**Disclaimer located at end of story.**
Another Day, Another Memory
Detective Javier Esposito tossed his latest case file to the side of his desk having just reviewed a few witness testimonies against the security footage of one of Manhattan's luxury hotels. Pulling out his phone he shuffled through his contacts for his girlfriend's phone number. It had been quite a while since they had last gone out. Her also being a detective made it hard to find time when their schedules aligned. Upon reaching the S's, he thought back to the night they first met.
*~Flashback~*
"Boys, what have we got?" asked Detective Kate Beckett as she used her flashlight to see the bruising marks around their victim's neck. The young man was found slumped against a wall between a dumpster and several bags of garbage.
"The victim is 23 year old Adam Garvey from Queens. He works as a bartender at the Bended Elbow pub down on 38th," stated Detective Ryan holding out the victim's wallet and sweeping the dark alley with his flashlight. It was late in the evening, and so finding a possible murder weapon would be difficult.
Esposito walked up to the group, "So get this," he pauses noticing that Richard Castle is pinching his nose shut due to their proximity to the dumpster. Shaking his head he continues "I talk to Adam's boss. He says Adam was supposed to start his shift at 5 today, but never showed..." he was cut off as the group heard two people arguing a block over from their location. A gruff looking blond man about 5'10 was pulling dark haired woman along. She stood at only 5'6 with the two inch black heals she was wearing, but she put up a fight as he dragged her by her arm.
"Hey! What's the big idea? I left my purse back there, ya know!" yelled the woman's Brooklyn accent as she tried to re-adjust the skirt of her black cocktail dress. She looked up and saw the members of the 12th Precinct staring at the two of them and clasped her hand over her mouth.
"I thought I told you no cops!" He yelled as he rounded on her.
"I ain't call no cops! I swear!" she yelled back at him as two patrol officers entered the ally from the intersection. Seeing the officers approach the pair, Beckett motioned with her hand for Ryan and Esposito to follow her over to the scene.
Panicking, the blond man grabbed the woman holding a knife up to her throat. "Hey, back off!" shouted the man as the officers and Beckett's team pulled out their firearms.
"Not happening." yelled a red-haired officer, "Let the lady go, and we'll talk."
"I gave ya the information ya wanted! Now, lemme go!" struggled the woman. Beckett's team fanned out behind the two officers. Esposito to the left, Ryan to the right, Beckett down the center, and Castle a safe distance away. All, with the exception of Castle, with their pistols aimed at the man.
"You all should know that I got nutt'n to lose right now!" The man shouted to the group. "Slicin' open some broad ain't gonna mess with my conscience all that much."
Suddenly the woman threw her head back breaking her captor's nose making him drop the knife. Before he could react she slammed her elbow into his ribcage releasing the grip he had on her shoulder. As he stumbled back, she used her right leg to knock his right leg off balance. Hauling his body in front of her, she then slammed him face first onto the pavement.
The red haired officer rushed forward and handed her his handcuffs. After cuffing him, she stood up, lost the Brooklyn accent, and stated, "Amos Laughlin, you are under arrest for the murder of Daniel McGingh." She forced Laughlin to his feet and roughly handed him over to the red haired officer. "And for the record, real men buy women drinks. They don't drag them out of the bar before they get to finish their martini!"
As the officer pushed him towards the intersection where a cop car was waiting, she noticed Beckett's questioning stare.
"What? That bartender makes really good martinis."
Beckett smiled. "It's been a while, Reynolds. I wasn't aware of an undercover op scheduled for tonight."
Detective Reynolds glared at the other officer who had been quiet until now. "Sorry about that…looks like someone didn't feel like sharing."
The officer didn't reply, but just walked away following the path that the red haired officer took Laughlin. Reynolds sighed and turned to Beckett's team.
"Don't take it personally. Ever since Conners retired and Litman was promoted, he hasn't been the most cooperative with other precincts." Walking over to the group, she nodded in Castle's direction and asked, "This your writer slash partner slash potential love interest?" Esposito and Ryan burst out laughing, and Castle grinned ear to ear.
Ignoring them, Beckett snorted, "Castle? Where did you hear that?"
"I do read the paper."
"Oh." Beckett glared at Castle. "No, this is Richard Castle. He's doing research at the mayor's favor. These" she said stepping to the side, "are Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan." Esposito and Ryan nodded in her direction.
"Boys, this is Detective Stephanie Reynolds. She's with the 17th Precinct and occasionally is called in for undercover work by other precincts due to her talents with accents and languages."
