Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews.
This one is just fluffy.
Don't own them but I would love a week in bed Richard Castle. Who we kidding, I'd love an hour in bed with him. Who's with me?
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Castle leaned against the door frame trying to catch his breath. He was breathless; she left him that way every time.
He took a moment to survey what had been, just six days prior, their neat and tidy bedroom. It was a far cry from the the sanctuary it normally was. Similarly, Kate was a far cry from the control freak wife of just six days ago, as well. She had taken her grounding seriously; her feet had only touched the floor long enough to use the restroom and take the occasional shower. Everything else; eating, getting dressed, combing her hair had all been done from the bed. Of course she didn't just lay around and sleep the days away, as Castle had hoped. In fact he could, by the looks of the room, chronicle the week by the collateral damage left in its wake.
Day one was all about reading. He saw all three Nikki Heat novels that she'd tossed on the nearby recliner one-by-one after tearing through them at a speed-reader's pace. Mingled with those were three or four children's books that her young friend had sent over from the little boutique around the corner. She went through those in no time as well.
Kate decided day two needed to be 'more productive', her words not his. Castle was perfectly content to lay next to her and listen to her read for another twelve hours. However, she'd given him marching orders to dig out every one of her CD's from the room upstairs that would soon become a nursery and bring them down to her. She spent the day burning them all to his laptop. 'They're just wasting space we don't have,' she'd said. Now they were wasting space all over the floor; a rainbow of colors as well as sounds; Kate it seems has a vast array of musical tastes. Castle spent the evening transferring the music to her iPod. The whole day had been spent side-by-side comparing notes as to where they were in their prospective lives when some of her favorite songs were on the charts. It got a little weird when Seal's Kiss from a Rose turned out to be the song playing during a then fifteen year old Kate's first dance, while simultaneously being the song Rick sang to a toddler-sized Alexis whenever she would cry for a mother that would never return.
Much to Castle's surprise, day three had started out on a pretty clutter free path. Kate had decided that they needed to get started on some serious shopping for baby gear. They spent hours researching various cribs, changing tables, strollers, car seats and high chairs. But when morning turned into late afternoon and she still hadn't decided on the exact set of nursery furniture, she insisted they print out all four of the final choices so she could marinate on them. He had no idea that marinating involved taping the printouts up as if their room where a murder board and the cribs the only suspects. Yet there they were; two taped to the head board and one to the lampshade. Choice number four, having been finally eliminated as a suspect, was now wadded up somewhere under the California King; the result of a poorly aimed rim shot off the small trashcan on his side of the bed.
Then came day four, it had been the start of a new food issue for Kate. Castle was accustomed to her ginormous appetite, in fact it had only increased since becoming bed-bound. However, she was no longer able to eat three large meals with snacks in between. The babies were beginning to take up more and more space in her abdomen and her stomach had become the first victim. Castle tried to convince her that he really didn't mind fixing six or seven smaller meals throughout the day, but Kate insisted that he stick to the normal three squares, just that he make them a little smaller than the normal feasts he had been preparing for her. She said she just needed more snacks to tide her over in between. He glanced at the nightstand now covered with said snacks; Cheetos, celery sticks, grapes, cookies, beef jerky, M&M's, Gummi Bears, trail mix and pistachios. The bed was so full of crumbs that he was pretty sure he had exfoliated every inch of exposed skin when he crawled into bed the previous evening. And that was only after he peeled back all the blankets piled on his side.
Kate had laid awake the fourth night completely overheated, from what he wasn't sure. She said something about having two times the blood volume of a non-pregnant woman circulating through her veins. He didn't hear the whole explanation. He was too busy trying to avoid crushing all the plastic music cases on his way to the thermostat. It was now so cold in the loft that condensation had formed on the windows and Castle had to dress like an Eskimo during the day and burrow like a hibernating bear under a cave of blankets at night.
Then came day five; the best day yet. A little bit weary, Kate begged him to cuddle, order in and watch movies all day. They took turns picking the films. Needless to say they both fell asleep fighting a bit of mental whiplash brought on by watching chick flicks and historical dramas in between both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogies.
Despite the mess, the cold, the crumbs and the vivid dreams of lightsabres and muskets it had been the most amazing worry-free five days of his life. Sure there was the slim possibility that the contractions could start up again, but other than that there was no fear of Kate getting shot or stabbed or assaulted. Yep, five days of pure bliss.
