59. 61: Thursday

61

Jeez. Where has she gone to now?

All day like this, in and out of his view, flickering at the edges. He wishes she'd pick a spot and settle to it. Either she wants to be near him or she wants time to herself.

Castle stops at the entrance to their bedroom, finds her on her stomach on the bed, head propped up with one hand as she reads a manuscript.

She brought those with her?

He steps over the threshold and stands silently for a moment, watching her read, and then she turns her head just enough, a slight movement of permission, and he comes forward, kneeling beside the bed, elbows on the mattress.

Castle runs his hand up the back of her calf and she twitches him off, pulling her body away as she turns on her side. "Hey," she murmurs.

"Hey."

"I'm trying to work," she supplies, giving him an eyebrow.

He shrugs. "Okay."

"You can survive without me for another hour or so."

He can tell that she intended for it to be a softly spoken question, but it comes out a little harsh. Ah. Too much togetherness.

Yeah, actually, he's kinda hit his limit too. Which is interesting. He's never gone through a honeymoon period this strange before. Or short. Or long, actually? Because it's been weeks, but it's also been four years-

Really, he has no idea. Kate Beckett is a singular entity, and a relationship with her is like no other in his life.

And that pleases him.

"Alexis and I were heading out to the beach," he says by way of explanation. "Just came to tell you."

"Oh. Good. Yeah," she says back, her mouth in a half-apologetic smile.

No need; he's not offended. He feels the same, and that's kind of a relief.

"You. . .don't want me to come?" she murmurs, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Not especially," he says back warmly, grinning at her.

She startles a glance at him, their eyes locking now, and then she laughs. "Good."

"It might be longer than an hour, so. . ."

"No, yeah. Good. That's good, Castle."

He shifts back to his feet, rises from beside the bed. His hand brushes her shoulder as he turns to leave and she catches him, squeezing his fingers.

He wriggles them in his her grip and heads out.

Kate stands at the open sliding glass doors, presses her fingertips to the screen as she watches Castle and Alexis standing at the shoreline.

After a long moment studying him, she's convinced. He's okay. They're okay. Even when she's. . .like this.

She turns away, feels the cool breeze against her skin as it snakes through the screen. Kate moves back into the bedroom, picks up the manuscript, the pen, and settles again in the bed.

The quiet is welcome, and she closes her eyes for just a second, reveling in it.

And then she goes back to the page.

He checks the time and is surprised to find that he and Alexis have been out here for three hours. "Hey. Time to re-apply, Alexis."

She glances back at him, then hurries over and grabs him by the wrist, pulling his phone into her line of sight.

"It's one-thirty already? Dad!"

"What?"

"Lunch. We totally missed lunch. And I should've reapplied sunblock like an hour ago."

"Oops?"

"If I burn right before I have to go home, I'm gonna kill you."

"Your own fault. Never appoint me time-keeper. You know I'm a procrastinator."

Alexis sighs and digs around in the bag for her sunblock, whips it out. "What about lunch?"

"I wasn't hungry till you said something. Brunch was only four hours ago."

"Breakfast."

"Brunch."

"Whatever," she rolls her eyes, smears sunscreen down her arm, works it into the skin at her shoulder. "What about Kate?"

"What about Kate?"

"Well. I mean. Don't you - aren't you supposed to - well, shouldn't you see if we should-" Alexis stumbles into silence and huffs at her father. "Help me out here."

"I think Kate can do her own thing. In fact, I think Kate will have already done her own thing."

"Oh."

"What's the 'oh' for?"

"Just. Is that how it's supposed to go?"

Castle gives her a look, takes the sunblock from her and squirts some into his palm. He makes a motion for her to turn and she gives him her back.

As he rubs the lotion into her skin quickly, he explains. "Kate's not the kind of person who holds back. You know that. If she wanted lunch, then she ate lunch."

"But shouldn't she have come out here and asked you if you wanted to get lunch with her?"

"Why?"

His daughter growls and her shoulders shrug under his hands. "I don't know. Because that's what couples do?"

"Do they have to? Because, jeez, if Kate has to get my permission to eat-"

"Not what I'm talking about, and you know it."

He sighs back at her. "I know. But Alexis, this thing with Kate is just going to be different, I think. It already is different. And I'm glad for that - if it's going to last, then it has to be different. Don't you think?"

"It's different because you guys know each other so well," Alexis says quietly. "Because you were friends first. For so long. That will make it last too."

"Yeah, I think that changes the dynamic. Sure."

"But she loves you. And you love her."

"Yeah." His heart races suddenly, even as he says it so matter-of-fact. Because something in his heart will always quicken to the idea that Kate Beckett wants him. Chooses him. Over everything else.

"Well, but maybe you should go in there and ask her anyway."

"Ask her what?"

"If she wants to eat lunch with us."

"She probably already-"

"Maybe. But if you ask her, then you let her know that. . .that you're considering her too now. That she's a part of this."

He watches the side of his daughter's face for a moment, and then rubs his palms down her arms to get rid of the last of the sunblock.

"All right."

Alexis turns around, faces him.

"You don't think that's too clingy though?" he says in a moment's hesitation, hating that he's asking at all. But this is Beckett after all.

Alexis smiles. "No. I think it means you missed her for the last few hours."

"I did," he answers softly, surprised to realize it's true.

"Then go invite her to lunch with us."

Kate has just finished the third manuscript, pleased with herself for getting through it, when her stomach growls in warning.

She checks the time and sighs to herself - she forgot to eat lunch and without Castle's eager, let's go eat now face, she had no one to not-so-subtly remind her.

Kate sits up in bed and wonders where he went to.

She thought, this morning, that if she had to spend another minute with him she was going to do some damage, but now that she's alone. . .

She misses him.

Kate drops the manuscript back on top of her duffle bag, heads for the bedroom door. She steps into the living room at the same time that Castle comes back through the sliding glass doors.

He's red-nosed again, cheeks kissed with too much sun, freckles glowing darkly from his forearms, his biceps. He stops when he sees her, something hesitant flickering in his eyes.

"Alexis and I are stopping for lunch. Wanna come? We're going to walk down to that deli."

Her stomach growls again and she grins widely at him, inordinately pleased he came back for her.

"Yeah. I do actually. Let me find my sandals."

He grins back, easy and wide, and her heart flips in her chest to see it.

His hand raises and catches the pocket of her shorts, tugs, and she's suddenly up against his chest, warm with sun.

His mouth comes to hers in a slow kiss that goes nowhere, does nothing, but only, somehow, reaffirms everything. Everything right in that chaste, sweet meeting of their lips.

"Hurry," he says then, drawing back from her only slightly. "We're starving."

Yeah. Suddenly she is too.

And she could eat.