Chapter 21: Relaxing at Home...The Body Found Her
Kate made it home and saw the police detail outside her building. She went upstairs and entered her apartment to find Alex standing at the counter serving up the Chinese take out onto plates. Kate smiled at the sight and then turned to lock the door behind her. She called the car downstairs and sent them away, not wanting or needing Shaw's detail.
She turned to face Alex and asked, "Mmmm...what smells so good in here? Besides you I mean."
Alex chuckled, "Chinese. I brought you dumplings and cashew chicken. There's also some noodles in the take out containers and some spring rolls. You can also have some of mine, if you want. I got the shrimp lo-mein."
Kate walked around the counter and hugged Alex from behind, nuzzling her neck, "Mmm...I missed you today. I'm sorry we couldn't have lunch together."Kate began kissing Alex's neck, trying to bribe the blonde into forgiving her.
Alex lowered her head, "It's ok. I know it's part of the job sometimes. How were things after I left?"
Kate groaned, "They went from bad to worse. Another body popped up and now it's missing. This guy has all of us chasing our own tails." Kate tightened her grip on Alex, suddenly afraid that this psycho would step up his delusion and try to kill her...or worse, that he'd find out about Alex and try to hurt her just to get to "Nikki." Kate whispered, her voice trembling a little bit, "I love you Alex."
Alex could sense that Kate was in bad shape and she gently pulled out of Kate's grasp so that she could turn around and look at her girlfriend, "I love you too, Kate. We're going to get through this case together, ok? Come on, let's eat something and then I'll hold you."
"Ok baby, but let me change into something more comfortable, I've been in these clothes all day. Give me five minutes?"Kate kissed Alex then began walking towards the bedroom.
Alex carried the plates to the living room while Kate went to go change. She went back to the kitchen to get the rest, but she opted to open a bottle of wine first. She figured a little drink couldn't hurt. Kate seemed like she needed something to calm her nerves.
In the bedroom, Kate took a few deep breaths then she quickly changed into a purple yoga shirt and black sweat pants. It wasn't the sexiest outfit she owned but she knew that Alex wouldn't mind. Kate went back into the living room and smiled when she saw the plates laid out on the coffee table. She sat down on the couch next to Alex and took the wine glass the blonde was holding out for her. She took a quick sip and then she started to eat her dinner, but she wasn't sure she could call it eating since she was basically picking at it. Her appetite was practically non-existent.
Alex was enjoying her shrimp, but she soon noticed that Kate was barely eating. She set her chopsticks down and asked, "Honey, you can talk to me...whatever you're thinking about, whatever you want to say, I'm here."
Kate put her chopsticks down and turned to face her girlfriend, "Alex, just how, big a fan are you of Nikki Heat?"
"I enjoyed the book and it makes me smile when I think about her being based on you...though I'm not too thrilled about her relationship with Rook, but you know, it doesn't stop me from liking it. Why?"
Kate dropped her head and stared at her folded hands as she said, "Because this case, the guy we're looking for, he...he thinks I really am Nikki Heat and he's...he's killing people to taunt me. He wanted to get my attention and prove that he's smarter than Nikki Heat."
Alex took a minute to let that soak in and she moved closer to Kate. "Honey, I'm so sorry. I mean, it's not your fault what he's doing, but I know how this must be eating at you. You're a wonderful person and you'd never want anything like this to happen, let alone for such a stupid reason." She rubbed Kate's knee, "You're going to get him, ok? You're smart and you'll find the son of a bitch."
Kate bit her tongue. She desperately wanted to say that if she was really so smart, she would've found the guy by now or at least have an idea of who he was. The fact that she didn't was killing her, but she knew that she couldn't say it. Suddenly, her appetite vanished and she turned to Alex, "I hope so. But right now, I just need you to hold me, please?"
Alex nodded, "Here or in our room?"
"Here's good, you can still reach your food. I'm not hungry anymore but I want you to eat."Kate shifted and leaned back into her lover's arms. She sighed in relief when she felt the warmth of Alex's body so close to hers.
Alex rocked her just a little and rubbed Kate's tummy, her chin resting on Kate's shoulder, "I love you so much, Kate Beckett. We're going to get through this."
Kate leaned her head back on Alex's shoulder and tilted it upward so her nose was grazing Alex's earlobe. She whispered, "I love you too, Alex. It means so much to me that you said 'we' by the way. I was so worried that this stalker thing would scare you away or make you keep your distance." Kate snuggled deeper into Alex's arms to confirm how wrong she had been to even think like that. "Oh by the way, Agent Shaw of the FBI knows about us."
