Disclaimer: I do not own these characters-if I did I would have my own house in the Hamptons (you can find writing I do get paid for on Amazon, beginning with Wearing the Cape). The Long Holiday is strictly cannon to the point where it launches from the ending of Episode 2/24, A Deadly Game. After that it's strictly AU and (with obvious bits stolen from future episodes) the sole product of this author's fevered imagination. This is my first fanfic, and reviews are most welcome.
It's official. I'm crazy.
Kate looked over her limited wardrobe. The casual pants she'd brought and was wearing now weren't beach or pool-worthy. Maybe she could duck out and shop? They'd driven through a baker's dozen of Long Island's little townships last night, boutique-lined streets.
Wow, Castle, you're really working hard to see me in a swimsuit.
If you're not comfortable in a swimsuit, you can just skinny dip.
Um, no. For just a moment she let herself wonder what might have happened if she'd taken him up on his offer. Gina wouldn't be here now, but Alexis would be—Castle would have paid for a driver to get her out here from town if Kate hadn't been there. And it wasn't like she'd really have taken Castle up on his suggestion she swim in her birthday suit!
Right?
There was a knock on her door, and Alexis peeked in.
"Kate?"
"Hey, Alexis. What's up?"
The girl came all the way in, arms full of clothing. She dumped the pile on the bed. "We get a lot of drop-byes in the summer," she explained. Paula, guys with review pages, Patterson, Cannall. Dad keeps a closet full of these."
The pile turned out to be a collection of pool shirts and pants and draw-string beach shorts of different sizes. Even a few pairs of boating shoes.
"Thank you, Alexis. This is perfect."
"And Gina brought a bunch of swimsuits—she says she might have one or two that would work for you."
"I—okay, I'll go find her. Thank you."
Alexis nodded, but didn't step back. "So... Are we okay?"
"Okay?"
"About last night. I shouldn't have—I dragged you out here..."
Kate sighed, worrying her lip. Alexis stood wringing her hands, ants in her pants, and it was none of Kate's business but this was the girl Castle had trusted her to take care of if anything ever happened to him. Admittedly he'd been suffering from the insane conviction he was under a mummy's curse, but he'd made Kate take him seriously anyway. There probably wouldn't be a better time.
"You're right, Alexis, you shouldn't have. And I'm not talking about our drive." She dropped to the bed, ignoring the clothes to pull Castle's daughter down beside her. "You know what I see every day as a detective, Alexis. Well, as a uniform I saw a lot of situations with kids who went where they shouldn't have, too."
"I was safe! I used my card to call a cab—"
"I know, and I'm sure you wouldn't have done anything you thought was risky. But, being off the reservation, nobody knowing where you'd gone... Sweety, if anything had happened, gone wrong, you'd have been without backup. Nobody would have known what happened to you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Alexis nodded, wide-eyed, and then to Kate's surprise the girl scooted closer and hugged her.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Promise."
Kate patted her back. "Okay then. So help me sort through all this and find something?"
She found some short-pants and a pullover that fit pretty well, and a pair of boating shoes that didn't pinch. Gina came upstairs and took her into her room—the room beside Kate's on the guest-end of the hall. Whatever Castle and Gina's intentions when they left for the Hamptons, Kate would bet that Gina had moved in here as soon as they knew Alexis was coming out. For all Castle's talk, when it came to his daughter and what went on around her he was surprisingly straight-laced; he wouldn't expose her to ex-sex.
Which Kate told herself again she had no business being happy about, especially with Gina being so nice about everything.
"How about this one?" Castle's ex didn't go in for underwire suits, and three adjustable bikinis looked like they might fit. She held up a decently modest purple one, eyeing Kate's hips. "God, what I could wear with your body."
Kate laughed. "If I didn't work out all the time, I'd be a plump plushy."
"With your height and bones? I don't think so. Between the two of us, Rick isn't going to know what hit him."
"Gina..."
"Hush. And enjoy the weekend."
"I'm going back tomorrow—"
The blonde shrugged elegant shoulders. Kate liked her own height, but Castle's more petite ex made her feel big.
"I doubt it." She smiled to show it was okay. "Bet you a photo-op? You keep turning us down and Black Pawn could really use more than just that Cosmo interview."
"Yeah, no," Kate mimicked Castle, smiling back. "It's bad enough, the ribbing I get at the precinct over your covers. Couldn't you give Nikki more than a naked black silhouette? For me?"
"Sorry, I have no leverage with the art department. Kate, I don't know what you're thinking about Rick and me, but...did you know he and Meredith still occasionally hook up?"
Kate sucked in a breath, laughed before she could stop herself. "I know! His deep-fried Twinkie?"
"That's it. Look, Rick likes his girls and when he's not being a child we like him. For all his faults he's the best ex to have—he certainly beats my first. Brian and I arrange to never be on the same continent, or at least in the same time zone. And when Rick's on, well he can be a lot of fun—so after our long phone call the other night I wondered if we could be friends with benefits. Good benefits, and it would certainly make our professional relationship easier. Now..."
