Chapter 10

Kate had fallen asleep just minutes after they'd climbed into the backseat of the car home from the airport, her head resting against Rick's shoulder, her fingers woven with his.

Lord knows they hadn't done much sleeping that weekend, and when they had it'd only been for a few stolen hours here and there, certainly nothing in the way of pattern normalcy. Frankly, for most of the trip-holed up as they had been in the suite, in the bedroom, in the bed-they'd barely been aware of the time at all. They'd actually fit right in. Such was Vegas's infamous way.

Rick, too, had nodded off at some point along the drive, fought it though he had. Despite the attempt of the brilliant lights of Manhattan's passing cityscape to woo his attention, he'd only had eyes for Kate, because there still existed-might always exist, he knew-a part of him that feared her some fantastical mirage of his heart that might, at any moment, simply vanish.

Eventually she stirred and roused them both, and around a yawn he tried and failed to casually swallow, he welcomed her back to the waking world as though he hadn't missed a moment of it.

"Hey, sleepyhead, you've been out almost the entire ride. We're only about fifteen minutes from Greenwich."

"I've been out?" She pushed in, cocked her head. "You're drooling."

His hand flew to his mouth but the smile she cracked had him standing down. "Always wearing your arguing hat, aren't you, even on vacation?" he muttered sportively. "You can take the girl out of the law office, but you can't take the law office out of the girl." He let his head fall back against the rest, made over his tone to one soft and sweet. "You know what you look like when you sleep?"

"I'm not sure if I'm more afraid of the answer or that you were watching me."

"Because I just can't seem to help myself-your fault really-I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to the watching," Rick informed and brought her hand to his lips, pressed a kiss. "You look like my wife. I wish I had the right words to describe how happy that makes me."

When Kate leaned in he did the same, and they came together. "You don't need any. I already know."

And she truly did. It didn't matter to her that they'd been married beneath flashing pink neon, that the lone witness to it had been a stranger in a dress of red leather and too many zippers that'd left little to the imagination, or that their families and friends would probably have a collective fit about all of it when they found out. In all her years, she'd never felt prouder to be anything than she was to be Richard Castle's wife.

"If we weren't properly buckled in for safety, I'd give you a little demonstration of my happiness," he said. "Guess you'll have to wait until we get home." He tipped back over to his side. "Home… God, I hope my mother wasn't too much trouble for Clyde."

Kate giggled. "Don't let the furball fool you. He's been known to throw a wild shindig or two. Let's hope they're both in one piece."

"Have you changed your mind or do you still want to wait until the housewarming in a couple of weeks to tell everyone we got hitched by a guy wearing a baby blue suit and a pompadour? I mean, honestly, I'm good with that or whatever you want to do. I just want to make sure you can keep a lid on your excitement about being Mrs. No-Hassle Castle for that long, and that I don't do anything stupid and end up in the doghouse."

"Oh, so you can control that then?" she teased. "And, no, I haven't. I think the party really would be the best time. We'll all be together, and if they get pissed about it and come after us with pitchforks, I'm sure Gus's power tools will still be laying around for us to defend ourselves with."

Rick reached into his jacket pocket for his phone, went to light it up but then thought better of it.

"You just reminded me, speaking of defending. I got a text message from Geoff at 2:00 a.m. It included a photograph, which I just decided I'll never, ever subject you to because that's how much I love you. Anyway, it would seem that, unfortunately for Merlin the parrot, he's going to have both of his obnoxious parents back under one roof. I tell you, I'd rather have bet every cent I have to my name on red back in Vegas than touch the bet for how long that reunion's going to last."

"I'm having all my phone numbers changed, immediately. And closing down my office."

"I don't blame you." He side-eyed her in the shadows. "I can't say I haven't had a fantasy or seven about you and me and that conference table of yours since that day, though."

She nibbled at her bottom lip. She was way ahead of him on that.

xxxx

Later that week, Rick showed up at the firm with a surprise lunch for Kate in hand, found her with her head buried in a stack of paperwork, her hair clutched in a punishing fist for its disobedience, and a trench between her brows.

Ordinarily a fan of surprise, but wise enough to understand his wife would probably prefer otherwise, given the added stress of what was finally their moving day, he allowed Morgan to announce his arrival, and it didn't take long for him to realize just how right he'd been.

"This isn't even fucking English," she hissed as she scrutinized her own words on the page. "Christ, Kate, pay attention."

"Wow, tough boss," he commented from her office doorway. She hadn't noticed him. He'd relished the moment of invisibility. "Maybe you should go a little bit easier on Kate. I hear she has a pretty full plate right now." He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, hoped for a smile but clearly hadn't worked hard enough to earn one yet.

"Doesn't mean her work has to turn into garbage like this." She shoved the pile out of her face, slid back in her chair. "What are you even doing here? You said the movers showed up." Just then, Clyde jumped up onto the desk, pranced proudly across its length and back again before he settled and parked. "Thanks. Thank you. You're just so helpful," she grumbled.

"Hey, buddy," Rick tossed to her cute but lacking assistant for the day, who narrowed his eyes dreamily with the dose of affection.

He set the bag he carried in with him down in front of her. "They did, and they're doing their thing. My mother told me she'd keep an eye on them while I ran a quick errand. You said you wouldn't be able to get out today, so I thought I'd bring you some lunch. It's nothing fancy, just a salad and some soup. The shop had your favorite, chicken and rice. Oh, and there's a little something extra in there for you. From the way things look and sound in here, I'm glad they caught my eye."

