Sorry this took so long to put up. My best friend had a seizer and I've been helping her out, but, here it is! Chapter 7. We've got some Caskett moments in here. I can see their relationship taking a few steps forward from here on out(:
Kate put the keys into her lock, turned it and pushed the door open. It had been three hours since she'd kicked Castle out of her hospital room, and now she was home. She didn't know what changed the mind of the doctor, but she knew she would have to thank whatever (or whoever) it was.
Flicking the light on in the living room, Beckett moved to the couch, sighing as she dropped a bag Lanie had packed her and fell onto the couch, taking in the softness as it formed around her body. Sitting there for a few moments, Kate let her mind wonder. At first thoughts started out at how happy she was that the dirty bomb was found and defused, but they slowly made their way to the freezer which brought coldness. Then, about five minutes of sitting there and doing nothing, she thought about Castle and how sweet he had been in the freezer and how kind he had been to her.
Slowly Kate pulled herself into a sitting position, and then gradually stood up, making her way into her empty kitchen. She'd told herself that when she moved she would keep her kitchen well stocked, just in case something were to happen.
That didn't happen.
Opening the refrigerator all Kate could find was a few Styrofoam baskets and bowls, a few eggs just sort of sitting there, and a pint of milk that must've expired the month before. Closing the door quickly she sighed, looking around before she decided there was only one thing to really do.
Get warm.
Kate's body was still sore from the position she had been in and from the drastic change in body temperature, but soon enough she made it into her bathroom. Turning the water on, she pushed it all the way to hot, wanting to get as warm as quickly as she could. Stripping the clothes that she had been stuck in, she stepped into the steaming water, the warmth causing goose bumps to appear over the surface of her skin.
Standing there for a moment, Kate let the warmth be absorbed through her pores, her eyes closing. She hadn't felt this good to take a shower in a long time. It was a relief.
After about an hour of standing in the warmth and comfort of her shower, Kate reached into the draft of air and grabbed the fluffy white robe she hardly uses. Wrapping it around herself she stepped out of the shower and into her room before she sat on the bed. Her mind was racing from the events that had happened that day. One day had changed how she was looking at everything, including her relationship with Castle. At three in the morning he had just been one of her closest friends and they were stuck in a giant freezer together. Now though, she looked at him in a totally different perspective. She had almost said something she wouldn't have said on a normal day. She thought she was going to die though, so that influenced some things. Some words.
After sitting on her bed for a few very thoughtful moments, Kate stood up and went to her closet. She pulled out a pair if yoga pants and an overly large NYPD sweatshirt she had received from Demming while they were dating. She hadn't gotten the chance to throw it out, so why not use it for warmth? She wasn't expecting anyone tonight, anyway.
Once Kate was dressed and standing there her mind went back to going over everything that had happened that day. She didn't want to think about some of it, like yelling at Castle or Castle period, so she did the one thing knew would be successful at clearing her mind.
Kate grabbed a puzzle she'd done a million times before and made her way to the living room. She spread the pieces around on the coffee table and she poured herself a glass of wine, grabbing the first piece she saw and Detective Kate Becket got to work.
About two hours, three glasses of wine, and nine hundred and ninety seven pieces later, Kate was staring at the last three pieces that were sitting next to the picture of a little boy and a little girl, probably around the age of five or six, both sitting in a box car that was drawn on with a crayon, both in little police outfits.
When she was sixteen, Kate had gone through a phase of puzzles. She loved to look at the pictures when she was done and stare at all the cracks. She thought puzzles were like life. You will always have the cracks, no matter how hard you try to put the pieces together.
Looking at those last three pieces Kate sighed, standing up and realizing she had a blanket around her. The heat from the shower had left her body shortly after she had started and the detective had gotten her favorite blanket her mother had croshaied. Whenever she wanted some comfort from something familiar, that blanket was the first thing she searched for.
Just as Kate picked up one of the pieces, there was a knock at the door. It was 8:30 at night and she hadn't been expecting anyone. Not until morning, at least. Standing up she walked towards the door, looking through the peep hole. When she saw his blue eyes staring back at her made her stomach do a few flips before she calmed her digestive system down and answered the door.
"Castle, what are you doing here?" Her voice was softer and less demanding then she wanted it to be, and she knew he had caught onto it because of the small smile on his face.
"I just came to check up on you, making sure everything was okay." He noticed the blanket wrapped tightly around her body and knew she still felt the coldness running through her veins. He got that feeling too.
"Well, I'm fine, obviously. So you can leave now." Kate gave him a small smile, hoping he would leave. She didn't want to deal with the feelings she had been pushing back with puzzles and wine all night. She knew he wouldn't let her off that easy, though.
"Just let me in. Please, Kate. I'll keep my hands to myself." He raised an eyebrow, knowing she wouldn't be able to refuse. She never could.
