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Smothering
Chapter Twelve
Day 15 Continued...
The music blaring from the speaker behind her was giving Kate a headache. Jenny and Ryan, sitting on her right, were giggling over something ridiculous. She closed her eyes against the bands of pain tightening around her skull. Maybe it was the caffeine withdrawal again. She sighed and massaged her forehead, then twisted around for her purse.
Across the table, Castle's head turned, watching her pull a small white bottle out, even as he continued his conversation with Lanie & Esposito. She fiddled with the child safety cap, not noticing Castle leave the table. She shook out two more pills and was about to leave her seat when he reappeared, this time at her elbow with a tall glass of what appeared to be water.
"That's not vodka," he teased her, whispering in her ear. He reclaimed his seat completely missing her small frown.
Castle. He was acting very domesticated. Anticipating her need for water, Tylenol, holding her chair while she sat—as though she couldn't handle a rolling desk chair! She shook her head as she popped her pills and reached for the glass.
Little things. Those were just little things, not terribly different from his usual behavior of bringing her coffee and watching her do paperwork. Except… She lifted the glass to her lips. Except he'd just asked her to move in with him. Except he wanted to buy her furniture. Except he claimed she was stuck with him now. Something fluttered in her belly, remembering his quiet earnest voice telling her she couldn't completely leave…
She closed her eyes, feeling the cold water slide down her throat, washing away the sticky after taste of virgin margaritas. She took her time drinking, carefully avoiding his gaze as she set the empty glass on the table. Nibbling her lower lip, she stared at the scratched and beringed table, wondering, what she was going to do with a baby, let alone that baby's father.
Too much. It's all too much. She bit her lip. Time to go home for some quiet. She glanced around at her friends. Ryan and Jenny, their hands clasped, were conversing in low tones. On the other end of the table, Esposito was teaching Castle to play table football. Lanie appeared to be refereeing.
Castle set the paper football on its tip and took careful aim for Esposito's finger goal posts. A solid flick and the folded paper was airborne. Esposito's head swiveled to watch it fly passed.
"Out of bounds," Lanie ruled.
Beckett stood, gathering her bag.
"You're leaving?"
It was Castle. Of course. Kate pushed her hair behind her ear. "Busy day tomorrow. And I'm beat." She slung the leather satchel onto her shoulder.
"Good luck with the apartment hunting." Lanie looked very comfortable where she now sat between Castle and Esposito. Kate smiled, wondering if it was the friendly camaraderie that put the pleased smile on Lanie's face, or the handsome detective who was leaning a little closer than necessary.
"Thanks." A frown furrowed her brow as the legs of Castle's stool grated across the floor. "What are you doing, Castle?"
"Buying them one last round before we go."
"We?" Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. The Tylenol hadn't yet kicked in. "I'm just going home, Castle. Goodnight guys." Beckett caught Esposito's smirk and gave him a look before turning to Jenny. "It was great to see you again, Jenny."
"Oh." Castle hesitated at her abrupt tone. "Well, I have to leave anyway. Alexis—" he paused and Beckett wondered if he was making up an excuse to leave with her. "Alexis will be home soon and I want to be there for her."
Lame, Castle. She waved at their friends and left, catching the disappointed glances between Ryan and Esposito as Castle followed her out without buying them the round of drinks he'd mentioned.
"You up for table football, Ryan?" Ryan's reply was lost in the din of a populace grateful to have made it to Friday night.
Castle was two steps behind her as they exited the tavern. Outside, she zipped her jacket against the cool October night, letting him catch up.
It looked to be a typical starless night in New York City. Traffic was light and many of the shops were already closed up behind steel security doors.
Castle watched her intently. He always watched her intently. "By the way, thank you for the margaritas." One corner of his mouth tipped upwards as he lowered his voice. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get me drunk," he teased.
