Ch. 2

It was a five hour and twenty minute flight from New York to Bozeman, Montana and then an extra two hours and twenty three minutes from Bozeman to Philipsburg, Montana; the couple having arrived at a little past one in the afternoon.

Beckett couldn't help but marvel at the scenery. The furthest she'd ever been away from New York was Washington, DC where she had been a fed for less than a year. Nature wise the closest she had come was her father's cabin outside the city. Never anything like this, with high mountains in the background and wide open spaces.

Philipsburg was an old mining town from the 1800s with a population of less than nine hundred. Their record high was ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit for the whole year and a low of negative thirty eight. Their average rain fall was less than sixteen inches in a year.

"So this is where we're staying," Beckett asked Castle as he pulled to a stop in a parking lot along the main road.

It certainly had the feel of an old west kind of town, touristy now and almost similar to the place in Arizona where they had spent part of their honeymoon.

Castle smiled, "This is just a pit stop," he said as the couple made their way into a business called Snookies Mercantile.

It was a small shop filled with a variety of wines. Castle went for the one he was looking for and paid.

"That's all you needed," Beckett said as they walked out.

"That's all," he said not elaborating.

Beckett felt herself getting nervous. She wasn't a fan of her husband's surprises even if they turned out to be surprising in a good way. Still the early wake up call, the first class flight, the trip to Montana of all places and now a trip to a local wine stop- Beckett couldn't tell what to make of Castle's cryptic behavior.

The trip outside of Philipsburg didn't take long, only a fifteen mile drive but Beckett didn't mind. She was enjoying the ride as a passenger, watching as luscious green hills passed by, some covered with thick trees.

Castle finally made his way onto a gravel pathway which led to a fenced off region. He got out of the car to go unlock and open the fence, got back in the car to drive it through, returned to the fence to make sure it was locked and then got back into the car.

At the end of the pathway was a large upscale five bedroom and three bath with extra loft cabin surrounded by hills and forest and a creek running nearby.

"Welcome to our family retreat, away from all things New York," Castle said with a smile.

"God Castle, I don't even know what to say," said Beckett and she truly didn't. She was too shocked to be mad at him for doing this without her.

"For now, it's our couple's retreat," he added with emphasis.

Beckett smiled back and the two of them got out of the car. The air was completely fresh unlike the smog and toxins back home. It was a mixture of trees, sage, and the creek nearby.

"It's incredible Castle," Beckett said as she took in the breathtaking views, walking closer to the waters' edge. "When did you find the time- how did you do this?"

Castle walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Beckett opened her arms and let Castle place his on her stomach; she then closed her arms so that he was holding her securely.

"Well I know that your dad has a cabin outside the city. I didn't want to just ask him for the keys. Us taking our…naps…in your room didn't seem like the best idea so I figured I would try to find one of our own."

"And that just happened to be close to two-thousand miles away?"

"I was thinking outside the box."

"Yeah ten states outside the box," Beckett said with a smile. "It's perfect, Castle."

"So you're not mad?"

"Not this time," she said as she looked up at him, "only because it's our Valentine's weekend."

Castle leaned down and kissed his wife.

"Want to come inside, tour the house?"

"I've got a better idea," Beckett said with a coy tone in her voice, "Let's tour our bedroom first. The rest of the house can wait."

"Whatever you want Mrs. Castle, that is why we're here."

Beckett smiled and took Castle's hand, the two of them walking to the front door which Castle used a key to open.

Before Beckett could make her way inside, Castle scooped her up in his arms.

"Really, Castle," Beckett said.

"A new cabin deserves a proper christening. Besides, you liked me picking you up this way the last time remember?"

"Yes I do remember except last time what waited on the other door was a rundown single bedroom at a dude ranch."

"Okay true but it wasn't like that on the second part of our honeymoon at that island resort. And if I remember correctly you were more than ready to take the pants off me the second we entered our suite."

"So what should I be expecting this time run down or romantic island resort?"

"See for yourself," Castle said as he opened the door and walked them inside.

author's note/disclaimer: while the location is real, I did fictionalize the cabin. While you can rent them in Philipsburg I loved the idea of Castle and Beckett owning their own private cabin so for the sake of fiction the location used is for their fictional cabin.