AN: I apologize for the wait. A huge thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, or reviewed. You make a difference in my life. A special thanks to DarkRedWillow for reminding me of what matters. ;-)
The italicized section is flashback.
Still not beta'd.
Chapter 5
"Kate?" It came out a half-choked whisper that got stuck in his throat as he struggled to keep breathing. True to his word, Castle had left her alone—not touching as he'd wished so very much to—all night. He'd even gone so far as to cling to the very edge of his "side" of the massive bed just to avoid further temptation on his part. He really wanted her to feel comfortable and not pressured in any way.
He'd done as he'd promised..
And now he was paying dearly for it, for despite his best efforts, Kate had somehow migrated across the other three quarters of king sized bed and was pressed against his back. Her left arm draped across his waist, hand dangerously close to the waistband of his pajama bottoms. If he shifted at all-
"Kate." A little stronger, a little gruff this time.
She responded only by releasing a little contented sigh that tickled the hairs on his neck. She shifted even closer. He took a few moments to weigh the consequences of waking her verses those if he did not. He'd probably be in trouble either way, but—her hand twitched against the bare skin just below his navel.
Decision made.
He ripped his body from the bed, bare feet hopping on the cold hardwood floor, hurled himself towards the master bathroom and slammed the door behind him even as he turned on the cold water in the shower stall.
Kate woke feeling like she'd had the wind knocked out of her as the cool air shocked her sleep warmed body. Then a bomb went off behind her as the bathroom door was violently thrown shut. She grunted and stretched her long limbs. Turning to look at the digital clock on the bedside table she quickly realized that it was much farther away than when she'd fallen asleep last night.
Last night.
She'd agreed to sleep with Castle.
No. Not sleep with. Well, yes, technically sleep with—but no, alongside? That almost sounded worse. Share a bed with, whatever, and he'd promised to be a gentleman despite her teasing.
Why was the clock so far away?
The sound of running water brought her back to the present. The small space in front of her was quickly cooling.
Cooling.
Which meant it had not so very long ago been warm.
Warmed by a body.
His body.
She looked at the wide expanse of bed behind her and the place where she had fallen asleep only hours prior. Glanced at the clock. 4:00.
Uh oh.
She was in trouble.
Castle emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later releasing a cloud of steam into the bedroom. The cold shower, having served its purpose, had quickly turned into a hot shower to stave off hypothermia. He'd redressed in his pajamas and quietly dug out a pair of wool socks.
After pulling the socks on he glanced back at Kate. She looked like she was still sleeping and had moved fully into his spot near the edge of the bed, possibly seeking out the heat he'd left behind. Her breath came in little puffs that made the hair that had fallen across her cheek dance. She was so beautiful it almost hurt to stare at her.
Not wanting to wake her he slipped out of the room as quietly as he could. He built a small fire in the living room and pulled a blanket over himself on the couch. He'd be getting up to fix breakfast in a couple of hours so he figured he'd try to get a few more winks in. Unfortunately his mind was now wide awake with images of Kate asleep in his bed, and his traitorous body was still tingling from Kate's innocent-but-not-so-innocent touch.
He couldn't think like that. Not right now. His mother and daughter were upstairs.
Problem solved...if temporarily.
Castle closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the night...er...early morning. The crickets outside were singing him a silent lullaby. The fire crackled, whispering stories into the otherwise silent room. If he listened carefully enough he could almost hear Kate breathing...almost like he was still in bed with her...but no. He really really didn't want to screw this up with her or make her feel rushed.
He would wait.
Until she was ready.
Based on last night, he hoped that it wouldn't take too long.
She seemed comfortable enough with his family. Which was good.
That was the point, right?
His daughter, God bless her, hadn't beat around the bush when she'd told Kate that they 'wanted to keep her.' He'd never been so proud of her word smithing abilities. Put simply, that was exactly his end game.
He wanted to keep her, Kate Beckett, all for himself.
He wanted to wrap her up and tuck her away in a box that he could pull out whenever he wanted. She was his happy thought.
She would kill him if she knew he thought about her like that.
He'd peeked. After she had taken the knife from his daughter and bent carefully over the railing for a few minutes.
He'd peeked.
Scratched into the wood railing, nestled between his "Rick" from last year and "R.C." from the year prior she'd carved "Kate"
Kate.
The extraordinary woman he'd fallen in love with.
Kate.
