A/N: Fourth and final chapter. Thanks for your reviews which are always amazing!
Credit for one of the dialogues goes to someone who may or may not recognize herself. But either way, thank you.
(Personal PS: Requiem, attention, une scène risquerait de te choquer...ou pas. lol)
CHAPTER 4
Kate stepped on the wooden planks of the beach walk and took her boots off, leaving them on the steps leading to the sand. She figured at this time, there wouldn't be anyone to steal them. She walked off the last step and let her feet sink into the sand. Behind her, Richard Castle was taking off his own shoes, placing them neatly next to hers. He walked down the few steps and stopped by her side, following her eyesight, looking out into the ocean.
Wordlessly Kate let her fingers slide along his, and wrapped her hand around Castle's.
She looked up to him and smiled.
"Come on"
She led them by the water and they walked on the beach, silently holding hands, accompanied only by the repetitive sound of the waves breaking on their ankles.
After a moment of walking together, simply enjoying each other's company and the comfortable silence between them, Castle spoke.
"So... The bike, is it yours?"
Beckett looked up at Castle in response to his question and then cast her eyes back on the sand.
"No."
He waited for a longer answer but when none came he prodded.
"A loan from... the NYPD?"
"The NYPD doesn't have that kind of bike in storage Castle"
A few more silent steps went by before he continued.
"So, where did you get it?"
"I borrowed it" she shrugged looking at him and when she saw his eyes asking for more details she added: "from a friend."
"Oh really? Who?" asked Castle casually.
Kate's hold on Castle's hand loosened a little and the features on her face grew more serious.
"Just... a friend. It doesn't matter Castle."
"No, I know it doesn't matter I'm just... making conversation" he answered with a shrug of his own.
"Yeah well, change the conversation will you?" she replied bitterly
"And now I'm clearly curious as to why this topic is so off limits..."
"Castle, I'm serious, drop it. It doesn't matter where the bike came from" she warned with a tense voice.
"I just..."
"It was Josh! Okay? Or more precisely a friend of his" she snapped releasing his hand completely "Happy?"
"Oh" he just said, stopping.
At some point, he would really need to learn to listen to Beckett when she warned him about something.
He immediately regretted pushing her and broke into a small jog to catch up with her increased pace.
"Kate, wait!"
But she didn't.
"Kate, hold on" he repeated reaching her and grabbing her arm.
He turned her around and she looked down at his hand on her arm then up at him, an eyebrow raised in disapproval. But he didn't let go of her arm and instead put his second hand on her other shoulder.
"I'm sorry"
He caressed his way up her neck and onto her cheek that he stroke gently before repeating how sorry he was.
"And for what it's worth... I don't care where that bike came from because you look sexy as hell on it" he added with a devilish grin.
He felt her chuckle under his touch and she took a step forward, pressing herself against his chest and putting her arms around his waist. He did the same around her back, holding her close, one hand smoothing her hair with soothing caresses.
"You're an idiot Castle" he heard her mumble against his chest "and stubborn. And suuuuper annoying... Kinda hot-headed" she continued untangling herself from him and looking him in the eye "completely reckless..." she took some time to think, putting a finger on her chin "and childish" she concluded without an ounce of reproach in her voice.
"But that's what makes me so charming..." countered Castle with a dazzling smile before adding, a little more concerned "Right?"
"Right." She conceded rolling her eyes "Anyway... I needed a fast bike and I knew Jeremy – that's Josh's friend – could provide me with one so..." she shrugged and let herself fall down on the sand, bringing her knees under her chin.
Castle hesitated a moment and then did the same, sitting down behind her. He put his hands on his bent knees and when she saw them there, she grabbed them both and wrapped them around her body. She extended her legs before her and pressed her back against his chest.
They sat together in comfortable silence for a moment, observing the dark ocean and the equally dark sky.
"So, why Pelham Bay?"
She smiled at his never-ending curiosity about everything and anything; his need to always know the reasons behind every decision she took, every move she made. She used to find that extremely annoying; now she accepted it as part of who he was and as his way of getting to know her.
"When I was younger... my dad and I had this ritual..."
She replaced a strand of hair behind her ear and put her hand back on top of his.
"Every year, on the first sunny weekend of the year, we'd go to the beach together, no matter how cold it was. And we would go to a different beach in the New-York area every time."
"Let me guess, this one was your favourite" he guessed, placing a delicate kiss on her exposed earlobe in the process.
