So I was hoping to post once a week, which meant I should hve posted this on Friday, but it fell through the cracks as I've been busy prepping for a job interview and getting a new bathroom fitted. Finally got a minute now so here it is.
I have done something like this before, my story Frozen, but I wanted to do it again as part of this series, mostly as Frozen is now a couple of years old and I like to think I've gotten better at writing since I wrote that. Anyway, here it is, hope you like it.
What if Josh had had a chat with Kate after they got home and helped Kate realise something.
"So how bad was it?" Josh asked as he handed Kate a hot chocolate. He had offered wine but Kate was still freezing so had opted instead for a hot drink. She took it gratefully and wrapped her hands around the mug, warming them up.
"Not good," Kate admitted, "Turns out the freezer was actually one of the highlights of the case."
The shock on Josh's face was clear to read. Kate sighed, now the event was over she could tell him what had happened, it would after all, more likely than not, end up on the news at some point in the next few days, they hadn't exactly been worried about pictures when they'd opened the doors on the van to find the bomb.
"The people who locked me and Castle in the freezer were domestic terrorists," Kate explained quietly, "And they built a dirty bomb." Josh's eyes widened. "But we found it and stopped it."
"I think you might need to start from the beginning Kate," Josh said softly.
Kate nodded and explained the case from the start. It actually helped her as well, getting it all out. "I was so cold," she admitted, "And scared. Normally Castle can find a silver lining in anything, but he couldn't that time." She shivered and Josh wrapped the blanket more tightly around her shoulders as she took a deep drink from her mug.
"You were lucky," Josh told her, "Much longer and neither of you would have woken up." His voice was quiet, distant, but Kate didn't notice as she stared at the steam rising from her cup. "What happened next?" Josh then pressed.
Kate continued to explain, telling him how their actions had gotten them back onto the case and how they'd worked out that it wasn't terrorists but a group of disenchanted soldiers who had been planning on blaming their original victim to make it look like a terrorist attack.
"And then we found the bomb," Kate said, "And there was so little time left." She shook her head. "Bomb disposal wasn't going to make it on time so we called Fallon, the DHS agent we'd been working with."
"And he was close enough to get to you to disarm it?"
"No." Kate shook her head. "He was too far away so we sent him pictures."
"He told you how to disarm a bomb through pictures?" Josh asked, clearly impressed.
Kate shook her head again. "The photos wouldn't load."
"Then how?"
Kate sighed. "Castle," she admitted, "We were just starting at each other, knowing that there was nothing we could do as the timer counted down to zero." She then smiled softly. "Then he reaches out, grabs all the wires and just pulls them all out." She shook her head and took another drink.
"He did what?" Josh asked, his voice incredulous.
"He said he figured one of them had to be the right one," Kate said, a small smile still on her lips.
"With all that happened on your case," Josh said slowly, "I don't know if that makes him the luckiest or unluckiest person on the planet."
Kate just shrugged. "I'm going to go with lucky." She looked him in the eye for the first time since they'd started talking. "He saved the city Josh, through sheer dumb luck."
"Well then I'm doubly glad he's your partner Kate," Josh told her, pulling her in for a one-armed hug. "Did you know he's the reason you survived the freezer?"
"How do you mean?" Kate asked.
"He's much bigger than you," Josh said, "And if it hadn't been for his added body heat you would have passed out long before you did, and even if Ryan and Esposito had pulled you out at the same point they did you wouldn't have survived."
Now she thought about it Kate realised Josh was right. "Guess I owe him a thank you," Kate mused.
She felt as Josh nodded. "Yeah, you do." He was silent for a moment and then Kate felt him sigh. "Kate," he said softly, "I'm going to Hati."
Kate pulled away from him and looked at him. "I thought you were staying," she said.
"I was going to," Josh told her, "But it's who I am Kate, Doctors without Borders is my calling, just like being a detective is yours."
Kate nodded. She could understand that. "So when are you going?" she asked, "And when will you be back?"
"Just as soon as I can sort out a flight," Josh told her, "And I'll be away for a while." He sighed again and Kate looked at him questioningly. "This is my way of bowing out gracefully Kate," he told her, "I realised something today that perhaps I should have seen a long time ago."
"Bowing out?" Kate questioned.
