A/N: Thanks to everyone for the amazing amazing response to this story. I feel so lucky. And thanks for the beta, K!
The water was even colder today, if that was possible. Or maybe Kate was just hotter this time round. She grinned, diving beneath the lake's surface, before coming back up, gasping. Once again, Castle stood on the shoreline, and she smiled, waving him over. She let her eyes wash over his strong form as she watched him waver; as long as he was going to stand there indecisively she may as well enjoy the view. Her gaze fell on his jaw, and she shivered, remembering the feel of his day old stubble on the delicate skin of her chest. Looking wasn't enough anymore.
"Come on," she urged, and he shrugged as he stepped into the water, and made his way over to her.
"Was it this cold last time?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"Warm me up?" she suggested, and his eyes glinted dangerously before he moved closer to her, pressing his body against hers and dipping his mouth to meet her lips.
"Are you sure no-one is going to be able to see us here?" he asked when he pulled back, and Kate raised her eyebrows at him in question.
"Are you shy?" she teased. "The man who stole a police horse in the nude?"
He shrugged, running a hand through his hair bashfully. "You read that report," he pointed out. "You know I was also drunk. Not to mention stupid."
"Yeah, well." Kate smirked. She couldn't exactly disagree; stealing a police horse was stupid. She wondered what had led to Castle taking the horse; the report hadn't been forthcoming with the details. Had he truly been drunk and stupid, or was there more to it?
"It wasn't really the best time in my life," was all he said, apparently reading her thoughts.
She nodded, letting him entwine his fingers with hers, kissing him again and reveling in the feel of his body pressed hard against hers.
"No swimming races this time?" he teased, his mouth moving to her ear, and she chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck before letting her hands slide down his back, beneath the water.
"I think we've got better things to do right now, don't you?"
Castle held her hand, the day pack on his back this time, as they made their way leisurely along the shoreline to their campsite. The lake edge lapped gently at the rocky shore, and the mid-afternoon sun danced across the water as their tent came into view. Kate breathed deeply, inhaling the clean forest air. She was lucky, she realized for the hundredth time, that her dad had the cabin and that she could come here to escape the city.
"Swim again, before dinner?" Castle asked. "Or-" he turned to her with a knowing smile, and she quirked her eyebrows at him.
"Or?" she prompted, and he laughed.
"Well, we could lay that blanket out again…"
Kate grinned. Was there any other answer? She reached her hands up to his shoulders, letting her fingers still for a moment before sliding the backpack off and delving into it for the blanket. She handed it to him, her raised eyebrows hiding the insecurity she felt; making love in the tree house had been spontaneous, and messing around in the lake afterward had been opportune. This felt almost too forward, but when she chanced a look at Castle his eyes were dark with lust. He reached a hand around her waist, and she felt herself relax into his touch.
"Hmm," he managed, his eyes shining as he took the blanket. "I think I like vacation Beckett!"
"What, Castle- you didn't think I could be fun?" It was a loaded question, and one that probably wasn't fair to him, but the words had spilled from her lips before she could stop them.
Castle shook his head, his expression wary. "I knew you could be fun, Beckett," he assured her, entirely serious. "You were right about something, though."
"Oh yeah? What's that?"
He smiled, his features softening, and for a second Kate thought she saw something in his eyes - a fierceness that she wasn't sure she was ready to see, yet - but it was gone before she could analyze it as he answered, the familiar joking smile on his face. "I had no idea."
"Kate?" he asked, and she turned her head to him with half closed eyes, sleepy and satisfied as Castle traced patterns on her stomach, skimming her soft curves.
"Mmm?" she asked, biting her lip as she looked at the man lying beside her.
"I never thought I'd say this to you, but I think we need to get out of bed and clean up so we can eat dinner before the sun gets much lower."
She chuckled. "Technically we're not in a bed," she pointed out.
"Touche," he agreed. "But if we're going to make dinner before it's dark we need to get ready now."
She nodded, wriggling closer to him. "Mmm. And once the sun gets a little lower, we'll be cold here… we need to get dressed."
Castle smirked. "Now that's a sentence I definitely never wanted you to say." He frowned though, running his fingertip over the skin on her wrist; goosebumps were appearing on her arm. "You're already cold."
"But cozy," she protested. He shook his head and sat up anyway, bringing her with him.
"Pants," he offered, holding her shorts up, and it was Beckett's turn to laugh.
"Thanks," she said, taking them and shimmying into her panties before pulling the shorts on. Castle was looking at her with wonder, and she averted her eyes, asking, "What?"
"You're beautiful," he told her, and she felt her cheeks warm, shaking her head as she reached for the shirt lying on the grass beside them. Foregoing her bra, mostly because she couldn't immediately see it, she stood up, taking Castle's hand and tugging him up too.
"Come on," she said, changing the subject. "Get dressed and I'll find some more wood so we can make another fire."
"Don't get eaten by a bear," he called after her as she walked toward the tree line, and she shot him a disparaging look, hiding her grin.
