-Chapter 8-

"Ms. Beckett please take a seat. Your meal will be at your table in a few minutes. Do you wait for someone or do you want to eat alone?," Castle asked with a british accent and acted like he was a waiter.

Kate raised one eyebrow and then decided to play this one with him:" Okay waiter and please could you bring me a glass of you finest champagne? And a bunch of grapes…"

"Alright I will be back in a moment." He said and turned towards the kitchen.

"Hey waiter…!"

Castle turned around again.

"Please. I want to have someone to feed me with those grapes."

Now it was Castles turn to raise an eyebrow, then he shook his head and continued his walk to the kitchen where he started to prepare a huge breakfast.

After about three mintues Kate got bored and stood up to walk around the loft. She looked at old photographs which she noticed the first time altough she had been here so many times. On the couch table there was a little picture of Castle holding baby Alexis in his arms. Kate looked at this one and thought about how Alexis will take the relationship between her and Castle when there even is one and if her relationship to Alexis will be the same as it had been before all that.

Kate couldn't stop staring at this picture and then Roy came to her mind. His family lost everything. There had to be such photos in Mongomery's house, too and now one very impotant part of the family was gone… forever. In the last few days Kate had been so concentrated on herself that she nearly forgot about all the things that had happened before she had been shot.

All those repressed emotion came back to her and she had to sit on the couch to catch her breath again. Tears rolled down her face.

Castle came out of the kitchen and placed all the things at the breakfast table. Then he noticed that something was missing… Kate… but where was she? Castle walked around in his loft and found her curled up on his couch crying. He sat down next to her and hugged her.

"Hey Kate what is the matter with you? Do your wounds hurt? Did I do anything wrong?" He whispered.

"No not you… I looked at the picture" she pointed at the picture, "And then I thought about how or if Roy's family can take that. I know exactly how it feels to loose a parent and how it is when you look at old pictures where those people… loved people are smiling into the camera. You remember how it was to take this photo. The good, content atmosphere while it was taken… and now those loved people are gone. Forever!" she said and rested her head on his chest.

Castle stroked her hair. He didn't know what to say but he tried it.

"Hey it's okay. You know when someone dies your whole world falls apart but you have to build it up again and live. If the dead person really loved you, why wouldn't she want you to live again. She will always be watching over you and I think she is happy when you are happy" he couldn't stop himself from projecting all of this to Beckett and her mother.

'She really had to live again and enjoy her life. Her mother would want her to and I have to help her living it. I will help her!' Castle thought.

"Hey Kate they will be fine. Yes they mourn and it will hurt them to think about Roy but they, too, have to live again one day."

"You're right. And I really was okay until I looked at the picture. All the emotions floated back into me and I couldn't help it. Sorry. Wanna grab some food now?" she said and tried to smile.

"Yes!" he helped her up and arm in arm they went to the table.

He made enough food to fill about ten stomachs.

"You know that you are crazy, right?" she said looking at the food.

"Nope and I will never admit that to myself." Rick said and lead her to the chair.

He took a seat right next to her.

"Buon appetito!" he said now with an italian accent.

After they finished their meal Kate rubbed her belly and said: "From now on you are my private chef, okay?"

"Anytime! And now some grapes... I haven't forgot, please remember that later, Missy!"

He took the whole bunch of grapes and held it over Beckett's head. She reached out and ate one.

"Thank you but the first one has to be the last one because I don't want to burst and send your nice apartment into a big mess. " Kate said and grinned at him.

"Okay, well, what now?" he said.

"Can I maybe take a shower? Or a bath? I miss taking bubblebaths. Normally I do that nearly every night after I come back home from work."

"Alright I show you the bathroom and the towels and everything?"

She raised an eyebrow and meant: "I think I can handle that and you can clean up the kitchen and then we do something fun?"

"Okay dokay! You know fun is my second name!" he said playfully.

"I thought that your second name is Edgar… or Alexander?" she said and couldn't stop herself from laughing.

"Heeey! I left this gruesome name behind me…"

"No, not grusome. Do you remember that girl whose mother the psychic got killed. The one who had been stuffed in the sofa?"

"Yeah…Vivien Marchard I remember.. didn't she have a daughter who had dreams about you?" Rick asked confusedly.

"Penny Marchard. She said the some special man named Alexander will come to my life and mean very much to me", she said and looked and him waiting for him understanding everything.

She literally heard it make "Click" in his head and then he screamed: "And I am Alexander! Woow. You know there is kind of magic in this!" he said comppletely wrapped up in his happiness about this not-coincidence he just heard of.

"See! Not a coincedence! Alexander that's me! Wuaaaaow!"

Kate shook her head:" Oh yeah and you mean soooo much to me?" she looked at him doubtfully and he looked back at her very offendedly, then she said tipping with her forfonger on his chest: "Coincidence! Although you really do mean much to me!" she grinned.

"Will I ever be able to convince you to believe in magic and those things?" he asked sadly.

"Nope. I don't think so.. and now I get into the tub." She went to go, turned around again, kissed him on his forehead and then left him standing next to the table looking like a puppy which just fell into a bathtub.

Kate still laughed at him as she opened the bathroom door.