"Kate?" He mumbles as he wakes to an empty bed.
He is met with absolute silence and still no sign of his wife. He notices that the sheets on her side of the bed are cold to the touch. She's been up awhile. How late is it anyway? Where is she?
While Castle is struggling to wake up in their bedroom, Kate is out on the terrace enjoying a peaceful morning with a cup of coffee and the iPad. She is totally absorbed in her internet session on her husband's web page. He still hasn't ever proven that she is a frequent visitor to this site and she will never tell him what her user name is either. She is on the site this morning while he sleeps because curiosity has gotten the better of her. She wants to know what all of his fans think of their recent marriage. Paula decided to 'leak' the information through while they were on their honeymoon. She justified her argument by saying it would make it easier on them if the news was disclosed while they were out of the country so it would be 'old news' by the time they returned to New York. Wow, these people don't hold anything back do they. Some of these postings are disturbing to say the least. I knew Rick had some crazy fans but some of these are pretty extreme. Some of these posts are incredibly sweet though. At least there are some people out there that are happy that we're happy and wish us well. Hopefully, there is more positive reaction than negative. At least Paula didn't post any wedding photos with this press release, she just used an old picture of us. I really want as much of our wedding day to remain ours and out of the public eye.
"Kate, what are you doing out here?" He asks as he stumbles out to join her on the terrace, coffee cup in hand. "Why aren't you enjoying a lazy sleep in with your husband?"
"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to disturb you so I came out here to read." She says as she attempts to exit the website that she was perusing. "I didn't realize how late it was or I would have woke you. Guess I got caught up in my book."
"What are you reading?" He questions as he peaks over her shoulder as he snuggles up behind her. "Is that the same book you were reading while we were on the train?"
"Yeah, I started this one on the train and then I read a little more last night while you were writing." She answers. "What time did you finally come to bed?"
"It must have been somewhere around two. It wasn't long after you told me you were going to sleep." He admits with a shrug.
"It's alright Rick, I would never ask you to stop writing. I'm a big girl, I can fall asleep without you." She says as she puts the iPad on the table and stands up to kiss him good morning. "Don't pout. I didn't say I liked going to bed alone, just that I can."
"It's our honeymoon, you should have ordered me to come to bed." He smirks.
"Yeah, because you are so good at following my orders." She laughs. "When have you ever followed an order that I gave you?" She asks knowing of only one time that he actually listened to her when she told him to do something.
"I married you a year from the day that you ordered me to." He beams, very proud of himself.
"Yeah, I guess you did." She smiles as she gives him a peck on the lips. "So, any plans today? I know we don't have to catch the train until this afternoon."
"Nope, just gonna hang out with my wife and soak up the view. This has been my favorite stop so far on our honeymoon. These last few days of just relaxing and hanging out here at villa and the time in the city seeing the sights has been so relaxing. Yesterday was great, just spending the day exploring at the vineyard and then coming back here was perfect." He says with an easy grin on his handsome face.
"It was pretty nice just staying close to our temporary home and having a relaxing day. It was so quiet, so unlike our normal life. How much did you get written? What are Nikki & Rook up to?" She asks, curious if he would give her any details. He knows she doesn't like to know anything until the book is done.
"They found themselves in yet another awkward position and some trouble, not going to spoil it for my number one fan. You'll have to wait until it comes out." He says knowing that he has given her just enough to be curious but not enough to spoil anything for her. "And by the way, Detective, you didn't do a very good job of hiding the evidence."
"What evidence?" She questions, thoroughly puzzled by his statement.
"If you didn't want me to know that you are my number one fan-girl, you should have made sure you closed the browser on that website you were so intently browsing." He chuckles at her shocked expression.
"What? I wasn't. How?" She is so flustered she can even put a coherent response together. "I was just curious what people were saying about you...about us getting married." She finally admits.
"Why do you care what they think? We're happy, our family and friends are happy for us and that is all that should really matter, right?" He asks, not sure why she would be worried about what a bunch of strangers think.
"I just don't want people to hate me for taking one of New York's most eligible bachelors off the market. I don't want them to stop buying your books because of me." She admits sheepishly.
"Honey, I have been 'off the market' for years now, it just wasn't public knowledge until now." He grins as he pulls her into a bone-crushing hug. "The only list I wanna be on now is yours and maybe the New York Times bestseller list for this next book. You are so gonna love what happens to them." He blurts enthusiastically.
"Off the market for years huh? Why would that be Rick?" She teases.
"Some crazy smart, insanely gorgeous, detective stole my heart a few years ago." He says kissing the top of her head as he loosens his hold on her.
