City

Chapter 3

Rick's face lit up when Kate answered the door. "Hi, Kate. Ready to go to dinner?" Rick crooked his elbow out for her to take.

"All set." Kate took his arm and walked out of her apartment.

They went down to the ground floor to the closest cafeteria, and right away, they found a table. "They're serving stew today. I looked it up," Rick told her. "It has your vegetables in it, except for the carrots, since you can't grow those."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Kate said. That was until she got her bowl. "Maybe not." She changed her mind and waited for Rick to try his. Kate watched him eat. "Well?"

"It's not bad," Rick replied and continued to eat.

So Kate took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. "Not bad at all." She ate more.

"Tell me about Kate Beckett."

"I went to Ohio State University for their Hydroponic Crop Program and graduated second in my class. New England Hydroponics Cultivation Retail Associate, Greencoast Hydroponics, Marlborough, Massachusetts. That's where the Company found me and offered me the job. I was surprised since they hadn't even started building the ship.

"My dad told me to take the job. My dad was a lawyer. He died a year before the ship was finished." Kate lowered her head. She didn't like talking about it.

Rick reached out and held her hand. "I'm sorry. At least that spared him from the insanity that was to come."

"Yeah." Kate had to admit that it was a madhouse toward the end. There were people sure they would be selected to go on the ship but weren't, and it appeared there wouldn't be another one. In the end, even the security guards turned on them. They wanted on it too.

"Dad wasn't going to be selected anyway."

"That doesn't make it hurt any less. Look at me. I attended Ohio State University Vet School. I finished first in my class and got a job in Georgia, of all places. That was where the Company found me. They offered me the job, and I jumped at it. I was supposed to be the second vet. But the mad house happening at the end prevented the other vet from making it. I almost didn't make it. It was nuts." Rick shook his head, remembering what he went through to get on board.

"Parents?" Kate asked.

"My mother was killed in New York City."

"Oh!" Kate knew what had happened in New York City and that it wasn't pretty. "I'm sorry." Kate squeezed his hand. "And your father?"

"I never knew him. He was a one-night stand with my mother. I never missed what I didn't have. What about your mother?"

"She was in New York City too."

Rick gently squeezed her hand. "It seems we have something in common. Even if it is a bad memory."

Kate could agree to that. She changed the topic since she wanted off the sad memories. "Enough about New York City. Girlfriends? Never married?"

"Nope, never married, never even came close. I thought about one of my girlfriends, though. She was a nurse in Georgia. She took a job in Texas, and I didn't follow her. I could have but didn't." Rick studied her face when he asked, "You?"

She shook her head. "No, never married. I never came close. My last boyfriend…well, he was a biker. I was attracted to bad guys at the time. Then I got my job and didn't date anyone since I was dedicated to my job. I couldn't believe it when they offered me the job on the ship. I jumped at it."

Rick smiled at that. "Bad boys, huh?" he teased.

"Yeah, it wasn't a good decision on my part. I'm glad that phase is over." Kate took her hand back. She wasn't going to tell him about her pregnancy scare. It scared her straight. No more bad boys for her. No more dating at all, actually.

"No brothers or sisters?" Rick asked.

"Nope, I'm an only child. I kinda hope my parents are proud of me." She was where she wanted to be.

"Same here, and I know my mother is proud of me. She was proud of me when I got my first job. She worried about me up until then," Rick told her. "And I'm sure they're proud of you, Kate. You worked hard to get where you are."

They finished eating and were just talking. They talked about all kinds of things, right up to when Rick checked what time it was. "I gotta run if I'm going to catch the last train, it's a long walk otherwise." He got up, followed by Kate. "Thank you for dinner." Rick took a risk and kissed her on the lips. It was a quick kiss, and Kate barely had time to kiss him back. Then she watched him turn and run for the train.

Smiling, she touched her lips and watched him run off. She would like it if he stayed, but Kate knew he needed to run. The Stockyards weren't all that close to her, and yes, it would be a long walk for him if he missed the last train.

The train was more of a monorail that looked like a segmented insect. It was full of round windows, and it hung from a track. There wasn't just one train; there were lots of them, but if Rick missed one…

She wouldn't know if he had made the train for another two days. She would spend the next day at her Hydroponics.

~oo0oo~

It turned out that she didn't have to wait that long. Rick showed up at her Hydroponics the very next day. It was later in the day. "Rick, what are you doing here?"

"I came to help. You help me, so I should help you," Rick said. "Put me to work, tell me what to do."

Kate was surprised for a moment. "Um, sure. We're pulling all these to take to market. You can help with that. Just pull the plants out and cut off the roots like this." Kate demonstrated what to do. "Got it?"

"Got it." Rick pulled one, cut off the roots, and showed it to her.

