Author's Note: The first chapter dealing with the visit to the Hamptons. Enjoy.
The Best-Laid Plans
Chapter 9
Kate was not usually indecisive after making a decision or a commitment but then again, she hadn't agreed to a friendly weekend away with her (former) lover and his daughter before either. What had she been thinking? To agree to spend the weekend in Castle's vacation house? It would be too much, too dangerous, too… well, relationship-like.
But then again, a little voice in her mind argued, why shouldn't she go and enjoy the weekend? It didn't matter that they'd had sex because he wasn't interested in anything more than that and neither was she so they had an understanding of sorts. And they were friends, after all, so why couldn't they have a friendly, fun getaway and his daughter would be there too, after all.
As for the temptation–well, she was sure she could resist him. She was a grown-up, after all, and she'd made up her mind. She couldn't sleep with him again, no matter how good the sex was. She could not allow herself to get used to sex with him, not when it could never lead anywhere. As it was, she had the sinking feeling that for right now, at least, she couldn't imagine wanting another man–but that would go away in time, she was sure of it. She just needed some more time, time for the memories of those two times to fade.
Time and distance–none of which was going to be helped in any way by spending the weekend in the Hamptons with him.
Which had her dithering all over again. She picked up her phone, pulling up her text thread with Castle, to see the text he had already sent her with the address of his house, and again thought that she could still cancel, could claim something had come up at work or something. It would hardly be the first time she'd deliberately volunteered to work when she didn't need to.
But even as she hesitated, her phone buzzed with a new text, from Alexis this time, sounding transparently delighted at the idea of Kate joining them for the weekend. Kate bit her lip and then sent a quick response. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks for the invite.
She couldn't back out now, could not bring herself to let Alexis down. No matter what happened with Castle, Alexis didn't deserve to be disappointed.
It was for Alexis's sake, she told herself virtuously. And there was nothing to worry about, really. It would just be a friendly–and platonic–getaway. It would be fine, just the sort of fun she wanted.
But for all that she told herself repeatedly that she was going at Alexis's invitation, Kate couldn't deny the flutter of her spirits on Saturday morning or the fact that the flutter she felt had nothing to do with Alexis at all. No, what she found herself thinking about on the drive out was mostly about him, about spending the weekend with him, seeing him smile and laugh, seeing him with his daughter.
But as she left the highway and started driving through the town and then the residential streets, any pleasant flutters vanished, her spirits plummeting, something inside her shrinking a little as if from a cold touch.
It should have been ridiculous–it was ridiculous–and yet, it wasn't, somehow. In the precinct, working beside Castle, she forgot sometimes just how rich he was or more accurately, just how vast the gulf between their relative financial situations was. She hadn't even thought specifically about how the mere fact that Castle had a house in the Hamptons proved how rich he was, considering property values in the Hamptons. And of course, she'd been thinking of it as, well, a house.
Instead, the closer she got, the less comfortable she felt because the more "normal" houses were being left behind and instead, she was driving past what she could only term mansions. Some, she could see, were gated and looked like honest-to-god estates, practically Downton-Abbey style, so much so that she could easily imagine them having uniformed servants on the grounds like a butler or something.
Oh god, what the hell was she doing here? She would have scoffed at the idea of being intimidated by a house and certainly, she was aware that she'd grown up with a certain amount of privilege with both her parents being lawyers, having a second home in her dad's cabin upstate, her mom's life insurance policy.
But this–the level of wealth visible around her now–this was making her feel rather like the pauper in a prince's court, like in the Mark Twain novel, or like King Cophetua's beggar maid showing up at the palace.
Well, if she'd wanted confirmation that there was no way a real relationship between her and Castle could work, she'd certainly had it. She and Castle were from different worlds. He lived in a place like this, one with more money than she would ever make in a lifetime, one where he could mingle with celebrities, be on first-name terms with people like the Mayor and Joe Torre. And she lived, well, on the streets of New York City, essentially if not literally. No way a man who could own something like this would be interested in a relationship with her, a plain cop, one who worked for a living, to say nothing of all her own emotional baggage.
