7
Castle paid the delivery boy and gave him a generous tip while Kate pulled out three plates, bowls, spoons, and forks.
Rick brought the cartons over to the table and began popping the lids open.
"Alexis! Food's here!" As he opened cartons, he went ahead and divvied up their regular orders between them, setting wontons and egg rolls in the middle.
"Egg drop soup?" He offered the large Styrofoam to Kate.
"Mm. Yes." She poured some in her bowl and then in Rick's, too, tossing a few wontons in each bowl. She put an egg roll on both plates while he spooned on fried rice.
"Could you pass the soy sauce?" she asked, scooping Kung Pao onto her plate.
"As you wish," he answered with a smile.
She grinned.
They had empty cups, so she played along. She nodded toward the pitcher of tea, saying, "Farm Boy, fetch me that pitcher."
"As you wish." And he stepped into her personal space while pouring their drinks, pausing to kiss her ear. Her breath caught; she leaned into the kiss, but it ended after only a second.
They both looked at the stairs at the same time.
"Alexis! Come on! I'm going to eat your fortune cookie if you don't hurry up!"
Kate rolled her eyes and smiled, "You'd do it, too, wouldn't you?"
"You gonna stop me?" He took a sip of tea, feigning nonchalance.
"I do have handcuffs." She raised an eyebrow and gave him that look.
He choked a little on his tea. So much for nonchalance.
They began eating and talking, just like always. There were the usual heated looks, but since they were finally giving in to the inevitable, their bodies still buzzed and responded more than ever to the little innuendo-laced comments.
Finally, Rick had enough. He was trying so damn hard to behave himself since his kid was home and he didn't want to scar her for life by having her walk in on him ravishing the good detective (although he was really impressed with Kate's maternal instinct to not damage Alexis with the sight, even though she's not a parent.) He put down his fork and headed for the stairs.
"Lex!" No answer. He climbed the stairs, beginning to worry. "Alexis!" He looked in her room – empty – and her bathroom door was open and the lights were off. Her bookbag was zipped shut next to her desk and her school clothes were on the bed.
He called down, "Kate? Do you see Alexis's coat and purse by the door?"
Kate was beginning to get concerned, too, and a quick check showed Lex's stuff neither by the door nor in the coat closet. "Looks like she left without saying goodbye."
Rick went to get his phone anyway and called his daughter, just to be sure.
"Hey Dad! Are you having a cozy evening?" She sounded amused and a little smug.
"I was until the food I ordered for the three of us arrived and you were nowhere to be found."
"Oh, sorry. You looked like you were having a moment, and I didn't want to intrude."
So what did she see us doing in that "moment?"
"So… um… when exactly did you leave?"
Alexis laughed. "Why, were you doing something that would make me want to burn my retinas out if I saw?"
Her joking question was met with silence. "Aw, ew, Dad, gross!"
"No, no, we weren't doing that, just … it was a nice moment." He thought that was a good recovery. "So, how long are you staying out?"
"Maybe a couple of hours. It is a school night."
"Alright, Pumpkin. See you later. Have fun."
Kate was smiling when he turned back to her. He settled into his chair, touching his feet to hers.
She was still smiling. "My dad used to say, 'Be good.' You say, 'Have fun.'"
"Well, I have an inkling of what you do for fun. If I were your dad, I'd say 'Be good,' too. But I know her, and sometimes she has to be reminded to have fun."
She glided her toe up his leg. "How is that possible, with being around you? You can make nearly anything fun."
His face brightened with surprise and joy. "You think I'm fun?"
She pursed her lips in a little smile. "Maybe just funny looking."
"Want me to list times when you looked funny? Starting with wearing my costume in my closet?"
She scoffed. "When have I looked funny around you?"
They both wore smiles to show they were teasing.
He really couldn't think of any time she looked funny. Cute, sexy, serious, angry, beautiful, yes; but not funny.
"So, um, Kate…"
He still smiled, but she thought she was getting a nervous vibe from him. "Yeah?"
"So… are you going to go in and do your paperwork after dinner?"
She glanced down. She should go do it. "Well, I don't have any dry clothes yet, so I really couldn't even if I wanted to."
He didn't look any less nervous. "But… do you want to?"
"To leave?" He looks so cute trying to look like it's okay with him if I leave. "No, I don't want to. I think this is exactly where I want to be."
A tight smile of pride grew on his face, and he bobbed his head a little along with the happy dance occurring inside his mind.
Rick stood, took both of their plates to the coffee table, and turned the TV to Pearl Jam on Live at Austin City Limits. Kate followed with their tea and soup.
Leaning against each other's sides, they finished their meal while Kate told him a "fun" story from high school, the memory brought up by one of the old Pearl Jam songs. Her high school years were wilder than his, while his adulthood was wilder than hers.
"I'm glad Alexis isn't like either one of us."
"Yeah, you really lucked out on that one, Castle."
He laughed and took their empty dishes to the sink.
She stood up to go help him clean up, but the new song, "Just Breathe," came on. She'd heard it before and thought it was hauntingly beautiful. She watched, mesmerized. It was so fitting for them.
Rick held in his comment that the violinist looked like Weird Al when he saw Kate being sucked in by the song. He walked up behind her. His arms snaked around her waist as he began listening to the words:
…Under everything, I'm just another human being,
Yeah, I don't wanna hurt, there's so much in this world to make me bleed.
Stay with me...
You're all I see.
Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see...
No one knows this more than me
As I come clean.
Kate leaned back against him and they swayed to the music.
She turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck, laying her head on his chest.
This song always reminded her of both Royce and Castle. The first time she heard it was while they were in LA. She'd just read Royce's letter again when it came on the radio. And Castle was being the perfect partner, giving all he could to help her.
Eddie Vedder continued:
I wonder everyday
as I look upon your face,
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take.
Nothing you would take
Everything you gave...
Did I say that I need you?
Oh, did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see...
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean, ah-ah...
Hold me till I die.
Meet you on the other side.
Even then, in Los Angeles, she knew that this was going to happen. It almost happened then. As they danced, she wondered how the next few months would have played out if she'd opened her hotel room door ten seconds earlier. Or if she hadn't panicked and ran in the first place.
"Castle?"
"Mm?"
"Sorry it took so long to get here."
He hugged her tighter and kept dancing, even though the song had ended.
A/N: Here's the song, used at the end of "To Live & Die in LA"
www(dot)youtube(dot)com(slash)watch?v=Eo-UKCxCglg
So, please review! I don't want this story to just be an excuse for Caskett nookie. I like telling their story! I'm addicted to reviews like I'm addicted to this song & "Tremble" & "Hey Mama".