December 2009
Twenty minutes after their phone call, Rick was knocking on Kate's door, Alexis beside him, their overnight bags packed in record time and thrown in the trunk before driving the few short miles between SoHo and the East Village.
"I can't believe I haven't been over here yet," Alexis said, her forehead furrowed in consternation. "Kate doesn't hate me for not visiting before now, does she?"
"What?" Rick shook his head, frowning at his daughter. "Why would she-" The door swung open and striding into the apartment, he folded Kate into his arms.
He breathed in, taking in her scent as he held her, running his hands over her back. She sank into him, and he squeezed tighter, willing the tension from her slight frame. If he could just hug it away.
Behind him, Alexis cleared her throat, and he released Kate, letting her step back and taking her in properly; her eyes were red and tell-tale smudges of dark make-up told him she'd been crying.
"Hey," she managed, a wry smile on her face.
"Hey," he murmured, as Alexis closed the door behind them.
"Hi, Kate," she whispered, her eyes focused on the ground, and Kate's smile widened as she stepped forward, embracing his daughter.
"Hey, Merry Christmas, Alexis," she said, offering a small laugh. "Not what you had planned for today, I'm sure."
"Christmas is all about family." There was a fierceness in her eyes, and he tilted his head, seeing something new in her; he'd known she liked Kate - and Ramona - but there was something more to her expression. Love. He swallowed. It wouldn't do to lose it here and now; the situation was already emotionally fraught enough without him scooping them both into a group hug.
But he was man enough to admit to himself he'd come close to making the same confession - albeit that he was in love with Kate - many times before today. He'd bitten it back every time, unable to get a read on Kate and unwilling to rush things.
He shrugged to himself. Rushing things? No. They'd been doing slow, he and Kate, and it was damn near killing him.
It was time to move forward, and if Christmas and New Year's wasn't the right time of year for new traditions, he didn't know when was.
"This place is amazing," Alexis said, breaking the silence and Kate nodded, biting her lip as she followed Alexis' gaze around the room. "Did dad really help you paint it?"
"Mmmhmm." She grinned. "He's responsible for the coffee machine, too."
"Of course he is."
"You know there's only a French Press up at the cabin." Kate laughed, turning to face him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She dropped her gaze, her eyes on her feet. "Because… it's a long drive. And it's Christmas."
Rick nodded. Stepping forward again and reaching out, he rested his hand on her arm, letting his thumb brush back and forth against her sweater. "Exactly. It's Christmas. Are you ready to go?"
Kate leaned her head against the window, staring ahead. The roads were clear; everyone else was probably tucked up at home, cozy and safe. Of course, everyone else wasn't dashing upstate on a whim to see their alcoholic father in an attempt to hold him together.
"You okay," Rick asked, reaching over to the center console to turn the Christmas carols down, and she shrugged.
"Kinda worried about coming out here," she admitted.
"About coming out here, or about leaving Ramona?"
"Hmmm. Both, I guess. I mean, I know she's fine, but…"
"Did you talk to her tonight?" Alexis asked, speaking up from the back seat, and Kate twisted around to smile at her.
"Uh-huh. She was - well, she was hyped up." She laughed. "She's there with her cousins. My sis- ex-sister in law and her husband live in Ohio, and they've come over for Christmas with their kids."
"That's good," Alexis said. "It's good she's got other kids around."
Kate nodded. "You were on your own, growing up? Or do you have cousins?"
Alexis chuckled, and Kate caught the anxious look that Rick cast into the rearview mirror. "Just me," she said.
"And, Well… there's your mom's brother's kids?" Rick interjected.
"Right. I don't think it counts if I haven't met them," she pointed out.
Rick shrugged. "Maybe not," he grumbled. "But you had me."
"I did." Alexis beamed, and Kate turned back around, relaxing into the passenger seat, her glance at Rick catching the smug smile of pride on his face.
"So Ramona's okay with her grandparents?" Alexis continued, and she nodded.
"Yeah. They're good people, I guess. And they love her." She hesitated. "Probably glad to see the back of me, though."
"What?" The indignation in Rick's voice caught her by surprise, and she reached a hand over, resting it on his thigh. "But," he said, annoyance bleeding through, "how could anyone be glad to see the back of you?"
Kate moved her hand up his thigh an inch, before pulling back and folding her hands together, resting them in her own lap, away from temptation. "Uh… I think they never really thought I was good enough for their son. They were always… wary. Because of my mom."
