Author's Note: Thanks so much for all of the story love! You guys are great! It's been nice having Internet this time – definitely makes writing across the country slightly easier! We are still having so much fun writing this story, don't worry, smut will be coming SOON!
Reviews are love, leave some!
-K Squared
Kate looks around her now bare apartment. She really is moving in with Richard Castle. It takes everything in her to hold back the girlish giggle and the happy dance. She smiles when she feels Rick come up behind her and circle his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. She presses her cheek into his and smiles when he kisses her softly.
"What are you thinking?"
Kate sighs, "I didn't think that it was possible to be this happy." Rick squeezes her a bit tighter, and she can feel the smile on his lips. "I mean, last night you…" she trails off, trying to get the image of him ready to throw her out of his life from her mind, and inwardly curses when a tear falls and lands on her shirt. "Last night you didn't want anything to do with me; and now…" she turns in his arms and brings her own up to circle around his neck, and rests her forehead on his. "Now, it's not even a full twenty-four hours later, and I'm moving in with you."
Rick tips her head so she's looking in his shining eyes. He sweeps his thumb over the tear that has fallen to wipe it away. "Before last night I didn't understand. Now I do, so you don't need to worry about it anymore."
More tears fall down Kate's face now. "How can I not worry? I almost lost you. All because I - "
"Did you lose me?" he asks.
She stops and looks up at him again. "No," Kate says hesitantly.
"Okay then. I'm right here. We're here. We're packing up your apartment and you're moving to the loft. All because you followed me home and didn't let me shut you out. I think that's pretty wonderful." Rick smiles down at her and kisses a stray tear.
"How do you always do that?" she asks.
He looks at her, confused. "Do what?"
"Make everything okay. It's what you've done since day one. No matter what I do. No matter what happens, you make everything better." He smiles at her when she pauses, but she's not finished yet. "Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance. I promise I won't let you down."
Rick pulls her in for a kiss. When he releases her he says, "I know. I love you too." They stand there together for a few minutes; they are pressed so close together it's as if they are one. Finally Rick pulls away and says, "Let's finish packing and go home."
They finish packing in a comfortable silence, only talking to discuss which items go in which box and pausing every once in a while to smile giddily at one another. Finally, they are looking around an empty apartment. All that's left after their trips with boxes downstairs is a dresser.
Kate looks up at Rick. "Should I call Lanie?"
He eyes her. "I guess now's as good a time as any. Are you ready to tell her about us?"
She grins. "Definitely. You do realize she's never going to let us hear the end of this, right? She's been saying we are going to be together for ages now."
Rick laughs. "The 'I told you so' that will never end." She joins in the laughter and nods. Kate pulls out her phone and taps on Lanie's contact, smiling at Rick who's sitting on the empty kitchen island of Kate's apartment.
"Hey, Lanie," Kate smiles into the phone.
"What's up girl?"
"I need you to come to my place, I need to talk to you and I don't want to do it over the phone."
"Everything okay, Kate?"
Kate looks over at Rick and smiles at him, "Everything is perfect."
"Okay. I'll be there in twenty."
"Okay, see you soon," Kate says, and taps 'end' on her phone. Walking over to Rick, she stands between his legs, wrapping her arms around his middle.
"Everything's perfect, huh?" he asks, kissing her hair.
"Yeah," she grins, worse than a love struck teenager. "Everything is perfect."
True to her word, there's a knock on the apartment door twenty minutes later. Kate looks up at Rick and smiles, "You ready? She's going to flip, you know that right?"
"I know," Rick says, "I'm ready to shout that you're mine. Let her in."
Kate smiles and kisses him softly, "I love you."
"I love you too," he returns, "Now let her in."
Kate chuckles, and walks over to the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. "Hey, Lanie."
"Girl, you had me worried," Lanie says walking in, and looking at the empty apartment. The only thing in the space that is supposed to be her best friends' home is a dresser. What the hell? She turns to face Kate with an arched eyebrow, "What's going on?"
"Well, I know you mentioned needing a new dresser," Kate says, and motions to her old one. "So, I'm giving you mine. I'm not going to need it anymore."
Rick takes this moment to slide off the kitchen island, and crosses the room to Kate with a smile. Lanie is just as confused as can be, "Writer boy, what the hell is she talking about?"
"Well, Lanie," Rick says, taking Kate's hand his, interlocking their fingers-and not missing the look on Lanie's face-brings Kate's hand up to his lips for a soft kiss. "Kate will have plenty of space in her new place."
Lanie crosses her arms and gives him a curt nod, "I see, and where is her 'new place'?"
Kate smiles at her best friend. "Lanie, I'm moving in with Rick."
Lanie blinks. "Come again?"
"I'm moving in with Rick," Kate repeats. "We're together, Lanie."
Lanie's eyes move between Rick and Kate, she puts a hand on the dresser to steady herself. "Since when? And why am I just finding out about this?"
Kate looks up at Rick, "She came over to my place last night, we fought, we talked, we kissed, and now we're here."
"Oh, babe, you forgot one little thing," Kate says, not missing the look from her friend or Rick at the word 'babe', "I'm hopelessly in love with you."
Rick's smile is about to split his face, "Yeah, there's that too."
"Whoa, okay, time out," Lanie says, pulling Rick and Kate's attention back to her. "How exactly did this happen?"
