm of their breaths, just enjoying being together. Then Rick spoke up. "Something's bothering you, Kate."
Kate looked up at him. "I'm fine, Castle. Better than fine. I just had amazing, passionate afternoon sex with my husband. It doesn't get much better than this."
Rick Castle was never easily distracted once he had his mind set on a goal. "Yes… but there's something on your mind."
Kate was silent for a moment. "It's nothing… it's not important."
"The interview," Rick guessed.
"How'd you guess?"
"I heard it in your voice when we spoke this morning. There were a couple of pretty heavy sighs from your end of the line. Was the reporter rude, pushy? "
Feeling tension start to build in the body underneath hers, Kate ran a calming hand down Rick's side. "No, it was nothing like that. She was – she was pretty good actually, better than most of the writers I've done puff pieces with… she was professional, easy to talk to. Maybe too easy… I feel like I may have said too much."
Rick relaxed. "Kate, I honestly don't think you need to worry about that. The chances of you, Kate Beckett, saying too much to a reporter… well, they're about on par with the chances of Elaine eating her veggies without complaining."
Kate nudged Rick's chest playfully. "Hey, watch it. That might have been true at one time, but I'm not that closed off anymore. I mean, I just gave a full-length interview for the first time in years… give me some credit here."
Rick reached up to hold her face between his large, warm hands. "You're not closed off, Kate. You have the most giving heart of anyone I know. You're just private. You don't have a desire to share the things you hold most dear with the general public. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that."
Kate's smile was hesitant, almost shy. "That's generally true, but I think you'd have been surprised if you'd heard me with Christina – that's her name, by the way… I mean, I kind of spilled my guts, Castle. I didn't talk about the kids, I wouldn't do that – although we did talk a little about Alexis and her work… but when she asked about my mentors, I talked about Captain Montgomery, about Royce, Gates…."
"Well, so what? They are your mentors."
"Yeah, but Roy… what if someone reads the piece and goes sniffing around? What if someone finds out-"
"Kate," Rick interrupted firmly, "only a small handful people on the face of this earth know about that – and not one of them would ever break that trust. You know that."
"You're right. I do." Kate relaxed once more into silence.
"What else did she ask?" Rick prompted.
"Well, there was a question about that book Grayson wrote."
Rick stiffened again. "I still think we should sue the pants off that sleazebag."
"Castle, from everything I've heard, it's a badly written, error-riddled, mindless hack job that no one with an ounce of good sense would give any level of consequence. Grayson is the least credible source imaginable… he was kicked off the force – and convicted – for stealing evidence. No one takes him or his book seriously. And suing would only draw attention to it."
"I know, but –"
"Listen, Castle… since I've known you, you've probably had a thousand lies published about you over the years. It's never bothered you the way this book does. I've always watched it roll right off you like water off a duck's back. Why can't you let this one go, ignore it, just like the others?"
"Because this time it touches you, Kate," Rick replied heatedly. "You didn't sign up for this life, you didn't ask for the attention, the rumors, the lies, all the bullshit, you didn't ask for any of it… and I hate that it crept into a place where you lived and worked for so long, a place you almost held sacred. The 12th was your home, and Grayson's book tainted that – from the inside. I could kill him for doing that."
Kate propped herself up on an elbow and shot him an indignant look. "I love you for being so protective, but, come on, Castle. First off, nothing could ever taint those years for me, least of all some stupid book by some stupid jackass the entire precinct loved to hate. Second, this works both ways. The book is about both of us. If anything, as far as I can tell, you come off a lot worse in the book than I do."
"The point is," Rick inserted, "I can deal with it. I just write for entertainment – you on the other hand do incredibly important work. You've always had the professional reputation you worked so hard to deserve, Kate, and nothing should ever be allowed to jeopardize that. Again, you didn't sign up for this – I did."
"Let's not go overboard with this, Castle. It's just a dumb attempt from a disgruntled ex-cop to make a buck off the fact that we once worked in the same building. So I really think my reputation is safe. It might make for an interesting sound bite in an interview, but nothing more. And don't ever downplay what you do. You know what your writing did for me, so just imagine what it's done for others."
Kate wasn't done yet. "And one more thing, Castle, I may not have signed up to be the subject of a crappy 'tell-all' – and neither did you, by the way – but I did sign up to be your partner, and that means that you don't get to ride off to the reservation to tackle the big, bad guy on my behalf. Whatever we decide to do – or not do – about this ridiculous book, we do it together. We're a team, right?"
"Always." Rick paused, letting her words sink in. "So, as a team, does that mean we can kill Grayson together?"
"Castle!" The tension of the moment dissipated almost instantly, as they dissolved into laughter together.
