Kate woke up the next morning, not to some erotic form joy, but one that was pretty darn close: the smell of pancakes wafting into the bedroom. Her eyes fluttered open and, sure enough, her husband was nowhere to be found. She rose from their bed, put on her shorts and one of his t-shirts, then floated toward the heavenly scent of breakfast.

"Morning," Rick said brightly as Kate padded into the living room. He flipped a pancake, beaming as it landed perfectly in the pan.

"Morning, showoff," she cooed back at him. Kate rounded the island, placing a kiss to Rick's cheek as Alexis made her way down the stairs in her pajamas.

Kate's light teasing didn't stop Rick from putting the pan back down on the stove, wrapping his free hand around her waist and pulling her in for a slightly deeper kiss.

Alexis let a small smile peek through her fake disgust as she scoffed and said, "Get a room."

Rick and Kate pulled apart and both tossed the younger woman a look that said 'We will and you know it' before she rolled her eyes and kissed her father on the cheek.

"Good morning, you two," Martha chirped as she flounced down the stairs, already dressed at 7:30, even though she and Kate weren't supposed to leave until 10:30.

Kate and Alexis moved to sit at the island as Rick placed pancakes on three plates and passed them to each of his women. "Eat up, ladies. You've all got busy days ahead of you."

The girls thanked him in turn and ate their breakfast. Kate finished eating quickly and ran off to take a shower and get ready for her day out with Martha.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, dear, what did you have planned for our fabulous day on the town?"

Kate looked at Martha with a hesitant smile. "Well, I thought we could go shopping for a fun new outfit, courtesy of my fabulously rich husband," that got Martha to laugh, causing Kate to smile as well, "followed by a Broadway show of some sort. You've more experience than I do with things like that, so I figured I'd let you choose."

Martha simply beamed at her new daughter-in-law. "That sounds fantastic, Katherine, dear!" Kate's smile oozed relief and Martha softened. "Oh, I am so happy that my son was lucky enough to get paired with you."

Blushing, Kate ducked her head and allowed her curtain of hair to offer a meager protection from the intensity of Martha's emotion. When she eventually met Martha's eyes again, though, Martha looked slightly uncertain.

"Katherine, are you sure this is how you want to spend your last day off?"

Kate smiled at her warmly. "Of course! I'm so excited to spend the day with the woman who raised my husband and I find immersing myself in other peoples' interests every once in a while gives me a new and refreshing perspective." She hadn't meant to sound so wordy, but apparently Martha was impressed instead of put off, because she just stared at Kate for a moment before responding.

She reached out and grabbed Kate's hand, squeezing it affectionately, before saying, "What a wonderful woman you are. Your parents must be proud of the woman they've raised."

Still reeling a little from yesterday's confession to Alexis, Kate braced herself for another tough conversation. "That means a lot, Martha, thank you. And my father is very proud, I know." She offered Martha the largest smile she could, which was a small, weak one.

"Oh, Katherine, you don't have to say anything more to me." When Kate looked at Martha with confusion clouding her eyes, Martha continued. "Dear, there's enough sorrow in your eyes to fill three lifetimes and I don't know you well enough to pry. . .yet," she added with a wink, which made Kate smile.

Kate squeezed the older woman's hand, still held firmly in her own. "Thank you, Martha. And I will tell you when the time is right. I'll tell you, though, I did tell Alexis about me. I think she needed the reassurance, whereas I've always felt that you. . ." Kate paused, looking for the word, "understood," she ended weakly.

"No worries, kiddo," Martha chirped. "You tell me when and if you're ready."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kate and Martha spent a short time finding stunning outfits for one another, outfits they might not normally choose for themselves, laughing at their new looks. They went to a new play Martha thought Kate might like and they had a blast, enjoying each other's company and the play. Afterward, they went to a late lunch and took a walk in Central Park.

Kate worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she tried to figure out how to phrase her question. "So, what was Rick like as a child?"

Letting out a bark of laughter, Martha slid her arm through Kate's and dove into story after story of baby Rick: how she used to wake up in the morning to get Rick ready for preschool only to find him passed out in the living room in front of the window, having fallen asleep looking at the 'stars'. How, when he was older, she would tuck him in as he told her stories about magicians or aliens or snow monsters. She told him other stories, too, more embarrassing ones of which he probably wouldn't approve.

