Nine

Sitting in his office that Friday night Castle rocked back in his chair, squeezed his stress ball shaped like Yoda's head, and tossed it casually between his hands. For the prior forty-five minutes he'd been writing and re-writing an interrogation scene featuring Nikki Heat and her latest suspect, but something just wasn't working with it. He knew that before he tried it from yet another angle and failed, he needed to step back, take a break, and do something else. Generally, that's when things began to click in his mind.

Closing his document for the time being, Castle dropped the stress ball onto his desk and then headed out to the main room of the apartment. He was sure there was something in the kitchen that needed cleaning or organizing. If all else failed, he knew he had a brownie mix in the pantry. He could work on that and make everyone a little bit happier.

He had taken only two steps out of his office when his eyes fell on the figure sitting at the kitchen table. She had his back to him and, if he wasn't mistaken, a great deal of paperwork around her. He wasn't sure if she had brought home casework or was working on something personal, but he didn't want to get too much into her space, just in case.

Ten days had passed since they officially became man and wife and, all things considered, they had gone as well as could be expected. After helping her pack up some of her belongings, Castle along with Esposito turned into a makeshift moving crew a few days later when they rented a truck to drive the bulk of her possessions across southern Manhattan. Of course, Kate helped as well, and they had her apartment emptied of personal belongings before noon. All that remained were her large furniture pieces, that would stay behind when she sub-let the apartment.

Kate spent most of that first weekend up in her room, unpacking and re-arranging what she could in the tight space. Though she did eat dinner with the whole family on Saturday night, Castle left her mostly to herself, knowing that she was adjusting, plus generally tired from all the moving. As much as it pained him, he also promised himself not to shadow her at the precinct, at least not for the first few days of the week. The last thing he wanted was for her to think she couldn't escape him at all and thus become frustrated.

As the week progressed and Kate remained in her room when she was at the apartment, Castle grew concerned. Even Alexis made a comment about the fact that she ate every meal separate from them and how worrisome that was. Knowing he did not want it to press on any longer, Castle went to the Twelfth on Thursday and specifically invited her to dine with them that evening. When she hesitated, he finally got her to open up about how she still felt concerned she was invading their space, which was why she'd been keeping to herself. Using Alexis's concern as the prime example Castle was able to convince her that she needed to embrace the loft as her home, and she agreed to try and become more comfortable there. Given that conversation had only taken place a day earlier, Castle was pleased to see Kate was already using the kitchen table for whatever it was she was working on, and hoped her progress continued.

Castle crossed the apartment and walked into the kitchen without saying anything so as not to interrupt his partner. He scanned over the counters but found them virtually spotless. Gazing into the refrigerator he found it atypically organized as well. He suspected his new roommate might have been responsible for that—not that he was complaining. It merely meant he would have to make brownies in an effort to clear his mind and try and make his scene work; he doubted anyone would be disappointed about that. There was never anything disappointing about brownies.

For the next few minutes Castle busied himself with pulling ingredients out of the cabinet and refrigerator and preheating the oven. He poured the mix into a large bowl, cracked an egg into it, and then carried the shell over to the trash before quickly washing the egg remnants off his hands. Back at the mixing bowl he poured in the oil and whisked it all together until it was smooth. Then, into the brownie pan it went, just in time for the oven to be preheated.

After putting the mixing bowl into the sink to soak, he wandered over to the edge of the kitchen to see if he could tell what Kate was working on. As luck would have it, at that exact moment she nudged a pen to the floor. He was all too happy to swoop in and pick it up for her saying, "By the way; I'm making brownies."

"Oh is that what you were doing?"

He hummed. "Yeah I'm struggling with a scene and sometimes cooking gets the juices flowing."

"I see."

"You working on a case?"

"No, I'm—oh I'm sorry. Do you need me to move some of this?" She quickly stood from her chair and began to gather up some of her piles of paperwork, but Castle stopped her with his hand on her shoulder.

"Kate it's fine. Remember what I said? This is our space for the next year. I was just trying to be friendly."

