A Time to Heal

Chapter 6

Bubbles

"HELLO Kate, Darling," Martha said before pulling her into a hug. "Come on in. I'll go get Richard." Kate stood inside the door feeling a little out of place. She smiled when Castle came out of the kitchen with a towel slung over one shoulder.

"Hi," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Come on into the kitchen and talk to me while I finish dinner."

She followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the bar. "It smells delicious! I'm very impressed."

"Don't be, I either had to learn to cook or starve."

"I heard that," Martha called from the living room. Castle and Beckett shared a grin.

He handed her some vegetables and a knife. "Here, you want to make the salad?"

She took the knife and warily looked at the vegetables in the bowl. "Maybe I better not. I'm more of the salad-out -of-the-bag type of gal. I'm not really much of a cook."

"I'm sure you can handle it. It's just salad, you can't ruin it. Here, how about if you peel the carrots."

He took the knife and gave her the peeler instead. She laid the carrot down and tried running the peeler over it. Castle hid a smile. "Here, let me show you." He took the carrot and used the peeler to slice off the top layer of the carrot. "Now try."

She took the carrot and peeler and tried it the way he did it. Instead of taking off a paper thin layer, she took off a huge chunk of the carrot.

Castle set down what he was working on. He came up behind her. Putting his hands on hers, he guided her in peeling the carrot. He couldn't help but think about just how cliché this was. He knew there were several romance movies and books that portrayed a scene just like this one. It wasn't always cooking. It might be playing pool, painting or almost any skill. In fact, he remembered a similar scene when she was teaching him to fire a gun at the shooting range. In that case, he already knew how to shoot. He briefly wondered if she was pulling the same scam. It seemed more likely than not knowing how to peel carrots.

Scam or not, cliché or not, he was enjoying himself too much to care. He had her in his arms, with his face resting against her hair. That was what mattered. He inhaled, enjoying the fresh scent of her shampoo. When the carrot was peeled, he reluctantly let her go.

While he continued to work on the entree, he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She was concentrating so hard on doing it just right. The tip of her tongue kept poking out while she worked, which reminded him of when Alexis was a little girl learning to write cursive. Of course with Alexis it was cute. With Kate, it was just plain sexy.

After finishing his part of dinner, he stood by her and they finished cutting up the rest of the vegetables together. He loved the domestic feel of working with her in the kitchen. He wondered if she felt the same way but was afraid to ask. He was enjoying himself so much, he was sorry when they finished.

"Mother, we're ready. Is Alexis eating with us?"

"I think so. Who knows? She's been on her computer and on the phone all afternoon. What she has to talk to that boy about when she talks to him all day is beyond me. Let me go check."

Castle and Kate sat down at the table and were soon joined by his mother and Alexis.

Alexis looked at the meal appreciatively. "Mmmm. My favorite. Hi Kate."

"Hi Alexis. How are you? Enjoying your summer?"

"Yep. I've been taking some classes at the community college."

Kate shook her head. "I don't get it. I would have died when I was your age and had to go to school in the summer."

"I know. Dad says I'm unique. What can I say? I love to learn."

"That's why she's too smart for her own good," Castle added.

"Don't listen to him, Kate. He's just jealous because my report cards are better than his were."

Kate smiled wistfully, watching Castle's exchange with his daughter. It always amazed her how great he was with her. Their obvious bond made her feel a little like an outsider at the table.

"Just ignore them, dear," Martha said, patting her on the arm. "Tell me, how are things for you? Are you settling back into work okay?"

"Things are going really well, thanks. It's almost like I was never gone. I mean there are some changes, but it's good."

"Richard tells me that you're back on duty with no restrictions. That must feel good."

"It does. I am not cut out to be on desk duty. I haven't actually had any cases yet where I've had to be involved in anything too physical, but I'm ready."

"Excuse me, Kate?" Alexis interrupted. "Are you done? I was going to clear the table before getting ready for my date." She held out her hand for Kate's plate.

"Thanks Alexis, but you don't have to do that. Why don't you go ahead and get ready. I can take care of the table."

"You will do no such thing," Martha said. "You're our guest."

"I don't mind, really."

Alexis looked at her father for approval. "Okay, you're absolved of dish duty for the night."

Alexis grinned. "Thanks Dad. Thanks Kate." She headed for the stairs.

"Alexis, wait," Martha called out. "I made brownies for dessert."

"You know I'm trying to watch my waist, Gram. I better not." She shot Kate a strange look before escaping up the stairs.

"Well what about you, Kate? You'll have a brownie won't you?"

Kate couldn't help but notice that Castle was giving her the same look that Alexis had. Almost a warning look.

Ignoring it, she smiled and said, "Of course. I'd love a brownie."

Martha went into the kitchen. Castle leaned over and whispered, "Don't say we didn't warn you," before quickly sitting up. Martha came in and placed a large brownie in front of her and sat down, watching her expectantly.