"Seriously," Rick continued, "I'm pretty sure Ryan and 'Sito would back us up on this one. With the four of us working together, I'm pretty sure we could find a way to commit the perfect crime. God knows we've solved enough murders to be able to carry one out. And ooh, Lanie could help us get rid of the body."
"Sounds like you've got it all planned, Castle. You know, strangely enough, Christina did ask about Lanie and the guys."
"Hmm… let me guess – she wanted to know where 'the real Ochoa, Raley and Parry' are now?"
"So I'm guessing you get that one a lot."
"Practically every interview," Castle affirmed. "Those three get so much attention that I'm pretty sure they'll start getting interview requests of their own soon."
"Well, Lanie would love that," Kate said. "Javi would probably love it too. And Kev would make a great interview subject."
"True," Rick replied, "but, enough about our friends… am I seriously supposed to believe there were no questions during this interview about a certain ruggedly handsome mystery writer – one whom, I might add, has only grown more handsome with age – who captured your heart the very first time you laid eyes on him?"
Kate rolled her eyes and laughed. "You might have come up in the conversation once or twice. But this really wasn't about you, Castle. You do remember me telling you that this was an interview about the risks and rewards of a career in police work, right?"
"So which am I?" Rick asked playfully. "A risk or a reward?"
Kate grabbed a pillow and hit him playfully in the head with it. "Both – always both, Castle. At one time, you were more of a risk than a reward, but now you're definitely more of a reward. I have a pretty awesome life, Castle, and I can't imagine it without you."
Rick smiled, and Kate could see the deep emotion in his blue eyes. "Same here, Beckett."
Kate smiled back before going on. "But back to the interview… all things considered, it was weird, but it was actually kind of cool. I got to talk about the pressures of the job, how to try to hold on to a sense of self… the things I wish I'd handled better when I first joined up."
"I'm glad it was a good experience for you. It sounds like a great interview. I think it'll accomplish what you were hoping for when you agreed to do it – helping to inspire some young girl who's thinking about becoming a cop. And don't worry that you might have said too much to the magazine, Kate, because no interview could ever capture the essence of who you are. It might give people little glimpses into your life, but it won't encapsulate what makes you so remarkable. Nothing ever could. I've known you for all these years and I'm still discovering new things every single day."
The sincerity in his blue eyes still had the power to make her heart stutter a little. "Thanks Castle," she said, "that's really sweet. And for what it's worth, I really like the magazine. Instead of celebrities, they have successful career women on their cover every month."
"Are you going to be on the cover?"
"Definitely not. That was one of my firm stipulations. There'll be a few pictures of me inside the issue, but they'll have a British policewoman on the cover."
"Too bad. You would've been amazing on the cover – in fact, given the fact that the magazine is called Heels, you should probably be on all their covers. You definitely have more than enough pairs of heels in your closet to become their new icon. And I'd get to call you my 'Cover Girl'."
Kate wrinkled her nose. "Lame, Castle. You're losing your touch in the nickname game. You're coming up with some real duds these days. Last month it was 'Inspector Sexy'." She rolled her eyes.
"Hey, I liked that one."
"Well, hopefully you like your life a little bit more," Kate replied sweetly, "because that's what you'll lose if you ever call me that again." She smiled to herself suddenly. "But speaking of nicknames… is Elaine still stuck on 'Nay' and 'No'?"
Rick laughed. "I swear she does it on purpose… I sit her down and tell her she needs to learn to say her brothers' names properly. So I ask her to 'say Nate', and she goes 'Naaayyyy!' and then I'm like 'okay, say Noel' and she goes –"
"Nooooo!" Kate chimed in, laughing.
Rick shook his head. "She does it on purpose, Beckett. She says everything else right, she's outgrown pretty much all her toddler enunciations, but I'm convinced she calls the twins 'Nay' and 'No' just to piss them off."
"Interesting theory. Do you think it's working?"
"No," Rick replied with a smile, "they pretend to hate it, but they secretly love it. I think it'll be a sad day for those two when Elaine decides to start pronouncing their names properly."
Kate laughed again. "I just cannot wait to see them. And now I'm ready for that bath."
"We might have to make it a quick shower," Rick replied, "they'll be here soon."
As they headed to their bathroom, Kate slipped an arm around Rick's waist. "It really is so good to be home."
Rick dropped a kiss on her head. "It's so good to have you back… it's not home without you."
A/N: So I was planning to have the kids actually appear in this chapter, but… it took on a life of its own! Hopefully the junior Castles will show up in future stories in this interview series. I would really love to know what you think about this. Up next I'll be doing a Richard Castle interview, which will probably be posted in a separate story. Thanks again to you all for your support and reviews during this one, and thanks to the guest reviewers as well – I wasn't able to respond to you individually, but I really do appreciate your feedback.
