For once, Rick woke up first. His rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow. Kate was sleeping peacefully, her hair splayed out over the pillow, her eyelids fluttering as she dreamed. Sunlight streamed in from the large windows, making her skin glow, golden against the white sheets. He wanted to kiss her, but he didn't want to wake her and ruin the perfect picture in front of him.
"I love you," he whispered.
After about half an hour, she began to stir.
"Castle, how long have you been watching me sleep?" she mumbled, her eyes still closed.
He continued to watch her. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Kate opened her eyes. They sparkled; Rick smiled. "You're a terrible liar."
He shrugged. "Sorry. You look beautiful when you sleep. So peaceful..."
"Creepy, so creepy. You snore."
Rick was aghast. "What?"
Kate laughed, the bubbly sound filling the room. "You are such an easy mark!"
Rick still looked worried. "I really don't?"
"No, you don't. You have this little snuffle that you do occasionally, but I find that adorable. And sometimes you say my name." She grinned. He sat up and motioned for her to lean against him; she did so, snuggling into his chest. She pulled the comforter over them and he fiddled with her hair
"Was it..?" Rick began.
"Amazing. And... for you?"
Rick grinned into her hair. "Fantastic. So worth the wait."
Kate laughed, masking her relief. "We didn't wait long."
"What are you talking about? We've waited almost five years."
"Well if you put it like that... yeah. Worth the wait."
"And you don't feel..?"
"Rick. Relax. I wanted this. So much. And I loved it. Every second."
He hugged her tightly.
"Did you..?"
It was Rick's turn to be stern.
"Kate. You blow my mind, seriously. I loved it too."
"Even the part where..?"
"Especially that part. I love that."
"Good. Me too. Funny, I don't think we ever got around to that last time."
Rick laughed. "No, we didn't. Shocking really."
"Right? Gosh. Our first time..."
"Such a mess. We were so drunk."
"Sour cherry shots. I might have to get you some."
"Delicious."
"Yeah," Rick said, but he wasn't thinking about the alcohol. He gave himself a little shake. "You hungry? Want me to make you breakfast?"
Kate smiled and turned around to face him.
"I'm not hungry," she said, kissing him gently. "Not for food, anyway," she added as he kissed her harder.
"What time is it?" she asked, suddenly pulling out of the kiss. Rick was reluctant to let go of her, but he understood.
It was 9am. Their son would be awake; they had to think of him. Kate sighed. Rick tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Cheer up. There's always tonight."
She laughed, slipping out of bed to use the bathroom. After a quick shower, she put on leggings and one of Rick's shirts.
"Didn't you bring any clothes of your own?" he asked as he got up to use the bathroom himself. Kate grinned.
"I like yours better. And I had to share a suitcase with Johnny, so I couldn't bring so much."
"Rubbish. You and Johnny together don't add up to me."
Kate grinned. "That may be so, but Johnny and I with all Johnny's toys and books are a different story."
"Fine. I give in. You look good in it, anyway," he said, going over to her. "But you'd look better like this."
He undid one of the buttons, so the top of her lacy bra just showed. Kate shoved him in the direction of the bathroom and did the button up again, then went downstairs to start the coffee. To her amazement, Martha was already up, and flashed her a knowing smile. Kate blushed slightly, then nodded. Johnny appeared from behind the couch.
"Good morning Mommy!"
"Morning Johnny."
"Can we go to the aquarium today?"
Kate looked at Martha. She hadn't even known there was an aquarium nearby.
"Uh, sure. Did Daddy tell you about it?"
"Yeah. It's close; we have to go in the car but not long. They even have sharks there!"
Kate grinned. "I'll talk to your Dad. If you're remembering right, I'm sure we can go."
Johnny smiled at her. "Want to go swimming? Then we can be like fishes too."
"I'd love to. Fish are one of those funny things that keep being fish when there are more than one."
Johnny didn't mind being corrected. "Oh. Hey, like sheep!"
"Yeah," Kate said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go be like fish."
"Before breakfast?"
"Is that alright?"
"Sure. It won't be for long though. And you have to be good when I say it's time to get out, or we won't be going in again for a while."
Johnny nodded solemnly, then darted off to get their swimsuits from where they had hung them the evening before. Rick appeared while Johnny was gone, and planted a sloppy kiss on Kate's lips. It soon intensified, his hands roaming under her shirt...
Johnny watched, fascinated. Martha cleared her throat and the couple broke apart, both reddening when they realised they had an audience. Johnny didn't seem bothered though. He just looked at Rick, narrowed his eyes in a way that was hauntingly similar to a common expression of his mothers, and said,
"It looked like you were eating her face."
Kate couldn't help but giggle and Rick was soon laughing too. Johnny handed them their swimsuits with a sigh.
"You two are weird..." he said to them as he went upstairs to get changed.
Kate wondered when Martha was going to talk to Rick. He was never alone; either with her or with Johnny. She would have to try and arrange something, maybe go off with Johnny while they were at the aquarium. She hoped it would be a family trip – she wanted Alexis to be involved too.
After a short swim and a quick breakfast, and finally getting the cup of coffee she'd been dreaming of since she woke up, Kate changed into some shorts and tied Rick's shirt up at the bottom. Johnny came into their room and looked around curiously.
"Where's Dad?"
"Bathroom. Why?"
"I want to ask him something."
"Can I help?"
"It's a different kind of something."
Kate raised her eyebrows, but shrugged.
"Wait here a minute and he'll be out."
"Okay. Can you..."
"You want me to go?"
Johnny nodded, smiling up at her. Kate ruffled his hair.
"Since when do you have secrets from me?" she asked, amused.
"It's not really a secret. Well, it is, but soon it won't be."
"Oh?"
"Can't tell you any more. I already talked to Lex about it though."
"Am I the only one who doesn't know?"
Johnny smiled more widely. "Yep. Told Grams this morning while you were still sleeping."
Kate nodded. "Johnny, was Grams awake already when you came down?"
"I didn't wake her up!"
Kate smiled. "I didn't think you did. So she was up already?"
"Yeah, she was sitting on the couch reading something. When she saw me she asked if I wanted to play, so we did. She seemed sad, but once we were playing she was happy."
Kate bit her lip. She had been worried when she saw Martha up so early – Ms Rodgers rarely saw the world before 9am. Rick came out of the bathroom, and Johnny shooed Kate from the room. She picked up her sandals and closed the door behind her, wondering what they were plotting.
I hope you liked the chapter, thanks for reading, and please review! Also, I started another fic last night called Sierra. I'm about to write the next chapter of that. It has Caskett and spies - go on, you know you want to... Loads of love and hugs, Z xxx
