Author: Elizagoth
Word Count: 1,1698
Rating: M (Adult subject matter)
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the following work of fiction.
"Hey!" I yelled, chasing the suited figure down the busy sidewalk.
He ran up the street, turning a corner sharply and I shouted for him to stop. Being in better shape, I could see the distance between us closing as he tired. I watched as he disappeared into an alleyway and I put on a burst of speed, not wanting to lose sight of him. As I entered the alley, we both realized that Coonan had run himself into a corner. A fence, easily ten feet high blocked any exit and the fire escapes were all out of reach. I watched the emotions flicker across his face as Coonan came to the conclusion his only escape was to go through me. He attempted to dodge around me, but I was quicker and tackled him at waist level.
We both tumbled to the ground, and I struggled to get control as we rolled across the dirty ground. As I fought to restrain him, the fact I hadn't trained in months became obvious and I felt myself tiring quickly. Finally sick of our game, Coonan straddled my lap and delivered a hefty punch to my face, sending my head bouncing off the cement. Dazed, I felt Coonan lean forward.
"Watch yourself Katie, I won't miss again."
With those words ringing in my ears I heard Coonan's footsteps retreat down the alley. Laying still for a moment and taking a few deep breaths, I rolled to my side, trying to quell the nausea I felt rising. About a foot from me, stark in its cleanliness in the grungy alley, was a square of brown leather. Reaching for it, I pulled it open to see Dick Coonan's New York State license photo staring back at me.
It was too easy. What were the odds that a professional assassin would put his real address on his license? Then again if said assassin was a cocky son of a bitch, anything was possible. I slid the wallet into the back pocket of my jeans and heaved to my feet. Using the rough brick wall for support, I slowly made my way back out onto the sidewalk. As I turned the corner back onto the street I had come from, Alexis spotted me and rushed forward.
"Kate! Are you okay? Who was that?" she asked, tilting my head up to get a good look at my face.
"No one, just someone I thought I knew," I muttered, holding the back of my head.
God that man hit hard. Alexis closely inspected what was sure to be a black eye tomorrow. All I wanted to do was be back in my apartment curled up watching movies with Castle. One day out and already things had gone to hell. Of all the stores in all the cities, he had to have been in that one. I suppose with the way my luck had been recently, I should just be glad he didn't shoot me on sight.
"Come on, let's get you back home. That looks like it's going to need ice," Alexis said, bracing her arm across my back and helping me walk to the curb where the driver waited.
"Alright, you get settled on the couch. I'll get you some ice," Alexis said, gently ushering me towards my small living room.
I did a quick sweep of the apartment, but Castle was still nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I sat on the couch and leaned my head back, wincing as the bump on the back of my head made contact with the corduroy.
"You don't have to do this," I said as Alexis pressed a dishtowel full of ice to my cheek.
"It's not a problem. I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to," she smiled, echoing my sentiment from earlier.
"Sorry I ruined our day out," I murmured, taking the ice from Alexis.
"Nonsense, I can go back and get our dresses. That black one will look gorgeous on you," she said, reminding me so much of her grandmother. "That's if you still want to go."
She never was as pushy as Martha, even when it was for my own good.
"I'll pop some aspirin and be good to go," I said, squinting my eye experimentally.
"Great! I can bring your dress here and we can get ready together!"
I smiled, I hadn't seen her so excited in awhile. Even if it meant venturing out when Coonan had all but promised me that there was a hit out on me.
"That sounds like a plan. Something tells me that I'm going to need some help covering this up," I said, pulling the ice from my eye.
It must have started to darken, as I saw Alexis wince in sympathy.
"It looks worse than it is, trust me."
She didn't look assured, so I took her hand and pulled her down beside me. Immediately she curled into my side like the child I kept forgetting she was. I used one arm to return the ice to my eye and the other wrapped around Alexis's shoulders.
"Who was that guy?" Alexis asked quietly, picking up on my reluctance to talk about it.
"No one you need to worry about," I murmured, giving her an awkward sideways hug. "Now I think you have some shopping to finish up."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, I can stay."
"Sweetie, all I'm going to be doing is downing some aspirin and taking a nap. I'll see you when you come over tonight."
