Author's Note: I flew out from Melbourne to London the Saturday after In Plane Site aired, hence where the inspiration came from. This will be expanded out to a couple of chapters after spending all of last week running around London.
Chapter two – London's Calling
The Virgin Atlantic fight touched down at Heathrow at six twenty in the morning. Kate had managed to get a seat on the evening flight out of JFK the night before by the skin of her teeth. And while she'd flown her fair share of red eye flights during her life, nothing compared to sitting in a cylindrical metal tube for six hours worried sick about her husband and daughter.
Her daughter. Kate had been referring to Alexis as her daughter more and more in recent months. Kate was surprised at how quickly the bond between herself and the young redhead had grown, and how accepting Alexis had become, particularly since she'd finally married her dad.
Despite the fact her family had arrived safely in London, the thought of spending nearly two weeks separated from them after their horror ordeal across the Atlantic the day before was unacceptable. From her first phone conversation with Rick after the flights Air Marshal had been found murdered, to her watching their fight land safely via the airlines website, Kate thought of nothing but getting to both him and Alexis as quickly as she could.
As she cleared customs, Kate was glad she was in such a rush the night before that she only had time to pack a small overnight bag when she went home to collect her passport. Not having to waste time to collect luggage, Kate was in a taxi and on her way to the Four Seasons just before seven thirty.
'First time in London then luv,' the taxi driver asked a clearly distracted Kate.
'Um no,' she replied trying to keep her breathing under control. She knew the signs of an impending panic attack, and the lack of sleep over the past forty eight hours along with her husband being on the other side of the world had only added to her anxiety.
'Sorry about the traffic, bank holiday and all yesterday and now everybody's out and about again. You'd think people could survive twenty four hours without shopping' he apologised.
'Not a problem,' while not outright lying, Kate didn't feel the need to explain the reasons for her distraction to a perfect stranger.
She instead concentrated on the scenery going by the window. How quickly the buildings morphed from working class to old world London in a matter of miles. It must have rained last night as the roads were wet, but the greenery and trees shone from the cleansing downpour.
As the taxi finally pulled up in front of the hotel, Kate realised that in her haste she didn't have anything but American cash on her. The credit card transaction felt like forever as she paid the taxi driver, throwing him a quick thanks as she exited the car and ran into the hotel lobby.
Any other time Kate probably would have taken in opulent décor, but on this day she wouldn't have cared if she was running through a garbage dump so long as it go her to her husband and daughter.
The young woman at the lobby desk looked up from her paperwork and bestowed a kind smile on a clearly frazzled Kate as she ran up to the desk.
'Good morning,' the young woman…Alicia, the name on her name tag. Alicia, Alexis. She was so close to her family. 'Welcome to the Four Seasons, how may I help you this morning?'
'I'm here to see my husband Richard Castle,' Kate said in a rush, trying to catch her breath.
'Ok Mrs. Castle if I could just see some form of identification I'll be able to give you his room information,' Alicia asked. Clearly the young woman had experienced strangers trying to get information on celebrities in the past due to her tone changing from friendly to almost condescending.
Well shit Kate thought to herself. While she was legally Mrs. Kate Castle, all her identification still had her listed as Kate Beckett.
'I'm sorry but the only identification is in my maiden name Kate Beckett…,' Kate started.
'Kate Becket, ask in Nikki Heat,' Alicia asked excitedly, clearly star struck by the woman standing in front of her.
'If that gets me into my husband's room, yes Kate Becket AKA Nikki Heat,' Kate said. She was hanging onto her nerves by a thread and just wanted to see her daughter, ravish her husband, have a shower and spend the next week in bed whilst ravishing her husband.
'I'm sorry Mrs Castle, but you can understand the need for security and privacy of our guests,' Alicia apologised. The young woman was clearly remorseful for her previous display of exuberance.
'It's ok, I've just had a hell of a forty eight hours,' Kate's impatience was starting to win out and she just wanted to get upstairs.
'Ok here you go Mrs Castle, Mr Castle and your daughter Alexis are in penthouse suit one,' the young woman explained. 'When you get in the lift, you'll need to swipe your key card to get to the top floor, your room is to the left as you exit the lift,' she said. 'Do you need any help with your luggage?'
'No thank you, I only have a small bag,' Kate said as she took the key card and turned towards the lifts. 'Thanks for your help,' she said walking away from the lobby desk. She was a short elevator ride away from her family.
Kate couldn't stop fidgeting as the elevator started to move up towards to the top floor. Thankfully she was the only passenger so she didn't have to stop on any other floors on the way up. Watching the floor numbers light up as they went past their respective floors, Kate willed the small metal box to go faster. Now if this was a raggedy man in his little blue box she could have gone back in time and prevented the past twenty four hours from happening in the first place.
Kate suppressed an almost manic giggle as she realised how much her husband and daughter's love of the Doctor had rubbed off on her.
The lift doors opening brought Kate out of her thoughts and there was now only a hallway and a door separating her from her husband. Kate had to restrain herself from running down the hall like a maniac, opting instead for a brisk walk. On checking her watch just before she inserted the key card into the door, she realised that by eight fifteen both occupants of the room would probably be up and having breakfast.
The room however was silent as she entered, gently closing the door and lowering her bag to the ground. The blinds were still drawn and there was no sign of anyone awake as she made her way through the living area that separated the two bedrooms. Realising she had no idea who was sleeping in either room, Kate She decided to check the occupant of the room to the right first.
As quietly as she could, Kate opened the bedroom door. She could make out a large silhouette in the bed, meaning she'd found Rick first. Wasting no time and not caring that she was still wearing yesterday's clothes, and hadn't showered in twenty four hours she practically sprinted to the bed that contained her husband.
'Kate?' Rick slurred as he was roused from a jetlag induced sleep.
'Rick!' Kate sobbed as she wrapped herself around her husband. Rick held his wife tightly as she sobbed into his neck, whispering words of comfort to her.
'Kate, hush my beautiful Kate,' he murmured as Kate grabbed fists full of the t-shirt he was wearing. It was almost like she was tethering herself to him; grounding herself in the reality that he was safe and in her arms.
'Oh Rick…..I couldn't….,' was all she could get out before uncontrollable sobbing consumed her once again.
Rick pulled back slightly, gently framing her face with his large hands. As one thumb reverently wiped away the tears from her left cheek, his other hand softly smother her unruly hair behind her right ear.
'Oh sweetheart,' he soothed as he gently nuzzled her cheek with his lips.
'Where's Alexis,' she asked, responding to her husband's soothing touch. She was just so tired but knew she wouldn't rest until she'd seen her daughter as well. To confirm in her mind that both her husband and daughter were safe.
'She's asleep in her room,' he whispered. 'She'd planned on going out with friends last night, but after the flight from hell she wanted to stay close by,' Kate smiled knowing that even though Alexis pretended she hated it, she really was her daddy's little girl.
'I'm just going to go check on her,' Kate said as she reluctantly untangled herself from Rick's arms. 'I'll be back shortly,' rising from the bed, Kate give him a shy smile before turning to leave the room.
Kate made her way across the vast living room and dining area that separated the two bedrooms. She smiled when she realised Rick would have no problems ravishing her without having to worry about their daughter listening to what they were up to. Kate could feel herself blush at where her thoughts had gone just as she about to enter her daughter's bedroom. Jerry Springer eat your heart out.
Quietly Kate opened the door to Alexis's room and softly padded over to her bed, thankful she'd removed her boots before leaving the other room.
The morning sunlight was filtering through the semi closed blinds, and she could make out the young red head's form buried under the bedclothes.
Kate gently sat down in the small space beside Alexis on the bed and softly smoothed back the hair that had fallen across red head's face noting that for a young woman of small stature, she took up an awful lot of bed. Alexis stirred and stretched at Kate's ministrations before settling again.
'Mom?' Alexis asked as she gradually woke up.
'No sweetie, it's Kate,' she replied, but she felt a small thrill in the small of her stomach at being called mom. The word had been bandied around over the past couple of months, but Alexis hadn't come outright and called her mom.
'Same thing,' Alexis said, her voice thick with sleep. But the way Alexis said it left no room for argument. 'What are you doing here?' she asked.
'I had to make sure you and your dad were ok…I just couldn't go another two weeks without seeing you,' she said as she caressed the young girls cheek.
Alexis sat up and threw herself into Kate's arms burrowing her head into Kate's neck. Kate could feel the tears threatening again and couldn't contain the sob that escaped her. She held onto her daughter tightly, gently rocking them both from side to side giving them both the comfort they desperately needed.
Alexis must have sensed Kate's exhaustion as she pulled away from the woman she was looking at more and more as her mother every day. Alexis moved backwards in the bed while throwing the bedcovers to the side.
Kate was past the point of exhaustion, both physically and emotionally. Laying down next to the young woman, Kate was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Alexis pulled the covers over them and snuggled into her mom's arms and fell back to sleep.
That's how Rick found Kate and his daughter after wondering what was taking so long for his wife to come back to bed.
Easing himself into the small space beside his wife on the bed, Rick wrapped himself around and placed a chase kiss on her shoulder as he too fell returned to land of sleep.