Disclaimer: I don't own a funny idea for a disclaimer and I also don't own Castle.
Hello again from a very tired me who should already be sleeping but wanted to upload the next chapter on time. This internship really is one of the greatest experiences in my (work)life so far. But I'm not lying when I tell you it consumes every waking minute that I don't spend there or with my kids. So the thirty minutes it took to reread and upload this chapter were the only free time I had this week. But I enjoyed it and I hope you'll do too.
One more thing I'd like to add: This chapter involves Jim Beckett and while I wrote it I wondered why this scene felt so familiar. So I went to YouTube and rediscovered a deleted scene that I probably last watched about ten years ago. So this scene kind of inspired this chapter. Funny how my brain remembers stuff like that but can't manage a grocery list with more than three items.
Oh and thank you for the reviews!
Now I'm done with talking, here comes Chapter 9.
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As their first week back at the precinct progressed Kate slowly became more and more relaxed. She realized that Castle had been right and nobody was paying close attention to them. Ryan and Esposito still didn't talk to each other if there was any way to avoid it and Captain Gate's barely left her office. It seemed like everybody was still a little insecure about how they could find their way back to working together as a team. Two cases had come in that week. One was a quick solve, a husband murdered by the lover of his wife who figured with the husband out of the picture and his life insurance he and his girlfriend could live happily ever after. The second one had been a little bit tougher but by Friday the stepfather who had killed the tennis coach of his stepdaughter out of morbid jealousy as the girl fell for her coach was also behind bars.
Kate enjoyed being back to work even though the atmosphere was still tense. And she enjoyed being around Castle. Seeing him fooling around and being just as happy to be back made her heart feel light and she wished things could go on like this forever. She knew they most probably wouldn't but she pushed that knowledge far into the back of her mind. She wanted to make the best of it, just as he had said. And to her surprise, she found it way easier than she had thought it would be. Probably because she wasn't lying to herself anymore and could admit, at least to herself, that Castle was incredibly funny and she adored him. So for the two of them, the week went by in the blink of an eye, and keeping their little secret made going to work even a little bit more exciting.
Still, Castle was happy when the weekend arrived. Over the last few days, Kate had insisted on spending at least a couple of nights at her apartment. And because she didn't want Alexis to feel shut out she had forced him to stay home and spend time with his daughter. Not that he didn't like spending time with Alexis but when he went to bed and she wasn't there he missed her terribly. Kate had to admit she felt the same way but was still convinced it was better to keep things a little slow so Alexis had a chance to adjust to the new situation.
But when they left the precinct on Friday, of course in separate cars, he was looking forward to a full weekend with her. Alexis was gone for a girl's trip to visit colleges until next Wednesday and his mother could perfectly entertain herself. So he prepared everything at the loft so they could spend a relaxed weekend without the need to leave the house. After a week with three separate nights and days mostly spent at work, he had some things he would like to catch up on. Just as he stuffed a bag full of groceries into the fridge his cellphone rang and Kate's picture lit up the screen.
"You better don't tell me you'll be late. I have everything ready for the weekend and I am hungry in every way you can imagine." He happily chattered into the phone. She slightly chuckled at the other end of the line but it quickly turned into a sigh. "Castle, I am so sorry. I absolutely forgot my dad is coming over for dinner tonight. I can't cancel that." He pouted his lips like she could see it through the phone. "I've been really looking forward to seeing you tonight." He mumbled disappointedly. "I know, me too." She replied and sounded just as unhappy as him. "If you'd like I can come over as soon as he's gone so we can still spend the night together." She suggested. He paused as a thought crossed his mind.
"What do you have planned for dinner?" He asked, ignoring what she had just said. "Well, I thought I wouldn't be here this weekend. So we'll probably just order something." She answered a little confused. "What do you say, I come over and cook for the three of us?" He heard nothing but shocked silence on her side of the phone. "Come on Kate, I have the fridge full of groceries and it would be the perfect opportunity for me to meet your dad." It still took her a few seconds to answer. "I don't know Castle… Meeting my boyfriends isn't really a thing my dad does." He chuckled quietly. "Boyfriend huh? That sounds like we're seventeen." "You know what I mean." She said a little unnerved. "Kate you've been spending a lot of time with my family the last two weeks. It would only be fair to get your father involved a little." She didn't answer, thinking about what he just said.