"Nice moves on that thug back there." Esposito said.
Smiling she said, "Oh thanks, that really wasn't much. Us, lady cops have to be prepared for thugs and pervs alike." Nodding in Beckett's direction.
"Even more so than male cops," added Beckett. Castle was furiously taking notes on the back of a pizza menu. "What's up, Castle? You're oddly quiet." Beckett asked the novelist whose eyes were darting back and forth between the group and the menu.
"Just thinking…do you ever go…undercover, Detective Beckett?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," she said coyly.
Turning back to Reynolds, Castle asked, "Who were the other officers? Partners of yours?"
Nodding, Reynolds stated, "Their actually detectives with the 17th as well. They were in uniform as patrolmen tonight to help stage the op. The moody detective who stormed off is Litman, and the one that dragged Laughlin off is my partner, Ben Terlin." Reynolds explained. Looking over towards the intersection, she saw Terlin waving her on. "Well, it looks like Terlin's itching to get home to his kids. It was nice meeting you all."
The others waved her off, and she then turned and to meet up with her partner.
*~End Flashback~*
"Hey, Babe." Esposito heard as the call connected. "What's up?"
"Well, I'm a little ahead of schedule here," leaning back in his chair, he stated, "and I was thinking that if you were free we could get dinner tonight."
"Oh, you don't know how wonderful that sounds," she sighed, "but I'm not sure if I'm gonna have a whole lot of energy after I finish up my interviews this evening." She sounded disappointed.
"Pizza and beer at your place? I'll bring it over around 8:30?"
"I love you. You know that right?"
He laughed, "I'll see you then. Love you."
"Thanks Babe. See you then."
That was one of the great things about Steph. It didn't take a lot to make her happy, even though he did put in an extra effort when it came to her. After that night in the ally, she started visiting Beckett at the 12th Precinct, and eventually he asked her out.
*~Flashback~*
Fifteen minutes. That's how long he had been on hold with the registrar's office at NYU. Esposito was very tempted to just hang up, but he needed the class schedule for a victim's roommate to confirm his alibi. At this moment in time, Detective Reynolds chose to stop in and attempt to pry Beckett from her work. She had been persuaded by Dr. Parish to help create a life for Beckett outside of the precinct. Seeing that Esposito was on the phone, the dark haired detective silently waved in his direction as she approached Beckett's desk. He nodded back.
"Alri-ght Miss Beckett," she said with an extremely cheesy southern accent, "It's time for us to blow this joint and find us a littl' fuun!" She then plopped herself down in the adjoining seat that Castle usually occupied.
Beckett raised an eyebrow at the comment, but lifted her head in acknowledgment. "What's with the southern drawl made for daytime TV? New case that you just can't step out of character?"
"No. It's one Pic's favorite's when we play cowboys. I was attempting to make you laugh." Reynolds said flatly.
"Who's Pic?"
"My nephew. He's six." Reynolds explained, "Oh, and I've been recruited to help you find a life."
"Lanie?"
"That obvious, huh?"
"Um hmm." Beckett nodded her head, "Well, I'm sorry, but I've just got too much with this case to go over right now."
Reynolds was about to protest, when Captain Montgomery joined the pair and interjected. "You should go, Beckett. You never leave on time."
"Sir," Beckett started, "there is still a lot of evidence that needs to be reviewed, not to mention the board hasn't been charted yet."
"Esposito can take care of it, and Ryan can help him when he returns."
"Sir, it's not right for me to just…"
"Nah, it's alright," Esposito said walking up to Beckett's desk, "I usually leave on time anyway." Beckett didn't have an excuse left, but they could all see her internal conflict.
"Reynolds," Montgomery stated. She turned her head to face the 12th's captain. "Conners used to tell me that he had trouble getting you out of the precinct a while back. What happened to get you to ease up a bit?" At the question, Reynolds' mouth became a flat line and she pretended to inspect her fingernails.
"I'm sorry…I have no idea what you are talking about." Montgomery narrowed his gaze at Reynolds.
"Yes you do." He pressed.
"Even if I did, and I'm not saying that I do, but I'm not about to break sisterhood," Reynolds said glancing at Beckett. Beckett smiled back in relief.
"Reynolds, I'm asking nicely. I just need something to get her out of here one or two nights a week," Montgomery argued, "Don't think I haven't noticed the piles of take out containers in the break room and the pillow hiding under your desk," he turned on Beckett.
Reynolds turned sharply on Beckett. "You're sleeping here!" she asked abruptly.