Not that she wanted a real relationship with him either, she hurriedly reminded herself. Because she didn't.
So it was fine. She had no reason to care at this confirmation that she and Castle didn't belong together and this weekend would just be a few-days-long break from her reality. Almost like the spy-cation Roger Faraday had been on, except that she wouldn't be pretending to be someone else, only to be the kind of person who might actually belong in a place like this.
And it occurred to her that her little break from her reality would be easier because no one else in her real life–well, aside from Castle and Alexis themselves, of course–knew about this little getaway. She hadn't told the boys since they weren't the type to ask or expect her to share her weekend plans and she'd rather been avoiding spending time alone with Lanie in case Lanie's preternatural instinct somehow had Lanie guessing that she'd slept with Castle. She might have had to mention it to her dad but as it happened, her dad had decided to go out to his cabin for the holiday weekend as he liked to do when he could so she hadn't needed to reschedule their usual weekend dinner.
What happens in the Hamptons stays in the Hamptons, as it were. Not that she was planning for anything like that to happen this weekend, she told herself. It was just an expression, that was all.
And then she was turning into the driveway of the house whose address Castle had texted her and trying not to gape. Oh lord, this was his house? For a moment, she half-wished that she'd misread the address or the directions and ended up at the wrong house and Castle's place was somewhat more… normal but even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't true. At least, it wasn't the biggest or most elaborate of the houses she'd passed on her way but it was still enormous and downright opulent. It had to have at least six bedrooms, she guessed–which seemed absurd considering the size of Castle's family but he did like to go big, after all. But oh, she really did not belong here, for half a second considered just turning and fleeing.
Not that she really would have or could have but before she'd finished the thought, a door opened and the familiar figure of Alexis appeared. The girl's face lit up and she waved a greeting at Kate before briefly turning towards the house, no doubt telling her dad of Kate's arrival, and then she was hurrying outside.
"Detective Beckett, you made it!"
"Hi, Alexis," Kate smiled and was a little surprised when the teen gave her a quick hug of greeting. Oh, well, that was new.
"How was the drive, Detective?"
"It was fine, thanks, not too much traffic once I got outside of the city," she answered. "And you know, you can call me Kate, Alexis. I'm not on duty this weekend and 'Detective' is a bit of a mouthful, isn't it?"
The girl dimpled into a grin. "I guess. I'm glad you could come."
"I'm glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me."
For a moment something like shyness flickered across her face. "I know how hard you work so I just thought it'd be nice."
"That was sweet of you. I appreciate it."
And then Castle appeared and Kate was distracted. He looked different, his vacation mode, she supposed, dressed more casually than she was used to seeing, in a t-shirt and shorts. She swallowed, an undeniable flare of attraction sparking inside her because the t-shirt rather seemed to emphasize the breadth of his shoulders, the muscles of his chest and arms, while his shorts showcased his muscular legs.
"Beckett, hi! You have nice timing. I just started getting lunch ready." He slung a casual arm around his daughter's shoulders. "I trust Alexis has welcomed you appropriately."
She managed a small laugh. "Hi, Castle, and yes, she has. This place, it's stunning," she told him honestly.
He turned to look back at the house and then returned his gaze to her. "It is a little much but we love it, don't we, pumpkin?"
Alexis ducked out from under Castle's arm, poking him in the arm. "Stop admiring our own house and help Kate with her bag."
"Don't mind her, she's a little bossy," Castle added in a teasing aside that had his daughter making a face at him.
Kate laughed and opened up the trunk of her car but Castle beat her to her duffel, grasping it before she could and, with Alexis right there, she decided not to argue with him about it.
"Lead the way, Alexis." He made a gesture with his free hand and fell in a few steps behind them as Alexis led Kate inside.
