"Often people display a curious respect for a man drunk... There is something awe-inspiring in one who has lost all inhibitions."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
It's not nearly as bad as he'd thought.
The party was full of over-excited, but good natured teens who had gotten a bit over-zealous in their alcohol consumption. He had even managed to get Kate not to call it in. His daughter is going to have her first hangover and one hell of a headache come morning, but she'll be okay and that settles him.
Now, Castle is rummaging through his medicine cabinet for aspirin while Kate helps Alexis up the stairs to her room.
He finds the aspirin and as he's making his way to get a glass of water for his daughter he hears the sound of her retching. Castle quickens his steps, but pauses when he hears the sound of Kate's voice soothing his daughter.
"Shhh, shhh. You'll be okay. It happens to the best of us," he hears Kate state softly. When he rounds the top of the stairs he sees Kate rubbing Alexis' back and holding the girl's hair aside.
Castle can hear Alexis groaning as she leans back against the bathtub and sees as she chances a glance at Kate.
"Detective Beckett, why are you wearing my dad's clothes?" Castle is frozen on the spot. In the madness of their intimate moment and Alexis' drunken phone call he'd almost forgotten how the night began.
He watches as Kate flushes before calmly answering his daughter's question, "Mine got wet - in all of the rain earlier. Your dad let me borrow something dry."
"Oh," Alexis sighs. The answer seems to be enough for her and it has him moving toward the bathroom again, but before Castle can reach the doorway Alexis speaks again.
"Are you sleeping with my dad?"
Holy shit. Where is the soft spoken, careful little girl that he raised? Apparently Drunk Alexis has no use for her normal brain-to-mouth filter.
"No!" Castle winces at Kate's exclamation. There's little that could make this evening anymore awkward than it already is, but then Kate is clearing her throat and speaking again.
"Alexis, I'm not – your father and I are not sleeping with each other, but... I – we," Kate trails off.
But what? Why is there a "but"? Oh, now he's eavesdropping; that's not supposed to be how this went.
"Detect- Kate," Alexis starts. "My dad likes you. A lot. I'm pretty sure he's in love with you and I like you too, but I can't keep watching him be some broken, lovesick puppy without starting to resent you just a bit."
Kate sucks in a breath and Castle doesn't know how to respond - whether or not this is the right time to make his presence known.
"I love your dad too, Alexis. I'm sorry if I made you or him think otherwise; you're both so important to me and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. I want you to be able trust me with your heart and with your dad's."
Not for the first time, Kate has Castle ready to sink to his knees. She loves him. Loves him. But it's more than that, more than any other woman - more than Alexis' own mother - it's the fact that she wants his daughter's heart as well.
"That's nice, Kate, but it's been like four years," Alexis says, holding up three fingers. From his place in the hall, Castle tries to hold in his laughter.
"Before you called, we were –" Kate stops, not sure how to finish her statement; Castle's drunk daughter doesn't need to know exactly what they were doing when she called.
"We were – ah – moving forward… with our relationship," Kate decides. She's sure that's vague, yet reassuring enough.
"Oh, gross. I'm gonna be sick" Alexis moans, lunging toward the toilet again. Apparently Kate was wrong; even when intoxicated, Alexis is still adept enough to grasp the underlying meaning of the statement.
Alexis' heaving has Castle moving, finally coming out from his hiding space in the shadows of the hallway to care for his daughter.
Kate is holding Alexis' hair back again when he enters. She looks up at him far less disconcerted than he imagined she'd be. Kate's kneeling on the floor, attempting to calm his daughter as she pukes her heart out.
"Look, Kate" he starts, "I know this isn't exactly the night you had planned –definitely not where it was headed a few hours ago-" at this Alexis groans heavily, still bent over the toilet, but Rick continues.
"I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to head home. I've got Alexis under control."
"Rick," she sighs, sounding a bit exasperated. "I love you and your family is part of that."
There's a silence before Kate's words catch up to her and the hand rubbing circles on Alexis' back stills.
"Cas—Rick, I…"
"Kate," his voice is reverent and his cobalt eyes searching. "You love me?"
"I – Yeah? Yes, Rick. I love you and I'm-"
"Guys," Alexis' gruff voice grabs their attention. "This is all fantastic, but I'd really love to go to bed now please."
Castle's eyes swing over to his daughter, realizing that in the midst of Kate's confession he'd forgotten that they are not alone.
"Of course, Pumpkin. I'm sorry, let's get you to bed."
He and Kate work together to get his daughter standing and into her room. After helping her get comfortable, Castle administers the aspirin before exiting her room and quietly shutting the door behind himself and Kate.
It isn't until they're standing at the bottom of the stairs hand in hand, that he realizes he has no idea what happens next. Kate Beckett loves him. She took care of his daughter when he was too flustered to function. And oh, before all of this started she kissed him – was very close to doing more than kissing him.
Castle pulls her over to the couch, where all of this started, and guides her to sit. No matter what happens next, they need to talk about what has happened tonight.
"Kate," he turns to her and cradles her hand in his. "Almost a year ago, you told me that you couldn't have the type of relationship you want until you solve your mother's murder. I thought we'd spent this past year waiting – waiting for your walls to come down. I hope I'm correct in assuming you wanted me to wait for you…"
Kate sucks in a breath, nodding.
"Then, Kate, I need you to know that what Alexis said is true. I do love you and if you need to solve your mother's murder – if you're still working on your walls, I can wait as long as you-"
She's kissing him again before he can finish his statement. Kate's tongue sweeps across his bottom lip and pushes into the cove of his mouth. Her kisses are hungry and desperate, reminding him of the first kiss they ever shared, except this is no ruse. Castle's brain is still reeling when Kate pulls back.
"No," her heavy breathing is a testament to the fact that she's just as worked up as he is. "No, Castle. I just want you. I want you and I want your family and I – Rick, I love you too. No more holding back."
Her words have something inside of him snapping. Castle's hand is fisting in her hair; his body is pressing her back into the couch cushions. Kate hooks a leg around Castle's waist and the rough press of their bodies against one another ignites a fire deep within him. He wants Kate, every part of her. She said no more holding back.
"Kate," he mumbles around the press of her lips. "Kate, stay. Stay tonight."
"Yeah?" Castle nods in response. And just like when she first arrived, Kate's facing is breaking open with a wide grin.
"Okay. Okay, yeah. I've got an overnight bag in my car that I-" Kate blushes when she realizes what she's just revealed.
"Oh, really? Were you planning on needing an overnight bag, Katherine Beckett?"
"I – I'd hoped that maybe I would, but I didn't know whether we'd even make it this far," she admits.
"Well, maybe it's a good thing Alexis called, suffused us both with some of her liquid courage."
Kate hums in response, pushing him off of her before pulling him to stand.
"Enough talk," she says as she pulls him toward his bedroom. "I've got better uses for that mouth of yours."
Castle stumbles along behind her trying to maintain some semblance of coordination as Kate Beckett leads him to bed. He can hardly keep himself upright; he's drunk off of her love.
A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing. I hope you've enjoyed this fic.
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