Esposito pulled out of Beckett's trash bin two take out boxes and a vente coffee cup from Starbuck's. "I know our cleaning staff is better than that," he stated. "These are from very early this morning. I'm guessing."
Beckett didn't answer acting as if the evidence did not prove a thing.
"Wow Girl, I'm sorry. Sisterhood or not, this is turning into an intervention. There's a certain point where I start to worry about your health," the dark haired detective said.
Beckett looked alarmed, "I don't sleep here all the time! It only happened…"
"But it did happen," Reynolds cut her off. Sighing Reynolds started, "I'm not proud of this but I'm doing this for your own sake."
Looking back at Montgomery, she confessed, "Conners used to threaten to have me banned from the bullpen for an entire day for every night I didn't leave on time."
Beckett's jaw dropped, as Esposito's grin widened.
"He required that I leave on time twice a week." Reynolds continued, "It forced me to save my all-nighters for nights that Terlin and I really needed to get a case wrapped up. He used to say that going undercover a few times a year didn't count as having a social life." Turning her head, she could see Montgomery's grin and Beckett's disbelief.
"Sir, I know what you're thinking…" Beckett started.
"Get going, Beckett. As of this week you have to leave on time at least twice a week."
"but Sir!"
"Keep going and it'll be three nights a week," he added walking away. Esposito grinning madly at Beckett's discomfort.
"Esposito, don't you have a board to chart?" she snapped at him.
"Why yes I do. You ladies have a good time tonight," he said winking and walking back to his desk.
Sighing in defeat Beckett cast a sideways glance at Reynolds. Reynolds smiled sheepishly, "Well, how about I let you off the hook for a little bit longer? I don't really feel like going out much tonight, so we could have a sparring session upstairs. I'd just have to go get my gym clothes and meet you back here. It'll give you an extra hour to finish up."
"Alright...that's fine. I'll meet you up there at six?"
Three weeks later…
Reynolds was running out of ways to get Beckett to leave on time. At the start of all this, when they had agreed to a sparring session, Beckett had disappeared into the ladies room to review some case files. That resulted in Reynolds having to spar with some rookie beat cops, and then catching up with Esposito and Ryan afterward. Beckett did leave on time twice a week as per Montgomery's orders, but she'd often take a file or two home with her. Reynolds had tried almost everything she could think of to get Beckett's mind off work. She'd even stolen Beckett's computer monitor once and threatened to never give it back. So grasping at straws, Reynolds decided to use force.
"Reynolds, what are you doing?" Beckett stared at the shorter detective sitting cross-legged on top her desk.
"Denying you access to your computer."
Castle, who was chatting with Ryan and Esposito at their desks, looked over at the scene about to unfold.
"You've already tried this once, remember. I got my monitor back as you can see."
"Yes, I see that you did. I shouldn't have trusted Castle with the simple task of guarding it," Reynolds said.
"Alright," Beckett said tossing the files in her hand onto a chair, "Get off my desk before I remove you from it myself."
Reynolds leaned forward staring back at Beckett, "I'd like…to see…you try."
"Ten bucks on Beckett," Castle stated turning to Esposito and Ryan.
"I don't know, man," Ryan started, "You remember that night she took down that creep, Laughlin? She's wearing jeans and sneakers today."
"Still Beckett's Beckett, plus she's got a height advantage," countered Esposito.
Suddenly Beckett made a grab for Reynolds' shoulders, but Reynolds dodged and flattened herself on her stomach to cover the desk lengthwise.
"Ten bucks, bro," Esposito shook Castle's hand. Beckett had managed to grab Reynolds around the waist and was attempting to haul her off the desk. "I'm serious, Reynolds!"
"And, I'm not?" Reynolds retorted as she clung to the sides of the desk for dear life, "This is for your own good."
"Man, I'm out on this one," said Ryan as Reynolds' foot missed Beckett and sent her stapler flying off the desk. By this point several officers had gathered in the bullpen to see the scuffle going on between the two female detectives.
Seeing as though Reynolds wasn't very big to begin with, Beckett finally managed to pry her from the desk and successfully dumped her on the floor.
"And who now owes me ten dollars?" Castle turned to Esposito smiling.
Beckett was just about to walk towards her desk when Reynolds leg flew out and knocked her off her feet and onto her back.
"Not me." Esposito grinned. The two women started wrestling on the floor. Beckett now trying to get away from Reynolds, and Reynolds trying to keep Beckett away from her desk.