The house, well, mansion really, was, of course, enormous, as Kate had already noted, with seven bedrooms, as Alexis lightly mentioned, one of which was on the ground floor, and then there was a large kitchen, a dining room with French doors opening out onto the backyard complete with a large pool, a TV room, a living room, and an office/library. Upstairs were the rest of the bedrooms, with Alexis pointing out Castle's bedroom and then further down the hall, her own and her grandmother's bedroom, followed by a guest room which Alexis announced would be hers. Castle met them there, depositing Kate's bag inside, and telling her to get comfortable while he returned downstairs to finish making lunch.
"So, what do you think? Will this be okay or we do have other guest rooms," Alexis offered.
"This is just great, thanks, Alexis. It's all gorgeous," Kate praised sincerely. The room was large, airy, decorated mostly in shades of blues and greens with an ocean theme, as befitting the location.
Alexis beamed. "Cool. I'll see you downstairs, then. Make yourself at home."
The teen flitted downstairs leaving Kate alone to take in her surroundings, moving to look out the window which, like all the other windows on this side of the house, offered a sweeping view of the ocean as well as the pool. It was the sort of place she could never have imagined staying in and yet, here she was.
But oddly, she found her nerves had eased by gradual, almost imperceptible, degrees over the course of the tour because the house, for all its size, wasn't decorated like some showpiece but rather as a home, a cozy, family home. The furnishings had clearly been chosen more with an eye for comfort than for ostentation with a lot of pictures of Castle and Alexis and some of Martha up around the house. The place somehow exuded an atmosphere of warmth and welcoming, an impression that had been reinforced by Alexis during the tour, which Alexis had interspersed with stories of past fun times she and Castle had had out here, from the enormous blanket fort they'd made which took over most of the ground floor except for the kitchen on one rainy weekend to the time Alexis had successfully snuck up on Castle and made him fall back into the pool. It spoke volumes for the kind of happy family life Castle had made for Alexis, largely alone even with Martha's presence, not that Kate had needed much more evidence of that, and not for the first time, she wondered at the disparate sides of him, the devoted father and family man and the playboy celebrity.
Kate didn't hurry to rejoin Castle and Alexis, taking her time to enjoy the house. It really was lovely.
Castle and Alexis were chatting idly with Alexis leaning against the counter while Castle was cutting up vegetables for a salad, Kate guessed, while she could smell something cooking in the oven.
Castle looked up when Kate walked in. "Beckett, there you are. Can I get you anything to drink?"
"No, thanks, I can wait until we eat. The house really is beautiful, Castle, and the view…"
He lifted his shoulders into a half-shrug. "I think the view is really what sold me on this place."
"And I have to say," Kate added with just a touch of humor entering her tone, "I particularly like the drawing on the wall outside your office." It was a crayon drawing clearly done by a very young Alexis of a horse, not a masterpiece by Michelangelo by any means, decidedly childish and stiff-looking, but also not that bad either, since it was recognizably a horse and she doubted Alexis had been much older than 6 or 7 when she'd drawn it.
Castle beamed. "Well, if you like that, I have many more works by the same artist tucked away if you care to see them."
Kate huffed a laugh while Alexis flushed and threw her dad a mock scowl, making a sound that was half a sigh and half a groan. "Don't you dare, Dad!"
"What, Kate just complimented your drawing! I told you it was great!" He turned back to Kate. "That drawing is actually there as a result of a compromise. It used to be hung up back home in the loft but a few years ago, Alexis revolted and insisted she didn't want it hanging up anymore where people could see it. I told her she was being silly and finally, she agreed to let me keep it up here where she doesn't have to see it as often and not as many other people will see it."
Kate leaned in towards Alexis conspiratorially. "I did mean it, I liked the drawing. And if it helps, you drew better than I did at that age and my parents insisted on keeping some of my pitiful attempts on display for years too." She remembered one very bad drawing of a field of flowers with a sun and a butterfly that was even larger than the sun. Her mom and dad had exchanged laughing glances when her younger self had showed it to them before praising it–untruthfully, Kate was sure–and yes, they had kept it on display on their fridge for well over a year. Her parents had never gone so far as to frame any of her so-called art but then even her younger self would probably have rebelled at that. The young Katie hadn't suffered any delusions about her artistic ability, or lack thereof (or if she had, they hadn't lasted long).