Kate's personal favorite was the story of a tiny Rick walking in on Martha and one of her many lovers and asking the man why he was tickling his mommy. She had thrown her head back and laughed loudly, imagining a younger version of Rick, so innocent and sweet. Kate made a mental note to ask him if he wanted to tickle her later as she and Martha passed one of Kate's favorite ice cream shops. They had told Rick and Alexis they would be back around dinner time, and that time was approaching.

"Oh, Martha, I used to love this place as a kid. Would you mind stopping in for just a minute? I'll buy."

"Darling, only one thing could make this day better, and that is ice cream," Martha said, winking at her.

The two went in and ordered their ice cream, sitting in comfortable silence until their bowls were empty. Watching the older woman people watch through the window, Kate broke the silence. "Thank you, Martha, for such a lovely day. I've had a really good time."

Martha smiled that motherly smile and said, so warmly, "Oh, Katherine, I'm so glad you asked me to do this. You're a wonderful woman and I'm proud to call you my daughter."

Daughter. Not daughter-in-law. Kate let that sink in for a moment as she tried to not let the grief swallow her whole. Before she realized what was happening, Kate reached across the table and pulled the other woman into a hug, realizing that no words could ever express her gratitude.

As Kate pulled away, both women swiped stray tears from their cheeks.

They walked the rest of the way home together hand-in-hand.

XXXXXXXXXX

Once Kate and Martha were home safe and sound, dinner had been eaten, and everyone retired to bed early, Kate went about her nightly routine while Rick changed into his pajamas. When Kate was done in the bathroom, Rick went in and went about his business. However, when he emerged from the bathroom, he almost tripped over nothing when he saw his beautiful wife lying naked on the bed.

"Kate!" he exclaimed, feeling his arousal low in his belly.

She smiled up at him lazily and asked, "Castle, you wanna tickle me? Because I really want you to tickle me." She peeled her thighs apart to raise one of her knees and the wet sound he heard caused his erection to harden almost painfully.

Rick looked at her, confused. "Castle? Tickle?" Kate gave him a moment to work through it. "So you call me 'Castle' when you're affectionate or," he gestured at her, "turned on, then. Is that it?"

Kate began drawing lazy patterns on her stomach as she stretched leisurely on the comforter. "That's half of it. Now, come on and tickle me good."

Feeling frustrated and horribly aroused, Rick was becoming impatient. "Kate, I don't want to tickle you! Quite honestly, I'd like to fuck your brains out, but you're confusing me."

"Babe, I hung out with your mom all day. She told me stories about you as a kid," she explained to him, now drawing lazy patterns on her hip.

Understanding dawned on him and he quickly said, "Yes, please, I want to tickle you," as he divested himself of his clothing.

Her laughter seemed to echo around the room as he flopped onto the bed beside her, causing her to bounce before settling on top of him. He wasted almost not time, kissing her fiercely and running his hands up and down her waist. She moaned into his mouth as she straddled him and felt his erection pressing against her middle. Grinding against him gave her the most delicious friction and she broke the kiss to whimper and whisper his name.

Equally eager, they made brief eye contact before she lifted up off him enough for him to position himself at her entrance. "Kate," he whispered.

Looking him straight in the eye, she slid him home, both groaning as her walls clenched him strongly.

"Mmm," he moaned, smiling up at her. "You're amazing."

"You," was all she could mutter as she rode him, meeting his thrusts and becoming sloppier by the minute until Rick reached around and pressed a finger hard to her clit.

"UHHH," Beckett yelled as she froze above her husband and broke apart around his manhood. "Fucking SHIT, Castle," she groaned at him. "Let go right now. I wanna feel you come inside me." She was still coming down from her orgasm and Rick exploded into her at her words.

Once they were both recovered, Rick went to get a wet washcloth and cleaned her up. "I love it when you tickle me like that, Castle," she said.

"I love tickling you, Beckett," Rick said with a smile as he pulled his wife close and pulled the covers over them. "Get some sleep, sweetheart. It's your first day back tomorrow and I've got a book signing tomorrow night."

Already falling asleep, Kate snuggled close to her lover and whispered, "Good night, my sweet."