"Or do you think what we have isn't serious enough for me to meet your father?" He asked with a teasing tone but Kate could hear he actually wanted to hear her answer to that question. She sighed. She hated things like this. That's why she had avoided it whenever possible in the past. "No Castle, what we have is serious." A smile spread over his lips. "So I can come over?" "Mhm." "Great! I'll get ready and will be on my way as soon as I can." He said, already getting the groceries back out of the fridge. "Yeah… great." He could hear in her voice that she was anything but thrilled. "Oh don't worry Kate, I promise I'll behave." "Mhm." She replied again and then hung up the phone.
About an hour later Castle showed up in front of her door, packed with a big paper bag. He walked into her apartment with a wide smile and went straight for the kitchen. She still couldn't bring herself to be a fan of the upcoming scenario. She couldn't put her finger on what exactly was her problem. She simply feared it could be uncomfortable and make everything more complicated. She liked the ease their relationship had at the moment. Why risk that? But he was right, it wasn't fair to keep their relationship a secret from her father while Martha and Alexis already were becoming a part of her life. When she walked after him she saw him already unpacking the bag and throwing her a look over his shoulder. "So when will your father be here?" "In about an hour." He pulled the last items from the bag and turned to her. "Oh, that's good. We could have dinner ready by then. Supposed you're willing to help me."
He slightly pulled her towards him and gave her a soft kiss before he turned back around and started to search her kitchen for a large pan. "Castle, why exactly are you so thrilled about spending the evening with my father? Isn't that something you are supposed to be afraid of?" He gave her a quick frown and kept searching her drawers for a sharp knife. "Why should I be afraid of eating dinner with your father? From everything I've heard he's a nice guy." "Yeah, he is… And I'm sure he'd like you." Kate had to stop for a second to think about what to say. "But he has no idea we're… together now." It was still unfamiliar to say it out loud. She wondered when she would get used to it.
"But he should know!" Castle replied. "Kate, you're his only child. He deserves to know what's going on in your life. Especially when it's important things. Like when you finally managed to get together with the man of your dreams." He never failed to make her smile. In that moment she hated that a little. "So, man of my dreams. Is that as what you will introduce yourself to him?" He laughed a little. "No, I think I'd rather go with partner. Or if you like it better boyfriend, to give it a more youthful touch." "And aren't you nervous about what he might say?"
Castle stopped for a second to look at her. "I'll admit, I am a little bit nervous. But after all, we are both grown-ups, we can do what we like. Of course, I hope he'll be fine with it, just like I did with my mother and Alexis. But if he isn't it would never be a reason for me to end things with you." He pulled her close to him again. "For that, it would need much, much more than non-approving family members." He whispered and pressed a kiss to her lips. "And now help me or we won't get ready in time."
They actually managed to get the dinner ready before Jim Beckett arrived. When she heard the knock on her door and went to open it, Kate could feel that her palms were slightly sweaty. Seemed like she was way more nervous than Castle. Or he was just better at hiding it. She opened the door and her father smiled at her. "Hey, Katie." He said with the warmth in his voice Kate loved so much and stepped inside to hug her. She hugged him back and when they pulled apart she could see her father had already spotted Castle standing a bit in the background.
"Mr. Castle, what are you doing here?" He asked in a surprised but polite tone. "Um Dad, there's something I need to tell you." Kate started but then failed to say what she wanted to say. "We.. um.. " She looked over to Castle begging for help and with a few quick steps he was by her side and slightly put his arm around her waist. "Oh, I see." Jim said before Castle even had the chance to open his mouth. "I saw that coming for years." He smiled. "Good for the two of you!" Kate's jaw slightly dropped. "Sorry?" She managed to bring out. "Oh come on, Katie. For four years I've heard you talk about him. And I've seen him standing beside your hospital bed last year. There was no doubt this would happen sooner or later. And I'm glad it finally did!"