She rolled her eyes, "Yeah, well, I was trying to get you distracted so I could slip away without you offering to carry my books." Subtle, Beckett, she congratulated herself. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Seriously," "I appreciated the escape route on that spinach margarita." She finished with a wry smile. For a moment their eyes met and he grinned, the lines around his eyes crinkling up the way she loved—she bit her lip and looked down as she hitched her purse higher on her shoulder.
"See you Monday, Castle." She was turning to walk away when his voice gave her pause.
"Do you want to share a cab?"
Why did she have the feeling he'd happily ride along with whatever she chose for herself? "Castle, why don't you take a cab? I'm taking the subway."
"Yeah, sure." he watched her walk away. For a moment, she thought she'd escaped; five feet, ten feet away. Then she heard footsteps hurrying to catch up and she felt torn between amusement and annoyance. She'd known she wouldn't get away from him that easily.
"Hey, are you in for the poker game tomorrow night?" His tone was a little too casual as he fell into step beside her. She kept walking.
"Poker?" her tone was flat.
"Yeah." He gave her a sideways glance as he fell into step beside her.
A little frown pulled down the corners of her mouth as she considered her words. "I don't think so Castle." She turned and faced him at last. "Look, I appreciate everything you're trying to do here, but I need some space to think everything over, and I've got to find a place to live, and Esposito is getting suspicious and…" I'm pregnant with your baby, and you're being incredibly sweet—for now—but can I count on you? She bit her lip and turned to look into his somber eyes.
He was silent for a beat and then he quietly observed, "I'm smothering you."
"Castle, I—" She hesitated.
"No, I get it." His gaze never wavered. "You need some space." He stared at her another moment.
She bobbed her head once, "Yes."
"Okay." He made no move to walk away. "Well, I'll just go home and you can call me if you need to talk. Or anything."
She bit her lip to hide her relief. "Yeah."
"Dad, what is that?"
"A Dr. Who scarf." Rick closed the door to the loft behind him and gave his family a tired smile.
"I didn't know you even watched that show."
"I don't, now. But when I was ten? Dr. Who was the coolest guy ever, and my favorite incarnation of Dr. Who wore this."
Rick unwound the scarf from his neck and draped it over Alexis Castle's shoulders.
"Look at that." Martha appeared with a wine glass in either hand. She offered one to Rick but he shook his head.
"I've had enough to drink tonight, thank you."
Martha emptied the extra goblet into her own. "I on the other hand, am just getting started."
"Rough night, Mother? I hope Alexis didn't have to ground you." He grinned at his daughter who winked conspiratorially.
Martha cast him a disparaging glance. "Not really."
"Gram and Chet had a fight."
Rick's head snapped up, his eyes wide as he stared at his mother, a coat hanger forgotten in his hand. "Mother? Is it serious?"
"Sssst!" Alexis coughed discretely.
"Oh stop it!" Martha turned to him. "We had a minor disagreement is all." She sighed and walked away, sipping from her goblet.
Rick let out a long breath and went back to hanging up his coat.
Alexis leaned close enough for her father to catch the spicy citrus scent of her perfume. "Chet wants Gram to come to his daughter's birthday dinner tomorrow."
"I thought you'd met his kids already."
"Yes, at his birthday dinner. Trust me, it's one thing to meet Daddy's girlfriend on his day, but on her birthday?" Martha sagely shook her head. "The last thing she wants is a reminder that her mother is gone."
Rick collapsed on the leather sofa and stretched out his legs. Alexis curled up beside him, nestling against his shoulder. "How does Chet feel about that?" he asked.
Martha frowned as she poured more wine.
He waited. Then, "Mother?"
"He suggested maybe I'm afraid of commitment."
"Ah." Rick looked at Alexis, his lips pursed as if he were trying to hold his tongue. Or hide a smile.
"I see you smirking over there, Mr. Castle, and I don't see you tying yourself down."
"I—ah, Did I say anything?"
"You didn't have to. It was all over your face!"
"I'm sure you and Chet will work things out," Alexis soothed.
"Of course we will." Martha sighed. "Enough about Chet and me. How is Kate today?"
