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[Chapter 4]

"He's out," Kate whispered with a smile as she raked her fingers through Braden's hair. He was fast asleep, his head resting on his mother's lap.

"The little guy's had a busy day," Rick sighed. "I'll carry him to bed. You mind putting the fire out?" He asked, lifting the boy out of Kate's lap and carrying him toward the tent.

"Yeah," she smiled.

The boy stirred against him, mouth opening on a yawn as his eyelashes fluttered open and closed.

Kate put out the fire and proceeded to follow her husband and son into the tent. Ducking inside, she paused as she watched Rick take off Braden's sneakers and pull a blanket over him. He then kissed the boy on the forehead, murmuring, "I love you, buddy. Sleep tight."

He turned around to find her with one hand covering her mouth and the other clutching her chest. "What?" He asked, concerned. "Kate, what's wrong?"

She didn't say a word. She only crossed over to him and cupped his face with her hands, leaning in and kissing him soundly on the lips. "Nothing's wrong, you wonderful, wonderful man," she mumbled, a smile finding its way to her rosy lips. Kate pressed her mouth to his, kissing him harder and with more force than before. He quickly returned the kiss, his fingers raking through her soft hair as he held her still while attacking her mouth. A small snort brought the husband and wife back to reality, breaking them apart.

They turned to find Braden fast asleep, a small snore would escape every other breath or so. Kate chuckled lightly as she removed herself from Rick's arms and crawled over to her son, placing a kiss on his chubby little cheek.

"Night, Brae. Love you," she whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek once more.

Rick held out his hand and nodded toward the mouth of the tent. "Come here."

Kate bit her lip and took his hand, he led her outside. "What about-"

He stopped her there, already knowing what she was about to say before she even said it. "Braden will be fine, he's knocked out. If he needs us, we'll be right here." She was a bit hesitant. "Kate, he'll be fine. I promise," Rick vowed, taking both of her slender hands in his large ones and giving them a squeeze of reassurance. She nodded and kissed him on the cheek.

"So, why are we out here in the middle of the night when we have a perfectly good tent right there?" She questioned, it was nearly pitch black outside. The only source of light was coming from the blueish glow of the moon.

Rick sat down and laid back against a log near the fire pit, where they were earlier. "I just want to lay under the stars with my wife for a bit. Just the two of us, no distractions, no anything. Now, get your cute, little butt over here." He patted the hard ground next to him.

She complied, snuggling into his side. "I have a cute butt?"

Rick laughed, "Yes, you do. Very cute."

That made her laugh as she looked up, gasping when she saw the trillions of stars that covered the night sky. "Wow," she breathed, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

Rick set his left arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, his hand drawing patterns on her upper arm. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Pretty neat doesn't even come close to describing it," Kate stated. "This is absolutely incredible!"

He smiled, pressing a tender kiss to her temple. "It sure is."

Kate tore her gaze from the sky above to Rick. He was staring at her with all the love and adoration in his sea blue eyes. Rick slowly lifted a hand and brought it to her cheek, tentatively caressing it. His fingers slid over her cheek, down her jaw to her chin. Then he stopped at her lips. He briefly looked down at them and then back up to her chocolate brown eyes.

Closing the space between them, Rick lowered his face toward Kate's. Their lips met, hovering above one another's. After a few seconds, Rick pressed his lips harder to hers, causing her to moan in pleasure. Kate pushed back with equal force.

She smiled as she kissed him, her own hand coming up to caress his scruffy cheek. He hadn't shaved that morning, so his cheeks were a bit rough to the touch.

Her tongue took the opportunity to slip into his mouth and found his. After a couple of seconds he started to respond, their tongues moving together. His hands flew to her back, pressing her body closer to him. Her hands found the nape of his neck, pulling his head closer to her own. Kate's hands tangled in his hair, while his slipped under her shirt and caressed the skin there.

Oxygen quickly became a necessity and so they reluctantly pulled apart, their chests heaved as they tried to get air back into their lungs.

"God, I love you, Rick," Kate sighed, snuggling back into his side, but not before kissing his cheek then his jaw then his lips.

"I love you, too, Kate. More than you could ever imagine," he whispered. Rick's arms tightened around her body, holding her close.

