Author's note: So holiday weekend. No promises of how much I will write, but here is today's chapter at least!
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Even though it was a little chilly out – not really cold, just a bit brisk – Castle decided that the park had been a really good idea. He drove them out, parked the car and then put the two of them on one of the many walking paths that circled the park. Beckett slid her arm around him, her hand holding his belt like she had when they'd wandered the grocery store the day before, and as they walked, Castle filled her in on all that Esposito and Ryan had told him about the case thus far. Which wasn't that much, but enough to make her feel like she was actually part of things. And that made her feel better, he could tell, simply by the way her mood lightened as they walked.
Of course, another part could have simply been that she was glad to not be cooped up at home. He was glad they weren't stuck inside, too. He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked, and she leaned into his side, presumably to suck up a little warmth from him, but the closeness was nice, too, he decided.
Either the bright sun or the exercise – or a combination of both – were combining to give him a headache, though, and he finally had to call a halt to the walk and find a place to sit for a while.
"Are you hungry?" he asked her, seeing a hotdog vendor coming up on the pathway – and a bench nearby.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"Hotdogs?"
She hesitated.
"There's no way I can eat a hotdog without spilling on myself…"
"Neither can I," he pointed out. "They're supposed to be messy."
"Good point."
"You want one?" he asked, steering her over to the vendor, who smiled a greeting – and gave the detective's bandaged eyes a second glance before asking how he could help them.
She nodded, and told the vendor what she wanted on it. He fixed hers, and then made a similar one for Castle who asked for lots of extra napkins.
"I'm a messy eater," he said with a wink as he gathered the hotdogs and stuffed a couple of cans of soda into his pockets so he'd have a hand free to guide Beckett over to the bench. He paid the vendor and then the two of them went and sat down.
"This is going to be a disaster," Beckett predicted as he handed her the hotdog.
"It'll be fine," he assured her, making sure she was comfortable and then handing over the hot dog. "I'm going to put some napkins on your shirt…"
She nodded and he tucked a couple in as a bib and then a few more for extra measure. Her normal 'usual' wasn't too messy, really, but she looked nice and he wanted to make sure she stayed that way. Beckett took a bite and chewed appreciatively.
"So what else did you do this morning?" she asked, waiting to feel if anything dripped onto her. She didn't feel anything, though, and was a little more confident when she took the next bite.
"Talked to Alexis," he answered, his mouth full. "And then to my mother."
"Oh?"
He nodded, but again remembered that she wasn't able to see it.
"The ship was in port at some little island so they didn't have long to talk, but I let mother know what happened and suggested that when they dock back in Miami that she and Alexis spend a couple of extra days there shopping."
"Really? What did she say?"
"Are you kidding? She said yes. Alexis will be a little harder to convince I imagine."
"Why? Because she's a daddy's girl and will want to come home?"
He smiled.
"Exactly."
"I'm not worried about her seeing me like this…" Kate told him.
"Neither am I," he assured her. "But I'll be able to spend more time with you if they're in Miami. I suggested she wait to come home until Tuesday."
"My bandages come off Monday…"
"Yep."
She didn't say anything else, but she was touched that he was going to so much trouble to make sure he could take care of her. She took another bite of her hotdog, but leaned against him a little by way of thanks. He chuckled and gave her a quick once over to make sure that she hadn't spilled, and then he put his arm around her, hugging her close for a moment before turning his attention to his meal.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
They stayed in the park most of the afternoon, but eventually the chill drove them back to Beckett's. She was in a good mood, though, and glad for the chance to have gotten out and feel so normal after the last couple of days. Castle was good company at the best of times and it appeared that he was also someone to spend time with when it wasn't the best of times, because she was pretty sure that she wouldn't have had as good a time even with Lanie.
They still had an hour or so before they could start expecting the others to arrive and he offered to read her the paper while they waited. She accepted that offer and the two of them settled on the sofa. He started with the front page and literally worked his way through every part of the paper for her. The only thing he skipped was the entertainment section and the obituaries. He even read her the classified section, and they had a few laughs over what some people were selling and what some were looking for. He was just closing the paper when there was a knock on the door and Lanie let herself in, followed by Esposito and the Ryan.
All of them were carrying bags of something that smelled delicious and Lanie told Kate to stay where she was because they were making dinner for her and they didn't need help. Then she promptly told Castle to get into the kitchen because she needed help. He rolled his eyes but left Beckett sitting on the sofa and was put to work slicing garlic bread while Ryan went into the living room and offered Beckett a glass of wine.
"What did you guys do today?" Lanie asked, gesturing to Esposito to pour the already cooked pasta into a bowl.
"Went to the park. Ate hot dogs."
"How did that work out, Kate?" Lanie asked, knowing they were speaking loudly enough for Beckett to overhear.
"He says I didn't make a mess…"
"She didn't," Castle confirmed. "I, of course, splattered mustard on myself."
They put the meal together and Ryan and Castle set the table. The guys updated her on the case, but there wasn't anything new since that morning when Castle had been filled in so it didn't take long. It didn't matter, though; they were close enough that there was always something to talk about and the guys assisted Beckett with her meal in everyway they could without letting on that they were actually helping her. She smiled often, and clearly was having a good time.
After dinner was over, Beckett helped Ryan and Esposito clean up the table – sort of – and Lanie called Castle into the living room to help her set up a game of Trivial Pursuit – which didn't need a set of working eyes, just someone to read the questions. He went in readily, and was suddenly grabbed by the shirt and pulled into the bathroom, too shocked to even protest. Lanie shut the door firmly but silently and then turned on the water in the sink.
"Um… am I missing something?" Castle asked, confused.
"Shh!"
"What?"
He had a feeling Lanie had lost her mind.
"Kate told me what happened between you two," Lanie told him in a whisper.
Castle's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Nothing's happened between us," he protested.
"Well why not?"