"Baby, I've" she cut herself off before she mentioned that she'd been through this before with Olivia when an obsessed killer murdered four people in her name and opted to move on to the subject of Agent Shaw instead. "She does? You told her?"
Kate was too distracted to notice Alex's cut off statement, so answered her about Shaw. "Yeah I did. She's a great profiler when it comes to criminals but she got it all wrong with Castle and me. She was so sure of herself that she asked Castle and I how long we've been sleeping together. Can you believe that?"
Alex chuckled, "I can, unfortunately. The relationship in the book doesn't help, but even without that, people might assume certain things about the two of you. He's into you..."
Kate frowned, "Yeah I know he is...but I'm with you, which is what I told Shaw. I even told her you were a woman. She asked me what my boyfriend did and I said that she is an ADA in Manhattan. You should've seen the look on her face."Kate smiled as she remembered the surprised look on Shaw's face.
"Priceless?"Alex asked with a grin.
"Definitely worth the price of admission."Before Kate could say anything else, she heard the floorboards in the hallway creak. She knew exactly which board it was and she knew that whoever it was, was almost to her door. Kate lifted her finger to her lips to signal for Alex to be quiet and quietly got up from the couch and went to the drawer near the door where she'd put her gun when she got home.
She motioned for Alex to go to the kitchen and take her cell phone with her in case they needed to call 9-1-1. Once Alex was in the kitchen, Kate slowly approached the door and quietly slid the chain off before quickly opening it. She pointed her gun right at...Castle's head. "Castle? What are you doing here?"
He held up a bottle of wine and said, "Alexis and my mother were out for the evening, I thought I'd come here to hang out with you guys. What happened to the detail?"
Kate stepped aside to let him in and then called out to Alex, "Alex, it's just Castle." Kate turned to back Castle, "I sent them home after I got in. I'm armed and the doors and windows are all locked so don't give me that look."
Alex came out of the kitchen and said, "Hi Castle. I hope you know you scared the living daylights out of me."
Castle had the good sense to at least look apologetic, "Hi Alex, sorry about that."
Kate went back to sit on the couch and she tapped the spot where Alex had been sitting. She didn't care that Castle was there; she needed to be held by her girlfriend.
Alex sat down and took Kate into her arms. She looked over at Rick and said, "Have a seat. Do you want some of ours before we open yours?"
Castle picked up the bottle and saw that it was actually a better wine than the one he'd gotten. "Thank you Alex." He poured himself a glass and said to Kate, "I'm glad to see you're taking Agent Shaw's advice about relaxing."There was something in his tone that irked Kate and reminded her of that feeling she had earlier about losing her friend.
"Oh, well you know me. If Special Agent Shaw says to relax, who am I to say no?"Kate's tone was sarcastic at best.
Alex rubbed Kate's arm to calm her when she heard the tone. She looked at Castle and shook her head subtly, warning him not to mention Shaw again. Unfortunately, Castle didn't always think before he spoke and he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
Thanks to Alex's touch, Kate had calmed down enough to tease Castle a bit, "Nothing, I just see the way that you listen to her, the way that you look at all of her fancy equipment. So now my murder board's not enough for you? You need a SmartBoard instead?"
"Babe, are you jealous of Agent Shaw?"Alex asked as she resumed her stroking of Kate's arm.
"What? No I'm not jealous. I'm just...embarrassed by the way he acts like a 10 year-old, all impressed with her data matrix." She turned to Castle and mockingly paraphrased him, "'Oh it collates information so quickly, Agent Shaw. Tell me all about it.'"
Castle shook his head, "You are being ridiculous."
Kate wouldn't let it go though, "And to top it all off, now you're building all your theories with her."
Alex watched the two of them debating over this agent and decided it might be better to just stay out of it.
Castle shrugged, "I'm just trying to catch this guy. The longer he's out there, the more people are going to end up dead. No one wants that, remember?"
"Yeah but you're supposed to be building theories with me. You're supposed to be on my team."
Castle was a bit confused, "I thought we were all on the same team?"
"We are I just...I think if you have an insight you should run it by me first."
Castle agreed, "Ok, from now on I will. Whatever it takes to make you feel better."Then he took a sip of his wine. He looked at Alex, a question in his eyes asking what that was all about, but Alex just shrugged. Luckily Kate didn't catch any of their exchange as she'd turned away to grab her glass of wine off the coffee table.
"Look, I think we're all a little edgy because of the state of things. Why don't we just put on a movie and try to keep our minds off of it, ok?"Alex offered hoping to calm the animosity. She hated seeing Kate like this.
