'Nikki rounded the corner, breathing hard. Sweat was trickling down her back, her heart was beating furiously, her beautifully sculptured face-"
She smiled – thumb lodged in between her lips – and rolled her eyes.
"-was tense in concentration. But the gun was steady in her grip. She found solace in the cool metallic feel of the weapon, the familiar weight in her hands. She had the target in sight-'
She became aware of a consistent and annoying sound coming from her bedside table. She reluctantly drew her eyes away from the page and sighed in frustration. Her phone was ringing. However, when she saw her husband's face lighting up the screen, a large smile erupted over her features.
"Hey," she greeted huskily, knowing exactly the type of reaction she would illicit. Rick took a moment and cleared his throat.
He was so easy.
"H-hi, Honey," he replied sweetly. After a moment, he added: "I didn't wake you, did I?"
Kate glanced at the clock. 23:26. She had trouble sleeping without him there. And she really, really hated book tours. Especially if they were six weeks long and especially when you couldn't go because you have a nine month-old who is currently teething and who has been sick for the last week.
"No Babe, you didn't."
Wow. Babe.
He grinned. "Babe, huh? You must miss me, KC."
A smile tugged at her lips as she subconsciously bit her lip, the way she always did when they flirted. She glanced down and toyed with edge of the page where she had stopped reading. "Well maybe a little…" Her small smile grew into a devilish grin. "Stud," she said huskily, her voice dripping with sex.
The grin fell from Rick's lips as blood involuntarily rushed southward. He groaned. "Kaaattteee."
That got him.
Every.
Time.
"What?" She asked with faux-innocence, still smiling of course.
"Don't tease me," he responded, his voice strained.
"Why not… stud?" She just couldn't resist.
Rick groaned again. "Because, Honey, you are going to give me a permanent hard-on if you keep doing that."
She laughed and shook her head. "Stop being so melodramatic, Castle."
"I'm not!" He whined. "I'm horny, my wife is thousands of miles away and I haven't had sex in weeks. Ergo, anything you say in a remotely sexy and/or husky tone is bound to cause a reaction."
Kate laughed softly and rolled her eyes. Yep, he was Martha Rodgers' son.
There were a few beats of silence. "Uh... so what are you wearing?" He asked, lowering his voice.
A desperately turned-on man was pretty damn predictable.
"Rick," she admonished.
"Ah come one. Please, Babe. You've already caused a bit of an, umm, uproar on my end."
She was startled for a moment, a blush colouring her cheeks. He was serious? He really had an erec-? Just from what she said?
Whoa. Wow. Now she was turned on.
But when Lizzy let out a soft, squeaky sigh, she turned to look at the small bundle lying beside her on a pillow. Her features softened in motherly appraisal as she studied her daugther's adorable face. She was already the spitting image of her mother. "Sorry, Sweetheart, but I'm not having phone sex with you when our daughter is sleeping next to me."
There was silence at the other end for a few moments before he spoke again, his voice carrying the unmistakable tender tone of a loving, protective father. "How is she? I miss her."
Kate smiled softly as she studied Lizzy's features, brushing a few fingers gently across her cheek. "Ah, she's still a little sick, but doing much better. She misses her daddy too." She paused for a few seconds, brushing a hand over Lizzy's head. "I miss him too."
He sighed. "It'll be over soon. Only three weeks left."
"Ugghh, don't remind me. I'm counting the days."
"I'm counting the hours."
She let out a chuckle. "So… how is it going?"
"Well, Gina is driving me up the wall..."
He told her about the book signings, the interviews, the over-eager fangirls which included an overzealous 65 year-old cougar. He left out the part where said overzealous cougar planted one on him in public without warning. He cringed and shivered as he replayed the trauma in his head. Thankfully word seemed to get to the co-eds and celebutants that he was a happily married man who didn't perform the breast-signing-gimmick anymore. She was thankful for that.
Kate kept him up to date with the newest drama surrounding the upcoming Parish/Esposito-nuptials. She also told him about her dad and Cameron and how she felt about the seriousness of their relationship. When tears started to roll down her cheeks, his steady, rumbling voice soothed, comforted and reassured her that she wasn't being cruel for missing her mother. He made a quip that teasing your husband like she did earlier was cruel and she let out a watery laugh, her spirits immediately lifted. She also kept him up to date with their cute nine month-old's progress, in particular how Lizzy had started crawling around. He had to swallow his tears upon hearing that.
Eventually when Kate looked at the clock again, it read 00:41. She let out a yawn and Rick abruptly stopped talking; he was in the middle of telling her about the interview he was going to the following day.
"I think it's past your bedtime, Mrs. Castle."
"No! I'm fine. Not that tired." Despite her protests, her eyes were drooping.
She yawned again and Rick laughed softly.
"Yeah, sure." He sighed. He also didn't want to hang up yet. "It's late, Babe. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Promise. You need to get some sleep."
She let out a heavy, very petulant sigh. "Fine."
He smiled at her whiny tone. "Give my baby girl a kiss, okay?"
"Will do, Daddy."
He just couldn't resist. "Ooh, say that again."
Kate wearily rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she responded around another yawn.
He chuckled. "Night Hon, sleep tight-"
"-And don't let the bed bugs bite. Love you."
"Love you too." There was a brief moment of silence. "And Kate?"
She could practically see the mischievious glint in his eyes. "Yeah?"
"Could you please send me a few pictures with you in something sexy and lacy? Ooh, or even better - naked! I'm dying over here."
She rolled her eyes. "Night, Castle."
Before she went to sleep, though, she sent Rick a photo of his two girls snuggling in bed. Upon seeing the image, his throat suddenly constricted and his vision became blurry as longing tore through him.
Lizzy was nestled on top of her mother's chest, sleeping soundly, while Kate held a hand protectively on her small back. She was smiling softly - a smile she reserved only for him - while her mysterious olive eyes were peaceful and content, the storminess that once occupied them nowhere to be seen.
She was happy. Tired, he could deduce from the dark circles under her eyes, but happy. His lips tilted slightly, his throat still burning as he closely perused Lizzy's small form. His baby girl had grown; he couldn't tell exactly how, but he just knew that she had. She looked more and more like her mother every day.
Rick swiped at his eyes and let out a shaky breath. He seriously had to stop himself from packing up and heading home.
After all, that's where his heart was.
Always.
[][][]
May be surrounded by a million people
I still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know
Let me go home
I'm just too far from where you are
I wanna come home
Lyrics are from Michael Buble's "Home". Yeah, I know, it's pretty cheesy, but it fits perfectly.
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