A/N: Hello people! Not much to say today, just that I couldn't post on Thursday as I had planned and did it on Friday, so I decided to give you a reward for being so great and understanding :) BIG SURPRISE AT THE END. READ! I hope you like it! Enjoy.
Chapter 10. REVEALED
It had been ten days since Castle's first storm of memories and, to his disappointment, he hadn't experienced more episodes of clarity. The only good news relating his health was that he would have his back surgery in two weeks.
On the other hand, things with Kate were going just perfect. Since the day they had talked, the detective was even more relaxed around him. Rick was allowed to make jokes and talk openly about them, when they were alone, of course, though none of their friends and family had missed that they were acting different around each other. Kate was more confident about 'touching'. It was not that she couldn't keep her hands to herself; she just stayed closer to him when they talked, held his hand or brushed her fingers through his hair when it was tousled. Little things that meant a lot to both of them.
On the last week Kate had stayed for dinner every single night, and the weekend became an extended sleep over when both, Friday and Saturday nights, had caught her asleep on Rick's shoulder after takeout and a couple of movies.
On Sunday morning Kate was awakened by a violent shake of her pillow. Not only did it move her, making her head bounce on it; it sneezed too. She raised her head from it and looked up, where she found a pair of blue, apologetic eyes looking at her.
"Hey! Sorry about that, your hair was tickling my nose." Castle said, smiling at her sleepy face.
It took a while to her still dozed brain to realize where she was, and whose arms had she spent the night in. "Castle, can you explain what the heck am I doing here?" Kate asked, her trademark glare piercing his skin.
"Whoa, don't give me that look! This is all your doing, detective." He defended himself. "There's no way I can carry you and put you in my bed on my own."
Kate looked at him in disbelieve, but he really had a point. "I only remember falling asleep on the couch during the last movie." She tried to sit on the bed but her head started pounding hard. "We had a little too much wine last night, didn't we?"
He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess we did." He sat in bed himself and tried to explain why she was there. "When the movie was over I woke you up. I didn't trust my arms to move myself from the chair to the mattress, so you came with me to help, and when I was in bed you lied down here with me for a while. We talked a little until you fell asleep. I didn't want to wake you up so... – he shrugged - When I woke up this morning you had gotten rid of your clothes and you were wearing one of my shirts and using me as a pillow." He finished with a satisfied smile.
Her face shrank in thought and suddenly her eyes showed she remembered. "Oh, yeah. You're right." She was a little ashamed. " I guess I was too tired to go all the way upstairs to the guest room. And…" She paused to think if she should say such a thing to him. "I have to say that… you are… a very comfy pillow."
He flashed her with a shiny, toothy smile. "Yeah, I've been told so."
Her eyes narrowed at that. "By Alexis!" He rushed to say. "She always falls asleep on me."
She laughed at his concern. "Relax, Castle." Her head had stopped bugging her, so she got up and walked to the bathroom's door. " But just for that, I'll shower first." She said playfully, locking the door behind her.
After walking out of the shower and having changed into yoga pants and an old t-shirt – she had some clothes there - Kate busied herself making breakfast for everyone. Martha and Alexis were still in bed, but by the hour it was, she could tell they'd be getting up soon.
Pancakes were almost ready when Rick came out of his room; all freshen up and dressed for the day. "Something smells good!" He said, rolling his way to the kitchen.
She smiled at him at the same time she turned a pancake. "Hungry?"
He nodded, turning his face to look at the staircase when he caught a glimpse of red hair with the corner of his eye. "Morning, sweetie! Kate's made breakfast." He greeted his still drowsy daughter.
"Morning." Alexis said with a lazy smile. "Pancakes! Oh, Kate, they're my favorite! Thank you."
Kate put the last one on the dish, avoiding it to fall off when the girl hugged her and kissed her cheek.
"Okay! They're done. Castle, you can take the coffee to the table on that tray. Alexis and I will take the food." Kate ordered, handing Rick the tray.
When they had placed everything on the table, Martha joined them, and the four of them ate, talked and laughed, enjoying the time together. When they were done Alexis helped Kate clearing the table and putting the dishes away and Rick did all he could cleaning up the table.
Martha left right after breakfast and Alexis went up to her room to finish the homework she had for the weekend, leaving them alone on the couch, trying to find out some new plots for Castle's next novel.
"You should put them on a cruise and let them rest. After all they've been through, those two deserve a break." Kate said, talking about Nikki and Rook. "I guess you don't remember how your last book ended, do you?" She asked.
Rick looked at her in surprise. "Actually, I have no idea!" He said. "I guess for the first time in my life, I'll have to read my own book to know how it ends." He joked.
"Ironic, huh?" she joked back.
His face lit up suddenly and he pulled her hand to make her get up from the couch. "Come. You have to help me find it." He said, moving himself to his study.
Kate followed him a little intrigued. "Find what?" She asked.