A quick high pitched whistle pierced the air and caused the two female detectives to freeze in their positions. Beckett trying to reach the desk chair with a hand pushing Reynolds' shoulder away, and Reynolds with a hand on the desk attempting to block Beckett's reach. Both women staring up at Captain Montgomery, trying to catch their breath.
"What is going on?" Montgomery asked, "And Beckett, aren't you suppose to leave early today?"
Reynolds smiled and Beckett dropped her shoulders. "Yes, sir." They released their hold on each other and slumped with their backs on the floor. The crowd that had gathered to watch quickly dispersed.
"Pay up, bro." Esposito turned towards Castle.
"Reynolds didn't win," countered Castle.
"Beckett didn't make back to her desk."
"Because Montgomery stepped in."
"And when were we going to determine the end of the match if he didn't?"
"Guys, call it a draw and keep your money," said Reynolds from the floor. Ryan, Esposito, and Castle walked over to the previously contested desk to see Beckett on her hands and knees looking for her stapler and Reynolds sitting on the floor putting her badge back on her belt.
"You know you two were pretty entertaining. Ever consider mud wrestling?" Castle smiled. Beckett rolled her eyes, while Reynolds looked up at him.
"Keep talking and I'll tase you," Reynolds stated. Castle's face fell, and Esposito and Ryan laughed.
Both women got back to their feet and started pulling on their coats. "So where are we headed, Reynolds?" Beckett stated.
"Well, I was going to take you paintballing, but I think we beat up on each other enough for one day." Beckett nodded in agreement.
"Why don't we just go to Barney's for a few drinks and then call it a night?" Again Beckett didn't say anything, but shrugged in response.
"Barney's? You mean on 47th?" Castle whipped his head around.
"Yeah." Reynolds tilted her head to the side as she buttoned up her coat, "Why? You wanna come?"
"We should all go!" Castle said excitedly. Beckett snorted at Castle's enthusiasm.
"I'm game," said Esposito, "We'll just wrap up a few things here and meet you over there."
"I don't know, I'm supposed to meet Jenny for honey milk tonight." Ryan chimed in.
"First two rounds are on me!" Castle offered in a sing-song voice.
"On second thought, I'll have plenty of time to make it back to Jenny's if I don't stay too long."
"You are the cheapest man alive, you know that don't you." Esposito said looking at Ryan. Ryan just ignored him, being used to Esposito's remarks.
Beckett and Reynolds were now entering the elevator.
"Hold up!" shouted Castle as he raced to the doors.
"Hey! Where are you going?"shouted Ryan.
"See you there! I'll use my coat to save your seats!" he shouted back.
*~End Flashback~*
"Mr. and Mrs. Alverez, thank you for your cooperation. Officer Henderson will escort you out." Ryan said as the couple he had just interviewed followed him out of one of the more comfortable interview lounges. Sitting down at his desk, he started to share the new information he had gathered.
"So John Alverez was away on a business trip in Atlanta all last week, while his wife stayed with her sister. They did mention though, that Mindy Alverez had one of her co-workers water the plants and feed their fish," he read from his notes.
"Ok, so maybe the co-worker heard or saw something when she was checking on the apartment," suggested Beckett, "Have uniforms bring her in, and we can verify the Alverezs'story."
"Will do," stated Esposito as Beckett and Castle headed off to the morgue get Lanie's report on the victim's COD.
"And I-ee-eye, will all-waays love you-ou…" sang Ryan's cell phone. That got the whole bullpen staring in his direction.
"Dude, seriously?" Esposito stared at him.
Ryan smiled as he read the text message on his phone. "What? Jenny must have changed her ringtone on my phone." Grinning he continued, "She's just letting me know that The Notebook arrived from Netflix. She'll have popcorn and cocoa waiting for me."
"What no warm honey milk night cap?" asked Esposito with humor.
"Laugh all you want. She likes these sad romantic movies, and she says they put her into a cuddling mood."
"Bro, that is sad."
"What Steph's not a cuddler?"
"No, she can be, but she doesn't change the ringtones on my phone."
"Well how serious are you two? I mean half the time you act like you're meeting up with a bro. You do realize she is a woman right?"
"Dude, trust me, I noticed that she's a woman the moment I laid eyes on her. Just because we don't pick out cheesy ringtones for each other doesn't mean we aren't serious about our relationship." Esposito stated flatly, "And for the record, I'm always way more excited to hang out with her than any bro. It's easy to hang out with her, and she's not demanding."
"And yet you're bringing her pizza and beer tonight."
