I'm baaaaaaacccckkkkkk! And I should be working on a screenplay, a stage play, an essay for Pop Culture, and be reading King Lear but instead I'm here, writing Fanfiction for y'all. I think I'm making a pretty good choice, don't you? Lol enjoy!
Summer at the Cabin part Two
Less than an hour later, Castle was sitting at the kitchen table, next to Lanie and across from Kate, stuffing his face with pancakes drenched in syrup, bacon, sausages, eggs, and toast while the girls watched in awe and disgust.
"Boy, you better take a breath," Lanie said, wrinkling her nose at him. "You're gonna choke."
Castle looked up at her, his cheeks stuffed to capacity and gave her a big, open-mouthed grin.
"EEEWWWW!" Lanie squealed, looking away. She pushed her plate to the side. "I think I'm done," she announced.
"Already?" Johanna asked. "You've barely touched your omelet!"
"Sorry, Mrs. B," Lanie said, "but after witnessing that," she pointed to Castle, "I don't think I'm ever going to eat again."
Johanna frowned and looked at Castle. "Rick, mind your table manners," she snapped. Castle's eyes widened and he swallowed, thickly.
"Sorry, Mrs. Beckett," Castle said, blushing. "But I'm a growing boy and this food is delicious!"
Johanna smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Rick," she said, "but that's no excuse. The least you could do is use your utensils, alright?"
Castle nodded, picking up his fork and knife and cutting a small piece of pancake before spearing it, a sausage, and some egg before sliding it into his mouth, much tamer than before. He chewed and swallowed before looking back at Johanna. "Better, Mrs. Beckett?" he asked.
Johanna nodded, smiling. "Much," she said. "And, please, call me Jo. You too, Lanie."
Lanie crinkled her nose. "But that's just so…strange," Lanie said. "I've been callin' you Mrs. B most of my life, Mrs—Jo."
Johanna shrugged. "Well change is good," she said.
"Not always," Castle pouted.
"Oh, would you lighten up, Castle," Kate piped up. "You'll only be gone a year; Martha promised."
"Yeah, and Mother never breaks promises, does she?" Castle replied, sarcastically.
"What?" Johanna asked, confused. "Where are you going?"
"My mother is sending me to Edgwyck Academy," Castle huffed, looking down at his plate.
"Oh, that is a very good school, Rick," Jim commented. "I had a friend who went there as a boy; said some of the greatest memories he has is of that school."
"Yeah?" Castle asked, looking at Jim, who nodded. "Well I bet he actually had friends there? All my friends are in New York."
Johanna frowned and reached over to lay a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be okay," she promised him. "You kids have Skype and Facebook and cell phones, and I assume you'll be coming home for holidays?"
Rick shook his head. "I don't think so. Mother has a year-long engagement with some travelling show. She might not even be back for the holidays."
"Well, then," Jim said, "you can spend them with us."
"Really?" Castle gasped, looking up at him. The older man nodded.
"Of course!" Jim insisted. "We have a spare bedroom and you'll need somewhere to go for holidays, won't you? You're practically family already, anyhow! Just so long as your mother is okay with it."
"Oh, she will be," Castle insisted. "Mother will be thrilled that I have somewhere to go for the holidays and I won't be cooped up in my dorm room, alone. Thanks, Jim! Thanks, Jo!"
"No problem, Sweetheart," Jo replied, smiling softly. "Now finish up your breakfast. You too, girls. Lanie, you need to eat, Sweetie; you all have a big day today."
"What are we doing?" Kate asked.
"Well," Jim said, "it's too late to go fishing, so we'll have to do that another time, maybe when the boys are here, but why don't we go on a hike this afternoon in the woods? We can pack a picnic and have lunch by the falls."
Kate brightened at that. The waterfall was in the heart of the forest, about three miles away, and it was the most beautiful spot on the entire grounds. Kate loved it when she was a little girl and she bet she would love it even more now.
The three teens hurried to finish up their breakfast before all going to their rooms to get dressed and ready for their hike. When Castle finally stepped out of his room, Kate was there and pulling him towards her for a long, slow kiss. When she let go of him, Castle was practically a puddle, grinning like a fool.
"What was that for?" he asked, somewhat dazed.
"You complaining?" she asked, teasingly. Castle shook his head, eyes wide. Kate chuckled, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "We're going on a hike," she said, "with my parents. There's no way I'm kissing you in front of them and we'll probably be gone for a while, so we might as well get it out of our systems now, right?"
Castle's face practically split in two as he nodded, leaning in a recapturing her lips, wrapping his arms around her waist. When he finally pulled back, it was Kate's turn to be a puddle. She was smiling dumbly and her eyes were slightly glazed over, much to Castle's satisfaction.
"Whoa," Kate breathed and Castle snorted, breathing on his knuckles and brushing them against his chest, giving her a cocky grin. Kate rolled her eyes and shoved him, still grinning and gave him one last kiss on his cheek before going back to her room. Castle grinned back at her, touching the place on his cheek her lips had touched.
It still shocked him now, almost a month since they had officially started dating, that a kiss on the cheek gave him just as many tingles throughout his body as a kiss on the lips. He couldn't be entirely sure that it was love, having never felt it before, but he was sure it was pretty damn close.
With that thought, Castle made his way down the stairs, trying to school his features so that Jim and Jo would not suspect anything.
Though he was almost certain that they knew already.
X_X
By the time they made it to the falls, Castle was red in the face and panting, practically falling on the floor in exhaustion. Kate just rolled her eyes and stepped over him, finding a good spot and setting down her bag.
"It wasn't that bad, Castle," she said, handing him a water. Castle snatched it and practically guzzled it down, breathing heavily and coughing once he was done. "You're such a baby."
"Three miles," he choked out. "Three miles UPHILL! My feet are throbbing! I can't feel my toes!"
"Looks like we'll have to cut off your feet then, huh?" Jim joked, taking a seat next to Kate and taking the water she offered. She laughed.
"Nah," Castle huffed, "just leave me here to die!"
"You've really inherited your mother's acting ability, haven't you?" Johanna teased, unpacking the picnic lunch they'd brought with them. She handed the sandwiches to the girls and Jim, before bringing Castle his. He rolled over to his back and accepted it.
"Thank you, Jo," he huffed. "And yes, I'd like to think I picked up on my mother's talent, thank you." Johanna laughed and shook her head, making her way to take a seat next to her husband, taking out her own water and taking a sip.
They ate their sandwiches in silence after that, Castle having finally dragged himself to sit with the girls and watch the water cascaded over the white rocks with them, watching the water glitter with the rays from the afternoon sun. He relaxed against a tree, biting into his tuna sandwich, trading bites with Kate, who'd chosen tomato and mozzarella.
"Mmm," he moaned. "These are really good. Thanks, Jo."
"You're welcome, Rick," she replied, sweetly, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder.
They stayed watching the falls for about an hour, just enjoying the sounds of nature, not saying anything. Kate slipped her hand into Rick's and allowed Lanie to lay her head on her shoulder while her arm wrapped around the shorter girl's waist. Kate was happier then and there than she ever remembered being.
And she hoped that would never change.
REVIEWS! please