Wow. Just… wow. What a difference a couple of days had made. Yet as she considered the events leading up to this, Kate was suddenly overwhelmed by it all. From the burning anger she'd felt toward Castle since he'd left the precinct, to the confusion of inviting him along on this trip, to… this. Whatever this was.
That thought had Kate stopping in her tracks before she'd found any kindling. What, exactly, was this? This morning she'd promised Castle that it wasn't just a one time, getting back to nature thing; something she meant wholeheartedly. But if it wasn't a one-off occurrence, did that mean it was a relationship?
Kate shook her head, reaching down to select some of the smaller branches she could see on the ground. It wasn't so much the idea of a relationship that was a problem, she realized; although the idea of being in one with Rick Castle, professional flirt wasn't necessarily something that sat well with her when she considered what the press might say. Instead, the main problem was just how a romantic connection might hamper their professional lives at the precinct. After all, regulations were clear. Partners whose romantic lives became entangled were not permitted to continue working together.
At that thought she paused again, leaning against a nearby tree as she contemplated the situation. A year ago she would have laughed in the face of anyone who had suggested she needed Rick in her precinct, or in her life. Hell, she would have laughed at the idea yesterday, too. But all at once everything was different, and she sank down, dropping the firewood onto the ground as she buried her face in her hands in an attempt to calm herself. She needed Castle in her life, and that meant her working life too.
"Beckett?" she heard him call uncertainly, and she stood, wiping at her eyes, surprised to find her cheeks damp. "Kate?" he called again, and she bit the inside of her cheek before answering.
"I'm here," she answered, trying to keep her voice steady.
"You okay?" he asked, concern written all over his face as he came into sight, and she nodded.
"Yeah. Just…" she shrugged, gesturing to the wood on the ground. "Just got a little overwhelmed," she admitted, and he frowned.
"Overwhelmed? Collecting firewood?"
Kate flinched at the caution in his voice. "Yeah. I mean- this is all…" she screwed up her face, willing him to understand. When they were working a case they had no problem building theory together, but now, in the tentative stage of something so new, she had no idea how to explain herself to him.
"This is all…?" he prompted, and she shook her head.
"What are we going to do when we get back to New York?" she asked and he took a step back as if she had slapped him.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice unnaturally even and she shrugged.
"Partners in a relationship aren't allowed to work together," she managed at last. "And I… I kinda got used to having you around, you know?"
Castle relaxed, his large frame easing into hers as he stepped toward her, apparently understanding at last. "Kate… we'll work it out," he said. "I don't know how, exactly, but if the rules mean we have to keep this to ourselves a little longer, I'm okay with that."
"The stars out here are so beautiful," Castle said, pulling Kate closer, and she grinned, snuggling into him and looking up at the darkening sky.
"You said that last night," she pointed out, and he chuckled, ducking his head to kiss her hair.
"Last night I lied," he told her with a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Last night the only thing I was really looking at was you."
"Really?" Kate narrowed her eyes. "Because you were doing a pretty good impression of concentrating really hard on those shadow animals."
Castle laughed, and stretched, disentangling their limbs as he stood up.
"Where are you going?"
"I want to zip our sleeping bags up together."
She shook her head. "And that can't wait any longer?"
"What?" he protested. "It's going to be really dark soon. I need to do it now, because I have no intention of putting that headlamp on tonight!"
She watched him stroll up to their tent, a smile on her face as he knelt down to clamber inside and wrestle with the sleeping bags. After her minor panic attack in the forest she'd been left feeling something she hadn't felt for years; safe.
And maybe he felt safe too. Now that she thought about it she realized it spoke volumes that she'd been the first person Castle had contacted once he'd returned from the Hamptons. And not that she had really thought he was only interested in a fling, but his reassurance as they'd walked back down to build the night's campfire had settled her in a way she didn't think possible.
"We'll keep it quiet," he'd promised her as a sigh had escaped. "To be honest, Kate, it's probably better if only a few people know for now. The press will have a field day, and I'd rather keep you off page six for as long as possible."
"You don't think it will be possible forever?" she'd asked, wincing, and he'd looked at her, his expression soft.
"I don't think it will be possible forever, no," he'd said at last, and she'd inhaled sharply at the way his voiced had hitched on the word forever. "But for now, yeah."
"And Alexis? Martha?"
He'd beamed at the mention of them, and Kate was reminded again just how much of a family man Castle was. Images of the first time she'd visited his loft had flooded her memory; she'd been so impressed by both his affection for his mother and daughter, as well as what she'd called his Batcave. "I'm looking forward to telling them," he'd assured her. "And your dad? Is Jim going to be okay with this?"
Kate had chuckled, relaxing into him. "My dad will be more than okay with this," she'd assured him, and she'd watched in amusement as a sudden panic had flared in his eyes.
"And what about Lanie? And the boys?"
She'd stopped at the fireplace, dumping the wood on the ground, and turned to him with a grin. "I guess we'll see just how well honed their detective skills really are, won't we?"
