Prompt: Castle teaches Beckett how to swim and fluff happens

This is a continuation from the previous prompt: Pre Caskett, Beckett is thrown into a deep pool of water by a suspect and Castle dives in to save her.

20 minutes he had been waiting and there was still no sign of her. Standing by the side of the pool in his newest pair of swim shorts he wondered if she had got cold feet. It had been two weeks since the incident where their suspect had thrown Beckett into the pool and he could tell that it had really shaken her. Immediately after they had got her dry and calmed her down he had bought her a coffee and sat with her until her breathing regulated and she managed to string a comprehensive sentence together. He had never seen her like that before, her eyes were terrified and her body continued to shake for a long while after they had gotten back to the precinct. Eventually, she had told him why she had been so scared, both the incident as a child, coupled with the fact that she couldn't swim had well and truly frightened her.

It was the fact that she had said she couldn't swim that had brought them to the pool again. After spending two weeks convincing her that he would teach her how to swim in case it happened again; an event he knew was extremely unlikely but told her they couldn't be too careful, and the fact that teaching Kate Beckett how to swim might be one of the most pleasurable experiences of his life. However right now, standing on the cold tiled floor waiting for her to come out of the changing rooms, he was finding it anything but pleasurable.

She had only agreed to his plan on three conditions; one they used the pool at her local gym which opened at 4am and she insisted they be there at that ungodly hour to guarantee it would be empty. Two; she could call it off any time she wanted; he wavered on that one and told her if she chickened out, then he would get to drive her cruiser for the week. Thirdly she had a strict no touching policy, she was happy to let him teach her, but she made it clear his hands were to stay to himself. Another condition he tried to waver but she was persistent and he eventually agreed.

He had taught Alexis to swim when she was only little. Having bought her, her own pair of princess armbands and a matching swimsuit, they had spent hours in their pool at the Hamptons as he taught her how to swim and drive in. She had taken to it like a duck to water and it wasn't long before the armbands were gone and she was a confident swimmer. He knew that if he even mentioned armbands to Beckett she would twist his ear and storm back to the changing room so he decided to use a float instead, just in case.

He was just about to go to the changing room door and shout her when she emerged from the changing rooms. Her black swimming costume clinging to her skin, shaping her waist and hips. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail with stray pieces that had escaped the bobble to shape her face. He couldn't take his eyes off her and it struck him how difficult this might be. His eyes swept up and down her body, watching as she walked towards him with legs that seemed to go on forever. Although her appearance took him by surprise, there was something else about the way she was moving that was completely unlike her. She was nervous. A side to her that he had only seen once before. When she finally stopped in front of him; noticeably shorter without her heels on, he observed the finer details of how nervous she actually was; like the way she was biting her lower lip between her teeth and keeping her eyes focused on the floor or the wall, refusing to look at the pool.

"So you ready?" Castle asked, keeping a high level of enthusiasm in his voice.

He watched as she glanced at the pool. It was as if she was watching the scariest horror film of her life and was hiding behind a cushion, only to peek out when curiosity got the better of her. She was shuffling slightly on her bare feet; another sign he perceived as her being extremely nervous. She had told him about what had happened when she was little and he presumed that was why she had wanted to pool to be empty. She looked up at him, her brown eyes swirling back at his.

"Beckett you OK?" he asked, but he only received a short nod of affirmation from her. "OK, well first thing to do is sit on the side and put your legs in the water"

"We're not using the ladder?" she asked cautiously.

"No. Unless you want to submerge your body in a drastically cooler temperature all at once, this way we can get used to the temperature slowly"

If she didn't believe him she didn't let on. He wanted to see how she reacted to simply having her legs dangling in the water where she couldn't touch the floor. He moved confidently and sat down at the side of the pool, slipping his feet under the water and waiting for her to join. It took her a minute, but he could see the determination on her face as she cautiously walked over to the edge and sat down. She had told him she was afraid of water so this would be the first test, he knew if this went well then she would be fine, if not he knew this would be over far too quickly for his liking.