"Didn't realize that you felt that strongly about Esposito. Did you tell him how you feel?" She barks a laugh at her own comment.
"No, I didn't want to ruin the bromance he and Kevin had working, so I settled for their bossy co-worker. You might know her. She's beautiful, has legs that go on forever and she lets me follow her around for research." He giggles as she pulls away showing her distaste for his 'settling' comment.
"Settled, did ya?" She glares. "Guess you will have to 'settle' with sleeping on the couch too then Writer-boy." She huffs.
"Kate, you know I'm kidding...you started it with the dig about Espo." He pleads.
"You are still too easy Castle." She sighs patting his cheek.
"I love you." He says as he snags her left had and pulls her back into his chest, fingers playing with her wedding ring. "Can we go back to bed and start this day all over again?"
"Would you 'settle' for a shower with your wife instead?" She asks knowing that she just made his morning a little better.
"Is it gonna be just a shower or a shower with benefits?" He leers.
"That depends on you Rick." She calls over her shoulder as she takes her coffee mug to the sink. "You will have to convince me that 'settling' was never an option between us."
"How does one settle for the love of his life?" He mumbles under his breath. "I can be pretty convincing when I wanna be." He says as he follows her from the kitchen to their bedroom shedding his clothes along the way.
After a shower that turned out to be very beneficial for all parties involved the newlyweds gathered their hastily discarded clothing from the floor of their bedroom. Once they finally decide that their lack of clothing was no longer an option, they dress and pack their bags for their impending departure. The car service is scheduled to take them to the train station in about an hour.
"Do you think we can have some of that wine from the vineyard sent home so we can take a little piece of our time in Tuscany home?" She asks as they make a final pass through the villa to make sure that they haven't forgotten anything.
"Great minds... I had them send two cases to the loft so that we can enjoy a little piece of our honeymoon even after it ends." He whispers in her ear as they stand on the terrace taking one last look at the amazing view that has captivated them throughout their three day stay. "I didn't think you would be okay with me buying the whole vineyard so I went the safe route and just bought some of the wine. I'm sure you and Lanie will make use of it on one of those girls' nights you love." He kisses her cheek and holds her just a little tighter as they say a quiet goodbye to this part of their journey.
"Thank you, for the wine and choosing this place even though you knew I would give you a hard time about it. There are days when I wonder what I did to deserve you. You are too sweet for you own good sometimes." She tells him as she brushes her lips across his chin. "And the only person I plan on sharing that wine with is you. Lanie and your mom can have any of the other bottles in the loft, but the bottles from here are just for us to enjoy on a quiet night at home or with dinner after a rough case." Her tone becoming more adamant as she finishes wanting him see what this all means to her.
"The car is here. You ready to go to Venice Mrs. Castle?" He asks as they grab their bags and tangle the fingers of their free hands together.
"I am excited about Venice, but it's gonna be pretty hard to top this Mr. Castle." She mumbles into his shoulder as they climb into the sedan that will whisk them off to the Florence train station.
"How long is the train ride? I might catch a little nap. My early morning is gonna catch up with me sooner rather than later." She says as they watch the rolling countryside rush by through the window.
"The ride is between two and three hours. You should have time to squeeze in a nap and some internet surfing if you didn't find what you were looking for this morning." He laughs, squeezing her hand to let her know he is just messing with her.
"A nap sounds good and I saw all I needed to see this morning." She yawns as she finishes her thought. "You have some strange fans Rick."
"Present company excluded, of course" He laughs as he kisses her temple.
"We're here sir, your train will be leaving in about twenty minutes and should arrive in Venice around five." A disembodied voice informs them through a speaker neither one of them noticed.
"Thanks." They say in unison to the voice.
Kate, you need to wake up, we're pulling into the station." He whispers into her ear that has been resting on his shoulder since she fell asleep about a half an hour into the ride.
"Already? How long did I sleep?" She asks, shaking the imaginary cobwebs from her sleep addled brain.
"You've been asleep for about two hours." He smiles down at her sleepy face.
"Sorry, guess I wasn't much company for the ride." She apologizes. "Did I miss anything?"
"Don't be sorry, you were tired. Better that you slept through the train ride than a romantic dinner with your husband later tonight." He grins. "I didn't notice much, I wrote a little more after you drifted off. I wanted to get my outline for the next few chapters done before we got to Venice so I don't get that itch. I don't want anything to distract me from spending the final couple days of my Italian dream honeymoon with the love of my life." He rambles.
"Laying it on a little thick there aren't ya Castle?" She teases.
"No, everything I just said was one hundred percent true. No more writing. Just you, me and another couple days in Italy. I wanna make the most of our time here in Venice, but more importantly, our time together." He states letting his love wash over her.
