"But I don't wanna Ma," Julia was saying.
"I know honey but it's late and you need some rest," Kate told her gently.
Rick wished he could tell the two that the little girl not wanting to go to bed was nothing new, but he didn't think he could really explain what he was seeing. Nor did he want to talk about the fact that Julia; wherever he was seeing her and her mother; had been almost afraid of him which pained him immensely. Instead he said, "She's right, all growing up little girls need their rest."
Sighing Julia said, "Okay but I wanna see you tomorrow Uncle Rick."
"I think you just might," Rick said, moving away after setting the little girl on her bed.
"He's coming for breakfast," Kate said with a smile as Julia looked back and forth between them in confusion.
Gasping in joy Julia asked, "Are ya really?"
"Ab-so-lute-ly," Rick told her, smiling at her giggle. "You know I can't resist your grandma's cooking." He glanced at Kate and said, "Or your ma's."
"Me too," Julia said.
Rick hugged her tightly and said, "Goodnight Julia, sweet dreams."
"Thank you, you have some too," Julia told him.
Thinking of all he'd been seeing Rick said, "I think I might." He kissed the side of her head before he embraced her one last time and then stepped out to allow Kate to get the little girl into her nightgown. Waiting he was surprised when there was no discussion in the bedroom but when his friend stepped out he said, "She's asleep."
"She is, I think it was too much for her today," Kate replied with a sigh. "But she's happy to know her two uncles will be here in the morning."
"She's calling him uncle already?" Rick asked.
"She is, he is you know," Kate told him. She studied him as they paused at the end of the stairs and she asked him, "You're not jealous?"
"No, just surprised," Rick said. He then said, "Should I go?"
"They're playing cards," Kate replied as they could hear the shuffle of a deck.
"Alright," Rick replied before he followed her over to the dining room where the others were gathered.
"So," Patrick said as they had begun to play poker. "Rosie told me you were asking about Burrell."
"Have you had any dealings with him through the bank?" Rick asked.
"He's been to us to see about getting anymore dough for his joint," Patrick replied. "He was approved the first time but each time after we've turned him down."
"Was he not able to pay back?" Johanna asked, startling the others.
"No," Patrick said. "The bank saw no need for that but it led to him taking his account out to someone else."
"Do you know which bank?" Rick asked, wondering if he should get up to grab his notepad to write down the name.
"The Bank of Italy," Patrick said with a nod.
"Thank you," Rick replied. "I'll have to have Brad check that."
"What are you thinking?" Rose asked, by then her slicked bobbed hair loose again as she ran her fingers through it.
"I'm not sure… your family used to be with Italy before you moved to the Bank of San Francisco," Rick said to Johanna.
"That's was Da's idea," Kate said first. "And it was because Italy wasn't agreeable to him."
"The manager didn't like the Irish," Johanna said, her voice icy with disgust. "We are far better at the bank we have now."
"Either way I'll have to speak to Italy," Rick replied. "Or Brad; but well after we speak with Burrell."
They began to play the rest of the game then and once they had finished with Patrick winning Johanna took him and Rose into the kitchen so they could have coffees and desserts. With Rick and Kate left at the table they looked at each other and smiled but largely were silent. Eventually Rick spoke first, placing his hand on her arm since she was looking to the kitchen so he could get her attention fully.
"Will you still work at the club?" he asked her, something he'd been wondering since he'd gotten the case that morning.
"I don't know," Kate said simply. "That cache is Da and Junior's and the Volstead helps since all we have is the wine. But how long the loophole of having 'guests' we give our wine at our 'home' will work I don't know."
"You won't turn it into a juice joint," Rick stated.
"You know Da wouldn't have wanted that," Kate replied easily. "And I don't know if we'll even have the club."
"You don't believe your brother would leave it for you?" Rick asked.
"I told you the friends he had that he was thinking of giving them over to before leaving for the north with Patrick in five or ten years," Kate said.
"And all of them have been cleared," Rick reminded her.
