Chapter 10
Rick awoke the next morning to find himself alone in bed. He sat up and looked around, wondering where Kate was. He was about to get up and check downstairs when he heard the shower running in the next room. He lay back down and smiled, glad she was making herself at home.
He must have fallen asleep because the next time he opened his eyes Kate was standing over him in a towel letting her hair drip onto his face. She squealed as he pulled her onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Her attempts at unwinding his arms were futile. She inhaled deeply as he began peppering kisses on her shoulders. His lips felt so good on her bare skin. "Rick, I have…work" she managed to get out.
He shook his head "no, you have to stay here with me today and we can avoid work together."
She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head up to look at her "Rick have you been avoiding Gina again?"
She smiled "Have I told you how beautiful you are in the morning?"
She rolled over, got up and pulled on a pair of pants. "Flattery will not get you out of writing another book."
He groaned "Can't you arrest her for harassment or something?" he looked at his phone. "I have three messages from her just from this morning."
She leaned over and kissed him lightly as she was buttoning her shirt. "No. now I'm going to work, and you stay here and write another book about me." She bit her bottom lip as she slid on her heels and it was all Rick could do to stay where he was. "After work I'm going to stop by my place and pack a couple of bags." She hesitated "that is…if you still want me to try moving in."
He got up and went to stand in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "Of course I still want you to move in. But since we were just going to try it out for a little while try not to worry about bringing too much stuff over. You don't have to move all at once."
She took a deep breath. "I know, thanks. I just want to pack a bag of clothes and some other personal stuff."
"Good, I'll see you tonight then. I'm making dinner."
She kissed him one more time before heading downstairs and leaving for work. Once she was gone Rick went in for his turn in the shower. He took his time making a big breakfast and watching the morning news. All too soon though, he decided he had better do at least a little bit of writing. He sent Gina a text saying I'm working, stop calling with a little smiley face, hoping that would alleviate some of her nagging.
Forcing himself to actually sit down and start writing was always the hard part, but once he began he sat there for hours, wrapped up in his own world. Finally he peeled his fingers off of the keyboard and stood up, stretching. He looked at the clock on his desk, it was almost 4 o'clock already. He saved what he had been working on, shut off his computer and looked around at his office. It was a mess. If Kate was going to be moving in he wanted everything to look nice for her, even if she wouldn't be spending much time in his office.
He arranged all the papers on the desk to look neater and threw away all the candy wrappers, take out containers and empty bags of chips that were laying around. Once he was done in there he moved on to the living room
The house was kept pretty clean but he vacuumed the rug then stood back to admire his handiwork. Satisfied he looked at his phone. It was almost 5pm and he had a text from Beckett. It read Leaving the precinct now. Home in about an hour?
He smiled at how she was already calling his apartment home. He told her that would be fine and he couldn't wait to see her. He was expecting his mom and daughter home at some point that night but wanted to do something nice for Beckett. He went upstairs and cleaned out a drawer in his dresser and some space to hang clothes in the closet for her. He figured once things were more permanent, if they got that way, he could get another dresser or make more space.
He then decided it was time to start dinner. After looking through the cupboards he decided on pasta with his homemade meatballs and sauce. He mixed up the sauce and set it on the stove to simmer, then put the meatballs in the oven to cook before putting them in with the sauce. He set the table with enough plates for all four of them in case Alexis and Martha came home in time to eat with them, then set candles on the table and lit them. He almost wished he had flowers for the table, but figured he could save that for another time.
He looked at his watch, Kate would be home any minute. He set a pot of water on the stove and poured the pasta in. He was stirring the sauce a minute later when there was a knock on the door. He went to get it and saw Kate standing there with a couple of bags. "Tomorrow I'm going to have a key made for you." He took one of the bags from her and indicated that she should follow him. He set the bag down on his bed and showed her the space he had made in the closet.
"Castle, you didn't have to." He said looking at him and smiling.
"I also cleared out a drawer for you in the dresser." He said. "I want you to feel at home here, and that means I'm not letting you live out of a duffel bag. I figured if this becomes more permanent we can figure something else out."
