Disclaimers: If I did, I'd have a really good phone and Internet at home.
Summary: Kate tries to adjust to a new life without threats while she recreates a memory with Castle.
A/N: I want to thank Fitch for all of the great suggestions. I think you're the first guy other than my unmuse who reads my stories. You're also the second person who told me that having sex on top of hay isn't terribly sexy.
A/N #2: With 14 days left until what people on Twitter are referring to as Season Sex, there are so many things that I'd love to see. More romance between Caskett, first and foremost. Come on, Marlowe, you put them together. Let's see more happy/sexy times.
A/N #3: There will be one more chapter to wrap everything up and give this an even 10 chapter. Enjoy everybody!
Chapter 9: The Threat is Finally Over
Kate found it hard to adjust to this new reality. Since taking a bullet to the heart two years before, she'd been looking over her shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop as she'd once told Castle. Now that shoe had finally dropped. Bracken was locked up, under constant watch by the feds until his trial, which she was told wouldn't be until late in 2014 at the very earliest. He wasn't even in the news as much as he was when the story had first broken.
She'd returned to work and had done her job much as she always had. But somehow it felt different. Her nightmares were no longer filled with images of Bracken or Maddox' face as he'd thrown her from the roof that day a year before. Had it really been a year? A year since she'd shown up at Castle's front door, wet, cold, and wanting just him.
Looking at the ruggedly handsome writer sleeping by her side, she couldn't believe that she actually still had him. That they were stronger than ever before. She remembered that night before she'd gotten shot when he'd told her that she deserved to be happy. She traced her fingers down his chest, smiling when he opened his eyes and fixed them on her. "Hey," his voice was rough and thick with sleep. "Can't sleep?"
"Uh-uh," she moved her fingers up to touch his lips as he gently kissed her fingertips. "I was just thinking."
"About what?" He rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow.
"Do you remember when you told me that I deserved to be happy?" He nodded. "I've never been happier in my life than I am at this point in my life with you."
"I'm glad."
"I want it to always be like this," she moved closer to him. "I always want to remember how happy my father looked when I told him that we might finally have justice for my mom. He told me that now . . . now maybe I'll feel safe enough to have a family of my own. That I won't have to worry about looking over my shoulders."
"So, am I part of this family that you're thinking about?" He teased as he moved her hair behind her ear.
"I'd like for you to be," she bit her lip as she smiled at him.
"I'd like for me to be, too, but we'll work on that," he pulled her to him as his hands swept over her back and buttocks.
***CCC***
"So, do you know where I can find a hayloft?" Castle asked Paula during a meeting at Black Pawn a week later.
"A hayloft? A place where you store hay?" Paula couldn't believe what Rick was asking her.
"Well, that is what a hayloft is, Paula. Do you know where I can find one?"
"I would assume on a farm," Paula rolled her eyes. "Why are you looking for a hayloft?"
"It's personal."
"I'm not even sure that I want to know," Paula went back to the contracts in front of her.
When Castle got into the backseat of the Town Car he pulled out his phone and called his poker buddies. "Hey Patterson, Richard Castle. I was wondering if you have any idea where I might find a hayloft."
Kate was examining the murder board when Castle got to the precinct that afternoon. "Hey, Castle," she greeted him. "How'd it go at Black Pawn?"
"Boring. Hey, are you on call this weekend?"
"No, Karpowski's team is. Why?"
"I want to take you for a drive."
"Okay," she smiled at him. "Where are you taking me?"
"It's a surprise."
She was about to say something further when her cell rang. "Beckett!" She answered. "When? Okay, what time? Why do you want him there, too? Fine." She ended the call and stowed her phone back in her pocket.
"What was that all about?"
"Uh, that was Agent Garber from the AG's office. They want to meet with me and my father this evening at six o'clock downtown."
"About what?"
"I don't know."
"Do you want me to come with?"
"Yeah, that would be great, Castle. Thank you."
At six o'clock at night the office building was nearly deserted. As they took the elevator up to the New York Attorney General's office, Kate's heart was pounding in her chest. Her hand was clammy with sweat as she clutched Castle's hand tightly in hers. When they walked into the office, her eyes met those of her father's. "Hi, Katie," he walked over and hugged her. "Do you know what this is about?"
"No, I don't."
