A/N – Holy WOW! Over 100 reviews? You guys are amazing! Thank you so very much for your continued support of this story! Without you all, it would not be happening, I assure you! Writing this has been so much fun, and I'm so glad to have been able to share my first writing journey with you all! Thank you for helping me find my way!
A HUGE thank you to The Keddster who helped me get 'unstuck'! I hadn't realized how difficult it could be to have your heart set on getting to Point B but not be quite sure how to get there! :)
I hope everyone who celebrates had a happy Thanksgiving! And for those that didn't, I hope you had a great week anyway! :)
Disclaimer: Weeell… I asked for "Castle" for Christmas, but after the "Premium Edition" of Chapter 5, I may just be on the naughty list… I'll keep ya posted.
Castle had never been an early riser. Scratch that. He had never liked waking up, whether it was at 6 am or noon after a late night of writing or carousing. If he had to wake up, he had grown very much accustomed and attached to rolling over and finding a very warm, generally scantily clad (if clad in anything at all), and usually amorous Kate Beckett. Waking up any other way had seriously lost its appeal and was, with each passing day, becoming more unacceptable.
So when his slumberous consciousness was pierced by his mother's shrill and affronted exclamation, he was immediately transported to the days of his youth in which was somewhat regularly roused by just such a shout, most often times as a result of her discovery of whatever 'mischief' he had managed to create the previous evening. He was immediately put on alert and sprang from his bed, eyes comically wide, poised for flight, his sluggish brain frantically searching for a plausibly innocent explanation for whatever she might have found. It took him a moment before he grasped a few facts: A) He was not fifteen anymore, and not, he mentally asserted, required to explain his actions to his mother. B) Kate was nowhere to be seen. Which was quickly followed by the awareness that C) he was naked. A tidal wave of memories from the previous evening came sluicing over the shore of his mind, bringing forth first a self-satisfied grin at the decadent activities that had transpired in their bed just hours earlier, then a frown as he recalled the tumultuous hours earlier in the evening, to finally an expression of horror as he realized that he had no clue what in the hell had caused his mother's outburst. And given the current state of things in his home, that was a terrifying prospect.
Fuck! he thought as he stumbled into the bureau to whip out a pair of flannel pants and a t-shirt, nearly slamming his fingers in the drawer in his rush to put out whatever fire had sprung up while he was blissfully sleeping the morning away. In reality, he knew that he should be reluctant to make his way out of the bedroom, for something told him that the scene that would greet him would not be a pleasant one.
In any other situation, seeing Castle stumble past the doorway to the study, t-shirt bunched diagonally across his chest and shoulder as he struggled in vain to find the hole for his other arm, would have elicited a chuckle or at least an amused eye roll, but Kate couldn't bring herself to summon any such humor as she stood, arms crossed, leveling her most intimidating Beckett-glare at the once again half-dressed former wife of her boyfriend standing between them.
As in any situation, Castle's eyes immediately sought Kate's. Seeing her was an instantaneous balm for the panic that gripped him, but the relief was fleeting when he saw the suppressed fury in her gaze. He followed her stare, his own eyes taking in the filmy confection covering, or more aptly described as not covering, his ex-wife. To complete this waking nightmare, his eyes traveled to the third point in the triangle of females and were met with the indignant scrutiny of his mother. Holy hell. He'd have asked himself whether this could get any worse, but he was afraid that it just might. His eyes reverted back to the cause of all the ire swirling through the loft.
"Meredith, what the hell are you doing?"
The redhead whirled around, obviously startled by his sudden appearance behind her. She quickly composed her features, adopting an innocent expression. "Richard! I was just coming to find you!"
Martha had recovered herself enough to speak up. "And why would that be, Meredith? Please do give us all the pleasure of enlightening us about your… intentions." It was obvious by the set of her hands on her hips that she was working herself into quite a temper.
Meredith swung her head to regard the older woman, lifting her chin imperiously. "Why, Martha! How… wonderful to see you," she said, flatly.
Her former mother-in-law lifted a brow disdainfully. "I wish I could say the same."
Meredith huffed indignantly, carefully schooled her features and turned her attention back to Castle. "Richard, I came to ask where you kept your organic water."
What the- "The what?" Castle's brain was usually the first to make astronomical leaps in logic, but even he could not follow the line of thinking of the woman in front of him.
Meredith looked at him like his mental faculties had taken a sudden, steep decline. "Organic. Water. Where do you keep it?" She laughed. "I've looked all over your kitchen and couldn't find it anywhere. Surely, you don't expect me to believe that you drink tap water! All those toxins and chemicals? Ugh." She shuddered dramatically.
Castle blinked quickly a few times, attempting to process all that was happening in front of him. "Tap water? Meredith. Really? What the hell are you wearing? And why are you wearing it in my kitchen?"
Meredith looked down at her ensemble, smoothing her hands down the diaphanous fabric. She lifted her gaze back to his, wearing the same look of profound confusion. "This? It's my nighty, of course! Kitten, you know this is what I always wear to bed! And why wouldn't I wear this in the kitchen? Since when have you instituted a dress code for the loft?"