Kate looked at the brownie suspiciously. It looked delicious. And it was chocolate. Based on Castle and Alexis' reaction, she knew it probably wasn't going to be the best brownie she had ever tasted, but surely it wouldn't be that bad. She took a big bite and froze. It had the consistency of cardboard and didn't taste like any chocolate she had ever tasted. But with Martha looking at her, she didn't know what to do.

"Mother, why don't you go and get Kate some milk. You know you can't eat brownies without milk."

"Of course. Be right back." She got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of milk.

Castle acted quickly. He handed her a napkin. "Here, spit." Then he took the brownie and broke off a small piece and put it back on the plate. The rest he hid in another napkin. "When she gives you the milk, put the brownie in your mouth and just swallow it. Trust me. Alexis and I have used this trick a hundred times over the years."

When Martha came back with the milk, Kate did exactly what Castle had told her to do. She took the one small remaining bite and swallowed it whole with the milk. Later she would remember this and laugh, but for now, she was just grateful to find a way to get rid of the brownie without hurting Martha's feelings.

Eyeing the empty plate, Martha said, "There are more brownies in the kitchen, Kate. Do you want me to get you another one?"

Kate put her hand on her stomach. "Thanks Martha. But I'm stuffed. I couldn't eat another bite. Really." 'Especially another bite of that,' she thought, hiding a smile.

"Okay, suit yourself. I'll just get started on the dishes. Although, I do have an audition to study for… Tell you what, why don't you just leave the dishes. I'll do them tomorrow." Before they could respond, she had left the table. "In case I don't see you before you leave, have a good night, Kate," she said before going up the stairs.

"What is she auditioning for?" Kate asked.

He laughed. "She isn't auditioning for anything. She just needed an excuse to get out of doing the dishes. My mother hasn't done dishes in over 10 years."

Kate finished gathering up the dishes. "Well, let me get these done real quickly. I may not be able to cook, but I'm a whiz at dishes."

"Kate, my mom was right. You're a guest. You don't need to do dishes."

"No, you cooked. I'll do the dishes."

"Well, you helped with the salad, so I can help with the dishes."

"No arguments here. I'll wash, you dry."

So, once again, they found themselves side by side in the kitchen. He watched her washing the dishes. She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail and donned a pair of bright yellow dish gloves. With her arms up to her elbows in soapsuds, she looked absolutely adorable.

"What are you looking at, Castle?" she asked when she noticed him staring at her.

"You look good in bubbles," he said honestly.

"Oh yeah? Let's see how you look in bubbles." She grabbed up a handful and flung them in his face.

"Oh, it's on Beckett!" He reached in front of her and gathered up two handfuls of suds. She started backing up.

"Castle, don't you dare!"

He followed her, holding his hands up menacingly. She kept backing up until she backed into the wall. She held her hands up, giggling. "I mean it, Castle! You better not." He put his hand downs, and when she did the same he quickly took his opportunity and shoved the bubbles in her face. They stood there silently staring at each other. She had bubbles on her face, and water dripping onto the floor. Suddenly they both burst into laughter.

Kate grabbed a towel and wiped her face off. "I give up. You win. This time. But you better watch your back."

He smiled. He couldn't wait. He felt his shirt and realizing it was wet said, "Hey, I'm going to go change my shirt. I'll be right back."

While he was upstairs, Kate finished the dishes. She was so glad she had decided to come. When he had invited her, her first inclination was to say no. She was having so much fun with him, and things were going so well, that she had been afraid to put herself in a situation where things might become complicated again. But when he had told her that his mother would be there, she decided to say yes. Having his mother upstairs was a sure way to make sure nothing got too serious downstairs. Just like at work, she could let herself relax and enjoy herself.

She looked up when she heard Castle coming down the stairs. He had a shirt in his hands. He threw it to her. "Here you go. Thought you might want to change too." She looked down and saw that the front of her shirt was wet from their impromptu water fight.

She took the shirt and went into the bathroom. She took off her wet shirt and slipped his on. Her stomach did a little flip flop when she looked in the mirror. Wearing his shirt seemed so intimate. She stood there and debated what to do about the buttons. It looked odd if she buttoned it all the way up, but if she left it the way it was, then her scar would show. She ran her finger over the raised line and cringed. Josh assured her that one day it would fade close to her natural skin color, but for now it was still an angry red line that stood out starkly against her pale skin. She hastily buttoned the top two buttons and came out when she heard Castle calling her.

When she walked out, Castle gave a low whistle. "Wow! That shirt definitely looks better on you than it does on me." Ignoring his comment, she walked over and sat down on the couch.

"So what movie did you bring?" he asked, joining her.

"Shoot. I forgot the movie."

"Don't worry, I'm sure there's something on-demand that we can watch." They spent several minutes coming up with a movie that they could both live with then settled in to watch.

Martha smiled when she snuck down to peek at them a little while later. Watching the movie, Castle had his arm around Kate who was snuggled up next to him with her head on his shoulder. Careful not to disturb them, she tip-toed back up the stairs and went to bed.