Josh reached out and placed a hand on her knee. Kate drained the rest of her mug and, after placing the mug on the coffee table, she rested her hands on top of his.
"When Castle woke up in the ambulance the first thing he did was try to find you, Kate," he told her, "And the first thing you did when you woke up was look for him." Kate didn't say anything, just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "He has feelings for you Kate," he told. She drew away and opened her mouth to say something, but Josh prevented her from speaking by continuing to say, "And as much as you may not realise it, I think you've got feelings for him too."
Kate thought back to the freezer and what she'd been thinking moments before passing out.
Josh saw that she was thinking and smiled at her. "I don't mind Kate," he told her, "Because you didn't know, that much is clear, but I can't just wait around until you work it out and you dump me for him."
"So you're bowing out gracefully," Kate said, remembering what he had said earlier.
Josh nodded. "Hati needs me," he said, "And you don't."
"I…I….," Kate stuttered, "I don't know what to say."
Josh gently kissed her on the forehead and then got to his feet. "I'm not going to tell you what to do Kate," he said, "But maybe you should go and see him? You said his family was away so he's alone, and now you'll be alone."
"So we can go and be alone together?" Kate asked with a chuckle.
"Something like that," Josh responded with a laugh, "Or maybe you can talk about it."
Kate thought for a moment before she nodded.
"Josh… I…," she didn't know what she wanted to say, but she needed to say something.
"Really Kate," Josh assured her in a soft voice, "It's ok."
"Thank you," Kate said. She got to her feet and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. Josh smiled back at her and she leant in and gently brushed a kiss across his cheek.
As Kate dropped her hand Josh looked her up and down. "You probably shouldn't be driving," he told her, "It's been an emotional day and you're tired so I don't think you'd be the safest person behind the wheel."
"I'll be fine," Kate assured him.
"Take a cab Kate," Josh told her. He placed his hand over hers, which was still on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze before he pulled it off and dropped it.
Kate quickly grabbed all her stuff, there wasn't too much, just her jacket and shoes from the day, they hadn't gotten to the point where she had any stuff at his place. Once she was ready to go she unwrapped herself from the blanket and handed it back to Josh.
"See you around Kate," he said as he took the blanket and then walked her to the door.
"Bye Josh," Kate said. She walked through the doorway but froze before she got any further. She turned back to face Josh. "Will you let me know when you've sorted your flight?"
"Sure," Josh told her. He then smiled at her. "Go, Kate, go to him."
She beamed back at him and then hurried down the hall.
-/-
Rick was sat shivering even though he was wrapped up in two blankets. It had been a hell of a day and it was now really beginning to catch up on him. He was just debating on whether or not he should turn the heating up as far as it would go and head to bed when there was a knock at the door.
He wasn't expecting anyone so he frowned as he got to his feet. He shuffled over to the door and opened it.
"Beckett," he exclaimed when he saw who was standing there, "I wasn't expecting to see you again tonight."
"Hi Castle," Kate greeted. She looked at the blankets wrapped around him. "Would you mind giving up one of your blankets?"
Wordlessly Rick peeled off one and handed it to her and then stepped to one side to let her in. She wrapped the blanket around her as she stepped into his loft. As he shut the door she toed off her boots and heard Rick chuckle.
She turned to look at him and saw that he was looking at her feet. "Nice socks Detective," he said with a smile.
Kate looked down. She was wearing the fluffiest socks she owned. "Can I tell you something?" Kate asked.
"Sure."
"I've got two pairs of normal socks on underneath the fluffy ones."
Rick laughed. "While mine aren't fluffy I will admit that I too have multiple pairs of socks on."
Kate glanced down at his feet and saw that they were looking fatter than she might have expected from Rick.
The two stood in the doorway awkwardly before Rick asked, "So what are you doing here? I thought you were with Josh tonight."
Kate went and sat on the sofa, waiting for Rick to join her. He started following her but then his gaze fell on his empty mug on the coffee table. "Can I interest you in a drink?" he offered, "Hot or alcoholic, you're choice."
"I don't mind Castle," Kate replied.
"Then I have the perfect thing."
He headed off to the kitchen and Kate watched him. He pottered around, grabbing a few things from the cupboards and then waited around for the kettle to boil. Once it had he put everything he'd grabbed on a tray and walked towards her.
Kate smiled when she saw what he had. There were two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a bag of marshmallows, and a bottle of Irish cream whisky.