Martha spoke up once again from where she had moved to stand beside Kate, who seemed torn between fury and bewilderment. "Since Alexis was old enough to understand what a dignified young woman should wear. Since his mother moved in. Since he started dating the lovely woman standing here that you have so conveniently ignored." With every point made, she stalked closer to the younger woman, indignation for her son, her granddaughter, and the detective she had come to care about written all over her posture.
"Dating?!" Meredith scoffed. "You can't be serious!" Her eyes met Castle's and the haughty amusement slid off her face. "Richard? Is that true? Are you dating her or just sleeping with her?"
Castle eyed her coolly. "Not that it's any of your business what I do with my private life, but yes, Meredith, Kate and I have been seeing each other for several months now." He risked a glance at the current topic of conversation who hadn't moved from her spot several feet from the kitchen. He shot her an apologetic look, pleading with her to just give him a few moments. He was going to fix this. "And I think it's time that you left."
The furious tension in Martha's stance relieved just a bit at his words. "Yes, I do believe you've overstayed your welcome, my dear!" She planted a hand firmly between Meredith's shoulder blades and began to propel her toward the stairs. "And do allow me to help you pack. We wouldn't want to keep you from… whatever it is that you do."
Meredith side-stepped the domineering redhead to turn back to Castle. "Leave?! But… but, Richard! You can't just make me leave! I- I mean- Alexis is still sick! She needs her mother!" Her eyes were blinking rapidly, wide with shock.
Castle crossed the threshold of the study to move closer to his clearly distressed ex-wife. "Yes, I can make you leave. This is my home! And Alexis has needed you any one of several dozen times over the last decade and a half, but that's never seemed to bother you before now. And while I'm being perfectly blunt, I'm not even sure that Alexis wants you here right now."
Meredith's jaw had been hanging open, tears beginning to form in her wide, blue eyes, but she snapped it shut upon hearing his last assertion. "Well, that is one thing that you're wrong about, Richard Castle. Alexis does want me here. She told me so herself not half an hour ago!" She lifted her chin stubbornly, even as it wobbled as she struggled to control the apparent onslaught of emotions.
Martha scoffed, "Well, if that isn't the biggest load of –"
"It's true," rasped a tired voice from above.
All four of the inhabitants of the loft swung their surprised gazes up to the top of the stairs where a pajama-clad, pale and trembling Alexis stood grasping the railing of the balcony overlooking the loft.
Everyone stood in stunned silence for a moment before Martha recovered and took control of the situation. "Richard, why don't you speak with Alexis and find out what in God's name is going on, and get that poor thing back into bed. I will expect a full explanation of all of these shenanigans just as soon as you sort that out." She turned to the sniffling woman beside her. "Meredith, for God's sake go find some clothes to wear. And attempt to find some self-respect while you're at it." She turned to Kate, her expression softening. "Hey, kiddo," she said, softly. "You okay?"
Kate sucked in a deep breath. "Uhh… yeah. Yeah. Just…" she waved her hands ineffectually, struggling to find the words.
"I know the feeling, my dear. Meredith has that effect on most people. I still wonder what Richard ever saw in her…" She stopped her musings to eye the detective carefully. She put a comforting arm around her shoulders and began guiding her toward the stairs. "Come on. Let's go see if we can't get this mess sorted out."
"I'm so sorry, Dad." Alexis was once again settled in her bed, her head bowed, staring at her fingers as she plucked at a loose thread in her comforter.
Her father covered her fidgety fingers with his own. "Pumpkin, I'm not mad. I just need to understand what's going on."
His daughter raised her eyes, an apology swimming in their blue depths. "I had every intention of telling her to leave, Dad. Really, I did. It's so unfair to you and Kate to expect you to deal with her here on top of having to take care of me." Her words implied that she was well aware of the fact that Meredith required at least as much energy as caring for a sick teenager. "But when she came in to talk to me, I was still mostly asleep, and I wasn't really aware of what was going on. The last time I was awake, I had been telling Kate that I thought, just for a moment, that there was the possibility that she could really be here because she's concerned about me, not because of anything else, even though I know it's not likely. But when I went to sleep, I had this really weird dream about what life would've been like if Mom had stayed here in New York, had been a part of my life on a regular basis, not just random lunches in Paris, working weekends in the city, and summers in California squeezing in shopping hours around her shooting schedule." She dropped her gaze to her lap again, and continued, "And it was just so… nice. Not that you weren't an amazing dad, but…"
"But I'm not a mom. I get it. It's okay." Castle used a fingertip under her chin to tilt her head back up so that they were eye to eye. "It's okay to want that."
She blinked back tears. "So when she came in and woke me up, she explained that she was here because I was sick and asked if I wanted her to stay until I felt better, so I-"
Her eyes caught movement by the door of her room. Her grandmother and Kate were standing just outside the open door waiting for her father. The father-daughter conversation was too subdued for them to hear, but Kate saw everything she needed to know about what had happened in the young girl's eyes. It was the same look she saw in the mirror for months, years after her mother's death, the look she still saw when she woke up after dreaming of her mother. The longing for what could have been. Kate swallowed hard around the lump in her throat, stepping out of the line of sight of Alexis' room, heading for the stairs.