Alexis's expression softened into a smile, and Kate wondered how much of it might be due to the mention of Kate's mom, since she knew Alexis knew about Johanna. "Really?"
"Yes, really. Believe me, my childhood attempts make yours look like Picasso."
Alexis dimpled as she laughed. "I doubt that but thanks, Kate."
Kate glanced up and met Castle's eyes, watching the two of them with an expression she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before, one that made her heart flip in her chest, her breath stuttering. Some of it was the curiosity Castle always showed whenever Kate mentioned her past or her parents but it was mingled in with something much softer, something almost like tenderness–for Alexis, of course, Kate reminded herself. It was about Alexis, naturally, since she and Alexis were standing next to each other and he could hardly avoid seeing them both. He always had that soft look when he talked about or looked at his daughter.
He blinked and turned back to his task while Kate tried to get the odd fluttering in her chest under control. It was stupid to react to a look that had been intended for Alexis.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the oven timer went off and Castle was pulling out a pizza and directing Alexis to set the table while Kate volunteered to get glasses of water for everyone.
Lunch passed easily with Alexis doing much of the talking, chatting blithely about school, her upcoming finals, and bubbling with enthusiasm over the prospect of the Princeton summer program.
"It is exciting," Kate agreed and added, "And hopefully there will even be some cute guys in the program," making Castle sputter a protest while Alexis flushed but laughingly agreed.
Castle threw Beckett a mock scowl. "Bite your tongue, Detective. My daughter is only interested in the program for the academic opportunity, not for any boys she might meet. Right, Alexis?"
"Sure, Dad," Alexis agreed in a tone that meant the exact opposite and gave him a cheeky smirk when he huffed.
Kate dropped a wink at Alexis, leaning towards the girl and adding in a loud whisper, "That's okay, Alexis. Any cute guys you meet can be our secret."
Castle gave a loud, fake cough and abruptly interjected in an overly bright voice, "So, Beckett, as the guest, I think it's your prerogative to pick what you want to do this afternoon. Would you rather spend it in the pool or on the beach?"
At the mention of the pool, Kate immediately flashed back to the dream she'd had involving herself and him in a pool and what had happened and felt her cheeks heating at the memory. "The beach," she hurriedly decided. "I haven't spent a real day at the beach in a long time."
"The beach, it is," Castle agreed.
With that decided, they finished their lunches in good time and both Castle and Alexis insisted on shoo-ing her upstairs to change, insisting she didn't need to help with the cleanup.
Kate obeyed after a brief argument before giving away and retreating upstairs to change into her swimsuit. She owned a couple skimpy, provocative swimsuits but she had very carefully not brought any of them, opted for the most conservative one-piece she owned, and then wrapped a pareo around her waist.
She returned downstairs to find Alexis had already come down, also wearing a swimsuit and a pair of beach shorts, and was packing a bag with a beach blanket and a few towels. A small icebox stood next to it along with another bag full of various tools and toys meant to help make sand castles. "Wow, I see you guys have everything," she commented.
Alexis flashed her a smile. "Yeah, we're pretty well stocked up. After so many years, we have a system of all the supplies needed for a beach day."
"So I see."
Castle joined them shortly thereafter and she felt an odd combination of relief and a twinge of disappointment too because he was still wearing a t-shirt on top of his swim trunks. She did have to bite back a laugh because he had clearly just put on copious amounts of sun block, with a tell-tale streak of white down the bridge of his nose and a few more along his arms and legs.
"I'm not sure you put on enough sun block, Castle," she teased.
