Is Forever Possible, Chapter 8: Dinner is Served
by RGoodfellow64
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Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, the characters or anything else associated with the show other than the merchandise they sell to the public…despite my numerous tries at winning the lottery.
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Kate stood in front of his door. She heard the muffled voices of Rick and his family and smiled at the excitement she heard in them. She lifted her hand and knocked.
Inside she heard an excited Alexis yell, "She's here!" and then barely heard Rick reply "She's one minute early, make her wait!"
Just before the door opened she heard Alexis say "Daaad!" as only a 17 year old daughter can. She smiled as she remembered so many times saying the same thing to her father when she was that age.
The door opened to an exuberant Alexis, "Kate! You're here! I'm so happy you came!" Kate could actually hear the exclamation points in her words.
In the kitchen Castle listened to his daughter and Kate and wondered when Detective Beckett became Kate, which reminded him that Alexis is picking up some of Kate's mannerisms, and when did she ever have the time to do that?
He turned from the stove and watched as Alexis took her coat, revealing Kate in her power heels, "skinny" jeans and a shimmering silk blouse. Castle just stared at her thinking she looked exquisite no matter what she wore as Alexis gave her a hug.
Her eyes met his and they silently spoke to each other in those few seconds before Martha got up from her stool, leaving her wine behind, and walked up to Kate.
"Kate, I am so glad you're here," Martha said in her own inimitable style.
Kate let go of Alexis and smiled at Rick's mother, "Martha, I am looking forward to dinner with you all tonight."
As Kate was speaking, Martha linked arms with her and led her to the living room couch. Castle, noticing this for the first time started to leave the kitchen when Alexis said, "Dad, the sauce is going to burn!" and he quickly ran back to the stove.
Kate was a bit apprehensive as Martha led her to the couch and gestured her to sit, but she did, waiting to see what Martha had to say. Martha settled in next to her when Alexis came in, sat next to her grandmother, and smiled at Kate as Martha began to speak in a soft voice.
"The fan is on in the kitchen dear, and as good as his hearing is, he won't be able to over hear our talk."
Kate looked at Martha in surprise. Except for the time Chet left her the million dollars, Martha was always the Broadway Diva every time Kate had seen her. Now she was different. Now there was no "acting", now was the real Martha she met that night so many weeks ago…this was Rick's mother talking.
"Kate, I want you to know that you have made my son very happy. Happier than I have ever known him to be with any other woman."
Kate exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding, "He's done the same for me Martha." she replied.
Martha smiled and patted Kate's knee, "I was beginning to despair that the two of you would ever find each other." she said. "When I heard you both had finally seen the light I was cautiously overjoyed."
Kate gave Martha a puzzled look, what does she mean by "cautiously overjoyed?"
Martha continued, "He isn't always Richard Castle with you dear, he is Richard Rogers. He still has the exuberance of a child, and we all know he can certainly act like one, but he is very vulnerable now."
Martha leaned towards Kate, hand still on her knee and said, "He can be hurt, he has been hurt, but I do not believe that anyone has had the power to hurt him as much as you can."
Kate started to shake her head no but Martha continued, "Dear, I don't for a moment believe that you plan on hurting him. I've seen the way you two look at each other. If it wasn't such an overused expression I'd say you were definitely soul mates."
"What I am trying to say here is, for the first time, I see my son involved with a good, strong, caring woman. God knows you have to be strong to be able to keep up with and match him, and Kate, you are the only woman I have ever met who compliments him in all the right ways."
At this, Martha looked at Alexis, "And other than myself, you are the only woman he has ever allowed to know, let alone get close to, Alexis. That, my dear, tells me more than anything that you are what he has been searching for all these years. In a moment of weakness he once told me he had given up on finding his "forever"...I think he found her, and I think you found yours too."
Kate didn't know how to respond. She and Rick had only started being a couple six days earlier, but then she thought about it and corrected herself. Since they met he's been chipping away at her walls, and they have been more like a couple than anything else.
She finally spoke up, "Martha, I don't...I really don't know what to say…"
Before she could continue Martha interrupted her, "Kate, you don't have to say anything." She put her other hand on Alexis, "We just wanted you to know that we are happy that you and Richard are together, that you have found happiness with each other, and that we support you both. What we are simply saying dear, is welcome to our world."
