Chapter 6

Seven weeks of waiting had all but come to an end.

Following her second shower of the day-one wanted rather than needed-Kate used her bath towel to clear a serviceable strip in the mirror's fog, pushed her fingers through her wet hair and smiled without prompting, Rick's imminent arrival, at the close of a week that'd included a day in which she'd absentmindedly worn two different shoes to the office, coming not a moment too soon. For her, in fact, though beyond her control, it was weeks too late, eager a state she'd passed about a hundred exits ago.

With a thorough hand, she smoothed over her skin a purposefully chosen lotion, its scent his proclaimed favorite, dotted a like oil at her more delicate points, and wrapped her body in only a silk robe, opting to forgo the lingerie she'd initially set out, because Kate had both a desire and a plan for their weekend, a combination that already had Rick's will at a supreme disadvantage and his hours ahead well occupied.

They'd found a way to talk and to talk a lot during those weeks together but apart, odd hours of morning and night having become a friend to both, and of those conversations, of the time they'd dedicated themselves to carving out, an entirely new sort of longing had been born.

There had always been a thing between them, even since the earliest days of their conditioned partnership, this language their bodies had spoken, and to have traveled where they'd eventually traveled, to have experienced such intoxication and then the profound loss of it, made the anticipation of its return all the more titillating.

Kate practically floated to the door by the power of her heart's flutter when his knock finally came, her relief unmasked at the sight of him and dripping from her words.

"You said thirty minutes, Castle. It's been thirty-seven. I almost started without you," she purred wickedly.

Her robe was loose, tauntingly so, and Rick's eyes followed the lines of its vee to their convergence between her breasts.

"I'm sure you meant that as some kind of scolding for my tardiness, but I can't even tell you how good with that idea I am. It's freezing out here, though. Do you want me to close the door first, or…?"

Kate tugged him over the threshold, her swiftness offering him little choice but to submit. "Get in here," she said and his bags dropped to the floor. "For a writer, you talk way too much."

His arms curled around her at the waist and he kicked the door closed behind him. With a stumble and a spin, their graceless migration inside was abruptly halted by the kitchen counter, onto which he lifted her body until she was perched along its edge, her legs pinned against the backs of his.

"God, I've missed that smell," Rick said, his teeth grazing her earlobe. "I love that smell." Between efforts for breath following the lengthy kiss that followed, he managed to push out some actual words. "Do I need to pretend to care about a tour or can we-"

"Bedroom, Castle, back there," she broke in, and he carried her off without another word.

xxxx

"You know how people always talk about how they can't believe they ever lived without certain things, and it's usually dumb stuff like Cocoa Puffs or oxygen or whatever?"

Kate giggled out a puff of air and it tickled his chest where her head had settled after he'd slid out of her. "Or Star Wars toys," she quipped.

"Exactly," Rick inadvertently agreed in haste. "Wait, no, because those are not toys and, besides…Shush. I can't talk about your body if you're going to interrupt me to answer my rhetorical questions."

"Do you have to talk about it?"

Rick reached around and pinched her lips together. "Hey, I had to wait seven whole weeks for you to invite me down here, so I'm pretty sure I've earned the right to talk about whatever the heck I'd like, and that includes your least favorite topic: You."

"Are you saying what I just did to you in this bed and on that floor didn't make up for that? I don't know. I was there, Castle, and from the sounds you were making, it kinda seemed like it did."

"Like you weren't making sounds," he grumbled in lackluster argument. "And, fine, I won't tell you."

Suddenly curious with his unexpected yielding, Kate let him pout for a minute for fun before gliding her fingers down over his belly and wrapping them around him in a move that made his body shiver.

"Tell me," she demanded, already feeling a twitch herself from his response to her touch.

"No fair. You don't have anything I can grab," he said around a hiss of pleasure. "But, okay, you drive a hard bargain-pun intended. If you leave your hand exactly where it is, I will."

Kate kissed his chest and offered her selfish assurance. "I'm not moving anything anywhere."

"First, for the record or, you know, the future, I might like this game."

"Castle," she snapped.

"Right, so, remember the time we got locked in that basement with the handcuffs and the tiger?" When she looked up at him with a familiar give-me-a-break eye, he moved along. "Well, the first time I finally really got to touch your skin was down there-of your body, I mean, and I was just going to say, as far as living without something goes, I don't know how the hell I managed to make it all this time without being able to do that."