She gave Kate the eye. "It's not like any of us are going to get any action now. So, is it a bet?"
Kate studied Gina for a long moment, shook her head. "A bet goes two ways. If I'm back home on Memorial Day, what do I get?"
Gina laughed. "I'll talk to the art department. But no promises."
"Deal."
When Kate tried on the purple suit it pinched a bit, but it was hardly the worst "borrow" she'd ever made. Alexis had told her the schedule: poolside lunch with sandwiches and swimming, poolside barbeque in the evening—no swimming because her dad would get distracted by the fun and burn the meat.
Kate didn't think it would be the "fun" distracting Castle tonight, but didn't say so to Alexis—the code of adult silence. She slipped a big pool shirt on over the suit and went downstairs.
Where she found Castle "making sandwiches" in the kitchen, slicing meat and cheese on a powered blade.
"Wow, Castle. Does the deli know you stole their tools?"
"Did I ever tell you I worked in a deli in college?" He effortlessly sheared off another pile of paper-thin ham slices. "It's where I learned to be good with my hands."
"So it prepared you for life as a serial killer?"
"Hah, hah. Just you wait, Beckett. Best sandwich bar in the Hamptons. So, was Gina able to fix you up?"
"Yes. Disappointed I've got more than my birthday suit?"
He twitched, put down the ham and looked at her. Kate felt her face heat up, but didn't look away. "Payback, Castle," she heard herself whisper. Katie-girl, what are you doing?
"That would be the best birthday ever," Castle volleyed back, voice low. His eyes ran down her front to where her legs disappeared beneath the bottom of the pool shirt. "Now, and I mean this in the nicest way, get out of my kitchen Kate."
Whoa. Kate nodded and got out, resisting the urge to fan herself.
"Kate! Watch out!" Alexis called.
She barely avoided tripping over the cat. Cat? The big gray cat looked at her like she was an idiot, disappeared past her into the kitchen.
"What? Alexis, what was that?" They had a cat?
"Graymalkin!" She heard Castle laugh, obviously not talking to her.
"Drat!" Alexis came to a stop beside Kate, breathing hard. "He always gets in, and Dad always feeds him too much."
"And names him after a witch's cat?"
"To bug Grams. The Scottish Play? Grams spins around three times every time she sees him."
Kate giggled, unable to stop herself. "So he's not yours?"
"No. We actually don't know who he belongs to. He's got tags, and one of them has an emergency phone number. And another reads 'Not all who wander are lost.'"
"Really?"
"I'm not making it up!" Castle's daughter shrugged, laughing. "I voted for Gandalf. The Gray Pilgrim? But Dad overruled me. Anyway, nobody around here claims him but he shows up on Memorial Day Weekend and pretty much owns the beach. We can never keep him out of the house, but a few pieces of something and he's willing to leave quietly."
"And the phone number?"
"Goes to a message service: 'If the damn cat's hurt or under arrest, leave a message. If not, kick him out.'"
"You're serious?" Kate laughed and it felt good.
"Cross my heart, you can try it if you like. Feed him and let him smell your hand and he'll turn into a terrible lap-cat on you until he has to go and kill something."
"No way."
"Say that when you find the dead birds on the balcony. Circle of life."
This place. Kate shook her head. Maybe it was the air but she swallowed the last few giggles, feeling lighter than she had in days.
Out of nowhere, Kate remembered a factoid that had always amazed her.
"Alexis, did you know that cats only meow for us? It's talk-to-people language?"
"Huh?" She looked towards the kitchen like she wanted to go grab Graymalkin and verify the claim.
"Yup. Learned it in behavioral psychology. Kittens meow—it's like a baby crying for attention. But they grow out of it, and when adult cats talk to each other it's all purrs or yowls or hisses or rumbles. Adult cats only meow for us, poor deaf humans, and they can build a recognizable talk-to-people vocabulary for their owners. Professor Dante thought it was a great example of adaptive behavior."
"That is so cool!" Alexis laughed with Kate. "We've got to tell Dad—he'll probably make some kind of cat-conspiracy out of it. 'See? They've been guiding human history since the Pharaohs.'" Not a great imitation of Castle, but close enough.
Kate looked back at the kitchen door, smiled. "You tell him, Alexis. I've been banned, so I'm going to go look at the beach."
The wind off the water wasn't particularly warm, but it didn't raise chills and Kate liked the feel of the sand in her toes. Gulls screamed overhead, and, amazingly, she had the beach to herself. Although she couldn't be sure, it looked like the properties on either side of Castle's were pretty big ones; she saw a couple of jogger's tracks but it obviously wasn't exactly a public stretch of beach.
Dad would like the place, but he was more into lake and stream fishing; their family getaways had been spent in the cabin upstate. Kate reached up, remembered she'd left her mom's ring in the dresser, not wanting to have to worry about it when she stripped off the shirt to swim. She strolled without thinking until the sun said it was noon and she could see Alexis waving, and headed back.