He made a face at her. "Mock all you like but I assure you it's necessary. I may not be a redhead but I do have my mother's genes so I tend to burn easily. Which reminds me, Alexis, did you put on sunblock?"
"Yes, Dad," Alexis answered dutifully even as she exchanged a smile with Kate. "Come on, let's go."
Castle made a gesture with one arm. "You heard the boss."
Kate laughed and picked up the bag of beach toys while Alexis picked up the bag with the beach blanket and towels while Castle got the ice box.
"I'm going to go pick a spot and get the blanket set up," Alexis called back, going on ahead, leaving Kate and Castle to follow behind.
"Little task-master," he murmured.
Kate grinned. "She's excited. It's kind of cute to see Alexis acting more like a kid than a grown-up, for once."
He shot her a wry look. "Unlike me, you mean, who acts more like a kid than a grown-up every day?"
"You said it, not me."
He let her precede him down the small flight of steps leading from the backyard down to the beach that was, now that she got a better view of the full expanse of it, surprisingly not crowded in front of Castle's house, although there were small groups scattered at various points along the beach and the end of it a ways away looked quite crowded, from what she could see.
As if he'd sensed her thought, Castle spoke up, "It's a private beach, you know."
She turned to stare at him, a little of her earlier discomfort returning. "Private, as in this is yours?"
He made the facial equivalent of a shrug. "Pretty much, at least this stretch of it right in front of the house. It's only the end of it down there that's open to the public. Otherwise, beach rights come with the property along this stretch of the beach and I have to admit that when Alexis was younger, I felt safer knowing the beach was private."
No wonder that part of the beach had looked more crowded but oh lord, he had a private beach. "Wow, Castle, you really are rich, aren't you?"
He shrugged a little. "Well, not James Patterson-rich, but I do okay."
Okay. She bit back a snort. Sure, he did "okay" and the Mariana Trench was only a shallow dip in the ocean floor.
But oh, her mom would have loved this so much, she thought with a quick pang. Her mom had always loved the beach, used to joke about getting a beach house when they won the lottery. It hadn't been feasible considering prices of beachfront property and they had their cabin upstate as their vacation home, a much more affordable proposition.
But she was pulled out of her thoughts of her mom when Alexis called, "I think this spot is good. What do you think?"
"Go ahead and get set up," Castle called back. "Come on, slow poke," he smirked at Kate.
"I'll show you slow," she shot back, welcoming the distraction, and took off at a run to join Alexis, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch up that easily, hampered by the ice box as he was.
She did beat him to where Alexis had spread out the blanket and a beach chair along with an umbrella for some shade but he came huffing up less than a minute later, throwing Kate a mock scowl. "Not fair, Beckett."
She responded in a mature and adult fashion by sticking her tongue out at him. (It was possible she'd spent too much time with him and his silliness was now infecting her.)
He grinned but turned to Alexis. "So, since we shouldn't go into the water immediately, what'll it be this year?"
"I think Kate should choose," was Alexis's answer and then they both turned to look at her.
She blinked at them. "What will what be?"
Alexis made a small face of apology. "Sorry, Kate, I forgot you wouldn't know. Instead of making sand us-es–"
"Sand us-es?" Kate repeated.
"Sand castles," Alexis laughed. "Dad always calls them that."
Kate had to laugh. Of course, she should have known.
"What Alexis means," Castle interjected, "is that we graduated from making sand us-es years ago to making a sand village instead and then we got more ambitious and made sand sculptures of anything we could think of. A couple years ago, we made a sand dragon that was really kind of epic, if I do say so myself. We take turns deciding what to sculpt."
Leave it to Castle to get creative about sand sculptures and she could imagine that he and Alexis had a great deal of fun out of it. He really was such a good dad, a fun dad.
"So, what do you think we should make this year, Kate?" Alexis chimed in.
"Ah, how about an elephant," Kate suggested, blurting out the first thing that came to mind because of her earlier thoughts about her mom.
