Hello people! I know, I know, long time no see... :/ I'm so sorry for not updating before. Busy times… But I promise I'll do my best to update more often! Here's the next chapter, it's quite long. I hope you'll enjoy your reading! Thanks in advance for your patience and your feedbacks. :) xxx
It was nearly 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The weather had become gloomy, and the morning with a perfect blue sky was definitely gone. Now the sky was dark grey, full of threatening clouds. A storm was about to hit and one could hear the thunder from time to time. The wind was starting to blow and the trees around the property were slowly balancing, as the first raindrops started to hit the bay windows of the living room.
Because of the stormy weather, the small group of people had stopped their outside activities and decided to take refuge in the manor and stay warm. Royal was sleeping on an old rug that Alexis had specially found for him next to the terrace, sometimes moving his hind leg, as he was probably dreaming of a rabbit he was chasing.
Kate, Alexis, Martha, Jenny and Lanie were gathered on the sofa in front the television and eating popcorn.
"Oh, I love that moment", Alexis said as she grinned, watching the television. She was comfortably sitting on the sofa next to Martha.
"Me too", detective Beckett approved, sitting next to them. "Jayden's proposal to Ella always makes me crumble", she admitted as she placed a hand on her heart.
"I understand why", Martha nodded, with the same romantic look in her eyes.
Slouching on the other sofa with Jenny, Lanie frowned as she swallowed some popcorn.
"I thought he didn't propose until season 8?" she asked as she glanced at Kate.
"Actually he already suggested the idea in season 6. But they had some frictions and broke up", Martha explained as she took a bite of popcorn.
"Oh", doctor Parish replied as she couldn't help glancing at Esposito discreetly who was playing chess with Castle a few meters away. Unfortunately, he raised his eyes at the same moment and they shared a look. She lowered her eyes to her bowl of popcorn as fast as she could and cleared her throat. Thank God her caramel skin was hiding her blushing.
"That proposal is cute but I have to admit I've always shipped Ella and Aaron. There was a thing between us…" Jenny said.
"I agree…And Aaron was hunky", Lanie nodded as she gave the blond girl a knowing look. Jenny and the medical examiner gave a high-five.
"Amen. I remember I dated a stupid guy in university only because he looked just like him", Jenny chuckled.
Ryan rolled his eyes, hearing the boring girls' talk as he was reading a magazine, sitting at the counter of the kitchen. He shook his head as he stared at Jenny in particular. He couldn't believe his wife would be able to do such a superficial thing before.
"Yeah, but they kept so many secrets from each other…Besides, they never found the good moment to get together, so they were right to move on…"Alexis added as she nodded.
This time, Rick raised his eyes from the chess game. He found Kate's look. She hadn't missed the opportunity to look at him. She pretended to have something in her eye as she looked away. She was ashamed of being caught eyeing on him like that. Rick smiled softly as he looked back at his game, amused.
"Season 5 was wonderful though, when they got together", Martha said softly.
"True," Jenny replied grinning.
"The only thing I hated about that season is when Shawna died", Kate confided as she ate some popcorn.
"Oh yes, Shawna, poor girl…" Martha said.
"Indeed, dying like that, hit by a bus…they could have found something better to write her off the show", Lanie added with a sigh.
Ryan let out a laugh while Esposito and Castle shared a sad look.
"Seriously? Do they realize what they are talking about?" Javier whispered to the writer.
"I think that if they did, they would have shut up a long time ago", Rick replied with a smile.
"Oh, and speaking of Ella and Aaron!" Martha said. "For your information, girls…" she said in a low voice, looking at all of them. "They didn't want everybody to know it…but, you know, the actors, Rosie Edwards and James Darlington used to date for real, when they shared their first kiss on screen…" she revealed, grinning. She felt incredibly happy to share the secret.
Jenny's smile widened as she gasped with emotion.
"This is so romantic", she said, almost in shock.
"I can count on you girls, right? It's secret", Martha said as she raised her right hand.
"What a secret", Ryan smirked silently as he turned the pages of his magazine.
"My lips are sealed", Jenny promised, still overwhelmed by the news, as she took some popcorn from the bowl Lanie was holding. Kate rolled her eyes.
"All right, the truth is cute but, if you follow the screenplay, she's way lot happier with Jayden," detective Beckett said, persuasive.
Someone sighed heavily from the end of the living room. Once again, Javier Esposito raised his look to Rick who was sitting in front of him at the chess table.
"If you follow the screenplay?" he repeated, appalled. "Oh man, this is freakin ridiculous", he laughed as he shook his head. Rick let out a laugh as well.
"Don't laugh at them…It's not easy being a writer," he said as he moved a pawn.
"All right, I'd like to believe you, but still…Temptation Lane's season 7 in your DVD's collection, Rick…Seriously?" Javier said. Rick ground his teeth.
"Sorry…sometimes my mother feels nostalgic."