"Cliffs notes version?" Kate asks, not really wanting to relive the previous night anymore than she has to.
"For now," Lanie agrees, giving Kate her patented 'Lanie look'.
Rick gives Kate's hand a squeeze, and she sighs. "I followed him home last night; because he heard something that he wasn't supposed to while he was in observation. I didn't even know he was there."
Kate looks up to Rick, and he can see the onset of tears, so he takes over. "She showed up at the loft, begging for me to hear her side of things, and of course, with my feelings for her, I let her in. She told me everything, and I asked her to stay. We're taking things slow, so she was a little reluctant, but she stayed anyway. This morning at breakfast, which turned into lunch, I asked her to think about moving in with me, because I didn't want to waste anymore time. She agreed; and here we are."
"Okay, so you're taking things slow," Lanie says, "Yet, you're moving in with him?"
"I know it sounds crazy, Lanie," Kate says, glancing at Rick, and then back to Lanie, "But we both agreed that we wasted too much time fighting our feelings. We don't want to miss out on anymore. I-I thought you'd be happy for us…"
"Happy? Girl I'm ecstatic," Lanie says. "I'm so glad you finally opened your eyes to what I've been telling you for four years."
Kate smiles at her friend, "I am too, Lanie."
"I hope you know you're not off the hook," Lanie tells her friend with a wink. "I'm going to need full details soon."
Kate looks at her a moment, then nods. "Okay. We need a girls night one of these days."
"Tomorrow night," Lanie decides and gives Kate a look that leaves no room for argument.
"Tomorrow night," Kate agrees slowly.
"Well I better get this dresser out of here," her friend says. "I'm sure you two are anxious to get back home." Lanie grins devilishly and laughs as her friends both blush. "I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about tomorrow."
"You don't have to take it now," Rick tells her. "I can have a couple of guys move it for you if that's easier."
Lanie looks at him with a smile. "You know, writer boy, you're not half bad. I think my girl is lucky to have you. That sounds great, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow," she tells Kate, with a pointed look, and a wink.
"Bye, Lanie," the couple tells her as she shuts the door.
"Plenty to talk about tomorrow, huh?" Rick asks Kate with a smile.
She shrugs her shoulders. "Maybe. Who knows?"
"Oh I'll make sure you have plenty of options," he grins and nips at her neck.
"Don't start what you can't finish," she tells him.
"Who says I can't finish it?" Rick asks as his hands run through her hair and he traces a finger down her neck, following it down until he's teasing her breast.
Kate's body comes alive with a shudder and she has to shake herself out of the moment. "Rick, there's nothing here. I don't want our first time to be on the floor of an empty apartment." Every part of her body is screaming out in protest to what her words are saying, but she doesn't want it to happen like this. From the feel of Rick pressed up against her, she's sure he's protesting too, but wonderful man that he is, he pulls away slowly.
"You're killing me, Kate. You're absolutely right, but you're killing me."
Kate smiles up at him, "What do you say we go home?"
"I say, I like the sound of that. Let's go!"
CB
By the time they get home, the movers have dumped Kate's belongings in the middle of the doorway. Half way through unpacking the kitchen boxes the loft door opens and an 'oomph' comes from the doorway.
Rick looks over to find his daughters red head peak over the stack of boxes, "What the heck is this?"
"Well, Alexis, the movers just dumped Kate's things in the doorway," Rick explains, hurrying to his daughter's side to weave her through the maze of boxes. "Sorry, sweetheart."
"So when you said 'Kate's moving in', you meant today?" Alexis asks, looking up at her dad with an amused smile.
"Kinda," he answers. "Yeah."
Alexis rolls her eyes, "Well if you'd have told me I would have helped."
"Oh it's no big deal, Alexis," Kate says, popping up from a cupboard. "Everything that I needed was easy to pack. We sent the rest to good will, and Lanie."
"Dr. Parish knows about you guys?" Alexis asks, "What does she think?"
Kate laughs, "Alexis, its Lanie. She was thrilled."
"I suppose you're right," the red head says, taking a seat at the kitchen island. "But um, have you guys told Gram yet?"
Rick's eyes widen, and Kate looks up at him with the same expression. They can't believe they forgot to tell Martha. Oh, they'll never hear the end of it.
"You haven't told Gram?" Alexis exclaims, "Dad-"
"No, sweetie, I know. We are going to, it's just…"
"We will tell her as soon as we see her," Kate says, "It's not exactly something you share over the phone. Where is she anyway?"
"In the Hamptons for the weekend," Rick answers.
"There," Kate says, "We have two days to figure out how to tell her about us, and me moving in. Is that alright, Alexis?"
"Yeah," the girl shrugs, "It's going to have to be. I know I wouldn't want to find out about you guys over the phone. That would just hurt."
The three of them take a moment to collect their thoughts. Rick turns to his daughter, "So, what are your plans for the night?"
"I actually came home to grab a few things," Alexis answers. "Jenna and I were going to have a slumber party for the weekend. If that's alright with you guys?"
Kate looks at Rick, and Rick nods, "That's perfectly fine with us. We were just going to unpack Kate's things and spend the evening doing nothing."
Kate eyes him, and nods in agreement, "Yeah, Alexis, don't feel like you need to stay in on my account. We'll have plenty of time to hang out."
Alexis smiles at that, and heads for the stairs, "Awesome. Thanks guys!"