Author's Note: Hi all, I don't usually write Castle fics, but this little bugger of a story wouldn't leave me alone. I haven't done a ton of editing, just wanted ot get it on paper and out to you quickly. Please enjoy this meager offering in honor of one of my favorite shows. If you would be so kind as to Read & Review! ~B2
Later that night when the rest of the world was sleeping, Richard Castle was lying in bed, a navy blue sheet drawn up to his waist. Going over and over his observations of the case, more specifically Beckett's words to Maddy and then later to him after the case closed. Why did he feel like he was missing something?
"You can watch from the observation room"
"and now you're benching me?"
"You were just giggling over the risotto with our suspect"
"Which was to die for by the way."
She's never, ever benched me and made me just watch. Even when she was pissed at me for something juvenile she would just tell me not to speak or gesture. Relegated to the observation room, that was just awful. However...
"Okay, next time I'm hitting on a guy you like, come clean with me before I go out with him so you don't have to arrest me to break up the date."
"Madison, that's not--"
"n-n-no, I get it. You're hot for Castle; you want to make little Castle babies. Why couldn't you just be honest?"
"Maddy. Shhh!! He can hear us!!"
"Oh really? Rick's behind the mirror? Like on tv?
Madison is Beckett's good friend, even if they haven't seen each other in ages, she knows Beckett well enough to read her...Hmmmmm. She thinks I'm hot and she wants to have Castle babies...Ok, maybe she's off base here. There's no way Beckett...But wait, she ignored my tease, my blatant offer for her to deny it when we went back to her desk. And when the case was closed and we were talking...
"You ask me, she should have followed her heart, left David, gone with Wolf."
"I can see the virtue in staying, I mean guys like Wolf, they come in they upset the apple cart. Course he makes you feel alive but you know eventually he's just going to let you down. So why risk it?"
"Because the heart wants what the heart wants. Speaking of...."
Who says upset the apple cart? Where the heck would you find an apple cart to upset? Good grief! I get the point...But were we only talking about the case just then or are there hidden meanings in the whole conversation. If I was writing us, there'd be hidden meanings. Not to mention better dialogue, but I digress...And she took a raincheck on Deming's offer. Albiet just a postponement of one night, but still...
"Could she seriously?" Castle mumbled to himself, glancing over at the clock, glowing 1:37AM. "Dammit, there's only one way to find out." Tossing off the sheet and standing abruptly he hastily threw on jeans and a t-shirt from his closet and hurried downstairs to catch a cab.
30 minutes later standing outside Beckett's door he's doubting himself.
What if I'm wrong? What if she was just distracted by the presence and comfort of an old friend. Ignoring it doesn't just make it go away. What else was she saying about "a guy like Wolf" again? He makes you feel alive. If there's hidden meanings and we're talking about more than just the case, that could be me. I could make her feel alive. Hell I could make her body sing if she'd let me...Dirty thoughts Castle, get a grip. You gotta start somewhere and prove you're worth her risk. You're here now, man up.
Lifting his hand to knock he almost hopes she doesn't answer and he can go back to his little world. But as luck would have it, he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep...