A/N: This chapter does straddle the line between T and M, but I feel like it's more a strong T than M. Just a friendly heads up. Enjoy.
The Haunting - Chapter 19
Fall 1893
He winked in and out of consciousness for a while, each time as hazy and discombobulated as the next. It was not until bright sunlight was filtering through the curtain that full awareness returned to his aching body. Groaning, Castle sat up, scrubbing a hand down his face in an attempt to shake off the final dregs of unconsciousness. He blinked his eyes, and glanced around, for a brief moment confused as to his surroundings. He was surprised to discover that he was not in his bedroom, but was, in fact, in Katherine's bedroom. It would not have been the first time he had slept in the bedroom that had once been occupied by the beautiful young woman he had fallen so deeply in love with despite the fact she was dead, and was merely a ghost that haunted the brownstone he now lived.
However, this would have been the first time he had slept on the floor in Katherine's room.
It was then, as the final cobwebs cleared, that the memories of the previous evening returned.
Castle remembered leaving for his evening constitutional, intent on meeting with a visiting Creole medium. He had once previously considered writing to the leading mediums of the day, but ever since the Fox sisters had confessed that the spiritual rappings heard during their séances, which had been repudiated as evidence of communication from the other side, had been hoaxes, Castle had lost faith in the ability of such people. The Fox sisters' reputations had been ruined, yet Spiritualism remained strong amongst those in high society in spite of their confession. Now all three sisters were dead, the middle sister, Margaret, having died earlier in the year.
The only reason he had sought out the mediums amongst the Romanian immigrants in the Bronx was because he had been desperate. He had been in need of help in translating an ancient tome that supposedly possessed an incantation that could fracture a hole in the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead, allowing him to pull his beloved Katherine through. Though not eager to help him, the Romanians had, however, directed him to Madame Éliane Parish, who in turn instructed him how to perform the spell.
The spell.
Katherine!
Castle let out a grunt of pain as he heaved himself up to his feet. His ribs felt tender and sore with each single breath he took. He had a throbbing headache, and his right hand was covered in a brackish slime. He wiped it off on his trousers as he glanced around Katherine's bedroom, in search of his beloved. The washbowl was lying upside down, nothing left of the concoction he had made the previous night. The circle of candles was still spread out across the floor, in perfect order, the flames extinguished. However, Katherine was not there, where she was supposed to be.
There was no sign of her.
A sob escaped his mouth as he dropped to his knees, his vision blurring with tears. It had failed. He had failed. He wrapped his arms around himself and rocked slightly as he grieved. A year. He would not be able to see her again in a year's time, when he could next attempt the spell.
Where had he gone wrong?
Somehow he had messed up the spell. Madame Éliane had warned him of the consequences. But he had not listened. Now Katherine was gone, held in some form of purgatory until the veil between their worlds was at its weakest, which would be in a year. He would have to wait until next year's All Hollows Eve to see her again.
After a time, his sobs lessened, and he quieted, the despair and misery began to set in, leaving him numb with grief. He did not know if he could survive that long without her. It was unthinkable.
A sudden cough startled him out of his melancholy. He jerked up, placing a hand on his chest, attempting to quell the rapid beating of his heart, straining to listen for a repeat.
Another cough sounded, and Castle scrambled back up to his feet, frantically glancing around the room, searching for the source of the mysterious cough. He stepped around the bed, and stared down at the floor. A startled gasp escaped his mouth at the sight of naked flesh. A young woman with flowing brunette hair lay sprawled on the floorboards, curling in on herself as she coughed.
"Katherine!?" he questioned, uncertainly. He could not succumb to hope to only have it ripped away.
The young woman's shoulders shuddered as she heaved in a deep breath. It almost sounded like she was taking her very first breath after being birthed. She coughed again, her entire body trembling. His Victorian sensibilities took hold, and Castle grabbed the duvet off the bed and knelt down, gently wrapping the material around the shivering young woman, hiding her nakedness from his eyes. She let out another cough and moved, her limbs shaky, rotating her body around to face him. Her eyes fluttered open and she raised one hand to shield her gaze from the sunlight while the other clutched the duvet to her chest, protecting her modesty.
"What… what happened?" she choked out.
In spite of the rough and hoarse quality, Castle would recognize that angelic voice anywhere.
"Katherine!" he cried.
"Richard?" she exclaimed, dropping her hand to squint up at him. "Is… is that you?"
"Yes, my love," he sobbed with joy, his vision blurring as happy tears began to fill his eyes. "It is I. It is Richard."
"It… did it work?" she stammered out, her brow furrowing as she reached out with a trembling hand, reaching for him.
Castle leaned forward, the tears now freely flowing down his face. Her fingertips tentatively brushed against the rough stubble along his jaw. She let out a small cry of wonder, and then moved her hand up until she was cradling his face in her palm. The pad of her thumb caressed his cheek. Moisture glistened in her glorious hazel eyes. She had hazel eyes! Castle wanted to weep. For so long he had yearned to know the color of her eyes, and now he did.
"Oh… oh, Richard," Katherine sobbed. "It worked."
"It did," he bobbed his head, overwhelmed with emotion. He closed his eyes and eased into her warm touch… warm?
