Disclaimer: All these characters belong to ABC and Mr. Marlowe
A/N: Whoa. So it's been a while, I know, and I apologise for that, but I didn't abandon this. Long story short, not long after the last update I got appendicitis and had to have emergency surgery to remove my appendix. There were a few complications, so I had to stay in hospital for a while and ended up missing almost three weeks of university. Therefore, the majority of my recent time has been used to recover and catch up on all the work I missed, leaving me with pretty much no time update. To everyone who has reviewed or sent me a PM about the last chapter or my absence, I'm sorry I haven't replied but I hope this offers an explanation. You guys are seriously amazing and I appreciate every single one of you for reading, so I hope this massive delay hasn't lost any of you.
Anyway, moving on, FINALLY here is a new chapter for you (and it's a long one), so I hope you enjoy it.
Standing in her building's hallway, Kate forcefully turned her door handle and pushed, stumbling into her apartment. Once inside, she dropped her keys to the floor and leaned back against the door, effectively shutting it behind her.
Finally home, she closed her eyes and willed her body to loosen as she let the wooden structure support her weight. She was back in her own space, a place where she was meant to feel comfortable and in control, but all she could do was surrender to the tidal wave of unfamiliar feelings and emotions that were consuming her. She had no idea how to interpret or control them, but what she did know however, was that this was not meant to be happening.
Squeezing her eyelids even closer together, Kate used the silence of her apartment to focus on her breathing, coach her lungs into slowly expanding and contracting, but nothing was working. Her erratic heart was still pounding through her rib cage and her body continued to be set alight by a foreign rush of warmth. Damn it. Why couldn't she stop it? This was unbelievable. It had been a good twenty-five minutes since she had left Castle, but she still felt exactly the same as when he crowded her against the building, when she felt his body merge flush against hers, when his lips slowly descended and pressed to her own-
Taking a moment, Kate let out a definitive breath and pushed off the door. Pacing in her entry, she lifted her hands and dragged them down the front of her face, before finally allowing them to rest against the side of her cheeks.
What the hell was going on? They were getting along better, she knew that, but what just happened, what was happening, was-
He was Richard Castle for goodness sake. A man who couldn't seem to take anything seriously. Someone who treated life like it was his own ball of fun. She couldn't even bare to tolerate him four weeks ago. But now, now he has had this effect on her. That would be right. She was able to remain unaffected, undeterred by some of the hardest criminals in New York City, and here she was literally falling apart because of a kiss from some overgrown man-child.
Coming to a standstill, Kate roughly combed her fingers through her dripping hair in frustration and let out a groan. But it was a stupid kiss, she was quick to remind. A meaningless kiss. It didn't have to signify anything whatsoever. She just needed a chance to clear her head and quickly, since she was going to be seeing him again tomorrow.
With a new wave of determination consuming her, Kate strode into her bathroom and reached for the brass taps that hung on the wall. She'll simply have a shower. That was all she needed. She will soak her body and allow all of the unwanted thoughts and feelings to wash away and disappear.
Expertly peeling her drenched clothes from her skin, Kate inhaled a deep breath as she stood in only her bra and panties. Reaching out, she placed her hand under the spray of the shower, waiting for it to warm. Adjusting the temperature so it wasn't too hot, she removed her final garments before she tentatively stepped under the water. Immediately, she felt a sense of calm wash over her, her heart rate slow down and her body begin to relax as she allowed her body to be immersed by the soothing liquid. She had no reason to panic. None at all.
She would be fine.
"So, how are you today, Beckett?"
Kate kept her eyes on the murder board in front of her, reviewing the array of information and suspect photos. "I'm fine," she responded confidently, scribbling down a few query notes before facing Esposito. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," he replied far too innocently, before he lowered his head and focused his attention to whatever was in his hands.
Beckett capped her whiteboard marker and narrowed her eyes. Esposito was acting suspicious, but he wasn't alone. Ryan was sitting next to him, looking over his shoulder at something as they both failed to notice her stare.
Quickly dismissing them however, Kate took another brief look at the board, before she returned to her desk and sat down, opening up the case file. She had spent the majority of the morning chasing after a few stray leads and checking witness statements, but frustratingly nothing new was discovered. There was probably one small detail in these notes that would hold the key to the whole thing. Damn. They were going to have to go over everything again with a fine toothed comb.