He watched as she tentatively placed one foot in the water, followed by the next. He couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face, which she noticed and rolled her eyes in classic Beckett fashion.

"How does that feel?" Castle asked.

"Castle, I thought you were going to teach me how to swim, not sit on the side and get my feet wet" she countered, her bravado showing through, ensuring he didn't see any signs of weakness.

"I am. But first how does this feel?"

"Cold" she stated and smiled smugly at him.

"I meant about not being able to touch the floor" As soon as the words left his mouth he saw her face drop and she shrugged her shoulder. "Is that what scares you? Not being able to touch the floor?"

"I guess" she mumbled.

"Try kicking your legs now, just to get the hang of it."

She quirked and eyebrow at him but was only met with a serious look back. She gave a few tentative swings of her legs before finally finding a rhythm she was comfortable with. They sat for ten minutes, simply getting used to the feeling of not being able to touch the floor and kicking her legs. The water rippled beneath their feet and splashed up onto their thighs. Once or twice Castle was sure he felt her leg brush up against his; he knew it was probably an accident, after all she was the one whom had put the no touching condition in place, but he could dream.

Once he felt she was comfortable he convinced her to come over to the ladder and climb in. The water was only one meter deep, so she would be able to stand up with her whole upper body out of the water. He climbed in first and waited for her to follow. He stood near the bottom of the ladder and watched as she slowly lowered herself in. Her body seemed to grow tenser with ever step lower she took as the water rose to her hips. He saw the moment her feet connected with the titled floor of the pool and he was filled with a sense of pride. But it was then he noticed she wasn't letting go of the ladder, instead she was clinging to it as if her life depended on it.

"Kate, you can let go, you're standing up on the floor"

"Can't" she murmured as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't do this Castle I'm sorry…" she said, quickly putting one foot back on the ladder as she got ready to pull herself out, when his hand covered hers on the ladder and stopped her.

"Kate wait" He looked at where his hand was, it had been a natural reaction to rest his hand upon hers, to comfort her and give her the strength she needed to do this. "Just give it a try OK, I'm right here, nothing is going to happen, just think of it like standing up in your bath"

She couldn't help but laugh at that. Turning back to face him she took a moment to steady herself before nodding her head and focusing on the task at hand. Slowly, and with great care she moved back down into the water.

He wasn't sure exactly how it happened but in the process of her turning around she entwined her fingers with his and before he knew what was happening she was holding his hand as he guided her into the water. Once in, she eventually let go of the ladder but kept a firm grip on his hand,

"OK?" he questioned, making sure to check she was genuinely alright.

"Um-hum" she nodded and fixed her eyes on his.

"OK, now move your arms under the water" he went to let go of her hand but she stopped him with a firm grip.

"Castle" she said quickly, "don't let go just yet, OK?"

"Sure" he replied. He knew his face must look a picture because Beckett – miss no touch policy – had just asked him to hold her hand, well something to that extent anyway.

They made their way slowly into the pool, there was no one else there making it easier to navigate their way towards the center of the shallow end. He had no intention of going near the deep end that would come with time. Today it was simply about getting her used to the water and possibly going to a part of the pool where she needed to stand on her tip toes to reach the bottom, he wasn't about to suggest diving in the deep end and hoping for the best.

He noticed that the further away from the side they got, the tighter her grip on his hand became. They stopped in the center of the shallow end, the water dancing around their hips as he tried to remember exactly what had let to them both being in extremely limiting clothing and soaking wet.

"So to start with I thought you could just try lifting your legs off the floor and moving your arms. You can touch the floor so if you get worried just put your feet down and stand up." He instructed, he expected a quick comeback from her but instead she slowly let go of his hand and did as he said.

He watched as she slowly but surely became more confident. She began to move her arms through the water and take her feet off the floor. Each time she moved her movements became stronger and more confident.

"That's great Kate. Now we're going to go a little deeper and use the float to support you and try breaststroke; but we'll keep your head above the water." He explained and he could see she was slightly confused, "so moving your arms and legs just like you have been doing now" he assured her.