"That's not dumb like Cocoa Puffs, huh?"

"Touching you is many things, Kate. Dumb isn't one of them, believe me. I missed the pleasure more than you know."

She slowly shifted her body until she was fully on top of his. "I took my hand away, but I didn't think you'd mind the trade," she said, seizing his lips in a firm kiss. "And I missed hearing your voice say my name. When you're inside me and it feels so good all you can do is whisper it, there's nothing that turns me on more than that."

Rick met her mouth again, that time at his insistence, and then rolled them over so he was between her legs. "Are you happy?" he asked, resting his chin at her breast.

"Slide up a little and I will be," she replied jokingly before noting his thoughtfulness. "I'm sorry. Am I happy? I don't know, Castle. A lot of things changed in my life really quickly, and they were all pretty big things. Am I glad I took the job? Yeah, I am. It feels good knowing there are people who believe I can contribute something at this level, and so far I actually think I am. But the way it all happened, the things I had to leave behind, that's still hard every day."

He pressed a tender kiss to the scar beside her heart. "I brought you something." Pushing off of her, he climbed out of bed and left the room, returned with one of his bags. "I didn't even realize you'd brought it to the loft, but I found it in the nightstand on your side of the bed. I've had it at my desk ever since." He pulled it out of his things and turned around, and her face instantly lit up.

"I figured it was still in one of the boxes I haven't emptied. I can't believe I left it."

He sat down beside her and watched as she welcomed the memento she and her father had crafted of simple beach treasures back into her life like an old friend. "I'm sure he missed you, too. Maybe he can help you through some of the hard days. There's always a possibility for joy, right?"

Kate freed herself from the tangle of sheets and came for him, held him in her arms in a way she hadn't in too long. "Thank you, Castle. I love that you did this, and I'm so glad you're finally here."

"I am, too." He nuzzled into her neck, relished in her fragrance. "And, if you want to see something truly special, you should go check out what I have in my other bag," he said with a grin.

xxxx

"What did you do, pack rocks, Castle? And why am I carrying this?" Kate came back through the bedroom doorway, still bare and lugging his bag from the other room. Rick was already under the covers, propped up against the pillows, his eyes feasting shamelessly on the splendor that was her statuesque form. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like you haven't seen it before."

"Just because I've seen it doesn't make it any less beautiful the hundredth time. Put the bag down. I want to see all of you."

"Come on, Castle. It's cold."

He kicked a leg out and balanced an arm across its angle, looking every bit a lordly victor. "Not from where I'm sitting it isn't, and don't worry, I'll be happy to take care of that for you when I'm done. Besides, I flew all the way down here. Are you really trying to deny me this simple pleasure? Where's the hospitality?"

No man had ever looked at her the way Rick did, or admittedly taken such pleasure in it, and despite her vocal discomfort for the practice, she nonetheless found it impossible to deny him, and often found herself stirred in the process.

Kate opened her hands and the bag fell to the floor, with it, her eyes to the sheet that lay draped across his waist. "Fine, but tit for tat. If you get to enjoy the view, so do I." Without blinking, without hesitating for a second, he unabashedly unveiled the whole of his body in its aroused state for her to see. "Is that for me?" she asked with a playful hunger.

"That's because of you and for you. Thank you and you're welcome."

She tapped the bag with her foot. "What about these rocks? You seemed pretty excited about them a few minutes ago."

"I was excited about sending you to get them. See the distinction?" Rick glanced at the empty mattress beside him. "Now, if you're done ogling me, Agent Beckett, I'd very much like to help you with that temperature problem you mentioned."

"I've never met anyone who enjoyed flattering themselves as much as you do." She took the few steps to the edge of the bed as she talked. "We are going to need to eat something at some point."

As soon as she was near enough, he leaned over and grabbed her, pulled her in. "Trust me, I plan on doing that right now," he said, and she tickled his lips with her giggle.

xxxx

"I'm going to need to buy a new wardrobe if I eat all of this, Castle. Did you clear out the entire garbage aisle at the market?"

Piled at the foot of the bed were the contents of the second duffle Rick had brought, a vast array of snack food packets and bags, surely filled with more than the two of them combined could finish off in months, let alone a weekend.