"Huh?" Kate turned to look at her girlfriend, "Yeah, ok, sounds good." Then she asked Castle, "Feel like sticking around for a movie?"
He nodded, "Sure, but before we get started, I...I wanted to make an offer. I feel like I should stay here for the night since you sent the detail home. I know it sounds cliche, but I'm a guy and...I could protect you. I'm good with a gun, which Kate can testify to, and I'd just feel better...What do you say?"
Kate turned to look at Alex and she smirked, "Babe, you know I have a gun that I can legally use, but it's up to you."Kate was willing to give Alex the chance to decide if she wanted some extra protection or not.
Alex was going to pay Kate back for putting her on the spot later. She knew that Castle wouldn't try anything and whether he was a guy or not, Alex felt more secure having three people there instead of two. "Rick, you can stay here for the night."
Kate turned to Castle, "On the couch and if I see the doorknob to our bedroom turning, I will shoot you, got it?"Kate gave him her patented glare.
Castle lifted his hands in surrender, "I promise I will not go near your door."
Alex squeezed Kate and then said, "So, what are we watching?"
Kate thought about it. "Well...we never did get to watch The Devil Wears Prada all the way through, so can we watch it now?"Kate asked, remembering back to the other night.
Alex smiled, "Sure."
Rick just groaned softly. Alexis and his mother loved that movie and he'd seen it about 20 times. Reluctantly, Kate stood up and moved to the TV stand. She pulled out the DVD and she put it into the DVD player before turning on the TV. She grabbed the remote and a throw blanket before she returned to Alex's arms. Castle sat on the armchair frowning, but willing to sit through this movie for yet another time for his best friend and her girlfriend. Kate snuggled closer to Alex, covering their bodies with the blanket as they stretched out on the couch to watch the movie.
Alex draped her hand over Kate's stomach and rubbed her stomach again to relax her. She just wanted her girlfriend to feel safe and loved and she'd do whatever it took to ensure that.
Kate sighed happily when she felt Alex's hand on her stomach. She glanced at Castle and grinned as she saw him stubbornly staring at the TV screen. The fact that he wasn't even trying to sneak glances at them scored him big points with Kate. She returned her attention to the TV as the movie began.
As the movie progressed, Alex could feel herself getting tired and based on Kate's breathing, the brunette was either very relaxed or she was asleep. She whispered, "Babe?"
When there was no response from Kate, Castle risked a glance over at them and he smiled when he saw Kate curled up against Alex's chest, fast asleep. He caught Alex's eye and mimed that Kate was asleep.
Alex nodded and gently shook her, "Honey, wake up... Kate...?"
Slowly Kate began to wake up, "Mmm...what? What's going on?"She was sleepy and groggy and, to Castle, she looked adorable.
"You fell asleep. Why don't we go to bed, ok? It's late."
Kate looked around, getting her bearings, "Yeah...yeah let's go."She slowly stood up and stretched out her back before she turned to Alex with her hand held out.
Alex took her hand and she smiled at Castle, "Feel free to watch TV as long as you want and you have full access to the fridge. Good night, Rick."
He smiled, "Good night you two."
Alex walked with Kate to their room and closed the door behind them. Kate woke up a little more on the walk to their bedroom and when the door closed behind them, she turned around and pressed Alex up against the door and leaned in to kiss her.
Alex smiled into the kiss and put her hands on the small of Kate's back, holding her close.
Kate leaned closer to Alex, deepening the kiss. When she pulled back, Kate smiled, "Baby, as much as I want to make love right now, I don't feel comfortable doing it with Castle in my living room, is that ok?"Kate hoped Alex would understand.
"Of course, honey. I wouldn't feel comfortable either. We'll make love tomorrow night. I'm sure by then this will all be over with and we can just enjoy each other,"she said with a loving smile.
Kate smiled back, "That sounds great baby. I'll feel much better once we have this guy in custody." Kate paused and she ran her hands down Alex's back to cup her ass. "Until then, how about we fall asleep in each other's arms? I love falling asleep with your arms around me."
"That sounds perfect, sweetie. Why don't we change into our pajamas and go to sleep? It's been a long day for you,"she said, kissing Kate on the nose.
Kate nodded and then went to get ready for bed. When she was in her pajamas, she walked over to the bookshelf where she had placed the statue Alex had given her. She looked at it for a few moments and gently ran her fingers over the face of the baby in the statue.
Alex watched her girlfriend and something tugged at her heart. She walked over and put her arms around Kate from behind, "Thinking about our future baby?"