She caught Castle's glance and realized he was thinking about the elephant figurines on her desk at the precinct, although he didn't know that they had belonged to her mom because her mom had liked elephants.
"An elephant, sure," Alexis agreed. "Dad, what do you think?"
Castle tilted his head in a thoughtful pose but then nodded. "I'm not sure a real 3D sculpture will work for an elephant but we can do a relief sculpture instead. That sound okay, Beckett?"
"I'll defer to your sand sculpting expertise," Kate managed to drawl.
Alexis laughed. "Well, come on, then. We'll need a pretty big pile of wet sand to start."
If anyone had told Kate even a few days ago that she would spend a few hours on a beach playing at building a sand sculpture, she would have scoffed and dismissed it as highly unlikely but that was exactly what happened. Alexis had clearly appointed herself the director of the project, a role which both Castle and Kate allowed with shared glances of amusement, as they fell to work and Kate found it was both challenging but also surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) fun. Castle and Alexis talked and laughed freely as they worked and Kate found herself getting drawn in, impossible to resist even if she'd wanted to. So yes, it was fun, the sort of wholesome, pure fun Kate almost never had these days.
(It was almost enough to keep her from noticing Castle's bare chest when he stripped off his t-shirt about an hour into their work. Almost. Before she realized and then sternly jerked her eyes away, bending back over the curve of the elephant's ear she was shaping.)
They had been at it for well over an hour and the silhouette of the elephant had taken clear shape, ears and trunk and all, when Alexis straightened up. "How about a break to swim?" She didn't wait for a response before she added, "Race you to the water, Dad," and took off running.
Castle leaped up after her with a cry of mock outrage leaving Kate to follow them more sedately.
Castle caught up with Alexis just before the water's edge and scooped her up into his arms, making Alexis shriek with laughter, as Castle carried her in pseudo-bridal style as he waded into the water until it was almost up to his waist and then threw Alexis in.
Alexis came up sputtering and laughing and then got her revenge by moving behind her dad and pushing him so he fell face-first into an incoming wave.
And Kate couldn't even pretend to herself that she wasn't watching–ogling, admit it, Kate–the way the muscles of Castle's shoulders and arms flexed as he picked up his daughter, the drops of ocean water lingering on his smooth, tanned skin, making her think irresistibly of touching her mouth and tongue to the drops…
The cold of the water came as a rather welcome shock as she waded in herself and then when the water was high enough, deliberately submerged into the water in one determined swoop, before coming up, now thoroughly soaked.
A splash caught her attention and she looked over at Alexis who was grinning at her as she bobbed up and down in the water. "Having fun?"
Kate laughed and splashed the girl back in answer before her eyes were drawn inexorably back to Castle and then she stilled because he was standing frozen, staring at her, his features taut in a way she recognized as lust and her body flared with heat in automatic, instinctive reaction. She followed his gaze and glanced down to find that the cold of the water had tightened her nipples, the hardened points clearly visible against the wet fabric of her swimsuit.
Her mouth went dry and she was vaguely surprised the water wasn't practically steaming off her–but then she heard the cry of a seagull and a shriek from further down the beach and reality, their surroundings, returned to her in a rush. She hurriedly turned and immediately dove back into the water, heading further out until she was both further away from Castle and safely submerged from shoulders down.
She was aware of Castle engaging in a mock water battle with Alexis and slowly, her rush of pure arousal faded, although she was careful to make sure she kept a decorous distance of at least a few feet between herself and Castle at all times and focused on Alexis as much as possible.
The three of them played in the water for some time before fatigue and thirst drove them back ashore to hydrate and rest a little, before continuing to finish up their work on their elephant sculpture, with Alexis insisting on including details like eyes and the nostrils on the elephant's upraised trunk. When Alexis deemed the sculpture finished, Castle took a picture of both Kate and Alexis posed next to their creation and Kate tried not to think about what a family-like scene it was. So reminiscent of her own youthful memories with her own parents.
Except it was just an illusion because they weren't a family; she wasn't a part of Castle's family and never would be, she reminded herself sharply.
