Disclaimer: I barely own a free minute at the moment (to upload this I had to stay awake longer than usual and will be tired tomorrow but it's worth it). And I also don't own anything of Castle. Life's not fair.
Soo, there are a lot of things happening in this chapter. Some smut, a time leap, and a few things to set the further direction of this story. I wrote this about two or three weeks ago and rereading it before uploading I didn't really like it anymore. I changed a few things but I'm still not entirely convinced by the way this chapter turned out. But since the following seven chapters are already written I don't want to change too much and have to start all over again. So now you'll have to deal with it. But maybe you'll still enjoy it. At least I hope so!
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He was standing behind her under the shower. His body pressed close to hers, his hands roaming over her naked, wet, and soapy body. She leaned her head back against his shoulder as his hands seemed to be everywhere on her. The hot water ran down over their bodies and she turned her head to find his lips. He pressed his mouth to hers and kissed her with all he had.
When his hand reached the spot between her legs she parted them slightly, moaning into his mouth. He let himself glide between her legs, begging her to let him in. When she didn't pull away from him he pressed his upper body down on hers so they had to bend over and rest their hands on the wall to keep the balance. She groaned when he placed himself before her entrance and it cost her all her willpower to not let him go on.
"We can't…" His lips kissed her neck and she leaned into his touch. It was almost too much to resist. "I want to feel you." He whispered. The sex with her was amazing. But he was so desperate to feel her again without that damn layer of plastic between them. "I know." She whispered. "I want that too. But we can't." Cradling all her strength together she turned around and broke their touch. He groaned in frustration but immediately pulled her close to him again. "One week." She whispered as she took him in her hand and started to stroke him up and down. "In one week I have my appointment and I promise I'll find another option." She couldn't stand their current method of contraception just as little as he did.
He groaned, partly in agreement partly because of her touch. And he hoped this week would pass as fast as the last one. As she kept on sliding her hand up and down on him, his hand searched its way back between her thighs. That wasn't what he wanted but it seemed like it was all he could get right now. Her touch intensified and so did his, their breathing and moaning becoming faster and louder with every movement. It didn't take long until they were resting their bodies against each other while the water washed away the remains of their previous actions.
As soon as her breathing had normalized a little Kate stepped out of the shower and Castle followed her, turning off the water. She grabbed one of his towels and began to dry her hair and skin. She wrapped the towel around her body and walked over to the bag resting on a chair in the corner of the room. She pulled out the pile of clothing she had packed for today and started to dress.
Castle watched her with a soft smile as he started to get ready himself. It had taken him three more days to convince her to pack a bag and stay overnight, even though his mother and Alexis were home. She had been reluctant but at some point had given in to his pleading. That evening they'd had dinner together with Martha and Alexis and Kate had to admit it had been nice. And when they had been laughing at breakfast the next morning together while Martha was rehearsing a dramatic monologue in front of them because she had an audition later that day, she fully had to admit her worries had been without a reason. The two women welcomed her into their family and she was more than grateful for that.
The rest of the week went by in a blur. They had mainly spent it at the loft, just sometimes going back to Kate's place so she could pack new things. By the end of the week, her dresser was becoming more and more empty and she realized she would have to bring her stuff back or she would be moving in with him without noticing. Not that he seemed to mind. He enjoyed every second they spent together and he didn't miss a chance to let her know.
When Kate had mentioned on Sunday that she should better be staying at her place that night since they would return to the precinct the next day, he had simply taken her bag and went on to pack anything he could find. "You don't actually believe I'll let you do that." He had said while he stuffed some underwear into the bag, curiously eyeing a red string. She had laughed and snatched the bag away from him, placing the red string back in the drawer for which she received a disappointed look. She had known she didn't really want to spend the night away from him. And as long as they wouldn't arrive at the precinct together everything should be fine.
