Emergence

Chapter 94

After what had happened at his mother's wedding, Castle was hesitant to allow caterers into the loft. The Old Haunt was unavailable because it was hosting a double darts tournament. Young writers would have to pen their best literary barbs and then compete at throwing non-metaphorical pointed objects at a board. The highest combined score would win a month's worth of beer and fried pickles. With those two options off the table, Castle had rented a small ballroom for the evening, after thoroughly vetting the hotel's staff.

Kate gazed out at the dancers gyrating to the upbeat musical selections of a popular local DJ. The bartender at the open bar was efficiently providing beverages, alcoholic and otherwise and the buffet table overflowed with both sweet and savory offerings. "Babe, this is some party!"

"When you graduated from law school you said you wanted to save the celebration for when you passed the bar," Castle reminded her. "Well, you have, with flying colors and we both can do with a night of riotous living. Between your clerkship and my new series of books, neither one of us has had one in a while."

Hips swinging in time with the music, Lanie grabbed Kate's elbow. "Come on girl! You should get out there."

"Go ahead," Castle urged. "There's something I need to check on."

Castle approached a man seated at a table with Mira Goldstone. His leathery tan and the deep grooves in his face spoke of many years spent outside. "Is everything ready, Jacob?"

"Down to the ribbon on the door," Mira's companion replied.

"Great! Kate's position with Judge Perry finishes up at the end of the week, and I want her to know what's waiting for her."

"I think she knows that Rick," Mira interjected, "a lot of hard work. But she'll love every minute of it."

"Work is something Kate has never minded, even when it's been at its most frustrating, I just want her to have a great venue to pursue it."

"She will Rick," Jacob assured him. "And the place is just like you said you wanted, solid, high quality, but nothing fancy to scare off her clients."

Castle clapped his hands together. "Outstanding."

"Now that that's settled, get your tuches out there and dance with your wife," Mira ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Castle agreed meekly.

"What were you talking to Mira about?" Kate asked.

"I just wanted to make sure the kosher dishes on the buffet met with her standards. They're fine. She was enjoying the pastrami."

"I would hope so. You chose the only hotel in town with both a kosher deli and a vegan restaurant. Then you twisted arms to have their food brought up here."

"No arm-twisting was necessary, just a flash of titanium, my credit card, that is. But it was worth it to make sure all our guests are comfortable."

"And how about you?" Kate asked. "You were hunched over your keyboard until the moment Mrs. Jenkins arrived to sit for Jo."

Castle recalled that he could have used a little more time to tame the paragraph that was stubbornly fighting him, but felt he'd get a better handle on it after some time away from the battle. Despite the rapid tempo of the music, he pulled Kate close, lightly kissing her hair. "Never been better."

"Did you have a good time?" Castle asked as he joined Kate in bed.

"It was a terrific get-together, Castle, but I thought we could have one now with a more restricted guest list."

"Just how restricted?" Castle murmured.

"Kate poked her hand beneath the waistband of his pajamas. I thought I'd invite him to come out and play. That is if he's up for it."

Rick could feel himself responding to her touch. "If he isn't, he will be very shortly."

"Babe, one thing neither one of you have ever been is short."

"Ah, one of the nicest things you have ever said about either of us." He pulled at the ribbon securing her negligée. "I can think of two luscious ladies who should join the fun, too."

"They may need a little encouragement of their own, Castle."

"And it would be my great pleasure to give them some." He circled a firming bud with his tongue before taking into his mouth. Kate drew in a sharp breath, and began to grind against his growing arousal. He turned his attention to the other impatient bud."

Kate swept her fingertips down the expanse of his back. "Babe, how about sucking on something a little lower?"

Castle's lungs raggedly pulled in air. "If you'll join in the feast."