She smiled at his kiss before growing serious again. She looked out at the vast ocean before them and the incessant movement of the waves.
"Actually, it's the first time I've been here."
He raised his eyebrow in question, although he knew she couldn't see it and waited to see if an explanation would come before asking for one.
"One year, we got really lucky. The first sunny weekend of the year was also the first weekend of the new year, period."
Her eyes twinkled at the memory of the moments spent with her father.
"That day we were sitting on the couch, the two of us – mom was at work – watching the weather forecast and they announced that Sunday would be extra sunny. My dad and I just looked at each other with knowing smiles..."
She cast her eyes on Castle's arms around her and started playing with one his hands, drawing small circles on its back.
"Although I wasn't a kid, nor a teenager anymore, this ritual just stuck with us and so we knew, we both knew that the next day, we'd head out to the beach. My dad took our 'beach map' out and picked Pelham as our next destination..."
She paused, taking a moment to recall the memory, before continuing
"I was so excited. I always got excited when we went to the beach, I couldn't explain why but, it was our thing, you know?... It was our thing." She repeated with a sadder tone in her voice "That weekend... It was the weekend of the 9th, 1999..."
The warm and happy feeling that had been growing inside him from hearing Kate's story turned into a ball in his stomach when he heard that date and his arms automatically tightened their hold around her, pulling her closer, wanting to shield her from the memory of that day.
She shivered at the memory and considered stopping there, but the strong arms around her reminded Kate that this wasn't 1999, she wasn't a young girl and she wasn't alone anymore.
She swallowed a few times to get rid of the knot that had formed in her throat.
"Obviously, we never made it to Pelham. After the murder, my dad started drinking and I went into the police academy. Then after the academy, it was work and spending every moment of my free time investigating her death while my dad drank himself into oblivion. Years went by like that, until I stopped searching and he stopped drinking. But it never was the same, you know? It just... It could never be the same. Not knowing what had happened, who had done it...why...? I was going through the motions, living my life one day at a time, not caring much about what it would bring my way, not caring much about anything except doing my job and doing it right."
She paused and examined the hand she was holding; she traced its contours, thoughtful.
"And then you came in Rick."
She slid her fingers between his and held tight
"You came in and you got your nose where it didn't belong and you just... you changed everything."
Another pause before she continued.
"Now I know. I know who killed her and I know why. It won't bring her back, it won't change the past but... It means I can finally move forward."
She shifted her position in his arms so she could look into his caring blue eyes, finding all the comfort she needed and the confirmation that this, what she was doing, was right.
" It's like my life stopped twelve years ago Rick, and now... now it can resume. Here. On this beach. With you."
It didn't take long for the words and their meaning to register into Castle's head.
"Thank you Kate. For taking me here. For sharing this with me. For welcoming me into your life. Thank you."
They looked into each other's eyes, with that intensity they had perfected over the years. A look that was worth a thousand conversations and a thousand kisses. A look that meant everything and anything at the same time.
When Beckett started to feel her eyes getting watery, she sniffed to push the tears down and turned her head back to the ocean, burying herself deeper into his embrace, taking his arms and wrapping them around her like a blanket.
He obliged, holding her tight and smoothing her hair with one hand, his head resting on top of hers, inhaling her sweet scent tinted with salt and sand.
"So, what did you do with your father when you went to the beach?" he asked after a moment of peaceful silence.
"It depends. It changed over the years. But mostly we built sandcastles, played catch, wrestled, raced and walked with our feet in the water, talking."
"Hmmm.. Well we've already done the last one, so that's one down... four to go!"
He felt her chuckle and she turned to face him, a smile on her face – that part of his job was complete.
"What d'you say Katherine?" he taunted, forcing her on her feet as he got up himself "You think you can outrun me?" he continued, unbuttoning his leather jacket and dropping it on the sand.
"Oh Castle..." she warned as she slowly unzipped her own jacket and let it fall off her shoulders.
Castle took a second to appreciate her body as her fallen jacket revealed a grey, long-sleeved top with a plunging neck line. He licked his lips appreciatively before getting his head back to their impending race.
"Show me what you've got!" he continued as he started running backwards, watching if she'd take the bait "First one to reach the cabins over there" he pointed behind him.
"I don't know Richard..." she said as she started a slow jog "you seem pretty out of shape, I wouldn't wanna hurt your male ego or anything..."
"Don't you worry about my ego... You gotta catch me first" he replied, turning around and starting off into a full on sprint.
