She chuckled, and he gently bumped his forehead with hers, stating, with a soft laugh, "So, that killed the mood."
"Was there really a mood to kill, though?" she whispered, straightening back up. "We're in a museum. A children's museum," she chuckled, and motioned to the play happening before them.
"Yeah, I really do love this place," he added dreamily, laying his head to the wall behind him.
She smiled, playfully rolling her eyes at him, and their stares both found their way to the front of the room. But the kiss, the contact had awakened something in her, something she couldn't put back away, something that prevented her from concentrating on what was happening in front, something primal. She couldn't concentrate, not when she knew, her whole body knew, that he was just inches from her, inches, that could easily be shortened. It was distance she'd been comfortable with long enough, but not today, not anymore, so Kate shifted a bit, and Rick pulled his arm around her, and she smiled, falling into him.
Her hand found its way to his thigh and rested there, as her thumb ran clean circles on the material of his pants. It was a short moment later that Rick breathed out, "Keep it PG, Beckett."
"It's your thigh. I'm pretty confident this is PG," she winked with a chuckle.
"Yeah, well it's been… I mean….your hand, it's awfully close to-" he started in a whisper.
A malicious smile formed upon her lips as her finger to feathered the fabric of his pants, slowly moving upwards.
"Devil woman," he hushed, grabbing her hand in his and bringing it to his chest and holding it there, as he crossed one leg over the other. She let out a stifled chuckle as she set her head into his chest mumbling an apology.
Their eyes darted forward, and Rick swiftly let go of her hand, both their bodies stiffening when they heard a hushed "Kate" coming from the front of the room, and an 11 year old red head motioning for her to come.
Quickly, Kate stumbled to her feet and went to meet the girl, crouching beside her, she asked, "What is it, bud?"
"He won't stop squirming. I don't think he likes the show."
"I'll take him, don't worry about it Lex. Watch the rest of the presentation," she told the girl, as she picked her son up. Giving Rick a small smile, and mouthing, "It's fine," Kate, with Nicolas balanced on her hip, quietly walked out of the room.
Kate didn't know how long ago she'd stepped out, five minutes, maybe, when Castle came out of the presentation room, closing the door behind him as he asked, "You guys, okay?"
Kate, seated on the floor, in the middle of the hallway, smiled in response, turning towards Castle, and his eyes widened at the scene before his eyes. "He can walk? You didn't think that was worthy of a mention?" he exclaimed, coming towards them in what Kate would describe as a skipping motion.
She grinned, proudly, as she answered "Can't walk per say, but he started this a couple days ago." She motioned to the boy clumsily putting one foot in front of the other as his tiny hands held on the stroller Kate was, with a discretely placed hand, helping him push.
Castle quickly scooped the boy up, brought him in the air over his head making the baby shriek with excitement as the man praised him. He repeated, "Good job! Good job! Good job!" blowing intermittent raspberries on the baby's tummy. Bringing him down a bit, to eye level, he kissed his cheek, before placing him back on the floor.
Nicolas crawled back to the stroller and Kate helped him to his feet, with her foot under his touh. When his small hands had their firm grip on to the foot part of the stroller, and his bum moved up and down, which Kate interpreted as "Go, mommy, go!" she gave the stroller a light push, to help the baby and his too heavy walker.
Castle chuckled at the scene, at the short legs, uncoordinated, moving slowly behind the stroller and the ever so proud grin of the boy, who was getting the feel of it. "I'd forgotten how exciting this part could be."
"Yeah, it's pretty freakin' awesome. You should have seen my dad when I showed him yesterday," she smiled, as he got closer to her.
Holding out his hand to her and helping her to her feet, he asked, pulling her to him, his hand rested on her hip, "So, that thing that happened in there, it's yeah… It's okay, right?" He smiled questioning, "We're good?"
"I'm good. Are you good?"
"I'm more than good, Kate," he stated, and Kate's arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers playing at the small of his neck, getting lost in his eyes, shining, so alive.
Simultaneously, Rick and Kate turned their heads in the direction of the sound Nikki made, as he crashed into a bench, falling straight on his bum. He looked around, his eyes stunned, wide, but dry, and both adults started laughing, making the boy laugh in his own, loud, baby way.
Kate placed a quick kiss on Rick's lips before saying, "But maybe we should keep the PDA to a minimum. I think it's distracting to the little people."
"You're talking about Alexis?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm talking about Alexis."
He smiled, and she pulled him closer, "Don't think Nikki's going to tell on us, and he's already down, so what's the harm?" She kissed him, deeper this time, just enough to be mildly inapriate in the setting they were in, and as she pulled away, she stated, with a sly grin, "Now go back in. Make sure your daughter doesn't get kidnapped or anything."
"Wow. Thanks for the visual."
"Always," she winked, as he walked back to the presentation, purposefully swaying his hips and making her chuckle.
Kate didn't know what she was doing here, couldn't tell why she had left, wasn't able to say why she hadn't just stayed.
It wasn't like she hadn't wanted it, needed it at this point, but she had still left.
Maybe it was the lingering feeling that if she got close, too close, he'd run the other way. Maybe it was the thought, buried deep inside that feared what would happen when there'd be no more invisible barrier between them.