"Your mom?" This time it was Alexis who spoke up, and Kate breathed out slowly, her eyes on the road in front of them. The headlights illuminated the otherwise pitch black stretch of highway, and she watched as the shadows from the trees raced away ahead of them, always pushed back by the bright yellow light.
"I guess they were always a little mistrustful. It's not - when your mom dies in random gang violence, it - there were a lot of questions. About why she was there. In that alley, that day." She shook her head, and Alexis huffed out a sigh from behind her.
"But it's not your fault, or your mom's!" she cried, and Rick shot her a warning look.
"Alexis."
She turned around again. Alexis' eyes were flashing, and Kate shook her head. "It's okay," she said, and Alexis pursed her lips, rebellion brewing in her expression.
"It's not," she countered, and Kate smiled at her.
"It was a long time ago, okay?"
"Did you ever find out why your mom was there, that day?" Castle asked, and she jerked back to fix him with a glare. He lifted a hand from the steering wheel. "Sorry. No. I was just-"
Kate frowned, closing her eyes again for a moment. "Can we just-"
"Drop it," he finished for her. "Yeah. Sorry."
"It's okay," she breathed, bringing her thumb to her mouth and gnawing down on the nail before dropping her hand back against the arm rest. She slumped against the seat, the neon glow of the clock on the dashboard catching her eye. Eleven-twenty. "Almost there. There's another bend -" she pointed - "and then two hundred yards later, we take the exit. We go through the town, and then swing left past the cafe."
"The cafe? As in, the town has one cafe?"
"And their coffee sucks," she informed him, sitting up a little straighter in her seat and grinning as she teased him. "But don't worry, Rick, our cabin's a good way out of town, and I doubt they're even open this week, so I won't make you go there."
Ramona might not be there; not this time. She would make the drive back to the city in another day or two, collect her daughter. But right now, her dad needed her, and with Rick and Alexis here, she was almost home.
The roads had been clear the whole way from the city, but snow crunched beneath the car's tires as Rick turned into a long driveway at Kate's instruction. The town they'd driven through - if you could call it that - had been a blink and you'd miss it excuse of a place, and in the twenty minutes since they'd passed the café, silence had fallen in the car.
"This whole place is your dad's?" he asked as he guided the car the last couple of hundred yards, pulling up behind an old station wagon.
"Mmm, we have from here, all the way down to the lake." She pointed into the darkness, her hand spanning the space in front of them as she indicated. "And the property goes all the way over there. Our closest neighbor is a good ten minute walk away."
"Amazing," he said, pulling the key from the ignition and killing the headlights even as a porch light flickered on, illuminating the snowy yard.
"Guess my dad's still up," Kate whispered, her hands gripping the car seat so tight that he saw, as he opened his own door, how white her knuckles had become.
Rick nodded, turning back to her and placing a gentle kiss on her cheek before hooking his index finger into hers, urging her up and she smiled at him.
"You ready to meet him?" she teased, and he watched as she took in a sharp gulp of air before opening her own door fully, the rush of the cold into the car a rude shock.
"Ready," he agreed, and he stepped out of the car, Alexis doing the same from the backseat.
"Here." Kate opened the trunk and handed them their overnight bags, before slinging her own over her shoulder. "Let's go."
The creak of the front door was unmistakable, and Rick let Kate go ahead of him, watching as she darted the few yards between the car and the porch, and smiling as she threw herself into the arms of the man silhouetted in the doorway.
"You coming?" she called out, and he followed her over, Alexis in his wake. "Dad, this is Rick, and his daughter, Alexis. Rick, Alexis, this is my dad, Jim."
"Pleased to meet you, Sir," Rick said, offering his hand and beaming as he was met with a firm handshake.
"Jim," Kate's dad insisted. "Come on in. It's too cold to be standing around out here, and you can tell me just why you're up here instead of down in the city celebrating the holidays."
Kate chuckled, a wry expression on her face, and Rick reached for her, his hand resting on the small of her back for just a moment before pulling away. "I, uh, called Rick, and, well." She rolled her eyes as she spoke to her father. "Rick here, and Alexis-" she reached out for his daughter, pulling her into a gentle hug- "insisted on us driving up here to make sure you were okay."
Jim nodded, flipping the porch light off and making his way over to the fireplace. The embers were dying, and he threw another couple of small logs onto them, stoking it up. "Take a seat then, Rick and Alexis. And Kate, maybe you can help me in the kitchen?"
"Is this okay?" Kate murmured as she poured milk and cocoa into the saucepan. "I didn't mean to just show up here."
Jim turned to her, nodding. "Of course, Katie. Of course. I'm so glad you're here. But I didn't mean to worry you. I'm- it's a rough time of year." He shook his head. "Well. I don't have to tell you that, do I?"