"Yeah, and now they're watching 8 episodes in a row and we have to hear them commenting and talking shit about who married whom, and who dated whom in real life…Please," Esposito mumbled as he moved his knight randomly.
"I'm not fond of it either," Ryan interrupted them as he took a seat between them. "So, who's winning?" he asked as he glanced at their chess game.
"It's Castle, I can't focus because of their talk…" Esposito sighed, irritated as he gave the girls the eye.
"Or I'm just better than you, I can't help it", the writer said proudly. "But I have to admit it's also hard for me to focus with their conversation."
"I don't get it…How can they watch something so stupid?"
Rick laughed.
"Come on guys, don't you remember WHO watched all the episodes with Nathalie Rodes?" he said as he glanced at them.
"It's completely different, bro. There, you had something to watch", Esposito chuckled. Rick smiled as well.
"Indeed."
"That girl is so sexy", Ryan added, thinking about it.
"Is she still on your list?" Esposito asked him, amused.
Ryan shook his head.
"Nope, it's over now…" he said in a disappointed tone, pointing at his wedding ring.
"That's why I don't ever wanna get married", Esposito laughed as he looked back at the chess game.
Ryan and Castle shared a knowing look. If Lanie wasn't against marriage, he would be certainly wearing the very same ring now, even if he would never admit it in front of his friends.
"Okay I quit, I lost anyway", Javier mumbled as he dropped its last pawn with a sigh.
"Oh, you quit?" Rick smiled. Esposito wasn't the type of guy who gives up though.
"Well, let's say it's a break. I let you a chance to win and we're even. Let me remind you how I humiliated you last night at poker", the detective replied as he stood up from his chair.
"Oh really? I must have drunk too much, I don't remember anything…" Castle teased.
Espo and Ryan smiled at each other.
"We both do."
"Yeah", Ryan nodded as he nudged Javier.
"I was tired", Rick complained before he glanced at the TV. "Alexis?" he called.
The young red haired girl turned to him.
"You wanna challenge your old father at chess?"
"Challenge…you mean kill?" she replied, making Kevin and Javier burst into laughter.
"I love your daughter. I wanna have the same one in a few years", Ryan smiled as he watched the girl walking towards them.
Alexis stepped towards them and crossed her arms.
"Are you sure you wanna challenge me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Take a seat, girl", her father replied, motivated.
"Are you done watching this crap?" Esposito asked her suddenly.
"This is no crap," Alexis said as she sat. "And yes, I'm done, now that Jayden proposed Ella if you wanna know", she replied as she placed her pawns in position. Espo and Ryan shared a look.
"Actually we don't care at all," the Irish replied while his buddy tried hard not to laugh. Alexis gave them the eye.
"Seriously guys, you have no heart."
"Yes we have. And for your information, mine is only beating for a gorgeous green eyed blond girl so I don't have time for these stupid things", Ryan replied proudly.
"Wow, you're so romantic", Rick commented.
"The same for me…" Esposito nodded as he pointed at his best friend. "…Except for the gorgeous blond girl part," he stammered as he walked towards the sofa and television corner.
Martha had stood up from the sofa a few seconds earlier and was now behind the counter of the kitchen, having a drink before starting cooking. Kate, Lanie and Jenny were still on their sofas, talking about "Temptation Lane" to Javi's utter despair.
"Are you done now, can we watch TV?" he growled, interrupting them.
"Someone's in a bad mood…" Kate noticed as she challenged him. Espo jumped on the sofa and tore the remote off from her hands.
"Someone lost at chess?" Lanie guessed, faking concern.
"Poor thing", Jenny added, trying hard not to laugh.
"Whose fault is it, huh?" he mumbled as he gave them the eye. The three friends shared a look and burst into laughter.
"Ours, of course", detective Beckett teased as she stood up from the sofa.
"Sure", Jenny laughed as she rolled her eyes.
"You guys didn't stop talking about crap", he protested.
"Stop trying finding an excuse Javi. Castle is too good for you at chess, that's all", Lanie replied.
"That's true. Personally, I've never won against him," Jenny said.
"Me neither," Lanie nodded. Esposito glanced at the girls, pouting.
"Yeah…Lanie it's weird. You're a doctor. As for Jenny, well, it's normal, blondie." Esposito teased her, proud of his joke. Shocked, Jenny threw him a cushion.
Javier and Jenny liked each other. They haven't been always close or found discussions to share, but the more they had been seeing each other, the more they've been learning to know and like each other. Now, Kevin's best friend even dared tease and provoke her, sometimes bluntly. She was a quiet person, but she did have sense of humor and a quick-witted mind from time to time.
While Esposito threw another cushion back at Jenny, Lanie rolled her eyes and stood up from the sofa, letting them play their childish games. She left the sofa's corner and headed to Ryan who was still watching Castle and Alexis playing chess, smiling, as Alexis was already winning.
