Kate has awakened from a too short of a sleep. Her mind is engaged in an argument with itself. She is not sure which side is winning
The world around her is pulling her one direction then to another. Her heart is filled with uncertainty. She is not positive which way she should go
She decides to stop fighting the inevitable lack of sleep and against her trues desires, she exits the warmth of the bed and moves into the kitchen where she can get her morning fix of caffeine and maybe decide on when to talk to her husband all the while beginning to fix breakfast for her brood.
She has just finished her second cup of coffee and has finished the bacon. She is mixing the ingredients for waffles and is looking out the kitchen window at a beautiful view of the ocean and the serenity of this place when she thinks she hears a sound coming from the master bedroom. It sounds like her husband rising and heading her way
/\/\/\/\/\
Richard Castle wakes to an empty bed. He speaks softly to see if his wife is in the master suite, in the dressing room, or in the bath room but no response comes. He knows she has left the area
He stands and puts his robe around himself and moves quietly into the main portion of the house.
As he nears the kitchen he catches the aroma of breakfast in process
Coffee, Bacon, and an aroma that definitely appears to be waffles
He stops in his forward motion to take in the sight before him. Standing at the sink, looking outside is the tall, slender, stunning woman who has taken him for herself. Stolen his heart and insinuated herself into every fiber of his body
He can tell that she has already been up for some time as the morning meal is almost complete.
He has begun to wonder what is happening inside her mind right now. On one hand she seems distant with some thoughts pulling at her., distracting her. Yet at the same moment she is the same brilliant, loving, sensuous, and passionate woman he fell in love with so many years before
"Good morning babe" she speaks without even looking up from her cooking duties
Rickard Castle walks up behind the sexy woman he is married to and wraps his arms around her. From the back he leans into the back of her neck and places a kiss to the soft skin behind her right eat drawing a soft 'hum' to emanate from somewhere deep inside her body and she leans back into his embrace
"Smell's delightful" He remarks as he tries to reach around her attempting to benefit from the distraction and grab a slice of bacon from the plate
His hand draws back quickly stinging from a slap delivered by a cooking spatula being wielded by his wife "Ouch!"
"You can wait until everyone else is up before getting your share of this" Kate laughs at her husband's antics
He pulls her tighter and speaks softly into her ear "I can think of something I don't want to share"
Again she leans back into him "Me too, but we need to get the children fed first"
Castle steps away from Kate thinking this might not be the best time to talk about what is going on inside her and picks up the coffee carafe instead and pours himself a cup and refills Kate's as well
Just as he does a pair of bare feet can be heard running across the room. "Morning you two" Kate remarks again without even turning around"
She hears Jimmy tell his little sister "SEE. I told you mommy has eyes in the back of her head. She didn't even look to see us coming"
The tiniest Castle is heard to answer "Yeah! Mommy sees everything"
She looks Castle's direction and with a cute smirk on her face remarks back to the boy's comment "I am fixing waffles. Who wants one?"
Both respond ME! ME!" then from higher up the stairs an older female voice is heard "Me too" as Alexis turns the corner"
"Sit down and they will be ready in just a minute" Beckett pours batter in to the waffle iron and closes the lid
Just as the third waffle comes off the grill the voices of Martha and Jim can be heard from the top of the stairs. Jim is asking Martha about her upcoming performance at the playhouse
As they enter the kitchen Kate turns to them "Waffles are almost ready"
"Katherine darling. That smells so good. Thank you" Martha responds followed quickly by Jim
"Katie, the aroma makes me hungry. Thank you"
Castle takes out two additional coffee cups, fills them and places them in front of Martha and Jim
Looking up from the breakfast plates, Martha asks "What is happening with you two today?" directing the question at her son and daughter-in-law
Rick turns to answer "We were hoping you or Jim might watch the kids while Kate and I do little investigating in town on the murdered man we found in the lighthouse yesterday"
When Castle remarks about the "murdered man" Kate seems to flinch and looks over at her children then back at her husband and gives him 'The Look'. "Can we change the conversation while the kids are close by?"
He understands her desires "Yes. We can talk about other things"
Martha also can tell that Kate does not want the conversation over breakfast and in front of the children to center on murdered persons "I think I would be able to give these two a trip around town today. In fact I think I heard something about a carnival opening on the parking lot down by the shopping center"
She looks at her grandchildren "would you two like to go there today?"
The response is immediate and loud "YES! Yes Grams"
Kate looks at her two children and speaks "you finish your breakfast then go get ready and grams will take you to ride the rides"
The speed that the meal is completed is almost immediate
After the two head back upstairs to get ready for their day Alexis turns to her parents "I got a text from Agent Fallon this morning. He said that he will read us in on the case that Agent Walker was working on when he was murdered, so I am going to get dressed and head over to the morgue to finish the autopsy. Will I see you two there?"
