Previously on...
June 25, 2010 - Castle and Beckett step into an elevator in Harlem, traveling to the past and later, a fractured present reality before eventually returning to their primary timeline on the same day they left. The couple visit Jim at Remy's and he confirms he met them in '77 and gives Kate a letter from Johanna. Beckett shows him a photo album, revealing they went to a parallel timeline where Johanna was alive. At the loft, Beckett officially cancels her date with Josh and Castle asks her to go to the Hamptons.
Castle & Beckett
June 28, 2010
The first few days at the Hamptons are spent napping and recalibrating to their old-new reality. Beckett mourns the loss of her mother for a second time but she lets Castle hold her, sharing the grief with him. Martha is joyous at the news of their relationship and offers to stay with a friend who lives down the beach to give them their privacy. They put up a protest, but the redhead insists, fleeing quickly with a knowing wink.
The detective sends Montgomery an email asking for extended time off and he grants her as long as she wants, thrilled she's finally cashing in on some of her vacation days. The boys hound her for more details but she's vague, informing them she'll be offline for a bit. Lanie is even more dogged and Beckett finally submits, answering a call from the medical examiner on their third day.
"Finally!" Lanie shouts.
"Hello to you, too," she chuckles.
"You owe me so much information right now. First, I learn from the boys that you and Castle are supposedly in the Hamptons together and then I have to hear it from LT who heard it from Valazquez who heard it from a uniform doing a coffee run that they saw you kissing Castle in an alleyway. And I told them they're being ridiculous. Because there's no way you'd be doing any of those things without telling me first!"
"Am I supposed to notify you of all my sexual conquests?"
"Your sexual what now? Are you saying what I think you're saying? I need the exact date. Right now," Lanie demands.
June 26, 1977 the detective thinks. "I am not giving you the date!" Beckett lightly protests.
"You've gotta give me something. You know you and your writer are the only thing anyone talks about around here. And I'm your best friend. That has to count for something."
The detective can't help but smile. "It was worth the wait," she provides.
"Oh my god!" Lanie exclaims. "How did this happen? I thought he was with his ex-wife."
"It's kind of a long story."
"I've got time."
Knowing she can't tell Lanie the truth, Kate offers up a different version of events. She explains how Castle ambushed her at the apartment showing in Harlem, apologized for not calling, and confessed to breaking up with Gina because he had feelings for her. That's when she told him she ended things with Demming because she'd wanted to accept his invitation to the Hamptons.
"And now we've been here for the past couple of days. Making up for lost time," she says.
"You sound happy," the medical examiner notes.
"I am," the detective replies, smiling, as she feels arms slide around her waist from behind. The writer drops a kiss on her neck. "I gotta go," the detective adds as she turns to face Castle, smudging her lips against his.
"Say hi to Castle for me!" Lanie shouts.
"Hi back," he says right before Beckett hangs up. They hear a squeal from the medical examiner as the line cuts out.
"Lanie?" he asks.
"She wanted all the dirty details."
"Oh?"
"Told her all about how you rocked my world," Beckett says with a mischievous grin.
"That all?" he asks, a smile dimpling across his cheeks.
The detective sobers slightly, her arms circling around his neck. "She also asked me when I was coming back."
"Do you want to go back?" he asks, searching her eyes. "We can leave whenever you want."
She shakes her head. "I don't want to go. We deserve a break, don't we?"
"Who are you and what have you done with Kate Beckett?"
A smile curls at her lips.
"Time-travel changes a girl."
June 29, 2010
It storms on their fourth day, gale-force winds knocking the power out. After making sure Martha is sheltered safely with her friend, they scrounge around for candles and other emergency supplies. Luckily, Castle has the living room fireplace pre-stocked with logs, so he starts a fire while Beckett uncorks a bottle of wine and they make a picnic out of any perishables in the fridge, ending up with an impressive spread of meats and cheeses.
Sated with food and loose from wine, they kiss long and slow, gradually shedding their clothes and coming together as the heat of the flames wash over them and thunder crashes outside.
After, she lays her head on his chest, staring into the embers of the fire, feeling safe and warm.
"I want to stay here forever," she says quietly.
"Okay," he says simply.
They quiet, listening to sounds of the storm.
"Do you think they made it back?" she asks eventually. They had put a pause on time-travel talk since they'd arrived, but the thought had been nagging at her.
"They did," he replies confidently.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I think we're tied to them. My dad said our trip to '77 made their reality possible and when we jumped to their timeline, I think we kicked them out. Maybe they came here. But now that we're home…I have a feeling everything has been realigned."
"You've become quite the time-traveling expert."
"You're the one that got us here," he says, stroking her back absentmindedly. "When I got shot and was fading out, I held onto your voice. You said we were going home. That everything was going to be as it was."
"You think that's why we arrived on the same day we left?"
"That's my best guess. It definitely saved my life."
She circles an errant finger on his collarbone, thinking.
"You miss Fitz?"
"Certainly don't miss changing diapers but yeah, I miss the little guy," he says, "You?"
"Feels weird knowing we'll never see him again, you know?"
"I know," he murmurs.
"Hell of a thing being a parent. Don't know if I could do it again anytime soon."
"What are you hinting at, Detective Beckett?"
"Slow down, Writer Boy," she says, chuckling. "Can we just be us for a little while?"
"I think we can manage that," he says, flipping over her with a wolfish grin.
In the morning, she rolls over in their bed, coming face to face with the letter from her mother, sitting untouched on her nightstand. Castle hasn't pushed her on opening it, giving her the space she needs.
It's just…a horrible feeling grows in the pit of her stomach every time she thinks about finding the answers she's spent years looking for, still unpacking the irrational anger at her mother for breaking her promise and still processing the betrayal of her mentor. She's not ready to drag herself back into everything.
