~I know I haven't updated in a while, I'm sorry! Lots going on this semester that's distracting me. I'm gonna try to update more often, especially since midterms are over. Enjoy the chapter, and let me know what you think in the reviews!
-Alyssa~
"Momma I want juuuuice!"
The boy flops his empty sippy cup on top of the counter, carefully balancing on one of the tall stools along the island in the kitchen.
She glances around from the stove and smiles at the boy. "Okay, you can have juice. Just a sec, Gray."
She places the spatula she has been holding onto the countertop by the stove, where scrambled eggs are simmering in one pan, and bacon is sizzling in the other. Walking over to the fridge, she pulls out the container of apple juice, whose contents are dwindling. Frowning, she closes the door and walks over to her son, grabbing his cup mid-air before it can hit the counter again. "Grayson, be gentle with your cup."
"Sorry Momma," the boy says, a slight hint of defeat in his tone as he sinks back into his seat.
She lightly smiles at his kindness as she pours the last of the juice into his cup. "It's okay Gray, just try to be careful."
"I will, Momma!"
She can't help but let her smile widen at his promise as she sets the empty container down and screws the top onto his cup before returning it to him. He takes it gently, and slowly moves it to his mouth. "Like this?"
"That's great, Gray," she answers as she walks back over to the stove and shuffles the food around. She glances at her watch as she moves the eggs, and slightly throws her head back, sighing. "Castle!" she shouts "It's already eight o'clock!"
"I know, I know!" his voice shouts back from across the loft. "I'm coming. Is my coffee out?"
She rolls her eyes lightly at his request, but slides herself over to the far side of the counter and takes his tumbler off it, turning around to place it on the edge of the island. "Ready and on the counter, now c'mon! I don't need your publicist complaining to me again that you were late."
He rushes out of his office, a book bag slung over one shoulder and his jacket folded over his arm. "Well, in my defense," he says, grabbing his coffee off the counter, "she scheduled it for 9am. Why would she do that? She knows I can't be ready that early."
"Pretty sure that's why she did it," she says smirking slightly in his direction. She turns the stove off and carefully scoops a bit of egg out with the spatula and turns to face him. "Take a bite before you go, you need something besides coffee for today."
He looks at her, and rolling his eyes in a mocking way complies. "Yes, mom," he says, biting the eggs off the utensil.
She smiles contently as he swallows and opens his mouth to prove his ingestion. "Now, anything else, oh Master of the House?"
She shakes her head with a smile, but takes a few steps closer, and reaches up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. "Don't screw it up."
"Never," he answers, grinning bright at her affection. He turns around and detours left to his son, who is still holding his cup stoically in both hands. The boy sees him coming, and turns up his face, smiling at his father. "Daddy!"
"Hey champ," he says, leaning down and kissing his brown mop of hair softly. "I gotta go to work, but when I pick you up from your Grandma's house, we're gonna get ice cream, okay?"
The boy's face lit up. "Ice cream, yay!"
She looks at him in disappointment, her face scrunching in response. "Castle…"
He looks up at her as he heads to the door, innocence spreading over his face. "Oops, already promised it, can't break it. That'd be bad." He turns at the door and leaves quickly, before her annoyance could reach him any farther.
She goes back to the stove and scoops some eggs and a slice of bacon onto a plate, then places it in front of her son. "Eat up, we gotta go to Grandma's soon."
"Are you gonna stay today?" the boy asks as he takes his small fork and beings to shovel his food.
"No, sorry babe, Momma has to go to work," she answers as she puts food onto another plate for herself.
"You gonna get ice cream with me 'n Daddy?" her sons says through a full mouth, eggs dripping onto the table from his mouth.
She snorts at his mess, leaving it to be cleaned up after they ate as she continues picking at her food. "Maybe, Gray. I'll try to come, but I don't know."
"Will you be wif uncle Javi and Kevin?"
"Yes, I will. But I might have to stay with them later. We'll see."
They continue eating in silence, and she watches as her son intently digs into his eggs, trying to get as much as possible onto the fork, only to have it topple over back onto the plate. She smiles as he keeps doing it, somehow being reminded of her husband in the little action.
It was coming up on 7 o'clock, and they were supposed to have finished hours ago. Their suspect's lawyer managed to pull more strings than usual to avoid being questioned, and now the team was forced out of the chance to get some answers.
They're huddled in the conference room, the murderboard lined up along one wall, will files and papers strewn across the table in front of them.
"Beckett," her partner says, "we've been looking for a loophole for hours now, it's no use."
"There's gotta be something Espo," she answers, flipping through a stack of phone records in front of her.
"I think Javi's right," her friend says as he looks up from the file in front of him. "The lawyer got 24 hours to sort everything out. Even if we find a way to question him now, he's just not gonna answer. We can just wait until tomorrow. Maybe we'll have fresh eyes on the whole thing and find the right thing to ask."
"Oh, come one guys," she says looking back and forth between the two, abandoning the paperwork. "We're close. We know he did it. WE just need undeniable proof, and then we don't even need a confession."
She feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up to see her partner with a soft face. "Kate," he says. "Take the night. We're all exhausted. We'll do better tomorrow with sleep instead of mainlining coffee."
She takes in his words, sighing at the truth in them. She tosses down the pen she had been gripping so tightly, and looks at her team. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's head home. We can't talk to him until 2, so let's be back here by 11, alright?"
They both nod in agreement and begin to stack the papers one the table. She runs a hand over her eyes, the exhaustion of the day beginning to take its toll. "Time to go home," she mutters.
When she pushes open the door, she sees her family seated on the big leather couch, her husband pointing to pictures in a book, while their son observes in wonder. They look up upon her entrance, and her son smiles wide, hopping off the couch. "Momma!" he says, running towards her at lightning speed.
As tired as she is, she can't help but smile at the warm greeting and leans down to scoop him up when he reaches her. She places him on her hip and kisses his cheek. "How was your day, bud?"
"Gramma took me to the park!"
"Really?" she asks in playful wonder. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah! There was a puppy there and he was really cute. His name was Charlie."
"I'm glad you had fun," she replies, then looks to her husband on the couch, whose smile isn't as bright as normal.
"You came home late today, hon."
She walks over to the couch and places her son back at his father's side, then crosses in front of him to take the spot on the other side. While their son takes to the book once more, she curls up next to him, rest her head on his shoulder, and he quickly moves to wrap his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. "Long day?" he asks lightly.
She turns her head into his shoulder and kisses it, snuggling closer to him. "Hard day, hard case, not enough coffee."
"I think what you need is sleep." He lifts his arm slightly to look at his watch, then turns his head back to face her. "He needs to get to bed soon. I can put him down, you go change and sleep."
She slightly jumps up, a frown forming on her face. "No, no, I can do it. It's fine. I haven't seen him all day, and that's usually my job."
He looks at her, his eyes softening as he reaches up with his hand to gently cup her face. "You're exhausted. You deserve sleep after all the hard work you've done. I don't think Grayson will mind if I put him to bed for a change."
She looks back into his eyes and knows he's right, and she sighs in defeat. "Thank you," she says.
He leans forward and kisses her forehead lightly, then moving his head to rest upon hers.
"Always," he answers, turning to lift their son off the couch, and she lets out the small smile she saves for whenever he brings up that unspoken promise they share.