"All in." Kate smirked while pushing her remaining chips forward. She watched Castle closely, inwardly smirking to herself knowing she might lose. She had nothing but an Ace and King of Spades. So on the drop all she had was a pair of sevens ace high.
"Alright, Detective" Richard Castle agreed. Sitting his cards down after a moment of thought, "I'll meet you, however. I'd like to raise you. For an 'I owe you'"
"What would this 'I owe you' entail?" Beckett asked.
"If I win, you get all dressed up and go out with me on a date, No interruptions, no cases, nothing."
"And if I win?" Kate pushed, knowing she was about to lose.
"If you win…" Castle contemplated for a moment. "I will obey all orders you give me for a week."
"All orders? Including those to stay in the car?" Kate asked.
"Including those to stay in the car" Castle confirmed.
"Deal. Espo, drop the river." Kate turned looking to Esposito expectantly. Watching as the Cuban skillfully sat a card in the discard, turned over the next card, which was a king. Discarding another, and then laying down the river. The last card was a ten of diamonds. Which Kate certainly couldn't use, so all she had was two pair, Kings and sevens, what a bust. She thought to herself as she smirked, bluffing her best. Two pair was enough to win, but against castle… who knows. The man had been bluffing that whole round. He had to have had something to make that call.
"Ladies first," Castle offered.
"Two pair… Sevens and Kings, beat that, Castle." She taunted, as Ryan and Esposito turned and looked expectantly at Castle.
"I don't know Kate… I think I'm afraid I might have to obey orders for a week…" Castle teased, frowning at his cards.
"Oh come on Castle! Give it up and stop being a sore loser." Ryan joked. Kate had had enough of Castle's delaying and in the momentary distraction of his attention being drawn to Ryan, she darted across the table and snatched his cards, barely stealing a glance at the exposed two before tossing them on the table face up.
"Hah! I win, beat you with a high pair!" Kate smirked…
"Beckett…" Espo whispered… noticing the seven under the two.
"What?"
"I think you better take out your best dress, Kate." Montgomery added.
"Full house, deary…" Martha stated
Kate looked at the pair of cards again, fully noticing the seven that was now mostly exposed on the table.
"Full house beats…" Castle began.
"Two pair... I know Castle." Kate finished for him. Beckett's phone rang. "Beckett, yeah, we will be there in 20." Hanging up her phone, she fill's the team in. "Murder downtown"
Castle avoided twitching after Kate dropped the bombshell of "All in…" He thought to himself… 'What to do, what to do… I know I have this hand in the bag, no doubt. I'll win. She's all in, what can I get out of this. Not just to win, but to score. Kate is an amazing detective and I want to just pick at her brain. Hmm... Maybe I'll up the ante.
"What Castle? Afraid of a little competition?" Kate taunted him, pulling him from his thoughts.
Oh how she teased and taunted him. How he would just love to plaster a kiss on her smug face right now.
Ryan's words of 'sore loser' pulled him from him thoughts and glances between his cards and Kate's expression of impatience, sparing a glance at the Irishman, he felt his cards pulled from his grasp.
"I win!"
At Kate's simple moment of gratification, he felt horrible. He wished that he had lost. Because she was happy… but everyone in the room decided that it was better off for her to know that she had lost and now was subjected to a date at the whim of the biggest idiot in the room. Man did Castle feel like an idiot then, more like the world's biggest Jackass.
Watching Kate's expression closely, he notices her disappointment turning to frustration to a momentary flash of anger. Her eye's screaming how could he have done this to her. Her phone ringing pull's her expressions into a firm seriousness.
Castle dropped his head at the disappointment he knew she felt inside. He was going to apologize for it later and definitely give her an open door out of the date. Yeah, he sucker punched her, He knew full well he was going to win that hand, and he used it to his advantage. Was he a bad person for that? He couldn't tell. Kate's expression told him otherwise, but his mother's pitiful look confirmed it.
After Kate announced that there was a murder scene, he trotted off to get his coat like nothing had happened and followed her out to her cruiser like the poor sick puppy he felt like.
*Later on the drive to the crime scene. A silence fills the car.*
"Kate." Castle began, trying to break the awkward silence between them.
"What Castle?" Kate cut him off. "I'm not mad, I can't be mad at you. You won fair and square. I'm just frustrated."
"You don't have to go on a date with me."
"I'm going to, because that was the deal." Kate added as they pulled up to the crime scene. She put the cruiser in park. "Look, I made a deal with you Castle, so I will go on a date with you. You choose when, just let me know and I will make sure that I am available for you. No working, no cases, no interruptions. You and me and a quiet date night… I won't lie; I'll look forward to being treated like royalty with you. I've not been on a date in some time, so it will be nice to get dressed up and it not be work related." She finished, referencing the last case involving the Jewelry home invasions.
"I guess I'll let you know when this case is over then..." Castle started.
"You do that Castle; I will be waiting on your plans." Beckett smiled then moved to get out of the car. "Now, we have a case to solve."
The only thing Castle could do was smile and get out of the car and follow the brunette detective into the shady motel where they had arrived for their case.
A/N: This is a two or threeshot unless reviewers convince me otherwise. Let me know what you think! This was inspired by me watching a bunch of the season one episodes and I was happily content with this idea. If I continue I plan to follow through with the seasons in my own manner. Probably having caskett go through some tiff's before season four and five and now into six with all the sappyness! Let me know what you all think of the idea!
Also: Disclaimer: Castle belongs to ABC and Andrew Marlowe. I am not trying to steal their work, just using it as a muse :)