"Just like that. Then you put it in this container here." Kate watched him do that and started working.

She looked at him from time to time and smiled while he worked.

"You should kiss him," Zoey told Kate, who quickly moved on so Kate couldn't say anything back. Kate watched her retreat and then looked at Rick.

She decided there was no time like the present. Kate walked over to where Rick was working and waited for the right time. Then she grabbed his face and kissed him. "Thank you," Kate told him and kissed him again. This time she got kissed in return. She released him and went to work, leaving Rick standing there smiling.

~oo0oo~

"Thanks, Rick. We can take it from here." Kate needed to start new plants, and that was more involved.

"Glad I could help. See you tomorrow?" Rick wanted to be sure she was going to show up.

"I'll be there even if it is stinky. I'll probably be feeding the pigs again."

"Probably." Rick smiled and kissed her cheek. He offered her some incentive to show up tomorrow. "Try not to be late. Maybe you can go horseback riding again."

"I'll be there." Kate smiled at him and watched him leave.

Zoey was standing next to her. "Did you kiss him?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes, I kissed him. Happy now?"

"Almost as happy as you are. Rick seems nice. Keep it up." Zoey smiled approvingly and walked away.

"I intend to, Zoey. I intend to," Kate said to herself.

~oo0oo~

Kate arrived early the next day and found Rick hooking up the milk cows to the milking machine. She stood there quietly. He hadn't noticed her yet. It gave her a chance to watch him work.

She decided to go and feed the pigs without being told to. It was easy enough to accomplish.

Rick caught up to her as she stood there watching the pigs eat. "There you are. You're right where I need you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"I'm expecting a delivery of leftover food that goes into the cooker. Speak of the devil. There it is now." Rick watched a truck drive up.

Like everything in the city, the truck was electric-powered. The driver got out. "Greetings, Castle. I've got another delivery for you."

"You know the deal. I'll help you hook up." Rick helped him get out the hose and connect it to the cooker. "Fire it up."

The driver fired up the pump and pumped the remnants into the cooker. They all watched it work. Kate thought it was simple. She didn't have to do anything but watch.

Then she watched him unhook and put the hose away. "See you in two days, Castle," the driver said, and Rick waved at him as he rolled away.

"That was easy enough," Kate commented.

"Now I heat up the cooker and let it cook for eighteen hours." Rick walked over to the controls and increased the cooker's temperature. Like everything else on this ship, it was electric. "It should be ready for use by tomorrow. Now I need to check on the chickens. Thankfully it's all automated. I need to thin some of the flock for slaughter."

Kate watched as it automatically fed and watered the chickens. Then she watched as a wall separated a section of them. "How do they make it to slaughter? How does any of this make it to slaughter?"

"It's easy enough," Rick replied. "A team shows up and hauls them to slaughter. The cows get loaded up, much like the chickens and the pigs. A truck arrives, and they're loaded and taken to slaughter, where it's all automated."

"Hm, sounds simple," Kate murmured.

"It is...until someone escapes, which happens occasionally," Rick told her. "You want to watch it happen? It'll be happening in a couple of hours for the chickens."

"Sure," Kate nodded.

"In the meantime, how about a horse ride?" Rick was almost sure Kate would jump at the chance.

Kate clapped her hands together; she was excited to ride again. "Yes, please!"

~oo0oo~

"Okay, you're all set. I'm not going to help you this time. You're on your own." Rick stood back and watched as Kate worked at getting on her horse. He watched as she put one foot in the stirrup and tried to mount the horse. He did his best not to laugh.

Frustrated, Kate gave up. "HELP!"

Rick gave her some guidance. "The trick is to grab the saddle horn while you try. Use it to pull yourself up while you push with your right foot."

She stared at him. "That won't pull the saddle off?"

"Not if I put the saddle on correctly, which I did."

Kate gave it a try and was able to do it on the first try. "I did it!"

"Now let me adjust the length of the stirrups, and you're all set." Rick fixed the stirrups and stood back. "All right, go where you want to go." He released her and watched her walk the horse around. "Kick her a little bit," Rick urged.

"NO WAY!" Kate wasn't doing that. If she did, the horse would go faster, and she definitely didn't want to do that.

"COWARD!" Rick yelled and laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him.

~oo0oo~

Rick put the saddle away and released the horse. He checked his watch. "Time to do my rounds, starting with the piglets."

"That's right, the piglets." Kate was excited to see the baby pigs. She wanted to check whether they were still cute. She walked over to their pen and smiled. They were still cute. They were young enough to be adorable. "To think that I'm going to be eating these someday." That just seemed wrong to her.

"In a couple of years, yes. I have another mother pig. Want to see her? She hasn't given birth yet and won't for weeks still." Rick took her to see her.