Kate stood her ground for a while, but, after the intense staring, she rolled her eyes and stepped aside, letting the writer walk in, not showing the defeat on her face.
Castle walked into the apartment, looking around before his eyes fell on the glass of wine that was half full, the bottle of wine and the puzzle on the table. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the sight as the detective walked past him, brushing against his arm as she made her way back to the seat she had been occupying.
After a few moments of staring, he made his way to the couch, sitting next to her as he looked at the puzzle. She had put the final three pieces in while he had been staring at her and now she was staring at the picture with him, her head tilting to the side before she pulled her legs under and wrapped the blanket around her tighter.
"You're still cold." His voice was soft and it sounded like there was some sympathy in it. She couldn't help but smile at it as she looked down, nodding her head slightly.
"Yeah. Whenever I think about it I get the cold feeling again, and it hasn't gone away." She looked over at him, seeing that his blue eyes were on her. "How is Alexis? Lanie told me about what you said to her." Kate thought it was very… fatherly and mature of him to say those things to his daughter, and Kate just saw that much more in him. She saw more reasons every day on why she could date him. The pros were starting to beat out the cons.
"She's angry, but she knew that those words were true, even if it was in the eyes of death. She'll forgive me tomorrow… hopefully. Maybe by the end of the week." Castle leaned back in the couch, keeping an eye on Kate as she sat the in the same position, continuing to look at the little girl.
The silence that overtook the room wasn't awkward, it was nice, comfortable and in a way, warm. The detective began to feel more heat radiating into her skin and she knew that the freezer was nothing but a memory. Leaning back into the couch she felt Castle's arm behind her head as she turned to see him a lot closer then she thought he was. Giving him a smile, she rolled her head back to look at the ceiling, a twinge of pain going through her neck and down her spine, causing her back to stiffen for a moment.
"Kate, are you okay?" He was sitting up automatically when he felt her body go stiff and he leaned forward, moving so his face was in front of hers as he stared down at her, looking for any sign that she was hurt.
"Just a little stiff. My neck, it's fine. I'll be fine." She slowly opened her eyes, looking into the blue ones that were in her space bubble she had been protecting for quite some time now. She didn't mind the close proximity, which wasn't normal for her. She actually… enjoyed it.
They sat there for a few minutes in complete silence before Rick cleared his throat and moved back to his side of the couch.
"Do you remember anything that happened in the freezer?" He wasn't speaking very loud, but loud enough for the woman next to him to hear. He wanted to know if she was aware that it was possible that she may have almost told him she loved him… from the sounds of what she had mumbled.
Kate thought about the question for a second or two before she shook her head, again, regretting it right away.
"Not really. I remember shooting at the door which was completely stupid. Then we just sort of gave up. That's all I can remember. I know I'm missing about five hours of my memory..." She sighed, looking at his shoes that were still on his feet. Maybe he wouldn't stay very long. She couldn't figure out if she was upset about that or joyful about it, but she knew one thing. What she had told him, that was a complete lie. She just hoped that Rick wouldn't figure it out.
She could feel him as he stared at her, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not. After a few more moments of silence, he sighed, looking back to the puzzle that was on her coffee table.
She knew he wanted to believe her, but if she couldn't even believe herself, how in the hell could he? Moving over slightly, the blanket still wrapped around her body, Kate Beckett did the one thing she had never thought she would do to a man she wasn't seeing romantically; she rested her head on his chest, curling her body into his side.
His body froze for only a second before his arm moved around her and held her closer; knowing that if she asked what he was doing (even if she had made the first move) he would simply state he had been trying to keep her warm. His hand moved up and down her arm slowly, knowing that would help with warmth, too. When she didn't say anything, he knew there was something up, maybe even wrong, as much as he hated to admit it. She would never act this way, not if they hadn't gotten stuck in the freezer. He needed to know.
"Kate, look at me." He watched as she kept her face down towards the ground, knowing she wouldn't look at him no matter how hard he tried. "Kate." His voice was slightly louder, his hand moving to under her chin. When his hand moved into her eye sight, she flinched back from his hand before she took a staggering breathe and Rick suddenly knew what was wrong.
Slowly the writer moved until he was kneeling in front of the detective, her face still down and her hair covering her. He moved his hand to touch her cheek, his eyes looking at her as he brushed the hair to the side. Castle could see the tear marks on her cheeks, a small wet spot gathering on the blanket she was clutching too. Shaking his head, Rick got back on the couch as he pulled Kate into his lap, wrapping his arms around her as she began to cry into his chest.
"I'm scared." Her words were soft, just barely above a whisper, but when he heard it, it sounded as if she had screamed it to the world. She never spoke those words, and she never cried.
Rick had to help her. He had to help Kate get through this.