Kate smiled and picked up the pace to catch up with her adversary.
They both ran as fast as they possibly could, the sand slightly slowing down both their runs. Beckett was fast, years of police training would do that, but the injury she had sustained a few hours before considerably slowed her down. Castle was fast as well, years on the treadmill down at his favourite gym helped with that. Plus, he'd actually left before her, which gave him somewhat of an advantage – not that he'd consider that cheating or anything.
Beckett managed to gain ground on Castle over the last few meters when the writer started getting tired, but no matter, the latter still reached the cabins before the detective.
"You cheated!" she stated, slightly out of breath.
"Did not!" he defended himself, bending over on his knees, panting.
"Did too! You left before me!"
"Katherine Beckett, I did not cheat and you are a sore loser."
"Pardon me?"
The shock and indignation on her face would have been threatening if it weren't for the smile on her face and her sparkling eyes.
"You lost and I demand a reward."
"A reward huh?" she repeated, her voice suddenly dropping an octave as she approached him.
He nodded, although, from the sulphurous look she was giving him, he wasn't sure his heart could stand the reward she seemed to have in mind.
"And... what kind of reward..." she stepped in front of him, placing a hand on his chest "...are you expecting exactly, Mr Castle?"
Said Mr Castle gulped.
Two of her fingers 'walked' up his chest, her eyes never leaving his, before her hand slipped behind his head and into his hair, bringing his face down to hers. She brought him inches from her lips but made sure they never touched.
"Tell me Richard... What kind of reward..." she flicked her tongue over his upper lip "...do you want?"
"You" he managed to whisper, his body completely tense with anticipation.
"Me, huh?" she once again, stuck her tongue out, licking his lower lip but withdrawing it before he could try anything "Well then..."
Her other hand came on his chest and trailed down to the rim of his jeans, stopping on the first button.
Castle closed his eyes and put one hand on her back.
He felt her face shift to his right and soon her mouth was on his earlobe, dropping feather light kisses on his skin.
"Castle...?" she called in a low voice
"Hmmm" was all the answer he could muster in his daze.
But he was quickly awoken when she swept one his legs off the floor and used the hand on his abdomen to push him backwards, effectively making him lose his balance and fall on his back. When he opened his eyes, Beckett was on top of him, a triumphant grin on her face and mischief in her eyes.
"You cheated" she stated matter-of-factly before getting off of him.
But the second she lifted her body, Castle saw an opening and, grabbing the arm that supported her weight, he pulled it toward him, pushing the rest of her body back. The move was effective and she ended up laying on her back, Castle on top, straddling her.
She let out a painful "Humph" when her injured shoulder hit the sand and Castle immediately took the weight of his hands off of her upper body and placed them on both sides of her head instead.
"You ok?" he asked worried he might have hurt her.
"I'm fine, just my shoulder from before... But you..." she narrowed her eyes menacingly "you are in big trouble!"
"What kind of trouble exactly?" he inquired, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.
She started to move her arms, no doubt to try to push him back but he anticipated her movement and grabbed both, placing them above her head and pinning them down.
"I'm sorry... what kind of trouble did you say?"
He smirked, she groaned.
"Castle get off me" she warned before moving her body under him, trying to get him off.
He switched his hold on her arms, holding them both with one hand and placed the other on her cheek, lowering himself inches from her face.
"You didn't say please" he whispered against her lips.
She closed her eyes and relaxed her body when his closeness sent a shiver down her body.
His mouth hovered over her face, kissing her jaw line once before moving over her neck. She instinctively tilted her head to allow him more access, while at the same time moving her arms, pretending to try and break free.
He lowered his lips to her neck, kissing the skin there, his tongue darting in and out to taste her fully from time to time. He saw the pulse on her neck beat faster and grinned. He brought his mouth to her ear and dropped small kisses in the back of her ear before capturing her earlobe.
"Please" she pleaded with an imperceptible moan.
He brought his mouth to hers again and locked his lips onto hers for a brief moment before pulling back.
She felt him loosen the grip on her wrists and lift his body off of her. When she opened her eyes, he was laying on his back, by her side, one arm behind his head.
"What the...?"
She turned to her side, putting her weight on one elbow and looked at him quizzically.
"You said pleased" he explained with a shrug.
"You...!"
She gently punched his side - which made him groan - before placing her head on his shoulder. He put one arm around her shoulders and she put one on his waist. They adjusted their positions until they were comfortably lying together.