Martha smiled and patted Kate's and Alexis's knees, "And now we have a premier to attend!" Martha was back to being a Diva again.
"You're not staying for dinner?" Kate asked.
"No dear, a friend of mine is opening a new play tonight and I promised to support him. Alexis and I will attend the play while you and Rick enjoy his cooking." While Alexis looked at her grandmother in alarm, Martha leaned towards Kate and said in a stage whisper, "He really is a good cook."
At that, Martha stood up, pulling Alexis with her. "Come dear, we need to leave soon to be at the theater on time."
Alexis gave Kate a last "help me" look as Martha led her towards the kitchen.
"Richard, darling, Alexis and I are leaving and I want you to take extra good care of Kate tonight. We are very fond of her and expect you to be a perfect gentleman at all times!"
With that she downed her glass of wine, picked up her purse and walked to the door. Alexis sighed, picked up her purse and followed her grandmother to the closet, and putting on their coats they opened the door to leave.
Martha had the last word, "Enjoy your dinner Kate...and we really must have lunch together sometime soon...a nice…long…lunch." With that, she shut the door and Kate was alone with Rick.
Rick took the sauce pan off the stove and walked out of the kitchen towards Kate, a white towel draped over his arm.
"Good evening Miss Beckett", he said with a huge smile. "I am so very happy that you are able to be here tonight."
Kate smiled back at him and replied, "Well, I have heard that Chez Castle has very good food."
She turned and looked at the dining table, set up for two with candles lit and added, "And the atmosphere is definitely romantic."
Rick heard the smile in her voice and came over to give her a hug and kiss. When they pulled back he simply stared at her, she saw his irises expand and his eyes fill with emotion as he said, "You are extraordinary."
Kate, blushing, kept looking in his eyes, feeling she could dive into them and never want to come up again. She gave a grin and said, "You're not too bad yourself Mr. Castle." She gave him another quick kiss and asked, "What smells so incredibly delicious?"
With their arms still around each other and her familiar fragrance of cherries still in his nostrils, Rick couldn't think of anything more delicious than standing there with Kate in his arms. He looked into her eyes and found it incredibly difficult to look away. 'I could dive in them and never want to come up again' he thought.
Kate gave a little smile and said, "Rick?"
"Oh! Sorry, yes, food! Well we have…wait! How did you distract me like that? What did my mother want? She didn't make you uncomfortable, did she?
Kate gave little smile and said, "It's just 'girl' talk Rick. I'm sure it's nothing you'd be interested in."
A sudden glint came into her eye as she slowly ran her hand down his arm, "Why Mr. Castle! Do you find me distracting?" and gave a throaty chuckle.
She watched as different emotions flashed across his face and felt a sense of victory knowing that she had the same affect on him that he had on her. It made her feel incredibly sexy and she felt her heart flutter in response.
'Hmmm, ok Kate, back to earth' she thought. "So, are we going to stand here all night or do you plan to feed me?" she asked with a smile.
Making a dramatic gesture Rick smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, bowed and offered Kate his arm to walk to the table.
Kate smiled and took his arm, thinking how easy it was to get his mind off what Martha had said. She felt both warmed and uneasy with that conversation.
Warmed, that Martha and Alexis welcomed her into their home, their lives and felt comfortable sharing Rick with her. Uneasy, for the same reason. Was this going too fast? Why did people assume that now they were together, they were "forever?"
'Well how do you feel about it Kate?' she asked herself, and found she was thinking the same way. Although this was new, she never felt this kind of security before…it felt like "forever."
As he pulled her chair out for her to sit, Rick asked if she was ready to start her meal.
"Yes! It smells so good, and I'm famished." she readily agreed.
He raised one eyebrow and looked at her with the same softness that made her knees weak. "Typical Beckett lunch of gummy bears and a granola bar?" he asked.
She picked the fine, soft napkin from her plate and swatted him with it. "Food!" she said laughing.
He returned shortly from the kitchen with a tray holding two small dishes and two glasses of wine. He placed a plate and glass in front of her and one in the seat next to her for himself and sat down.