She gave him a nod and sat back down. "Well, its not a case. Actually, I'm starting to research different charities. There are so many, even just in this city. It's…entirely overwhelming."

"I'm sure." He gazed down at the papers and realized some of them were informational flyers and pamphlets, some displaying animals or children, and others just with the charity logo. "Do you have an area of focus?"

"Not exactly. I plan to diversify, spread the wealth—literally. But its…a lot more challenging than I anticipated."

"You don't have to decide any time soon," he reminded her.

She nodded. "I know that. I won't even have the money for another week or so and I never planned on giving it all away at once. I spent about an hour on the phone with those investors of yours today. Thanks, by the way, for the contacts."

He gave her a simple nod. "Of course." He was all too happy to help, not just as her partner and friend, but particularly after the amusing way she came to him and said she needed his help because he was the richest person she knew.

"They seemed pretty confident about growing the money. It'll take time, of course, but then I'll have even more than twenty million to give away."

He smiled. "That is the fun of investing."

She laughed lightly. "Right."

They were quiet for a few moments before he continued with, "Well, anyway, it's your money and I would never tell you how to spend or donate it, but if you ever need a second opinion or help with research, I'm available."

"Thanks Castle; I appreciate that. I think I'll feel better soon once I've narrowed my focus a bit or done a little more reading. Right now, I just feel… very overwhelmed."

Castle frowned slightly, hating that his partner felt that way without being able to help. He was so used to being the one that lightened her burdens he could not help but try and do that in this scenario, even though it was more of a personal dilemma than a work one. "May I make a suggestion?"

She looked up at him, her expression showing a bit of relief. "Please."

Castle pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and sat facing her with his hands resting against the table. "When you do get the money, pick a charity you're confident in—perhaps one you've given to in the past since you seem the sort of person who has probably done that—and just give them a hundred grand. That's admittedly a lot, but I think it might help you to sort of…dive off the deep end and take ownership of the money. After that you don't have to give any away for months, but just… think about it. That's what I'd do. After I bought another Ferrari," he added with a wink.

She arched her eyebrow. "Two Ferraris?"

"Maybe I should make the second one a Lamborghini…"

"You mean the second car you're not getting?"

He grinned. "Right."

She rolled her eyes, but then softened her expression. "Thanks Castle; I'll definitely consider it."

"Great." He moved to stand up from the table, but then paused asking, "I assume you want a brownie once they're out of the oven."

"Duh," came her response.

He chuckled, gave her forearm a squeeze, and then walked back to the kitchen to clean up the dishes, wait for the brownies to bake, and hopefully sort through his latest writing dilemma.


Stepping off the elevator on the penthouse floor, Kate felt a wave of exhaustion pour over her. So close—she was so close to being home, where she could take off her boots, change into yoga pants, and relax. She really wasn't sure what was making her so tired, as her day had not been particularly stressful—strange, but not stressful.

Stopping in front of the door to the Castle loft, Kate pulled out her key and smiled to herself, as she had, for the first time, though of this place as "home." A little more than two weeks had passed since she moved in and she could conclusively say her comfort progressed with each day. True, there were still some awkward moments, particularly if she was getting ready for work at the same time Alexis was getting ready for school. And she still felt strange intermingling her groceries with the rest of the Castle family's in the refrigerator (even if she acknowledged that was an odd thing to feel weird about). Still, each day was better than the last and she felt confident that after a few more weeks she would feel comfortable with the Castle loft as her temporary home.

After unlocking the door, Kate went through her usual routine of taking off her boots, removing her coat, hanging it in the closet, and then picking up her boots to carry up to her room. That day, however, when she turned around, Castle was only about a foot from her. She was so startled that not only did she let out a yelp, but she let go of the boots, which went clattering to the floor.

"Jeez! Castle!"

"Sorry Beckett. You okay? I said hi to you twice and you didn't say anything…"

"Oh. Sorry." She sighed and bent over to pick up her shoes. "I'm just…distracted. And tired. And I had a really weird subway ride home."