Minutes passed and if this had been a comfortable bed, they would surely have both fallen asleep in their embrace.
"Do you ever miss him?"
Beckett's voice broke the silence after a while.
"Your dad I mean."
Castle, swirled a strand of her hair around his finger, taking the time to think and to wonder where that line of questioning was coming from.
"You can't miss what you never had. I never had a father, so..."
She felt his shrug when his shoulder lifted under her.
"Yeah but, do you ever wish you had?"
She slipped a hand under his t-shirt, finding the warmth of his skin.
"There were times, when I was a lot younger when... yeah, I wished I had a dad. I had men in my life, several in fact" he added earning a chuckle from both of them "but none of them were my father, none of them acted like fathers to me."
He let his hand slide up and down on back with feather light touches, finding the repetitive motion comforting.
"But when I look back on those days, on the way I grew up, the way mother took care of me..."
He paused and she realized, despite all the talking, the writing, Castle wasn't really the type of person who talked about themselves easily. Much like her. She found his other hand and grabbed it, holding it tight, supporting him the best way she could, encouraging him.
"I realize... mother was enough. She was my mother and my father. She wasn't around much, I spent a lot of time in boarding schools, but that didn't stop her from being a good mother who cared for me and taught me a lot about life."
His hand slipped under her shirt and found a place to rest on the small of her back.
"I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. If anything, having an unorthodox, tortured childhood makes for a perfect background for a writer" he added jokingly.
She smiled and brought his hand to her mouth, kissing the back of it.
"Plus, I think I turned out alright." He continued on the same lighter tone, clearly ready to move on to happier topics.
"Yeah you did" confirmed Kate quite seriously, kissing his fingers one at a time before putting his hand to rest on his own chest.
A few moments went by in the silence, during which time Castle started drawing circles on the small of Beckett's back while she slowly caressed his hand.
"I don't know though..." started Castle "Having two parents would have been nice I guess..." he sighed before continuing "I wish I could give that to Alexis."
Beckett waited a moment but when Castle didn't continue she shifted a little, putting some weight on her elbow to lift herself up and look him in the eye.
"Rick, you and Alexis have the best relationship a parent could have with their child... Why would you ever think she'd need anything more than what she has with you right now?"
He smiled at her kind words, although he wasn't entirely convinced.
"I wish she had a choice. A choice of which parent to talk to, which parent to ask for advice..."
"A choice you never had..." inferred the detective.
She shifted some more, putting more weight on his body to ease off of her injured shoulder.
"Richard your daughter may not have a choice, but she doesn't need one either. You are not your mother."
They both smiled at that obvious statement.
"You are there for her, all the time, every step of the way. You are every bit a father and a mother to her. You're everything she needs..."
Castle's hand resting on her back, pressed her against him, and he wrapped his other arm around her body, hugging her tight.
As she felt he wasn't entirely convinced, she continued.
"When I see you with your daughter, the man that you become when you're with her, the look of utter love and devotion in your eyes when she enters the room, the way you stand by her no matter what... I almost envy her."
Castle raised an eyebrow at this admission.
"I mean... I love my dad... so much... but you're still the kind of father every girl would dream of having. What the two of you have, that special relationship you have with your daughter because you are both parents to her, it's a gift. It's precious. And..." she lifted herself up to be closer to his face " Whether you realize it or not, you are a good man Rick and a fantastic father. Don't ever doubt that." She concluded, sealing her words with a tender kiss.
With his free hand he collected some of her hair that had fallen and was tickling his face and placed it back behind her ear.
"Thank you" he simply said sincerely.
He observed her for a moment, his loving eyes taking in the features of the face he could see so clearly now, despite the lack of light. As he basked in her unmistakable beauty, he grew thoughtful. More hair fell down and he picked it back up, caressing her cheek in the process.
"I just wish she had a woman in her life, someone she could talk to about... women stuff."
Kate smiled at his brilliant mastery of the English language before responding.
"Alexis is surrounded by women. She's got her grand-mother, her mother, even if she isn't always there, I still suppose she has some kind of involvement in her life. She's got... had... has...Gina" Beckett stumbled and hesitated, her tone clearly questioning the status of this particular relationship.
"Had" rectified Castle.
"And... she's got..."
Kate took a breath, not really sure it was appropriate to say what she was about to say.
