Home
She stumbles out of the elevator, her legs heavy as she crosses the hallway. A headache pounds behind her forehead; even the roots of her hair seem to hurt. Her gait drags, tonight; the heavy weight of a case unsolved lying on her shoulders, of a victim so gruesomely mutilated she was barely identifiable, a family left behind in shambles.
Some days she hates her job, its darkness, the heartbreaking realities she faces day by day, and she wants nothing more than to run away, leave it all behind, un-see the things she's had to see.
The hallway has never seemed this long as she drags her feet along the luxurious carpeting and when she finally reaches the door, she rests her forehead against it for a long moment, eyes closed, her breathing shallow, no energy left to even pull the keys out of her pocket. Her whole body sags heavily against the door and she wishes the weight of it all would just push her inside, for her to simply seep through the wood until she's on the other side, where there is peace and warmth and joy.
A sound from inside startles her, the scrape of a chair or the bang of a door; her eyes fly open, a deep breath infusing her lungs and then she fishes for her keys, fumbles them into the lock until it gives way beneath her hands and swings open to the cozy, warm light of her home.
"Mommmmma," the little voice chirps and then her baby girl toddles toward her, big blue eyes and bouncing blonde curls as she wobbles forward on her chubby, still unsteady legs, her arms raised, ready to be caught by the safety of her arms.
Kate sinks to her haunches, enthralled by the wide, gummy smile of her baby, the surge of warmth spreading from her midsection into her fingertips and toes, infusing her with a wave of such joy that she is breathless, overwhelmed.
"Jo…" she hums, opens her arms wide until the girl stumbles into her and Kate wraps her into a tight embrace, rises to her feet, the baby tucked securely against her chest.
She breathes in her comforting scent, powder and clean laundry and baby, her eyes welling with a surge of relief she didn't realize she needed. "My sweet girl," she whispers and the baby snuggles her face against her neck, holding unusually still in her mother's arms.
A pair of strong arms envelops them both, the baby between them as Castle pulls her against his chest and she sinks her forehead to his shoulder, her eyes falling closed as one of her hands grab around his waist, her fingernails digging into his skin on an extended breath that is too close to a sob.
His hands splay wide over her back, his fingertips caressing up and down her spine and she lets her weight drop onto him, feels as if she can finally breathe again. The horror of her day slides off her shoulders, slowly bleeds out into the warmth of their home, fades from the safe pillar they form in the middle of the entry.
It's all she needs.