Ghost on the Canvas
by Sandiane Carter and chezchuckles
Something nudges at her, trying to prod her awake. A feeling. A sense. It's difficult to rise from the deep, abiding dark of sleep, but that ping of awareness, that cop-sense, keeps at it. Doesn't let up.
When enough of the morning trickles through her brain, Kate opens her eyes, immediately knowing that something is wrong.
She turns over on her back and sees two people at the foot of her bed.
"Wha-"
"Morning, Katie."
"Beth?" She struggles to sit up, noticing Alexis next to her sister. "What's going on?"
"We made breakfast, but you're in the wrong room."
Kate rubs a hand down her face, checks the time. A little after 9. Wow. She slept in. Of course, it's been one of those weeks and this is all catch-up. "Let me get dressed, shower, and I'll come down to the kitchen."
Alexis is shaking her head, nibbling on her lower lip as if either afraid or amused.
Beth grins. "Nope. That's not the right room either. Right Alexis?"
Why is her sister here? Why is Beth in Castle's loft? "When did you get here?"
"Last night. Lex snuck me in. She's quick."
Kate turns to look at Alexis, surprised. The girl takes a hesitant step forward, her eyes on Beth as if for courage.
"We made breakfast, but we wanted to serve it to you guys on trays. You know, breakfast in bed. But-"
Here, Alexis stumbles and her eyes scuttle away from Kate's again.
"I'm up now. I don't mind coming down-"
Beth snorts and shakes her head. "That's not it, Katie. Alexis and I planned on serving you breakfast in someone else's bed. Hint, hint. And you're kinda ruining it."
In someone else's-?
Kate gapes at her sister, lunging forward to press her hands over Alexis's ears. "Beth!"
Alexis laughs and tugs on Kate's hands. "It was my idea."
"Alexis!"
"Come on, Katie. Up, up. You gotta get in bed with Rick so we can give you guys your breakfast."
"I am not-"
"Come on, please?" Alexis says, her eyes wide and round, blue sparkling, nose pert. She's a teenager, not a four year-old who's never had a real mother. Kate repeats it again to herself, ignores the way Alexis's face pulls at her heart.
"No. No, Alexis - Beth-"
She's not sure who she's irritated at more, or who deserves payback more-
And then Alexis has caught her wrist and Beth has her other wrist and they yank her out of bed and to the door. She could escape, certainly, but it would do damage.
"No. Beth, seriously, this isn't funny." She twists her arm around to break her sister's grip, but that just gives Alexis the opportunity to twine their arms together and march her towards the hall.
"Come on. Breakfast time. And Dad's bed is bigger."
"Alexis," she gasps. "No, no. You can't really want me to do that-"
"Oh, but I do. And I know Dad would too." Alexis tugs harder, and they all three stumble through the doorway and into the hall, and panic truly grips Kate now, tight. She tries to dig her feet in but her socks slide on the floor.
"No. Bethie please. Don't make me-"
"You gotta stop teasing Castle and just go for it, Katie."
"Beth!" Oh no. Alexis is hearing every word of this. That's not fair to the girl, to let her know there's even a hint of something, only to have it - just in case it - if it doesn't-
And Kate just woke up; she looks flat and scruffy, smells like yesterday's suspect capture. "Let me at least - Beth, please - let me at least shower!"
Alexis drops her arm and glances to Beth with concern etched on her features. "I - I think she's got a point. I wouldn't want to crawl in bed with a guy I liked if I'd just woken up and-"
Kate whipped her head around to Alexis, staring. "You better not be crawling into bed with a guy, period!"
Alexis's mouth drops and Beth laughs, but Kate really isn't sure it's so funny.
"Let me go, Beth."
"I think that's cute. You just mothered her. Adorable, Katie. And sure, take a shower, freshen up. But me and Little Castle - stepCastle - will be right outside the door waiting to take you to bed. His bed."
Alexis is blushing furiously, but Kate thinks she sees something in the girl's eyes, something poignant and needy.
And it scares her.
StepCastle?
Castle grunts at the noise and squeezes his eyes tighter. It can't be ten o'clock yet, because the ten o'clock sun hits him directly in the face and smacks him around a bit. A good thing for a stay-at-home dad/writer; he's got laziness timed perfectly that way.
And since it's not ten in the morning yet, that means he should definitely still be sleeping. Whatever that noise was, it's not his concern. His loft is secure, the killer is caught, it can't be anything that requires his attention.
A scuffling right outside his door. Ug. Seriously Alexis? What is this foolishness? As a member of the Castle household and a teenager, she knows better than this on a Sunday.
