CHAPTER 14
Two weeks after they returned from Boston, Rick and Kate were finishing Chinese takeout at his loft after a tough day. He noticed that she looked tired. He smiled to himself and she caught him. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just…I think I have just the ticket to perk you up."
She rolled her eyes at that. "Ok, first of all, I am sorry to disappoint you but I am too tired for any of your lusty antics. Second, the size of your ego never ceases to amaze me."
Laughing, he stood up and reached for her. When she accepted his hand, he led her to the stairs. She protested. "I could always carry you…" he said with a smile. When she declined, he bent low so that his shoulder lined up with her waist. "You leave me no choice then..." and wrapped an arm around the backs of her knees, starting to hoist her like a sack of potatoes.
"Ok, ok, put me down before you lose your balance and kill us both. Have you started shadowing firefighters or what?"
She went up the stairs and into his bedroom, stopping suddenly. Hanging on the closet door was a long black garment bag. She turned to him. "The dress is ready? Why didn't you just say so?"
"Where's the fun in that?" he responded, eyes twinkling. "Go ahead…" but she was already crossing the room, reaching for the zipper. She opened the bag and gasped at the expanse of deep purple satin and chiffon. Rick backed out of the room as she lifted a fold of the fabric. "Try it on!" he called from the hallway.
Kate disrobed and pulled the dress out of the bag. She lowered it and stepped in, pulling it up. She found that it had a halter top, and she fastened it at her neck. She stepped back and opened the closet door, knowing there was a full length mirror on the other side. She barely recognized herself. The neckline of the dress formed a deep V that was somehow still modest. The satin of the bodice hugged her waist, with little tucks and gathers at the right side. The skirt had a flowing chiffon overlay with silver embroidery. It wasn't a huge bell skirt, but loose enough to be very comfortable.
She was so caught up in the image that she didn't notice Rick had come back until he was right behind her. His hands came around to her front and she assumed he was trying to hug her, until she noticed him plucking at something at her hip. He finished fussing on one side, then repeated the action on the other side before backing up to the doorway. It didn't look any different, but when she patted her hips she found there were two square-ish lumps. She sought out one of the shapes and shot him a questioning look. Her fingers found a zipper hidden in the folds of the over lay. She lowered the zipper and fished…her badge wallet?...out of what was now clearly a pocket. The other pocket held…her cuffs. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she looked at him. His smile was the epitome of "cat that ate the canary".
"Would you like to explain, or should we start with the fact that you were in my purse without permission?" she demanded.
His smile never faltered. "As for the purse, darling, in my mind the ends justify the means. I got those objects away from you once before, long enough to trace them so I could tell the seamstress what size to make the pockets. The reason for the pockets goes back to our high society home invasion case. There we were, in black tie formals, and you flashed your badge at that cell-phone-picture snapping schmuck. You told me I didn't want to know where you'd been keeping the badge, and believe me, I DID want to know, but it got me thinking. Male officers under cover have it easy, pants and suit jackets with lots of pockets. I decided you deserved the same options. I know you won't NEED that stuff for the mayor's ball, but if there's ever another situation where you'd need to wear an outfit like that…." He trailed off with a shrug.
Kate beamed at his thoughtfulness. She crossed the room to him, whispered "Thank you" in his ear, hugging him before leaning back for a kiss. She pulled away before things got too heated. Her hands went to the clasp on the halter and Castle's eyes lit up. "Easy, there, stud. I just want to get this back on the hanger and in the bag so it doesn't get wrinkled." She eased out of the dress and hung it up. "I assume you won't mind if I leave it here for safe keeping."
"Of course not. We'll just add it to the collection of things you've 'accidentally' left behind here over the course of the last month. It reminds me of entering a pool."
She pinned him with a withering look and he hastily continued. "By that I don't mean the 12th precinct betting pool, though I understand that's getting to be quite the complicated matrix, dates for moving in, proposal, pregnancy, and my untimely death at your hands...but I digress.
No, people preparing to enter a pool, or a lake, the ocean, some body of water, have one of two approaches. They either dive in, get all of the shock out of the way at once, or they go in by inches, get acclimated a tiny little bit at a time. You seem to be inching in, and that's fine by me, I am not trying to apply pressure. Well, much, anyway, because I will say this one last thing on the matter. People who take the plunge get to spend the rest of the time enjoying themselves. The ones creeping along are tense, worried about every splash around them. I almost used the band-aid analogy, but I'd hate for you to equate moving in with pain, or blood loss for that matter." He winked as he finished speaking.
Kate smiled. She should have known he would notice that she was making herself at home a little at a time. She offered a token protest anyway. "Maybe I'm just giving the 'pool' time to get used to me. It's one thing to have your mother and Alexis here. But you haven't had to share your bedroom in a few years." She continued as he shook his head. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we shoot for a Labor Day target date."
"As you wish, darling. Now, seeing as how you're already undressed, shall we go to bed?"