"Hey, how are you guys going with those financials?" Kate questioned to her male colleagues as she shuffled through the notes.
Hearing nothing but silence in return, Beckett curiously lifted her head to find them softly chuckling to themselves. "Okay, there's no way you should look that amused from a pile of bank statements," she noted dryly, before searching for a highlighter in her top drawer. "Why aren't you two working?"
"Oh, we're just having a little break," Esposito began casually. "To, you know, do a bit of light reading."
Immediately recognising the taunting nature in his tone, Kate cautiously raised her head and looked in the direction of the two detectives. Both sat there, attempting to contain their grins as Esposito slowly lifted up the day's copy of The Ledger for her to see. "You would be absolutely shocked at some of the articles you can find in here," he sarcastically stated with a grin.
"Yeah, some of them are a great read," Ryan agreed with a definitive nod, as Esposito gazed upon the open pages held up straight in front of his chest. "Hey Esposito, what's that one about?" Ryan queried as he pointed to something on the page.
"Oh, you mean the one with the very interesting accompanying photo? Let me see," Esposito responded, acting oblivious as he returned his attention to the paper. "Richard Castle and New York Detective Official," he teasingly read aloud.
Listening, Kate widened her eyes and frantically pushed up from her chair, before she quickly power walked toward the pair. "Give me that," she sternly whispered, as she reached out and attempted to snatch the newspaper out of his grasp.
"Nu-uh," Esposito chuckled, now holding the paper against his chest and effectively out of her reach. "We haven't finished yet," he smiled.
Kate drew her eyebrows in a frown and placed her hands on the edge of the desk, leaning down above them. "Look, it wasn't anything. More specifically, it didn't mean anything, okay. So, just give me the paper," she whispered harshly as she took a cautious look around the bullpen. The last thing she needed was to draw more attention to herself and have the whole precinct discussing it. Well, probably discussing it even more.
"Nope," Esposito quickly retorted, watchfully opening the paper close to his chest and continuing to read. "Oh, by the way," he began as he briefly poked his head out from the offending tabloid, "Lanie said that she doesn't appreciate you ignoring her calls."
Kate let out a sigh, and pushed up from the desk so she could place a hand on her hip. "I haven't been ignoring them. I've just been...busy."
Well, at least that was kinda true.
"Come on, Beckett, even I don't believe that," Ryan replied. "So, just tell us. Is he a good kisser?" he continued, as Esposito pouted his lips in a kissing motion, sound effects and all.
Unamused, Kate kept her stern gaze as she offered a tedious response. "I'll tell you what. How about you both give him a smooch when he comes in and let me know?"
Chuckling, Esposito returned to his reading. "You know, it says here that you had tonsillitis and Castle even ate a tuna sandwich before you guys kissed. Seriously, what were you thinking?"
"What? Liz actually wrote that?" Kate questioned in shock, her mouth slightly agape. "After everything we said in that interview, that was what she deemed most important?" she said, as she hurriedly worked her way around the desk and took another lunge for the paper.
Fully aware of her intentions, Esposito rolled his chair back along the wooden floors and further distanced himself from her. "Whoa," he smiled, seemingly amused by her reaction. "I thought you didn't like to read your articles?"
Pausing, Kate retracted her hand and straightened her back. "I-I don't," she stammered.
"Good, well leave me to read in peace," Esposito instructed, before he dramatically opened up the newspaper once again. "Yo, Ryan," he chuckled to himself. "Can you believe she kissed him after he ate a tuna sandwich? Who does that? I mean, the whole sharing tonsillitis thing is disturbing, but tuna breath? That's just nasty!" he said, scrunching up his face at the thought, before lifting his head to look at his partner for support.
As soon as he did, his features straightened as Ryan gave an apologetic look and remained silent. "Dude," Esposito began in a serious tone. "Do not tell me you've kissed Jenny after she ate a can of fish."
Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind," he cautiously began. "Besides," he added, straightening up in his chair a little, "I like to believe that love...conquers all."
Shaking his head in mock disgust, Esposito turned back to Beckett. "Okay, ignoring lover-boy over there, no one does that unless they are sickly in love."
Kate let out a sigh and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "For the record, he didn't eat tuna and I don't have tonsillitis, so no, I'm not- sickly in love."
"What? You didn't even feel a little spark?" Ryan disappointedly sighed.