It's like she said to Lanie. All she wanted right now was to make up for lost time with Castle. They hardly had a chance to date properly in their Parallel, the shadow of their other selves always lurking and their burgeoning relationship launched into warp-speed. They never got time to themselves, where they didn't have to be parents or chase down criminals. Never got a chance to just be in love.
Over the next week, they go sailing, have lunches with Martha, sing bad karaoke at one of the local bars, and go skinny-dipping in the heated pool. In quieter moments, Castle writes Nikki and she catches up on reading in her new favorite overstuffed armchair in his den, reveling in the peace and comfort.
Sometimes, he asks for her opinion, slipping her rough drafts of new chapters and she marks the pages with red ink, playfully ribbing him that she's the one helping him with his job for once.
He eventually bans her from being his makeshift editor, saying that a muse is best kept outside of the creative process, though if she really wanted to contribute, he could definitely use her guidance on some of the sex scenes.
A past version of herself might've threatened to break his legs, but instead, she goes to grab some ice cubes.
July 4, 2010
Alexis' summer program at Princeton ends just in time for her to join them for Independence Day. Beckett participates in her first official "Castle Sand-Off"—the family's annual sandcastle-building competition, where she earns second place behind the young redhead, now the defending champion three years running. The writer mopes over his last place finish, declaring he'll get his revenge next year. They run him off into the ocean, their sides splitting with laughter.
They lounge by the pool for the rest of the afternoon, and Castle fires up the barbecue for hamburgers and hot dogs. When Beckett offers to make fresh lemonade from scratch, Alexis tags along to the kitchen, helping her locate supplies.
"Thank you. I'm still figuring out where everything is," the detective says, picking up a bowl of lemons by the sink and a juicer from a nearby drawer.
"No worries," Alexis says, "Happy to help," she adds, retrieving a bag of sugar from a cabinet above the fridge.
"Would you mind cutting some of the lemons in half?" Beckett asks as they assemble everything on the kitchen island.
"Sure thing," the redhead replies, reaching for a knife and cutting board.
They work in a comfortable silence for a little, with Alexis slicing the lemons open and Beckett taking the halves and mashing them onto the juicer.
The redhead glances at her with a shy smile. "This is nice," she says, "I don't know what my dad did to convince you to come…but I'm glad you're here. Gina didn't like to participate in these kinds of things."
Beckett stiffens slightly at the mention of his ex-wife, forgetting that the blonde had been in the Hamptons with the writer technically just prior to her visit.
"Sorry," Alexis says quickly, ducking her head.
"No need to apologize," the detective says, "I'm glad I'm here, too." She gently bumps her hip against the redhead's, prompting an easy grin from the younger Castle.
"I know my dad hasn't been the easiest to deal with, but I also know that he cares about you a lot," the redhead says, "This is real for him."
Warmth spreads in the detective's chest. "It's real for me, too."
They return to their task, mixing all the ingredients together, Beckett instructing Alexis with the correct sugar to water ratio before adding the lemon juice. The redhead takes the first test sip and looks up at the detective with wide eyes. "This is amazing."
"My mom always said the more sugar, the better," Beckett replies.
"She really knew her stuff," Alexis says.
"I'll have to show you how to make her pancakes next. You like them with lots of chocolate chips, right?"
"You remember that?"
"Course I do."
Suddenly, the redhead throws her arms around the detective, hugging her, and Beckett squeezes her back tightly, needing it just as much as her.
Once it gets dark, they celebrate with a bonfire on the beach, roasting marshmallows and making gooey s'mores.
Castle kisses Beckett after taking a bite of one, giving her a taste of the ultra-sweet Hershey's.
"Thank you for the chocolate," she says, swiping her tongue over her lips and he drops another kiss above her eyebrow.
"Anytime," he chuckles, sliding an arm around her shoulder as he cozies up next to her on their blanket. She leans into him, closing her eyes and taking in the moment.
"Are you sure you've only been dating since last week?" Alexis asks coyly.
"It feels like it's been months instead of days," Beckett replies, looking at the writer.
Castle chokes on a laugh.
The young redhead arches a brow. "What?"
"Nothing. I'm just so happy you're all here," the writer says, recovering. "I brought your favorite illegal fireworks."
"The ones with the silver starbursts?" she asks.
"The very ones," he says, pulling a pack from their beach bag.
Alexis eagerly lights one, sparks flying everywhere.
"Please keep that away from me," Martha protests, "I've already lost my prize shawl to Richard's pyrotechnics from last year."
The redhead mimes movement towards her grandmother and the older woman shrieks.
They all laugh, only to be interrupted by fireworks bursting bright in the clear, velvet sky.
They watch in awe as a spectrum of colors unfold in bombastic glory.
The detective gazes at her writer, thinking of everything they've gone through together.
He catches her looking at him, asking, "You okay?"
"More than okay," she says, reaching up to kiss him. She keeps him close after parting and softly whispers, "This is the happiest I've ever been."
July 5, 2010
The next morning, she finds herself staring at the envelope on her nightstand again.
The writer awakens, rising to kiss her shoulder and follows her gaze.
"What are you thinking?" he murmurs.
She turns toward him, running a hand along his jaw. "That I don't want to think about death and murder or time-travel. I just want to be."
"We can stay here as long as you want," he says, gently pushing hair back from her face. "But Kate, it's going to drive you crazy. It's who you are. You need this. You need to know why."
She huffs. "I hate it when you read my mind."
"I'm a Jedi like that."
She grins and then sobers, deciding something.
"I don't want to read it here. I need to be home."
"We'll leave after breakfast," he says, moving to get up.
She stops him, sliding her body on top of his and lowering the straps of her silk pajama tank top.
"Tomorrow."