Somehow that she chose to sign her name that way meant more to him than he would have thought. It was her name, yes, but... But she wasn't distancing herself. She didn't add a buffer by using her last name. Even her initials (which would have been more than acceptable) would have still separated her in that instead of boasting a 'C', hers would have a 'B'.
By signing 'Kate,' she gave him hope that someday she would carve a 'K.C.' into that sacred railing.
And it thrilled him to no end.
She'd then caught him peeking, given him a shy sort of smile and handed him the knife for his annual signature.
He signed his 'Castle' right below her 'Kate'.
Castle snuggled deeper into the broad couch reveling in the events of the day. He was flying high. And it was only day one. They hadn't really done anything yet. It was settling in day. It was unpack and relax day. They hadn't even done anything yet. And he was already having the best Christmas that he'd ever had. His imagination had already begun to run wild with the possibilities of future Christmases spent here, let alone the one he found himself currently living.
It was almost like a dream.
If anyone had asked the Castle of just a year ago how he'd be spending his holidays he probably would have come up with something that sounded almost too fantastic and magical. Paris? Sure. Tropical location? Absolutely. Partying it up in London or L.A.? Probably expected. Never would he in his wildest (well, yes, of course his wildest...he did have a vivid imagination after all...) dreams would he have thought that Kate Beckett would agree to be whisked away to some destination unknown to spend an inordinate amount of time with him.
Nobody knew better than he did that Kate did not do things that she did not want to do (barring work related or absolutely necessary circumstances). She was stubborn, his Kate.
She chose.
Reality was far grander than the dream.
More magical.
More fantastic.
Because she was real. She was flesh and blood and breathing and chose to trust him.
She chose.
He gasped when a rush of cool air hit his body as the blanket he'd pulled over himself was lifted suddenly. Before he could make a sound she had snuggled up against his chest and pulled the blanket back up around them.
Her recently showered hair tickled his nose with its familiar fruity scent and he bowed his head to place a kiss on the crown of her head. She snuggled deeper into him, pulling his arm around her waist and grasping his hand with both of hers.
"I'm really glad she decided to come, Daddy."
He grinned, squeezed her hand, and released a sigh he'd not known he needed to let out. "Me too, pumpkin. Me too."
And he was.
Kate woke the second time when she nearly fell off the edge of the bed. Her face was mashed into his pillow. It smelled like him and apparently she really liked the way he smelled. Her body, it seemed, had continued to move towards his side of the bed and continued to seek him out despite his notable absence.
She caught herself just before her center of gravity shifted in what would have undoubtedly been a fall that would have awakened the rest of the household. She took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart, but that was a mistake as her nose was still buried in his pillow and the reminder of him being so close sent her heart dancing.
What had she done to deserve this?
Images from The Sound of Music fluttered across her mind's eye. Somewhere in her youth, or childhood, she must have done something good. Though probably not during her rebellious youth period. That certainly didn't warrant the favor she was now experiencing.
She rolled to the middle of the bed, Castle's warmth long gone from his side, and threw an arm over her face. This was one of those moments, she mused. One where she could be a stereotypical girl and question absolutely everything and in the process probably screw things up, or accept the things were the way they were and just...live in it. Be happy.
Be happy.
Castle made her happy.
She hadn't truly been happy in a long while had she? Could she remember how to do that?
Her cheek muscles were certainly remembering from all the smiling she'd done in the past 24 hours.
One step at a time, he'd said. See where things went. That meant not fighting it. Right?
Perhaps that was the best way.
Before she could linger on that thought much longer another one of her favorite smells reached her nose telling her it was time to get up.
She looked at the clock for the third time in the space of a few hours.
7:00.
An acceptable time. Enough that she could rationalize that it was later than she usually slept so it qualified as sleeping in. Enough that she didn't appear too eager.
Besides. He'd made her coffee. She didn't want to seem ungrateful.
Yeah, she'd go with that. That was the reason she was now flying out of bed.
It had nothing to do with the man who had bent over backwards to keep his (unnecessary) promise to her last night. It had nothing to do with the way he looked like the sun had finally risen over his world when she walked into a room.
It was because she needed her morning coffee. And didn't want him to think that his efforts were unappreciated.
Right. That was it.
AN: Yeah, Alexis kind of snuck up on me too...
I'm going to go ahead and apologize since I probably won't be able to update again for a couple of days. Sorry, life happens! Review if you feel lead to do so. I appreciate it!