Jim walked over to the table and sat down facing the two of them, Kate still in shock. "So are you having dinner with us, Mr. Castle? I'd like to hear a little bit of you I don't already know from Katie." Castle gave Kate a look that let her know she would have to face some serious teasing as soon as her father was gone. Then he turned back to Jim and softly pushed Kate over to the table. "Yes, and I'm ready to tell you everything you'd like to know."
What Kate had feared would be more of an unpleasant event turned out to be a nice evening. Her father and Castle got along very well and soon started to talk like old friends. After a while, she found herself actually enjoying the dinner and having the chance to catch up with her dad and still spend time with Castle. It just bothered her a little bit that he would have a lot of fun reminding her how good his idea of coming over had been. How was it that he was always right when it came to things like this?
After nearly three hours Jim got up, thanked them both for the food and the nice evening, and hugged his daughter for saying goodbye. He stretched out his hand to Castle and shook it firmly. Castle could see a hint of the "Be good to my daughter stare" in his eyes he knew all too well from also being the father of a daughter. With a barely noticeable nod, he let him know he understood. With one last smile to Kate Jim walked out the door and closed it behind him.
They both remained silent until they heard the steps in the hallway disappear. "Well…" Castle started and walked up to Kate, softly hugging her from behind. "I would say that went great." She smiled and rested her back against his chest. "Yeah.. So, are you happy with yourself? You've been right and I've been wrong, isn't that how you like it?" He tenderly pushed her hair back behind her ear and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. "I'm quite happy with myself, yes. But I don't like when you're wrong." "No?" Kate chuckled, tilting her head a little so he could reach more of her sensitive skin. "I just like being right a little bit more." He whispered and followed her invitation to let his lips wander further up her neck. "And I would love to hear what you told your father about me." He breathed between two kisses.
She leaned a little more into him and closed her eyes. "And do you think you can wait a little for that or does it have to be now?" She asked already a little out of breath by the heat that was streaming through her body. "Oh, I think I can be patient." He murmured and his hand found its way under her shirt to slowly pull it over her head. While he let his hands roam over her body he slowly guided her backwards into her bedroom. Letting themselves fall onto her bed, he covered her neck and shoulders with kisses and opened the clasp of her bra. It was the one in dark purple he particularly liked. But not enough to leave it on her body, so he pushed the fabric aside and started caressing the soft skin it revealed while she leaned into him.
He noticed she was unbuttoning her jeans and trying to shove them down and he was willing to help her with that. Holding her naked body he still couldn't believe she was his. Couldn't believe he got to kiss her, touch her, do the things to her he'd imagined a thousand times. "Stay like that." He murmured in her ear as he started to quickly get rid of his own clothing. Kate used the short interruption to reach into the box on her bedside table. She handed him the shiny little package and he grumbled something incomprehensible. "I know.." She whispered. He didn't answer and instead finished the inevitable task and nestled himself back against her body. She turned her head so her lips could reach his while he slightly lifted her leg.
With slow, tender movements he entered her, causing her to moan and her breath grazed his lips. He controlled his movements and let his hand wander over her body until it came to a stop between her thighs. He could feel their bodies connecting under his hand as the tension in his groin increased. His finger tenderly caressed her with the rhythm of his movements bringing her close to her peak. She moaned his name and in that moment he felt like there couldn't be a better feeling in the world. Pushing her over the edge he followed her and reached his climax.
As all tension left her body she slowly let herself roll onto her back to face him. She smiled at him and he bowed down to kiss her softly. When she opened her eyes again he felt like he could drop dead at this very moment and still would die the happiest man on earth. "I love you, Kate." He whispered. He had said these words to her before but now they felt different. Free of fear and anger, not like they had been the last time he had said them. A smile grazed her lips as she reached her hand up to his cheek. "I love you too."