Reborn in Castle (TV show)

[Next Morning]

Travis opened his eyes and immediately knew something had changed.

He felt refreshed.

Far too refreshed.

For the past few weeks, waking up had always come with some reminder of the tunnel. His back would ache when he moved too quickly. His ribs would sting whenever he twisted the wrong way. Even on good mornings, his muscles carried enough stiffness to remind him that a large piece of Manhattan had tried to crush him.

This morning, there was nothing.

Travis slowly sat up and waited for the usual pull across his side.

Nothing happened.

His eyebrows narrowed as he pressed one hand against his ribs. He started gently, then pushed harder against the areas that had still been sore yesterday.

There wasn't even the slightest hint of pain.

'Finally, the fucking regeneration kicked in. But I've gotta test this properly,' Travis thought as excitement slowly pushed away the last traces of sleep.

He looked toward Kate before moving again.

She was still asleep, curled comfortably beneath the blanket with her hair spread across the pillow. After everything they had done last night, she probably wasn't waking anytime soon unless he made enough noise to disturb her.

Travis carefully slipped out of bed without shaking the mattress too much. He found his pants on the floor near the foot of the bed and pulled them on, since neither of them had bothered worrying about clothes before falling asleep the previous night.

He quietly left the bedroom and walked through the villa toward the terrace.

The second his feet touched the warm stone outside, he started paying closer attention to everything his body was telling him.

His balance felt perfect, and his breathing felt normal. There wasn't any stiffness in his back, weakness in his legs, or pressure around the old injuries across his chest.

Travis walked toward the pool and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet. He waited for pain to travel through his ribs or spine, but nothing happened.

He jumped higher the second time.

Still nothing.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

"Okay, let's see how far this goes," Travis whispered as he moved toward the open section of the terrace.

He started with a few basic stretches, bending forward before twisting carefully from side to side. His body moved without resistance.

Travis dropped down and started doing push-ups.

Ten passed easily.

Then twenty.

Then fifty.

His breathing barely changed.

He rolled onto his back and tested his abdominal muscles next, expecting at least some weakness around the areas that had required surgery. Instead, every movement felt smooth and powerful, as though the injuries had never happened.

Travis stood again and started doing squats, lunges, and short bursts of movement across the terrace.

There was still no pain.

More importantly, the weakness from his long recovery had disappeared completely.

His muscles felt strong again. His reactions felt sharp, and even his senses seemed clearer than they had yesterday.

He stopped near the pool and looked down at himself.

He felt exactly like he had before the tunnel.

Actually, he felt better than before the tunnel.

'I'm completely healed,' Travis thought as he flexed one shoulder and rotated his arm without feeling anything wrong. 'Looks like I'm back at one hundred percent. Maybe even better.'

The excitement lasted several seconds before another thought immediately complicated everything.

Kate.

Travis looked toward the open doors leading back into the villa.

There was no way he could hide this forever.

Yesterday, he had needed to sit down after dancing because his back started hurting. Kate had watched him take pain medication during their afternoon together, and she had spent weeks helping him recover while making sure he didn't push himself too hard.

Now he could sprint along the beach without breaking a sweat.

'She's definitely going to notice,' Travis thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. 'Hell, she might've already noticed something last night during our special cardio session.'

A proud smile appeared on his face, remembering last night's sex. It was great, probably the best sex he had in a while. And Kate squirted four times in a row as he pounded her while pinning her arms above her head.

His stamina had certainly been better than someone recovering from injuries should've had any right to possess. Kate hadn't questioned it at the time, though she knew his body well enough now that eventually something would stop adding up.

That left Travis with a problem.

He could keep pretending.

Take the medications whenever Kate was around. Move carefully. Fake soreness whenever he stood too quickly. Continue physical therapy and slowly pretend to improve until enough time passed that nobody questioned his recovery.

It would keep his abilities hidden.

His superhuman endurance, speed, heightened senses, and rapid healing were advantages nobody else knew about. Once he told Kate, he couldn't take that information back.

Still, the thought of lying to her didn't sit well anymore.

They had already gone far beyond being coworkers or training partners. Kate trusted him enough to tell him about her mother, her father, and the parts of herself she kept hidden from almost everyone else.

She loved him.

And he loved her.

Pretending to be injured every day while she worried about him would mean letting her carry fear that no longer needed to exist.

'So what do I tell her?' Travis thought as he looked toward the bedroom again. 'That I heal ridiculously fast, have better senses than normal people, can move faster than I should, and apparently have enough endurance to make doctors question biology?'

He rubbed both hands over his face and sighed.

'Yeah, that'll be a fun conversation.'

Travis looked down at his hands again before flexing his fingers slowly.

Keeping everything secret would be easier.

Telling Kate would probably be better.

The problem was deciding how much truth she was ready to hear, especially when the full truth involved superhuman abilities.

...[Some times later...]

Kate woke slowly and moved closer to the other side of the bed without opening her eyes. Out of habit, she stretched one arm across the mattress, expecting to find Travis beside her so she could pull herself against him and steal a few more minutes of sleep.

Her hand found nothing except an empty pillow and cool sheets.

Kate frowned sleepily and reached a little farther before finally opening her eyes. Travis's side of the bed was empty.

She let out a disappointed sigh and dropped her face back against the pillow.

'Ahh, I want my morning cuddles.'

For several seconds, she remained buried beneath the blanket. Then memories from the previous night slowly returned, and the disappointment faded from her expression.

A warm smile appeared instead.

The dinner, the beach club, their walk back to the villa, and everything that happened afterward had made the night one she wouldn't forget anytime soon. More importantly, she had fallen asleep beside Travis without waking from another nightmare.

Kate hugged his pillow against herself and closed her eyes again, enjoying the familiar scent left behind.

'Okay, maybe I'll forgive him for disappearing.'

The bedroom door opened a moment later.

Kate lifted her head and found Travis walking inside with a large wooden tray balanced carefully between his hands. He had changed into a loose white shirt and shorts, while his hair still looked slightly messy from sleep.

The smell reached her before he reached the bed.

There was fresh coffee, eggs, butter-toast, and fruit on the tray.

Travis smiled when he saw her awake. "Good morning. I've made you breakfast."

Kate slowly pushed herself upright against the pillows while staring at the tray with growing approval. "Morning," she said with a sleepy smile before opening both arms toward him. "Come here first."

Travis's smile widened immediately.

He placed the tray carefully on the bedside table, then climbed onto the bed beside her without saying anything else.

Kate wrapped her arms around him and moved close until her cheek rested against his chest. Travis held her with one arm around her waist and the other across her back.

Neither of them spoke for a while.

Kate closed her eyes again and listened to his heartbeat.

"This is what I wanted when I woke up," she murmured.

Travis kissed the top of her head. "I figured you'd still be asleep when I came back."

"I was trying to find you without opening my eyes."

He smiled against her hair. "Sorry I disappeared on you."

Kate moved closer instead of answering immediately. "You brought coffee, so I'll forgive you."

"That's good to know."

They stayed together for another minute, enjoying the quiet morning.

Kate eventually lifted her head and kissed him.

Travis returned it gently before she settled against his chest again.

"You sleep okay?" he asked.

Kate nodded while tracing one finger lightly across his shirt. "Really well, actually."

Travis looked down at her. "No nightmares?"

"None."

A small smile appeared on his face. "That's good."

-

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[20 advance chs] + [Modern Family: 35 chs Early access]