She didn't know.
He hadn't pushed; he'd been the perfect gentleman, like he understood when she wasn't even sure she did.
After Kate had helped Alexis with her social studies homework, which the girl clearly hadn't needed. After they had done the dishes and cleaned the kitchen. After they'd put Alexis to bed, and Nikki to sleep in the playpen they had placed in Rick's Office. After Martha had gone up to bed giving them both a knowing look, like she knew, like she could tell, they'd crossed the blurry line that had separated them until now.
After they heard the door of the guest room close, their eyes met and smiles formed on both their faces, they finally had the crowded loft to themselves. He extended his arm and she took his hand as he pulled her closer to him and placing a small, almost shy kiss on her lips. His arms, cradled her, his strong hands rested on her lower back and her cheek rested just above his heart.
The time that had passed could have been an eternity, or merely a second, she couldn't tell. Time, hours, minutes, seconds, they'd lost their meaning, everything around her was gone but the strong sound of his beating heart, the smell of him hypnotizing, dangerously addictive.
She wrapped her hands around his neck, and looking into his deep blue eyes and she smiled, as her heart's beat quickened, no longer in sync. Her tongue trailed on her lower lip, slowly. They were doing this, they were really doing this, but all she found the courage to say was, "It's getting late, maybe I should head home."
He'd smiled and nodded, placing a kiss on her forehead, like it was the perfectly natural thing to do, and she'd left, just like that.
But she hadn't gone home, she just simply couldn't. She'd told her father not to wait up, that everything was fine, but she needed something else, someone else. So she'd stopped at the convenience store and now, here she was, knocking on her best friend's door, a sleeping baby in one arm, cookie dough and milk hanging in the other, as she hoped Julie would answer.
The girl opened the door, a quizzical expression forming her features, "Becks?"
"Jules, I'm glad to catch you home," Kate breathed out.
"Yeah, well you know me. Med-students, we never go out."
Kate stared at her best friend, arching an eyebrow as she entered.
"Okay, that was a lie," chuckled Julie, "Come, come. You wanna put Nikki down on my bed?"
"Is it made?" asked the brunette, skeptical.
Julie narrowed her eyes at Kate, "Takes about 30 seconds to make, cleaning police."
Kate followed Julie to her bedroom, and watched as the woman pulled the comforter back in place, smoothing it as she winked at Kate, teasing her. Once the bed was made, Kate settled the still sleeping baby slowly, as to not wake him, in the middle of the bed as Julie placed all the pillows and cushions around the boy. The boy already seemed pretty barricaded when Julie's index shot up in the air, illumination decorating her features, as she ran out of her bedroom, stating, "I have more cushions on the couch!"
When Nikki was more than safely surrounded, and there was no part of the bed that wasn't either covered by the baby or the cushions, they got back to the kitchen as Jules asked her friend, "So, what's up with Rick?"
"I," she started before her eyes narrowed on her friend, "How?" she questioned, her backside leaning on the counter, her arms crossed at her chest.
Julie let out a chuckle. "Cookie dough? Please. Who do you take me for?" she asked, handing Kate two spoons and reaching for the glasses.
Kate chuckled and Jules, placing the glasses on the counter, asked, "You guys have crazy monkey sex yet?"
"Geez, Jules, you're obnoxious," Kate rolled her eyes.
"Fine. Katherine, have you made love to your writer boy?"
Kate glared her down, quirking her head slightly to the side.
A smile erupted from Julie's serious face as she let out, "I know, I liked the crazy monkey sex better too, that's why I opened with it."
Kate couldn't help but smile, that's why she had come to Jules instead of her father, for comments like these ones.
…
"I don't know how slow you guys can actually go without going backwards, Becks."
"The intimacy-"
"Oh intimacy, inti-shmancy," the woman brushed off.
"Damn it, Jules," groaned Kate.
"Okay, look, I get the sex part, I do. But sex, it's only a small part of it. You met his kid. You love his kid, Kate, and he loves yours. He saw you break down on the floor of his bathroom. He was there the day you fucking lost your marbles. I say you're pretty damn intimate already. Okay, there's sex. Oh, sex. Great big scary sex. But not like you're a virgin, not like he is either. You're making it a big deal, when really it's not. He's seen them, the raw, bare parts of your soul. He's seen the scary, deranged part of you, and that's the most intimate you can get, and he's still here, Kate. So stop overthinking everything. Your life is good right now."
"We never really talked about it."
"You mean your… descent to hell?"
Kate nodded.
"Has he asked about it?"
"No."
"Then what's the big deal? You'll talk about when you're ready to talk about, and it seems like he gets that, Kate. He gets you. You've been in this platonic, sexual tension filled relationship for months on end. A relationship that has nothing to do with the messed up trick you mind played on you. This isn't jumping the gun. God, Becks, this is so not jumping the gun. Just rip the fucking band aid already."
Castle picked up his cellphone from the nightstand beside him, and quickly glancing on the number displayed, he answered, puzzled, "Kate?"
"Hey, I didn't want to knock or ring, but we're at the door. Can you… Can you open up?"
Hope you enjoyed, lovelies.
As per usual, I want to thank my awesome beta, CaskettFan5.