"She's huge." Kate noticed that right off.

Next up was the beef cows, which they didn't get too close to, mostly because they didn't let them.

"Is that normal?" Kate asked.

"They're beef cows. We don't handle them very much, so they tend to be wild. But they all look healthy, which is good," Rick noted. "The milk cows are milking, so the horses are next. You hold their head while I look at their feet." Kate did as Rick wanted. She grabbed hold of a head and held it while Rick checked their feet. "The horses all look good. Now it's time to take a look at your pigs." Rick grinned, knowing that would get Kate going.

"Oh, so they're MY pigs now?" Kate eyed him and listened to him burst out laughing.

~oo0oo~

"All your pigs seem to be in good shape," Rick said, holding back another smile. "We'll check the milk cows after the milking finishes. What should we do while we wait?"

"You can show me where you live. You've seen where I live." Kate waited expectantly.

"I can do that. It's this way." Rick started walking, and Kate hurried to keep up.

Kate was walking up a set of stairs. She had seen these stairs but assumed it was something else. "You live above the barn?"

"Yep, it's just me and the hay." Rick opened the door and let her go in first.

"This is nice." Kate looked around. It wasn't like anything she expected to find. She walked around. "You have a kitchen. I don't have a kitchen." She looked it over and left that room. "You have a separate bedroom! I only have just one room. I used to share it with my roommate. But my roommate is dead, so I live alone now." Kate walked in and looked around. "You have a closet! I don't have a closet."

She exited the bedroom. "You have a kitchen." She couldn't get over that. "Do you use it?" She looked, and it certainly looked like he used it.

"Every day. Mostly I eat breakfast and lunch here. I eat dinner at the local cafeteria," Rick stated. So that everyone was fed, three cafeterias were divided evenly across the ship.

Kate turned and found herself face-to-face with Rick. She looked up at him and willed him to kiss her. This time, she wanted it. Almost like he could read her mind, Rick kissed her, a long wonderful kiss. She kissed him back and slipped her arms around his neck while kissing him. Then, Rick broke from the kiss. "I should probably take the cows off the milker now." It meant he still had work to do, so there would be no more kissing.

Kate took her arms from around his neck and stepped back. "Yeah, probably."

"You can wait here or come with me." Rick waited patiently for her answer.

Kate was conflicted. If she stayed here, it would likely lead to sex. She had had sex on a first date before, but that was during her wild phase. She was concerned that if she had sex now, there might not be a second time. Kate made up her mind. "I'll wait." It was a risk, but it was a risk she was willing to take.

Rick left and went back to work.

~oo0oo~

Rick returned to find Kate sitting on the sofa. She stood, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him. She kept kissing him. Rick took a risk and placed both hands on her breasts. When she didn't stop him and kept kissing him, he began caressing her breasts through her bra.

Kate took her arms from around his neck and started removing her top while smiling at him. Rick took the opportunity to remove his shirt. Then she took off her bra and put her arms back around his neck, kissing him. His hands went back on her now bare breasts. Kate moaned from the contact.

She knew where his bedroom was and broke from the kiss and led him into his bedroom, where she stepped out of her shoes and slipped off her pants. Rick did the same.

~oo0oo~

This area contains M-rated material. If this is not to your liking, you can stop reading now and move on to the next chapter.

~oo0oo~

Kate lay on his bed, on her back, and watched as Rick worked his way up her legs, kissing all the way. Then he was eating her pussy. Kate spread her legs wide, allowing him access. She was soon moving all over the bed, trying to get away from his tongue while at the same time, she had hold of his head, holding him in place. She eventually climaxed, coming all over his face. She was winding down from her orgasm while Rick kissed his way up her body. He was kissing her, and she could taste herself on his lips. She felt his erection at her entrance and willed him to enter her. She wanted him to fuck her and fuck her hard. She moaned when he entered her.

Rick continued to kiss her while fucking her. She wrapped her arms around him and eventually her legs as well. Rick continued to fuck her.

Kate pulled away from his kiss long enough to scream through her orgasm.

Rick slowed down and pulled out of her. He then turned her over and entered her from behind. He was fucking her doggie style now. Kate looked back at him fucking her. "Harder… Faster," Kate panted. She needed him to speed up and fuck her harder.

Rick climaxed inside her and froze while he spent himself in her. Then he pulled out of her and plunged into her ass. Kate cried out at that intrusion. She had done that before but not often. He made it past her sphincter muscle so fast she didn't have a chance to react. He continued to fuck her in her ass.

Over time Kate realized she enjoyed it. Rick climaxed in her ass at the same time that Kate did. He stayed inside her until he softened. Then he pulled out and collapsed onto the bed.

Kate got on top of him and kissed him over and over again.