Inside Your Heaven

Chapter 28: The Night Before Life Goes On

A/N: This chapter was hard... I wanted it to be perfect and I was just getting bored. It wasn't working and felt monotonous. Hopefully, you still enjoy it.

"They've been dreading this moment all summer long, but here it is, they don't have long. The night before life goes on." ~Carrie Underwood

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Quiet filled Kate's ears as she carefully folded her clothes on the edge of the bed. She laid the neatly folded t-shirt in her suitcase when she heard the front door open and close, Rick and Alexis were home.

They had a few errands to run and were just getting home after a couple hours. Kate had been invited to go along but she was leaving tomorrow morning and wasn't close to being fully packed yet. Alexis' pattering feet came running through the bedroom door and straight into the back of Kate's legs. Umph, she knocked Kate into the bed. "Well," she said, "hello there."

Alexis threw her head back in laughter, arms still tight around Kate's knees, "Hello!"

The younger girl finally released and jump up on the bed, effectively wrinkling a stack of clothes. Kate didn't say anything though, just moved them out of the way. "Did you and Daddy have fun?" she asked.

"Yeah," she started, "but we were just running around. I got to pick out lunch, though."

"Oh yeah?" Alexis nodded in reply. "What'd you pick?" Kate asked.

"Chicken alfredo! Just for you!"

"Just for me?" she teased. "You love alfredo!"

"Yeah, but you love it more! And you leave tomorrow. And you're not going to be here for dinner tonight because Daddy's taking you -" she slapped her hand over her mouth, knowing she's said too much.

"Daddy's taking me where?" she asked suspiciously.

"No where!"

"Really? No where?"

Alexis furiously shook her head before leaping off the bed, landing with a thump on her feet. She hurried out of the door as Kate turned to follow, leaving the packing behind.

"Someone's energetic today," Rick said as he watched her fly across the living room to jump head first into the couch cushions.

"Yeah," she pecked him on the lips in greeting. "She may be trying her best to keep quiet."

"Keep quiet?" his brow furrowed, and then it hit him, "She blabbed, didn't she?"

"Well," she paused, "not totally."

He laughed, having a good sense of humor about it, "What'd she tell you?"

"Just that you were taking me somewhere? I don't really know," Kate tilted her head in the direction of Alexis, "she shut up before she let any more loose."

"Well," he said, "in that case, would you like to go on a date with me tonight?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up, "Of course, babe." He squeezed her tight. "So," she whispered, "where are you taking me?"

"That, my lady, is a surprise."

Kate sighed in frustration, "You know I hate surprises."

"Yes," he laughed at her annoyance, "But it's your last night here and I have something special planned."

Kate hated being left in the dark more than anything in the world. She didn't hide her irritation well as she brushed past him to head back into the bedroom to finish her packing. "Alexis!" she yelled over her shoulder with a smirk, "You don't have to be so quiet anymore!"

Castle tried to whisper, but he was frantic, "Alexis, no! Please don't say anything to her!"

Kate heard him and shouted out of the door, "Want to come help me pack, Lex?"

Alexis laughed at Kate's antics and glanced over at her Dad who furiously shook his head at her. She laughed at his terrified expression. "Coming!" she yelled in Kate's direction.

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"Castle!" Kate yelled from the bedroom. "Can you come here?"

Castle quickly saved the work on his computer before closing the lid and setting it aside. "Yes?" he drug out the s sound as he walked into the bedroom.

"How am I supposed to know what to wear if I don't know what we're doing?"

Castle turned his attention to his daughter sitting on the bed, and then back to Kate, "She didn't tell you?"

Kate laughed, "You really thought that I would go behind your back just to know what was going on?"

"You seemed pretty serious," his voice was small.

"Daddy! She didn't even ask me anything!" Alexis piped up.

Castle's eyes lit up at his daughter's personality, the way she immediately moved to Kate's rescue. He could just sit and watch them interact all day. It made him so happy. He laughed, "Thank you, Pumpkin. I appreciate it."

Alexis nodded and smiled before Kate returned to the original question, "So what's the dress code, Writer Boy?"

"I'll pick something for you. Don't worry about it."

"What? No! Why do you get to pick what I'm wearing?" She defended.

"Because," he retorted, "I know what the plan is and you don't."

"Yeah," she scuffed. "Don't rub it in."

He stood beside her, rummaging through her suitcase. "Really?" she asked as her neatly clothes got wrinkled and messy. "I just finished all that."

He set out two piles, one pile of tops and one pile of bottoms. "I know," he said. "That's why I didn't head to the closest looking for your clothing, and I will fix it later. Don't worry."

Kate eyed the piles of clothes suspecting a dress or two or even some dressier blouses. But it was just her casual, everyday clothes. What in the world did he have planned?

"Now," Castle scooped Alexis up into his arms, "you leave Kate to get ready. We gotta go in a half hour."

Kate was surprised, "It's only 3 o'clock!"

"I know. We're leaving at 3:30," he winked at her before turning his back and leaving her behind.

Kate let out a frustrated sigh as she looked through the piles of clothes, finally picking a pair of jean shorts and a loose fitting, casual, faded red shirt. She searched through her bags for a pair of strappy sandals and then headed to the bathroom to add make-up and jewelry.