Hi! I want to thank you all for your continued support and interest in this guys are truly amazing.
I'm sorry for taking so much time between chapters, but I struggled with this one and I'm still not really happy with the result. Nevertheless I wanted to give you an update and I'll try write more :).
So with that said, here we go.
The rest of Kate's time off flew by in a blur of sun, sea, good food and Castle. A lot of Castle. They went to the flea market a week later.
The parking lot was already busy when they arrived. Luckily, Castle found a free spot quickly.
"Okay, what first? Flea market or fair?" he asked her.
"Market, before everything good has been sold," she replied easily.
"Market it is," he said and he led the way to a big field, filled with booths. They let themselves be engulfed by the mass of people, moved along with the rest of the crowd at a slow pace. They spotted some funny and quirky items that would do well on Bargain Hunt, but had yet to discover something they liked for themselves.
They passed a stall with old books and they both paused to see if they could find anything interesting.
"Hey, look! They're selling your book," Kate said and held up a worn copy of Flowers for Your Grave.
"What? Why would you want to sell that!" he exclaimed.
"I don't know? Maybe they've read it enough times so they know it by heart. It looks like they've read it quite often."
"Yeah, doesn't look as bad as your copy, though," he teased. She knew he'd seen her bookshelves one of the times he'd come over. "Does that mean that you know Flowers for Your Grave by heart?" He looked eager.
"Maybe it does," she teased. She had read his books more often than was probably healthy, but she would never admit to it. She saw his jaw slacken, though.
A couple of minutes later they passed a stand that sold hats. Castle didn't pay much attention to it, but Kate's eye fell on a Deerstalker.
"Ooh, this fits you perfectly, Castle!" she said as she picked the hat up and placed it on his head. She took out her phone and snapped a quick picture of him before he knew what had hit him. He looked a bit perplexed on the picture, as if he hadn't expected her to act like this. To be honest, she even surprised herself by being so openly happy and goofy.
Castle took the hat off to see which one it was and laughed. "It does suit me, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, you look like Sherlock Holmes!" she teased.
He quickly perused the possibilities in the stand and picked up a massive blue hat. "How about this one?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I think that one will really bring out your eyes, Castle," Kate said.
He chuckled. "I meant for you," he explained. She took the hat from him and put it on.
"You like it?" she asked. She had to crane her neck, to be able to look at him from under the rim of the thing.
"On second thought," he said as he took the hat from her head, "I like seeing your eyes." He put the hat back where he found it and smiled at her. "Now that's better." He turned around to move on to the next stand.
"Uh, Castle?" Kate said uncertainly. When he turned back to her, she reached out and took the Deerstalker he was still wearing. "You going to buy this?"
"Ah, no. I've already got one at home," he said to her surprise as he took the hat from her and put it back on the stand.
"Really?"
"It was a Christmas gift from Alexis," he defended himself.
"Sure it was," Kate smirked. She took his hand and led him to the next stand.
After they'd had seen about half of the market, they decided to get a bite to eat. They passed a food stand where they bought some mozzarella-tomato baguettes. They watched some buskers while they ate. This one guy was sitting on a box with a guitar flat on his legs. He used it as a multifunctional instrument and it was amazing. Castle tipped him generously when he had finished his sandwich.
When Kate too had finished her lunch, they strolled past the rest of the booths. This time they stayed close, never really letting go of one another. Kate revelled in the peace that had engulfed her. The calmness she hadn't felt in ages.
(…)
Castle noticed Kate's silence, but also realized that it was a good and happy silence. He led her past a booth that sold little porcelain animals and his eye fell on a cute little elephant that would fit in perfectly with the elephants on her desk at the precinct.
He pointed the little thing out to her and watched her fall in love with it. She picked it up as if it would break if she didn't handle it with all the care in the world, cradled it in her hands. She traced her finger over the smooth surface and up the trunk.
"It's beautiful," she breathed and when she looked at him he could see how much the little elephant already meant to her. From the second he saw the little figure he knew she'd love it and without thinking, he drew his wallet from his back pocket and paid the man behind the stand the amount that was written on the tag that hung from the elephant's trunk.
"Castle, you don't have to do that," Kate protested.
"I know, but I want to," he said.