He chewed what was left of his peanuts and tossed the wrapper over his shoulder. "Hey, I know seven weeks is a long time for a feeble brain like mine to remember something, but you said we'd only leave the bedroom for water, snacks, and destructive astronomical events. I just wanted to make sure we didn't starve in here. Besides, peanuts aren't garbage, and I got your favorites, didn't I?"

"They're covered in chocolate, Castle," Kate countered before licking the salt from her fingertips and stealing a kiss. "You're my favorite. Well, the trail mix then you." He opened his mouth to object and she dropped in one of her M&M's. "So, um, I haven't had the chance to tell you, yet, but I put in for a few days at the end of next month. I thought maybe we could go somewhere, do something together."

Fired up by the news, Rick hooked her by the ankle and drew her into his body. "No maybe, definitely we will. We'll go wherever and do whatever you want. I should be done with the book by then, so it'll be the perfect time. I'll take care of everything." She set a hand on his cheek and he nuzzled into it. "Are you sure you can swing it? The time, I mean."

"I kind of, sort of, maybe, told McCord I had to be in a wedding and couldn't get out of it, so if she calls and asks you, make sure you put your fiction hat on."

"Absolutely, no problem, I'm your man. Actually, I was going to mention I wish she'd stop calling me. It's bordering on unhealthy," he teased, "and I've already had my fill of stalkers with just the one."

Kate reached around his shoulder, glided her fingers over the skin where his attacker's knife had gone in.

"They are pretty badass scars, Castle, sexy, too, but no more for the collection, okay?" She looked up at the ceiling and shouted. "You hear that, Universe?"

He couldn't believe how perfectly she'd teed up the ball for him, and he wasn't about to let the opportunity to swing pass him by.

"It's funny you mentioned a wedding, actually, because I have another little surprise here for you, and I hope it's something else you'll be happy about." He reached behind him, watched her expression change from sunny to startled in an instant.

"Rick."

They'd been in that place once before, and everything had gone wrong, and not that they hadn't been finding their way out of it-as best they could with the obstacle that was the distance between them-but Kate still wasn't entirely sure they were ready to be there again just yet.

"Just trust me. Let me do this," he said and she tentatively met his eye. "Kate Beckett, since the day I met you, I wanted nothing more than be the partner in love you always dreamed of, the man worthy of your extraordinary heart, and I want to spend the rest of my days and years reminding you just how extraordinary it is. I want to help make every tear a smile, every day an adventure, and every wish you've ever had come true, just as you have mine. So…"

When Rick opened his hand and she saw what was hiding inside, a burst of laughter came barreling out of her. "That's a pretzel, Castle," she said with amusement in her voice, if not confusion. "You're giving me a pretzel?"

He'd secretly chewed one of his snacks out of a twist and into as round a circle as he could, the result raw but sweet. "I know it may look like just a pretzel, but it's also a promise. Look, I didn't do this right the first time, Kate, but this pretzel is a promise that I will, and that you won't have to wonder or worry when I do." He tried to slide it onto her finger, but it wouldn't travel beyond her knuckle. "Wait, no, this isn't like an omen or anything. I just-I bought the bite-size packs."

Kate held her hand up, pretended to admire the sparkle. "Sometimes it overwhelms me how much love I feel for you. I still can't explain how the hell that happened," she said in fun, "but I do know it won't ever change."

"In other words you'll love me…" he replied, clearly fishing for something.

She knew what he wanted, yet chose to deny him the swift satisfaction anyway. "Forever? Until the end of time? For the rest of my days?"

He narrowed his eyes, shook his head. "No. No. And no. You're a cruel woman, you know that?" he said as she reached for the nightstand. When she came back up, she was holding the twig figure, and she slipped the tiny oval of pretzel over one of its arms.

"You're both my joy, my dad and you." She smiled softly, then gave in, fulfilled his craving. "Always."

"Ah, cruel but romantic, Agent Beckett," he said before kicking the pile of snacks to the floor and tipping her back onto the bed.

XXXX

To everyone who dedicated their time to reading this story, you have my sincere thanks. I hope you're enjoying all the contributions to the Ficathon, and should inspiration be kind enough to strike again, I look forward to meeting you here in the fanfic neighborhood in the future.

As promised, with regards to revealing the Castle Easter egg I implemented in the piece, I direct your attention to the first letter of each chapter. In them, you'll find a word near and dear to the hearts of our duo and to all of ours. It was just a little extra something I chose to do to make the event a bit more fun.