AN: This took a long time, and for that, I apologize.
Well, it was settled, Kate had stopped by the precinct and dropped off her paperwork with Gates after a quick call to Doctor Burke earlier in the morning. A vacation. She hadn't thought she'd need time off any time soon, especially given the three months off she had received last summer. The time would be well spent though, learning things about Castle, and letting him learn things about her. She thought about all of the alone time they would have together, and a smile lit up her face.
"Yo, Beckett," Esposito called from his desk as she was gathering up a few things from hers.
"What's up, Espo?" She looked up at him, her smile still in full effect.
"Just wondering what's got you smiling like that, is it the vacation? Going somewhere tropical? Are you sneaking away to bang a cabana boy?" He grinned as she rolled her eyes.
"Actually, Espo, you and Ryan should come here for a minute," she said, looking around and nodding her head towards the break room. Esposito shoved Ryan's shoulder, and made to follow Beckett, Ryan getting up to follow along.
"What's up, Beckett?" Ryan asked, unsure of what the secret little meeting was about.
"Well, I'm going on 'vacation'," she put in air quotes, "and I just wanted you guys to know that Castle isn't going to be here while I'm gone, so you don't need to worry about him."
"What, we aren't pretty enough to follow around while you're gone?" Esposito asked, with false affront.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? I thought he might actually want some bro time while you were gone, maybe he'd finally give 'Raley' a first name…" Ryan trailed off, brushing off Espo's hand that had landed on his shoulder in sympathy.
"Um, well, I wasn't really going to say anything, but – and don't tell Gates – but Castle and I are going on vacation together…" She left her sentence hanging momentarily before adding, "we're uh, working on, well, we're working on us."
"'Us'?" Esposito questioned, "you mean like… Castle's your cabana boy?" He asked in a hushed tone.
"Like you're gonna go to his private island and walk around naked all day?" Ryan and Espo both quirked their heads to the side, as if imagining it. Beckett smacked both of them upside the head.
"Maybe! But that's not the point, we're going away to work on a relationship, learn more about each other, not have sex all day, geez. You call us 'mom and dad' and then you picture us naked? That's just sick," Kate smirked, shaking her head at the two of them.
"Hey, we weren't-" Ryan started before Espo shut him up.
"You're right, and you know what, it's not really any of our business, but thank you for sharing with us, I'm glad you trusted us with that information," Esposito clasped his hand around her upper arm, squeezing it gently and letting go. "You two have a good time, and call us if you need anything."
"I would say the same, but I'm not so sure the interruption would be welcome…" Kate raised an eyebrow salaciously, causing the two men to chuckle.
"We'll keep that in mind, Beckett, have a nice trip, wherever you're going, and don't forget protection!" Ryan called over his shoulder as Esposito shoved him out of the break room, shaking his head at his partner's antics. "See ya, Beckett," he said with a wave. "What? I meant sun block!" Ryan muttered under his breath. Kate smiled, but that reminded her, she needed to stop at home and pick up her backup piece, she'd never traveled without it, and she wouldn't start now.
With a shake of her head, she headed back to her desk, straightening a couple of files and making sure her computer was shut down. She checked her desk drawer to make sure there wasn't any food in there that would rot while she was gone, before grabbing her purse and tossing on her jacket.
"Bye guys! See you later!" She called to them, waving from her desk as she readied to leave. They waved back, each smiling knowingly.
As she stepped onto the elevator, her phone buzzed. She pulled it out, smiling at the text she'd received.
Castle: Hey, what do you want for dinner?
She thought for a moment, she didn't usually think about meals this far in advance.
Beckett: I don't know, surprise me.
The elevator dinged as she hit send, and she stepped off into the precinct's lobby. He responded almost instantly, the message reaching her before she reached the building's entrance.
Castle: Oh, I'm sure I will every day for the rest of your life.
She shook her head as she hailed a taxi, texting him back as soon as she was situated in the back.
Beckett: You know you're the biggest Cheeseball I know, right?
Teasing was their forte, so she went with that. He mustn't have been doing anything, because the little typing icon popped up as she looked down to reread what she had sent.
Castle: I ham it up just for you, my love.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes, he would act like an idiot just for her attention. Her reply was on par with the last one. The truth was, she may have admitted her feelings, but Cheeseball was as close to a term of endearment as she was going to use with him, at least for now.
Beckett: See? That's what I'm talking about.
She deflected, it was one of her superpowers. He knew how to get around her walls though, at least in a lighthearted conversation.
Castle: You ain't seen nothing yet.
That almost scared her. What was she thinking planning an extended vacation with the Cheeseball?
Beckett: Oh god.
She voiced her mock concern, and he saw it for what it was, admission of the possible truth.
Castle: See you later. 3
She almost wanted to respond with a heart of her own, but she couldn't pass up teasing him again.
Beckett: That's wishful thinking. ;)
She smirked and put her phone away as she paid the cabbie and ventured into her apartment building.
A small duffle bag lay open on her bed with a large suitcase next to it. She tossed a few pairs of panties and a couple sports bras in the duffle, followed by some sweatpants, a couple T-shirts, and a sweatshirt for good measure. She figured lazing around the loft with Castle for a few days wouldn't call for anything dressier than that.