He pulls a pillow over his head just as he hears his door pop open and bounce against the wall. Ridiculous. He's gonna ground her. She's a terrible child. Terrible-
More scuffling, a harshly whispered No that's muffled but panicky, and sounds like Kate, actually, which is strange. If he concentrates, he can hear Beth too. Which isn't right. Beth?
He pulls the pillow away from his head to look-
Suddenly a body is dropped straight in his lap and he jerks upright, heart pounding, awake-
Kate gets to her knees and pushes wet hair out of her eyes, but she turns her glare behind her to where Castle now sees Beth, her sister, and Alexis, his daughter.
Both looking evil and happy.
"What are you doing?" he sputters. He reaches out like he's going to help her or. . .or something. But Kate has her balance.
Beth claps her hands together and rubs them. "Me and Lex made breakfast together for you guys, but we were expecting to find you in bed together, we didn't want to dish it up twice, so. . ."
Kate rocks backward, as if she's stunned, and sinks to her feet. "Beth."
"We thought, since you guys just had a hard case, pretty crazy according to StepCastle here, you'd like a nice, relaxing time. So we're starting up Sunday brunch all over again. With family. Right, Katie?"
Castle blinks and looks over at Kate. Step what? And brunch. And- "You made us breakfast?"
Beth laughs and Alexis looks a little less. . .wary. His daughter turns to the door, puts her hand on the knob. "So Kate. . .you're good? Because we have to get the stuff. And I'm afraid you're gonna sneak out."
Castle grins and catches the back of Kate's shirt with his hand, a wad of material in his fist. "Kate'll stay put. Go get food. I'm starving."
"You just woke up," she shoots at him, glaring.
"So?" When does the amount of time since awakening have anything to do with being hungry?
He feels Kate half-heartedly struggle, but Beth turns at the door and shoots her one last look. "Sunday brunch, Katie."
Oh. Just like their mom used to do. Well, that's just emotional blackmail, isn't it?
But when Beth and Alexis leave, Kate stays. She slumps a little, her head in her hands, which doesn't bode well, but instead of backing away, Castle tugs her backward.
Kate falls, limbs flailing, but he laughs and hauls her back with him to the headboard of his bed, stretching his feet out under the covers. Kate growls at him.
"Too sexy," he murmurs, his hand still on her back. "Save that for later. My daughter and your sister are probably listening at the door. And if not, they'll be back soon."
Kate laughs hollowly, sounding like it's completely against her will, but she relaxes a little more. She still doesn't lean back though, or get comfortable; she sits up straight, legs crossed, a little too much distance between them.
"That's not how you do it, Kate." He tugs on the blankets and flips them back, then slides an arm under Kate's legs and sweeps them out.
She yelps and grabs his shoulder for balance. "What are you doing?"
"Stop resisting my rugged good looks and my obscenely soft sheets," he mutters. "I'm trying to get you in bed with me."
"In your dreams."
"Yeah, usually. But you know, you don't always put up this much resisitance."
"Then it really is a fantasy, isn't it?"
"Well, in *those*, you put up a hell of a lot more resistance. My fantasies I mean. More like-"
She slaps her hand over his mouth and he tastes toothpaste. Castle pulls back (even though he'd rather lick her palm, see where *that* leads them), flips the covers over her legs and wraps an arm around her. "You showered. That's totally not fair. I'm all sleep-gross."
Kate turns to look at him, her eyes dark. "Not gross at all, kinda. . ."
He lifts both eyebrows in surprise. "Kinda what?"
Is she blushing? That look right there could be the Kate equivalent of blushing.
And then she leans in and gives him a soft, welcoming kiss, her fingers wrapped around his chin. He slides his hand to her neck, grips her still-wet hair, pulls her a little closer, tastes her.
When she breaks the kiss, so soft, oh wow, so soft, her fingers brush over his lips and down to his chest. She's got to feel how hard his heart pounds.
"Kinda adorable, Castle."
He blinks and looks at her, sees her, this woman in his bed (thrown in by her sister and his daughter, true, but still here), this woman who has kissed him like she's been waiting forever to kiss him just like that.
All kinds of beautiful sentiments rise in his chest like helium-filled balloons, squirming to get out, break free of his heart and drift off into the blue sky. He's entranced by her, unable to speak, and all he can really latch on to is this:
It's tomorrow. It's tomorrow and she kissed him.
Kate cannot believe she let Beth and Alexis – *Alexis* – drag her into Castle's bed. She's never quite known how to resist Beth, the constant flow of energy, of laughter that animates her sister, but this...
Oh, she hopes Alexis is really doing it of her own accord; she hopes, with all her heart, that Beth hasn't taken everything over. Kate closes her eyes, remembers the light in the clear blue eyes of Castle's daughter, her shy eagerness, and it dampens her concern.
