Back and Forth (A Castle Fanfiction)

Under the Moon

The sounds of a wailing infant shocked Kate awake around midnight their first night home. The moment her eyes burst open, she looked up to see that Henry was writhing about in his bassinet. As she tried to sit up, however, her stomach began to flare in pain. She then back-handed her lover laying beside her. Rick's eyes slowly opened as she told him, "You'll get to him a lot faster than I will."

Castle understood almost instantly what she meant and soon rolled over to wander toward his son. As he lifted Henry to his chest, bouncing the child softly, he looked down at the woman on the bed and told her, "This is our life now. You know that, right? For the next six months, you can kiss sleep goodbye."

Kate just smiled at her writer and held out her hands, telling him, "Hand the boy over." Rick rolled his eyes and followed her instructions, carefully passing the infant to his mother as he sat down at the edge of the bed. Watching Kate softly soothe the premature newborn as he continued to writhe and carry on the silent wail of discomfort, he watched her eyes lock on the baby with total mesmerizing power. "What time is it?"

The writer looked at the clock, following her train of thought, telling her, "Probably feeding time."

"That's what I thought," Kate replied. "Will you take him back for a second while I..."

"Yeah, sure," the writer answered, aiding his fiance as best he could. She adjusted her top as best she could and then decided to hell with it and pulled the thing completely off. She was in her own home. It no longer mattered. Once she was finished adjusting, Rick handed his child over once again and Kate proceeded to do what she had to in order to feed their son.

While Henry ate, his parents watched him for a while until Rick finally interrupted the silence. "How are you feeling by the way? Any better?"

"Sleeping in my own bed definitely did wonders," Kate replied, looking at her lover with a chaste kind of adoration.

He replied, "I certainly hope so."

Once again, the room went silent aside from the subtle sounds Henry was making. The new parents continued to watch their baby boy for a while longer until finally, Kate broke. She had to ask the question that had been weighing on her since the near moment she woke up. "What are we going to do about my father, Rick?"

The writer shrugged. "I don't know what we can do. He's being held on assault charges, Kate. He nearly killed you and our son, and we're very lucky he didn't end up causing any permanent damage. Plus, I'm not about to ask that taxi driver to drop the charges he filed, and- I'm still not thoroughly convinced you shouldn't be pressing charges."

"I'm not filing an assault charge against my father that would seal his jail sentence for at least a year, if not more."

Rick then sighed. "Well, fine, but- I really think we need to consider getting a temporary restraining order until your father is at least six months sober."

"He's my dad," Kate said bluntly, looking at the man before her. Castle finally looked into her eyes and saw how much pain this was causing her as her golden sea-foam gaze swirled and gleamed with a sheet of glistening heartbreak. This seemed to be killing her, ripping her to pieces, shredding her heart in a way only familial grief could. He didn't know what to say at first. He only just watched her. He watched her until silence was no longer good enough and Kate begged him, "Please, just- don't ask me to press charges against him again. I- I saw what happened there. I saw what kind of pain he was in, and- he doesn't need jail time, Rick. He needs help."

Rick just stared at her for a moment, thinking about the story he told her. He could only imagine what must have gone through Kate's head when her father was in that dazed state of confusion and he told her to get off his wife. That had to be devastating. Seeing her father like that, knowing the pain he felt, seeing everything he fought for and then seeing him waste it all away when he reverted to a drunken state. He knew Jim could get clean, He knew when he had been clean that he was a great guy, a good father, and supportive one hundred percent. He just wished he knew what drove Jim back to the bottle, and so did Kate.

That question was tearing her up from the inside out, but she said nothing. That wasn't her goal at the moment. She just needed to make sure her father got clean and stayed out of jail. In order to do that, however, she would need Rick's help in ensuring that her father didn't get time behind bars. She would need his support, and- he wasn't terribly keen on giving that to her. But in seeing her desperation, seeing how much pain she was in, seeing how much she just wanted help, he breathed and told her, "Whatever I can do, I will, but- he has to get help, Kate. And he has to stick with the program this time. Whatever made him get off track cannot be a problem again. It just can't."

"I know," Kate replied.

Rick then breathed, taking a moment to look at his son. He then, without looking Kate in the eye, told her, "And he can't be near the kids. Not until he's clean. Not until he has gone through the program and proved to us that he's better, that he's over this. Not until he proves he's not going to accidentally lash out at them."

"But..."

"That's not negotiable," Rick sternly stated. "He can see Henry and Alexis when he is out of rehab, and no sooner. I know he's their grandfather. I know he's been wanting to see Henry, but- I just don't feel comfortable letting him anywhere near them. Not now, and if it was completely up to me, he wouldn't ever see them again unattended."

Kate swallowed, breathing, looking down at her son whom she shouldn't have been holding in her arms for another few weeks. She then told her lover, "I agree."

The writer breathed. "Thank you." Once again, silence overcame the room, and this time it remained until Henry was done eating and instead began crying again. Kate handed the child to his father for a diaper check, which the infant passed, and then Rick lulled the newborn back to sleep. He then laid the child's small body back down and crawled into bed beside his fiance who quickly snuggled into his chest.

As his hand wrapped around her back and his eyes began to fall back to sleep, Kate whispered a quiet, "Thank you."

Rick replied with a hoarse voice, "Don't thank me, Kate. If it were up to me, your dad would be in prison for the rest of his life."

Kate swallowed. "I know. But- thank you for not pressing charges for me. Thank you for caring about my side of this."

To this, Rick's eyes slipped open, and he adjusted himself so that he could look her in the eyes. He then told her in a straight deadpan, "We're getting married. We just had a baby. Nothing either of us does anymore is a just you or just me decision. Everything we do affects both of us in some way, shape, or form and I would never do something as drastic as file a police report against your dad on your behalf without thinking about what you would want. I know you, Kate, and I know you would never do anything to betray your father like that. You love your father too much for that, and I know if situations were reversed and my mother had done anything like that to me, you would wait until you talked to me before pressing charges.

"You don't have to thank me for taking your feelings into account, Kate. That's my job. That's what the promise to respect you is meant for and I hope to live my vows out to a T before they're even written on paper. I love you, and I respect you, and I would never do anything to hurt you, and none of that at all needs a 'Thank you'. It's what marriage is, it's what love does, and I'm certain you would do the same for me."

At this, Kate was truly shocked. She didn't know what to say or what to do. She simply improvised by stretching up and kissing his jawline. She then continued to adjust a moment longer, taking his lips with hers and playing with him in a way only she knew how to do. Finally, though it wasn't necessary, she whispered to him, "I love you too." He then took her lips back and pulled her close, continuing what she started until it reached its fairly innocent peak and the two fell asleep in each others arms.