"Did Junior ever tell you about anyone he was going to give the club to when he was ready to pull up and go north?" Kate asked her sister as she walked in with a pot of coffee.
For a moment Rose thought and then said, "You know the ones Junior told us were possible already. Franklin, Alvarez, Joseph and Munoz." She counted off on her fingers before she said, "But Junior wasn't sure about his scheme."
"He wasn't," Patrick said as he walked in. "We decided that we didn't want to leave the city for grapevines and instead we would stay, and he would have given ownership over to whoever he picked while he remained as host, he would need to for the cache."
"Then that might be you," Rose said to her sister. "Who else would he trust?"
"Rick?" Patrick then said.
"What is it?" he said.
Taking out a letter Patrick said, "I should have given this to you sooner, but I forgot about it at home."
"So that's why we went back," Rose said. "For a letter?"
"The last one I got from Junior," Patrick replied, sliding it over to him.
Taking it, Rick quickly saw that it was the letter itself and he opened it to read it but he did so in his mind as he wasn't sure Patrick would want him reading it aloud. "He says he may be mistaken in his original thought," he said slowly, looking up at everyone else. "But he doesn't know how to tell them."
"I think you know why they killed our brother," Kate told him.
With a nod Rick said to Patrick, "Did he ever say a name that wasn't Munoz-"
"I know his friends," the man replied. "But he was never serious about them; they were just his friends; they didn't know the club as well as Kate does."
"You do know she wouldn't hurt-" Rose began to say.
Holding his hand up slightly Rick told her, "Don't worry. I know Kate and the sand was well checked for any smaller footprints." He saw his friend was looking at him in surprise and he said, "I knew you were there at the club of course but I would still have to check."
Nodding Kate said, "I wouldn't be able to walk around in heels; all I had. I could barely walk around earlier today."
"Officer Fielding checked on that in your office," Rick said after nodding at what she'd said. "And there's another thing; your brother was outside already before he was met." He wasn't surprised to see Patrick and Rose looked confused and he continued telling them, "The footprints led up to the road before trailing into it."
"They went across," Kate finished. "Into the park."
"And then where?" Patrick asked.
"There's a café near the road on that side isn't there?" Rose said.
"It's closed," Kate said.
"My partner has been trying to locate the owner as he had an apartment off the kitchen," Rick said. "We were told by the owner of the building that he would go out to the beach often."
"Maybe he had his eye on the club," Rose suggested.
"That's a thought so we're looking for him as well. At the very least he'd be a possible witness if he was awake this morning," Rick said with a nod before Johanna walked in with a plate in her hands.
After playing a few more rounds of cards Rick said his goodbyes to everyone before he and Patrick walked over to the front door and began to speak.
"I'll be staying here," the man told him, nodding towards the parlor. "Rosie's set on joining me but… I'll see if I can't have her get some sleep."
With a nod Rick said, "The number of my building is over there, and I wrote down the number of the police. Call them first before me if anything happens."
"Of course," Patrick said. "Do you think anything will?"
"I don't know but I'm not going to put all of them in danger," Rick replied. He looked at Kate as she came over to him and said, "Eight?"
"She said it'll be ready then," she replied with a nod as her sister was helping their mother clean up. "If this person is the killer then he may be someone we've never met."
"I know," Rick replied with a nod. "But what you've told me and Brad has helped. And don't forget we still have Burrell."
"Can I suggest any joints in trouble?" Patrick asked. "Junior said they weren't the first club that used living at the club to make it their home excuse."
"And they've failed to prove it to the cops," Rick replied. "But the city is cracking down on hard liquor and has been for some time. Though Brad thought the same as you and he's going to speak to some of the officers on the task force looking into illegal hooch." While he'd been speaking he'd put on his hat and pulled on his coat before he said, "Goodnight."
As he opened the door Kate followed him outside before she gently touched his arm so he would stop on the porch. "What will you do tomorrow after we talk to Burrell?" she asked him while he turned to her.