Keeping her features stern, Beckett remained calm. "No. Sorry to disappoint you, Ryan." Turning back to Esposito, she continued. "Now, moving on, how about you get rid of the paper and get me up to speed with where you two are on the case?"
"Oh man," Ryan moaned, tossing his pen on Esposito's desk. "I was totally rooting for you two."
"The case," Beckett sternly reiterated.
"Detectives, put the paper away and leave Beckett alone. We have murderers to catch, not celebrity gossip," Montgomery ordered as he walked into the bullpen, snatching the paper from behind Esposito on his way.
Relaxing her shoulders, Kate looked to Montgomery as he passed her. "Thank-you, Captain."
"You can however read all you would like on your lunch break,'' he said, turning back to the boys with a grin before entering his office, as Beckett stood in disbelief.
"Ha! See, even Montgomery's behind you two!" Esposito beamed.
Offering him one last glare, Beckett spun on her heels and strode to her desk, before picking up a pile of papers. "It meant nothing," she reiterated as she stapled the stack, forcing herself to remain focused.
"Hey, boys!"
Briefly looking up, Kate caught sight of Castle as he confidently strode into the bullpen with a smile.
"Hey, look who it is," Ryan grinned.
Pleased, Esposito greeted the writer. "Castle. Good to see you, Bro."
"Yeah, you too," he smiled as he finally directed his attention to Beckett. "Good afternoon, Detective."
"Hi, Castle," she responded, attempting to look busy at her desk.
"So, how are you guys going?" Castle questioned as he turned to the pair of male detectives.
"Yeah, we're good. Aren't we Ryan?" Esposito replied in a teasing tone as he turned to his partner.
"Yeah, we're real good," Ryan agreed. "But what about you Castle? How are you?" he not so innocently queried.
Oh no. Beckett knew exactly what they were playing at, and quickly shot the boys a warning glare. There was no way she was letting them bring up the article now.
"I'm- I'm good. Thanks. I think?" Castle hesitantly answered.
Adamantly closing the file on her desk, Beckett turned to a confused looking Castle. "Okay. You ready to go?"
"Yeah," he quickly agreed. "See you guys," he waved, as he followed Beckett in the direction of the elevator.
"You two have fun!" Esposito hollered after them.
"Castle, hurry up and make up your mind."
With his thinking face on full display, Castle took his time as he surveyed the menu board behind the counter. "Hmm. I can't decide if I just want the caramel syrup with foamed milk, or if I want no foam, but the cream and chocolate flakes on top instead."
Impatiently standing next to him, Kate rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just order a normal coffee?"
"Hey, you added your two pumps of sugar-free vanilla to yours, now it's my turn," Castle defended, continuing to weigh up his options. "Besides, normal is boring."
"Normal is also quicker," she was quick to rebut. "Castle, we aren't going to get a table."
Peeling his eyes away from the list of coffees on offer, Castle turned, taking in the rows of bookshelves before he noticed the small eclectic styled tables behind them. She was right, they probably weren't going to be getting a table any time soon.
"That's alright. We can just get our coffees to go and walk around and look at all the books. It is a cafe and bookstore after all. Technically the two are meant to correlate," he mumbled as he turned back to the displayed list. "Hmm, maybe I should just get some marshmallows on the side instead..."
"Seriously?" Kate sternly said as she offered him a fed-up glare.
"Okay, okay, I'm going. How about you start looking around and I'll go order?"
"Fine," she responded, as she spun around and headed in the direction of the shelves.
Now that he was alone, Castle let out a breath. This was good. So far everything was going well. He was fine. Kate seemed fine. Nothing had to change.
Choosing to take one last glance at the menu board however, Castle's eyes caught onto something written on the bottom right hand corner that he had failed to notice before.
Squinting, he read the sentence out loud to himself. "Today's quote of the day; 'A kiss that speaks volumes is seldom a first edition.' - Clare Whiting."
Oh boy. Castle suspiciously darted his eyes around the immediate area, before locking his gaze back on the quote. Whoa, that, ah-
No, he wasn't going to draw any meaning from that whatsoever. It wasn't like they were any mystical, fortune-telling words of wisdom that were personally directed to him. It was just a random quote, plucked out of a random book, and randomly chosen to be written down today.
...which coincidentally happened to be the day after he just kissed Kate.
But no. It was best not to think about it.
Finally making a decision and ordering their drinks (he went for the white coffee with hazelnut syrup and whipped cream), Castle cleared his throat and made his way over to Kate.
