Castle and The Originals

Chapter 27

"When does it get easier?"

"Oh Darling." Martha sat on the side of the bed next to Kate's hip and shook her head. "Never."

Kate didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her mother-in-law always seemed to have that effect on her. Underneath all the flamboyancy and eccentricity Martha Rogers was one of the wisest women Kate had ever known; second only to her own mother of course.

"I keep making the wrong choice. Why does it come so much earlier to him?"

"He's had almost eighteen years of practice." Martha sais.

She patted Kate's hand.

"He made his share of mistakes; all parents do, believe me. Don't tell Richard this, but when I was about 4 months pregnant I was out with a group of friends celebrating after a performance and..." Martha paused, Kate could tell she was ashamed of what she was about to admit. "I was on my third glass of scotch before I realized what I was doing; I hadn't even given him a second thought."

"Martha?"

"I know Dear, I worried about the effect of that one mistake every second until the day he was born." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Martha spoke again. "That's half of what motherhood is; just a series of impossible choices followed by years of worry that you did or said the right thing."

Kate snorted. "You make it sound so..."

"Dismal, I know. Then there's the other half; the half that relishes every smile, every word, every accomplishment, all the while you're wondering what the hell you did right to have been given such an amazing gift."

Kate's phone chimed from the nightstand, she quickly read the massage and typed a brief response. "Alexis has been texting me every hour since..."

"What did Richard have to promise her to keep her from jumping on the first plane home?"

Kate shook her head. "I'm not sure, I was still a bit groggy from all the medicine but I think he may have mentioned of a car."

"Sounds like Richard."

Again there were a few more minutes of silence. Kate wasn't uncomfortable; she enjoyed spending time with Martha and she really didn't want to be alone at the moment. It was nice to have a bit of company since she was given strict orders to stay in bed. She could get up to go to the bathroom and maybe take a quick shower, but that was it. They had returned home from the hospital around nine o'clock that morning; it was now approaching sunset and Rick had barely spent more than ten minutes at a time with her.

Kate finally broke the silence. "You raised a good man Martha; never doubt that."

Martha smiled a proud smile and then moved closer to her daughter-in-law. She reached out and touched Kate's face. She loved this woman; the one that had finally claimed her son's heart.

"Coming from you that means a lot. I've got to get going, but just consider one thing. You can't compete with him Kate, and you don't have to?" Martha saw the confused look on the young woman's face. "You'll run yourself ragged trying to do as much for him as he does for you, for Alexis, for me and for these babies. My son is a doer, always has been; it's who he is, what he does, how he loves."

"And I'm supposed to do what?"

"Let him, love him, come home safe every night to him and his children; that's all he wants, all he needs really."

"I get it now." Rick stood just inside the open door to the loft.

"Get what?"

He was seething. "Why you insist on being called Sir. You've surely got balls of steel to come to our door after what you did."