Jim felt the two pair of eyes burn through him and for a millisecond he hesitated, debated internally whether this had been a poor idea. In the end, his final verdict remained positive. Sometimes if you're too close to something, you can't see it clearly. Yeah, it needed to happen.
Rick, on the other hand, was utterly, completely, flabbergasted. He couldn't believe Jim hadn't told him his daughter was going to be there. The ache of rejection still stung, because that was what it was: Rejection. She hadn't contacted him. He'd been mad at first. No, not mad. Never mad, because he understood she was dealing with some stuff. He'd been disappointed and a little taken aback. He usually had a flare for these kinds of things and he could have sworn they'd both felt it at the bookstore.
Now, there she was, frozen, in front of him looking better than ever. Motherhood suited her well. The woman was standing there, and he was unsure as to how he should react. They'd only met that one time, but he had definitely felt something.
So, he reacted the only way he thought he could, like a gentleman. Standing up, he hesitated. Should he kiss her on the cheek? A simple handshake? Maybe a hug? Or a pat on the back? Uhh. Being a gentlemen could be hard work. Bypassing Kate, he decided to start with the easier Beckett, giving himself the time to think. He extended his arm awkwardly towards the man standing behind Kate, who still hadn't moved. The man shook it intently, grinning widely before sitting down to watch the warm-up, suddenly uninterested by their company.
He then turned his glare to the other, more difficult to deal with Beckett and caught her eyes fluster. She'd been staring, and that gave him the little confidence he needed. The woman had the ability to get under his skin and he had no idea why.
When Kate realised he was standing up she shivered. She wasn't ready for this and silently she cursed her father for putting her in that situation. She'd told him she wasn't. Rick moved forward in their direction, but bypassed her, reaching for her father's hand instead. As he brushed past her, she smelled it, smelled him. It was the odor that had invaded her thoughts, invaded her dreams, her messed up reality. She breathed in, her chest filling as she followed his every movement with her eyes. She couldn't help it, couldn't unglue her eyes from him. She'd never felt anything like that, experienced that draw that pulled her towards him.
She was still staring when she realised the pair had finished their handshake and her dad had taken his seat. Her eyes were still on the writer when he turned towards her. She could feel the heat rise up to her cheeks, the embarrassment of being caught and, though she'd never been particularly religious, she prayed it didn't show. She quickly darted her eyes away from the man, but knew her attempts to hide it had been futile. She'd been staring, and she'd been caught.
Rick smiled, his confidence back, but decided against teasing her. Opting for the handshake, you can never go wrong with a handshake, he extended his hand stating genuinely, "Hi Kate, it's nice to see you again." And it was. "You look good." And she did.
She grabbed onto his hand and when their eyes, met, the world stopped turning around them. They held on, there hand extended in front of them, until the boy, snuggled close to her chest, decided it was enough. Nikki squirmed and whined, nested comfortably in the sling, but trying to break free. Kate took back her hand shyly, smiling nervously at the man as she patted her son's back.
"And who might this charmer be?" inquired Castle as he approached his face slowly to the infant's.
His hair was now incredibly close to her and once again, she was mesmerized by the smell of him, losing touch with reality once more. A few seconds of silence later, Castle tilted his head slightly up so he'd meet Kate's eyes.
She was startled, nervous as her absence became apparent, "Humm… Yeah… yeah… That's Nikki. Nicolas."
Rick smiled, "It's very nice to meet you Nikki-"
"Will you guys just sit? You're blocking the view," growled Jim, already concentrated on the action on the field. A couple of people in the back of them verbally agreed, causing Rick and Kate to look at each other and laugh nervously. Rick motioned his hand towards her seat, waiting for her to sit before taking possession of his.
She nodded, pulling the still squirming baby out of the sling. Kate looked around her searching for options. Naturally, Rick extended his arms and, lack of better alternatives, she placed her son in his arms. After detaching the sling and freeing herself of the baby bag, they both sat down. Nikki was still in Rick's arms and she didn't dare ask him back. Rick seemed content with the boy right where he was and her son was peacefully laying his back to Rick's chest. Her son looked comfortable and who could blame him? She certainly couldn't.
The game was tense; she tried concentrating on it. The crowd was going nuts. Kate could usually get lost in the game; scream obscene things to refs, but not this time. They were sitting so closely, their elbows touching over the plastic seats. She tried to concentrate on the ball, the movements of the bat, anything. She tried getting into it after a swift save or a nice catch, but she couldn't. She couldn't get into the game.
She needed to get out, take a little breather. She turned to Castle, because she knew better than to distract her father during a game, especially a series game. She spoke softly, her mouth dangerously close to his ear as she spoke, "I need to go to the bathroom. Do you mind watching Nikki for a few minutes?"