Alexis nodded, still looking reluctant, but gathered her things and headed out. As promised, as soon as the door closed I fished some aspirin from the bathroom cupboard. I caught a quick glimpse of Castle in the mirror as I swallowed the pills, and I sighed in relief. He was coming back to me. Slowly, but in a few more hours it would be like it was before.
I took the wallet from my back pocket, and let it fall to the counter beside the sink. It flipped open, revealing the license and Dick Coonan's face staring back at me. The address was on the Upper Westside, easy enough to get to. If it was in fact where he lived.
Glancing to the clock, I decided that I had time to go check it out before Alexis came back later tonight. First however, was icing my eye and waiting for the aspirin to do its job. Getting fresh ice from the freezer, I reclined back on the couch and flipped on the TV. A daytime talk show seemed good enough background noise and I let out a sigh as the tension flowed from my body.
"Oh grow up Dad," Alexis sighed, rolling her eyes.
I bit my lip and went back to my own dinner as Castle protested loudly. Ripping off a piece of garlic bread, I saw Castle aim for his daughter's mostly empty plate, landing the bread there easily. With a glare Alexis aimed a meatball at her father, leaving a splattered circle on his cheek.
"Now, now," I laughed, gathering up the finished remnants of our dinner.
After wiping his face Castle followed me to the sink, stacking dishes on the counter. I ran the hot water as Alexis brought her plate to the sink and went about putting the leftovers away. Still feeling mischievous, Castle flicked some of the bubbly water my way. The drops darkened the light blue of my shirt, making it cling wetly.
"Don't start something you can't finish, Castle," I said mildly, arching an eyebrow.
Answering my look with one of his own, Castle splashed a larger portion of the soapy water in my direction, completely soaking my front and dampening my bangs.
"Oh! You're on!" I said, grabbing the sprayer nozzle from beside the faucet and turning it on Castle's shocked face.
Alexis giggled behind me as I soaked her father in warm water. Castle seemed stunned, standing dripping wet in his own kitchen.
"That's it woman, you're in for it now!" he said, bending down to throw me over his shoulder.
"Castle! Put me down! Rick!" I shrieked, pounding on his back.
Alexis gripped the counter to stay upright as she laughed.
"In this house we have a way of dealing with people like you," Castle said, dropping me to the couch.
I bounced once with the impact, then laid looking up at him. The green button up shirt he wore clung to his solid frame, outlining the body beneath.
"Is that so?" I asked, unable to hide the grin in my voice.
"Yes," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Tickle war!"
I yelped in surprise as I felt his fingers tickling my sensitive sides. Gasping for breath I tried to stifle the very girlish giggles that escaped my mouth.
"Alexis help!" I yelled, trying to fight Castle off.
The teen caught her father from behind, jumping on his back and locking her legs and arms around him.
"Let her go!" she managed to choke through her laughter.
"Ganging up on me eh? I see how it is," Castle said, grasping Alexis by the legs and standing.
He spun carefully around the living room with his daughter clutched tightly to his back. Eventually he fell to the plush carpet, panting dramatically.
"I am getting too old for this," he groaned, rolling over as Alexis lay out beside him.
Moving to the floor, I kissed him lightly and laid on his other side.
"Yes dear," I murmured playfully, dodging the gentle swat in my direction.
For a few moments we lay on the floor, staring up at the domed skylight and the fading New York City sun beyond. Even after a few short weeks I felt like part of the family. I still had my own place, but spent most of my down time here with Castle and Alexis. We had effortlessly moved from them and me to us, Martha having even taken to treating me like a surrogate daughter.
We all stood at the knock at the door, Alexis and I heading back to the kitchen while Castle went to answer the door.
To Be Continued…
Author's Notes: I'm really sorry about the delay. It's crunch time at school and between studying for finals and getting job stuff in order, I've been super busy. I know some people had some concerns about timeline and such. Basically it goes AU sometime before Sucker Punch, with Beckett and Castle getting together. Hopefully you guys like reading this as much as I like writing it. Thanks as always to my beta and the awesome people who keep giving me feedback!