Frozen Love (A Castle Fanfiction)

The Night She Disappeared

When I came home about a week after Gates flipped out about Rick being at the precinct, I couldn't wait to see him. Desk duty was so boring. Not having him around made doing paperwork the most tedious, annoying, drawn out, excruciating thing I had ever done, and that was now 90% of my day every day. So, when I walked in to find Rick and Brayden playing on the floor as Rick helped B try to stand, I finally found my smile, and Brayden found his voice to call, "Mama!"

Then, as Rick pulled B up to his side and rose from the floor, just to greet me with a wide smile and a gruffly soft, "There's mommy," my heart lifted. "How was work?"

"Boring," I answered, then putting my hands out to take B from Rick as we met halfway. Bouncing slightly as I brought B in for a hug and watching him curl up into my side, I asked, "How were my two bigs boys today?"

Rick's face bent. "Well, it wasn't just the two of us. Your dad stopped by for a while."

"What? Why?"

"Well, grandpa wanted to make sure his little slugger was alright and he asked a couple questions about you and the pregnancy and how you were doing now that you were back at work."

"Why didn't he stay for dinner," I questioned, bouncing B up a bit closer to my side.

Rick shrugged. "I offered, but he said he had something else he had to do. I think he just wanted to know that you were alright."

"So why not call me? I mean, all I had was paperwork. You could have called while I was on my lunch break."

"He was gone by then," Rick replied awkwardly. My face warped in displeasure. As I sighed, I thought about how our conversations had gone since I was out of the coma. He had visited at the hospital once, and that was beyond awkward, as though he was holding something back. Then, he helped Rick and me when I got home. He and Martha made dinner for us and Alexis watched Brayden with Rick and me. It was rather comfortable as though he had gotten over what he didn't say. Now, I had no idea why he was doing what he was doing. Rick then said, "He also dropped a few things off. He left B an early birthday gift which is sitting in out bedroom unopened, and he left some card thing for you. I'm not sure what it is though..."

"Brayden's birthday is in two weeks, isn't it," I asked, immediately mystified. "God, I thought I still had over a month."

Rick easily explained, "Yeah, I know. Hard to believe he's almost a year old already, huh?"

"Especially when you miss a month of his life and then work for the majority of the rest of it," I answered with a heaviness in my chest.

"Kate, you spent more time with him in his first year than most working moms do. Besides, look at him," he gestured toward B while Brayden closed his eyes and nearly slept against my chest. "He clearly couldn't imagine life without you."

My hands moved to hold the back of Brayden's head as I held him against my chest. In trying to keep him calm, while trying to sooth him as best as I could, I watched his hands cling to my shirt as his head remained over my heart. He was so big, so innocent. I couldn't believe in two weeks he would be a full year old. It was... insane. He really was my big boy. Crawling, standing, talking... Next thing I knew he would be running on the playground, learning his times tables and then, bam! He's off to college and I'm left wondering where all of that time went. "I wish he didn't have to grow up," I told Castle.

"Trust me," he replied, "I know the feeling."

My eyes wandered up to him as I swallowed back on my emotions and I asked, "Speaking of, where's Alexis?"

"At some marina speech thing with her friend."

I nodded. "So I take it she's going back to campus tonight?"

"Yeah," Rick said, not super pleased about it. He then lightened up by saying, "But that gives me time to do... other things."

"Like what? Stalk her vlog again?" He didn't respond. My eyes rolled and I shook my head. As I walked in toward the couch, passing him closely, I told him, "She's going to murder you one day for doing that."

"And on that day, I have full faith that you will fudge evidence to let her off on justifiable homicide."

I laughed. "You think I'd even charge her? Ha! I would sooner frame myself. She would never even see a pair of handcuffs."

Rick then followed, and when I looked back, I saw him smiling. "You would go to jail for her?"

"Castle, she's family. I would do anything to make sure she keeps her bright future open to her."

His smile deepened. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said in response, taking a seat on the couch. "Now get over here and kiss me like you forgot to do when I walked in." His smile again widened and he did as I asked. He then leaned back against the arm of the couch resting his hand over my stomach as I laid on top of him with Brayden standing beside the couch, then crawling around, playing with his rattles and Teddy Bear. After a short while longer, I fed him, Rick and I ate dinner, and we shared in bath time. When B was asleep, Rick and I spent a short while talking about the plans for Brayden's birthday before we decided it was time for bed. By the next morning, when I got the call in for a hit and run, neither of us realized we were both about to be thrown into yet another life-altering bout of chaos.