Chapter Eighteen
Rainboots
Early Season Four

She jerks awake in a panic, her heart pounding, clothes drenched in sweat. It takes her a minute to orient herself, but when she glances around and sees the familiar furniture and decor of her living room, she realizes that she fell asleep on the couch.

Again.

She tries to shake the remnants of the nightmare from her mind as she stands, wincing when she twists and tugs at the scar on her side. The dream lingers, though, even as she checks that her door is locked and detours through the kitchen for a bottle of water on her way to her bedroom.

Her last case had made its way into her subconscious mind, had mingled with her memory of that day in the cemetery. Instead of a sniper, the person trying to kill her was dressed as a masked villain; this time she managed to defeat them, but as she was reaching to unmask them, she woke up.

Her phone pings from the bathroom vanity as she brushes her teeth, and she glances at the screen, smiles around her toothbrush when she sees her partner's name. Although she feels a little tense around him, thanks to the lie she'd told months before about her shooting, he seems to be giving her the time she'd asked for, and she couldn't be more grateful.

She unlocks her phone and brings up the text message after she wipes her mouth, can't help but smile wider after she reads it.

Alexis and I are going to a corn maze tomorrow, wanna come with?

Her fingers hover over the keyboard as she considers. She does have the day off; her plan had been to go in anyway and catch up on paperwork, but it wouldn't hurt her too much not to.

I'd love to. What time?

His reply is quick.

We'll pick you up at 9:30. Might want to wear boots, it'll be muddy after today.

She sends a thumbs up emoji in response and plugs in her phone, sets it on her nightstand to charge overnight.

She's awake by 7 and ready to go by 9, despite spending most of the night tossing and turning and avoiding the masked villain that continued to reappear every time she closed her eyes.

The knock on her door sounds promptly at 9:30, and she can't help but be surprised when Alexis is on the other side of the door.

"Hi," she greets Alexis, opening the door wide so the teen can step inside.

Alexis glances around, a movement not unlike her father the first time he'd seen her apartment, Kate muses. "Hey, Kate. Wow, nice place."

Kate reaches for a pair of rain boots and slips them on over the bottom of her skinny jeans. "Thanks." She grabs her raincoat and slides a travel umbrella into her shoulder bag. "Your dad stayed in the car?"

"Yeah, he's circling the block so he doesn't have to deal with parking."

"Makes sense." She makes sure her wallet is in her bag and gets her keys from the hook behind the door. "Where are we going?"

"F&W Schmitt's. You know it?" Alexis adds when Kate nods.

"I've been there a few times over the years. Oh, there's your dad," she says when they step onto the sidewalk. She moves towards the back door but Alexis insists that she go up front. The loud honk of a car horn spurs Kate to relent and slide into the passenger seat, quickly buckling herself in as Castle turns off the flashers and pulls back out into traffic.

"Good morning," Castle greets her with a glance and a grin.

Kate returns his grin, takes a moment to look at him as he concentrates on driving. He's dressed much more casual than he does when he joins her at work, in a pair of jeans and a navy blue and orange plaid shirt. His hair is missing its usual tame style; instead, it appears that he's gone for the just-out-of-bed rumpled look.

It's cute. It makes her want to run her hands through it and bring his mouth to hers.

"I'm glad you were able to come with us," Castle says, interrupting her thoughts. "Alexis figured you could use a day out of the city."

Kate glances in her side mirror, where she spots the blush on Alexis's cheeks. "Oh?"

"She said it must be overwhelming after being at your dad's cabin for so long," Castle continues, sparing a look and smile in the rearview mirror. "Oh, here." He hands her a familiar travel mug from the center cupholder. "I figured you wouldn't say no to coffee."

She grins and cups it in her grateful hands, closes her eyes at the warmth. "Thanks, Castle."

"Always."