Playing Hard to Get
Chapter 15
Kate was amazed at the things Alexis had chosen to put into her suitcase while she stayed at the loft, along with nearly everyone else she knew. Save for the guys, Roy, and maybe a few others at work, the rest were all here. And in some ways, that was kind of sad.
She found some of the sexiest lingerie she owned, and she was talking really sexy here! Then she came upon something that had her grinning wide. "She packed my vibrator?" That little trusty item had saved her many a time. But today didn't happen to be one of those times. Though, it did tell her a little more about Alexis.
She also found something she could wear downstairs should everyone be awake and up and not yet fully dressed to go outside. It was casual enough and covered enough to be acceptable.
Alexis already came upstairs and scooped Lilly up to take her outside, but she hadn't brought her back, at least not yet. So after a quick shower and getting dressed, Kate poked her head out the door and could see almost everywhere downstairs.
Someone was cooking, and by process of elimination, it had to be Castle. Her dad and Martha were sitting side by side and talking. HER DAD AND MARTHA!
Lanie was at the door, and it looked like Alexis had both puppies on the floor, and the three of them were playing. She had reached some conclusions last night after a lot of thinking. A cold washcloth on her face for a while had managed to lessen the evidence that she hadn't slept much, sooo…
"How do you feel, girlfriend?" The bottom of the stairs was about halfway between the kitchen and the front door. And since Lanie was facing her and not anyone else, she had seen her first. So Kate walked that way and was somewhat amused that her two dining room chairs hadn't moved, and she sat down on one.
Kate shrugged one shoulder. "Better, I think."
"Enough to apologize to us for thinking we're all out to get you? That none of us are on your side?" Lanie asked while watching her closely.
Kate gave her a tiny smile. "Yeah, I get that you're trying to help. Even I know that I can be...difficult on occasion," she admitted.
"Well, that's something, at least. Are you ready to forgive Castle? He did you a favor, you know." Right away, Lanie saw Kate wasn't anywhere near ready for that.
"FAVOR!?You call that a favor!?" Lanie had lost her mind. "He digs into my personal life and opens up an old wound that I barely survived, and you call that a favor?"
Kate didn't see that the rest were looking their way now, but Lanie could, and everyone looked hurt.
Stone-faced, Lanie glared at her. "Yes, Kate, I do. You spent ten years of your life. Ten long years when you could've been doing something else. Ten years trying to find a clue, one tiny little clue to make those ten years all worth it. But you didn't, and not from a lack of trying or of skill at trying.
"And yet Castle manages to do something you couldn't. So are you really mad at him because he looked, or because he found something that you didn't?
"Ten long years. Not one vacation did you take. You never even left the City. You haven't even wanted to date anyone since Will." Lanie clapped her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry!" Lanie thought she had finally gone too far. Will, her old boyfriend, was dead. And she couldn't help but feel sad over that.
"HE!" Kate pointed where she knew Castle had to be if he hadn't moved. "He… YES!" She was angry for both reasons. He had done what she told him not to. Granted, he had done it before she told him not to do it, but still. And yes, she was angry because Castle could do something she couldn't – find a damn lead. She was the cop here, and she couldn't do it.
Kate didn't think she had wasted those ten years. She had lived them. So she hadn't lived them like she had dreamed of doing before her mother was killed, but they weren't that bad.
But suddenly, she was also out of steam. She was tired of being angry, of thinking of herself as a failure. And she was tired of being hungry. That bagel and those strawberries hadn't done anything for her. Someone had even taken away the dinner from last night that she hadn't eaten.
She was totally out of steam. "Can I have breakfast?" Kate barely made it above a whisper. She heard Castle answer almost instantly. "Yes."
"Coming right up." Yes, Rick had moved away from the kitchen area a little to try and get closer. To try and tell her that he was sorry. He hadn't done it to hurt her. That wasn't his intention.
"Go eat, Kate. You're skin and bones. Let Castle fatten you up a little." Lanie didn't move from her chair. She didn't dare. One, Kate might hit her, and two, she might still want to escape from here. They only had today left to get through to her and calm her down. She had to go into work tomorrow.
Kate got up and could see everyone watch her shuffle toward the kitchen. The only one not watching was Castle. He had his back to her, standing in front of the stove.