Unfortunately, that also leaves more space for her growing awareness of Castle himself, and his hand rubbing feather-like circles at the small of her back, where her T-shirt stops and leaves some naked skin exposed.
It's all she can do not to lean back in his embrace and kiss him again, victorious and exacting this time, her body molding into his as she throws a leg around him –
Thank god Alexis and Beth come back before she has time to finish that thought.
The trays are wooden, very large, and seem to be overflowing with breakfast goodness. There's bacon and eggs and cereal, yes, but also French toast and jam and orange juice and muffins (did Alexis make those?), yogurt, and – Kate is certain that this is her sister's doing – a full bowl of strawberries.
It looks absolutely delicious.
"Oh, wow," she lets out, sincerely impressed.
The sight tugs at hollow places inside her, fills them, overshadowing her disappointment for missing breakfast with the Castles yesterday, offering a bittersweet echo to those times, long ago, when she and Beth brought trays to their parents for their birthdays.
Of course, Castle's enthusiasm makes up for her silence. He claps his hands in delight like a six-year-old, making an out loud list of everything included in their breakfast.
"Oooh, strawberries! And toast, and muffins! Best breakfast *ever*," he winks at the two plotters, Beth and her contented smirk, and Alexis who's grinning so wide that her face might crack any minute.
Kate can only agree.
Right then, Beth says, "Well, we'll leave you to it," and she starts moving towards the door. Panic flares into Kate's chest.
"No," she exclaims before she can control herself.
Three pairs of eyes fixate on her, with very different expressions. "I mean," Kate tries to smoothe the edge to her voice, "you girls have worked hard on this. It's only fair that you get to eat breakfast too."
Beth's eyes are laughing, knowing, and this doesn't bode well in her sister's opinion.
"We ate quite a bit while we were making it, you know. Had to taste everything, make sure it was good."
Castle's amused snort seems to suggest that he has similar culinary habits. Kate remembers yesterday morning and his wandering hand, venturing towards the bacon before everything was ready.
Not that it's a surprise, considering he also touches evidence at crime scenes and steals fries from her whenever they stop at Remy's for lunch. The surprise is how much she's come to like – love? – those impatient, restless, child-like ways of his.
Beth is still retreating, and Kate finds Alexis's eyes instead, smiling at the girl.
"You should stay," she insists more calmly. "Both of you. This is a family brunch, isn't it? And this bed is certainly large enough for the four of us. We'll scoot," she adds, amused at Castle's pout in her peripheral vision.
Alexis is easier to convince than Beth is; it only takes a warm, sincere, inviting look before the girl glances at her partner in crime and joins the breakfast party, sitting on the bed at Kate's feet.
Kate's sister assesses the situation and gives in gracefully, settling on Castle's side and stealing a strawberry from him. It gets loud protests out of him, which only encourages Beth to do it again.
The sweet-smelling food is just calling to Kate's stomach, and she gives in shamelessly, starting with the eggs and moving on to the bacon, then to the muffins. Those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches of last night were delicious, but they're not the kind of food that can last you for hours and hours on end.
She's vaguely aware of Castle commenting on her gluttony, but Alexis immediately jumps to her defense, recounting an anecdote about her father's own terrible eating habits, and Kate is left in peace, free to devote herself to those lovely strawberries.
When her hunger is somewhat assuaged, her attention switches back to the conversation that has been going on without her participation.
Alexis is saying, "And then our teacher asked what was so funny, and Justin just couldn't tell her, right? So he makes up that *ridiculous* answer about his aunt collecting the insects we were talking about –"
"Collecting insects?" Beth asks, her nose scrunched up in distaste. "That has to be the worst –"
"I know!" Alexis exclaims, laughing. "Everyone in the class did. And we were trying so hard not to laugh, you know, and then Lucy Evans just makes that high-pitched giggle, like she really can't help herself, and…"
"Oh, wait," Castle interrupts with a wide grin, "Is that Lucy the girl from the play last year?"
His daughter's brow furrows as she struggles to remember, and then her countenance brightens again. "Oh, yes! Yes, Lucy is the one who couldn't stop giggling and totally ruined the most dramatic scene of the play. See, even Dad remembers!"
"Well," Castle snickers, "it's, uh, not a sound you can really forget."
Alexis presses a hand to her mouth in that familiar, I-feel-so-bad-for-laughing-but-I-can't-help-it way, and Kate finds herself laughing too, completely relaxed now, feeling at home in Castle's bed, surrounded by her sister and his daughter. When Castle moves a certain way, his calf brushes with hers, and the sensation is ridiculously erotic, considering how very innocent their position is (especially compared to last night).