"Mr. Beckett, Det. Beckett, thank you for coming in," Agent Garber stepped out of his office. "Mr. Castle, I wasn't expecting to see you. This really only concerns the detective and her father, so I'll have to ask you to wait outside."
"No," Kate argued. "Mr. Castle has seen me through every step of this. He comes with me or I turn around and walk out that door right now."
"Katie—"
"No, dad. I'm tired of playing by their rules. From here on out, they play by ours."
"Very well," the agent sighed, motioning for them to follow him.
The three of them walked back to Garber's office when they all took chairs across from his desk. "What is this about?" Kate asked, taking Castle's hand in one hand and her father's in the other.
"After we took Sen. Bracken into custody, we executed search warrants for his home, office, and every other place where he might have hid evidence away. We were worried that after the recordings were released that he might have destroyed evidence. And he did destroy some, but he didn't get rid of everything."
"What did you find?" Kate asked, her voice tight.
"We found a recording where he is heard talking to Dick Coonan. He mentions your mother and her colleagues by name, Det. Beckett. He specifically orders him to 'take care of them.' We've also spoken to Pulgatti in prison. He corroborates that your mother's murder occurred right after she filed an appeal to get him a new trial. I have the recording. It won't be released to anybody. It's the first good piece of evidence that we've gotten against Bracken. If you want to hear it, that's fine. If you don't, that's fine, too. However, it will be played when he goes to trial."
"Can I talk it over with my dad and Castle?"
"Of course. I'll step outside."
"Dad?" Kate looked at her father, who was sitting there with tears coursing down his face. "Dad, we know that he's behind this. I don't need his voice telling me what he did. I know and you know. I just can't help thinking that if somebody other than John Raglan had been the lead detective; we could've gotten him years ago. If you want to listen—"
"No," he shook his head. "We'll hear it at the trial. I don't want to go to sleep tonight hearing his voice ordering your mother's murder. The night that you came and told me that it was over, I went to a meeting. It was the first one that I've had to go to in a long time. I won't have that man sending me back to the bottom of a bottle. He's not going to win this round, Katie."
"No, he's not," she threw her arm around Jim's neck and hugged him fiercely.
Riding home in the backseat of the Town Car later, Kate held tightly to Castle's hand. "Are you glad that you didn't listen to it?"
"I didn't need to listen to it. We both know what he is."
Looking at her, Castle didn't need a crystal ball to know that night was going to be rough. She was quiet during dinner. After dinner, Castle went to his office to talk to Alexis before getting some writing done on the newest Nikki Heat novel. He knew from experience that Kate needed alone time to work things out in her head. He was the talker; Beckett was the thinker. Sometimes he thought that was the reason why they balanced each other out so well. He knew that she'd come to him when she was ready.
Kate sat out on the outside patio, looking at the lights of the city twinkling around her. She unconsciously toyed with the long chain hanging around her neck, her fingers circling around the ring in her hand. She remembered when her father had given her mother's ring to her, the night of her funeral. They'd returned from Coney Island and Kate had gone to her room. Her father had found her on her bed a short time later.
"Katie," he sat on the edge of her bed, putting his hand on her back, "when I gave this ring to your mother, she told me that she wanted our firstborn daughter to have it. I think she meant it to be an engagement ring, but anyway—"
Kate sat up and turned to face him, seeing the ring in his hand. The ring that she'd seen on her mother's finger every day of her life. The ring that the coroner had given to her father when he'd gone to identify her mother's remains. "Daddy—"
"No, she wanted you to have it. Believe me, I wish that I didn't have to give it to you under these circumstances, but it's what she wanted. Please take it."
Kate examined the ring in her hand. She'd memorized every facet of it. She knew how every stone felt, how smooth the band of it felt in her hands. The coolness of it as it rested between her breasts. She no longer wore it every day like she once had. She remembered Castle questioning her about that one morning while they were getting ready for work.
"Why don't you wear your mother's ring, anymore?"
"I still wear it sometimes. I don't know why I don't wear it as much. I guess that I don't need to," she smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't need it to remind me of why I do what I do. There are still days when I need to feel her close to me, but today isn't one of those days."
She looked up when she heard the sliding door opening onto the patio. "Wow, it's a nice night," Castle commented as he closed the door behind him.
"Yeah, it is. You have a beautiful view from up here."
"It's what sold me when I bought the place. Of course that was before 9/11. You used to be able to see the Twin Towers in the distance. It was horrible after that day. It took me months to be able to come out here after the towers came down."