Kate bent her head to the plate to breath in the aroma. It smelled delicious. She raised her head to see him smiling at her with what she was quickly beginning to think of as the "Castle look". He picked up his glass and offered a toast.
"To open and honest." he said. "To us." She clinked her glass to his and took a sip.
"To start my dear detective, we have Crabmeat-Parmesan Canapés, served with a white Bordeaux." The wine was delicious and he told her to go ahead and start eating, which she gladly did. One bite and she knew this would be a meal to remember.
"Mmmm, these are so good!" she said, giving a little moan after taking the first bite. "Where did you get them?"
"Made 'em from scratch" he said proudly. She gave him what he had always thought of as "the Beckett look" when she wasn't quite sure he was serious or not. "Really. These were a snap, but it took me three tries to get the sauce right."
Kates eyes crinkled with laughter and she said, "Sauce?" She looked at her plate which held no sauce.
His mouth full of food Rick nodded and mumbled, "Fer later."
Kate gave him a big smile and said, "Please give my compliments to the chef." She put her hand on his and said, "You are making real good progress in making up to me Mr. Castle."
Rick gave a big smile and took away their plates and glasses. Kate was surprised to find both were empty, but Rick quickly returned with two small soup crocks with what could only be French Onion soup. He placed that and another glass in front of her.
She could not get enough of the aromas surrounding her and he chuckled as she bent down to get a better whiff of the soup. "Now this as you can see is French Onion soup, and it is served with a Beaujolais Villages. I hope you like the wine I chose, I don't care for many other wines with this soup."
Kate started to eat the soup and took a sip of the wine. "Wow Rick, this really does go well with it." She almost felt torn on which to enjoy first, the soup or the wine.
While Kate was enjoying her soup, Rick was glancing in her direction. It had only been six days since he decided to throw caution to the wind and put his real feelings out there, quite possibly for the first time in his life. He recalled how terrified he was to make that move but now, sitting here with Kate by his side, he so wished he had done it sooner.
"Probably wouldn't have worked" she said putting down her spoon.
"Huh?" he asked.
"Our getting together earlier."
He sat there with a spoon full of soup halfway to his open mouth and stared at her. 'How does she do that?' he thought.
Kate smiled and helped him put the spoon in his mouth. "Honestly, after all this time working together, you still wonder how I know these things? Trained detective." Her voice softened, "Plus I have been watching you for three years, kinda like what you've been doing to me."
"Why wouldn't it have worked?" he asked.
"As much as we cared, we didn't care enough." she replied. "As much as we wanted it, we didn't want it enough."
Rick shook his head no and said, "Oh Kate, I really…"
Kate put her hand on his. "We didn't want to go here this past weekend, but I think we can tonight. It didn't take too long after you started shadowing me that I began to appreciate you, well at least some part of you. You could still be pretty obnoxious, but by the time of the Coonan case, I already would have missed you if you left."
Rick just sat and listened, knowing this was important for her to say, and for him to hear. He turned his hand over and clasped hers.
"You were constantly flirting with me, throwing sexual innuendo's left and right, but still there was that serious part of you, Alexis' dad, who listened to me when I needed it, who helped me solve cases and who I found myself opening up to more and more. Rick, in the first six weeks you shadowed me, I opened up more to you about myself than I had to anyone in the past nine years."
Rick looked surprised and continued to give her non verbal support.
"I was starting to look at you differently when you slept with Ellie Monroe." Rick gave a grimace as he remembered that time.
"That's when I decided to seriously start looking for someone to be my partner in life. Someone I could trust."
When Kate said that Rick felt so ashamed. Even though he wasn't aware, she was putting her trust in him and he threw it back, in the worst way possible.
"Kate, I…"
She saw the despair in his face and interrupted.
"Rick." she said softly, "I'm not saying this to make you feel bad. I want you to understand, I want you to realize what this is from my perspective. How important this, and you, are to me."
He nodded his head as she continued. "I actually wrote up a long list of what I thought would make the perfect boyfriend, or perfect potential mate. A few weeks later we ran into Tom and as I got to know him, he seemed to fill all the requirements. I didn't realize that just because a piece of paper said he was right, my heart wouldn't feel the same."
