Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop
She missed him. God, she missed him.
Not just the warmth of his body against her back, stuck to her skin from sweat, or waking up to the smell of coffee and bacon as he chatted with her daughter over pancakes. Not just the stolen kisses in the break room even though she told him, she *told* him, not to do that. But she also missed the crazy CIA conspiracy theories that he spouted off as if they couldn't be anything but the truth. And movie nights where Al sat sandwiched between them on his couch, his fingers teasing her curls behind Al's head. Coffee dates at their shop, sharing cupcakes between the three of them, fighting over the flavors they'd get even though they'd always end up with vanilla and chocolate peanut butter.
Kate rubbed her feet over one another under the sheets, stretching her arms over her head. Her fingertips brushed the item on her side table on their way back to her sides. The egg on the table wobbled but didn't fall. She rolled over, cushioning her head on her elbow, watching as it re-centered itself.
Then it tipped toward her, staying on its side for a moment before standing upright again. The movement made Kate smile.
He set the twin eggs on the counter with a grin.
"What are those?" she asked, pouring out coffee for them both, sliding the pot back into its spot before opening the fridge to get juice out for Al.
He leaned his head on his fists, watching her move around the kitchen. "A present."
That earned him a raised brow as she placed his mug in front of him, skirting him to give Al the glass of juice as she did homework at the table. "You bought me eggs? As a present? How romantic, Rick."
"Hey! You are in no position to be picky," Castle protested, wrapping his hands around the coffee mug. Too hot to drink, especially in the still-sticky heat of early September. "A present is a present."
Kate, though, took a sip of the coffee, propping her hip against the counter and smiling over at him. "Okay. I'll make an omelet with them in the morning and think of you."
Castle gathered the eggs closer to him, protective. "Oh no! You don't eat these eggs!"
"What do you want me to do then? Hatch them and look after the chicks until you get back from your tour? Planning on opening a baby animal petting zoo?"
"Babies?" Al asked, turning around in her seat, eyes bright.
Kate saw Castle's eyes go wide for a moment before he grinned. "Nope. Something even cooler." Leaving the eggs on the counter next to his coffee, Castle went to scoop Al up onto his hip, eliciting a peel of giggles from the girl as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Look."
With a single finger, he poked the side of one of the eggs. A few inches away, the other egg mirrored the motion.
"Mom!" Al gasped, looking from Castle to her mother. "Rick's a wizard."
"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked, setting his finger on the top of the egg closest to him, tipping the item onto its side and watching as the other did the same. "They're for you. Both of you, actually. I'm going to be gone for a week and a half. I'm gonna miss you. These are just a way for you to know I'm thinking about you."
Al reached out a hand and Castle shifted so that she could hit the egg. When they moved together, she squealed.
"They work across distances?" Kate asked, tapping the other egg and seeing the one near her daughter wiggle.
He nodded, picking up his coffee with his free hand, taking a sip. "Yeah. I mean, I haven't tested them from here to Los Angeles or anything, but they're supposed to." With a smile, Castle looked over at her. "You know. Just in case you miss me too."
"I won't." He blinked. "Miss you. Won't miss you one bit. In fact, I'm happy you're leaving. Finally giving us some peace and quiet."
Her straight face concerned him for a moment. She could see the hurt flash across his features as she calmly sipped at her coffee, peering at him from over the edge of the mug. "Wh-what?"
"Well, it's been a little livelier around here than normal since we met you. Could use the silence, you know?"
"Mom?" Al looked just as upset, her eyes shining with tears rather than excitement now.
Then Kate broke out into a smile, eyes squinting with amusement. "Kidding! Kidding, you two! Oh so serious. They're fantastic, Rick."
She reached out and touched the egg again, rocking it back and forth in the sunrise light peeking through her blinds. "Miss you, too, you sweet, foolish man."
Her alarm was set to go off in fifteen minutes but she was awake and wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for a measly fifteen minutes. So instead of rolling back over, pulling the sheet up over her head, and watching the light increase slowly as the sun rose over the island, Kate jumped into the shower. Fifteen minutes gave her just enough time to wash her hair and shave before she'd have to get Al up for school.
With her hair tied up in a messy knot, she pulled on a pair of grey trousers and a deep red sweater to fight off the faint chill from the wind before waking Al up. She set Al up at the dining table with a glass of orange juice, an apple cut up into wedges, and a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, the girl singing a song to herself as she ate.
"When's Rick comin' home?"
Taking the toast from the toaster oven, Kate smeared raspberry jam over one side. "Tomorrow morning."
"How many hours?" Al asked, an apple wedge in one hand, her spoon in the other with marshmallows floating in the milk.
"Twenty-three."
Al deflated, letting the spoon clatter against the side of the bowl. "So long…"
"Don't whine, Alexandra."
That had her daughter quieting; use of her full name meant 'don't push Mom' and Al knew that. Kate ate the toast as she gathered up Al's school stuff, putting the notebooks and glittery zippered bag of pencils and crayons and markers into the backpack. "Don't worry, Al. He said he'd try and stop by before you went to school so you'd be able to see him. No promises, though." She set the backpack near the door. "Might have to wait until we pick you up tomorrow."
Al didn't look happy but she knew not to open her mouth, especially after Mom had already scolded her. "Okay."
"Come on, kid. Get your shoes on so we can get you off to school."
Kate slipped her heels on, swung on the light khaki coat, and looped the dusty blue scarf around her neck. Before herding Al out the door, she unlocked the safe in the office, transferred her gun to the holster at her hip, sliding the clip into her pocket. Al was bouncing on her feet next to the door, the sandals she still insisted on wearing squeaking on the hardwood.