"Well then, thank you," she said and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "That's very sweet of you." She handed the elephant back to the man behind the stand so he could wrap it up for her. The man had watched the exchange with a longing smile and Castle wondered for a second what his story was, before he got distracted by Kate, who had started to talk to the man.
(…)
They quickly stopped by the car to drop off the elephant so she wouldn't have to carry it with her at the fair. Castle urged her to hurry up because he wanted to try everything out. He wasn't kidding. He persuaded her to take every single ride on the fair. Even the awful thing that just dropped after it had slowly hoisted them up to the top. What did he call it? Oh yeah, the drop tower. She still couldn't believe he got her to come with him in that one. He said it'd be fun.
"You're still mad at me for that one?" he asked incredulously when they stood in line for his cotton candy afterwards.
"The thing just dropped us from a great height, Castle! Just give me a minute to catch my breath!" she exclaimed.
"But you have to admit – it was pretty amazing," Castle grinned.
"I don't, Castle," she said in a sultry voice, "I can think of more fun things to do that also involve falling from a great height."
"I'm sure you do," he smirked, but she could see his eyes darken. He zoned out for a second, lost in memories from the past week. She had to admit, they'd made some great memories. It was easier than she'd ever imagined it would be. Being with him was like being with her best friend, except with special privileges.
After he'd got his massive cotton candy, they resumed their path along the rides. She won a cute pink stuffed cow at a shooting game, making the stall owner's jaw drop at the ease with which she shot the moving balloons. Castle proposed to name the cow Cosmo, because that's what he was going to call Alexis if she had been a boy.
"Okay, Castle. You can call the cow Cosmo, but there's no way we're going to call our son Cosmo," Kate deadpanned.
"Our son?" Castle choked and Kate stopped walking at the realization of what she'd just said. It had just slipped out without even thinking about it. They'd been together for a week and she was already thinking of having kids with him? No, this was too soon. But she did like the idea of having kids with him somewhere in the future.
"One day," she smiled up at him. He smiled that smile that made his eyes crinkle and her heart beat a little faster.
"Yeah?" he asked and he cupped her cheek with his palm, stroking her cheekbone with his thumb.
"Yeah," she assured him and leaned in to kiss him. It was sweet and soft. "If I survive today," she teased when she pulled back.
He laughed at shook his head. She took his hand and dragged him with her to the Ferris Wheel, which was the next ride on their list.
(…)
He thoroughly enjoyed his day with her. She went along with him in every ride without much complaint. And the complains she did give were clearly for show. He realized again that she was just as big of a kid as him. She just hid it better. He made it his duty to bring out the kid in her more often. She seemed to really enjoy herself. He'd never seen her this happy, and it made his heart swell to know that at least some of it was his doing.
She'd danced with him to the cheesy music that came from the carousel, she'd eaten most of his cotton candy, she'd whipped his ass on every game and probably hadn't even really tried. He had fallen even more for her every time she did something he'd never expect her do to.
At the end of the day, they dropped by a little Mexican restaurant and had some of the best taco's he'd ever had.
Before he knew it, another week had gone by and they were driving back to New York. The silence had gone on for quite a while when he finally asked, "What's on your mind?"
She startled and looked at him. Her eyes were swimming with doubt and he hated that he couldn't reach out to her because he was driving. He saw her searching for words and gave her time, knowing that she was going to tell him what she was thinking about.
"What happens when we get back to the city?" she asked in a small voice. She had voiced the thought that had bothered him for a while now. "What are we now?"
Her second question was easier to answer. "We're still us, Kate. We might need some time to figure this out, but we're still us," he said and he could see her relax a little bit from the corner of his eye. "Alexis already knows, Lanie already knows. We'll tell my mother soon and we'll tell the boys when we're ready."
"What about Montgomery? You know it's against police policy to date your partner," she said.
"Well, luckily, I'm not officially your partner," he quipped, but quickly sobered when she glared at him. "Roy's always been supportive of our partnership, so I hope that he'll be okay with this too." He took her hand to show her that he really believed that.
"And if not?" she asked.
"If not… We'll figure it out," he said and he swiped his thumb across her fingers. "But he doesn't know yet, so right now, there's nothing to worry about."
He could see the lingering doubt in her when he looked over at her. "Hey," he said quietly, "we'll figure it out."
She smiled at him and brought their linked hands to her mouth to kiss his knuckles.
Thoughts?