"Hey!" The girl dragged her around the side of the house to the pool, half protected by a white pillared arbor and covered terrace. Castle had set up a long table with drinks and glass-covered plates of bread and sandwich fillings. "Come on!" Alexis said. "We've got to open the pool!" Behind her Castle was laughing and Gina smiling tolerantly.
"Isn't it open?" Kate laughed. It looked open. Clear and still and inviting.
"But it's lucky if you're first! Dad? Gina?"
They shook their heads, but Alexis pressed on. "Kate?"
"Okay, Alexis." She pulled the shirt over her head while Alexis stripped off her shorts. She had to do it sometime, and she couldn't keep herself from sneaking a look at Castle. His stare was warmly gratifying.
"Ready?" Alexis stood in a green one-piece beside her, toes on the edge. "One, two, three, jump!"
Kate screamed and did. When the water went over her head she screamed again. It was cold.
Alexis surfaced beside her, laughing along with Castle and Gina. Kate narrowed her eyes at the wretched girl. "You…" she growled and Alexis' eyes widened. She gave a little scream and started back-stroking away. Kate chased her around the pool until her teeth were chattering, and then the girl showed her the heated hot-tub built into the pool's corner.
Oh it felt good.
Castle knelt on the deck and handed her a beer and Alexis a lemonade.
"Can I kill her, Castle? They'll never find the body."
Alexis giggled, rolling her eyes.
"Congratulation, Beckett," Castle laughed. "Only Alexis actually swims this early in the season. The rest of us just catch the sun."
"Castle…"
He held his hands up.
"Hey, be good to me, Beckett or you won't get your sandwich."
"I can get my own damn sandwich."
He smirked. "But I can do it better. You wait."
He went away, and minutes later came back with two plates. Alexis put down her lemonade and dug into her stack. Kate looked at hers suspiciously, then took a bite. Oh my God. She closed her eyes and he chuckled above her head. It was so irritating when Castle was right and knew it.
Kate and Alexis finished their sandwiches and swam some more; it actually felt great to swim in the cold pool until she started to feel it, then switch to the hot-tub to soak until she was sweating and the heat went to her bones.
Gina and Castle caught some sun, Gina laying out in her own suit and reading a book, Castle using his laptop and sneaking peeks at Kate. As the sun started to drop and the wind pick up, they gathered everything up and headed in.
Kate took advantage of the path to get close behind Castle. "You realize I owe you one, Castle," she said softly by his ear. "And not in a good way."
"Looking forward to it, detective," he said without turning around. And then they were inside.
Kate showered and changed into another pool shirt and the drawstring short-pants, slipping on the boating shoes.
Coming back downstairs she found that the group had retreated to their own things for a while; Castle had gone into his den—apparently to polish a few lines he'd typed out down by the pool, because Gina threatened her violent dismemberment if she so much as opened the door. Alexis was surfing the net looking for information on cat behavior, so Kate found one of her favorite Derrick Storm books and tucked into a comfy chair to read. An hour later, Castle emerged to disappear into the kitchen. Gina and Alexis warned Kate away.
"He's assembling his tools," Alexis told Kate. "And we're not welcome. This dinner is his thing."
From the sounds of it, Castle made several trips out to the poolside barbeque as the sun set.
The huge stainless steel barbeque could have burned enough meat for a whole firehouse, and Castle had burgers and kebobs sizzling over the grill when they came down the path. A couple of tabletop gas-burners battled the slight chill in the air where they would sit to eat. With the terrace and bushes blocking the light from the house and the lamps down low, the stars shone above the beach. They could hear the waves on the shore.
Kate took in a deep breath, let it out.
"Wow, Castle. It's beautiful."
"Isn't it?" he said softly, then cleared his throat, looking sideways at Gina talking to Alexis. "Don't tell Alexis, but I'm glad she ran away. I really wanted to show you this."
Kate swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat, looked at Castle in the light of the lamps.
"Castle…"
That's when the bleeding man stumbled out of the shadows and fell into the pool.
And this pretty much finishes part one; I told you there would be a victim. And yes, I'm stealing the mystery from Murder, He Wrote. Why? Because I don't have time to make up my own, and the mystery is just a frame for the Beckett-Castle stuff anyway. However, since Kate isn't trying to be stay incogneto in this alternate-story and there are others involved too, certain misunderstandings will not occur and things will play out a little differently in spots.
For those who wonder what's up with Gina: I've never considered her a "villain" or an "obstacle," more of an excuse, really, and from what little we see of her in-canon she's actually rather nice; certainly neither Martha nor Alexis seemed to mind her. Also, remember that she's Castle's ex—it didnt' work the first time for a reason, and one long phone conversation does not a renewed relationship make; that developed over the course of the summer. It seems to me that Gina's motives in accepting Castle's invitation to the Hamptons were pretty much what she told Kate: a chance to improve relations, have some fun, get work done.
Of course, as with all fan-interpretations Your Mileage May Vary. If you disagree, let me know what you think.