Doppelgänger 9
Kate dropped her towel on the sand, kicked off her sandals, and walked into the water. Feeling the water at her feet at first was a completely new sensation. They didn't have water like this at home. "Why do I live in a city?" She would rather live here.
She waded out farther until she was waist deep. It was as far as she was willing to go since she didn't know how to swim. She knew to hold her breath but after that she had no clue. Her memories from Kate were a bit lacking on this subject. She guessed that that was because Kate didn't get in the water much.
Snohbal gathered her courage and submerged herself, going straight down, closing her eyes tight. She only stayed underwater a moment before coming back up and let her now wet hair fall down her back. "That was different." She decided to walk around in the water a little. She found it surprising that there was resistance as she walked. It was harder to move in water than out of it. Still she was strong enough that it didn't become a problem.
Movement got her attention and she turned to watch Castle come up to her towel, leave his, and start walking toward her in the water. He was almost as naked as she was and damn, but he looked good.
"I wish I could kiss him." Kate Beckett would be mad if she found that she couldn't be with Castle any longer. Maybe if she asked the right question to her book there would be a way. Some place that had something in the city that would help her.
Then he walked right up to her and she soon found herself wrapped in his arms. She couldn't resist letting her head rest against his chest. The pain of not being able to kiss him was starting to tear at her heart.
"Imagine being out here every day for the next two weeks," Rick murmured. She hummed in agreement and held her hands tight between them.
"I don't think Alexis likes me much." Snohbal hadn't failed to notice that she was a little cold to her.
"Alexis is protective. She's not sure you're the best person for me," he admitted, nuzzling her hair. "We can work at changing her mind."
"What if she's right?" Not being able to get closer might make her right.
He brushed his lips across her forehead then shook his head. "Not a chance. We've come this far, we'll figure it out."
Snohbal hoped he was right yet feared he was dead wrong. "Time to soak up some sun." She didn't want to leave his arms. It felt so nice to be in them. But she couldn't send a signal that meant he could really kiss her. A kiss on the cheek or on the forehead was acceptable and safe. Anywhere else, though… that was absolutely forbidden.
She reluctantly left him and waded back to the beach. Then she spread out her towel and lay down. Not surprisingly Rick did the same right next to her. He took a chance and sneaked his hand across the sand to reach hers and was happy when her hand squeezed closed around his.
Both of them were happy with just this for now. Rick was hoping for more while Snohbal wished she could do more.
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A phone rang in a distant place. It was going to turn out to be bad timing. "Yes," was the only word he spoke.
"They are both alive," he was informed.
At first the shock silenced his tongue. Then his anger did something he would live to regret. He threw the phone and watched it shatter, putting an end to his contact with the outside world.
A moment later he clenched his hands and choked back a scream. He'd had them killed. Not just killed, but killed and left where their bodies would be found and send a message.
With practiced skill he calmed himself and reached for a land line phone only to put it back in place. The cell phone he just destroyed or at least damaged to the point it was no longer useful had been secure. The land line phone was not.
He was presently too far away to do anything about it. Trapped, where he was watched constantly. Yes, he could go buy a burner phone and make a call. But he would be seen buying it. He needed to be able to order things with discretion. To prove that he was not involved.
He had no choice; he was forced to wait. However, that did not mean he did not plan. Did not scheme on what to do next. Did not want to see both of them dead.
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"I'm going to go change," Snohbal told Rick and went up the stairs. She'd had fun just lying in the sand, listening to the waves, holding the hand of the man Kate Beckett loved so very much.
"I hope you enjoyed it, Dad, because you're going to pay a price." Alexis grinned and went up the stairs behind Kate.
Rick had no idea what she was talking about. Shrugging, he walked up the stairs to his room. He stripped off his swim trunks and stepped into the shower after turning it on. The second the water hit his chest he screamed from the pain it caused. He stumbled out of the water and looked in the mirror. What he saw showed him what Alexis was teasing him about. His entire upper body and legs were burnt. He wasn't just pink, he was red. He let his chin fall to his chest. He hissed in pain and quickly lifted it back up.
Leaning in close to the mirror, he studied his face. Everything was burnt. His forehead, his nose, his cheeks, even his lips. Running a finger over them made him very aware of how sensitive they were now.
He could heal a wound, fix a deep slash, seal a bullet wound. Treat his burnt body. He could take care of all of that but the underlying pain would remain. Everything would remain sensitive to the touch for days.
He gingerly stepped back into the shower and gritted his teeth, huffing out a breath from the pain as he washed himself. Drying his body with a towel caused him to breathe sharply from the pain yet again.
Using his left wristband he brought forth what he would need to make a cream that he could spread over his body. It would help and reduce the time to heal but it wouldn't happen instantly.
Snohbal stripped easily and stopped at the mirror. So far as she could see, nothing had changed. Since she was alone she dropped her disguise and studied herself in the mirror. Nothing was different; she looked exactly the same.
