Chinese and Memories
Title: Chinese and Memories
Author: digitaldesigner
Beta: hazel_eyes_86
Word Count: 533
Rating: PG
Spoilers: A spoiler-free zone.
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Summary: A bad day calls for special measures.
Disclaimer: If you recognize them, they belong to Andrew Marlowe. Otherwise, they're mine.
Kate Beckett was annoyed. It seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong had gone wrong today. First, her alarm hadn't gone off and she was late to work. The boys had found that funny as hell and hadn't stopped teasing her all day. At lunch, she'd spilled soup all down herself and had to go home to change. As if all that wasn't bad enough, their prime suspect had an airtight alibi so they were back at square one with nothing.
She sighed and pushed open the unlocked door to her apartment. She drew her gun; she knew she'd locked it when she left this afternoon. When the door slid open, there sat Richard Castle, smiling gently, prompting a small smile, despite how she was feeling. She should have known. He was one of only two people she trusted enough to give a key to.
"Castle, what are you doing here?" she asked as he helped her off with her coat and handed her a glass of wine.
"I thought you could use a relaxing night," he told her simply.
"And you thought you'd help?" she asked, noticing the appetizing smell of her favorite Chinese takeout.
He handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Yes."
She smiled her first real smile all day. "Thank you."
***
An hour later, the food was gone and Castle gently rubbed her feet as they talked about their childhood memories. "Your mother did not!" she exclaimed, laughing.
"I kid you not. She dressed up as Santa Claus when Alexis was five, which was all well and good, but she forgot to take off her earrings. So here is this Santa, stuffing and all, with these earrings dangling from her ears."
"What'd Alexis say?"
"She was thankfully too excited to notice anything except for the fact that Santa was standing by our tree. When I got her back to bed, I took pictures of 'Santa'." He paused, an evil glint in his eye. "I bring them out to show Mother every Christmas."
Kate wiped the tears from her eyes. "It must have been quite interesting growing up under her roof," she commented.
"To say the least," he agreed.
Castle poured them both another glass of wine. "What were Christmases like when you were a kid?"
She got a wistful look on her face. "We would wake up early on Christmas morning, open gifts as a family, then about noon we'd go over to Grandma and Grandpa Beckett's, open more gifts, eat lots of food and spend the day playing with toys and enjoying the family."
He smiled at the image in his mind. "Sounds perfect."
"It was."
"One day we'll take our children to see their Grandpa Beckett and Grandma Martha, who will both spoil them like crazy."
"Pretty much a guarantee," she agreed. "And don't forget their big sister, Alexis."
"Alexis has always wanted to be a big sister," he told her.
"You realize we're gonna be in trouble, right?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," he agreed.
***
Later that night, Kate lay in Rick's arms, fast asleep. He kissed the top of her head softly and closed his own eyes, following the woman he loved into a restful slumber.
Author: digitaldesigner
Beta: hazel_eyes_86
Word Count: 533
Rating: PG
Spoilers: A spoiler-free zone.
Pairing: Castle/Beckett
Summary: A bad day calls for special measures.
Disclaimer: If you recognize them, they belong to Andrew Marlowe. Otherwise, they're mine.
Kate Beckett was annoyed. It seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong had gone wrong today. First, her alarm hadn't gone off and she was late to work. The boys had found that funny as hell and hadn't stopped teasing her all day. At lunch, she'd spilled soup all down herself and had to go home to change. As if all that wasn't bad enough, their prime suspect had an airtight alibi so they were back at square one with nothing.
She sighed and pushed open the unlocked door to her apartment. She drew her gun; she knew she'd locked it when she left this afternoon. When the door slid open, there sat Richard Castle, smiling gently, prompting a small smile, despite how she was feeling. She should have known. He was one of only two people she trusted enough to give a key to.
"Castle, what are you doing here?" she asked as he helped her off with her coat and handed her a glass of wine.
"I thought you could use a relaxing night," he told her simply.
"And you thought you'd help?" she asked, noticing the appetizing smell of her favorite Chinese takeout.
He handed her a pair of chopsticks. "Yes."
She smiled her first real smile all day. "Thank you."
***
An hour later, the food was gone and Castle gently rubbed her feet as they talked about their childhood memories. "Your mother did not!" she exclaimed, laughing.
"I kid you not. She dressed up as Santa Claus when Alexis was five, which was all well and good, but she forgot to take off her earrings. So here is this Santa, stuffing and all, with these earrings dangling from her ears."
"What'd Alexis say?"
"She was thankfully too excited to notice anything except for the fact that Santa was standing by our tree. When I got her back to bed, I took pictures of 'Santa'." He paused, an evil glint in his eye. "I bring them out to show Mother every Christmas."
Kate wiped the tears from her eyes. "It must have been quite interesting growing up under her roof," she commented.
"To say the least," he agreed.
Castle poured them both another glass of wine. "What were Christmases like when you were a kid?"
She got a wistful look on her face. "We would wake up early on Christmas morning, open gifts as a family, then about noon we'd go over to Grandma and Grandpa Beckett's, open more gifts, eat lots of food and spend the day playing with toys and enjoying the family."
He smiled at the image in his mind. "Sounds perfect."
"It was."
"One day we'll take our children to see their Grandpa Beckett and Grandma Martha, who will both spoil them like crazy."
"Pretty much a guarantee," she agreed. "And don't forget their big sister, Alexis."
"Alexis has always wanted to be a big sister," he told her.
"You realize we're gonna be in trouble, right?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," he agreed.
***
Later that night, Kate lay in Rick's arms, fast asleep. He kissed the top of her head softly and closed his own eyes, following the woman he loved into a restful slumber.