Castle saw the movement out of the corner of his eye as well, and looked over just in time to see his girlfriend spin around and walk away. He quickly kissed Alexis on the forehead before rising from her bedside and vaguely asking his mother to 'take care of Alexis'. He picked up his pace and headed down the stairs after the woman he loved, hoping that his crazy family, past and present, hadn't scared her away. He caught up to her just as she reached the front door. His breath caught in his throat as he tried to keep from panicking.
"Kate!"
She turned, even as she grabbed her keys and the wristlet that held her phone, ID and money from the table by the door. "Castle, I need to- I'm sorry, but I just have to get out of here for a while. I'll be back. Later." He saw that her eyes were red-rimmed, and his heart cracked under the weight of her distress.
"No, Kate, wait. Please don't go. Not like this."
She heaved a heavy sigh. "Castle, it's fine. We're… fine. I just need a change of scenery for a while."
"You're sure you're okay? Can we please just talk first?"
"Castle, really. Just… go deal with…" she waved her hand vaguely, gesturing behind him toward the stairs, "all of that. Your mother is practically vibrating with the need to talk to you, anyway. I'll be back in a while." She took in his anxious features and walked back toward him. "I'm not running. I already did that this morning, see?" she quipped, gesturing to her attire. "But right now, I just need to get some air, clear my head a little… escape-"
"The crazy? Kate, I'll talk to Alexis. I'm sure she won't mind if Meredith stays somewhere else. I-"
"No."
"What?" Castle looked at her like she'd grown another head before a growing seed of fear entered his eye. "What do you mean, Kate?"
"I mean, don't tell Meredith to leave." She stood a bit straighter, steeling her resolve.
"But… why?" His face was slack with utter confusion.
"Just…" she huffed in exasperation, just anxious to get out of the loft, to get outside the building where the walls didn't feel like they were closing in on her. "I can't talk about this now, Castle. Just don't do anything yet, and we'll talk about this when I get back. Okay?" She stepped closer, lifting a hand to his jaw, cupping it in the palm of her hand. The stubble that came from two days without shaving abraded her palm, and she ran her thumb along the plump, smooth flesh of his bottom lip. His tongue darted out to taste the pad of her wandering digit, sending a bolt of need straight to her core, making her ache instantly. She stepped closer, aligning her body with his, and slid both arms around his neck, one hand slipping beneath his t-shirt to the corded muscles of his back, the other to card through his thick, brown hair. She pulled his head down to hers, pressing her lips to his, her tongue sweeping the seam of his lips seeking an invitation to enter. His lips parted willingly, his hands coming around her using pressure on her upper and lower back to press her impossibly close to his hardening body. Their tongues mated, a parry and thrust that had become so familiar yet still inspired such wonder in them both. The lower of his hands began to make its way inside the waistband of her cotton running pants, but she broke their kiss, breathing heavily, resting her forehead against his chest. They stood there for a moment, both breathless, just reveling in the closeness of the other.
Kate pulled back, and he released her reluctantly. Her lips curved in a slight, soft smile at his hangdog expression. "I'll be back in a little while." And she turned, opened the door to the loft, exiting quickly and shutting the door behind her.
Castle followed her path to the door, and leaned against it, his forehead flush with the cool surface, resisting the urge to run after her and drag her back inside his home, to his bed. She just needs some space, he told himself, attempting to quell the uneasiness he felt churning in his stomach. He pushed off the door, and turned back toward the loft's interior where he saw his mother waiting for him at the base of the steps, arms crossed.
"Well, Richard. Care to explain to me what exactly is going on here?"
Kate breathed deeply as she stepped outside of Castle's apartment building for the second time in as many hours. She felt the frigid air enter her lungs, which had a cooling effect on the rest of her body. She no longer felt claustrophobic and was immediately struck by how awfully chilly the January air was, especially now that she was not running. She knew she wouldn't want to stay outdoors for long, but she also didn't feel ready to return to the loft and all of its inhabitants just yet.
So she did the only logical thing. She pulled out her phone, scrolled through her contacts and pressed Send.
"Lanie? Can you meet me for lunch somewhere? Good… Yeah, now. I need to talk."
A/N – I didn't get nearly as far in the story here as I thought I would… they all had FAR more to say than they initially led me to believe! We'll get to see some girl talk next chapter, a mother/son chat, and maybe, just maybe, we'll see the confrontation you've all been waiting for.
Total sidebar - so when 'organic water' originally popped into my head, I giggled out loud at the utter absurdity of it. Imagine my surprise when I decided to Google it and found out that it really exists! ::blink, blink:: I'm probably offending my organic-loving readership; I hope not… it just seemed a bit over-the-top, which, IMO, is 100% up Meredith's alley.
