Title: To Love & Live In L.A.
Summary: Kate Beckett has suffered another tragic loss and can't stand to stay in New York, where the memories are unavoidable. Can new places and new faces help her rise from the ashes of her painful past? AU.
Disclaimer: I don't own most of the characters I write about. If you recognize a name, odds are it isn't mine. But seeing as this is a fanfic website, you probably knew that already.
Thanks again to Sunshiny-Kate, the best beta a writer could ask for!
"Surprise indeed." Castle wiped his hands off with a towel. "What are you doing here?"
"I was in the neighborhood." Beckett shrugged. "Sort of."
"How do you sort of end up in the Hamptons when you live in California?" Castle smirked.
"I was at my dad's cabin for Christmas." Beckett paused and looked at each of them. "He actually was the one that convinced me to come up to see you. I tried calling but I couldn't get anyone."
"We have our phones off." Alexis explained.
"Oh." Beckett but her lip again. "I'm sorry I just showed up. If you guys don't want me to stay, I can -"
"Nonsense." Castle interrupted. "I've shown up unannounced at your apartment on numerous occasions."
"Yeah, but you're with your family and it's a holiday."
"I barged in on your Thanksgiving."
"I wasn't with my family." Beckett argued.
"I think what Richard is getting at is that we're glad you're here." Martha interjected.
"Thank you, Mother." Castle smiled. "By the way Kate, as I'm sure you surmised, this is my mom."
"Oh yes, forgive me, dear." Martha laughed. "I didn't even bother to introduce myself before sweeping you inside. I'm Martha."
"It's great to meet you." Beckett smiled. "Officially."
"Good." Alexis spoke up. "Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's get back to fixing our snack. Kate, we're making some hot chocolate. Do you want some?"
"Only if I can help." Beckett answered.
"Then take off your coat and roll up your sleeves." Castle pointed to a cabinet across the room. "Grab another bowl from there and throw another batch of kernels in the popper."
Beckett smiled and shrugged her coat off. She hung it on the back of a chair and made her way to the cabinet. Martha went back to the living room with a grin on her face. Alexis got another cup down and turned to Beckett.
"Kate, do you want marshmallows?"
"Of course." Beckett chuckled.
As Alexis want back to filling the mugs with powdered cocoa, Beckett finished measuring out the kernels. She still couldn't believe she was here. The first few minutes had been kind of awkward, but that was mostly just because she felt awkward. Now it was surreal. She was in Castle's vacation home, making hot chocolate and popcorn with his family, on New Year's Eve. Suddenly, Castle bumped her hip with his. She looked at him, and her breath caught in her throat at the way his eyes were shining.
"I'm really glad you're here." He said gently.
"Me too." She whispered back.
And she was.
Two hours later, they had cleaned up the board games and the dishes, and were now settling in to watch the ball drop on tv. Martha was still in her arm chair, while Beckett and Alexis were sitting on the ends of the couch. Castle picked up the remote and plopped down between them. He pressed the power button and the sounds of music and crowds poured into the room from the surround sound speakers.
"I can't believe we almost forgot to turn this on." Alexis said as she curled into Castle's side and he put an arm around her shoulders. "We've never not watched the ball drop."
"That last game of scrabble got pretty intense." Castle laughed. "If we hadn't run out of tiles I think we'd have played straight on into the new year."
Beckett smiled as she tucked her feet up under her legs and looked at the tv. Dick Clark finished speaking and sent it down to Ryan Seacrest, who was saying something about some singer she'd never heard of. There were only a handful of minutes left until midnight, but she was still used to California time, so she didn't feel tired yet. She assumed it was the same for Castle and Alexis. As she glanced at them, a quiet, contented sigh slipped from deep within her. She no longer doubted her decision to quit her job.
The next few minutes passed in silence, the foursome focused on the events unfolding just a couple of hours away. Then the camera moved to the brightly lit ball and a moment later it started moving. All four of them counted down along with the people on tv, and when it touched down and the 2011 flashed on, they cheered. Martha started singing Auld Lang Syne and Castle kissed Alexis on top of her head. She sat up and kissed him on the cheek, then joined in the singing.
Castle looked over at Beckett, who still watching the camera pan around the crowd of happy people. Unable to resist, he leaned towards her to kiss her cheek. At the last possible moment she seemed to notice his movement and turned to look at him. Their lips met, albeit slightly off kilter due to the angle they were sitting at.
A single second that felt like an hour passed before Castle pulled away. He locked his eyes on Beckett's. What he saw in the deep emerald green staring back at him wasn't the anger or trepidation he'd expected to see. Instead he saw longing and excitement. To his surprise, Beckett smiled and started leaning back to him. He closed his eyes and involuntarily held his breath.
"Ahem." Martha said, stopping both Castle and Beckett from reconnecting. "Where's my New Year's kiss?"
Castle opened his eyes, but didn't move. An almost laughing Beckett was all he could see, and the sight warmed him completely. He sighed lightly, stood up, and walked over to Martha. As he leaned in to kiss her cheek, she grabbed the lapel of his shirt and held him close.
"Don't mess this up." She said. "I like her a lot."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mother."
"I'm just trying to look out for you."
"Happy New Year, Mother."
"Back at ya, Kiddo."
Martha let go of his shirt and he turned back to Alexis and Beckett.
"You know what it's time for?" He asked gleefully.
"Fireworks!" Alexis jumped up off the couch.
"Fireworks." Castle nodded.
"Fireworks?" Beckett stood up alongside Alexis.
"Fireworks." Castle repeated with a laugh. "Come on."
Alexis and Martha headed upstairs.
"I'll get your coat, Dad." Alexis called out as she ascended the steps.
"Thank you." He replied. "Kate, you should put your coat on too. Otherwise you'll be freezing by the time it's over."
Beckett walked over to where she'd hung her jacket earlier.
"Who does fireworks up here?" She asked Castle as he walked up next to her.
"I do." He answered. "I shoot them off from the beach, and Alexis and Mother watch from the balcony, so you can join them there."
"Isn't it illegal to shoot fireworks in New York?"
"Not if you have a permit."
"How'd you get a permit?"
"I know people." He grinned slyly, but it faded quickly into a much more serious expression. "Kate, I'm sorry about what happened on the couch. I know I promised I wouldn't try to kiss you again. I just got caught up in the moment."
"Two things, Rick." She started buttoning up her coat. "One, that promise was made a long time ago, and some things have changed since then." Having finished fastening her coat, she stepped even closer to him until her mouth was inches from his ear. "And two." She whispered. "I didn't just come here tonight to beat you in scrabble."
Before he could reply, she was sashaying her way out to the balcony. He still had a stupidly huge smile on his face when Alexis wordlessly put his coat in his hands before going outside. He was still tugging it on when Beckett stuck her head back inside.
"You coming, Castle?"
She drew out his last name, eliciting a shudder throughout his entire body. He nodded and finshed putting on his coat and trotted towards the door that Beckett had already gone back out.
"Mother, the show starts in four minutes!" He yelled over his shoulder as he went through the door.
"I'll be there!" She answered from the top of the steps.
Castle smiled at Alexis and Beckett, who were settling down with some blankets on the lounge chairs, then headed down to his stash of pyrotechnics.
