I'm back, as promised! And though I am tired as hell from the lack of sleep I got last night (you can thank my drunk cousin who decided the best time to talk was at two in the morning right before my morning class) I promised you an update and so an update you shall receive (even if it's not as good as it normally is). Enjoy!
Chapter Forty Nine
Castle's jaw practically hit the floor when he saw Kate's tiny excuse for a dress, paired with unbelievably high—even for her—heels and a pair of nude stockings. Not to mention the fact that the dress was a halter top, which meant that it left her shoulders bare and her hair was down, curling at the ends and just slightly brushing said bared shoulders. She looked like a goddess.
The fact that his mother and daughter were both in the room was the only thing keeping him from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her into his room, where he would definitely make her scream herself hoarse until she couldn't remember anybody's name but his.
His eyes must have glazed over and he supposed he might have been drooling because his mother's finger, pushing his jaw up, snapped him out of his thoughts. He blinked at her, looking away from Kate for only a few seconds.
"What did you say?" he asked, having heard his mother's voice, which sounded as if it'd come from miles away. Martha rolled her eyes.
"I said, wipe your chin and put your tongue back where it belongs," she scolded, though there was an amused glimmer in her eyes, "you're drooling."
Castle's hand flew up to his chin, finding it damp.
I was actually drooling?! Well that's not embarrassing at all! He thought to himself, grinning stupidly at Kate as he rushed to remove the drool from his chin. She and Alexis were giggling and shooting each other looks.
Castle recovered quickly, however, and grinned at her, walking up to both of them at the foot of the stairs. He leaned in and kissed Kate hello, stopping to whisper in her ear.
"You look breathtaking," he murmured huskily. "Literally." Kate smiled at him, winking as he pulled back.
Alexis, who'd been holding Kate's hand throughout the exchange, tugged on her father's shirtsleeve. "Hey, I helped, too! I told her to put on the stockings and I picked out her shoes!" she said, proudly. Castle smiled down at her, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"You have amazing fashion sense," he complimented. Alexis beamed.
"She gets it from me, ya know," Martha commented, still standing in the kitchen. "Speaking of me, where is my hug, young lady?" she asked, holding out her arms. Alexis giggled and ran towards her, Watson following at her heels. Alexis jumped into her grandmother's arms, Martha spinning her around while they both laughed, before setting her on the ground and turning to the dog obediently perched at her side. Martha's eyebrows went way up at the sight—the dog was nearly taller than little Alexis!
"My, your father wasn't joking when he said you decided on a big dog!" she exclaimed, dramatically. "What happened to the puppy you wanted?"
Alexis shrugged. "Puppies get taken away from their mommies and daddies. Watson doesn't have a mommy or a daddy, so it's okay because now I'm her mommy!" She smiled proudly and Martha smiled back, pulling her into another big hug.
"Oh, my sweet little girl. Where do you get it from?"
"Heck if I know," Castle said, coming up behind them. He patted Watson on the head and the big dog wagged her tail, looking up at him. Kate was on his arm, smiling down at Alexis, then at Watson, who was giving her the puppy dog eyes, letting her know that she would like a petting from her as well. Kate pat the dog's head, scratching lightly behind the ears, making sure to keep her away from her dress. "I still think we took the wrong baby home."
"Da-ad!" Alexis cried out, glaring up at him.
"Don't worry, Kid," Castle said, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "the hospital has a no-exchanges policy, so you're stuck with me. I wouldn't return you in a million years, anyway. Who else would I play with?"
Kate lifted a brow at that but decided to let it go. "You ready to go?" she asked Castle and he nodded, before leaving her to go retrieve their coats. While he did that, Kate greeted Martha, who smiled warmly at her.
"Oh, you look marvelous, Dear!" she exclaimed, pulling her into a hug. "I love this dress! Where did you get it?"
Kate shrugged. "Some little boutique at the mall. Nice, right?" she spun around on her heel, chuckling. "Alexis helped me pick it out." She smiled down at the blushing little girl.
"Well, it looks wonderful! Do you mind if I get a picture of you and Richard together by the front door before you put on your coats?"