"Yeah, our alone time is gonna suffer once our bubble of honeymoon bliss gets popped when we have to return to the real world." Her voice drips with disappointment. "I've never really taken a vacation and enjoyed it this much. I haven't missed work once." She surprises him and herself with the admission.
"We'll just have to make good use of our free time, car rides and the occasional supply closet at the precinct." He laughs as he tosses out that last part.
"I am not making out with you in the supply closet Castle." She smacks his chest as the train finally comes to a stop.
"Okay, we'll just have to hang out in the elevator more then, especially on those really long days. And don't think I didn't notice that you made no comments about the car." He beams. "I'm gonna take that to mean that you aren't entirely opposed to the idea."
"Get our bags you goof." She insists. "All this talking about making out makes me want to get you alone."
"Our hotel is only minutes from here, according to the brochure I have. I'm thinking we can be checked in and making out in a hotel elevator in under a half hour." He mumbles as he stands to grab their stuff and exit the train.
"If you can accomplish all that in under twenty minutes, I might reconsider my thoughts about you, me and supply closets." She says with a saucy grin.
"Seriously?" He chokes. "Outta my way! Coming through." His voices booms to clear a path through the marginally crowded concourse.
"Castle!" She shouts a blush creeping up her neck.
"What? No way am I gonna miss my chance at possible sneaky make-out sessions with you at the precinct where you have such strict no PDA rules." He grins as he reaches back to pull her along with him through the maze of travelers.
After a short walk, they enter the lobby of their hotel. Kate's nerves are starting to buzz with anticipation. Not sure if it is from the promise of what will happen once they are behind the closed doors of the elevator or thoughts of a forbidden, cramped space back home. She is jolted from her thoughts by Rick's voice behind her.
"I have a reservation for Rodgers. Can I get my room key please and have a bottle of champagne sent up with our bags?" Rick says excitedly to the stiff man behind the desk.
"Certainly sir, we have your reservation right here. The honeymoon suite is ready for you and there should be an assortment of fruit along with a bucket of chilled champagne waiting." The stuffed shirt says with his best fake smile in place.
"Our suite is ready and waiting and I still have a minute or so to spare. Looks like you may have to pay up." He smirks.
"We aren't in the elevator yet, Rick." She groans as the elevator dings to alert her that she has lost this round.
"I think that was your cue Detective. Please step in. We are in the honeymoon suite, so we have a long ride up to the top floor. What should we do with all that time and in such a small enclosed space?" He asks feigning innocence.
"Shut up and kiss me." She demands as she tugs on the lapels of his jacket to pull him in for a kiss that starts out very chaste in nature, but quickly escalates into something that is far too indecent to be happening in a semi-public place.
"Wow, uh...Kate. Maybe we should um...get a room." He gasps and staggers backward as the elevator doors open to their floor.
"Castle...hurry up and get the door open." She breathes as she leans into him as he fumbles the key card.
"You really need to step back so I can concentrate on getting this damn door open." He mutters. "Who would have thought an innocent comment about our alone time coming to an end would have gotten you this worked up. Not that I am complaining."
"That conversation was far from innocent. Besides, I'm well rested from my nap on the train and in need of a good work out. Does this hotel have a gym?" She laughs as the nearly fall across the threshold of their room.
"I don't think the gym will be necessary Mrs. Castle, you can get a good workout in the comforts of this suite, compliments of your more than capable husband." He announces as he pulls her body flush against his.
"You gonna be my personal trainer Castle?" She grins as she slides his jacket off his shoulders and before he can even respond she has his shirt unbuttoned.
"I assure you that I can give you all the personal attention you could possibly need." He promises as he pulls her shirt up over her head and discards it as his hands follow a path from her shoulders, down her arms to take up residence on her hips.
"There are a few parts of my body that need a little more attention than others..." She stutters as her fingers start working at his belt buckle. "I'm very hands on during my training sessions. You think you can put those talented hands of yours to work...help me work off some of this tension?"
"Ready, willing and able." He chuckles as he helps her out of her skinny jeans.
"You still have too many clothes on Castle. If we are gonna have a full contact workout you need to lose those remaining clothes and follow me to what I am assuming is a ridiculously huge bed in the other room." She calls over her shoulder as she makes her way to the room off to the left of the entry.
"You coming Rick?"
"I certainly hope to be." He says as he sheds his pants and socks as he hops toward the bedroom.
"What did you say?" She questions from the other room.
"I said right behind you." He lies.
"Much better." She approves his state of undress as he arrives beside her and lowers them to the bed.
