The goal was to write a one-shot off the word 'bite' and keep it rated G.
This is what I came up with.
Bite
Kate Beckett trod through the dry grass, now turning from the lush green it carried all summer to the faded brown it adopted this chilly time of year. She continued on, even after the grass turned into straw, intent on her goal.
It was a race.
He had challenged her, knowing full well she wouldn't- couldn't turn the dare down.
He had challenged her, and she needed to win.
Her eyes moved quickly, scanning, searching, her well-honed senses no doubt giving her an advantage. She scanned the hall that the hay bales created, searching for her opponents, making sure she wasn't being tailed. She saw a flash of red that was unmistakably Alexis making its way eat of her, and smiled at the thought of the teenager.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Richard Castle weaved in and out of the makeshift aisles, marked off by barrels of straw and various decorations, making his way around the maze-like place with obvious ease, the soft crunch of crisp leaves underfoot.
He had been here many times- 18, to be exact, not including this time. He knew this place like the back of his hand- where to go, the fastest routes- where the best ones were.
He knew Beckett was faster than he, and with her detective skills there was no doubt that his home advantage wasn't going to help much, but he held onto the fact that it might be enough, that he might beat her there.
He had shared this tradition with one other person: Alexis. He liked to imagine her now, a tiny little thing not an inch over three feet tall, darting off to here and there and the other place. Determined to touch every single decoration and climb on the hay bales.
Of course this wasn't hard to imagine, the five foot six inch Alexis tiptoeing down the aisle beside him. She was crouched, as if that made her invisible, and he watched her with a grin, passing through the obstacles like they were nothing. She, too was very familiar with this ritual.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Alexis Castle pulled at the navy blue scarf around her neck, tugging it closer to protect it from the bite of the crisp wind. This was her favorite traditions, out of all over her and her father's, which was saying something, considering how many memorable ones they had. Greeting of the fall, he told her when she was younger. This was their annual greeting of the fall.
This year, though- This year was different.
It wasn't just the two of them anymore, this time Kate came along. Although at first Alexis feared that the older woman wouldn't understand the sanctity of this very special occasion, but the detective abolished those fears during the car ride up, and as much as she tried to hide her excitement, Alexis could tell she was eager to share this.
It was a very big deal, after all. Her father, sharing this with her.
Challenging her, even.
Daring her to drop her walls completely, to run through the maze of hay.
Daring her to find it.
Find the biggest pumpkin of them all.