The ride uptown to the school was quick, a phenomena that Kate couldn't explain since most of the commuters should have been out at this hour. She walked Al to the front door, bending down to give her daughter a tight hug, lifting Al up off her feet for a moment.
"Love ya, kid," she whispered into Al's brown curls.
Al patted Kate's cheek. "Love you too, Mom."
Turned out that those moments outside of the school were her only bright point in the day. At least, until she was back at the pre-school and picking Al up again. The case they had picked up that morning was a mess that she and the boys hadn't been able to figure out no matter how many times they rearranged the information on the murder board.
They had given up when Kate said she needed to leave to get Al. Esposito had practice for the softball team he coached and he insisted that he could use the extra time before he had to be at the diamond to go for a run. Ryan had a date with a new girlfriend, Jenny, and he hadn't figured out where he was bringing her for dinner yet.
So they broke off, going in separate directions outside of the precinct.
Kate had stopped at the corner store, picking up peanut butter and fluff for sandwiches that night, before getting Al. She chatted with Gianna, leaning against the chain-link fence at the playground as they waited for the girls to come out of the building. Maria was turning six next week and Gianna wanted to know if Al could come to the party, a sleepover.
"Yeah. I mean, if Al wants to go, it's okay with me," she said, hands shoved into her pockets, feet crossed at the ankles in front of her. "I think she'd like that."
Al collided with Kate's knees a moment later. "How many hours?"
"Thirteen."
Gianna smiled but Kate could see the confusion.
"We're waiting for Rick to get home," Kate clarified.
The other woman nodded. "How is he?"
Kate shrugged. "Busy, probably. It's his last day out west so I'm sure they're scrambling to wrap things up." She hadn't shared exactly who Rick was or his job or why he was spending a week and a half on the road but Gianna didn't push for details. "Have a good afternoon, Gianna, Maria."
"So," Kate said, buckling Al into the backseat. "Want to go over Maria's for a sleepover next week?"
"Yes! Can I? Because Maria wants me to and I want to do a sleepover!" Al exclaimed, banging her heels against the seat.
"Sure. We'll go present shopping this weekend. Maybe Rick can come," Kate said, pulling out into traffic.
Al sighed. "Best mom ever."
He used the spare key she had given him, closing the door with a click. Dropping the suitcase on the rug in her living room to muffle the sound, Castle slipped his shoes off to pad down the hall. He passed Al's room, her nightlight shining from the cracked door, to Kate's room.
She was sprawled out on the bed, taking up the entire area. Her hair was a dark tangle over the pale teal sheets, one hand peeking from under the sheets, curled up against her chest. Every few breaths she snored once.
Castle paused in the doorway, watching. He had planned on sleeping on the couch, surprising them with breakfast in the morning. But when she shifted, sighing in her sleep, he made a different decision. Instead of scrunching up on the couch for the night, he moved into her room.
He placed a knee on the bed near her hip, saw her body roll toward him a little. With a hand braced on the headboard, he gave her a soft, gentle kiss.
Kate's eyes fluttered open, immediately aware even in the darkness. "Rick?"
"Hey, beautiful," he murmured.
She sat up, nearly hitting their heads together. "What're you doin' here? Not supposed to be back 'til morning." Her voice was thick with sleep, eyes drooping shut before she snapped them open again. A hand came up to rub at her eyes, trying to force alert into them.
"Plane got in early." The lie earned him a raised brow and a small glare. "Okay. I switched flights. Missed you too much. Besides, they didn't need me after I finished the last signing this afternoon."
When he crawled onto the bed so his knees straddled her thighs, Kate flopped onto her back, peering up at him. She lifted a hand, smoothing it over the stubble on his jaw, pausing with her palm to his cheek. "Missed you too."
Another quiet kiss, their foreheads resting on one another, breathing the same air.
"Tired?"
He hummed. "Jetlagged."
Kate flipped the sheets up, patted the bed. "Come on. Into bed."
Castle got up, tossed the button down and dress pants into the corner before settling in under the sheets. He gathered her up, hugging her face into his neck, arms hooked around her shoulder blades. Doing the one thing he had dreamed of doing for the past eleven days: just holding her.
"Didn't think I'd miss you this much. Wasn't sure I'd remember how to truly miss a man," she whispered, the words skating over the skin at his collarbone. Then she raised her head enough to see those blue, blue eyes in the darkness. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"For helping me remember."
She was exhausted, her eyes closing of their own accord before she forced them open again. She wanted to talk to him, to hear stories of the U.S. book tour, of how people received Nikki. "How'd it go?"
Castle's fingers stroking over her scalp through her tangled hair was enough to push her into sleep. "Really, really well. And I'm not just saying that. Got a call from Paula before I boarded the plane saying that Heat Wave is going to debut at number one on the New York Times Bestseller list next week."
Kate shifted enough to kiss him, a smile on her lips. "That's great!" she said quietly. Then she resettled her head against his shoulder, twisting her legs with his under the single sheet.
"Do I get congratulations sex for that?" he asked, running a finger over her shoulder.
She hummed, the vibrations rippling down his throat from where her mouth was. "Maybe tomorrow night. Tired now."
"I could do all the work."
"Oh, but where's the fun in that?" she murmured. "Wouldn't you rather have an active partner in celebratory sex, Rick?"
He groaned, setting his cheek on her hair, the strands tickling his nose. "You're gonna kill me, Kate."
"Shush. Work in the morning. Need sleep."
"Can I come to work tomorrow with you?"
Kate shrugged, snuggling deeper into the pillows. "Don't care."
Castle lifted his head up, sliding his lips over hers. "Night, Kate."
"Night, Rick."