"Help yourself," Rick instructed as he put the tray down on the table and then sat down.
Kate grabbed the whisky and poured a healthy glug into her cup before grabbing a spoon and giving it a stir. She then grabbed the marshmallows and poured some onto the top of her drink. When she saw back in the chair, her hands cupping the mug, Rick leant forward and copied her motions.
"I'm surprised there's no whipped cream Castle," she said, "I would have expected that of you."
"There's some in the fridge," Rick told her, "But I thought it might be a little cold for that. I can go and get some if you want." He made to get up but Kate placed a hand on his knee and stopped him.
"This is fine Castle," she told him, "Thank you."
The two of them sat in companionable silence for a few minutes as they soaked up the warmth from their mugs.
"I don't think I'm ever going to be warm again," Rick joked.
"I know how you feel."
The silence descended again then Kate spoke. "Josh is going to Hati," she told him.
"I thought he'd changed his mind," Rick said, "How can you go after the couple of days you've had?"
There was a note of hurt in his voice and Kate knew that it was on her behalf. He was hurt for her that her boyfriend had up and left.
"It's ok Castle," Kate said softly, "It's what he has to do."
"So when is he back?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? Why not?"
"He didn't tell me," Kate told him.
"Well that's not right," Rick said, "He shouldn't have left you, and then not told you when he'd be back."
Kate smiled at him. "It's fine Castle," she said, "And I understand why he did what he did." She looked him in the eye. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
"About Josh?" Rick asked, confused.
"He's part of it," Kate admitted. He frowned. "But not all of it." She looked away and then back at him. "I need you to just sit and listen for a bit ok?" she said, "Please don't interrupt."
"Ok," Rick said, dragging out the word.
He trusted Kate, trusted her with his life in fact, so he was willing to sit and listen if he needed to, but he was very confused about what was happening right now.
"Firstly," Kate said, "Josh told me I owe you twice over for the case. The bomb obviously, but Josh told me that if you hadn't been in the freezer with me I would have died long before anyone found me. You're added body heat meant I lived long enough for Ryan and Esposito to come and get us."
"Well people do like to say I'm full of hot air," Rick said as she paused. This had taken a more serious direction than he'd expected so he wanted to try and add some levity to the situation. When Kate didn't rise to the bait however he reached out and put his hand on her knee. She was reminded immediately of Josh's movements earlier but pushed that thought down as Rick spoke. "You're welcome Kate," he told her, "I'm your partner, that's what I do, keep you alive."
Kate reached down and squeezed his hand before moving it back up to cup her mug. Rick left the hand there for a few more heartbeats before he put both hands back on his mug.
"And then with the bomb, you really are good luck to have around," Kate continued. Rick just shrugged, pretending that it was no big deal. "You're not going to get the recognition you deserve for what you did Rick," Kate told him, "Which is unfortunate, but I know that you saved me and who knows how many other people today, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate what you did."
This time Rick smiled at her and said softly. "I know Kate, but I did what anyone would have done."
"No, you did what only the luckiest person on the planet could have done," Kate replied, "That shouldn't have worked but it did, so thank you, from me and the rest of the city."
This time Rick stayed quiet, just taking another drink from his hot chocolate. Kate licked her lips and had a drink herself, her mouth was feeling dry again. It was also a stalling technique, which Rick knew but didn't call her on. He just sat and waited for her to carry on talking.
"Josh told me that when you woke up in the ambulance the first thing to did was look for me," Kate said. Rick nodded but didn't say anything, this time he was going to try and stick to his word about not talking until Kate had finished explaining what was going on. "Which I get because you were the first thing I thought of too." She shook her head. "I passed out in your arms and then you weren't there when I woke up." Now it was her turn to reach out and touch his leg softly. "I was so scared Rick, I thought I'd lost you."
"I'm right here Kate," Rick told her softly, "A little cold but otherwise I'm right here."
Kate laughed and squeezed his knee before removing her hand once more.
"Anyway," she continued, "After that, we got busy with sorting to case so I never really had a chance to think about it, but when I was with Josh tonight he said a few things that helped me realise something."
Rick desperately wanted to ask her what her boyfriend had said but he kept his mouth shut, waiting for Kate.
