I am so sorry for how long it took me to finish this story. Being a film production major is incredibly time consuming, so I haven't had a lot of time to write for the past few months. I've been too busy writing script pages and filming things on weekends... Anyway, my classes are over for the quarter, so I was finally able to sit down and finish this. I hope it was worth the wait. Thanks for sticking with me!
"This is perfect, Rick."
The soft sand shifts slightly beneath Kate's body as she turns her head around to look up at him. He smiles down at her and wraps his arms around her midsection.
"I'm glad you like it."
As the sun drifts just below the horizon, Castle pops open a bottle of Dom Pérignon. He pours it into two glasses and hands one to Kate.
"To us," he toasts, lifting his glass high up to the sky.
"To us," she repeats.
They clink their glasses together and each take a sip, stopping to savor the bubbly sensation.
"Happy anniversary."
He leans in and presses the gentlest of kisses to her lips.
"I love you."
Tears well up in Kate's eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I love you, too," she answers shakily. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me."
Castle sets his glass in the sand, then grabs her glass and does the same. He lies back and pulls her with him. She snuggles up against his chest.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, too."
Kate wipes away a tear and raises an eyebrow.
"What about Alexis?"
Castle laughs.
"Okay, second best."
"Hey!" Kate smacks him on the arm.
Castle listens to Kate giggling in her sleep. She seems happy, which is a nice change. He smiles and wishes that he could bottle that sound up and save it for a rainy day. He's always thought that Kate's laugh was the most beautiful sound on the planet – you can't help but laugh with her.
"Castle?"
"Kate, you're up!"
"Yeah... Why are you still here?" she asks sleepily.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Well would you stop looking at me like that? It's creepy."
"I think the word your looking for is 'romantic'."
Kate sits up in her bed and pulls the comforter up around her shoulders, hoping for some semblance of decency.
"No, I mean 'creepy.'"
Castle laughs and shakes his head.
"Whatever you say, Beckett. Anyway, what were you dreaming about? Me, I hope."
"I... uh... what?" How could he possibly know that?
He smirks.
"You were laughing in your sleep. It was adorable."
Kate breathes a sigh of relief. For a split-second, she thought that he might have developed mind-reading capabilities.
Just then, a crazy thought crosses her mind. She lets the comforter drop around her waist and adjusts her tank top, drawing Castle's attention to her breasts.
"Oh, I was just dreaming about kissing a certain someone."
Castle's heart lurches in his chest. His breathing quickens and he leans forward in his chair.
"Go on."
"We were sitting on the beach sipping champagne. It was our anniversary. He said he loved me... It was the best dream I've ever had." Kate realizes that she wasn't lying at all. She had had dreams about Castle before, but none like that. This one was so vivid that it was almost like a memory. A perfect memory.
"What was his name?"
She snaps out of her memory and gets back to her plan.
"His name was Richard."
Castle sits in stunned silence, not able to find the words to respond. It's one thing to tease Kate about her dreams, but to have her confirm his suspicions...
"Richard Gere."
"What?" Castle chokes.
Kate lets out a sharp laugh when she sees the dumbfounded look on his face.
"I've had a crush on him since Dirty Dancing."
She jumps out of her bed and grabs a change of clothes, leaving him to ponder his thoughts.
Just as she closes the bathroom door, Castle shouts after her.
"Richard Gere wasn't in Dirty Dancing!"
Kate puts her face in her hands and leans against the back of the door.
"Damn it."
Castle had started to make pancakes while Kate was getting dressed and shoots her a very smug look when she joins him in the kitchen.
"Richard Gere?" He asks while stirring the pancake batter.
Kate doesn't bat an eye. "Yep."
"Uh huh. And... which movie was he in again?"
Kate sits down at the table.
"Oh come on, Castle, I wasn't dreaming about you. Can we just move on, please?"
"Sure."
Castle continues to stir the batter and Kate looks around the room, trying not to watch him.
"What beach were you and 'Richard' at in your dream?" Castle suddenly asks. He has a plan. He just hopes that Beckett doesn't catch on to what he's doing.
"Santa Monica Pier," she answers dutifully. She knows he's never going to drop the subject, but maybe he'll drop it faster if she plays along.
"And what kind of champagne did you drink?
"Dom Pérignon."
"What were you wearing?"
"A sundress."
"What was I wearing?"
"A tux." Kate immediately claps a hand over her mouth as she realizes her mistake.
Castle's eyes widen.
"I knew it!"
"Castle! It's not- We didn't..."
"Katherine Beckett, you had a dream about me."
She opens her mouth to protest.
"Don't even try to deny it! The words are out in the cosmos now – you can't take them back."
Kate looks at the table in embarrassment.
He realizes that he's making her too uncomfortable, so he tries to remedy the situation.
"Well, if it's any consolation, I've dreamed about you too."
She continues to look at the table, now completely lost in her thoughts. Her expression gets sadder and sadder by the minute. The dreadful nightmare from the night before is starting to come back to her. She may have felt happy for a few moments this morning, but moments are fleeting. Castle died last night and it was her fault.
She's vaguely aware that Castle is calling her name in concern, but she can't bring herself to face him. She called him at two in the morning because she had a nightmare. Pathetic.
"Are you okay?"
Castle shakes her shoulders, bringing her back to reality.
"What? Yeah, I'm fine."
"You don't look fine."
He sits in the chair next to her.
"God, Kate, what happened last night?"
"It's stupid..." She looks away, but Castle turns her head back to face him.
"Whatever happened, it wasn't stupid. If you called me in the middle of the night, it must have been for a good reason.
"I had no business calling you. I just had a stupid nightmare. It was nothing."
"Like hell it was nothing! You were practically catatonic last night."
Kate's voice wavers. "You died. You died in the bank and I couldn't save you. I just... I just had to hear your voice."
She looks directly into Castle's eyes and his heart breaks. She looks more vulnerable than he's ever seen her, but most of all, she looks sad. The thought of losing him is so great that she has nightmares about it.
Welcome to my world, he thinks.
"Kate..." He caresses her cheek. "I'm glad you called."
She smiles weakly.
"Now cheer up, because I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm making you pancakes."
He jumps out of his seat and goes back to the kitchen.
Kate joins him a moment later.
They work in perfect synchrony. They don't say anything because they don't have to. They've only made breakfast together a few times before, but it feels as if they've been doing it every day for years.
When Kate holds a plate out so that Castle can put a newly made pancake on it, their hands brush together. Electricity passes between them. In that moment they both know that they are meant to be together, even if it's not right now. They need each other and that's never going to change.
With her eyes, Kate silently says that she isn't ready yet. The wall is still there, but she's working to break it down.
Castle understands and sends a silent message back: I'll wait.
Again, thank you so much for putting up with me and busy schedule. I really appreciate it. Also, I've been working on a 45-chapter Caskett story called "Sweet December", so keep a look out! For more information, you can visit my profile. :)