"So, find anything that peaks your interests?" he questioned, as he came to stand beside her in front of a shelf of books.
"Hmm, I'm still browsing," she shrugged, "But I think I found a book for you."
"Really?" Castle questioned, somewhat intrigued.
"Yeah, and it's perfect," she said with a teasing smile as she held out a copy of 'The Encyclopaedia of Immaturity.'
"Oh, look at you thinking you're so funny," he sarcastically commented as she chuckled, placing the book back on the shelf.
"So, where are our coffees?" she queried, noting to his empty hands.
"Oh, they're coming. Just a bit of a hold up, so I figured instead of waiting around the counter I would come to see what you were up to," he shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets.
"Right," she cautiously replied. "So do you come here much?"
"Nah, not really," he began. "What about you?"
"Ah, yeah, actually I used to come here a bit when I first became a cop. I loved the way you could smell the history of some of these books mixed with the freshly brewed coffee as soon as you walked through the door. Not only that, but you could never know what hidden treasures you might find."
Castle smiled in agreement before his eyes locked on something on the shelf. "Ooh, speaking of, check out this one," Castle gushed as he pulled out a colourful book.
"What is it?"
"'The art of Mind Reading'. Awesome!" he chuckled as he flicked through the pages. "Imagine if I could be telepathic just like Karma. That would have to be the best superhero power ever. Oooh, I wouldn't even have to ask Alexis where she's been anymore. I could just pluck it straight from her brain!"
"Castle, you can't become telepathic from reading a book," Kate rolled her eyes as she began to make her way down the aisle.
Following her, Castle took the book with him, flicking through the pages. "I should've known you would've been a sceptic."
"It's not being sceptical," Kate retorted as she briefly spun around to face him, "It's called realistic."
"Huh, we'll see," he mumbled as he continued to read.
'Step one: Make sure you believe'.
Hmm, that one can be ticked off.
'Step two: Carefully choose an individual and concentrate to receive their energy frequency.'
"You... are crazy," Kate offhandedly noted as she came to a stop and pulled a novel out from the shelf.
"Or maybe you're crazy and I'm the normal one," he muttered as he stood next to her and began to lean his head towards her, eyes narrowed in deep concentration.
"Ha! Yeah right!" she exclaimed, finally turning to face him. "There is absolutely no way- what are you doing?"
"Shhh. I'm trying to read your mind," Castle responded, scrunching up his face even harder as he relentlessly tried to hear her thoughts.
Unhappy, Kate frowned and shoved on his chest, causing him to stumble back. "Stop it."
"Why? I thought you were a, what was that, a realist who didn't believe in sudden telepathy?" he tested with a quirk of his eyebrow.
"I am. But it's still...creepy," she snapped as she turned and began to walk away from him.
Placing the book back on the shelf, Castle slowly followed as he continued to browse over the shelved literature.
"By the way," Kate began, breaking the silence, her back still somewhat facing him. "Next time don't forget about the super heroines."
"What?" Castle chuckled to himself as he picked up a slightly stained copy of 'A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth', before returning it to its position.
"You said before that you could be telepathic just like Karma, and I'm saying don't forget about the girls such as Jean Grey or even Saturn Girl. They were telepathic too," she casually mentioned.
Pausing, Castle slowly lifted his head and stared at her in shock as she continued to casually gaze over the vibrant spines.
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Hey, I'm a female detective. I literally work in a man's world, so forgive me for being about girl power."
"No, I didn't mean it like that," Castle said as he shook his head, taking a hesitant step towards her. "I meant- You read comics?"
Kate turned to face him and offered a definitive nod. "Well, not so much now, but when I was younger I loved them."
Castle stood there, completely dumbstruck as he allowed a beaming grin to escape his lips. He never, ever would have pegged her as a comic book fan.
"Why is that so hard to believe?" Kate questioned with a frown as she caught on to his expression.
"Because...it's you!" he exclaimed with a high pitched tone. "You don't like anything!"
"And what's that meant to mean?" she frowned, folding her arms across her chest and taking a step closer to him.
"No, it's just- that's something I like, and you like it too-" he quickly fumbled.
"Yeah, sure," she scoffed, before turning back to the books. "Oh, and just so you know, telepathy would totally not be the best super power ever."
"Really? You're going to go there?"
"You know what?" she answered, placing her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. "Maybe I am."