She immediately squeezed his hand, "I know I hurt you when I lied about the weekend with Tom, just know that I have never, and will never do that to you again."
He nodded his head and was surprised to feel tears in his eyes. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze, softly said, "excuse me", and removed their empty plates. He quickly returned with a salad of dark greens and the bottle of Beaujolais Villages. He poured the rest of the bottle in their glasses and they ate.
They finished their salad, occasionally sipping their wine, content in the quietness of just being together. When they finished Rick brought back their glasses and dishes and returned with the main course and two new glasses, along with a bottle of wine.
While he did that, Kate realized that she had never before been so at ease with the quiet. She gave a soft smile as she thought it was Rick who led her to this, who also felt at ease not having to fill the silence with chatter. How different from being Castle, who she has to threaten to be quiet for just a few minutes.
When he returned he did not put the food and wine down but stood there till she looked up at him. "My dear Kate, and believe me when I say you are so dear to me, I am no longer that man. It may sound cliché, but if it wasn't for you, I still would be."
She looked at him, touched his arm and said softly, "I know."
He placed the meal in front of her and the empty glass, sat down and poured her another glass of wine. "You are about to enjoy Grilled Chicken and Potato Straw Cake with a Tarragon Cream Sauce on the side, served with a Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the sauce that caused me so much grief today, well, about as much as Paula."
"Paula?" Kate asked.
"She may be the best Publicist in the business, but she kept calling at the worst times! I almost had the sauce right on the second try when she called and the whole thing burned!" he said in a grumpy voice.
He gave a slight pout and said, "She should know better than to call when I'm cooking."
Kate laughed and said, "Really Rick? It's Paula's fault you had to make it three times?"
He smiled and said, "Of course! You don't expect me to blame myself do you? It has to be her fault! C'mon, dig in, this should be really good."
For the next few minutes, the only sounds heard were the little sighs of pleasure from both as they ate their dinner. Kate was amazed and touched at how he had carefully paired each wine with the dinner courses; but was very happy there was enough food, as she surely didn't want to drink too much, even if she did come by taxi.
Halfway through her chicken, and feeling the need to clarify something, she put down her fork and looked at him. "Rick, Tom never stood a chance when it came to you."
He looked up surprised. "I thought you preferred him to me Kate, you were going to go away for the weekend."
"When it came to losing you or spending time with Tom, there was never really any choice. You know I chose you over him, we went over that before, but when you returned last fall, still with Gina, I just felt I needed someone, anyone in my life. One weekend after you returned I met Josh when I stopped to fill up my Harley."
"I know you really cared for him Kate." Rick said softly, not looking into her eyes.
"Rick, I told you I had one foot out the door. The entire time we dated we never talked about work, well I never talked about my work, and he couldn't stop talking about his. Honestly there were times I wondered why on earth I ever went out with him."
She paused and said, "The connection I was longing for just wasn't there with him."
She grabbed his hand again, "Rick, you were there for me, Always. That word may not mean much to anyone else, but to me it means the world."
"Richard Castle, or Richard Alexander Rogers, you mean the world to me."
Kate let go of his hand and continued to eat. Rick on the other hand just stared at her with his mouth open.
Seeing that, she gave a smile and put a forkful of chicken in his mouth. Suddenly he realized what was happening and started to chew. Kate smiled and continued with her meal saying, "Rick, you really have outdone yourself tonight. I have never had a meal that tasted this good before. Really."
Rick smiled and said, "There are still two more courses to go, some mild cheeses to cleanse the palate and then dessert…damn!"
Kate was surprised at his outburst and said, "What's wrong?"
"I forgot the romantic music!" Rick said. "How can I make this dinner special without romantic music?" and he got up to put on the CD he'd chosen.
Kate laughed, waited till he returned to his chair and took his hand. "Hey, it isn't the music that makes this meal special, it's the man who made it. Now shut up and eat."
Rick smiled and did as she suggested; finishing his chicken, he asked Kate what she thought of the chicken and sauce.
"Delicious! Rick, if the rest of this meal is as good as what I've had, I can officially let you off the hook." She leaned over to him and said "come here." When he leaned towards her she kissed him.