His brow rose with interest. "Oohh do tell."

"A guy got on the subway with a metal beam…like one of those that looks like a steel girder they put in high rises, only smaller, obviously. It was still really big though. He could barely get in the door with it and then he just stood there with it under his arm like it was a bag from Whole Foods. Everyone getting on and off had to try and get around his stupid beam."

Castle laughed. "Wow, that is weird—even for New York."

She laughed, too. "I know."

"Well…you have good timing, at least. Dinner should be ready in about ten minutes…"

She gave him the same pointed look she'd been giving him for over a week as she said, "You really don't have to include me in your dinners, you know?"

He shrugged as casually as ever. "But I want to. And why would we each make separate dinners when we're sharing the same kitchen? Doesn't make sense."

"Sure, I see that point—as long as you let me make dinner sometimes, too."

He smirked. "Sure thing. I have a whole drawer of take-out menus if you—hey!" he whined when she punched his arm.

"Not funny, Castle; I can cook."

"I wasn't arguing otherwise, I just—oh. Excuse me," he said when the sound of a timer could be heard going off in the kitchen.

When he dashed away, Kate returned to her original task of going upstairs, putting her boots away, and removing her dress pants so they didn't become too wrinkled. Once she had changed into one of her many pairs NYPD logo athletic pants, she returned to the kitchen, pleased to see both red-headed women were now waiting for dinner to begin.

Kate smiled to herself at the group. She really did admire how bonded the Castles were, particularly with her mother's absence weighing on her heavier than usual ever since the nineteen-point-seven million dollars had been deposited into her bank account. Sure, she and her father had become close, particularly after her mother's death, but they were never this close. Though the notion of living with her father now that she was an adult was slightly distressing, she certainly appreciated the Castles' effort to stay close.

"Good evening, Katherine; how was your day?" Martha asked cheerfully when Kate approached the dinner table.

"Oh…okay. Fairly uneventful."

"Well sometimes those days are the best days, particularly in your line of work, I'd imagine."

Kate smiled at this and looked at each family member in turn. Thinking of her conversation with Castle just a few minutes earlier, she said, "Actually, since you're all here, I was thinking…maybe we could schedule a time when I could take all of you out for a nice dinner—my treat."

"What for?" Martha asked.

Kate shrugged. "Just as a thank you. I know the past few weeks have been an adjustment for all of us and you've all been so kind and welcoming, I just want to do something nice." Really, she could not have asked for any of them to have been sweeter. She truly wasn't sure if they were just naturally overly kind and considerate or if they were going over-the-top because she was a new addition to their lives. Regardless, it would have been a mistake not to show her gratitude.

Castle smiled as he approached the table with serving dishes of food. "That's very kind, Beckett, but you don't have to."

"I want to, really. I know this has been disruptive for everyone."

Alexis gave a little shrug and said, "It really hasn't been that bad. And, you know, you can keep more of your stuff in the bathroom."

Kate felt her cheeks heat under the young red-head's pointed stare for, at that moment in time, the only items of hers in the bathroom were her toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. Everything else she kept either on top of the dresser in her room, or in the make up case she carried in and out of the bathroom with her since she did not want to take up any extra counter or drawer space. "Oh, I…I mean, I didn't want to take up any room if you-"

"It's our bathroom," Alexis reminded her kindly. "Really, Kate; it's fine. It just gives me practice for when I'm in the dorms in a few years—especially since I'm a spoiled only child," she added, throwing a look her father's way.

He gasped and placed his hand in the center of his chest, feigning offense. "When have I ever spoiled?"

"Well you never got me that pony I wanted."

"See." Castle grinned.

Kate could not help but chuckle at the exchange. Then, after a moment, she continued, "But really—I would like to take you all out to show my appreciation."

Castle shrugged. "Well, if you want, Beckett. I'm sure we can find an evening next week. Now let's eat—I'm starving!"

She nodded in agreement then sat down at the kitchen table to eat dinner with her temporary family.