Life is Gourd - Chapter 6

The Space Between Here and There

Her body collides with his, adrenaline making her fingers shake as she reaches for his face. She can't wait to touch him, can't force herself to wait until they're off the street and alone; she needs to know for herself that he's here, living and breathing in front of her.

"They told me you were dead," she whispers as he covers them with his overcoat to escape the rain. Desperation claws at her chest, forces her to bury her face in his lapel and breathe him in, seeking his warmth, seeking the strong steady beat of his heart. "Rick."

He catches her with a hand on the back of her neck, pulls her lips to his. His kiss is harsh, a bruising thing that speaks to what he's been through, the sadness and devastation, the horrors he's seen. Her breath stutters against his mouth, a quiet cry making its way into what little space exists between them. With the slide of his lips, the nip of his teeth, she knows he's not the same, knows something has been taken from him.

Something more than the light he'd had when he left.

Her voice cracks on his name, her fingers trembling as they stroke his jaw, sliding to the column of his throat.

"Oh god," she gasps, her eyes flying open.

He's already looking back at her. She watches him swallow hard, his throat working under her hand. She feels that. Witnesses that.

What she doesn't feel, can't see, is the steady thrum of his pulse beneath her fingertips. The solid beat that tells her blood still flows through his veins.

"I'm sorry, Kate," he says, his eyes icy blue – piercing in the darkness under the khaki of his coat. "I tried. I'm so sorry. They tried, too. The medics, the doctors, the nurses – even a couple of cops on the scene. There was nothing they could've done, though."

She shakes her head, tries and fails to take a step back from him. He holds her tighter, laces his fingers at her back to keep her with him. There's a ringing in her ears that causes her to almost miss his next words.

"They told you I was dead," he continues, licking his lips, "because I was."

"No."

Rick nods, calm. "Yes. I was dead, Kate." Lifting his chin and opening his mouth, he bares his teeth to her. It's impossible, improbable, downright baffling, but she sees the glint of razor-sharp points.

It can't be. He has to be playing a trick on her – he's done it before! Surely he's doing it again. He'd decided to take the horrible news they'd given her and try to make her laugh about it, try to make her forget that a cop with a dark scowl had appeared on her doorstep to give her bad news.

"I still am," he says after a moment, drawing her back to him.

Kate Beckett wakes up in her bed, drenched in sweat, his name a startled gasp on her lips.

A warm hand lands on her thigh, gives her leg a gentle squeeze. "Bad dream?"

She exhales, flopping back against her pillow and rolling onto her side to encourage her partner to press his front to her back. She takes his hand, pulling it to rest between her breasts.

"Yeah. It was… I'll tell you tomorrow if I remember it."

Castle hums, nuzzling his face into the curve of her neck. "Kay. Go back to sleep, Beckett," he orders, his voice a low rumble.

She feels her body relax with his hips pressed to hers, his breath against her neck.

The strong beat of his heart at her back.

As it is now just after midnight on the east coast, and Halloween draws to a close, this is it for these little ficlets this year. Once again, thank you for reading! I appreciate you.

Stay safe, be well.

Until next time.