He smiled looking down on the boy, peacefully sleeping in his arms, "A few minutes?" he joked, because the boy hadn't left his arms since he'd taken hold of him during the warm-up.
She smiled, because with this man and her baby, it truly could be a picture perfect moment. "I won't be long," she stated and without even thinking, she pecked him on the cheek as she got up. Her eyes widened and she stopped, but couldn't make herself turn around, didn't want to see the stunned expression on his face. She didn't even want to see hers, so she hurried away, heading towards the washrooms.
Because it had felt so natural when it shouldn't. It shouldn't have felt so natural.
She breathed loudly, grabbing both edges of the sink with her hands. She leaned forward, looking at herself in the mirror.
Holy shit, Kate! Get a grip. What the hell was that?
The situation was already beyond weird and she had decided to casually kiss his cheek. Seriously? She shook her head, disapproving of her actions. She patted her flaming cheeks with cold water; because this was exactly what she needed right now, a cold shower.
Maybe she was overthinking it. People gave each other kisses on the cheeks, it was no big deal. In some countries it was even the greeting norm. She was probably overthinking it. He probably hadn't given the gesture another thought. She'd just ignore it. Act as if it never happened.
She looked at herself in the mirror and gave herself a nod. As she walked out of the bathroom, she was feeling better. Yup, that's what she'd do, not talk about it. She was actually good at avoiding things.
Walking back towards their section she heard it. Even as the crowds chanted she could hear it, clearly. She quickened her pace and was faced with them just as she was about to turn the corner. Her son was wailing, loudly. How long had she been gone?
Richard Castle was walking in circles in the hallway, bouncing the boy gently, holding him closely to his chest. He wasn't paying attention to the movements around him, his attention focused on the screaming infant. Kate had gotten quite close to them when he finally saw her and his eyes widened in relief, hope. She extended her arms and he willingly handed over the boy whose cheeks were stained with tears.
He stated nervously, "He doesn't need a diaper change. I checked. And he's too worked up for a bottle."
Kate nodded as she hummed his song and bounced him gently. Nikki's screams lowered to a whimper until he eventually fell silent.
"He just needed his mommy," Rick added softly with a smile.
"I'm sorry, he's usually not that needy."
Rick shook his head still smiling, "It's okay. Really. He woke up to an unfamiliar face and couldn't find you, he panicked." He felt the need to whisper the rest of his statement, "Then all hell broke loose!"
"My father?"
"He was going to follow me; I told him I had it."
"Good man," she added as she nodded in approval. Rick really did know her father better than she thought.
"He's got powerful lungs that one," he said as he stroked Nikki's chin with his index. The boy only nestled his head further into his mother's neck.
"Yup, he definitely has. I should probably have told you his pacifier was in the baby bag," she smiled.
Rick narrowed his eyes. "Probably."
"Hey, Nikki, why so cranky?" she directed the question to the boy as she kissed his head.
"He's probably just tired," Rick answered looking at his watch. "My arms probably aren't the comfiest bed."
"They're comfy just fine," she added under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing, I guess bringing a 5 month old to an 8 o'clock baseball game wasn't the brightest idea, huh? I surprise myself as to how out of it I find myself sometimes."
"You're doing fine. The boy clearly adores you. Who wouldn't?"
She felt the color rise to her cheeks and she laid one of them on the crown of Nikki's head, looking at Rick.
"I brought Alexis to with me to a bar once."
"Your 10 year old?"
"It gets worst; she wasn't even two at the time."
She laughed, "What?"
"You know the old haunt?"
"I think I've heard of it. Speak-easy style pub? Writer's bar?"
"Yeah. That's the one. Well, I wrote a couple of my first books there, could write for hours in a booth. When Alexis was about 22 months, I was kind of lacking inspiration. I had no time for myself, you know how it is… I was on my third novel, and I was weeks past my due date. The Old Haunt had always worked for me. So I strapped Alexis in the stroller and went there. She was asleep, what could go wrong? Turns out, a lot of things!"
She laughed, because that did make her feel better. Everybody makes mistakes.
The sound of the ball hitting the bat echoed through the stadium and the crowd roared.
"Looks like were missing all the fun," the writer beamed.
But Kate, though she'd always enjoyed baseball, was having some fun just standing there. Even though this Rick wasn't her Rick, he was still pretty great.
"Can we go back now, Nikki?" he asked hopefully.
"I think he's sleeping," she whispered looking down to the baby.
"Well screaming like that would tire out the healthiest of them all," he joked. "Are you ready?"
He extended his arm and she hooked hers around his, gently bumping her shoulder to his as they walked back to their seats.
She smiled.
Because maybe her father had been right, maybe she was.
I have no idea why, but I'm pretty nervous about posting this chapter.
Here's to hoping you enjoyed it.