It had actually felt nice to bake under this plane's sun. It had been nice to feel the water of this plane's ocean kiss her body, too. She relished being able to spread her wings and carefully move them before stepping into the shower.
It was Kate Beckett that stepped out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to find out what tonight would bring.
"Hi." Kate greeted Alexis who was in the kitchen pulling items out of the refrigerator.
"Detective," Alexis replied.
Kate smiled a soft smile. "My name is Kate, Alexis. You're free to use it." She looked around. "Where's your father?" She didn't see him.
"Dad's still in his room, and I do know your name. My apologies." Alexis would try and use it from now on. At least until Kate hurt her father. "Why aren't you burnt like Dad?" Kate looked perfect while her father looked like a fire engine.
Kate had to think fast since she could have stayed out there for hours, days. Weeks, if not months or even years could pass and nothing would happen. "Sunscreen."
It was an acceptable answer for Alexis. It would be just like her father to not use sunscreen either because he forgot or because he thought he wouldn't get burnt.
"So are you the cook tonight?" Kate couldn't remember if Alexis cooked for the family.
"Dad's probably lucky if he's walking. I'll bet he's wishing he didn't have to wear a shirt for the next few days. So if any of us are going to eat, I'm the cook." Besides, she'd learned to cook while helping her dad.
"Sorry." She hadn't really thought about what the sun would do to Rick.
Alexis chuckled. "Dad learned a good lesson. He's been here many times but never had any reason to be out in the sun for so long. Even when I was little we never stayed out on the beach for too long. You have no idea how many times I would come out of the water only to have my dad intercept me and coat another layer of sunscreen on me." She chuckled again at the memory.
"As much as I love it here, he was right. I burn very easily. Even today I have to be careful how long I stay outside in the sun." Alexis had learned she was never going to get the tan some of her friends could get so easily.
"I'll be more careful next time." Kate knew she would be back out there, but she would be more attentive to how long Rick stayed outside.
"So what's for dinner?" Kate was curious.
"Shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta. It's shrimp sautéed in olive oil and butter before being tossed with garlic, lemon, freshly cracked pepper, a bit of parsley, and angel hair pasta. It's light and tasty, perfect for a summer evening meal. I hope you like it." Alexis answered.
"Can I help?" Kate was willing to work. Alexis considered what Kate might be able to do. She made her decision. "You can peel the shrimp out of its shell and put them in ice water."
"Do you like it here?" Kate inquired while pulling the shrimp out of their shell and dropping them in the chilled water.
"Coming to the Hamptons is great. It offers such a change from busy city life. Places to calm down and just think, you know? When I was little it was somewhere to have fun. There are shops in town, one that makes ice cream that you can't get in the city." Alexis truly loved it here.
Kate had just finished and was washing her hands in the sink when the front door slammed. "Alexis, darling," Martha called out since Alexis was who she saw first.
"Grams!" Alexis was happy to see her and abandoned the shrimp she had in the skillet to greet her.
Martha hugged her; she loved her granddaughter fiercely. "Katherine?" Martha wasn't expecting to see her here. She left Alexis and moved to hug Kate like she was her daughter. For Kate it felt like a mother's hug. One she hadn't felt in a very long time. "You're spending the weekend with us?" Martha queried.
Alexis corrected her. "She's staying with Dad for two weeks."
"Two weeks!" This should prove to be interesting. "And where is my son?" Martha turned to look at Alexis.
"Dad's still upstairs. He's recovering from being out in the sun all afternoon," Alexis explained.
"Meaning he's burnt," Martha said with amusement in her voice. Seeing him fire-engine red was going to be interesting.
"I'm afraid that it's my fault." Kate took responsibility.
"I'm sure it taught my son a lesson. It's good to have you here, Katherine." Martha gave her arm a little squeeze. "I'm going to go wash and be right back. I'm going to need a glass of wine before dinner." Martha worked better with a little alcohol in her.
Alexis already knew her grandmother was a fan of Kate's, so seeing her being kind to her wasn't a shock. "About 30 minutes, Grams." This meal was going to be quick and easy to make.
Alexis smirked when she watched her dad walking down the stairs wearing just shorts – no shoes since even his feet were burnt – and the largest shirt he had. Something that would touch as little skin as possible. It wasn't hard to tell that he was burnt.
She did her best to hide her smile. "Hi Dad."
Kate hadn't seen him and she whipped her head around. "Wow, Castle!" He really was red. It was a color that reminded her of her old home.
Rick started to raise his hand to get them to stop but doing that made his shirt brush against his skin causing a small amount of pain. He didn't want to be a baby about it; he knew this was going to be his lot for a few days.
"Yes, it hurts; are you two happy?" He thought about sitting down next to Kate but decided it would be less painful to stand.
"I'm sorry Castle." Kate just knew she was involved in this.
He began to touch her but stopped. Leaning in to kiss her cheek was also out. "I'll be fine."
