Reborn in Castle (TV show)

[Morning]

Kate opened her eyes slowly and found herself curled against Travis's chest, one arm resting across his stomach while his hand lay loosely against her back beneath the blanket.

Morning light slipped through the curtains and spread across the apartment in pale golden lines. The room was quiet except for the steady sound of Travis breathing.

Kate stayed exactly where she was.

His chest felt warm against her cheek, and the slow rise and fall beneath her made something inside her finally loosen. For months, sleep had come in broken pieces filled with gunfire, collapsing concrete, and the feeling of blood soaking through her fingers. She usually woke with her heart racing and her body convinced she was still trapped beneath Manhattan.

Last night had been different.

She didn't have a bad dream and slept deeply, wrapped in Travis's arms, and woke feeling more relaxed than she ever had after the incident.

A small smile appeared on her lips as she shifted closer.

She loved this.

She loved waking beside him, hearing his heartbeat beneath her ear, and knowing neither of them had disappeared during the night. After everything they had survived, something as ordinary as lying together in the morning felt almost impossible.

Her gaze drifted across his chest.

Several scars marked his skin, some faint and narrow, while others remained darker from the injuries that had nearly killed him. Kate's smile slowly faded when her eyes settled on the scar near the center of his chest, where one of the metal rods had pierced through him after the tunnel collapsed.

The memory returned immediately.

Kate couldn't imagine the pain he must have felt.

Her fingers moved carefully over the scar without pressing against it.

Then she leaned in and kissed it softly.

Travis's breathing changed beneath her.

Kate lifted her head and found his eyes half-open, a sleepy smile slowly forming across his face.

"Morning," he murmured, his voice rough from sleep. "That's definitely one of the nicer ways I've been woken up lately."

Kate rested her chin lightly against his chest while looking at him. "Did I wake you?"

"I think I woke up when you started inspecting me like evidence from a crime scene," Travis replied as his hand moved slowly along her back. "The kiss helped make the investigation feel less invasive."

Kate's mouth curved into a small smile as she moved up and kissed him before moving back on his chest. She placed her head softly before saying, "You know, I haven't had a bad dream for the first time in four months."

Travis's hand moved slowly along her back beneath the blanket as he looked down at her.

"Then we should do this more often," he said, his sleepy smile widening slightly.

Kate lifted her head from his chest and studied his face. The answer sounded playful, though the warmth in his eyes made it clear he meant more than spending another night together.

"Maybe we should," she replied softly.

Travis smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Kate stayed against him for another moment before shifting onto her side. The blanket moved with her, exposing the thin chain resting against her neck.

A ring hung from it.

Travis recognized it immediately from the memories of his previous life. He already knew whose ring it had been and what it meant to Kate, though he kept that knowledge buried and let his expression turn naturally curious.

His fingers stopped near the ring without touching it.

"I've seen you wear that before," he said. "What's the story behind the ring?"

Kate's hand moved toward it instinctively.

The warmth in her expression faded as she closed her fingers around the ring. She looked down at it without answering, and Travis noticed the sadness settle across her face almost immediately.

He shifted slightly so he could see her better without forcing her to look at him.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked gently. "I mean, only if you're okay talking about it."

Kate remained quiet for several seconds. Her thumb rubbed slowly across the ring while her eyes stayed fixed somewhere beyond the bedroom walls.

"We were supposed to go to dinner together," she said eventually. "My dad, my mom, and I. She was going to meet us at this restaurant after work, but she never showed up."

Travis stayed silent and let her continue at her own pace.

"We waited for almost two hours," Kate said. "We finally went home."

Her voice grew quieter as the memory pulled her deeper into that night.

"There was a detective waiting outside our house when we got there. Detective Raglan."

Kate paused and pressed the ring more firmly between her fingers. Travis watched the tension enter her jaw, though he did not interrupt or reach for her until she continued on her own.

"They found her body," she said. "She'd been stabbed. There wasn't any sign of robbery or sexual assault. They attributed it to gang violence, called it some random wayward event, and closed the case."

Her eyes lifted toward him, carrying an old anger that had survived every year since then.

"The killer was never caught."

Travis reached across the small space between them and took her free hand. He kept his grip gentle, giving her the choice to hold on or pull away.

Kate held on.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Kate nodded faintly, though her gaze returned to the ring. "That case is the reason I became a cop. Everyone else accepted that it was random, but I couldn't. My mother didn't live a life that should've ended as a forgotten report in some filing cabinet."

"You wanted answers," Travis said.

"I still do," Kate replied. "I spent years going through everything I could find. Reports, witness statements, old case notes, anything that might explain why someone killed her. Every time I thought I was getting close, the trail disappeared again."

Travis watched her carefully. "And nobody at the department helped you reopen it?"

"A few people tried," Kate said. "Most told me to let it go. They said I was too close to the case, and they were probably right about that part. It didn't change anything, though. I was so obsessed with it that it nearly destroyed me. I had a big breakdown after failing over and over again. So, at one point, I just... I had to stop. The only thing I could do was to help bring justice to other victims."

Travis glanced toward the wristwatch resting on the nightstand beside her side of the bed. He had noticed Kate wearing it almost every day, even when the old leather strap clashed with whatever else she wore.

"And the watch?" he asked.

Kate followed his gaze and grew quiet again.

"My father took her death hard," she said. "He started drinking, and once he started, he couldn't stop. Some nights, I'd have to search bars until I found him. Other nights, I'd get calls from strangers telling me he was passed out somewhere."

Her fingers tightened around Travis's hand.

"I was grieving too, but I didn't get to fall apart because one of us had to keep functioning. I became the person who got him home, cleaned him up, and made sure he was still breathing the next morning."

Travis's expression tightened, though he kept his voice calm. "That's too much for anyone to carry alone."

"It was," Kate admitted. "For a long time, I thought I'd lose him too."

She turned slightly and reached toward the nightstand to take the watch.

Kate looked down at it, and a small smile appeared through the sadness.

"He's sober now," she said. "Five years."

"That's good," Travis replied. "He seemed like a strong man when I met him."

"He is," Kate said. "He just forgot that for a while."

She ran her thumb along the worn face of the watch before lifting it slightly.

"This is for the life I saved."

Travis looked from the watch to her face.

Kate released his hand long enough to take hold of the ring hanging against her chest. She raised it between them, the metal catching the morning light.

"And this is for the life I lost."

She lowered both hands into her lap and gave him a small, vulnerable smile.

"Guess that's my story."

Travis watched her quietly for a moment before reaching toward her. He placed one hand against her cheek and brushed his thumb gently beneath her eye.

"That isn't your entire story," he said. "It's part of what shaped you, but it doesn't get to define everything that comes afterward."

Kate held his gaze. "You sound very sure about that."

"I am," Travis replied. "Your story also includes every person you protected, every victim you fought for, and every case you refused to abandon because somebody deserved answers."

Kate's eyes softened, though the sadness remained beneath them.

"And now it apparently includes one detective who talks too much and thinks surviving an explosion makes him invincible," she said.

Travis nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like the latest interesting chapter in your life so far."

Kate let out a quiet laugh and shook her head.

...

Later that morning, after breakfast, Kate left for the precinct to talk to Captain Montgomery after an extended leave since she was dealing with PTSD.

==

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