"...me. If she wanted to" she quickly added "I mean... you know. She's asked before and... I'm not pretending I'm part of her life just... if she needed... someone..." she stammered
"You are a part of her life" interrupted Castle "of our life. And I... We would love it if you were even more a part of our lives. You know... If you wanted to."
They both looked at each other, realizing the impact of the words they were sharing and also realizing how ridiculous they were being, both stammering like idiots. They smiled at the same time and Kate lowered her lips down to meet his. They exchanged a few loving kisses.
"I would like that" stated Kate, looking intently into his eyes, conveying the hidden message that, yes, she wanted to be a part of their life, in the long-run and for real.
He took advantage of his hand in her hair to lower her back down to him and captured her lips once more. Their kiss grew deeper as their lips and tongues moved together, hungrier, more passionate, more needy.
Castle's hand in the small of her back started moving again, drawing random patterns, sometimes applying small pressures that earned him a series of muffled moans.
Her own hands responded to his touch by perusing the body underneath hers.
Soon enough her hands found their way under his shirt and his found their way up her back, lifting her shirt in the process.
Their touches grew more and more heated as their mouths devoured the other with an unmistakable desire. Their bodies started moving together, hips grinding against one another. The heat emanating from their combined bodies could have warmed them on the coldest of nights. But this was no cold night, in fact it was a rather warm one and soon, a thin sheen of perspiration appeared on their bodies. The heat did nothing to attenuate their lust for one another. Only good sense and a good amount of will power could have stopped them. And fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on the perspective – good sense and willpower were two things Kate Beckett didn't lack of.
She broke away from his face, breathing heavily as she tried to calm her heart rate and distancing herself from his tantalizing mouth.
"We...should..." her index finger trailed along his jaw and he captured it into his mouth "... stop" she moaned.
His tongue swirled around the captured finger and she pressed her body against his despite her best intentions of putting an end to this.
"Castle..." she warned, gathering up as much willpower as she could muster
"Hmm" he replied, his attention still on the long and delicate finger in his mouth.
"I'm serious" she breathed " we really should..." she swallowed hard and closed her eyes against the obvious pleasure she was taking in all this "...leave this beach."
When he didn't move she reluctantly reclaimed her finger, although she let it slide down his neck and onto his chest, as she fought her own desire.
"I mean it. We are not doing... it" she said looking around as if checking nobody would hear her "on the beach"
He pouted and placed his hands on her hips as she sat back on her heels.
"Not. No way. Trust me... it's not a good idea."
At that, the writer's curiosity perked up and she anticipated his question.
"No, you will not hear that story."
She lifted herself up from him and immediately missed his body. As did he.
"Not tonight anyway" she added with a wink extending a hand to help him up.
When Castle was back on his feet he captured her into his arms and stole a sound kiss from her.
"You realize this is pure torture right?"
"But I promise I'll make it worth your while" she replied, stealing a kiss from him this time.
His eyes grew wider. That kind of promise was definitely not helping him.
She freed herself from his arms and started walking away.
"Oh and Castle? Since you cheated, you get to go back and grab our jackets" she informed him with a loving grin.
He groaned in protest but obliged. He did kind of cheat.
A few minutes later Beckett was sitting back on her bike and Castle took his place behind her, wrapping his arms without an ounce of hesitation tightly around her body.
He placed a kiss on her collarbone before she zipped her jacket all the way to the top.
"Thank you" he whispered into his ear "for taking me here with you tonight. It means a lot that you did."
He placed another sweet kiss on her ear before adding in a much sultrier voice.
"Now get us back to your home before I ravage you right here on that bike"
Kate shivered at his words, clutching her handle a little tighter as she discovered a whole new side of her favourite writer. Castle really was a multi-faceted man. And she loved it.
She turned her head around.
"Be good" she commanded with a smile before putting her helmet on.
"Always" he replied with the look of perfect innocence on his face before putting his own helmet on.
Beckett backed the bike and turned it around before hitting the gas and driving away from the beach and back into the city.
On this bike, on this dark road, the whole world faded away. They were alone, just the two of them, together.
Castle had found his muse, his inspiration, his love and as he held tight to her body so he wouldn't fall off the bike, he also promised himself he would hold on to her for the rest of his life, if she'd let him.
Beckett had found her saviour, her rock, her one and done. She felt the comfort of his arms around her body and promised herself she would spend the rest of her life safely tucked in them, if he'd let her.
They'd left Manhattan as work partners and friends, they returned as life partners and soon-to-be lovers.
THE END