Now it was Monday morning and she was sitting at the counter, trying to get down some breakfast. She was nervous about their first day back. Partly because she feared she and Castle, particularly Castle, wouldn't be able to keep what was going on from their coworkers. After all, they were all cops and trained to detect secrets. And the other reason was that she worried about how the dynamics inside their team might have changed after what happened with Maddox. She had received a call from Esposito a couple of days ago telling her that he would also be returning to the team under the same conditions as her. But hearing what he said about his talk with Gates he had received a much harder treatment than her. Probably because Captain Gate's nerves had already been maxed out by her appearing in her office earlier that day and then also daring to ask to let Castle come back.
But Esposito didn't seem to care very much about Gates yelling at him. His problems were lying with Ryan. They hadn't talked to each other after what happened on the rooftop and Kate was anxious about the two men meeting again. But she figured the two of them would have to solve their problems on their own.
She was torn out of her thoughts when Martha entered the kitchen. "Good morning, my dear." She said, softly touching Kate's shoulder. Kate smiled at her and replied with a warm "Good morning." She was getting used to her being around and she kind of even liked it. "So are you two excited? Today is your big day, isn't it?" Martha asked, taking a seat next to Kate. "Not that big, Mother." Castle replied and handed the red-haired woman a cup of coffee. "We'll try to do our work, just like the last four years." "You mean, I'll be trying to do my work while you'll be standing in the way most of the time." Kate interrupted and gave him a teasing smile. "That one hurt." He whispered clenching his eyes together.
"But aren't you excited about how your coworkers are going to react when they learn about your newly formed bond?" Martha interrupted. "Um, they won't." Castle said in a hesitant tone while looking at Kate, whose smile had faded a little. "We decided to keep it a secret until Kate's probation period is over so she won't get into trouble for dating a coworker." Martha raised his eyebrows at her son. "But I thought the two of you aren't officially coworkers. So why should that be a problem?" "We aren't sure about that." Kate replied. "But I know for sure that this is my last chance for a career within the police. So we decided to better play it safe."
Martha looked at both of them, then took a sip from her coffee. "Well, when you think that'll work out." She said and her tone suggested she had big doubts about that. "We hope so." Castle said and his voice made clear that this conversation was over. He didn't want Kate to feel more insecure about her first day back than necessary. Martha understood and smiled. "But if you feel the need to have a lesson or two about acting, I am willing to share my wisdom with you." She said and the mood instantly became much more lighter. Kate chuckled softly.
"Maybe I'll come back to that." She said. "I'll have to go now. Being late wouldn't make a good first impression." She looked at Castle and grinned. "You better wait a little longer before you go. You being late will perfectly fit your new 'role'." "When you keep on being mean to me like that I might consider not coming at all." She walked around the counter a gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "No, you won't." She breathed against his mouth and he felt a little shiver tickle down his spine. She walked away and took her bag from the table. "See you then, Martha." She said as she reached the door. "Goodbye! Have a good first day." Kate smiled and closed the door behind her.
Martha turned back towards her son who was still looking at the door. "So, you're convinced this is a good idea?" She asked him. "You know you'll be surrounded by detectives and honey, I don't want to offend you but you aren't quite that gifted when it comes to keeping secrets." Castle sighed. "I know. But I simply can't decline the chance to work with her again. That's what kept us together the last few years and I kind of fear what will happen when we don't have that anymore." Martha reached out for her son's hands. "Oh, darling. What you have with Katherine now is so much stronger than whatever was between the two of you in the last few years. Trust me, these last few days were more than enough for me to see that."
Castle smiled softly at his mother. "So you have no doubts about her anymore?" Martha returned his smile and shook her head. "I'm really happy about that." He sincerely said. "And also thank you for thinking we don't need the job to keep us together. "I'm sure you don't need that." She paused and he could see she weighed up if she should say what was on her mind. "Say it, Mother." Martha sighed. "I'm just a little worried your secrecy might cause you more problems than to stick with the truth." Castle didn't know what to say so he just shrugged his shoulders. "We will have to wait and see. But for now, I'm happy we just get to enjoy the time we have together." Martha nodded and got up, placing her empty cup on the counter. "I wish you two all the best." She said before disappearing back upstairs, leaving her slightly unsettled son behind.