Kate watched her dad pull out a stool at the breakfast bar for her. "Thanks, Dad." She sat down to watch Castle cook. He seemed to be doing a lot. He was forever moving from one location to another.
She could feel and hear her stomach growling at her. It was partly because she could smell what Castle was doing but also because she was starving. The smell of coffee wasn't helping any either.
Rick was working as fast as he could. Bacon took too long to cook right, so he skipped it. He started the coffee maker, quickly stirred some batter, poured it into the waffle maker, and closed it. While the batter was turning golden brown, he cracked several eggs and added some ham and cheese. In another skillet, he browned sausage sticks. They came precooked, so he only needed to warm them up.
Soon he had everything on two plates and turned around and saw Kate for the first time in a while. She looked so broken and sad, and he knew he was the cause. It was breaking his heart.
"One waffle, one ham and cheese omelet roll, two pieces of sausage." All of a sudden, his piece of toast popped up in the toaster. "One piece of toast with butter and jam." Castle left her for a few seconds. "And one cup of coffee, freshly brewed." He stood back and waited for an eruption about how much she hated him, or maybe she would just start eating.
"I forgot the maple syrup." How could he be so stupid? He dug through the fridge, found the bottle of organic maple syrup, and put it next to the waffle for her to pour over it. "And butter." He placed that next to the waffle as well and stepped back again.
Kate blinked and stared at all of it. It was more than she usually ate in a day, let alone one meal. "Thanks, Castle. Um, silverware?" Or was she supposed to eat with her fingers?
"Silverware, right." Rick kicked himself for forgetting and got her one of nearly everything, including an extra knife just for the butter.
Kate started with the omelet roll since it actually looked like eggs in a roll with ham and cheese inside it. She hummed, savoring the taste. "What did you put in this?" It was amazing!
"Just some ham and cheese and a few spices. Is it that bad?" He had done his best.
"This is marvelous!" Kate began eating in earnest. If she was going to be able to finish one thing, it would be this one.
In the end, the omelet roll was gone, the sausage was gone, her toast was gone, and she had at least touched the waffle. She was stuffed and ready to pop while she sat there, still sipping coffee number two and looking out at everyone watching her.
Kate sighed, then said, "I was a jerk, wasn't I?"
That had Martha moving before anyone else did. "No, dear." Martha sat on the stool next to her and held her free hand in her two hands. "You had a shock. Richard dug into your past and found something he had to tell you about, and it was a shock. We knew it would be. Why do you think we're all here?" Martha raised one of her hands and waved at everyone.
"I know you haven't had much exposure to this, but this is what families do. This is what a family is. We help when help is needed, even if it isn't asked for. And don't for a moment think that you're not family because you most definitely are," Martha declared.
Then Martha took the coffee cup from her and set it down. "Oh, don't cry, dear. You'll have us all crying." Martha got up and even with Kate still sitting, did her best to hug her. Except all that did was cause Kate to cry even more.
Somehow, Kate knew Martha had reached her and found a way past all of her walls, which made her cry all the more. She didn't cry. She refused to cry, and yet she couldn't stop.
Kate closed her eyes and just let the tears come; she didn't see everyone now huddled around her. Even Lanie had left her post at the door to be closer.
It wasn't until they all heard a little high-pitched howl that made everyone look around. Lilly was sitting on the floor, looking up, and doing her best to howl. Alexis picked her up, got her to stop, and handed her to Kate after Martha let go of her.
Now Kate was sitting there holding her puppy, who so desperately wanted to lick her face that she was trying to climb her to reach it. Thankfully for her, Kate lifted her and rubbed her nose against hers, and Lilly got in a few quick licks before ending up back in her lap. Kate petted Lilly as she wiped away tears with the other hand till she found a napkin in front of her, compliments of Castle. Now she had something and could dry her tears.
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Kate felt better but hadn't moved and still had Lilly, who, for the moment, was content to be petted. "Feeling better, dear?" Martha inquired.
"Yes, thank you." Kate turned to face her father. "I'm sorry, Dad."
"For what? For loving your mother? For trying your best to honor her memory? Why apologize for that? I could maybe have done without some of the theatrics, but I don't see anything to apologize for," Jim assured her and heard Kate chuckle softly for a moment.
