Chapter 14: Believing
"So?" Castle looks at her expectantly as she comes out to the waiting room. She had refused to let him go back with her.
"He said there isn't any permanent damage."
"And the headaches?"
"Should go away. But he says that sometimes it can last for months."
"Can he make any guess as to when?"
"Nope."
"Did he clear you for field work?" he asks, hoping for at least some good news.
"Nope. He wants me to come back next week, and then maybe he'll let me."
"So are we going in today?"
"No. He suggested taking a few more days off before going back in to do paperwork."
Castle stands and holds her coat up for her to put on, "What would you like to do today then, Detective?"
"I don't know."
"There's really nothing you want to do?"
"Look, Rick, you're being really sweet and all, but don't you have work to do?"
"No. You are my work."
She sighs, "You know I hate that."
"What? I didn't call you my muse. Besides, I've written over half the next book, and it's not due for another few months. I've got plenty of time. So what do you want to do?"
"Castle…"
"Anything you want, Kate. Please. Unless your head hurts too bad and you want to go home and rest."
"Sit in bed for another day?" she looks at him skeptically.
"Didn't think so. So where are we headed?"
Kate bites her lip nervously, "I kind of… want to visit my mother's grave. Dad and I always go on her birthday and on the day she died, and it's kind of in between the two right now. But you don't have to come with me when I do that."
"No, if that's what you want to do, we'll go there."
"Are you sure? You probably don't want to see me like that, Castle."
"Kate, I'm going with you. No, I don't like to see you upset, but I want to be there with you."
She nods, "Okay."
"Would you like to stop and get flowers on the way?"
"That'd be nice."
He leads her to the car but hesitates at the passenger door of his car, "Do you… want to drive?"
She looks at him for a moment before shaking her head, "You go ahead."
Half an hour later they are inside a florist shop a couple blocks from the cemetery. Castle follows her around as she tries to choose flowers. She finally turns to him, "I don't know anything about flowers, Castle. Dad normally takes care of the flowers, and they always look wonderful, but I don't know."
"Well… I don't know much about flowers either. Except women seem to like them. So let's go talk to the florist." Ten minutes later they are leaving the shop. Castle had insisted on paying for the flowers and had two extra boxes.
She frowns at him as they walk to the car, "Please tell you didn't spend that much. Three boxes, Castle?"
"Relax, Kate. Two of them are for later. And don't worry about how much money I spend; I make millions, Kate." He puts the two boxes in the car before putting a hand on her back to lead her to the cemetery. Once inside, he lets her guide him to the right grave. He hands her the box and removes his coat, laying it on the ground in front of the gravestone so that she can kneel down on it without getting full of snow.
She kneels down on his coat to arrange the flowers, and he tries to back away to give her some privacy. She turns back to him after a moment, then pats the coat beside her. He quickly joins her, trying not to make her feel uncomfortable. Once they have arranged the flowers, they sit back to admire their work.
Rick glances at her, seeing the tear tracks on her cheeks. He rests a hand on top of hers, trying to control his urge to pull her close to him and never let her go. "She'd be proud of you," he whispers.
She gives him a soft smile and wipes at the tears with her sleeve, "She'd like you, Rick. It's too bad you can't meet her."
They stay there silently for a few more minutes. She moves to stand, and he lets her go, joining her seconds later as he pulls his coat back on. She stares down at the gravestone for a full thirty seconds before turning to walk away. He follows a couple paces behind her. Suddenly she turns back around to face him and throws her arms around him.
He wraps his arms around her, drawing her as close as possible. "It's okay to miss her, Kate," he tells her, rubbing her back as she trembles with the tears that are falling.
Eventually she pulls her head back from being buried in his neck. "Thank you, Rick. For everything," she leans in to give him a gentle kiss. "I'm so grateful that I have you in my life."
He wipes at the tears on her cheek with his thumb, "Nothing can ever make me stop loving you, Kate."
"I'll always love you too," she kisses him again.
He lets this one last longer than the first but still keeps it short. "We don't need any more fan pictures spreading," he explains at her questioning look. "Come on. Let's go back to your place."
"Castle?"
"Yes?"
"You could have any girl in the world. Why me?"
"Because you're extraordinary, Kate. All the other girls… well, they each have a couple good qualities. But you… you're everything in one. You're more than I could ever have asked for, Kate."
"I guess soul mates could exist…" she gives him a soft smile.
"And do you believe we are soul mates?"
"I… don't know. It doesn't seem logical for us to work so well together, but… we do. And I wouldn't have it any other way."
A/N: Sorry for not updating yesterday. I kind of forgot with the whole zoology final and coming home thing. So... one more chapter to go. Hope you enjoyed this one. Please review.