"Not at all," Kate replied, smiling, "Alexis too," she added, looking down at the little girl who smiled back up at her. Martha grinned, feeling her heart swell with affection for this young woman. She already loved her more than her last daughter-in-law and she and Richard weren't even married…yet.
"Of course," Martha said. "I'll even get in one with you. Now where is that camera?" She left their side to rifle through her purse on the other side of the counter.
By the time she'd fished it out, Castle had returned wearing his own coat and carrying two of Kate's, unsure which one she'd prefer. In his left hand he had a black trench coat that went down to below her knees and wrapped completely around her and in his right hand he had a similar looking white coat. He held them out for her, his eyebrows raised in question and Kate pointed at the black coat, taking it off his hands as he returned the white one back to its closet hanger. When he returned, he found Kate and Alexis standing next to each other by the door, smiling at Martha, who was looking through the lens at them, motioning Castle to get in with them.
Castle rushed right over to them, slinging his arm around Kate's waist and allowing her to lean her head on his shoulder, while they each held one of Alexis's hands, all three smiling at the camera, while Martha snaps the picture.
"Alright, now one with just Richard and Kate," she requested and Alexis backed out as the couple wrapped their arms around each other, looking into the other's eyes as they readjusted. They were not even looking towards the camera when Martha snapped the next photo. "Perfection," she said, smiling softly when they both turned to her, quizzically. She winked at them before asking them to smile and snapping the next one. "Okay," she said, once she'd gotten enough of the two of them, "now time for all of us. Watson, too! Come over here so I can set it on the counter." They all moved so that they were in view of the camera from where Martha set it, grabbing the remote and moving to stand with them.
Castle stood in the very middle, with Alexis in front of him, holding onto Watson's collar to keep her still. Kate was on his left side, his arm slung around her waist and her head on his shoulder, while Martha stood to his right, also pressed into his side with his arm around her shoulder. Her hand was on Alexis's shoulder, pressing her back to lean on them and her other hand held the remote, pointing at the camera in between her and Castle's bodies.
"Everybody ready?" she asked and they all nodded. "Okay. 3…2…1…say cheese!"
"Cheese!" they sang out in unison, smiling widely at the camera.
Martha snapped three photos like that before retrieving the camera and promising to develop the pictures as soon as possible, then wishing them a good night as she put the camera away. Castle helped Kate into her jacket then, as she buttoned it up, leant down to Alexis's level to give her a hug and a kiss goodbye.
"Don't stay up too late," he told her, "and make sure you and Gram take Watson out for a walk before bed. And absolutely no hard liquor," he joked, laughing as he got a faux pout from his five-year-old in return.
"Fine," Alexis grumbled, folding her arms over his chest. Castle chuckled and tickled her side, getting her to giggle as he hugged her once more and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight, Pumpkin," he said, "I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy," Alexis replied, hugging him tightly before letting him go. Castle moved back so that Kate could say her goodbyes.
"Be good for your grandmother," she said, hugging Alexis, who hugged back, tightly, clinging slightly to Kate. Kate smiled and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Alexis," she said, softly, "I love you, Kid."
"I love you, too, Mo-Kate," Alexis said, catching herself just in time, but Kate caught what she was about to say and smiled brightly down at her, kissing her forehead again, before letting go and joining Castle at the front door.
"Have a nice night," Martha called after them, waving as they disappeared behind the door. When they were gone, she turned to Alexis with a wide grin. "Ready to get this party started, Kiddo?" she asked, rubbing her hands together, mischievously.
Alexis giggled. "Yeah!" she exclaimed, running over to Martha's bags to see what surprises were in store for the night.
I'm so sorry but I have to stop right there for right now. I am just so incredibly tired and I have a long date planned but I cannot even keep my eyes open long enough to type it for you so this will have to wait. But to make up for these short chapters which seem to lead nowhere, I am adding five more to the end result, which means that instead of only 100 chapters at the end, there will be 105. So, please keep reading and keep reviewing…I'm going to take a nap -_-