"Yeah. Well." Kate bit her lip, her eyes prickling with tears as she caught sight of the bottle of scotch on the counter, half hidden behind the bowl of fruit.
Jim followed her gaze, his gentle smile turning to a grimace as he reached for the bottle, uncapping it, and in a single swift movement, pouring it down the sink.
"Thank you," she breathed, and he nodded, tossing the bottle into the trash, before reaching for mugs for the hot chocolate.
"So, Rick," he said, as she poured the drinks and he carried two over, handing them to Rick and Alexis. "How is it that I've been hearing about you since the summer, and this is the first I'm seeing you?"
Kate laughed at the aghast look on Rick's face, smirking when she saw Alexis lift her eyebrows, and she sank onto the sofa beside him, her thigh against his as she wrapped her hands around her own hot chocolate. "He's joking," she said, and Rick nodded, the anxiety in his expression easing.
Jim laughed. "I can tell you care about my daughter." He turned back to Kate, his eyebrows raised. "You okay? Without Ramona?"
She shrugged, and Rick reached a hand out, resting it on her knee, and she exhaled, letting herself relax into his touch. "Not really. But she's okay. I spoke to her before we were on our way up here. Gabe was trying to put her to bed."
Her father nodded, sympathy all over his face before looking at Rick, his eyes dancing with mirth. "Did Katie tell you how I found out about you? The way Ramona recognized you on one of her books?" He cleared his throat. "To think, you lined up for one of his book signings all those years ago."
"Really?" Rick exclaimed, and Kate narrowed her eyes at her father.
"Come on," she said. "Dad! He's got a big enough head as it is, it's bad enough he even knows I read his books."
"But Katie," Rick teased. "Did you tell your dad about Nikki Heat?"
"Don't Katie me!" she warned, but her dad sat up straighter, his eyes back on Rick.
"Who's Nikki Heat?"
"So you lined up for one of my book signings?" he asked as soon as she closed the door behind them, and she hesitated to answer, crossing the room to switch the bedside lamp on, as he flipped the overhead light off.
"Um." She lifted a shoulder in response, her cheeks warming as she made the confession. "Yes."
Rick's face lit up, his grin wide as he stepped toward her, closing the gap between them, his strong torso flush against hers, his hands skimming her waist. "What did I write in your book?"
She leaned into him, nuzzling his neck as she answered. "You just signed your name."
"Really? When was this, again? Because I went through a whole phase of writing long messages, and-"
She laughed, stopping his rambling with the light press of her lips against his. "You were lovely, very generous with your time. But I was buttoned up, literally and figuratively, and to be honest, you were a lot more attentive to the crowd who wanted their chests signed."
"Oh. That." He shifted, rocking back on one of his feet, abashed.
She laughed. "It doesn't really matter now, does it?"
"No, I guess not." He smirked, looking around the small room. Kate had blushed when her dad had informed them, his tone matter of fact as he'd laughed at her discomfort, that Alexis could have her old room, because he'd cleared out the third bedroom, and that she and Rick could take that one. She'd nodded, too mortified to speak because sharing a bed with Rick - for the first time - had not been something she'd given a moment's thought to the whole drive up here.
He smiled again, his lips brushing against her forehead, then her mouth.
Here and now; timing wise, their whole relationship had been balanced precariously from the moment they'd met. Kate choked back a laugh; and now this was happening, like this. Unplanned, unpredicted and oh so very welcome, in the tiny third bedroom, half their family just a few doors up the hall.
This was happening.
Thigh to thigh, hip to hip. But with jeans and underwear and belts between them, not at all close enough. She inhaled, pulling her head back, her hips rocking into his, dangerously near to crossing the line that they'd carefully erected over the last few months. With another sharp intake of air she bit her lip before diving in, crashing her mouth against his.
Slow.
They'd done slow.
From the first moment of their first meeting they'd tamped down the spark between them, denied it and fought it.
Kate smiled into Rick's mouth as he returned her kiss.
She slipped her hand into his and she tugged him toward the bed, sinking onto the mattress, letting him lay her down. His mouth left hers, finding purchase on her throat and she moaned, dropping his hand. With both of hers, she brought them to his pants, fumbling with his belt and fly. Her heart pounded as - at last - she palmed him. His breath stuttered, coming in jagged, fast rasps, even as his own hands crept beneath her shirt and under her bra.
To hell with slow.
A/N: Thank you guys for your reviews last chapter, they all meant a lot. x Thanks Jamie and Kylie for being a crack beta team! x