"I would need to wait and see if we get something new," Rick said after thinking. "I might have to bring you home before I return to the station." He studied her and said, "You don't want to go?"
"No, I want to keep helping," Kate said firmly. "What about other clubs that are doing alright even with their juice joints being illegal?"
"I thought of that when Brad told me about the failed clubs," Rick replied. "And there are a lot so we have to give them to other officers but there are only so many." When she sighed he grasped her shoulder firmly and told her, "We'll find the killer, it just takes a little time."
"I know," Kate said before smiling slightly at him. She then said in a low voice, "I miss Junior so much."
"So do I," Rick replied, cursing the neighbors in his mind as he wanted to hug her desperately. Instead he squeezed her shoulder and moved his hand away before she was suddenly leaning up to him and kissing his cheek.
"See you in the morning Rick," Kate told him, stepping back into the doorway. "Be careful in that jalopy."
"She's good to go to Geary," Rick replied with a smile. "I'm not that far away." He smiled when she waved to him before closing the door and once he'd heard it locking he turned to the street, breathing out heavily before he hurried down the steps to his Tin Lizzie.
The drive back to his apartment was quick as there were very little people on the streets which Rick appreciated as he was trying to sort his thoughts. The case, Kate and what he kept seeing suddenly during the day were all revolving in his mind until he was sure he was going to get all balled up. After parking he ran through the lobby and up to his place until he could sit. Even though he still had his coat and hat on he tried to focus on what he was going to do next before he finally calmed down.
Tossing his coat over the back of his couch Rick set his hat down on the table in front of the bay window in the corner of the living room. He grabbed a pad of paper and pencil before taking off his blazer and vest and loosening his tie before he decided to get rid of it as well. Placing his spectacles on he began to write down the names of all the clubs he knew were successful in the city. He knew the older ones since Kate's father had talked to him about them but the newer ones he just knew from talk around the station. It was an impressive list still and he hoped he and Brad wouldn't need to consider the speakeasies he knew were around.
Writing down a few names to go with the clubs Rick then considered the fact that before he'd started at the club Junior had tried to get into a business going on at Crissy Field. It had failed but his friend hadn't minded at all before going to the Blue Bay and he wondered if the manager at the field at the time had minded. He made a note of that before he continued with the other clubs in the city.
A yawn interrupting his line of thought a while later Rick wrote one last thing down on the paper; look into first partner that moved south on the peninsula; before he stood up and went into his bedroom. He washed his face and threw himself down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling as he couldn't stop himself that time from recalling Kate's kiss to his cheek. She had done that before but since he hadn't seen her for a while he could almost convince himself he'd forgotten what it felt like. But however long it had been hadn't meant he hadn't enjoyed it still.
The pressure at his forehead shortly after was unsurprising and Rick only hoped it would let him see a little more of Kate as his wife before the vision was on him fully.
"Do you think we're crazy not asking what we're having?" Castle asked his wife as he watched her take his cup of water and drink from it.
"I thought you were okay with being surprised?" Beckett replied instead of answering, her eyebrow raised.
"I'm getting impatient," Castle confessed.
Giving a mock suffering sigh as her husband was placing his hand on her abdomen Beckett covered it with her own hand and told him, "Me too but I can wait."
Castle smiled and then stood before he leaned down enough so he could kiss her on the lips. He kept it tender and short before he pulled away and said, "If we'd known would you have done a big reveal party?"
Rolling her eyes Beckett walked over to the doorway and waiting for him to follow her said, "No, I don't really think it's so hard just to say the gender. We would have made a lot of phone calls."
"You're simple," Castle told his wife as he walked after her down the hall.
"And you knew I was before you married me," Beckett said, pausing at the end of the stairs with a smile.
"I'm not regretting it," Castle said quickly. "Where-" he began to say, about to ask where they were going before his wife grabbed his hand and pulled him after her up the stairs. He felt his heart starting to pound as he knew what she wanted already and since they were completely alone in the home; Julia at school; he also knew already what she wanted to do once they were inside their room.