"I was always thankful that my mother didn't have to witness that. It would've devastated her."
"It devastated all of us," he sat in the chair next to her. "So, are you okay?"
"I'm never going to be 'okay,' Castle. But, I can be satisfied with the thought that I know he's probably going to be to prison. And the idea that it's more than likely going to be one of those maximum security places and not a country club thrills me. He's going to be staring at three stark white walls and metal bars for 23 hours a day. He'll have no contact with the outside world, so he can't order threats on anybody else that I love. After the trial is over, I'll probably go to my mom's grave and do the world's longest happy dance. But, until that day comes, I'll have to settle for being almost okay."
"How about a hot bath and a full body massage?" He smiled at her.
"I think I'd like that."
It was her crying out in her sleep that woke Castle up a few hours later. "Kate," he whispered. "Kate, it's okay. I'm right here."
"Castle?" She rolled over into his chest as he slipped his arms around her.
"Yeah, I'm right here," he kissed the top of her head.
"My mom was in that alley and she was crying out for me to help her. But I couldn't! I tried, but I couldn't get to her! I haven't had that dream in so long, Castle. It's the one that I used to have right after her murder. Why am I having it now?"
"I don't know. Maybe because of what the AG told you and your dad this evening. Why don't we talk about something else," he suggested.
"Okay."
"Tell me about this boy and the hayloft," he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him.
"Why? Do you need more fodder for your sexual fantasies?" She teased.
"Hey, I got you, didn't I? So far, all of my fantasies have become reality. You said that you always remember the one who gives you the firsts in your life. So, let me guess. First orgasm," he smiled up at her.
"That was one of them," she admitted. "Well, let me put it this way. It was my first orgasm that wasn't self-induced."
"Oh, nice," he drew her down and kissed her. "What other first was there?"
"It was the first time that I had a guy go down on me," she nibbled his ear lobe as she felt him harden against her.
"But it wasn't the first that you—"
"No, I'd already done that a few times. Why are you asking about me and the hayloft, anyway?"
"I like learning new things about you."
"Uh, you like learning new sexual things about me," she corrected him.
"Well that, too," he shrugged. "So, you liked it?"
"Duh. You should know how much I like doing that by now."
"Oh, I do," he kissed her again.
She groaned at the feel of his hands slipping under her shirt and up her bare back. She buried her face into his neck, kissing him before cuddling closer to him. He kissed her temple and tightened his arms around her, holding her to his chest as she slowly drifted back to sleep.
He woke up the next morning before the alarm went off to the feeling of Kate's lips and tongue on his neck. "Morning," he mumbled, opening his eyes into her passion darkened ones.
"We didn't get to finish what we started this morning."
"Do we have time?"
"That's why I'm waking you up," she gave him the huge smile that he always loved before covering his mouth with her own.
***CCC***
Sunday morning, Castle woke Kate up early so they could get started on their mystery destination. He still refused to even give her a hint as to where they were going. He grabbed a couple of blankets before they left the loft. Kate gave him a funny look, but she knew better than to ask him any questions. He opened the passenger door of the Ferrari for her before getting behind the wheel.
It was a beautiful spring morning so Castle had put the top down on the car as they headed out of the city. He'd memorized the directions that Patterson had given him so that he wouldn't have to rely on GPS. "Are we heading out to Westchester?"
"Nope."
"It's probably just as well. Do you remember when we got shot at that day?"
"How can I forget?"
"Well, on my last visit to Dr. Herrera, he mentioned finding my pants," Kate made a face as Castle groaned. "I kind of sounded like a teenage girl."
"How so?"
"Let's just leave it at that."
"I knew that you were upset when we got interrupted that day, and I really didn't want to go back out to the compound. So, I did some asking around. I found you a hayloft and I can guarantee we're not going to get shot at."
"Castle, that's so sweet," she couldn't help smiling.
"I just loved the look on your face when you were telling me about that moment. I love how your face lights up when you're happy," he turned down a country road before taking another turn, stopping in front of a wooden gate. "And here we are."
"Where are we?"
"Patterson keeps this place for when he wants to get away, kind of like me with the Hamptons house. He's on a book tour right now, so he told me that we can use it."
"Castle, you told him about the hayloft?" She asked in horror.