The couple remained silent for a while, merely enjoying being in the others company without any screaming, whining, or crying. It was complete bliss. But eventually they had to head back inside the tent so Braden wouldn't wake up all alone. It would've scared the kid to death to wake up and not have his parents there.

Slipping off their shoes, Rick and Kate took up a space on either side of Braden. Rick reached over and grabbed Kate's hand, holding onto her as sleep quickly fell over them. Soon, all three Castles were fast asleep.

Morning sunlight streamed through the material of the tent, casting a soft glow on Kate's face. She began to stir, reaching over she felt that the space next to her was empty and cold. Opening one eye she found that they were in fact gone. Neither of her boys were there.

She sat up, stretching her arms above her head, her bones cracking. Kate let out a small grunt as she stepped outside to find...nothing.

"Rick? Braden?" She called, turning in circles and not seeing her husband or son in sight. It was quiet. Too quiet for Kate's liking. What's going on?

She walked over to the RV and got inside, beginning to search for them. Looking in the bedrooms and bathrooms, Kate came across no one. She scratched her head in thought. Where are those guys?

As soon as she opened the door of the RV and got on the steps she was immediately pelted with water. Blinking her eyes and shaking her head, her vision slowly came back to her. Kate's eyes widened when she saw who was behind the attack.

Rick and Braden stood there grinning and laughing with water balloons in their hands. A large bucket full of colorful water balloons sat at their feet, it was filled to the rim.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Rick greeted, Braden chuckling next to him. "Sleep well?"

Braden gave a little wave. "Hi, Mom."

Kate stared at her husband and son in disbelief. She raised a hand and pointed a finger at Rick and then at Braden. "You're so going to pay for that." She ran toward the bucket full of water balloons and grabbed as many as she could. Rick and Braden threw as many balloons at her as they could, completely soaking her. Kate laughed as she ducked behind a nearby tree, her back pressed up against it. Her shirt was sticking to her skin.

Casting a glance over her right shoulder, she saw Rick and Braden hiding behind the picnic table. "Come on, Kate! Give us your best shot!" Rick taunted.

Braden nodded and yelled with a fist pump, "Yeah! Come on!"

Kate couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. She called back, "You two are going down!" Taking a deep breath, Kate turned and ran toward them, throwing the balloons. She hit Rick squarely in the chest, soaking his white v-neck shirt. She then threw one at Braden, getting him in the leg.

They were laughing and giggling, each of them drenched as they continued their little war. The campsite was covered in water balloon remains and water. It looked like a war-zone.

Kate landed on her last balloon and she knew exactly what to do with it. Running at Rick, she jumped on his back, her legs hooking around his waist and her arms wrapping around his shoulders. Raising the blue water balloon, Kate smashed it on top of Rick's head, his hair becoming soaked and water dripping down his face.

Braden watched as his mom hopped off his dad and raised her arms in the air in victory. "She got you, Dad!" The boy laughed, pointing at Rick.

Rick turned around to find Kate with her arms crossed over her chest. "And that is how it's done," she sneered, a proud smile on her lips.

He shook his head, a hand behind his back. "Oh, I don't think so."

Kate saw him pull out his hand from behind his back, a purple water balloon clutched in his hand. Her eyes grew wide and she began to take tentative steps backwards. "You wouldn't."

He shrugged, taking a few steps toward her. "I think we both know that I would."

She backed herself into a tree, cornering herself. Rick grinned as he came up to her, his wet body pressed right up against hers. Braden ran up and watched his dad as he raised the balloon above Kate's head.

Rick glanced down at Braden and winked. "When will she ever learn?"

The boy just shrugged, smiling.

"Rick..." Kate growled, gaining back her husband's attention. "Don't you-"

She was cut off mid-sentence by the feeling of Rick dropping the balloon on her head. Strands of hair were stuck to her forehead, droplets of water sliding down her cheeks.

Kate opened her eyes and saw Rick high-five Braden, the boy giggling. "We beat Mom!" The four-year-old shrieked, doing a little victory dance.

"Yes, we did!" Rick agreed, joining Braden and dancing like no one watching.

There you go! :)

I hope y'all liked it! I wanted to give Kate and Rick some quality time alone together, hopefully I did them justice! And I hope that their little water balloon battle was fun for you to read! :) Please leave a review with your thoughts and comments!

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