Kate shifted position in wordless answer, her back arching as his tongue found the core of her desire. Writhing against sheets rapidly dampening with sweat, she took as much of him into the heated depths of her mouth as she could. The bedsprings protested, and the headboard slammed against the wall as their urgency surged. Kate pulled back as she tasted the tang of the first pearlescent drop on her tongue, the pressure within her striving toward eruption. The desperate cry of"Babe!" forced itself from her throat as she reversed position again and with a familiar grasp on his bum, pulled him into her intimate sheath. She tightened around him, wave after wave sweeping through her as she felt the spasm that signaled he'd scaled his own summit. They collapsed against each other, clinging tightly as the universe spun. As sleep descended on them, still in a tangled embrace, Rick whispered, "Best party ever."

"Castle, where are we going?" Kate demanded.

"I told you, it's a surprise," Castle responded for the third time on their short drive uptown.

"And you know I hate surprises," Kate groused.

"Well, you'll like this one," He assured her. He pulled into a parking lot and slipped a placard up against the front window.

"What's that for?" Kate asked.

"To show that you're paid up for a year."

"Paid up for what? Castle, where are we?"

Castle strode around the car and offered his hand as Kate stuck her leg out the passenger door. "All will be revealed in a moment." Castle led the way down the sidewalk to a nearby office building. Rather than hard edges of shiny steel and glass, it showed the grace of an earlier era, crafted in stone. He guided her into the vestibule, where they traversed a mosaic tile floor to reach an elevator framed and paneled in mahogany, rich with the patina of age. Castle pushed the button for the second floor.

The first thing Kate saw when the lift doors opened, was a huge purple bow affixed to the frosted glass of an office door. "Castle, what…?"

Castle placed one end of the ribbon into her hand. "Pull on it."

The bow released, revealing what was painted beneath, "Katherine Beckett, Attorney-at-Law, Women's Advocacy."

Kate ran her fingertips over the letters, "Oh, Castle!"

Rick handed her a key. "Of course, it's your office, so you can change anything you want, but I thought I'd at least have the basics ready for you."

Kate opened the door. The first thing she saw was a wooden desk, with simple lines and the scars of decades of use. Castle followed her gaze. "That belonged to Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She used it when she and Susan B. Anthony ran their paper together. I bid for it online from an auction hosted by the director who made Girl Vampire. I thought it would be appropriate to your passion. And the chair was used by Gloria Steinem when she first started working as a columnist. I figured you're both tall, so it might be a good fit. The drapes are insulated, eco-friendly, and they'll achieve a complete blackout if you want to catch a nap on the couch, which isn't historical, but it is cozy. I had shelves put in to hold your law books. I know you like to go the dead tree route sometimes, instead of searching for citations online. But the wi-fi reception is good, with a firewall as impenetrable as I could get, without going to Dad's old pals. Everything in the bathroom works, and it's been thoroughly disinfected."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Only you would add those last little details to an otherwise totally romantic description. I love it, Babe." Kate wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss to his lips. "And I love you even more for understanding what I needed to do and helping me get here."

Castle brushed an errant strand of hair her face and lightly caressed her cheek. "I'm sure the heroic exploits of Kate Beckett are just beginning."

Finis

Some you have been asking for a return to my AU story, Ian, which I ended shortly after Castle was canceled so that I could write the future history of the Castle family. Some of you have read that saga in Life Goes On, Distress from the Dungeons, and Life goes On 2. I love Ian, and I've always wanted to revisit his alternate universe. If you are not familiar with it, Rick had married Kyra. They had a son Ian. Kyra died of cancer when Ian was an infant. Although Ian is a talented artist and very perceptive, he is also learning disabled, particularly where reading is concerned. Castle's personality and attitudes have been shaped by both fighting to give Ian the best opportunities can, and also by the grief he suffered at Kyra's death. Of course, he ends up finding love again with Kate. For any more details, read the story. That might take you a while. It's 69 chapters. That still makes it shorter than this one. If you want, you could cheat a little and just read a few chapters at the end. So, tomorrow is the start of Ian 2. Thank you for staying with me while Kate (and Tim) emerged from darkness. Love, Sally.