"No, I told him that you wanted to go horseback riding," he got out and opened the gate before getting back in the car and driving through. He then stopped and got out to close the gate. "You'd think with all of the money Patterson makes, he'd install an electronic gate. What can I say? The guy's a cheapskate."
He parked in front of the house and got out before walking around to open Kate's door for her. He then took her hand and they began walking around the property. They walked up to the barn and Castle opened the door before they both stepped inside. Pulling on his hand, Kate walked over to the ladder and climbed it up into the hayloft. There was more loose hay than bales. Castle spread the two blankets onto the floor before he sat down and tugged Kate down beside him. "You said that you were 17," he tucked her hair behind her ear. "How old was the boy?"
"He was 22. He wasn't a boy," she kissed him.
"So, you've always had this thing for older men, have you?"
"No. My very first was only about five months older than me."
"Still older. Did you love him?"
"Who? My first? I thought I did. Until he got what he wanted from me, and things changed. Did you love your first?"
"Yeah, I did," he smiled. "Until she ditched me for the captain of the football team."
"Ouch. Poor Castle," she kissed him, tracing his bottom lip with her tongue. He opened his mouth, sucking her tongue into his mouth as she moaned into him. "So, how old were you?" She asked, pulling away from him.
"Almost 18. So, did your parents know that you were having sex so young?"
"Well, I did a pretty good job of hiding it until my mother found a box of condoms in my underwear drawer. After that, she took me to her OB/GYN and got me on the pill. Are we really going to keep talking about this?"
"No. In fact, I don't think we should be talking, at all," he grinned, pulling her back down to his mouth once again.
He wrapped his arms around her and positioned them so that she was lying on the blankets while he hovered above her. He slipped one large warm hand under her shirt and up to her breasts, caressing her plump flesh through her bra. She sat up and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it to one side before lying back down, smiling up at Castle. She then reached her hands out and made quick work of his shirt, slipping it off of his shoulders where it fell to the ground behind him. "You're sure that we're not going to get interrupted?"
"Positive. Patterson assured me that nobody comes to the house until right before he brings his family up here," he sat up and undid the front clasp of Kate's bra before removing it from her body. Moving down, he kissed her lips before caressing her neck with his lips and tongue, listening to the gentle sighs and gasps that she emitted from her throat. Nipping at her throat, he moved further down to the scar between her breasts, tracing it with his fingers before doing the same with his lips. He felt her wrap her fingers into his hair, holding him tighter to her body. She let out a hiss when he enclosed one swollen nipple between his lips and gently sucking on it.
"Castle," she breathed out his name. The feeling of his lips on her sensitive nipple was causing the ache in her groin to become intense. She moved to situate herself against him, hoping that he'd get the hint. When he made no move to leave her breasts, she reached down to fondle him through his jeans. He felt hard and impossible thick against her fingers. The vibrations of his growl against her bare breasts sent tremors down to her very core.
Castle loved the way that she smelled, her skin warm and cherry scented under his lips and tongue. Her fingers massaged his scalp when he began moving further south, his lips worshiping every bare inch of her. He traced her second, much longer scar with his fingers and lips before letting his tongue swirl in her navel, feeling her buck up against him at the sensation. His fingers stopped at the waistband of her Capri pants. He quickly unbuttoned and unzipped them before tugging them down her long legs, before being stopped by her sandals. He quickly removed them and finished taking off her pants.
The air in the barn felt cool against Kate's heated skin. She looked to see why Castle hadn't removed her panties and blushed at the way he was looking at her. "See anything that you like, Castle?"
"Oh, I like everything that I see. Very much," he reached his fingers into her panties and slid them down her legs. But before he went any further, he stood up and pulled off his shoes, socks, jeans and boxers, leaving him as naked as she was. "Do you see anything that you like?"
"Oh, yeah," she grinned, smiling up at him.
He settled himself back down between her legs and pulled her down toward him. Her stomach quivered in anticipation of the feeling of his mouth on her. He had the most talented tongue she'd ever felt in her life. And he loved nothing more than to use that talented tongue to turn her into a quivering, screaming, blithering fool. Just the thought of what he could do with that tongue could make her soaking wet in a matter of seconds.
He kissed every inch of her stomach and the top of her mound before moving lower and covering her wet, heated flesh with his mouth as she arched her back and cried out loudly. "Fuck, Castle!" She cried out. She knew that she was seconds away from flying apart. "Castle, I'm going to come!"