His eyes shot open and he brought a hand up to cover hers. Her hand was firm and warm beneath his. Solid. Castle blinked his eyes in wonder and gazed down into her beaming face, seeing tears trickle down her flushed cheeks, tinted a rosy shade of pink. Bringing up his hand, he cupped her cheek in his palm, and marveled at the warmth he felt emitting from her body. He moved his hand down the graceful slope of her throat. Katherine watched him with a bewildered expression as he gently traced her exposed collarbones with his fingertips, and then, after seeking permission, he spread his hand out over her chest.
His eyes went wide, startled when he felt the steady pulsating beat of her heart.
"What is it?" she asked, nose wrinkling in confusion and a hint of worry. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," he almost laughed. "Nothing. It.. it is… Kate… your heart is beating," he breathed out, his voice a mixture of wonder and awe.
"I… I am alive?"
"It would appear so."
Katherine sat up, letting the duvet fall away. Castle's jaw went slack as his eyes involuntarily dropped to her exposed chest. So much skin. It had been a long time since he had seen so much bare skin. His dreams and fantasies did not do Katherine justice. She was even more gorgeous than he had imagined. She let out a delighted little giggle, shifting closer to him. The move was both graceful and alluring, considering the naked flesh on display. She tipped his chin up with her fingers, coaxing his eyes back up to hers. Katherine skimmed her fingertips along his face, mesmerized at finally being able to really touch him.
There was no whirl of wind or cool breeze that followed in her wake. It was not like before. It was real. She was there, with him, in the world of the living, soft and warm… alive. Her fingers curled into his neck and she drew him down to her, meeting him halfway as their mouths melded together.
Castle moaned approvingly into the kiss, holding her face in one hand while the other caressed the soft skin along her side, brushing his thumb across the underside of her breast. Katherine gasped and pulled back suddenly, glancing down as if she needed visual confirmation of his intimate touch. Tilting her head back up, she offered him a somewhat timid smile.
"Are… are you going to make love to me, Richard?" she asked, almost bashfully.
"Yes," he declared, but then amended that assertion with, "If I have your permission."
She blinked her eyes in puzzlement, before she then bobbed her head. "Yes, yes," she said, surging back into him, her lips finding his with ease. "I want you, Richard. Oh… I have wanted you for so long."
Castle wrapped his arms around her warm body, kissing her with all the passion and love he had held suppressed for so long. She reciprocated with just as much enthusiasm, her slender fingers making quick work of the buttons along his shirt. He shivered at her touch, and gooseflesh followed in her fingers' wake, but unlike those other times, it was not because of the ghostly chill, but because of the heated anticipation. He shrugged his shoulders as she helped him remove his shirt, and then together they divested him of his trousers, leaving him as bare and exposed as she was.
Katherine's eyes grew wide as she viewed his male flesh for the first time, and her cheeks turned a vibrant shade of pink. She gnawed on her bottom lip, and ducked her head down. Castle shifted closer to her, smoothing his hands up and down her bare back, reveling in the feel of their chests kissing as he hugged her tightly. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, closing her eyes as she breathed in his scent.
"You are trembling," he murmured into her ear, tenderly rubbing a hand down her back in an attempt to soothe her. He gently nudged her back, and rested his forehead against hers. "We do not have to do this now. We can wait."
"No," Katherine asserted vehemently, shaking her head, her long brunette strands bouncing delightfully around her glowing face. "I want this. I want you. I do not want to wait." She ducked her head back down, and bit her lower lip, hesitating but a moment before looking back up at him. "Richard, I was nineteen and unwed when I died."
She did not need to say anymore than that. He understood what she meant. Castle reached up with his hand and caressed the side of her face, dipping his head down to kiss her sweetly, soothing away her fears of inadequacy from inexperience in human intimacies. "Then we do not need to rush this. We go slow."
"But… you are still going to make love to me, yes?" she all but pleaded, her eyes large with worry that she had ruined the moment.
"Oh, most definitely," Castle assured, grinning cheekily, earning a happy giggle from her as he moved his hands to her shoulder and gradually nudged her down onto her back. The duvet was spread out on the floorboards beneath them, providing cushioning. He smudged warm kisses along her neck and shoulder. Katherine gasped and moaned under his ministrations as he moved down her lithe and nubile young body, smothering all her exposed skin with hot wet kisses. He ran his hands up and down her long legs, gently coaxing them apart.
Katherine mewled softly, arching her neck up to gaze down at him with dark eyes, watching as he flicked his tongue out and teased her navel. Her stomach muscles clenched and she moaned approvingly. Pulling back, Castle turned his head and playfully nibbled at the sensitive skin along her inner thigh. Katherine let out a startled gasp. Her eyes went wide with surprise when she finally seemed to realize his intention. Judging by her expression, Castle surmised she had never once considered that such a thing would be done when a man and woman were intimate together.
"Richard?" she questioned in a quivering voice, her entire body squirming with a combination of confusion and arousal.
"Let me love you," he pleaded, pressing a light kiss against her lower abdomen, smiling with delight as her hips rose up involuntarily, jerking with anticipation.
She swallowed, and he watched the column of her throat bob as she did so. So enticing. So beautiful.
"Kate?"
"Yes," she closed her eyes, and inclined her head in assent. "Love me, Richard. Love me."
And he did.