"Josh told me something that perhaps I should have realised myself," Kate went on to say, "But it took him telling me to really see it." Rick cocked his head to the side. "Do you have feelings for me?" Kate asked in a rush, wanting to get the question out there as fast as she could.
She saw Rick's eyes widen. "We shouldn't be talking about this," he said. "Do you want a top-up?" he then asked, gesturing to their mugs.
"Castle," Kate said, putting her mug on the table and grabbing hold of Rick's arm, "Rick."
He stilled from where he'd been attempting to get to his feet. He sighed and looked at Kate. Kate stared back into his eyes, trying to read what was going on with him.
"Rick," she said, her voice soft, "Do you have feelings for me?"
"Kate," Rick replied, "You have a boyfriend, we can't talk about this."
Kate smiled softly. "Josh said that you have feelings for me," she said, her words rushed once again as she tried to get it all out, "And he also very helpfully pointed out that, perhaps, I have feelings for you too."
Rick's eyes widened in shock.
"Hati is Josh's way of bowing out gracefully," Kate told him. "He didn't want to be strung along until I realised that I had feelings for you that I don't have for him."
"He bowed out?" Rick asked.
Kate nodded.
The two of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before Rick's face split into a wide smile. "You have feelings for me?"
Kate nodded. "Maybe I do, but you still haven't answered my question, Rick."
Rick didn't answer but Kate saw as his blanket dropped from his shoulders as he threw himself towards her. Kate was taken aback slightly as Rick's lips crashed into hers. Smiling against his lips she kissed him back. They necked like a couple of teenagers for a few minutes before Rick pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "Do that answer your question Detective?" he teased.
"Mostly," Kate teased back, "But I don't think you've answered it quite as fully as I would have expected from a writer."
Rick laughed and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another kiss.
After a few more breathless minutes they pulled away again and just stared at each other.
"Shall we take this to the bedroom?" Rick asked.
Kate shook her head. "Not tonight Castle." He frowned at her. "I've only just broken up with Josh," she told him, "And when we do this I don't want there to be anyone else on my mind."
"I can live with that," Rick told her, "Plus I think I'm still too cold to even consider taking off any clothes."
Kate laughed. "Going to have to agree with you there Rick."
The two of them laughed and then fell quiet.
"Movie night?" Rick then offered, "We can wrap up in blankets on the sofa and watch some movies."
Kate thought for a moment and then nodded. "Sounds like a great idea."
"Right then," Rick said, getting to his feet, "I'll refill these." He grabbed his mug and drained it and then handed Kate hers so she could do the same. "While you pick a movie." He headed for the kitchen but then turned back to Kate. "Do you fancy any movie snacks? I've got popcorn."
"Popcorn sounds good Castle," Kate said as she got off the sofa and, still wrapped in her blanket, went over to Rick's movie collection.
She heard Rick bustling around in the kitchen and then come back to the sofa carrying the tray again. This time it was full of popcorn and two more mugs of hot chocolate. Kate handed him her movie pick so he could set it up and grabbed the whisky and poured a healthy glug into her mug before topping it with marshmallows again.
Rick got the TV all set up and then came back to sit with Kate on the sofa. Rather than sitting at opposite ends this time however they snuggled together in the centre of the sofa. They both still had their own blankets but Rick had brought another one when he'd come back from the kitchen which he threw over the both of them.
Kate snuggled in close and Rick wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her tight against him. Once they were settled he pressed play and the two of them watched the movie. At some point, both now feeling warm and safe, they dozed off, Kate's head resting on Rick's shoulder while Rick rested his head on top of hers.
Neither of them so much as stirred the next morning when the door to the loft opened and two redheads walked in. Seeing the bundle of blankets on the sofa they both stopped talking, not wanting to wake Rick. When they walked in and saw that there were two people on the sofa, that Rick had his arms wrapped around Kate, and that Kate had wrapped hers around Rick's waist, they looked at each other and smiled.
"Let's leave them to sleep," Martha whispered, "Clearly they need it."
Alexis nodded but before she left she found another blanket and wrapped it around their shoulders. Rick shifted slightly at her light touch but she shushed him back to sleep with a few quiet words. Kate mumbled something but she stayed asleep and wrapped her arms more tightly around Rick.
Once they were tucked in Alexis stepped back but couldn't help but pause again and take a picture on her phone. She and Martha smiled at each other and then headed up to their rooms.