The euphoria continued into this one; day six. As he stood in the doorway; stood in awe of his breathtaking wife. She was sitting up against the padded headboard, both legs bent at the knee; one folded in front of her laying flat against the mattress, the other pulled up with her right arm hooked around her shin; old habits were hard to break even in her condition. Kate insisted on getting dressed every morning even if getting dressed only consisted of a pair of his boxers and an oversized tee shirt. Today however, they had their followup appointment with the OBGYN so she had put on a pair of black yoga pants and a purple tank top. Her eyes were closed, her head leaned back against the soft leather, ear buds in her ears.
The sight alone seized his ability to move, but it was the sound that left him breathless. She was singing; singing their song to their babies. He watched her hand rub small shapes across her ever expanding belly. He watched her toe as she slowly tapped the beat into the navy blue sheets. He listened to her exquisite voice sing the lyrics they had sung to each other many times in the past year. The lyrics their hearts had beat to on their wedding day, the lyrics that had become more than mere words put to music, lyrics that had become a promise; a promise she was now making to her daughters.
Castle could listen to her sing forever. Better yet he wanted climb in that bed, crumbs and all, and make wild-mad-passionate love to her. Of course love making had been taken off the menu, at least until she was given the all clear by Dr. Candace. Even then the wild and mad part might have to be more like tame and happy, but as long as he was making love to Katherine Beckett the how didn't matter, and the happy was never in question.
He could tell by the words she was singing that the song was coming to an end, he only had a few more seconds. He snapped a few pictures; the mad dash to get the camera from the study was another reason he was breathless. He snapped off at least ten more shots before she opened her eyes. The smile she graced him with melted him to putty. Had he not been making his way to her side of the bed while taking the final few candids he would have surely fallen to floor with the buckling of his knees. He plopped down on the mattress just as Kate finished the last refrain.
"To make you feel my love."
Kate pulled the buds from her ears and covered his gaping, or was it gasping mouth with hers. It was hot and sloppy, the kind of kiss that would normally lead to more gasping, but she knew that wasn't possible, not yet anyway. She was grateful when he pulled away; not sure she could bring herself to do it. He placed the camera on the nightstand and flopped to his back in front of her. She extended her right leg so he could rest his head on her thigh.
"Good morning."
"Good morning to you too handsome."
"What's on the agenda for today milady?"
Kate fished the birth-plan paperwork out from under her pillow. "Packing I guess."
"Already? We still have like fourteen weeks left."
Rick lifted his head slightly to place a gentle kiss on the exposed skin just below her belly button, or what used to be her belly button. Kate tugged at the hem of her tank top. It frustrated her that every shirt she put on didn't even begin to cover her. Plus she was slightly self conscious of the dark line that was beginning to form down her stomach. She knew it was normal and would go away after the girls were born, but it was just so odd. Of course her husband found it fascinating and was always tracing it with his finger tips or even his tongue. Okay, so it wasn't all bad.
"I'd say more like twelve. Plus look at this list, we don't have even a third of these things. We'll have to go shopping after our appointment this afternoon."
"Oh, I kinda promised your dad we'd stop by his place after, if you got the all clear."
"Perfect, we can go to one of those superstores they only have in the suburbs." She smacked Rick's chest with the thick workbook. "Up!" She pushed against his back as he groaned and rolled. "I think my mid-size suitcase should do it."
Kate watched him leave the room. She was excited to get out of the loft, she needed some fresh air, needed to stretch her legs, to feel normal again. Still, a little piece of her wished the week wasn't yet over. It had been the perfect week. She had no where to be, no bodies, no investigations, no danger and no worries. Just her and the man she loved and time. Time laughing, time bonding with their babies, just time - together.
She grabbed the camera off the nightstand, tried to catch the plastic bowl of grapes before it hit the floor. She scrolled through the pictures he had just taken. "Yikes! When did the tornado hit? This room is a mess."
"You can say that again." Rick tossed Kate's largest suitcase on the bed; she shot him a questioning look. "Hey, that thing only lists stuff for you and the girls. What about me?"
"Um, I think it assumes your stuff will be here at home. You know where you live?" Kate nudged his butt with her toe. He was on all fours trying to gathering the rolling fruit.