As she packed her suitcase, though, she thought about what exactly they would be getting up to in the Hamptons. She was sure there would be plenty of pool time and lounging on the beach, so she packed practically all of her bathing suits, but beyond that she wasn't sure. Beyond that, she packed a worn pair of jeans, a pile of shorts, more T-shirts, and a couple of lightweight dresses. Next, she looked back at her lingerie drawer with a sigh and tossed in all of the stuff that hadn't seen the light of day in months, none of her practical everyday wear. At least she'd get to wear it again, even if it was only briefly. Then she smiled to herself, well… lingerie was meant to only be worn briefly, right? As she passed by her dresser, she caught sight of her mother's ring and father's watch. She'd forgotten about them yesterday, and had resorted to looking at her phone for the time. It was odd, usually she felt incredibly off without them, as if she were missing a piece of herself, but she felt fine, better than fine. Her lips pursed of their own accord, and she grabbed the two items, placing them at the top of her suitcase carefully, and zipped it shut.
Finally all packed, she put her suitcase and duffle by the front door, and went to retrieve her backup piece from the small gun safe in her closet. She checked the clip and the chamber, grabbed a box of ammo, and tossed the lot in her purse. Before she left, she checked her fridge for perishable food items, watered her plants, and double checked the locks on all her windows. As an afterthought, she called her dad and left him a voicemail telling him where she would be going in case he needed her for anything.
She looked around her apartment once more as she wheeled her bag into the hall and flipped the light off. Locking the door and testing the handle, she smiled to herself, she wouldn't be seeing her apartment for a while, and for the first time in months, that didn't seem like a bad thing.
After a stop and go ride to Castle's loft, Kate was bored and tired, and more than a little sore. All she wanted was a quick warm meal, a long hot bath, and a comfortable pillow to lay her head on. Luckily, Castle being Castle, none of that was hard to come by. After depositing her bags in Castle's bedroom, dinner passed by quickly. They chatted about the next few days and the coming summer keeping them occupied. Alexis was out of the loft for most of the night, off hanging out with her friends, getting in as much time with them as she could before the majority of them left for colleges out of state. She obviously didn't realize that most people don't actually leave until the end of the summer, but that didn't bother Kate any, as she was all too willing to fall from dinner into the hot bath that Rick seemed to know she had been craving.
"Take your time in here, relax. I'm just going to go load the dishwasher, and then if you'd like me to join you, I'd be more than happy to," Rick murmured into her hair as he pushed her gently towards the massive, filling tub. "Let me know if you need anything," he smiled softly as she pulled her shirt gently over her head.
"Bring back some wine and yourself, and I won't want for anything," she sighed, easing her pants down her long legs.
"Of course," he replied as he slipped out the bathroom door. He had to get out of there before the rest came off, otherwise the dishes would never get cleaned up, and Alexis would be less than thrilled in the morning when she went to make herself breakfast. He leaned against the wall of his bedroom for a moment, letting out a deep breath before he continued on to the kitchen.
When he returned a little while later, a bottle of wine and two glasses hanging from one hand as he unfastened the buttons of his shirt with the other, Kate was submerged up to her neck in warm bubbly water. He smiled down at her. He hadn't thought this day, or one like it, would ever come. Yet here they were, just days after quite possibly their biggest blow up ever, happy as clams. After letting out a contented sigh, Kate's eyelids drifted open, her eyes lazily traveling up his masculine form.
"You gonna stand there all night or are you going to join me, Lover-Boy?" she jested softly.
"I thought we had quite established that I am a man," he raised an eyebrow in innuendo.
"Fair point," she sighed, letting her eyes drift shut again, her perusal could wait, it was game time. "But I thought you might want to prove that point again tonight… guess I was wrong." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug, her face not giving away her amusement. He knew her too well though, knew the games they played with each other, it was an invitation to play, and he would definitely play.
"Oh, I don't know, proving my manhood every day seems like such a chore, a wasted effort, like shaving, or vacuuming." After he set the wine glasses down, he let his shirt fall open and unbuckled his pants. "I wouldn't be averse to joining you for a nice, relaxing bath though, I'd love to loosen up some of your tight muscles," he intoned softly, his words laced with innuendo and dripping with sex. He slipped his clothes the rest of the way from his body and ran his fingers slowly through the water, testing its warmth. Finding the temperature suitable, he pushed forward gently on her shoulders and slipped in behind her.
They sat for a long while, just basking in each other's presence, the new closeness they had, and relaxed. Rick sat up a little straighter and reached out to grab the wine glasses and bottle, figuring that a little warmth on the inside to match the warmth surrounding them would make this moment perfect. Kate just hummed her appreciation when he wound her fingers around the stem of one glass, taking a few moments before she brought the glass to her lips and sampled it. She let out a soft breath as the wine slid down her throat, the slight burn traveling down her esophagus and fizzling its way down to her toes, which she curled in pleasure. He groaned as her feet rubbed against his calves, lighting a completely different fire within each of them, one that they had been trying to ignore for several long minutes. They fought it for only a few moments before succumbing to it and allowing themselves to be ensconced in the burning heat of passion once more.
AN: Thanks for being patient with me, I'll hopefully be able to get on a schedule with this again now that I'm going back to college today.
Thank you all for reading, and by all means, share any thoughts you may have on this.
