Sorry for the delay, everyone. Finals were brutal, and my inspiration died. And huge thanks to Jessmuir0407 for helping me get this one planned out.
#21 Because they don't make sense on paper
Kate was on her way to the interrogation room when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away. She struggled for a moment until she realized that it was her husband, and he was leading her to the break room.
"Castle, what the hell?" She hissed after he closed the door. "I need to interrogate her!"
"I know. But I wanted to give you a warning."
"What?"
Rick sighed. "I know Janet Morse, albeit not well. But I do know that she likes to poke and prod at people and their relationships."
Kate rolled her eyes. "I know you know her, Castle. You told me when I arrested her."
"Kate, listen to me, please." Rick begged. "She'll probably say some things in there to try and get at you, but just ignore her, ok?"
Kate smiled softly. "Thank you, Rick. But I'm used to people trying to get to me."
Rick nodded. "Right. Sorry. Go get her."
Before Rick left the room, he leaned over and kissed Kate's cheek softly. Kate watched as he walked away and entered the observation room and thought over his words again. She spent her walk to interrogation preparing herself for what was sure to be an unpleasant excursion into Rick's world. She took a deep breath and opened the door with a fake smile on her face.
"Ms. Morse, thank you for coming in for some questions."
"Oh, it's Ricky's newest toy! I love your jacket, did he buy it for you?" The woman asked snottily.
Kate rolled her eyes internally and set the file on the table. "Where were you two nights ago between 10 pm and 2 am?"
"I was home."
"Alone?"
"No, I had a cute boy with me. I don't remember his name though. Is Ricky here? I'd like to speak with him."
The interrogation continued in a similar manner. Every time Kate asked anything, Janet would respond and then add some dig about the differences between Rick and Kate. After an hour with nothing much learned, Kate had had enough.
"Thank you for your time, Ms. Morse. Please don't leave the city and please make yourself available if we have further questions."
Without waiting to hear the woman's next dig, Kate left the room and made a beeline for the break room where she found her husband waiting for her with a coffee.
"Here." He said softly as he held it out. "I'm sorry about that."
Kate shook her head. "Don't be. She's just trying to get a rise out of me."
Rick nodded. "You did well."
Kate smiled. "Thanks. You heading out?"
Rick nodded again. "Yeah. Going to pick the girls up and drop them off with your dad. Then I'll start getting ready for tonight."
"Good. I'll probably call them when I'm on my way home, which will hopefully be in a couple hours."
"Sounds good. See you later, gorgeous."
Kate smiled again and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips before he left, and she went back to work.
When Kate stepped out of the limo that night, she was immediately blinded by the flash form the cameras, and would undoubtedly have fallen over if Rick's arm wasn't securely around her waist.
"Just a few pictures before we can go inside." He murmured into her ear.
Kate nodded and leaned into him as she smiled at the cameras. When they finally made it inside, Rick grabbed a glass of champagne for each of them and held it out to her, and she took it with a smile.
"Thanks."
"Come on, let's go mingle."
Rick's arm was a heavy presence around her waist as they made their way through the ballroom, smiling politely and exchanging greetings with several people Rick knew.
"Ricky Castle!" A voice yelled, and the couple turned around and came face to face with a medium height woman.
"Jen." Rick replied politely. "Nice to see you. Have you met my wife Kate?"
"Not yet." Jen replied with a smile. "Pleasure."
"Likewise." Kate replied.
Rick was about to pull her away when Jen started talking. "She's quite the catch, very lucky to have you." She said nodding her head to Kate.
Rick sighed silently while Kate bristled. "Thank you. But I'm the lucky one." Rick replied, using the old cliche in the hope that Kate would relax again.
"I just mean, it's odd, ya know?"
"Odd how?" Kate asked, wanting to hear this.
"I don't mean any disrespect, of course I don't. Not many people have what it takes to put their lives on the line for others. But it's just odd that someone like you would end up with someone like him."
"Someone like me?" They asked at the same time.
Jen smiled. "That's cute. I just mean, from everything the paper has said about you, Detective, you're a no frills kind of cop, and undoubtedly good at your job. And Ricky here is a playboy to the extreme, and everyone knows he enjoys the finer things in life. It's just odd that you'd end up with someone like her. I mean, with all the money you have, you can probably keep her in this lifestyle after your marriage splits up."
Kate was about to explode, so Rick made a polite goodbye and steered her to a quiet hallway.
"If I wasn't a cop I would've punched her." Kate said as soon as they were alone.
"I know. You want to go home? Relax on the couch with a movie?"
Kate sighed and let the tension leave her frame as Rick rubbed her arms soothingly. "Yeah."
Rick smiled and kissed her forehead. "Ok. Let's go."
They made their way out of the building and into the limo in record time without too much fanfare. Kate leaned into Rick's side on the ride back to the loft, but she remain silent. When they arrived at the loft, Kate murmured that she was going to shower and put on her pajamas. Rick kissed her softly again before she stepped into the bathroom and slipped off her clothes and entered the shower.
When Rick heard the water shut off, but didn't hear Kate coming out to find him, he went to find her. He knocked softly on the bathroom door before entering, smiling sadly when he saw her standing naked in front of the mirror looking intently at her reflection.
"Kate." He murmured as he made his way to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.
She tensed at first contact, but eventually melted into him. They were silent as they stared into the mirror together.
"Talk to me." Rick said softly, not wanting to break the silence.
"Does everyone really see me as a gold digger?" She finally asked.
Rick smiled softly. "I don't. The people that matter don't."
"But everyone in your world does. You heard both those women today."
"I did. I heard a lot of jealousy that you picked me."
"Stop." Kate said, her harsh tone breaking the softness around them as she turned to face him. "Stop doing that. Stop acting like you don't know they're right. We don't fit together. Just look at us!"
Rick gripped her shoulders and turned her around again so his front was pressed against her back. "But we do fit together." He whispered.
"Rick." Kate whined, struggling to remove his grip.
"Stop." Rick hissed as he held her tighter. "And look."
Kate stopped and stood still in front of him.
"We fit together." He murmured as his hands came to rest on her hips, filling the dip perfectly. He pulled Kate tighter into his body, and she felt their bodies meld into each other. "Perfectly."
Kate let her eyes close as her head fell forward. She heard Rick whispering behind her, his voice slowly removing the words from the women she'd heard earlier.
"And if you still doubt it, look at our girls. They're a mixture of us, and they're perfect. We fit together because we made them."
Kate nodded slowly. "Thank you." She whispered.
Rick turned her to face him and kissed her sweetly. "As for the money comments, ignore them. You don't need my money, nor do you want it. You know that, our friends know that, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I won't deny that I like buying you things, but you don't need me to, you never have."
Kate sighed as she wrapped her arms around Rick's waist and held on tight. "I don't deserve you." She mumbled into his collarbone.
Rick chuckled. "We're not getting into that tonight. One more thing. I told you once, so I'll tell you again. It doesn't matter if we don't make sense on paper, we don't live our lives on paper."
"What about Nikki?" Kate teased.
"Kate." Rick whined. "I'm trying to be romantic. Stop ruining it with your logic."
Kate laughed. "You're right. Thank you, Rick. For everything."
Rick smiled and kissed her softly. "That's what I'm here for."
"I can think of something else you're here for." Kate said with a smirk.
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