But this, this Sunday family brunch, the old tradition revived, is an entirely different thing, appealing in ways that she cannot fully define. It's so very…domestic.
And for the first time in many years – maybe the first time of her life – Kate Beckett finds that she doesn't mind domestic.
When the trays have been thoroughly emptied of their contents, Alexis and Beth smile at each other, as if sharing a private joke, and stand up, muttering something about leaving Kate and Castle some privacy. Beckett's offers to take care of the dishes are stubbornly turned down, and the door closes on the satisfied faces of the two girls.
As soon as they're alone, Castle wiggles his way back from a sitting position to a lying down one, and Kate, since she is so closely tucked into his side, has to follow suit.
Lies. She doesn't *have* to do anything; she's simply too comfortable to move, with Castle's thigh radiating warmth against hers even through his pajama shorts, his arm nonchalantly wrapped around her shoulders.
So she lets herself be brought down, her head finding a natural resting place against Castle's chest, her feet tangling with his under the sheets. This is nice.
This is so very, very nice.
The writer's light fingers trace the curve of her ear, twirl a lock of hair before coming back to caress her cheek, her jaw, her neck. Kate's eyes are closed, and she's trying to control her breathing when she feels his lips against hers, gentle, tentative. So warm and soft.
Something inside her chest clenches, because she realizes that those words she spoke last night – I could come home to this – those words, spoken in the dizziness of exhaustion and guilt, well… they're the truest she's spoken in a while.
She lets her eyelids slide open, meets Castle's eyes. Twin pools of blue studying her.
It hits her again, how she is in *his* bed, Richard Castle's bed. And oh, the things she wants to do to him...
But it'll have to wait, even though they don't have an audience anymore. She needs to talk to Beth first, make sure her sister doesn't pull this kind of trick again. Make sure Beth realizes there's no need for it.
Because yes, she's come to terms with the fact that Castle has her, and the reverse is also true – she has him.
And she has no intention of letting go.
The writer has a tiny frosted flake stuck at the corner of his mouth; Kate edges closer, gathers it with a sweep of her tongue. She chews it, taking her time, watching Castle swallow with some difficulty.
And then, because it's simply too much fun, she bridges the small gap left between them and takes possession of his mouth, ruthless, warlike. No prisoners. Castle's breath hitches in surprise and he lets out a small, high-pitched sound of need that travels straight through Kate, like little needles of desire driven into her belly.
Not now, her brain pleads with her body, as her hands slide under Castle's pajamas, claw on the soft, supple skin of his sides. Soon, just... Not now.
He nibbles at her lower lip and she groans, has to gather every fiber of concentration she can to finally move her hands from his waist to his shoulders, push him away.
But she does, and she presses her forehead to his, glad that he sounds every bit as breathless as she feels.
"I need to talk to Beth," she explains in a low voice, regretful.
"I know," he answers, surprising her.
He's watching her, a light smile on his lips, looking much more confident than he did when Alexis and Beth offhandedly dropped her into his bed. Kate likes this, likes the spark in his blue eyes, the relaxed, handsome lines of his face.
She wants him to trust her. She *needs* him to trust her, because then she can't disappoint him – she has to step up and be good, be what he needs. What he deserves.
Because he's trying, trying so hard, to be what she deserves.
"Are we good?" He asks quietly, like he's just making sure. There's still a glimmer of doubt flickering across his face, however, and Kate leans into him, hides her face into his neck.
She kisses his skin, her lips parted to taste him, breathing him in. Her hand comes up to rest on his chest, on his heart, and she makes a fist of his shirt, unsure whether she's steadying him, or herself. Maybe both.
His heart is beating fast and hard under her fingers, a hammer against his ribs, as if it's feeling her presence and is trying to come out, stretching for her touch.
"We're more than good, Rick," she whispers, her nose brushing against his jaw, her voice a melange of sultry and teasing. "We're extraordinary."
She feels the smile break out on his face, a mirror to hers; then his arms close around her, squeeze her into his chest, crushing a rib or two in the process.
She grits her teeth, because the bruises from yesterday are making themselves known; but Kate is determined not to ruin the moment, so she rides the pain coming in waves, lets it crash against the solid support of Castle's shoulders, until she finally relaxes in his embrace.
"That hurt, didn't it?" he asks, sounding sheepish.
Of course he would notice.
"I'll live," she shoots back lightly, more interested in the steady pulse of the blood in his jugular.
"You're extraordinary," he states, awe and tenderness lacing his words.
"We, Castle. We," she amends distractedly, her lips finding their way to his neck again, unable to help it. He shivers; she cannot tell if it's from her words or from her touch.
"We," he agrees quietly.
And she likes what she hears in his voice. She likes it a lot.