"Yeah right, like I'm actually leaving the hospital for one second without the three of you."
Kate blinked back the tears. She had made him a promise, no more crying this week. "Don't pretend your staying has anything to do with me, I saw you eying my jello last week."
He snorted and nailed her with a grape. "Okay so what's first on that list?"
"Nightgowns, a robe and slippers."
Rick grabbed four maternity nightgowns out of the drawer. She really had bought one of every color; not just the primary colors either. He packed the coral, mint, peach and plum colored ones leaving the black, orange and maroon ones untouched. The red, blue, pink, yellow, green and white ones were in the laundry room waiting to be washed. Kate figured she would be spending much of the next six months in them; three until the birth and three while she was still on leave after. She might as well be comfortable as well as colorful.
"Nightgowns, check." He disappeared into the closet, reappeared with two knee-length robes; one silky and one terrycloth. "Which one?"
Kate wasn't really sure, "Go for both."
He tossed them both in the suitcase. "We'll have to buy you some new slippers."
"Yeah and underwear."
"Why underwear?" He opened the top drawer of her dresser, "You've got plenty."
Kate had to hold back the laughter, "Somehow I don't think those offer enough coverage for what I'll be sporting after childbirth." The look of confusion on his face was priceless. Actually clueless was more accurate. "Speaking of, those are on the list too. We'll have to pick some up as well." She pointed to the bulleted item on the page.
"Oh? Oh!" He slammed the drawer shut, "Yeah not nearly enough coverage."
"In fact, you might as well go ahead and throw your clothes in there too. We'll have to get everything else at the store today." Kate skimmed the list again. She would need her toiletries and make-up in the meantime therefore they couldn't be packed just yet. She didn't have any nursing bras, and they hadn't yet begun to think about outfits to bring the girls home in. "Oh, grab a pair of my yoga pants and a tank while you're in there. I'll need them for the drive home."
Rick tossed the final items into the suitcase then plopped back down. He scooted backward up the bed resting between her legs with his head once again on her right thigh "So we can come back to the packing. Anything else in there we can tackle?"
Kate flipped through the pages, "Well, I am kind of stuck on this part." She handed him the workbook.
She watched his reaction carefully. The book suggested that she write down whom she might consider having in the delivery room during the birth. Of course Rick's name was there but she had also written another name with a question mark next to it. His eyes lit up at first, then the crinkly lines showed up. Not the 'I'm so happy I might burst' lines,but the 'Are you doing this because you want to or because you think I want you to?' lines. He finally looked up at her.
"Why the question mark?"
Crap he was good; that response gave nothing away. Kate had hoped he would have a definitive opinion on the subject. It would make it easier for her decide. "I kind of want her in there with us." She absentmindedly picked at a piece of lint on his tee-shirt until he stilled her hand against his chest. "They're her family too."
"Okay, so why the question mark?" She hated it when he did that.
"Don't you think it will be weird? Her watching, seeing...you know?" Kate prayed he wouldn't make her finish that sentence. It was embarrassing enough thinking about it; oh please don't make her say it.
"Well if she's anything... apples-apples-apples!"
"This is no time for any of your perverse jokes Castle." Kate recognized that tone. She continued to pinch the sensitive cartilage of his ear. "This is serious. I want her with us, but I'm not sure how much I want her with us. Does that make sense?"
"Kate..."
She didn't let him finish, "I mean what if she's completely horrified by the thought? It might traumatize her for life. Hell, it might traumatize me. Should I give her the choice. Should I just forget the whole thing?" She was practically hyperventilating.
"Kate!" Rick was on his knees in front of her. "Calm down. How about when Alexis comes home we just ask her; decide together whose comfortable with what and go from there."
She took a deep breath, "You're right. We'll just ask her."
"Besides," he laid back down taking the book from her hands so he could hold them to his chest. "Childbirth is totally natural. There's nothing to be traumatized or embarrassed about. You're both women..."
As he continued to ramble on, Kate pulled another book from beneath the covers. This one was chocked full of all the information anyone would need to know about the 'miracle of childbirth' complete with pictures. She cracked the spine, opening it to the page describing something called crowning. She held the book in front of her husbands face. He stopped mid-sentence. Kate felt his head tip back and forth as if he was trying to figure out what his eyes were looking at.
"Holy hell! What is that?" It was his turn to hyperventilate.
