Disclaimer: wish I owned Castle. Or Harry Potter. Or El Internado. Or El Barco. That way, some of the most idiotic behaviors/behaviours would have been prevented.

Chapter 29

Martha's Support

When the door opens, she comes downstairs from her room, and smile when seeing Richard taking Kate's jacket off her, and the detective smiling at him, while he puts the jacket in the wardrobe. She decides to speak, so that she does not catch them on an intimate situation.

"Hello, dears," she says, startling Richard and making Kate turn towards the stairs.

"Hi, Martha," Kate replies.

"Mother, please, would you mind not doing that?" Richard asks.

"Oh, dear, someone has to keep on your toes."

"Kate does it well enough on her own, thank you."

"Ah, a pity then. I will have to content myself with other roles in your life," she says, hugging her son and his girlfriend. "How did your day go, then?"

"Could have been better. We met the victim's brother, poor guy was swamped. I just hope that he and his family can get a good break now. They certainly deserve it."

"At least, we think we have found how the victim was thrown to the street, although the problem is that now we have to go through everything we have again," Kate says.

"Oh, no, no, no, no more talking about work. You two are supposed to use this time to relax, not to keep brainstorming about your work," she says. Richard smiles, and grabs Kate a bit tighter to him.

"She is right, Kate. So, do you want to have something special for dinner? Pasta? Grilled cheese sandwich? Three course meal from Alain Ducasse?"

Kate rolls her eyes, but she can tell she is amused. "I think some salad and sandwiches will be good enough, Rick."

"Nice. Let me get changed into something else and you can start opening a wine bottle. Is that OK, Kate?" he asks.

Kate arches an eyebrow. "You expect me not to do anything to help you? This dinner is for all of us, you know."

"I do. Though, this gives you a bit of more time to relax, since you are the one who actually works on this, while I am just the consultant. Enjoy!" Richard replies, retreating into his (rather, his and Kate's) room before Kate can react. And before Kate can follow him, she chooses to gently grab the detective by the arm.

"He is right, Kate. Come, let's have a glass of wine. You certainly deserve it," she says, leading the detective towards the wine fridge, picking one bottle out of the many in there.

"It's not that I am not thankful, Martha. Heaven knows how much Rick has done for me in these last weeks. I just want to do more around here. It feels like I am... freeloading, sometimes," Kate replies as she picks three cups – one for herself, another for her, the last one for Richard.

She chuckles, looking for the corkscrew. She certainly cannot avoid it.

"Oh, Kate, that, probably, is the thing you should worry the least while you are here. Richard certainly loves to take care of you, and I very much doubt he even thinks about it at all. I guess that you could easily convince him to allow you to do more."

Kate looks at her for a second, and then smiles.

"You know, I might as well do that. And, since Rick is not here, I might as well start preparing things around so that we can start making dinner."

"That's my girl," she replies, pouring wine on the three cups, and then toasting with Kate. "Remember, though, to remain careful about your injuries. After all, you do not want to push the end of your recovery, won't you?"

Kate just smiles, and she can notice a small blush on the young woman's cheeks as she stands up and goes to the open kitchen, picking the sliced bread for the sandwiches, and then opening the fridge to take a lettuce and cheese.

She almost has a laugh when Rick comes out of his (and Kate's) room and rushes to the kitchen, apparently to stop her, but then Kate hits him with a spatula and says something she is too far away to understand, and she sees her son back down and kiss Kate, before starting to help in the kitchen.

She basks in the happiness of pointing out the young woman towards a new step for her to take in her efforts to recover as much of her old life as possible. As well as in the taste of the wine she is drinking. It is certainly excellent.

A/N: Well, that's a new chapter. Hopefully, this time more people will comment on this story. Please, do! I'm happier when you comment!