Kate's eyes begin to slowly open to a new day before her, just as she has done for the last, almost 10 years, she is beside the man she loves. Not just beside him. Held tightly in his embrace keeping her warm
This is one of the things about her marriage that she probably loves the most. The warm beginning of a new day. Her body rested. Mostly. Her mind cleared and ready to start anew
When her eyes are fully open, she finds herself eye to eye with her man.
He has the look of someone who has everything he has ever wanted and more. Even though this is not new to them, to wake up wrapped together, it still always feels fresh and new
"You're staring…"
"At least it is not creepy" he smiles
"Maybe a little?" she snuggles into his chest
He slides his hand through her hair and gently caresses the back of her neck. This causes her eyes to flutter closed and her to let out a soft hum indicating her reaction to his ministrations
"Kate…I love you"
Opening her eyes "I love you too"
"Tell me something…"
"OK" she responds
"How is it that after all these years, it is like we are still on our honeymoon? You and me?"
Pulling her arm out from the covers and wrapping around her husband "You complaining? Mr. Castle?"
"Far from it Mrs. Castle…" he answers "Kate you make me regret having not met you first. Not being together from the first moment we met. What we have built together, your passion…"
After a moment of silence, she remarks "I told you once that you make me feel this way. You brought out my passion"
Another moment of quiet passes she continues"That is why I wanted to make sure we are still good...you and me. If I step away from the police, we will still be good. At this. I want us to be good. If I stay on the force, we are still good too"
"Don't you ever worry about that"
They lay together quietly for several more minutes when Kate finally remarks "we need to get up. The kids and our parents will be up soon and I don't think having our children come in here and find their parents naked in bed would be a good way of advancing their education on the birds and the bees. This is way beyond what they need at their age"
"So true Mrs. Castle. But I want you to know I do plan to resume this activity later on tonight…"
She continues his thought "and every night"
"Always"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Properly dressed the couple have entered the kitchen and are beginning the breakfast preparation when Castle notices they are almost out of milk. He holds the last half empty gallon jug up for Kate to see
"These two growing youngsters are sponges when it comes to their milk "Kate remarks "I will run down to the corner store and grab some more…do we need anything else?" as she walks toward the door grabbing her car keys
Castle is looking through the cabinets and refrigerator "No…I don't think so…hurry back"
"I will" Kate quickly returns to her husband, giving him a kiss, then she is out the door. Castle hears the car start and the crunch of her tires on the gravel driveway as she pulls out
Kate has been a part of this community for so many years now that when he enters the market she is greeted by name by the young woman behind the counter
"Hello Mrs. Castle" are the chipper words from the young raven haired, Heather Hightower, standing behind the counter beside the product scanner "You are up early this morning"
"Hey Heather. Running low of milk," She points toward the cooler on the wall and the shelves of milk "… and I told you to call me Kate...and you are also up early in the morning. I figured a teenage girl would still be in bed. I remember when I was a teenager, you couldn't drag me out of bed"
The young lady chuckles "Yes ma'am. My daddy told me to always call adults by their last name and I WOULD rather be in bed but this is a family business and all of us do our share with the responsibility of running the store"
Kate stops and looks at the youngster who is very dedicated to her family and taking her personal responsibility very seriously in taking care of business. She is impressed by her dedication "So this is a family owned business?" Kate questions
"Yes. My great-great grandfather began this as a general store back in the 1920's and it has stayed in the family all these years. Even through the great depression. He gave credit to anyone who needed it to buy food for their family and the store thrived when the people could pay him back"
Kate has reached to cooler and brought out two gallon bottles of the purchase and returned to the counter. She is thinking about how important family must be here on the island "I bet being part a family business is very gratifying"
She rings up the purchase "Yes it is. Everyone chips in and works to make sure we do well"
Kate comes up with a question "you are still in high school. Do you get to date? I mean you are still in high school"
The young woman responds "Oh yes. I work here but I manage to go out on many Friday nights. I am currently dating Vic Harrington…in fact he also works for his family business"
"OH?"
"He works for his dad at Harrington Hardware. They also are a long time family business"
"Really" Kate seems impressed by the family connections here "Are there more beside you and your boy friend?"
"Yeah. But most are just part time with the business...except Mandy. She works for her dad."
"Mandy that works at the party store?"
"Yeah her dad owns the store. It was sort of therapy"
"Therapy? Therapy for what?"
"He was in the war over in Afghanistan. He came home when his Mandy's mom was killed"
"Killed?" Kate perks up "How was she killed and what happened?"
"She was killed by a drunk driver on the LIE. Leaving Mandy alone so the service discharged him to return home, but he has not been the same since he got back"
"What do you mean?"
"At one time he was the coach of the girl's softball team. He and his daughter were close. I mean she worshiped him. Then he was deployed. And...well, he was not the same man when he came back"
"I guess losing your spouse would do that" Kate states
The young woman seems to have more on her mind "I think it was more than just that. He was different, more pulled back. He used to be at all the school events and now, no one ever sees him. He stays in the store. He watches over Mandy like a hawk. She can't even go to a school function without him giving her the third degree"
"Sounds like an over protective father to me"
"We all think he is afraid of loosing her too"
Kate returns to her Detective Captain Beckett mode "Do you know if he is seeing a therapist?"
"Mandy won't talk about it much. She has had a few problems herself with an old boyfriend that her dad didn't like and he got pretty angry about it but I think he does go the the VA regularly to try and get help"
Beckett is thinking for a moment then she pulls out her wallet and pays for her purchase "Heather, do you know if her dad was Special Forces or Delta or a Navy Seal?"
"Not specifically but Mandy said he did do some really hard stuff in the war and that is why he is the way he is. But she said is different since he came home"
"Different how?"
"I don't know. She seems to need to please him to keep the peace at home"
"Thank you Heather" as Kate turns and rushes out the door
When Beckett opens her car door and steps in, she finds an envelope waiting for her on the seat. She assumes it is from Agent Gray
/\/\/\/\/\/\
When she gets home she pulls Castle away from the children and shows him the contents of the brown folder. She can see his acceptance of the information contained on these pages "Kate, how are we going to handle this?"
Her response is firm yet understanding "Very carefully. We don't need any more things to happen here
/\/\/\/\/\
Beckett and Castle have arrived at the police station and are going inside to find the chief and several of his officers waiting for them
Beckett begins "We don't want a confrontation. Chief Brady had acquired a search warrant for the home When we arrive we must try to be understanding. He is a veteran and served this country If this man has PTSD we have to work with him and not let this rapidly escalate to an all out war if we are not careful so let's go slow with this"
Everyone acknowledges as the group heads out the door
I think one more chapter will finish this one. Then a quick Epilogue