Kate unrolled the top of the bag and peeked inside. A smile instantly followed.

"Oatmeal raisin?" She got up with Rick's nod, rounded the desk. "You're the best husband I've ever had," she told him and sealed it with a kiss.

"If keeping you in cookies is the price for being the only husband you'll ever have, hell, I'll buy a damn cookie factory." He pulled her into a hug. "I wish I could stay and play all afternoon like you two, but I should get back. There are four guys working the load, so they said it shouldn't take all that long. That is, unless Mother keeps up the flirting. She almost hurt herself earlier falling over the one in the tank top. I swear. George must be a saint."

Kate pinched his back and he winced.

"That was for the 'play all afternoon' comment. And, yes, please get back there before we end up getting sued for harassment or something. The two of us have enough people's cases going right now without adding one of our own." She bit gently, tasted the skin of his neck. "I'm sorry you have to handle today by yourself. I'll get out of here as soon as I can, and I promise I'll make it up to you tonight, our first official night in our new house."

Rick slid a glance Clyde's direction and pulled it back to her. "Watch that sexy talk in front of the K-I-D," he joked and whispered the rest into her ear. "You will make it up to me, and I'll spend the rest of the day thinking about all of the ways."

xxxx

Kate almost didn't recognize it as their house when she pulled into the driveway from work that early evening. Her car rumbled to a stop over the concrete still pitted and pocked-that project would come later-and stepping out of it her eyes could hardly believe the magic the landscaping crew had worked on what, just days before, had been a scene that would've sent many running for the hills.

Greens had taken the place of browns, ferns and evergreens of weeds and brambles, and as she walked the freshly laid path of arching stone toward the front porch, she couldn't help but feel a bit like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, like she'd opened her eyes to a new world, yet also come to realize how much the old Victorian had come to fill her heart.

The movers had come and gone. She made her way inside, freed Clyde from his carrier to rooms cluttered with their mingled belongings, boxes of all sizes and shapes, not a thing where she'd ultimately want it to live, no doubt, but it wasn't the disarray she saw. She saw only the art the place had become, and the future she intended to spend with Rick admiring it.

The cat darted off somewhere to find himself some trouble on his new playground, and she spent a few minutes tiptoeing around alone downstairs. Rick was nowhere to be found, so she helped herself to a glass of the wine he'd left uncorked on the kitchen counter and set off upstairs in search.

It was chaos up there, as well. Even with just a quick sweep from the landing at the top of the stairs, Kate appreciated the work they had ahead of them, but the cabernet helped the sting, as did the soft sound of her husband singing off in the distance, which in its uncommonness struck her both endearing and amusing.

She tracked the echo back to his secret room, the one he'd somehow managed to uncover on their first tour of house, and she couldn't have been less surprised that with all there was to be done, he was tucked away like a boy playing hide-and-seek, doing absolutely none of it.

"So," she said, slowly pulling open the pivoting section of refurbished bookshelves, "is this going to be your secret recording studio where you'll lay down secret songs for that secret girlfriend of yours?" She grinned around the rim of her glass when he jumped from the fright. "Yep, busted by the wife, buddy."

"Welcome home, Counselor," Rick said after a calming breath and folded her into his arms. "I happen to be a big fan of my wife and her bust." His eyes dipped when he softened the embrace and he smirked. "I only have songs for them… uh, her."

Kate kissed his lips hard and fast. "What are you doin' in here, Elvis? I have to assume you're up to no good." There was a table lamp plugged in on the floor, a large, red bow there beside it; aside from a few stacks of books, the space was otherwise empty. "Looks like your recording studio might be doubling as a gift-wrapping room."

"Shit, yeah, that. I have a surprise, but I didn't get the chance to set it up. I didn't expect you so soon. You seemed really buried when I stopped by today."

"I was. I decided being here with you was more important," she told him. "The work will still be there tomorrow."

He slipped his hand around hers. "All the more time we'll have for you to make missing the actual moving part up to me. I lifted four boxes, you know." Kate rolled her eyes. "Okay, so the bow is out, but I still have the surprise. Would you like to see it?" He relieved her of her glass and tugged her out of the room before she could say a word.

He led her back down the hallway to the edge of their bedroom, where he came to an abrupt stop. "I had Gus do a little something for me, for us," he said and turned his eyes downward rather deliberately. "He cleaned it all up, refinished it. You'd hardly even know." Kate appeared understandably confused. "That's the original threshold from the front, the one we almost tripped over a hundred times."

"It's… really?" She crouched, caressed her fingers over the polished wood. "I can't believe it's the same one. It's beautiful, Rick."

"He did a great job with it. And he actually finished it, which is more than I can say about a lot of things around here." Kate reached for his hand and he helped her up. "I just wanted to have something from the beginning of all of this here with us, and for it to always be a part of the incredible thing we've created together. We'll always be able to see it and to be reminded of how far we've come, and from the most unexpected place. What do you think?"

"I think if I shared with you how often you overwhelm me, you wouldn't believe it." She wrapped her arms up around his shoulders and locked them. "But it's the truth, and I really, really love it. I really, really love you. Now, how about you pick me up and carry me over this new-old threshold of ours? I see our bed's in there, and I'm ready to start paying off my tab."

Without missing a beat, Rick fell back into the Elvis Presley tune he'd been singing earlier. "Her lips are like a volcano that's hot..."