As soon as they were past the door Beckett turned to her husband and threw her arms around him tightly before she crushed her lips against his. While he fought back against her tongue that was inside his mouth she ran her fingers through his hair. When her nails began to rake over his scalp she could feel him jerking against her before she slowly moved away. "Are you-" she started to say.
Crushing his lips on hers that time Castle didn't spend too much time there before he pulled away and told her, "Whatever you want I do," he told her.
Smiling Beckett pulled him to the bed and they began to undress one another as fast as they could before she was on her back on the bed. She sighed as he began to kiss over her breasts, being careful with them though they weren't too tender. She ran her nails up and down his back while he was doing that and when he pulled away to look at her she smiled and told him, "You can."
Startled that she knew what he wanted Castle moved to brush his lips against hers tenderly before he moved back down her body. He trailed his lips until he had reached her mound and he paused there before murmuring, "You're beautiful you know."
"Are you sure? You never had to raise your head that far to look at me," Beckett said.
Pressing a kiss to the heavier curve of her six-month abdomen Castle said to it, "Don't worry, your mom is just joking she loves you."
With a heavy sigh Beckett said as she placed her hand on her stomach, "I am but still."
"Hold on…" Castle said then, reaching for his wife's hand after he had sat up. He curled her hand around his erection and with a grunt of pleasure he told her, "That's not going anywhere, in fact it's getting harder while I'm looking at you right now."
"I don't think that's possible Rick, you're like a rock," Beckett replied, running her hand up and down him. She watched him as she did that, startled when he began to thrust against her hand and she bit her lower lip hard before she let go. "I'll do you after," she said when he was shaking his head to recover.
"Good to know," Castle said before he threw himself back down to her sex.
Beckett's back arched heavily as her husband's lips pressed wild kisses about her sex and clit. When he started going around for a second time his tongue was flicking out and she was screaming his name because she could. She gasped out heavily and thrust her hips against him though he was only doing that until he finally stopped and slowly moved away. "You're going to kill me," she said as he was looking up to her.
"I think it's the other way around; I'm still throbbing," Castle replied.
Letting out a breathy laugh Beckett shook her head and said, "Not more than me." She thought her husband would begin to pleasure her when she could feel his lips beginning to brush against her inner thighs. She let out a soft sigh as she still felt pleasure from that but not as much as when he'd been directly between her legs. After a little more of that she soon felt him moving back up to her clit and when he began to rub his tongue around it she was crying out in joy and reaching down for his head, stroking at it until she tangled her fingers within his hair.
Castle, moving from her swollen nub to her folds hoped that he would be able to last before he began to roll his tongue around her sex. He did that for a while before he finally slipped inside of her. He groaned as she gasped and then let out a heavy moan, the taste of her making his head literally spin. But he got a hold of himself and then focused all of his attention on pleasuring her. He felt her eventually placing her legs over his shoulders and he was relieved she had since she was soon moving around underneath him, moaning softly and gasping out erotically to him. He worked over her for a while, not stopping or slowing down as she would from time to time tell him that, and when she finally orgasmed he was hearing her and feeling her undulations though he was only at the lower half of her body. He wasn't sure why he wasn't climaxing himself but didn't question it as she was soon calming down.
"I changed my mind," Beckett said once she could breathe again.
"About what?" Castle said, sitting on his knees next to her. He was taken aback when she got up immediately and threw herself at him, kissing him as hard as she could. He responded quickly since he was able to recover a little faster than he thought he could and he held her tightly against him. The feel of her slightly fuller breasts against his chest was making his erection throb even more painfully before she was moving.
Making sure her husband stayed on his knees Beckett straddled him before holding herself above his erection though it was leaning against his stomach. "If we feel up to it again we're not moving," she told him as he quickly moved his length so she could get down to it.
"Oh, I know," Castle said with a nod though he was looking down. He felt fingers on his chin tilting her head up and took her soft kiss to his lips before he said, "I'm not going to crush you and the baby."