When Kate walked into the bullpen she could nearly taste the tension in the air. She saw Captain Gates through the windows of her office but the woman didn't even look up. Kate was fine with that but she also had a feeling gaining her captain's trust back could be a little more tricky than she initially thought. Ryan came out of the break room and smiled when he saw her. "Beckett, it's good to have you back!" He came towards her and she could see he was tensed and expecting any possible reaction from her. But she sincerely returned his smile. "It's good to be back." Ryan's shoulders relaxed as he realized he wouldn't have to face a similar situation as he did with Esposito.
"So we're fine?" He quietly asked. Kate nodded. "Yes Ryan, we're fine. In fact, I would like to thank you for stepping in. If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be alive anymore." Ryan gave her a wary smile. "Well, Esposito sees that a little differently." She looked over to the other cop who was sitting at his desk and pretended to not see or hear anything around him. "He'll get over it." Kate stated. She had known Esposito long enough to know that he probably just needed a little more time. "I hope so." Ryan replied. He looked back at her and asked "So where's Castle?"
Kate looked at him a little shocked. "I don't know. Why would I know where he is?" Ryan seemed a little confused. "Gate's told me he would also be coming back so I thought he would be here today." Kate tried to calm her nerves and did her best to act normal. "Well, we'll see, I haven't seen him since last week." It came to her mind that she would have to tell Castle she said that so he didn't say anything wrong. Five minutes in and it was already getting complicated. "I'm glad he's coming back." Ryan said. "I bet the mood around here will be a lot better with his jokes and everything." He eyed Esposito who was still staring at a paper on his desk. "But to be honest, I wonder why Gates would let him back. In the past, it seemed like she'd rather get rid of him."
"That is because of my incredibly lovable personality no one can resist, even if they pretend to, Detective Ryan." Castle said as he strolled around the corner and then let himself fall into his chair next to Kate's desk. "And for the fact that the bunch of you would be unable to solve even one case without my assistance." Ryan laughed. "Hey, Castle! Man, it's good to see you!" Castle got back up and shook Ryan's hand. "You too buddy." "I think you're suffering from excessive self-esteem, Castle." Kate smiled. He gave her a cheeky look and answered "What Detective Beckett, you don't think I'm lovable?" For what he received a dead stare Ryan thankfully not interpreted as what it actually was. "Ah guys, I missed you around here." He genuinely smiled and walked back to his desk.
Castle's eyes followed him and came to rest on Esposito who still hadn't moved one inch. "What's up with Mr. Grumpy-face over there?" He asked. "Got his pride hurt." Kate replied dryly. "Look Castle, if we want this to work out you can't act this suspiciously." She whispered. He looked at her and smiled softly. "Kate, the most suspicious behavior would be to not tease you anymore. "And honestly, I don't think anyone around here is paying attention to us at all." He said looking around the room. "They are all busy with their own problems." And tilted his head towards Ryan and Esposito. "Especially these two." Kate took a deep breath. Maybe he was right and she was a bit paranoid. "Could you please try to keep it down a little anyway? That would be better for my nerves."
"I'll do my best." He smiled and had to fight the urge to reach out for her hand. This could be a lot harder than he thought. "Thanks." Kate murmured and sat down at her desk. Castle said down beside her and clapped his hands. "So, off to new adventures!" He grinned. "What do we have?" Kate pulled a pile of papers out of her drawer and let it fall to her desk with a dull sound. "This." She answered and Castle's smile faded. "I have a lot to catch up on." Castle shifted in his seat, making himself comfortable. "Well, then I'll just watch you and enjoy the sight." He said and she softly smiled at him. "Make the best of it, remember?"