Dinner was waiting when Martha finally came back downstairs dressed casually, even for her. She immediately started chuckling when she saw her son. "Is today Halloween? Why did no one tell me?" Her son was red with a little pink thrown in.
"Very funny." Rick glared at her. However, Alexis noticed that her dad left off Mother. But she said nothing and simply filed the information away for another time. Then it hit her – her dad had yet to call her Pumpkin! Granted she was older now and liked being called by her name, but still… Her dad was treating her like an adult, but deep down she missed being called Pumpkin. It was his favorite term of endearment for her. The thought that her dad no longer loved her never entered her mind. Something was off, though. Maybe it was because Kate was here and he was sunburned.
But she also couldn't resist. "Fire engine," Alexis teased.
"Lobster," Martha piled on.
Kate added her own comment. "Demon."
"Oh ha, ha." Rick was not amused. "Next time I'm taking you two with me," he threatened.
"We know how to use sunscreen, Dad." Alexis sported a huge grin; it was such fun to razz him.
"Demon… Very nice, Katherine." Martha loved it and raised her hand up. Kate knew what to do from her memories and slapped her open palm against Martha's. They both heard Alexis chuckle.
"And just how long do you three plan on keeping this up?" He was sure he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Depends, Dad. How long are you going to look like a fire engine?" Alexis was still grinning. This was so much fun.
"Or a lobster?" Martha added.
"Or a demon?" Kate went on to say since this really was fun. She didn't miss seeing Alexis and Martha loving this little exchange, either. It told her teasing Castle was something they all did.
"All weekend," Rick moaned and didn't miss all the women in his life having fun at his expense. Well, three of the four since his own Alexis was most probably nowhere near here.
"You'll survive, Dad. Think of it as practice for what Gina will do to you if you miss your deadline."
That told him he needed to review what this Rick knew about Gina. Maybe she was going to be more trouble than he thought. "You just had to be a writer didn't you."
"I'll make sure he writes," Kate assured them and smiled at Castle. "You have a way to keep him in his chair? Rope… or tape, maybe?"
"Super glue!" Alexis was still enjoying this immensely and couldn't help but laugh.
"I like your thinking, darling." Martha was on board. "If we don't have any I'm sure there's somewhere in town that does." Martha had to admit that super glue was never something she had shopped for. It didn't mean it wasn't available, though.
"Are you three done yet?" Rick grumbled. He was more than ready for this to end.
All three of them answered back almost as one. "Nope."
"Since the beach is out of the question now, I guess I'm forced to write. Come find me if you need me." Rick stood up and hissed as his shirt scraped across his sensitive skin.
"We'll go into town and get you some aloe vera gel, Dad," Alexis called after him.
"Do we have to?" Martha wasn't done teasing her son.
"Grams!" Alexis admonished. She looked at the clock. "It's getting late, it'll have to wait till tomorrow. Sorry, Dad."
"A shopping trip into town while Richard asleep." Martha was all for it. It meant more shopping. "We can take Katherine with us." Martha liked this idea even more.
"Using Dad's credit card," Alexis remarked gleefully. She was in. Kate looked between these two.
"You'll love it, Katherine. Even if you don't find something you can't live without," Martha added. "I'll call the car service." They might need the space for their purchases.
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Kate had to admit that shopping with them had been fun. It had felt familiar thanks to her memories of Kate. The Snohbal part of her had been totally lost. There was so much to chose from and while she had figured out that it took money to buy things, neither Martha nor Alexis seemed all that concerned about the prices.
As a result… "This one is yours." Alexis handed Kate a bag. "And this one, and this one." Then she handed over a bag to Martha and pulled out one of her own.
Kate tried one last time knowing it was already too late. "I didn't really need all this. I brought my own clothes, you know."
"Of course you did, darling. This is the Hamptons and it's summer. You need something light to wear so you don't bake in your own clothes," Martha insisted yet again.
"Besides, Dad will have a heart attack." Some of what they had talked Kate into accepting was just a touch risqué. Alexis was willing to overlook one or two of the summer dresses that she and Martha had picked out since they had also picked out a new bikini for her to wear. After all, the bikini was going to show far more skin than either of the dresses that were now hers.
"You didn't really think you were going just to look, did you?" Martha looked at her with both eyebrows raised.
Kate had been thinking of doing just that. Looking but not buying anything. She had clothes. But then the two redheads happened.
She was now the proud owner of a white, loose-fitting sundress with spaghetti straps with heavy fringe all along the asymmetrical hem. Just the thing for a hot summer's day.
And there was the pale champagne mini dress with spaghetti straps, a plunging neckline, and gorgeous gold embroidery. It was perfect for cocktails or an evening out here in the Hamptons and was enough to turn any man's head! Rick's especially, she hoped, fervently wishing that she would find a way to finally be able to kiss him.
Then the last garment – her favorite – was a very full, flared, chiffon maxi skirt with a pleated waistline that looked like it had been painted with watercolors. It was touted as having sixty different colors in it. So beautifully feminine!