Castle smiled. She was challenging him.
Fully captivated, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and straightened up a little. "Okay then, Miss. Judgemental. What superhero power would you choose?"
Kate remained opposite him as she stared him down. Seemingly contemplating her next move, she lightly grinned and drew her lower lip between her teeth.
Whoa, that was kinda- whoa. Castle had seen her do it before, sure, but witnessing it now, merely twenty-four hours after he had sucked on that same lip-
Oh no. Where did that come from? And now he was staring at her lips. Great work, Castle. Real discrete.
"Kick-ass ninja skills," she thankfully answered, breaking his spell.
"What?" he squeaked, face frowned in disbelief. "That is so lame! What about invisibility, or shape shifting, or flexibility-"
Kate raised an eyebrow at him for his last suggestion. "It is not lame! What about Elektra? She was highly skilled in martial arts and she had her own comics."
"Yeah, but on the scale of awesome-ness, my superpower would be up here and yours would be way down there," he informed, using his hand to indicate the disparity between the two.
"Well the scale of awesome-ness clearly needs to go in for a service cause you are way off."
"Oh! Mock me all you want but leave my scale of awesome-ness out of this!" he sternly whispered, trying not to create too much of a scene to those around them. The last thing he needed was reports of them fighting on a date, despite how entertaining and engaging it was...
Smiling to himself, Castle looked back to her. "Is this our first couple fight?" he thought out loud, interrupting any rebuttal she was about to come up with.
"What?" Kate queried, slightly taken aback. "No, we argue all the time. Besides," she began before she looked around to ensure no one was near, "We aren't a real couple, Castle, so technically we can't have a first couple fight."
Hmm, good point. "Yeah, but- okay, never mind. How about you just admit that telepathy is better and we will leave it at that?" he nonchalantly suggested.
"I will not! With my powers I could just beat you up and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it!"
Castle had to put on his best poker face to suppress his laughter. This was amazing. Arguing with her like this caused a strange kind of adrenaline rush to spread through his body, and he was enjoying this superhero-esque Mexican standoff thing they had going. Not to mention the way she was kind of getting worked up about it. No, there was no way he could let her win this one.
"Nope, you see that's where you're wrong. Your powers would be useless against mine as I would simply be able to read your mind and anticipate every move you would make," he smugly informed.
Receiving no comeback from her as she silently stood in front of him, Castle let out a beaming smile. "Ha! I win. That looks like Castle is on one, and Beckett has a big fat zero."
"Wait..." she began, trying to come up with a response.
"Nope," Castle shook his head, pretending to look at the shelves of books next to them. "Case closed. The jury can be excused."
"There is no way this conversation is over!" she harshly whispered, stepping closer to him.
"Ah, I think it is," he smiled, his eyes now locked on hers.
"You know what, I'm suddenly starting to feel that a break up is very imminent," she sarcastically frowned at him.
"Oh, that would be right. Take the most drastic action," he replied, taking a step in her direction. They both stood in the middle of the aisle, barely a foot of distance between them as they stared each other down, both too stubborn to budge.
"Oh no, honey, don't break up with him," came a voice from behind Castle's shoulder.
"I'm sorry?" he questioned, as he spun around to face an eccentric middle-aged woman.
"Oh, I don't mean to pry. I'm Deloris," the woman confidently introduced, "And I couldn't help but overhear your little fight, and I just wanted to say to your girlfriend over there, that she should think things through before coming to any rash decisions."
Uh-oh. This was not good. Briefly looking at Kate who looked as shocked as he did, Castle uneasily turned back to the woman with a chuckle. "Oh no, we weren't fighting. We were simply...having a robust discussion. We're just fine."
Deloris simply nodded her head, before reaching out to touch Castle's shoulder. "Maybe you two should consider couples counselling," she not so discretely whispered in his ear.
She pulled back and looked at Kate with a wink, before opening up her handbag. "When my husband Phil and I were having our disagreements, we went to see a Dr. Steinberg. I think I have his card in here somewhere," she mumbled as she rummaged through her bag. "Oh, here you go," she smiled as she held out a small card to Kate.
"Oh, thank-you," Kate attempted to politely smile, taking the card from the woman.
"I must tell you; this doctor is a miracle worker," Deloris nodded. "I mean, after a few sessions with him, Phil and I were in bliss. We were literally inseparable!" she exclaimed as Kate turned to Rick, her eyes wide, pleading with him to do something.
