Thank you all for the alerts, the reviews and the favs. And to my amazing beta caskett. vs. stanathan, you make this story so much better!
Hour 44
"I thought I heard the printer from the little girl's room…" Kate says from behind me.
"Yeah. I kept thinking about surprising you with a book, but let's be honest, you read as much as I do and the truth is, most of the books are research related books for teens that Alexis bought. And I bet you don't want to read about Taboo or about the 1000 most bizarre ways to die."
"So you decided to print what, exactly?"
"Go get comfortable on the couch, where there's a pill, next to a glass of water and you'll find out what I printed soon enough." It's just a muscle relaxant; we really don't want to chance over-pill-intoxication right?
"Yeah, ok, I can do that!"
I can't really resist my urge, so I just lean in and give her a peck on the lips. I mean, really, why would I even want to fight that feeling?
I tenderly push her off to the living room while I wait for the printer to finish. I know it's not as comfortable as reading a book, but why would I go crazy thinking about a book she'd enjoy when I can give her her own copy of the yet to be printed Frozen Heatto mull over? I choose not to print the dedication: I'm not sure she'd allow me to print it if she sees it before it's printed and I really don't want to change it. She really did make my life an extraordinary one and I want the whole world to know it.
When I'm done printing the book, I go to the living room where I find her lying on the couch, legs in front of her, a few cushions holding her up. You can trust me when I say it's one of the sexiest things I've seen in many, many years. I know, cheesy right? But I just love these quiet Castle-Beckett moments, filled with tenderness, and an easiness I wasn't sure we were ever going to achieve. She's usually more reserved and uptight, and I'm usually a smoldering pain in the ass. I hold the printout behind my back, trying to prolong the surprise a bit longer.
"What? No book?" She asks me, looking slightly annoyed.
"What if I gave you about two hundred just-printed-pages-not-really-allowed-to-the-public-yet?"
"Really?" Her face lights up like a Christmas tree. "Were you really printing a copy of Frozen Heat for me?"
"I was. But there're some ground rules: no matter what, you can't give me your input on it until late next week, when Imperion will be done with the printing. If I know myself, and trust me, I do, I'll change anything you don't like, risking a pissed of Gina AND Paula, which would mean no more summer for us. Think you can handle that? Rule number two of reading Frozen Heat before it's printed: you really can't give me your input. Rule number three: when I say dinner is ready, you stop reading wherever you are. Rule number four: you can't get back to it tonight. We're having dinner, then a movie, then some kisses and then bed time. Rule number five: you don't get the dedication until next week. I asked Paula to send a copy for you to the Hamptons."
"Really? You gonna quote The Fight Club to me?"
"Yeah, why not? Either way, can you commit to those rules?"
"Yes, I believe I can. But you're not going to warn me about leaking it on your fan page or selling it to the highest bidder?"
"I trust you with my life Beckett, I think I can trust you with a little book confidentiality right?"
"Thank you Castle. This, this means a lot to me…"
"Always Beckett. I'm naming you my official first reader, besides Alexis, who actually reads every chapter right after they are done."
"That's fine by me. I'd rather live blissfully spoiler free if that's OK…"
"Good. I'll leave you to it while I make us some dinner. What would you like?"
"Something that takes 24 hours?"
"Uhm, sandwiches it is!"
"What? No! If you're giving me something as amazing as your latest book to read, I'm gonna need at least until I know what you did to Rook…the last one ended not so nicely…"
"No matter where we stood while I was writing it Beckett, I needed for them to have a happy ending as much as the next shipper you know?"
"Yeah… you're a metrosexual after all…"
"And you love it!"
"Go! Make us dinner and let me read!"
"Fine, fine! You're so bossy when you have a book in hand…"
"Yeah, well, it's not just ANY book Castle"
For both our sakes, I decide to leave it like that. I find that sentence a win-win situation. She admitted to loving my books, I admit I love the bossy side of her without actually saying it. I can so see a dominatrix side of her and I don't really want to see it come out to play yet… Maybe after our thousandth time or something like that…
I head to the kitchen trying to think about a way of delaying dinner. I decide to do a mushroom risotto and I remember the surprise I had thought about this morning: we're having dinner on my balcony. We had some great moments there. I'm guessing a candle lit dinner instead of lunch could be just as good. Some white wine, and if I'm lucky, we'll end up lounging in one of those comfortable chairs together, enjoying the lights of the city with it's nighttime buzz. Yeah, that sounds good!
"Castle?" Kate's voice calls to me.
"Yes Kate?"
"Uhm, I know I said I wanted to have some time to read your next best seller, but you need to start the food soon 'cause as enthralled as I am with this master piece, I'm kind of hungry…"
"Oh, yeah, I just got lost daydreaming…"
"Well, whatever you're making won't get done by itself, and you see cabana boy, you won't get no kisses unless I'm well fed…"
"On it! You in the mood for some rice?"
"I'm in the mood for whatever you make me! Just get onto it!"
I start cooking right away, no need to keep her waiting right? Once I have everything going, I grab some candles, silverware, wine glasses and everything else we might need. She's so absorbed by the book that she doesn't seem to notice me coming and going to my bedroom. It's like she let her guard down. I wonder if it's because she got the I'm-a-homicide-detective chip out or because she's so comfortable here that she simply doesn't need to keep her guard up. Either way, I love her all the more for it. If that's even possible…
After making sure everything is going good in the kitchen, I go to the living room to see how Kate is doing. The image I run into almost has me undone. "Kate? Love, what's going on? Why are you crying?"
"Uhm, it's nothing Castle, really. Don't worry about it. This is good! Your best one yet, and trust me, I know them all…"
"Really Beckett, you're going to use that line against me, not an hour after you admonished me about using it?"
"Rule number one of the advance reading club: no input remember?"
"Well yeah, but if it has you crying like this not twenty pages into it, I must have done something wrong… it's not a tragedy you know? Just some mystery novel…"
"Never use the word 'just' to describe any of your books Castle. And it's not sad per-se, it's just… the beginning is hard to read for me, and suddenly I realized, if it's hard for me to read about it, how hard was it for you to write about it? After everything we've been trough… after everything I put you trough, how can you still love me?"
"Kate where's this coming from!"
"It's just that the beginning of the book has so much to do with what happened to us, you know? I knew that after the way things ended in Heat Rises that this wouldn't be an easy book for either one of us. But to see your love, and tolerance and patience written in these beautiful pages, I just can't stop thinking about the pain my hiding must have put you through…"
"Beckett, we've talked about it. It's in the past. Did it hurt like a bitch? It sure did, but if we're not mauling over the time we lost, then we won't waste our time thinking about this either, capicse? Someone once described the Nikki Heat series as three long love letters to you. Well, if that's so, I'd like to think this one is the best one yet. So just relax and enjoy it, dinner will be ready anytime soon!"
"You know I truly do love you right? And that I truly love your books. Because I do, Castle, I honestly do!"
"Good, so it's mutual then. The loving each other thing, not the loving my books thing, though I do have some fun writing it!"
I reluctantly leave her side to make sure I don't ruin the risotto, but not before I lean in and give her a quick kiss to remember me while I'm gone…