Disclaimer: As I started this chapter, my grandpa was planting 16 rows of sweet corn. I'm so clearly nowhere near Hollywood…
For Em, Joy, and Jade. Just because.
"You've spent all this time helping your father through his pain, Kate, that you haven't had time to grieve on your own."
Kate nods slowly, swallowing a lump in her throat.
"I know we've discussed this since you started coming here, but it's okay to need Rick. No one expects you to do this on your own," Jen pauses, tilting her head to read Kate.
"I'm not sure your father is yet in a position to be able to help you," Jen says gently. "But from what I've seen from Rick," Jen tilts her head towards Castle and smiles, "he seems like the perfect person to help you."
"You don't have to do this alone, Kate. I'm here," he interjects softly.
"But you have to be willing to accept help. It'll make you a stronger person, Kate, not a weak one."
Kate shifts in her hair, swipes the back of her hand across her eyes. "I don't know where to start," she admits.
"Talking's always a great start. Don't isolate yourself because you think you need to deal with it alone. It's only going to hurt you in the long run."
Kate soaks her words in, sighing in exhaustion. Jen's right, of course she is, but she—
She's worried about losing him. She doesn't know the person he cares about, isn't sure how he sees her. How can he lo—care about someone who struggles so deeply?
She feels Castle's eyes on her, gentle and worried. "For what it's worth, Kate..." He lets out a breath and his voice is soft and reverent. "I think you're extraordinary."
Huh. She ducks her head, biting her lip as she feels her face flush at the compliment.
"Nothing you could do would make me think any less of you."
Oh, how she wishes they were alone so she can wrap her arms around him and never let go. She can't believe how lucky she is to have found him, can't believe that no one else has snapped up such an incredible, beautiful man.
Oh, Castle.
"Well, unless you killed someone. But I might help you bury the body, anyway."
She laughs, loves the way it catches her off-guard and sucks the tension right out of the room. He grins and it reaches his eyes, forcing the light back into his blue irises.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Jen remarks wryly, suppressing a smile. She pushes her chair back toward her desk and makes a few notes, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. Kate watches as she pauses, pen hovering above the paper. She's silent for a moment before twisting her torso to face them again.
"I hope I'm not overstepping here, but you two seem to really have something special. The way you look at each other…" She trails off, hesitating. "Don't let this come between you, okay?" She smiles a little, doesn't wait for them to respond before turning back to her desk briefly.
Oh.
Kate's heart clenches deep in her chest, aching all the way through.
"All right, you two. Rick, it's been a pleasure." Jen shakes his hand firmly, smiling softly. "Hopefully one that we won't have to repeat for a while," she teases before turning to Kate. "Same time and place next week?"
"Sounds good." She pauses, lifts her lips in a small smile. "Thank you."
Rick eases out of his chair and offers his hand to Kate. She slips her palm into his and laces their fingers together as he pulls her to her feet.
"It was nice meeting you," Rick offers kindly as they slip out of the office, hand in hand.
"Want me to take you home?" he murmurs against her forehead, his arms wrapped loosely around her as they lean against the passenger door of his car.
She nods. "Do you have to get back to Alexis right away?"
He shakes his head. "She's at a slumber party tonight. It's Paige's birthday."
Kate closes her eyes, lets her body sag against his in slight relief. She doesn't want to let him go tonight, but she'd never keep him away from Alexis.
"You hungry?" he asks, brushing a hand over her forehead, pushing her hair out of her face.
"A little. Wanna order in, watch a movie or something?"
She feels him smile a little against her head. "Sounds perfect."
"They forgot the egg rolls again." She sighs, checking the contents of the brown bag once again.
He frowns. "Again? Do you order for them a lot?"
She shrugs. "They're pretty cheap and the food is good. I'll call the manager or something. It's the second or third time this is happened in a few months." She sticks her thumb between her lips, sucks off a bit of sweet and sour sauce.
"There's a great place in my neighborhood. Remind me to give you the number for next time."
He settles in next to her on the couch, kicking his shoes off beneath the coffee table. She flicks through the channels, settles on a movie marathon on TBS.
"Julia Roberts?" he asks in surprise.
"Yeah, is that okay?" She picks up the remote and hands it to him, shrugging. "We can watch something else."
He shakes his head. "No, it just…surprises me, that's all."
She nods slowly, picking at her food with a chopstick. "The first movie that I ever remember watching with my mother is Steel Magnolias." She pauses, smiling a little sadly at the memory. "I've never seen her laugh and cry so much during one movie."
He slides a hand over to rest against her thigh, squeezes gently. "It's a bit of a tearjerker," he admits.
She lets out a huff of surprise. "You've seen it?"
"My mother's a huge fan of Shirley MacLaine," he explains.
She nods. "She's great."
"My mother or Shirley MacLaine?" he half-jokes.
She smiles. "Both."
"I'll be sure to pass that along."
"Will it score me a few points?"
"You don't need any. You've already got an A in her book."
She tugs her lip between her bottom teeth. "Yeah?"
He sets a carton down, wipes his mouth with a napkin. "She thinks you're wonderful, Kate." He pauses. "Just like I do."
Her breath stutters in her chest as he catches her off-guard with more sweet words that she isn't sure she's deserving of.
Extraordinary? Wonderful?
She discards her food as well, no longer hungry. She grabs the throw that lay across the back of the couch and tosses it over them as she cuddles into his side.
"You know I think the world of you, right?" he asks softly, brushing his thumb against her jaw.
"I'm starting to," she says quietly, twitching her lips to kiss the space between his thumb and forefinger. She slides her arms around his waist and rests her chin on his chest, looks up at him.
"Thanks for coming with me today."
He slips a hand through her hair. "No place I'd rather be."
She groans softly, ducking her head into his chest. "No wonder you're a writer."
He chuckles. "Why's that?"
She lays her cheek against his heart. "You never waste words or mince them. Everything is….deliberate. Honest. Even the way you speak," She pauses, lets out a breath. "It's beautiful, Castle."
His hand trails lazily up and down her arm. "They're just words, Kate."
She shakes her head. "When they come from you, Castle, they could never be 'just words.'"
He smiles, eyes light, full, and happy. "I'll keep that in mind."
Her breathing quickens, the words she so desperately wants to say on the tip of her tongue. She swallows them, memorizes the look on his face—the shine of his eyes and the tilt of his mouth—and promises that it's enough for now.
He cards a hand through her hair, slipping his fingers through the knot at her skull. He tilts her head gently and leans in to suckle gently on her lips, capturing her pink mouth with his.
She scrapes her nails against his stubble, runs her hot mouth over his cheek as she breaks away from the kiss.
"Maybe it's too soon, but—" he cuts himself off breathlessly, his words lingering in the shell of her ear.
She lifts his hand and threads it with hers, presses it against the beat of her heart. "I feel it, too."
I'm sick (again) and reviews will heal me faster than any cold remedy. ;)
Olivia