Castle answers her "After I finish cleaning up the kitchen and get dressed, Kate and I will be there"
Alexis leaves the house heading to the morgue and Kate returns to their room while Rick begins cleaning up the kitchen. While he is doing this, he asks a question to the two most senior family members in the room
"Have either one of you noticed anything going on with Beckett?"
Martha responds first "Why no darling. Is something wrong?"
"No…No. I just wondered if you might have noticed her asking questions or making comments that don't seem like her?"
Jim, being the most experienced with the woman answers "Katie does seem distracted."
"Distracted? Distracted how?"
"Like she has something on her mind and is not sure if she wants to talk about it yet or not" Jim looks directly at Rick "Son. She is your wife and I know you are concerned about her, but believe me she is just trying to work something out in her head and when she is ready, she will tell you what it is"
"I know, Jim. It's just that in all the years I have known her, this time this seems more passionate"
"Well she is a passionate person"
"Oh…don't I know it" Castle looks toward the bedroom
Rick enters the master suite to find his wife sitting on the edge of the bed. She has not yet dressed
He sits down beside his wife and pulls her into an embrace "Kate…what's wrong?"
Leaning into his shoulder "Nothing is WRONG, per say…I have just been thinking about some things"
"What kind of things?"
"ME…you…us…our family"
'Kate. Everything is great in this family. Great with you. Great for me. Great with the children. Great all the way around"
Not raising her head "I know it is"
"Then what is going on?"
"I want it to stay great"
"Why would it not stay great?"
She keeps her head on his shoulder "If I stopped being a cop?...Would you stop loving me?"
This comment catches him totally off guard. This is not a question he ever contemplated…especially from his wife
Pulling her tighter "Where is this coming from?"
"You fell in love with a cop…if I stopped being a cop you might fall out of love with me"
He pulls her face up to meet his. "I fell in love with a woman who happened to be a cop. I will never fall out of love with that same woman even if she stopped being a cop. Is there some reason you are asking this? Is it because you said you might retire from the force?"
She nods her head
"Kate, if you did retire, I will definitely still love you as much as I do…no change that. I will keep loving you more and more on each passing day for the rest of our lives"
"Really?"
"And why are you thinking about retiring?"
A pause fills the air then her answer "I want my family safe…happy…Not dealing with the life I have led with dead bodies and killers. I want my children to grow up playing like I see them when we are here. You know Normal"
"Kate. I am their father. There is nothing normal about this"
He feels her laugh against him "True"
"So Kate, You want to keep the family we have and you think to do that you need to leave the police department and you think I love you only because you are a cop and you would lose the family if you stay a cop?"
He feels her head nod. Again he pulls her face up to meet him "Kate. Even though I fell in love with a cop, I grew more in love for the woman behind the badge. And then she became the mother of my children and more love came again"
"I don't want you to think less of me"
"That will never happen. And besides, look at all the extra time we would have in this room here" He points at the bed
A gentle slap is put on his chest "I thought we already do pretty good in that department"
"You have heard no complaints from me"
Her smile fills her face "Me too"
"Besides, you are still the hottest thing in a mini skirt and stilettos"
Another thump is felt on his chest. She cuddles a moment longer then looks up "We better get going. We do have a murder to solve and our daughter might just beat us to it. She is very good you know"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
When they arrive at the morgue, Alexis is working on the body. She hears the voices of her mom and dad as they enter the area "Hey guys, I am almost finished with this part of the procedure
"Give me a minute "Alexis remarks "and I will joint you two in the office"
Castle and Beckett are waiting in the coroner office when Agent Mark Fallon arrives
"Where is Dr. Castle?"
"She is just finishing up" Beckett answers just as the doors opens and she walks in
"Agent Fallon" Alexis remarks "You have any information you can give me on my victim?"
"Yes. I have been given permission to read all of you into the case" He steps back then turns toward the trio "Agent Lance Walker is assigned to an interdiction team. His job is to locate and report possible foreign terrorists entering the country. He received creditable information that there was a group planning on entering the country by coming into a seaside port such as the ones on Long Island. Just dock their boat and enter the country unnoticed"
"What would he be doing in the lighthouse?" Castle asks
"The report he received said they were planning on entering at night so he was planning on watching for them from the lighthouse"
"Why was he alone?" Beckett inquires
"It was not considered a dangerous assignment so his partner was not on the ground that night"
"That explains the light being off that night. Has he been up there several times before?" Beckett asks "There are multiple reports of the light being off…"
Before she can finish her husband jumps in "and ghosts…I mean eerie lights have been seen at the top"
Fallon has an odd look on his face "No. the other night was the first time he was there"
Castle can be seen grinning again "That means there really has been…"
Kate points at him "If you say ghosts, I'm sending you home"
Alexis finally speaks up "Well, ghost or no ghost, our victim and your agent was murdered by a knife. A very sharp knife with an unusual blade"
Alexis pulls out her autopsy drawing of the blade
The image causes both Castle and Beckett to draw in sharp breaths
The knife image is identical to the blade that was used twenty years ago in an alley in New York.
The same blade used to kill Johanna Beckett
UH OH!