the time we got lucky
Richard Castle was tapping away at his keyboard, filling pages at a rate he hadn't achieved in a while, when he was distracted by a different type of tapping.
"Hey," Kate rasps from the entryway of his office.
He glances up before fully coming back to reality and sets his laptop down on his desk. "Hey," he smiles.
"What're you doing?" Kate asks, biting her lip.
"Uh, just writing," Rick says. "I actually haven't been able to write like this in a long time."
Kate slumps her shoulders a bit but tries to hide her disappointment. "Oh," she sighs. "I was just coming to tell you I got our hotels booked, and to see what you were up to."
"That's great," Rick smiles. "Yeah, just writing." He leans back in his chair and continues smiling blissfully at his wife, who stays standing in the doorway. "Did you...want something?"
"Well, um, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to do something, but if you're writing, I don't want to bother you," Kate says, hoping to spark some interest.
"Hmm," Rick exaggerates. "What did you...have in mind?"
"Well, I don't know," Kate says. "We could...you know?"
"Kate, we talked about this yesterday. You're not cleared until next week," Rick sadly interjects.
"I know," she sighs. "But we can do other things."
"Other things huh?" Rick asks as he slyly closes his laptop. "What did you have in mind?"
Kate smiles giddily as she steps up to his chair and climbs into his lap. "Something like..." She leans in and kisses him deeply. "This," she breathes. "And this," she whispers as her hand runs up his inner thigh.
Rick's core muscles tense as he anchors Kate's waist with his hands. "I like the way you think," he growls. "What if we also did something like..." he raises to his feet, lifting Kate up with him. She instinctively wraps her long legs around his torso and her arms around his neck, kissing him as he walks toward the bedroom. He passionately throws her down on the bed and dives for the buttons on her blouse, planting kisses from the nape of her neck to the scar on her chest before whispering, "this."
"I like the way you think, too," Kate moans, gripping his shirt in her fist and pulling him down on top of her so their mouths passionately clash together. Their tongues rhythmically box for dominance as the friction of their skin burns just a bit too hot. Rick pulls away and rolls onto his back, pulling Kate in to cuddle against his chest.
"We really should go for the world record someday. I think we could do it," he says.
"World record?" Kate laughs.
"For making out," Rick clarifies. "I could kiss you for days, weeks even."
Kate chuckles harder. "Yeah, sure, but no way we make it to the record without getting carried away first."
"Touché," Rick nods. "You do make it very easy to get carried away."
"Right back at ya, handsome," Kate says as she playfully pinches his nipple between her fingers. "Don't know how I got so lucky."
"Please, I'm the lucky one," Rick sighs blissfully as he interlaces his fingers with Kate's.
"We both are," Kate smiles. "I'm also really sorry for being a bit distant from you lately. It's not an excuse but...after losing the baby, uh..." She trails off as she holds back her overwhelming urge to burst into tears.
"Kate, it's okay, you don't have to apologize," Rick asserts.
"No, I do, though. Like I said, it's not an excuse, but it's just...shifting all my focus to Ruby has made it a little easier to start moving on," Kate explains. "But it's been at the expense of our relationship and I don't want that. So, I'm going to work on communicating with you, even when it's hard."
"I love you, Kate, and I'm always going to be in awe of your strength," Rick smiles. "But I'm even more in awe of the ways you've grown since I've known you."
"Oh, let's not get all mushy now," Kate jokes.
"No, no, I won't, but I guess, I want to say, too, that you were right, about me being...jealous," Rick sighs.
"Oh, babe, I didn't really mean..."
"No, it's true," Rick cuts in. "I find myself thinking about how things were when Alexis was young all the time. And I'm having a hard time accepting that I'm older than I was back then."
"Well, that is how time works," Kate points out.
"Trust me, I know," Rick laughs. "Just makes me wish that circumstances would have brought us together sooner sometimes. And it makes me wonder about what our future will look like."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I guess I'm saying that I always envisioned us raising our children together," Rick says. "But I am also perfectly, beyond content, with you, me, Alexis, and Ruby, too."
"You don't want to keep trying?" Kate asks.
"I'm saying that if you don't, that's okay with me," Rick clarifies. "The miscarriage has hit us like a truck and I just don't want to see you hurt like that again."
"I know, babe," Kate sighs. "Can't say I disagree, but I also think that together, we can get through anything."
"So, what are you saying?"