Rick suddenly felt a need for a drink of his own. "Tea-totaling." He grinned briefly at his own pun and then shrugged. "She's—she's doing okay. About as well as can be expected."
Four identical blue eyes regarded him in silence. Distraction was always his favorite tool for deflecting attention away from where he didn't want it. "How was your evening out together? Did you see a movie or go to the theatre?"
"We ate at a very cute Mediterranean café and then browsed some of the shops in Soho. We found—oh! That's Ash!" Alexis pulled her ringing cell out of her pocket, "Hi," her tone was soft and breathy as she scurried upstairs to the privacy of her own room. Rick frowned after her.
Martha sipped her wine as she watched her son watching her granddaughter go. Then she took Alexis's place on the couch, folding one leg beneath her as she faced him. "Now that she's gone, tell me how Kate really is."
Rick sighed and ran both hands through his hair. So much for distraction. "We wrapped up the case and went out for drinks with the rest of the team." He paused. "She's apartment hunting tomorrow." He frowned to himself thinking. "She's a bit overwhelmed, actually." He stared at the molding around the ceiling and it was Martha's turn to wait. "I may have jumped the shark, suggesting she move in."
"You what?" Martha Rogers stared at her son, aghast.
"I invited her to move in with us. It's silly for her to go to the trouble and expense of finding an apartment when we've got an extra room."
"Richard, really."
"And with the baby coming, it will make things a lot easier for her. She won't have to cook or clean—"
"Richard!"
"What?"
"Kate Beckett is a tough and independent woman. She's used to taking care of herself and she is not going to want to be kept by you."
Rick was silent as he considered her words. "You're right." He said at last. "She wasn't thrilled about the idea of me moving in with her, either."
"Oh Richard." Martha regarded her son fondly. She smoothed an errant strand of hair off his forehead.
"She'll come around." Rick added dismissively.
Martha shook her head in exasperation. "Richard, a woman like Kate Beckett is not going to move in with someone out of convenience. She'll find a way to make it work, baby or not. The sooner you realize that the further you'll get with her." Martha sipped her wine as she regarded her son.
Rick blew out a breath as he thought over her words.
She set her goblet down. "Did you talk about the baby at all? How's she feeling about the pregnancy?"
"I think she's going to keep it."
"And you base this on…"
"Kate wants to be a mom. She told me so today, but I've known for a while that's what she wants. She'll keep it." He stared off into space, remembering their conversation that morning. "I think she's floundering a bit with the reality of such a major life event, being unplanned."
Martha nodded as she listened. "Do you remember how you reacted when you found out about Alexis?"
Rick chuckled ruefully. "How could I forget?" He shook his head. "I was convinced my life was over, that I'd never have any fun again, that the world as I knew it was over, which it wasn't…" The two lapsed into silence for a moment.
"You said it would be like being grounded for the rest of your life." Martha remembered.
"Of course, I had no idea what that would be like, never having to finish a grounding sentence in my life." She whapped his arm. He turned to her, his brow furrowed in concern. "Do you think Kate feels that way? Like it'll ruin her life?"
Martha looked at him like he was dense. "Of course she does! She wants kids but—"
"But not like this." He dropped his head against the back of the sofa, frowning at the ceiling.
"Not like this," Martha agreed, sipping her drink. "Has she told her father yet?"
"I—don't know," Rick admitted, pondering. He turned to his mother with a bemused smile. "How did you feel when you found out about me?"
Martha's eyes widened for an instant and her face became very still. "It was much as you'd expect. High drama, low budget." She swirled her wine in her glass, remembering. "You know what that girl needs?" Her voice was quiet as she stared at the bit of red wine remaining in her glass.
"A rich sugar daddy?"
Martha didn't respond, as she was lost in thought. "She needs mothering, from a mature woman who's been there." Her voice was quiet.
Rick was silent a moment. Then, "Do you know someone like that?"
Martha gave him a playful swat. "You'd better watch it, Kiddo. Or I'll make your grounding stick this time."
How did you like Chapter 12? Review?
Still coming, Martha & Beckett.