"Remember… we can still… you can still… be on top," Beckett said, having to pause in between as she was taking her husband inside of her while speaking. They were soon fully coupled, and she gently flexed her muscles around him, wanting to make sure he was ready. When he grabbed her hips before she could move she asked, "What?"
"You, are you set-" Castle began to say before his wife was covering his mouth with her hand. He studied her and reached down in between them, rubbing at her clit with his fingertips. Though he was tense with the force of his arousal he didn't stop as he watched Beckett moan and then relax against him until finally he knew she was ready; the fact he could feel how wet she was helping him realize that as well. They began to move at the same time, and he reached for her ass to cup it as his wife kissed him hungrily while they sped up.
When her husband began to slap at her ass Beckett cried out and arched her back against him, breaking up their rhythm a bit before she hurried to get back to it. She leaned down as he held onto the small of her back and they kissed hungrily a few times before they needed to part for more than just a few seconds. She held him tight by his neck before she then moved away slightly so she could try and look down in between them. She sighed heavily in pleasure before she stopped moving to her husband's shock which led her to say, "Just move love."
"If I come…" Castle told her. When her response was to brush her lips to his he had his answer and he moved the best he could and as fast as he could. As Beckett had instructed him to do with her kiss he was very quickly climaxing, not feeling any shame in it as he'd been close anyway after her manual pleasuring of him though it'd been very brief. He called her name repeatedly as loudly as he could until he stopped and tried not to just collapse on the bed under her since he was breathing deeply. "I can tell you how to help me get back," he told her once he was recovered enough.
"I already know," Beckett said, pushing herself up enough so just the tip of him was inside of her. With that set she began to flex her muscles around him as she'd done before, and she sighed as her husband's fingers dug into her back. "Like that?" she asked, her voice startlingly sensuous.
"Yes," Castle let out in a heavy groan. "Keep… keep doing that you're going to get me off again."
"Not like this," Beckett breathed out before she moved a little lower on him. She repeated the same action, closing her eyes as her husband swore at the sensation and she caressed the back of his head until she moved again. Once their hips were pressed back together Castle's eyes were almost rolling back into his head and she took that as an initiative to begin thrusting. She rocked her hips, watching her husband closely while he was holding her by her hips and watched her closely while they reacted vocally to the sensation between them.
Castle could feel the pleasure a little intense and he wondered if he should stop his wife as he didn't think they'd last much longer. But when she straightened and then proceeded to bounce on him he realized what she was planning to do before he leaned down slightly to brush his lips against her breasts though he couldn't keep them on there while she moved. When she rocked against him again he groaned and went to her lips before their tongues were dueling heavily within her. They moved a little more deliberately as they were pressing against one another wanting their skin to slide together before they were parting again and then kissing.
Beckett's thrusts were becoming a little haphazard and she was relieved when her husband had them slow down. "I must be getting… out of… out of shape," she breathed to him in her delight.
"Then I am too," Castle replied, holding onto her tightly. While they were kissing again she ran her hands over his hair once more and he grunted inside her mouth because it was sending small shocks through him as their bodies were. He wasn't sure what prompted them to start thrusting at the same time much faster, but he was relieved when they did as he knew they weren't very far from reaching their completion together.
"Rick, I…" Beckett began to say before tilting her head back as the friction was sending pure heat through her entire form and making her nearly delirious. When he kissed her, she knew he was feeling the same and they were kissing frantically until finally they slowly parted as they needed to breathe, and she looked down at him with a desperate expression on her face.
"Are you close my love?" Castle asked her breathlessly since he knew her answer already. When she nodded he kissed her hard but briefly before he pulled back to tell her, "Then come for me Kate I want to watch you come with me, see what I fucking do to you… come now," his voice hoarse with the command.
With that Beckett lost the battle for self-control and her back snapped straight before she was crying out his name repeatedly until he was joining her, and they grasped each other. The ecstasy was intense, and she could tell it was the same for her husband as he was almost yelling out loud at the feel of her. When she stopped she leaned against him, feeling as Castle finished his orgasm while her body throbbed still at the sensation. "Hmm, thank you," she said with a smile.