Lanie put a hand on her friend's shoulder and leaned to his ear.
"I think your supposedly best friend is about to steal your wife", she whispered to the Irish who turned back his head to them. Espo and Jenny were still fighting and laughing together. He smiled and glanced at Lanie.
"He can try."
Kate walked pass them and smiled at Ryan's remark, before she headed to the bathroom, at the bottom end of the living room. As she entered the room, she took the time to close the door behind her. Then she faced the window and watched casually outside. It was a small square window, above the bathtub.
She had casually glanced at the window, because it was the first thing she had found in front of her.
But then, Kate Beckett felt a shiver down her spine as she stared at what was behind that window out there, in the heavy rain.
The bush she could see from the window, behind the house, at the edge of the woods surrounding the property…the bush had moved. She was sure of it. Actually, it hadn't moved by itself. Some kind of silhouette -she wasn't sure exactly of what it was, but a dark and blurry shape had moved and rushed into to the bushes before it disappeared into the woods. Kate stepped further carefully, hoping she would find an answer to that simple question. What was that?
She was a cop. She shouldn't be scared for nothing. But still, that shape she couldn't identify had surprised her. Her first impression was that the shape was too big, too slender to be an animal. For Kate, it was certainly a human being.
But maybe she was wrong.
Frowning, the brunette woman thought about what she saw, again and again. But it wasn't clear at all. She stepped back and decided to exit the bathroom, forgetting completely why she had came her in the first place. When she arrived at the living room, Martha who was busy cooking an apple pie behind the kitchen's counter was the first who noticed how disturbed she seemed.
"Kate, honey, are you all right?" she asked.
"You're so pale", Ryan added as he studied her, next to Lanie who stared at her best friend as well.
"No, I'm okay", Kate stammered, distractedly. "I think I saw…" she didn't finish her phrase and pointed the bathroom. "I think I saw something in the garden", she finally said as she searched for Castle's look.
As soon as she said that, they all heard the terrifying rumbling of thunder.
"Something?" Rick asked, concerned. Esposito stood up from the couch and stepped towards Kate, curious to know more about it. Jenny was also listening carefully.
"What do you mean?" Espo asked.
Kate shrugged.
"I don't know…a shape. Some kind of silhouette…Maybe it was nothing, though", she shook her head.
"An animal?" Lanie guessed.
"Maybe, yes", Kate nodded before she glanced at Castle.
"Castle, do you have any neighbors around?"
Rick shook his head.
"As far as I know, nope. The closest houses are at the entrance of Wainscott village, 10 km away from here. I chose the manor for its quietness", he answered. Detective Beckett winced, as she would have preferred another answer. Then she glanced at Ryan and Esposito.
"Guys, do you have your guns?"
"Nope," Ryan replied, surprised by her question.
"Sorry but when I'm on holiday, I don't really need it you know", Esposito chuckled. "Do you have yours?" he asked Kate.
"I always have it under my pillow," she nodded.
"Well, good to know," Castle said to ease the atmosphere. Lanie had heard him and smiled.
"Come on Kate, do you really think we're gonna need a gun?" Ryan asked suspiciously. He couldn't imagine something could ruin their great weekend.
"I don't know…that thing…"
She couldn't finish her sentence.
"I'm sure it was just a stroller, honey", Lanie interrupted her, trying to comfort her.
"A stroller, who ran away from the garden of a private property?" Kate retorted as she stared at Lanie. The medical examiner shrugged.
"Maybe that person realized he or she was in the wrong way and just turned back…" she guessed, trying to stay rational. There was always a logical explanation for doctors. Kate didn't reply but still, she wasn't convinced at all.
"Hey, I've got a weapon!" the writer remembered suddenly. All eyes were on him.
"Seriously?" Esposito asked.
Castle stood up from his chair and walked towards the wooden chest, near the dining room. He opened the drawer and took a small gun before he lent it to Kate.
"There's no one around here…so I feel safer, knowing I've got that thing in the house."
Kate grabbed the gun and studied it. She checked the charger and the trigger.
"Do you have security cameras too?" she asked as she raised her look to him.
"Sure…I mean…no."
Kate frowned and Rick decided to explain.
"The system is down due to technical malfunctions or something. Anyway, I didn't have time to fix it yet."
"Great", Kate sighed.
"Stop it, you're starting to scare me", Martha interrupted as she left the kitchen counter and stepped towards them.
"Kate, you don't think that…"
Martha couldn't finish her sentence as the fuse blew out suddenly. The little group froze, as they were now in the dark, while they kept hearing thunder rumbling. It was so loud that Royal woke up. Jenny startled on the couch, and immediately searched for her husband's reassuring gaze, who was still standing next to Lanie Parish.
The night hadn't completely fallen yet but it wouldn't be long. It was dark enough so that the people in the manor could barely see each other's face in the room.
...to be continued