Rick opened and closed his mouth, attempting to form a sentence, when Deloris wrapped her hand around his bicep. "You know, for our anniversary my Phil even bought us matching jogging tracksuits. Custom made. And not only that, but we felt like we were right back on our honeymoon. I mean, the sex was amazing! Phil turned into a sex machine, and we would find ourselves tangled on the table, the floor, ha, oh god even in the-"
Receiving a sharp elbow into his side, Castle stumbled forward and quickly spoke before Deloris could share anymore.
"Ah, thank-you, Deloris, for the card and for that fine imagery," Castle sarcastically smiled. "But I can assure you, we're fine."
Apparently spotting her exit, Kate turned to Castle. "You know what, I think I might go and see if our coffees are ready," she smiled. "Thank-you, Deloris," she farewelled as she walked past the woman and into the direction of the counter.
Abandoned, Castle watched Kate disappear amongst the rows of shelves before he turned to Deloris. "It was nice to meet you, but I, ah, I better go help her," he said as he smiled and began to walk, pointing to the way Kate just went.
"You know, don't think I don't recognise you two," the woman smiled.
"Pardon?" Castle questioned as he spun around to face her.
"Richard Castle and Kate Beckett, right? I saw your photo in the paper today, and I must say, the way you two were kissing like that, and in the middle of such a storm? It just looked...magical," she beamed in a dreamy voice.
"Oh," Rick nervously laughed. "Thanks, but ah, it was just a kiss," he attempted to casually dismiss.
"Just a kiss?" she repeated in shock. "I don't think I've ever seen an image like that before and labelled it as 'just a kiss.' You make sure you hold on to that one," she said before walking past him with a knowing smile. "Even I can tell that you two have something special."
Absorbing her words, Castle's smile slowly faded as Deloris headed to the register. What did she even mean by something special? Kate was different to anyone he had ever met before, he knew that, but that didn't mean-
"Hey," he heard, as he whipped his head around to find Kate standing next to him, holding out his coffee. "So, she finally left," she noted.
"Yeah," Castle sighed, tentatively grabbing his warm drink and remaining in a partial daze.
"Everything okay?" she questioned, eyeing him curiously.
Inhaling a deliberate breath and releasing it, Castle turned to Kate with a smile. "Yeah. Come on. Let's go check out the next aisle."
Returning home to his silent loft, Rick placed his keys on the bench and headed straight to his office.
It was just a kiss. Why was that so hard to believe? People kissed all the time, so it didn't have to mean anything. Although, that really didn't stop him from thinking about it.
Seriously. Why couldn't he stop thinking about it?
They only stayed at the bookstore for a little over an hour; talking mainly about the case Kate was working on, but the whole time he couldn't get it out of his head. He was doing perfectly fine before stupid Deloris came along.
Okay, maybe he wasn't, but he was certainly doing better.
Rick rubbed his palms against the side of his face. He simply needed to focus on something else. Find a distraction.
Taking a look around the room, his eyes lit up as he glanced at his large leather chair. Ah-ha. Writing. Yes. He could always count on Derek Storm to help him out.
Smiling, he made his way to the seat and eagerly sat down, opening up his laptop. Wriggling his fingers out in front of him, Rick slightly poked his tongue out in thought before he let his fingers drop and began to write, picking up right where he left off.
Storm firmly pressed his foot on the brake of his car, but it was no use. He was completely helpless and could do nothing except close his eyes as the vehicle flew off the edge of the dock and into the depths of the Hudson.
Looking at the lines on the screen, Castle smiled to himself. This was perfect. Letting out a satisfied chuckle, he continued.
As soon as he hit the water, Storm was overwhelmed by the icy temperature. Sharp pain shot through his body, the intensity almost paralysing and like nothing he had ever felt before. His heart was pounding, he was nervous, but he didn't know why. Although, as soon as he pressed his lips to hers, time stood still, and just for a moment, everything felt right. Her lips were soft as they almost perfectly shaped around his, and that was when he knew. He never wanted to leave this moment. Never wanted to stop kissing-
Whoa. Rick hurriedly lifted his fingers from the keys and stared blankly at the small flashing cursor on the page, calling for him to continue.
This was ridiculous.
Closing his laptop, Castle stood and walked out of his study before sitting down on the couch with a huff.
"Uh-oh, that's never a good sign," he heard someone mumble from behind.
