Feasible Basis
Reaction to 5x05 Probable Cause Promo and Sneak Peek 1. MAJOR SPOILERS.
A/N: Because I promised myself I would never write a pre-episode speculation/reaction piece...
Disclaimer: Do I really have to write anything here? Really?
He watched her stare through the glass into the interrogation room. Her arms wrapped around her waist, teeth chewing at the inside of her cheek. He had seen that look before, they all had, but this time it was different because Castle was the one on the other side of the glass, the one that they were interrogating.
He had been planning on teasing them for a little while, leave them wondering, worrying about the relationship they obviously had been trying to keep a secret and he had for a while. He dropped little hints that he might now, made small comments that made them stop in their tracks and caused Esposito to look at him like he was insane. It had been fun, for a time.
He watched them as they interacted, wondering how the rest of them had not seen it sooner. It was so obvious, the little touches, glances, small playful grins. They were standing a little too close to each other now. Their hands wrapped around the same coffee cup for a millisecond too long. The way her eyes would follow him when he walked to the break room, the way he automatically sensed the moment she entered the room. The overpowering tension that had surrounded them for the four years was inexplicably gone. He had thought it was because they had given up but it wasn't. That tension was now just replaced by a new kind a softer kind. The kind that existed between two people in love, who knew each other in the most intimate of ways but still wanted to know each other more, deeper. That couldn't stand to be apart.
He couldn't do it anymore. He couldn't watch her suffer like this, waiting, wondering, lost in her own head thinking about all of the worst case scenarios.
"Hey, are you okay?" His voice was soft, hesitant even.
Her eyes shot to him a little too quickly, telling him the story of how lost in her head she really had been. She forced herself to put on an air of nonchalance. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Beckett… I know… about the two of you. Aaron Learner told me that you were in the Hamptons with Castle when I interrogated him."
Her eyes flickered to him to assess him, see if he was bluffing before focusing back in on the scene on the other side of the glass. Esposito was pacing the room as Castle sat in the chair, hands clasped on the tabletop, leg shaking as it rested on the ball of his foot.
She deflated, slouching just an inch or two but enough to see her body fold in on itself, arms wrapping tighter around her middle, hand coming up automatically to her mouth so she could chew on her thumb nail. But still she stayed silent.
Ryan took a small step towards her, arms spreading open in front of him as he motioned at the glass. "You know he didn't do this, right?"
Her head shook almost imperceptibly.
"Beckett…" Ryan took another step towards her as he tried to keep the desperation out of his voice. The cashier's check, the fingerprint, withdrawing the exact amount of money from his account, leaving the jewelry behind, getting caught on camera? If nothing else Castle had been following them around long enough to know not to leave a trail, especially when the murder looked like something straight out of one of his books. "Would Castle do something this sloppy, really?"
She sucked in a breath, her body stiffening at the words, Esposito's mouth moving silently on the other side of the glass as Castle's hands came up and ran down over his face. "We see it all the time Ryan. Rich guy has an affair, she blackmails, threatens to tell his wife or girlfriend and he kills her in a panic."
Ryan let out a huff, his frustration rising. Castle wouldn't do this. He had to make her see that. He knew how far they had come. He had seen how much Castle had changed over the past four years, how much Beckett had opened up. He couldn't, wouldn't let them revert now.
"Beckett, look at me. He loves you. We all know it, have known it for years. He has worked and waited to get you. He wouldn't risk that, losing you, by having some fling."
The unspoken words hanging between them. You're worth more than that.
Her head turned to him slowly, damp eyes focusing in on his.
"He didn't do this. You know that."
Slowly she nodded her head, logic overcoming the insecurities, the illogical worries he knew she had about his past, his image, her worthiness of him when she should be worried about his worthiness of her. No man, not even Richard Castle was stupid enough to piss of Kate Beckett.
He felt himself relax as her hand dropped from her lips before coming back up to run through her hair. "Good. Now go in there and find out what the hell is going on."
He watched as the wall dropped back into place, pushing Kate back and letting Beckett take over.
She walked slowly over to the door, pausing, hand on the knob, as she turned back to him, a small smile flashing across her face. "Thanks Kevin."
He nodded back as her head ducked back down and she pushed the door open, her body rigid, imposing, all Detective. The girlfriend of the suspect left behind the glass.
Esposito's eyes flickered between the pair before excusing himself.
"What took so long, bro? I was starting to think she wasn't going to come in."
Ryan shook his head. "Naw, man, she just wanted to let him stew a little, you know, freak him out. You know how they are."
Esposito eyed Ryan suspiciously. His head bobbed after a moment as he accepted his partner's words. He reached up to flick on the sound to the interrogation room.
Both of their attention snapped to the scene in front of them as Beckett's voice floated through speaker.
"So, Mr. Castle, where were you Friday night?"