I hate when I write a story over 25 chapters, so this story might just continue into another project.
Chapter 23
For a few days they each led their own separate lives. Kate waking early to make it to work before the sun rose over the skyline of Manhattan. Rick taking Alexis to the park or to a friends. Kate would leave the twelfth well after darkness has engulfed the city. Rick and Alexis would laze around for the night. He desperately wants to call her. Offer her dinner. But every time he finds his finger hovering above her name he stops himself. He doesn't know why, but he can't bring himself to call her just yet. Time flew quickly. Days turns to a week, a week into two. They were reaching their second week of non-communication when he finally picks up the phone one night and calls her.
"Beckett." She says sharply.
"Way to greet a friend." He says sarcastically.
"Rick, sorry. I thought you were work, I'm on call."
"Ah. That explains it."
"What has you calling me at... 8:30 on a Friday night?" She asks. He could tell she was checking the time.
"Well, tomorrow is Saturday and I was wondering if you might want to get together for lunch or something?"
"Could I interest you into maybe dinner tomorrow night, I have plans for lunch? Maybe around 7-ish?"
"Sounds perfect." He smiles. He's missed her, her voice, her smile, her laugh, just her.
"Remy's?" She asks.
"You read my mind."
"Can't wait." He can her smile through the phone.
He doesn't want to hang up, but Alexis walks into his office holding up a cut finger with a small trail of blood running the length of her finger. "Hey, Kate. Sorry. But I gotta go, Alexis has a paper cut I need to take care of."
"It's okay. Tell her to feel better for me." He loves how much Kate still cares for his daughter after so long.
"Will do. Bye."
"Bye." The small click on the line, signals Castle that she hung up.
X-X-X-X
Kate ran into her roommate's room. "Did you take my black pumps?" She asks hurriedly.
"No. I think they're by the front door. Why?" Lanie Parish explains from her bedroom in the apartment.
"I'm going out. And I can't find them." Kate calls behind her as she dashes for the door in search of her shoes.
"Who are going out with? The guy you were telling me about at lunch today?" Lanie stands and moves to the door of her bedroom, watching Kate dash around frantically trying to find her shoes.
"Yeah."
"I still don't understand why you won't tell me his name." Lanie says.
"I'll tell you soon. I promise Lanie, but he's... different."
"What kind of different?" Lanie asks as Kate slips. "The only difference I know is that you dated before."
"I'll explain later, but I'm running late. I gotta go." Kate says as she closes the front door behind her.
"You better explain." Lanie mutters to herself as she walks back to her room to finish a mountain of paperwork.
X-X-X-X
Castle checks his watch. It's 7:30. Kate is never this late. He tells himself. He's clutching a bouquet of mis-matched flowers, he didn't want to push Kate, but he wanted her to know that he cares for her, the flowers were also Alexis' idea.
"Hey stranger." It's her voice. He turns, relieved when she meets his gaze. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's fine." He forgets about the flowers as he drinks in the sight of her. She's wearing a deep purple blouse and black heels with jeans, despite the late July weather. She looks to the flowers in his hand, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh. Right. These are for you." He holds the flowers out to her.
"Thanks. They're beautiful." She grabs them and cradles them to her.
"Sorry I haven't called, I'm on deadline and Alexis is busy with school. Life's been hectic." He explains as the fall into step, entering Remy's.
X-X-X-X
After dinner they walked aimlessly up the New York streets. Their feet carrying them toward Rick's loft. He offers she come up for a beer. She doesn't want to leave yet, so she agrees. One beer turns to two, two to three. She can feel the familiar buzz of the alcohol coursing through her veins. They were closer together now, sitting in the center of the couch. He's kissing her, she doesn't remember how she became pinned beneath him on the couch, but she's there, she doesn't mind considering the things his lips are doing to her neck. Next thing she knows he's carrying her, bridal style to his bedroom.
X-X-X-X
It's after round two when she finally speaks. Her head is resting on his chest, her hair fanned out behind her. She's not much of cuddler, but he made her feel safe and warm from the rest of the world and any harm it could do.
"I wanna give us shot." She whispers.
He's speechless, he opens his mouth but nothing comes out, except a lame, "Okay."
"I miss you and..." Her sentence fell.
"I'm here. Always."
X-X-X-X
"I could really get used to waking up like this." He smiles, stroking her bare arm, her back to him.
"Mmmm." She hums, her eyes still closed. "Feels good." She mutters. She feels the deep rumble in his chest as he laughs.
"You're beautiful." He whispers close to her ear. Her stomach growls loudly. "And hungry apparently."
She finally turns over to face him, smiling that perfect smile only meant for him.
"How about we get some breakfast? You're laying next to the worlds greatest pancake maker ever, you know?"
"I may just have to give them a try then, huh?" She laughs. He kisses her calmly.
X-X-X-X
He reassures her that his mother and daughter were spending the weekend in the Hamptons, their excuse that he should have some privacy to write for the weekend.
Kate was wearing one of his old shirts and a pair of boxers, with little Green Lantern symbols scattered on them. Rick looks almost identical, only he choose to go with a pair of sweatpants since Kate stole his favorite boxers. They were dancing around each other in the kitchen, Rick working pancakes, Kate eggs and bacon. He walks over to her with the spatula he had used to stir the pancake batter. Dragging his finger through the batter he put a quick dab on the tip of her nose before she turned around. She gasps and tosses a bit of bacon at him. The war results in the two of them running around the kitchen, before he caught her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
X-X-X-X
They laze around the rest of the day. She says she has to go, that she has to be in early tomorrow. He understands, kisses her at the door, gently at first, but deepening quickly.
"Dinner? Tomorrow night?" He asks hopefully.
She smiles. "Of course." She writes down her address.
They part for the night.
X-X-X-X
Kate tip-toes quietly into her apartment, the door clicking softly behind her. Lanie was supposed be at work, but if she was home hopefully she wouldn't hear Kate. Kate was half-way to her room when she hears her roommate.
"You always think you're so sneaky."
"How do you always hear me?" Kate turns to catch sight of Lanie standing in her own bedroom door. "And more importantly, why aren't you at work?"
"First off, the squeaks when you open it. And second, I was let off early, no body and no paperwork." The woman says with a shrug. "But the most important matter is where were you last night and today?" They were always in each other's lives. Giving advice, listening to complaints, or just poking their noses where they didn't belong.
"Out." Kate answers coolly.
"With your secret guy?"
"None of your business." Kate's turning to go to her own room when Lanie calls after her.
"You're dating Richard Castle!" Kate's eyes widen. She swivels back to her roommate.
"How... How... You know?" She's past the point of forming a real sentence.
"I poked around your room when you left yesterday. Found your personally signed advanced copy of "In A Hail Of Bullets" along with the picture of you two marking a page. He dedicated his first book to you!"
"Why did you poke around my room?!"
"So you are dating?"
Kate felt her face becoming hot.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lanie asks curiously.
"Cause we weren't dating, we were just friends who had dated before and ended up in bed once..."
"You slept with him before?!"
"Few weeks ago, yeah."
"Is he any good?"
"Lanie!"
"What? I'm a woman. I'm allowed to be curious. Plus you're my best friend, which means you gotta tell me."
Kate turns to her room, walking away.
"If you could describe it in one word?" Lanie calls.
Kate stops for moment. "Unbelievable."
Reviews? I know I'm sorry I made you guys wait for so long. But life kinda got in the way for a while. Don't worry I'm not leaving this story unfinished anytime soon. :)