Turning around, Rick's eyes locked onto his mother as she descended the stairs. "Oh, you're home," he mumbled in response.
"Yeah, just been organising a few things upstairs," she informed as she made her way over to the couch and sat next to him. "So, what's bothering you?"
"Oh, nothing," he answered nonchalantly.
"Please, I'm your mother. I can tell when something is wrong," she sympathetically enlightened. "So, spill it, kiddo."
Castle let out a deep exhale. She was his mother, and she wasn't going to leave until she knew that he was okay. But he couldn't even figure out what was going on, let alone explain it out loud. And the last thing he needed was an 'I told you so'.
Tentatively looking at her, Castle sat up a little straighter. "Ah, it's not me," he cautiously began.
"No?" his mother questioned, her state of surprise expressed through her tone.
"No. It's, ah, it's my buddy," Castle continued, watching her reaction carefully. "Ray."
Martha leaned back sceptically. "Since when did you have a buddy called Ray?"
"Please, Ray and I go way back," he nervously chuckled.
Okay, so this plan obviously wasn't going so well.
Despite her doubt however, Martha dropped it, relaxing her shoulders and tilting her head. "Okay, so what is Ray's problem?"
Letting his smile fall, Rick considered her before cautiously beginning. "Well, Ray has been..."
Pausing, he let out a frustrated sigh and slightly shifted in his seat before attempting again. "There's this woman and..."
He couldn't do it. He was able to write twenty-six bestsellers and he couldn't even form a sentence. Pathetic.
"You know what," he began with a look of defeat, "Forget about it." Rising to his feet, Castle prepared to return to his study when he was stopped by an insistent hand around his wrist.
"Hold on," Martha said warmly, tugging his body back towards her. "Sit back down."
Listening, Rick avoided his mother's gaze as he unenthusiastically returned to the couch. "Now, this has nothing to do with a certain homicide detective has it?" she honestly asked.
Slightly jerking his head back, Rick tried to remain calm. "Mother, I told you I was talking-"
"Yes, yes, talking about Ray," Martha finished for him. "But you know what?" she began, reaching down to the coffee table positioned next to her at the side of the couch. "I don't believe you," she said as she held out the paper for him to see.
Looking down, Castle felt his blood rush through his veins as he was met with a very large image of him kissing Kate.
Giving him a moment, Martha regarded him before continuing. "What's going on, Richard?"
"Nothing. Nothing's going on," he quickly responded.
"Well this sure doesn't look like nothing," she exclaimed. Placing the paper aside, she turned back to her son. "Alexis told me that you were acting strangely when you got home yesterday." Rick sighed and shuffled in his seat. He knew where she was getting at, but she took a moment to watch him, before speaking. "You felt something, didn't you?"
"What? No. Of course not!" he dismissed, scrunching his face in disagreement.
"You sure about that?" Martha questioned, raising her eyebrows.
Letting out a nervous chuckle, Castle responded. "Mother, I'm a writer for goodness sake. A writer with a keen sense of attention for detail. I think I would know if I felt anything for her..." he argued.
The look on his mother's face however, said it all. She didn't believe him. Although, he didn't exactly believe himself either.
"Okay, hypothetically, so what if I felt...something. People kiss all the time. I mean, the chances of probability are that you are bound to feel something every now and then. It's purely logical. And the only reason why I kissed her in the first place was because of the press. I mean, it was raining and she slipped, and we were already standing so close. It wasn't like I was drawn to her or anything...okay, so maybe I was drawn to her, but still, that can't be such a strange thing, can it? And my heart, well that was already pounding because I was worried that she was going to fall, and the shiver that I felt when I kissed her, well that could be explained by the weather since we were drenched after all, and-"
Catching on to his mother's face, Rick paused and took a chance to collect his breath, realising all that he just confessed.
"Richard, you need to tell her," Martha reflectively advised.
"Tell her what?" he helplessly questioned. "'Oh, hi, Kate. It's me, your fake boyfriend. I know we're forced to spend time with each other and we argue all the time, but hey, I think I felt a spark when we fake kissed. Thoughts?'"
"Well, at least it's a place to start," his mother admitted. "Look, just remember that all is fine now as this arrangement you have going continues. But what are you going to do once it's over? You have two weeks, Richard. Two weeks until that girl is going to walk out of your life. What are you going to do then?"
Next chap up soon :)
BareWriter