And now it was Rick's turn. "I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to cause this much pain. That wasn't why I asked Dr. Murray to look at those pictures. I didn't think it would cause any pain at all until he told me what he had found. Learning what he had discovered, I just knew it would hurt you. That hurt me more than I can ever explain.
"I'll accept my punishment and stay away. I'll try and write about something else. You don't have to put up with me any longer," Rick told her in a rush of words.
What Martha said to her had dropped her walls. And right now, even Lilly was doing her best to tear at them and make them go away as Kate continued to pet her. Hearing her howl at her had reached her soul. Her little puppy was hurting because of her.
"Castle..." Kate could still remember their date. She'd actually had a lot of fun. She had learned a lot about Castle over the last few weeks. Even more lately. "You can still follow me around, I won't stop you. But if you do something like this again," Kate pointed her finger at him in the shape of a gun.
Rick raised his hands in surrender. "NEVER! I don't ever want to hurt you like that again. Next time, I'll ask first. Whatever it is, I'll ask you first." Rick could feel his own heart start to mend. She didn't hate him!
"You'd better," Kate told him.
"Does this mean we can go on a second date?" Rick asked her, hope visible on his face. And yeah, he still wanted that cheeseburger.
"Don't press your luck, Castle," Kate said quickly. Then she said, "I'll think about it."
"YES!" Rick pumped his arm. To him, maybe was a definite yes.
Kate groaned. "Do you have to be such a child, Castle?"
"You'll get used to it, Kate." Alexis was happy now too. "Better give me Lilly. Time to go outside." Alexis held out her hands for Kate to hand her the puppy. These two really needed to get a handle on doing their business outside.
"Maybe start teaching them how to tell us when they need outside," Alexis proposed as she gathered up everything she was going to need. "Lanie, chair, please." It was in her way.
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Kate sat on her stool and watched as everyone began deflating air mattresses and pushing everything back where it belonged. Eventually, the air mattresses disappeared along with the sheets and extra pillows.
Then Lanie's cell phone rang, and she listened intently. "I have to go. Perlmutter has one, but we have another one." Lanie walked over to Kate.
"I'm glad you're better. Getting through to you is like trying to sink a battleship. I don't know why you have to be so damn difficult!" Lanie hugged her and turned to leave.
Kate smiled at her. "Because you love me."
"Don't remind me." Lanie smiled back at her and let herself out. They no longer guarded the door, and Kate could leave if she wanted to now.
"Well, since you're better and we've both learned something that we didn't know, I'm going to go home." Jim stepped over to hug his daughter. "I have another court visit tomorrow, and I have homework to do."
Kate stood up and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Dad."
Jim moved closer to her and said quietly, "Let Rick help you. He's not as bad as you think, and I'm pretty sure he cares more than he's saying."
Kate looked around and saw everyone was far enough away. "I'm pretty sure he just needs me for his book, but I'll think about it."
"He's a damn sight better than some of those supposed boyfriends you put your mother and me through, Katie. I thought sure you would be the death of both of us," Jim teased her.
"Thanks a lot, Dad." Sadly, at this stage of her life, he did have a point and she knew it. Kate watched him leave, then noticed Lilly and Dahlia taking turns chasing each other all over the place, slipping and sliding on the hardwood floors. Seeing them even had her laughing at their antics.
"Leaving us, Mother?" Rick had noticed her coming down the stairs with a wrap and her purse.
"Since Katherine is all better, I'm going to go shopping. I still have your credit card from last time," Martha informed everyone.
"I really should take that back," Rick muttered to himself, but Kate heard him and started grinning. This little family dynamic they had going was cute.
Suddenly Kate found herself being hugged by Martha again. "I'm glad to see you back to your normal self, Katherine. What I saw earlier, I hope never to see again."
"Thank you, Martha. And me too." She didn't want to be that sad or that angry again either. Not ever.
"Toodles." Martha waved her hand at anyone that was still paying attention and left.
"Since I have my bedroom back, I'm going to go study. You can keep these two, they seem to be having fun." Alexis looked at Dahlia and Lilly who were now playing at fighting instead of running all over the place. "Do not send my dad to Emergency." Alexis shook her finger at Kate and then went up to her room.
"No promises," Kate called after her knowing full well she didn't mean it.