Kate nodded as she leaned back into Alex's embrace. "Yeah...it's going to be great. You, me, and our child...our family."Kate was whispering, as if the moment was too fragile for regular voices.
Alex kissed her neck, "It's going to come sooner than you think, Kate, I promise."
Kate smiled as she thought about the ring that she had ordered for Alex. "I know baby, I know. Now come on, let's go to bed."Kate turned towards the bed, leading Alex by the hand.
Alex got under the covers with Kate and held her from behind. She kissed her neck gently and whispered, "I love you, Kate."
Kate held Alex's arms around her as she snuggled into her lover's arms. "I love you too baby, good night."
The next morning, Alex woke up and was shocked to find Kate still in her arms. She could smell food and if it wasn't Kate, then that meant that Castle was in there making breakfast. She gently shook Kate awake, "Kate..."
Kate opened her eyes and smiled. She could smell food cooking...but then she turned to look at Alex and frowned, "Alex? If you're here then...oh God, Castle's cooking?"Kate jumped out of bed and ran out of the room.
When she got to the kitchen she saw Castle at the stove flipping pancakes. "You're still here. And you're making pancakes."
"Indeed I am. Do you want coffee, juice, milk, or maybe a mimosa?"he asked as he flipped a pancake into the air.
Alex walked into the kitchen after Kate, her hair smoothed down and her pajamas perfectly in place after a quick look in the mirror. "You didn't have to cook..."
Castle smiled at Alex, "Oh, I don't mind, besides, pancakes are easy." He suddenly remembered, "Whoops, I forgot to bring in the paper." He started walking to the door. Kate called after him that they didn't have time for the paper because they had a body to find, but Castle opened the door anyway and there it was. The missing body that they'd been looking for the night before. Castle jumped, "Whoa!"
Alex jumped back, supporting herself on the counter when she saw the body. It wasn't her first by far, but still, the shock of it was enough to make her heart race. "Oh God..."
Kate went over to Alex and wrapped an arm around her shoulder for support.
Castle looked up at them and said, "Looks like it found you."
Alex looked at her girlfriend, "We'd better call Ryan and Esposito..."
Kate nodded as she went to the phone and dialed Ryan's cell. After a brief conversation, Kate hung up the phone and went to sit down on the couch.
Twenty minutes later Ryan and Esposito walked into the apartment and found Alex comforting Kate while Castle was standing watch nearby.
Ryan took one look around the room and his gutter mind instantly kicked in. Before long he was making up scenarios in his head that included threesomes with Castle, Beckett, and Alex, while the crime scene techs, led by Jordan Shaw, were processing the scene. When he snapped back to reality, he walked over to Kate and Alex to take their statements, "So, Beckett, what happened here?"
Alex studied the way that Ryan was looking at Kate and she rolled her eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter, Ryan."
Ryan turned what he hoped were innocent eyes to Alex, "What did I say?"
"It's not what you said, but the way you said it. I know what you're thinking."
"Oh really? You're a mind reader now Alex?"Ryan asked, defensively.
"I'm a woman and you're a man walking into a room with me, another woman, and a man sitting here. It doesn't take a genius to know what you're picturing."
Ryan blushed and turned to Beckett, "Anyway...what happened?"
Kate decided to ignore the fact that Ryan had changed the subject and she said, "Well we'd just gotten up. Castle had just finished making breakfast and he went to the door to get the paper. He opened the door and the body fell backwards into the apartment. That's when I called you."
Ryan wrote it down on his pad and then asked, "What did he make?"
Kate looked confused for a moment but then said, "Um, pancakes. Why does that matter?"
Ryan grinned at Castle, "You made them pancakes?"
"Yeah...so? It's just breakfast."Castle said, knowing where Ryan, and soon Esposito, would be going with this, though he desperately didn't want them to.
"Oh come on man..." Then he turned to Esposito, "Dude, would a guy make pancakes for chicks if they hadn't..."
Alex was ready to punch him if he continued, "I'd stop right there if I were you..."
Ryan closed his mouth and turned to face Alex, his face going red, "Sorry, I'll...uh...be over there."He motioned across the room to where Shaw was standing over the body and then walked away.
Kate nudged Alex and grinned when she turned to face her, whispering, "Thanks."If Alex hadn't said something Kate would've and she wouldn't have been as subtle as Alex had been.
"They can get away with a lot, but not that. What makes it worse is that there's a freaking dead body on your doorstep and they're concerned about what happened last night, or rather what didn't happen."