Kate rolls so that she's chest to chest with her husband before planting a passionate kiss. "I'm saying," she pauses to kiss him again. "When I'm cleared next week, I want you to knock me up."
"I will try my hardest," Rick vows with his hand over his heart.
They both chuckle as they switch between cuddling and kissing for the rest of the morning. As their stomachs rumble with hunger, Kate looks down at the watch on her wrist before softly tapping on Castle's chest and saying. "Let's eat some lunch and then go bring our kid home from the hospital."
"Ready to go?" Kate calls to the bedroom from the living room. "I just put Ruby's sheets in the dryer so they'll be nice and warm when she gets home."
"That's really thoughtful," Rick smiles as he emerges from the bedroom dressed in a tee and shorts befitting the end of June. "Are you sure we aren't going too early? Ruby said she wanted to visit with her friends after her treatment."
"Well, if we're too early, we can just wait for her," Kate smiles, hardly able to contain her excitement. After two and a half months in the hospital, Ruby was finally coming home.
When they arrived at Ruby's room, it was empty, so they walked down the hall to the library. The word library usually leads one to think of a room full of books, but the pediatric floor library was more like a multipurpose space with half empty shelves and a few tables and chairs. However, since Castle had learned of the room's existence, he made sure to bring a few age appropriate selections each time he visited, so the shelves were starting to have a true variety. This time, it was a handful of Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and Kate brought in some art supplies for the kids to stimulate their minds in other ways, too. Although the library wasn't the most vibrant of places, it got brighter and more colorful with each week Ruby spent there. What Rick and Kate saw when they walked into the room today, though, was beyond anything they could have imagined.
The room of bright, busy, and cheerful. Over a dozen kids were engaged in various activities, whether they were reading together, working on a puzzle, and drawing at the craft table. Kids of all ages were interacting, as well as a handful of nurses, social workers, parents, and staff, with huge smiles on their faces. The kids who were more mobile spread out on the rugs while space was made for wheelchair users and other medical equipment and mobility devices. By all accounts, the vibes in the room were joyous and inclusive. And at the heart of it all was Ruby.
"Hey, kiddo!" Rick exclaims when the girl notices her parents standing in the library entry way. "This place is packed today."
"Yeah, since it's my last day I organized for all the kids who wanted to and are safe to come in here and hang out. Isn't it cool?" Ruby explains with a beaming grin.
It was beyond cool.
"I noticed these last few months that a lot of kids here missed out on even more school than I did," Ruby says. "So I wanted to show them the potential that this place has. And now kids are reading or drawing, or even getting help with math homework."
"Ruby, this is awesome," Kate smiles in awe. "You are awesome."
"Meh, I just don't want all my friends to be bored when I'm gone," she shrugs.
"Well, speaking of that, we have a few items to donate to the cause," Rick says, showing her the books.
"The social worker in the corner over there is in charge of that. They told me that since more kids could be using the room now that they're hoping to get it renovated," Ruby smiles. "Make it look nicer. And less hospital-y."
That was true. Even with more joy in the room, it was still very hospital-y.
"Less hospital-y you say?" Rick says. "How about we get your things so we can get out of here so you can be less hospital-y?"
"Okay!" Ruby exclaims. "Let me say bye to everyone really quick?"
"Of course," Kate nods. As Ruby makes her rounds, a woman named Kelly, a floor nurse whom they'd met many times, approaches Rick and Kate with a beaming smile.
"You taking Ruby home?" she asks.
They nod as they clock Ruby's progress around the room.
"I'll be sure to visit when she's here for her immunotherapy appointments," says the nurse. "That is one awesome kid you've got there."
They don't disagree, of course.
After Ruby's Midwest goodbye to all her friends and nurses, and social workers, and receptionists, and doctors, the Castles finally head for home.
"Could we watch a movie tonight?" Ruby asks as they exit the car and walk toward the elevator to the loft.
"Of course, which one?" Rick asks.
Kate and Ruby simultaneously roll their eyes. "You know which one," they say in unison.
A few short hours later, the trio huddle around a gigantic bowl of popcorn as the opening scene of Matilda plays on the big screen. Before the movie ends, Ruby's eyes flutter and droop with sleepiness, which she eventually succumbs to, quietly collapsing into a deep sleep on Kate's lap. They watch her sleep for a while, in a sweet, not creepy way, before taking her up to her bedroom. As they turn off the lights and close the door, Rick and Kate turn to each other and silently ask the same question.
How did we get so lucky?