She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Rick, I appreciate it."
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Dinner is almost ready, so be back downstairs in a few minutes." He turned and left her to start unpacking.
When he got downstairs he found his mother and daughter walking in the door. "Something sure smells good." Martha commented.
Alexis walked into the kitchen and looked into the pots on the stove. "Oh dad you made your sauce and meatballs?"
He nodded "Yup and you guys are just in time for dinner. Kate is here too."
The women in question appeared at the top of the stairs. "Martha, Alexis, it's good to see you guys." She said descending.
The two other women agreed as they all headed for the table. Rick set big bowls of the pasta and sauce on the table and they all dished up their own plates.
"Castle this is amazing." Kate said a couple of bites into the meal. "What kind of sauce is this? And where did you get the meatballs?"
He gave her one of his trademark lopsided grins "I made them detective."
She dropped her fork. "You made all of this?"
Alexis chimed in. "Yeah he does it every once in a while. Whenever there's someone special over for dinner." She said smiling at Kate.
Beckett turned and smiled at Castle before giving him a look that reminded him he had something to discuss with everyone at the table.
He took a breath, knowing nobody would disagree but nervous all the same. "Mom, Alexis, I have something I need to talk to you guys about."
"What is it dear? Is everything ok?" Martha turned to Beckett. "Did something happen at the precinct?"
Beckett hesitated "sort of, but nothing really bad. I want to let Castle explain."
Everyone turned to look at Rick and he continued. "While the both of you were away, Kate got mail from one of my fans. It was a…hate letter of sorts." Both Martha and Alexis started to ask questions but he silenced them. "Nothing bad happened. It was written by a woman named Kaylee Lincoln, and she said that she planned on marrying me and Beckett wouldn't be with me for long, that type of thing. We brought her in to question her, but since the letter didn't make any direct threats we couldn't hold her."
Alexis had a very worried look on her face as she asked "Dad is everyone ok? I mean you've had slightly insane fans before but none of them have done anything like this."
He nodded. "We are both fine and we are going to keep an eye on her. But…" he hesitated again. "I don't particularly like the idea of Beckett staying by herself. So I've asked her to move in with us. I wanted to make sure that was ok with the two of you before we made any definite decision."
Martha got a huge smile on her face as she addressed the detective. "Kate, dear, you know you are welcome here any time, for any reason and for as long as you would like."
"Thanks Martha" she said blushing.
Alexis added in her opinion. "Yeah, dad and Kate, it's more than ok with me, as long as you're both ok and happy."
Rick turned to Beckett "Told you they wouldn't mind."
She blushed again. "I know, I just wanted to make sure. And thank you both, very much. As of right now me living here is just until this blows over…"
Rick cut her off "but if everything works out it may become more permanent." He smiled and took her hand under the table.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Martha and Alexis went to their own rooms to unpack and unwind from their weekend. Rick and Kate retired to their room and Rick lay in bed reading and watching Kate silently unpack her things and put them away. He was amazed at how meticulous she was being.
When she was done unloading the few things she had brought over she climbed into bed and they simply enjoyed each other's' company until they both fell asleep.
The next morning they were both getting ready to go to the precinct when Rick opened the door and stopped. There was another letter laying on the welcome mat with the words Kate Beckett written on the front. He called her over to the door and she stopped when she saw what he was looking at. She slowly picked it up with shaking hands. "It's the same handwriting" she said.
He put and arm around her protectively as she turned the envelope over and opened it. Something fell out of the letter as Kate unfolded it. Rick bent down and picked it up but froze as he was handing it to her. It was a picture. She looked at him with a question in her eyes and took it from him. It was a picture of her carrying her bags into his building the evening before. Her breath caught in her throat and he hands were shaking even more as she turned her eyes to the letter.
Your time is running out Detective Beckett. Don't get in my way.
They looked at each other in horror. "Is that a direct enough threat?" Rick asked.
Kate nodded as they walked out the door. As they got into the car she dialed the precinct to fill them in and let them know they were on their way.
*Gasp* hehe
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