"Oh, you don't need to thank me," Castle said instantly, leaning back and looking at her with a smile of his own. "I was more than happy to satisfy you, and of course thanks for doing that for me."
"You're welcome," Beckett said with a soft laugh before her husband groaned. She leaned down and kissed him hungrily before his hands were stroking at her back. Soon after she couldn't stop herself and she moaned deeply in joy before she slowly pulled away and whispered, "I'm hot again Rick."
"Then let me help you," Castle said. He'd had an unasked question in that and when she nodded he quickly moved them so she was below him and he held her leg up against his chest before he entered her once again. With no words between them he thrust, and her cry of his name told him she was ready and wanting him and they began to move wildly together as the ecstasy started right up between them yet again.
His eyes flying open Rick groaned as he sat up and stared at the clock that was on the wall opposite his bed. He realized that he'd slept or something like it as almost fifty minutes had passed since his vision had started. And right on the heels of that he realized that his trousers were in a state they hadn't been since he'd turned fourteen.
Swearing under his breath Rick got off the bed and walked uncomfortably to the bathroom, stripping and considering the state of his clothing. He shook his head and muttered to himself, "At least that wasn't my favorite one," before he stepped into the shower. He then stood under the running hot water, leaning his hands against the wall as he did that, breathing deeply as he let it flow through his hair. He wasn't sure how long it took him to think of it but finally he was thinking of the vision and Kate; his wife there; and how she had been. He shuddered as he then imagined his Kate in the same state, heavily pregnant with their child before it turned into them engaged in the same activities they had been in the vision.
Rick could see her easily, Kate touching him, stroking him before she got on top of him and they soon began to kiss. He was touching himself at the same time but seeing Kate doing it he tried his best not to lose control too quickly. It was a struggle though and several times he stopped completely, breathing heavily in his pleasure until he was sure he wasn't going to get off. He repeated that a few more times until finally he was doing so in absolute pleasure as he chanted her name.
When he had come down from his high Rick tried not to recall that he was alone, and he had just imagined his friend, though it was difficult. He tried to tell himself it was natural to do so and not the first time he'd done that, but he'd never done it when he was going to see her again. So he breathed out heavily and dried himself off roughly before he went out to the bed and laid down on the bed on his back, looking up at the ceiling since he'd kept the lights on. He wasn't sure what happened next but he was out, his mind still on Kate because all he could; and wanted; to see was her.
You know you need to return.
"It's too painful," Castle said, looking around the darkness he was in. Though he knew he should be concerned he wasn't, too much at peace as the voice; though it was in his head he was aware; was the exact same as his wife's.
"Do you remember yourself?" the voice then spoke out loud.
"Of course, I don't know why I'm in San Francisco though," Castle said, glancing around again to try and see if he could see who was talking though there was no one there.
"It's your mind trying to remind yourself what you have," the voice said calmly.
"You're not Kate, are you? My own Kate, not the twenties Kate," Castle asked.
"I am… in a way," the voice responded. "You're creating me right now and since it's her you want to get back to…"
"Okay then… is there any way I can know how she's doing in reality? I must be unconscious if this is what I'm seeing so she has to be worried sick," Castle replied.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, but you will be back to her to ask her yourself," the voice answered.
"When? Please let it be soon I need to be there with her, especially now with the baby on its way," Castle begged.
"It will be, but you won't really have a chance to know the time," the voice replied.
"No, I will," Castle said after he became disappointed. "This case I'm seeing now." There was no response and he was going to speak when the voice was doing so before him.
"When you return from City Hall," it said simply.
"Wait… City Hall…" Castle started to say before he knew it was gone. He sighed in disappointment; closing his eyes and lying back to either sleep or return to San Francisco. He kept repeating to himself that he needed to do something at City Hall and shortly so he could get back to his wife and his family as soon as he could.