Neither realized that they were both thinking the same thing. How great it felt to simply be able to kiss the other, at any time. This was something they both dreamed of for a long time. Kate practically luxuriated in the feeling.
"You chalked up a lot of points with this dinner tonight mister." she said with a smile.
Rick threw her another kiss and finished his chicken. When he offered to take her plate she was surprised that not only was the plate empty, but so was her glass and the bottle of wine.
"Be right back with the cheese." Rick said and hurried off to the kitchen.
A few minutes later he returned with a platter filled with at least a dozen different cheeses, and yet another bottle of wine and glasses.
"Are you trying to get me drunk Mr. Castle?" she asked. "Because I spent a summer in Russia and believe me, it isn't going to work."
Rick laughed and said, "Kate Beckett. Although at one time I would have considered doing so, I will never try to get you drunk unless you want me to."
She gave him a grin and said, "Deal."
He put the platter down between them and poured the wine. "You will now enjoy something to cleanse your palate before dessert. These cheeses come from France and the wine is a Napa Valley Merlot."
He put up his hands dramatically and said, "I know, I know, French cheese and California wine, but you will enjoy it. Trust me."
Kate gave him a smile and said softly, "Always." as she took a sip of the wine and grabbed a piece of cheese.
Rick's eyes widened when she said that and he simply looked at her, his eyes, if possible, more blue than she'd ever seen them.
He broke out of his trance and said something uniquely Castle. "I have a T-shirt upstairs that I bought years ago, but I've only worn it twice."
"Oh?" said Kate, "What is it?"
It has the silhouette of two people on it, their heads together and wine glasses in their hand. The caption reads "Kiss French, Drink California."
Kate burst out laughing, it struck her funny bone and she didn't hold anything back. Rick was thrilled he'd made her laugh. He loved to see her face and hear her when she did. It was so rare to see over these past years, but he realized it had happened more in this past week than he could remember this whole year.
She smiled as she calmed down and said, "I think I would really like to see you in that Mr. Castle."
Rick bowed his head and replied, "Then you shall, my dear Kate, then you shall."
Kate shook her head and said, "Writers."
Rick just smiled and said, "Are you ready for dessert?"
"Not if it's too rich. I don't know when I've eaten such a big meal."
Rick solemnly nodded his head and said, "Gummybearitis. It will take a few more home cooked meals, but I'm willing if you are."
Kate smiled at him and suddenly he saw her eyes change. Her irises got so big he hardly saw any green around them, and she threw him a kiss. Then, still looking at him with those smoky eyes she said, "With that offer, Mr. Castle, the problem will be getting me to leave."
She continued to look him in the eyes and finally it was he who broke contact. He was falling so far into them he thought. 'I can spend my life looking into your eyes.'
Kate gave a little "hmmm" and said, "I can spend my life looking into yours too Rick."
He blinked his eyes and said, "Did I say that out loud?"
Kate merely smiled and said, "What's for dessert?"
Rick pulled himself together and took away the cheese, then returned in a minute with two dessert cups filled with liquid and fruit.
"For dessert my dear Kate, we have strawberries in red wine, with fresh made whipped cream."
"Strawberries in wine?" she asked. "Rick, I haven't had that in ages! Ok, you are officially forgiven." Then she dug in to her dessert, giving a little moan of pleasure as she ate the first one.
"Do not tell me you have truffles, I might just die."
Rick looked at the breakfast bar where a crystal bowl sat filled with various flavors of chocolate truffles. He smiled and said, "As a matter of fact…"
Kate gave a chuckle and replied, "You're going to need a calculator to add up the points you made tonight!" Then with a big smile ate another strawberry with obvious pleasure.
Rick didn't say anything as he was thinking this had to be the best day of his life. Then he thought about the last six days and realized that every minute he had spent with Kate was the best in his life.
Kate caught him staring off into space and said, "Me too." This made him turn to her again with a quizzical look, wondering, 'how does she do that!'
Kate smiled at him and asked, "So why did Paula keep calling?"