Kate just shook her head, "They're guys, honey, what did you expect?" Kate kissed Alex's cheek then said, "I'm going to see what Shaw has to say about...this, ok? Why don't you go get dressed, I'll make sure no one goes near the bedroom."
"Get dressed? I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here with you."
Kate lowered her voice as she moved closer to Alex's ear, "And you're more than welcome to, but I don't want the whole precinct to be seeing you in your robe...that's for my eyes only, so can you please just...for me, get dressed?"Kate had been able to focus on the investigation at first but now that the big excitement was over, she was noticing that Alex was wearing a robe over her nightshirt and she caught more than one of the crime scene guys eyeing her girlfriend. Before she went all "caveman" on them, she hoped to Alex would go and get dressed.
Alex nodded, "Ok, ok. I'll be right back."She went to their bedroom to get cleaned up, but while she was getting undressed, she noticed her phone flashing and went over to check her messages. She had a missed call from her office that her court date had been moved up to 10, which meant she had an hour to get there. She cursed under her breath and decided she'd better get ready for court even though she wanted to stay here with Kate.
Kate walked over to where they body had fallen and crouched down next to Shaw, "Hey."
Jordan looked over at Beckett then smirked, "She's cute. Your girlfriend I mean. If it wasn't for her I'd ask you if you still wanted to stick to your 'Castle and me are just co workers' party line."
"Yeah well...the book and his little crush on me don't really help, but that's my cross to bear. Any insights about what happened here?"Kate asked, motioning to the space where the body had been.
Jordan sobered and sighed, "Well, now we know why he took the body."
Kate nodded, "'I know where you live.' This was a threat."
Jordan began profiling, "More than that. This is his way of saying he's disappointed in you. In his mind, he warned you he would kill again. You didn't stop him. He's saying this one is on you."
Alex was dressed and made up for work. She walked up to where Kate was standing with Jordan and said, "Honey, I'm sorry to do this, but I have to get to court. Will you be ok?"
Kate turned to Alex, "Um, yeah, I'll be fine. Go to work...judges don't like when the lawyers are late."Kate grinned.
"Especially this one...we have...history. I'll call you later to check in, ok? I love you,"she said, leaning in to kiss Kate's lips.
"Ok, babe, love you too." Kate watched as Alex left then she turned to Jordan who had a smirk on her face, "What?"
"You two are completely adorable. It's clear to me that there really is nothing between you and Castle."
Kate blushed lightly, "Yeah...thanks...um, so what do we do now?"Kate was still a little flustered.
"We should get down to the precinct. My guys will have sent everything to the lab and I want to know more about our DB. Do you need a ride?"
"Um, I should probably get dressed first, so I can grab a cab unless you're willing to wait."Kate said.
"I can wait. Go do what you have to do and I'll call my partner to see where things are at."
Kate smiled, "Ok, I'll only be a few minutes."She walked off towards her bedroom.
Castle walked up next to Jordan. "Why are you grinning like that Agent Shaw?"Castle was worried that despite having a husband and a kid, Shaw might be eyeing Kate in a less than platonic way.
"It's nothing. I just...I can understand why Ms. Cabot loves her so much, she's a great woman."
Castle thought back to the night before and he remembered how Alex had held Kate throughout the movie and how cute they were together when they walked into the bedroom. He smiled, "Yeah, they're great together."
Shaw nodded and then asked, "Are you tagging along with us?"
"Yes. I'm not leaving Beckett's side until we catch this guy. It's my fault he's fixated on her because of Nikki Heat, so I'm not going to leave her alone, until this guy is no longer a threat."
Shaw studied him, "Do you really blame yourself for what's happening?"
"Yes, I do. I mean, objectively speaking I know this guy would still be killing, he'd just have a different reason for it. I blame myself for giving him Kate, or rather Nikki Heat, as a reason. He wouldn't be targeting and taunting Kate if I hadn't created Nikki."Castle said, in a somber tone. His guilt was something he wouldn't be able to rid himself of easily.
"I know you want to find a reason to make this easier to digest and protect Kate, but...if it wasn't her, it'd be someone else, someone who might not be as well equipped to handle this and Kate has a lot of people who care. Once we bring this guy down, things will go back to normal for her, for you."
Castle nodded, but before he could say anything, Kate came out of the bedroom dressed in a black pin-stripped blouse and black slacks. She had her black coat in her hands and was about to put it on when she noticed their very serious faces, "What's going on now?"
"Nothing," Castle said with a shake of his head. "Are you ready?"
Kate looked from Jordan to Castle and back again before she shook it off, "Ok, yeah, let's go."
TBC...