"My notepad." He said looking through the shelves and cabinets. "I write down all my ideas on it. Things I find interesting, quotes I think I could use, inspiration hits I need to write down before they vanish… Stuff like that." He explained to her. "Could you check my desk, please?"
She realized she had been standing in the middle of the room, just listening to him and watching how he roamed the around searching for his notepad. "Oh, yeah. Sure."
Kate looked on the desk, she moved his folders and papers with drafts and notes, his family pictures – even one of them together she didn't know existed – a deck of cards, candy and bubble gum packets, pens, a couple of comic figures… No notepad there. She moved to search the drawers.
Rick was now inspecting the low shelves behind his desk. It was kind of tricky cause he couldn't crouch to take a better look. He decided to ask Kate to look down there and turned around. He wasn't looking when he tacked, and was surprised as hell when he bumped into Kate's calves making her fall over him.
When she realized what was going on she found herself sitting on Rick's lap with her heart going crazy in her chest. "You don't know what to do to make me fall, do you?" She joked, arching an eyebrow and putting on her most teasing face.
Rick smiled, but his expression was serious. Their eyes met, locking instantly and letting show everything their mouths weren't allowed to say yet. She bit her bottom lip and then licked it nervously, knowing what was about to happen. Rick leaned closer, his eyes not leaving hers, moving down inch by inch.
Their lips touched at last. He just brushed his lips over hers, moving softly, licking her lower lip right where she had bitten it a moment ago. Her hands moved to cup his head making him move closer to her. She deepened the kiss, taking his lower lip between her teeth, biting slightly and then, soothing it with her tongue, just the way she had done with her own a minute before. His hands hadn't move from her waist, scared she would find it too much, having both his lips and his hands exploring her. Her tongue became more insistent and he allowed her in, letting out a groan when he felt her inside.
When they broke apart, seeking air, none of them spoke; they just looked into each other's eyes until Rick engulfed her into a bear hug. He started placing soft kisses on her neck, right below her ear and she moved her head granting him a better access. She opened her eyes after a little while and something caught her attention, something that was lying on the lower drawer of his desk. The one she had opened right before he bumped into her, making all this amazing kissing happen.
She made her eyes focus on what was written on it, and when she finally could read it, she pushed him off from her neck. "Castle, what's that?" she asked, feeling panic growing inside her belly.
"What's what?" He asked trying to go back to kissing her neck.
She moved and stood up in front of him with her hands on her hips, giving him an annoyed look. Then she crouched and picked up a yellow folder from the drawer. "This folder with my mother's name on it. What is this?" She asked again getting more and more impatient by the second.
He looked at it like it was a rock form Mars. "I have no idea. Probably been there for a while, I haven't sat on my desk since the accident." He answered trying to be precise and reassuring.
She opened the folder and found the smart-screen's remote inside. She took it and turned the screen on. Her mother's murder board appeared before her eyes. Everything she had been working on, her notes, pictures were now supplemented with new information. Things she had no idea about. "What the hell is this, Rick?" she asked, hurt in her voice.
His mouth was open and his eyes were about to fall out of their orbs. He had no idea what he was looking at. "I… I don't know, Kate. This must have happened after the shooting. I don't remember any of it." He said.
"You've been working on it. You've been digging on my mother's case, even after telling me not to do it. How could you hide this from me?" She asked, stretching her arm to caress her mother face on the screen.
He was terrified now. What the hell was he supposed to say? He had no idea of what had been going on after the shooting and he had no idea of why in the world had he been hiding all his findings from her. "Kate, listen to me, I don't know. I can't imagine a reason to hide this form you. I don't know why I did it but I'm sure it was something I had to do. I wouldn't hide this from you if it wasn't for a good reason."
"How do I know that? This is not the first time to do this, Rick." She said, still not taking her eyes from the screen.
His heart ached at that. She was running again, hiding and shutting him out. Scared. He was scared too. "You'll have to trust me. At least until I get my memory back and I can explain this to you. I don't know what to tell you now, Kate. It's not like I don't want to tell you about it. It's that I don't know why I hid that from you."
She looked back at him. A single tear was running down her left cheek and her hands were trembling. "I can't… I need to go."
"What? No! Kate, please. We need to talk about this." He begged her.
"There's nothing you can tell me, Rick and, to be honest, I can't even look at you right now." She said, taking the yellow folder with her and walking out the study.
He rolled his chair into the living room, still trying to convince her to stay. "Please, don't! Don't do this now, Kate. You said you wanted to leave it behind, start again."
She was picking up her purse and turned to face him. "I did, yes. But it seems I'm not the only one who needs to find something else to do with her life. THIS – she showed him the folder – is my life, Castle. MINE! You had no right to hide anything of it from me." And with that, she opened the door and walked out his loft and his arms.
A/N: Sorry about that… I needed to do it for the story's shake. I know you'll understand. It was getting a little cheesy and it needed some action, don't you think? :P
I hope you're still enjoying this and keep reading, reviewing and adding it to alerts and favorites. You guys are the best, thank you so much! :)