"She saw the photo and wanted to know why I hadn't called her with the news. She had all sorts of ideas on how to break it to the public, "the new Queen of Rick's Castle" or "Rick has found his own Heat", all of which I squelched immediately."
Kate stiffened when he started to speak but relaxed when she realized that Rick was not going to allow Paula to capitalize on their relationship. "So she kept calling to get you to change your mind?"
"Well that, and she really wanted all sorts of information to hand out to the press." He smiled as he recalled his response and Kate felt a little thrill knowing that he was doing his best to protect her. "I asked if she was ready for my official quote, and when she said she was I told her that officially, I was not happy that she called and ruined my second try at the Tarragon Cream Sauce."
He chuckled and said, "Can you imagine? She hung up on me!"
Kate laughed along with him. She realized that at some point she would have to deal with Paula and with Rick's fame, but for now she was insulated from it…by a pair of very comfortable arms.
Suddenly she needed a hug and stood up.
Rick looked up at her and said "What?"
She gestured for him to stand up and when he did she put her arms out to her sides. He immediately knew what she wanted and moved into a hug. Kate silently sighed in pleasure. She so loved being held by him.
This was not a "polite" hug, but a loving hug. From their legs to their shoulders, arms tight around each other, they were that close. As she closed her eyes the thought popped in, 'this is an I am so glad we are together hug.'
Inside she smiled. She never, ever thought of naming a hug. Who would do something like that? But this, what she and Rick had was so special, so big, it brought out emotions she never knew she had, and so many others she had locked away years ago. His arms filled her with comfort, security and love. Her mother used to hug her like this, no one since, and she'd missed them so much.
With Rick they were also fun. 'Rick Castle made them fun, he must be my one and done.' She gave a little hiccup of surprise, did she just write a bad teenage poem?
Their arms around each other and lost in their own thoughts, they didn't hear the key in the lock but did hear the door open to Alexis saying, "Gram, how could you tell him it was good? I almost ran out of the theater!"
Martha was about to reply when she saw Rick and Kate jump apart. A smile appeared on her face and she realized that Kate Beckett made her very happy too.
"Are you two still eating?" she asked. "It's almost midnight!"
Kate looked at her watch and indeed, it was a few minutes to midnight. "It is!" she exclaimed. Looking at Rick she said, "I have to leave. We have to be in early tomorrow."
As Rick looked at the truffles on the breakfast bar she put her hand on his arm, "Another time Rick" she said. "We have…"
"Forever" he said, finishing her sentence.
She smiled up at him and whispered, "Yes."
Rick then went to the phone and called the guard to send for a taxi.
After saying goodnight to Martha and Alexis, Rick walked Kate to the elevator and to the front door. Once the taxi arrived, he got in with her and they rode together to her apartment, holding hands and simply enjoying being together. There was no need for talk, the occasional glance said it all.
When they arrived, Rick asked the driver to wait and he walked her into the building; their hands clasped tight, they felt quietly at ease in the elevator to the door of her apartment. As she opened it, she turned and gave him a long, goodnight kiss. It easily grew into something more, but they knew they had time.
Kate put her head on his shoulder and said, "Thank you Rick, it was a wonderful evening, better than I ever imagined. You really outdid yourself for me."
Rick placed a kiss on her forehead, enjoying the sensuous feel of her hair with its enticing cherry aroma, he whispered, "Always."
They kissed once more, slowly, each movement of their lips magnified by the feelings they had for each other.
Rick gave a sigh and pulled away. Looking into his eyes Kate saw so much; everything he ever wanted to say, and everything she ever wanted to hear.
Entire books were revealed in those eyes and she grasped them all in a second. This was forever.
She leaned back into her doorway as he pulled away.
"Goodnight Rick."
"Until tomorrow…" he paused and smiled, "rather, till later this morning, Kate."
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Authors Note: When I started writing this chapter it became so complicated and convoluted, I realized I was trying to squeeze two chapters into one. Once separated they played nice, so part of 9 is written. For those who wanted to know the 'perfect gift' Rick thought of in Chapter 7, you have to wait till number 9 (shades of the White Album!). Hope you can wait though, I'm on vacation this week. Hmmm, maybe I should have said thanks to all who review and mark this as favorite before I said I'm going away. :-)