But for all that, the thought persisted, perhaps due to the very seductiveness of the idea. Being part of a real family circle like this–it was like the mirage of an oasis to someone parched in the desert. As much as she loved her dad, the family unit of herself and her dad still, even now, felt incomplete, broken, because of the way her mom's absence always lingered. She didn't often dwell on it; she was used to it, after all, but right then, with Castle and Alexis, she couldn't help but be conscious of the fact that to any onlooker, they must look like a quintessential happy family, two parents and their child–only to be reminded that it wasn't real.
She pushed the thought, the twinge of something like wistfulness, aside, with all the more ease as Castle and Alexis were both effective distractions as Alexis suggested another dip in the ocean before returning to the house for dinner.
When they returned to the house, the sun was starting to sink lower to the horizon and they all separated once inside by unspoken agreement to shower and change before returning downstairs for dinner.
Kate briefly considered but didn't bother putting on any makeup after shower, no point considering she'd spent most of the afternoon with a bare face except for sunblock, and just changed into a t-shirt and shorts. When she returned downstairs, it was to find that Castle was already there and he turned to greet her with a quick smile that stilled for a moment as his eyes flickered down to her bare legs.
She felt unwanted heat creeping into her cheeks and hurried to get herself a glass of water both as distraction and to cool herself down, while Castle ducked into the refrigerator to study its contents.
Fortunately, for both of them, Alexis joined them before long and her presence immediately eased and dissipated any tension. They decided on tacos for dinner and Castle unbent enough to allow Kate to help a little with the chopping of the lettuce and tomatoes.
Dinner was another fun meal with Castle and Alexis mostly reminiscing about past summers in the Hamptons and after dinner, they decided to watch a movie.
Castle and Alexis turned to Kate to choose but she demurred and deferred to Alexis instead and Alexis settled on Forbidden Planet, with a grin at her dad.
"Nice choice, Alexis," Kate commented with a smile. "I love that movie."
Alexis beamed while Castle turned to look at her with one of his delighted looks whenever he learned something new about her. "You love Forbidden Planet too? You are so hot."
Kate fought back a blush–absurd when Castle had said such things before and she'd always been able to laugh it off but it sounded different, more real, after having slept together.
Alexis swatted Castle on the arm, wrinkling her nose. "Don't be gross, Dad."
Kate managed a credible little laugh. "Yeah, don't be gross, Castle," she echoed and was proud of herself for sounding like her usual teasing self.
Castle only made a small face at her and reached to tickle Alexis who escaped with a shriek of protesting laughter to start the movie.
Castle had not been kidding when he said he loved this move, Kate learned almost immediately, as he spoke the opening lines of the Narrator in unison with the movie, at least until Alexis elbowed him and told him to be quiet. He obeyed but Kate couldn't help but glance at him as the movie went on to note that he couldn't help but mouth some of the lines of dialogue along with the characters.
Unsurprising, that Castle clearly found it hard to stay quiet even during a movie, she thought with a spurt of amusement.
Amusement that faded as her eyes moved on to rest on the way Alexis had curled up into Castle's side and he had slipped his arm around her, a position they'd assumed so naturally it was clearly habitual. And Kate couldn't help but think that Castle's shoulder and chest looked very comfortable to lean on before she yanked her gaze away, focusing on the movie again.
No, no, she couldn't–wouldn't–go there in her thoughts because it couldn't happen and she wasn't the kind of person who wished for the impossible.
All of this, this family-like atmosphere, was just an illusion, a temporary fantasy that wasn't real, she reminded herself. It was just for the weekend and then the proverbial clock would strike twelve, and it would be back to reality for her.
A reality where she was perfectly content on her own, anyway.
~To be continued…~
A/N 2: Apologies in advance but I don't think I'll be able to post next week due to RL getting in the way. I will try to post earlier than usual the following week so you won't have to wait a full two weeks for the next chapter.