He could feel her quivering and coming around his tongue. He slowed the movement of his tongue to gentle her down before speeding up once again. She used her heels to try to get a purchase in the sharp straw, but it was impossible. He flicked her swollen clit with his tongue before using two fingers to enter her. Her cries and short screams were becoming urgent as she came again hard, her whole body shaking under him while he fought to keep her still.
"Castle, stop. Please?" She grabbed his ears and tugged on him in order to get him to move back up her body. He covered her mouth with his own as they kissed hungrily. She finally shoved him over until he was flat on his back and then she straddled his thighs, shivering at the feeling of his erect cock brushing against her extremely sensitive center. "I forgot all about the straw poking through the blanket thing."
"It didn't seem to be much of a mood killer," he smiled archly up at her.
"I'm about to show you a mood killer," she returned his smile before sliding down and encircling her fingers around his girth, feeling him instantly twitch in her hand. "I love the way that you feel in my hand, Castle," she continued smiling at him before she lowered her head and gave him a long leisurely lick from base to tip. "I love the way that you taste," she made another swipe with her tongue. "I love the way that you feel in my mouth."
She took him in slowly as Castle grunted at the feeling. "Kate," he grabbed for her head to pull her back up but she slapped him away. "Kate, please. I need to be inside of you. Please, baby, please?"
"You know that I hate it when you call me 'baby,'" she released him with a soft pop to glare at him with her greenish-brown eyes.
He could never understand why she hated pet names. He thought it was cute. She told him that if he wanted to date a pole dancer named Candy, then he could call her 'baby' and shit like that. It had been the one thing in their relationship that she was adamant about. No pet names. "Kate, I'm sorry. I don't want to come in your mouth," he groaned as he could feel his orgasm rushing at him headlong.
"That's good, because I want you to come inside me, with me," she once again released him and swung her leg over his hips before reaching down and grabbing his cock and guiding it to her entrance. "Fuck, you feel great, Castle," she moaned as she lowered herself onto him, sighing at the feel of him completely filling her.
Castle pulled her down onto his chest, attacking her mouth voraciously as she moved on top of him, setting the pace for the both of them. He was so close, but he wanted her to come with him. He could tell by the cries she was making into his mouth that she was almost there. He raised her up and took her nipple into his mouth as he felt her stiffen on top of him. He heard her scream out his name repeatedly as she clamped down around him. That was all the motivation he needed to come as well with a loud cry of his own just seconds later.
He held Kate panting and quivering on his chest as she gradually came down from her climax. "You were right about the hay poking through the blankets. I feel like I'm being stabbed," he complained as she kissed him softly.
"Just when I think that it can't possibly get any hotter with us, you go and prove me wrong," she sat up and slowly moved off of his lap, collapsing on the blanket beside him.
"No, you prove me wrong. Every day," he turned on his side to stare at her. Even panting for breath and sweat soaked from having mind blowing sex, she was still the most beautiful, sexiest woman he'd ever seen in his life. "My mother asked me once if a woman that I loved was willing to break me out of prison. She said that if a woman is willing to break the man she loves out of prison, then that is true love."
"Well, as I recall, I did tell you once that I'd get you out if it ever came to that."
"I know that the words are hard for you to say. One day, I hope that they become easier. Because I do love you so very much."
"I'm glad that you were there when my wall came down. I do love you, Castle. I love you when you're the nine-year-old on a sugar rush, and I love you when you do something so extraordinary like today. I love that you make me tell you things that I've never told any other man."
"I'm glad that you want to share those things about yourself with me."
"Well, as much as I'd love to stay here and while away the day, the hay is getting more than a little itchy," she made a face as he kissed the tip of her nose.
"Hey, have you ever gone skinny dipping?" He asked as they pulled their clothes back on.
"Uh, that's what I was about to do when the guy fell dead into your pool. Remember?"
"There's a lake near here. We can go now, if you'd like."
"Castle, I think we've both had enough adventure for one day. Why don't you take me home to that huge King-sized bed of yours and have your way with me?"
"Promise?" His eyes lit up as she laughed. "Will you let me call you pet names?"
"No, Castle!" She grabbed the blanket and followed him down the ladder to the car.
A/N #4: This chapter started getting away from me. Please read and review. I've gotten some wonderful reviews, so far.
As usual, I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.