Grabbing the small float he demonstrated how to use it, by putting it on his chest and lying flat in the water and showing her what to do with her arms and legs. He moved to the side of her and handed her the float and watched as she very carefully tilted herself forward so she was further into the water. His hands instinctively went to her waist to steady her, the soft material of her swimsuit under his fingers felt like satin, but he tried to focus his thoughts. Ever so slowly Kate got the hang of it was picking up speed, travelling from one side of the pool to the other, getting further into the deep end each time.

It was on the third lap; when the water was up to Castle upper arms that things started to go slightly wrong. By now he had let go of her and was simply staying close to her just in case she needed him, which unfortunately she did. He saw her wobble slightly but by now she was determined not to give up, but she couldn't stop herself when she tilted too much to one side and slipped off the side of the small float. Having not realized how deep they now were the usual panic that came with not being able to touch the floor rose in her chest and she reached blindly to grab Castle's hand, however in her panic she managed to grab not only his hand but his upper arm and pull herself into his arms.

"It's alright Kate, I've got you" he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and waded his way back towards the shallow end. He moved them into the far corner where she could stand up and hold onto the sides.

She didn't speak for a moment and he didn't push her to, he simply held onto her until she had calmed down. Although this seemed like a slightly set back he knew that she had achieved something great today.

"I think that's enough for today Kate. You've done great, just then you didn't panic, you saved yourself" he told her, the pride spilling from his lips.

"I grabbed onto you" she whispered and he could tell she felt slightly defeated.

"Yes, and that's OK. It's your first time in the water, there is no rush"

"Thank you Rick." She said smiling at him, "I know I'm not the easiest student to teach"

"Oh please you should have been there when I tried to teach Alexis, it took me four attempts to get her to not jump in without her armbands on."

Kate laughed, knowing that it was probably true. It was then she noticed that she still had a firm grip on his bicep, clutching the muscles beneath, but no longer to steady herself. She could stand up now, she was fine, but she couldn't bring herself to let go just yet.

"I was really swimming?" she questioned, more to herself than Castle.

"Yep, kicking your legs and everything."

"Thank you Rick. I never thought I would be able to do that" she said sincerely, smiling up at him.

"Not a problem. I enjoyed it, and it's not every day I get to see you in a bathing suit"

"Well take a good look Castle, because after today you won't be seeing me in it again"

It was a natural reaction to respond to him like that, but the truth be told, she kind of liked seeing him in only his swimming trunks. She had been too preoccupied by her fear of water to notice how incredible he looked. His toned figure seemed more prominent in the water as his wet hair swept across his face.

There was a silence between them. Each of them slightly disappointed that this was coming to an end, though none of them would admit it just yet.

"So" Castle finally said, "how about we get changed and I buy you a celebratory coffee? I'll even throw in a bear claw"

"Twist my arm" Kate replied as they made their way back to the changing rooms – and no she wasn't staring at his ass on the way back.

Inside the nearest coffee shop they each sat with their preferred coffees and a bear claw each, discussing how the swimming session had gone. She was pleased with herself, she had concurred a great fear today but there were butterflies in her stomach for a completely different reason. She had been the one to call a no touch policy, but in the pool it had simply felt natural. The way he guided her and they moved together in the water felt like a delicate dance they had been doing for years. When she thought she was in danger her first instinct was to reach for him because she knew he always had her back.

"So" Castle continued, although she had lost all concept of what he had been saying to her for the past few minutes, "you think you will go swimming again soon?"

Kate shrugged her shoulder, "I don't know"

The truth was she didn't want to go on he own, it was fun with Castle, and she secretly enjoyed seeing him flexing his muscles under the water.

"Why not?" he asked, raising an eye brow at her.

"I'm not sure if I want to go on my own just yet" she admitted, glancing up at him and catching her bottom lip between her teeth again, but this time for a completely different reason.

"But I thought you said I didn't get to have the pleasure of seeing you in a bathing suit again?"

"Yeah well, I'm entitled to change my mind aren't I?"

"Absolutely." He replied quickly, far too quickly but she didn't mind, they both knew where this was going. And it wasn't back to the pool side.