Castle moved to a bar stool while Kate stepped over to the coffee maker and searched for a coffee cup. She listened to Castle tell her which cabinet to open then poured herself a new cup of coffee, and turned to face Castle, who was still sitting there, watching her.
"Staring is creepy, Castle," Kate informed him tartly.
Rick promptly offered an alternative. "If you would be so kind as to pour me a cup of coffee, I could stare at it instead."
Soon Kate was standing there her sipping coffee while Castle was sitting there his sipping coffee. And now both of them were staring at each other.
"Special Forces, huh?" Kate started there. She wasn't down her rabbit hole just yet, and it didn't seem to hurt to talk about it at the moment.
"So I heard. It didn't make much sense to me, either. Your mother never did work for the military, did she? Not even before she started her own practice?" Rick watched as Kate shook her head while still sipping her coffee
"It might not be a real Special Forces knife, you know," Rick submitted. "It might be a cheap knockoff that you and I could go out and buy."
"Possible," Kate agreed.
Rick put his coffee cup down and leaned forward, watching Kate move a little closer. The kitchen island was still between them. Kate actually wanted him to say something about them.
"He got could have gotten out of the Army after the Gulf War and kept his knife."
That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Kate was a bit disappointed but didn't say anything about it. She was still a coward when it came to matters of the heart. "And did what?" What did an ex-Special Forces soldier do for a living?
"I was thinking homeless. Still random, but you said your mom still had all her money, credit cards, jewelry, and purse." Rick frowned. Something definitely wasn't right. "Even some kid that wanted a fix would have taken something."
"Welcome to my world. I've already tried to think of everything, Castle. You really think I haven't been down this road more than once already?" Kate demanded. "Why I needed a year of therapy to learn to let go of it?"
Rick leaned far forward. He slid a hand across the countertop to reach her and felt gratified that she met him halfway with her own hand.
"I didn't mean it like that, Kate. That's not what I'm trying to do here." Rick didn't want her to be mad at him yet again. Or to force her to think about her mother's case.
"I know, Castle. It's just I've thought of everything. Or at least I had till you found out she was targeted to be killed. Murder is someone being targeted, but this feels more like an assassination. Kind of like your mom stuck her nose into something she shouldn't have." Kate sighed. It was making her nuts already.
"Honestly, I did just want to help. I do know people that might be able to help," Rick told her.
"Next time, ask me, Castle. And when I shoot you down, drop it. I don't want to go through this again," Kate begged him with a look in her eyes.
"I promise. And this time, I really promise. Do you need a pinky promise?" Rick took his hand from hers and held out his pinky.
"You can be such a child." Kate sighed and linked her pinky finger with his. If it stopped him from doing this again, she would indulge him.
Rick grinned at her. "Pretty fun, huh?"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "Maybe for you. Not so much for me."
"You'll get the hang of it," Rick said. "So what do we do with the rest of our day?" he asked her since they had all day still. It wasn't even lunchtime yet.
"KATE! YOUR PHONE'S RINGING. DO YOU WANT ME TO ANSWER IT?" Alexis yelled from her room. "IT SAYS PRECINCT."
Kate put down her coffee cup with a thunk and flew up the stairs before it stopped ringing. It wasn't long before she retreated into the bathroom to change clothes. Thankfully, Alexis had packed her something she could wear for work.
"Let me guess, dead body?" Alexis questioned her when she came out.
"New York City never sleeps," Kate told her. She checked her weapon and put it in her holster.
"I thought that was Vegas. You know, you could spend some of Dad's money and put in for a vacation. Man, or in this case, woman, does not live by dead bodies alone. Go and relax somewhere, and please take my dad with you. I could use the vacation." Alexis actually got to hear Kate as she burst out laughing.
"Somewhere with a beach and warm waters sounds nice to me. Do it in Italy, maybe, or even Croatia. I've read where they have some very nice beaches," Alexis suggested.
"I'll think about it. Gotta go. Watch Lilly for me?" Kate asked her.
"As if you needed to ask," Alexis replied and accepted Kate's kiss on her head. It looked to Alexis like maybe what her dad did wasn't so bad after all. Kate seemed to have changed a little. Now if she could only get her to take a vacation and take her dad with her.