"I offered it." Esposito said grabbing his coat, "Anyway, I'm on my way out. You have fun tonight getting all cuddly with The Notebook."
As Esposito walked on he thought about his attempt to tease Ryan, which had led them to subtly pointing out the differences between their girlfriends. It wasn't that he disliked Ryan's girlfriend, Jenny. Heck he'd never even met her before. He just liked to tease Ryan about the little embarrassing comments that often popped out of his mouth due to some plans he'd made with Jenny or something she had texted him about. The fact that Ryan had whole conversations with the girl through text messages was humorous enough, but it was so annoying when they were trying to solve a case. Overall, Esposito concluded that Ryan's girl was probably very nice, but more maintenance than he'd ever want in a girlfriend. But he figured that if Ryan was happy making her warm honey milk to help her sleep, than that was his business.
Now, on the other hand, what he had said about Stephanie to Ryan was true. She had always been easy to hang out with, and she was never demanding. It wasn't that Stephanie Reynolds was a pushover. Hell no. She was after all a female cop. She had to be tough at times, because the job demanded it. Not only against the thugs and criminals she dragged into the 17th, but against the stereotypes that permeated throughout most of the police force regarding female cops. She didn't take kindly to bullshit, and she could most certainly break someone's nose to get her point across if needed. But these were all things that described Detective Reynolds.
Stephanie Reynolds, his girlfriend, wasn't so hard-nosed. For one thing, she was fun. She liked to joke around, and rarely had she been offended at an off-color joke he'd made. When Ryan compared her to 'one of the boys', he hadn't been offended, but he didn't quite see her that way either. Sure she was more of a tomboy than most of the women he'd dated, and she did share his love of video games. But she was still very feminine both physically and mentally. Her pale complexion contrasted nicely with her long raven hair, and her dark brown eyes sparkled when she laughed.
Aside from her looks, Stephanie was caring, had soft side, and wasn't shy about letting him know how much she loved him. She wasn't pretentious either so hanging out with her was just as easy as hanging out with 'the boys', but at the same time she certainly wasn't 'one of the boys'.
He knew that the two of them, like all couples, were not perfect, but like any healthy couple they learned to take in each other's flaws with a grain of salt. Just as she put up with his obsession with Madden, the one video game she truly despised, Esposito put up with her many failed culinary masterpieces. Stephanie could boil water and reheat various items in the microwave, but anything more than that could result in burnt charcoal or chewy rubber. Even with her culinary flaws though, Esposito knew he loved her.
Starting up his car, Esposito laughed thinking about the detective work he'd done prior to their first date.
*~Flashback~*
Javier Esposito was waiting at the front of the Thai restaurant where Stephanie and he had just finished their dinner. She had gone to the ladies room and would soon join him for the remainder of their date. When she had agreed to go out on a date with him, he had asked her what she liked to do, but all she said was "You're a detective. Let's see how much dirt you can dig up on me by Sunday afternoon." So, he used every fact he knew about her, and contacted the one person who would know her best. Her partner, Ben Terlin.
Terlin gave him some brief facts about his partner, but he didn't give any specific ideas for a date. All he said was to be a little more creative than dinner and a movie.
So in an effort to turn the tables on Stephanie, Javier filled the afternoon with one surprise after another. She had found him sitting on the steps of the Museum of Natural History on the edge of Central Park a little after 1 pm. Stephanie had agreed to meet him there, and as far as she knew that was where they were going to spend the afternoon. Little did she know that the spot was just a cover for their real destination. As soon as she arrived, he whisked her away to his nearby car and they drove down to Coney Island to spend the afternoon at the park. After an afternoon filled with rides, games, and artery-clogging food, they left the park around six and headed back in town for dinner.
"Hey," Stephanie said walking up to him, "Thanks for an awesome day!"
"You're welcome," Javier replied. Looking at his watch he said, "It's only 9:00. Do you have time for dessert?"
"Dessert?" She said surprised as they started walking towards Canal Street and Little Italy. "Sure, I don't have to go in super early tomorrow. But where are we going?"
"I'm not telling you. It's a surprise."
"The whole day has been one giant chain of surprises. Can't you just tell me this last one?" she said grabbing the arm he offered her.
"Nope. Besides we're almost there." They turned the corner and found themselves at a small tea house called LuLu's.
"I heard you liked bubble tea and thought it would be a nice way to end the evening."
Her eyes widened and she quickly turned to look at him. "Holy Crap! You talked to Terlin didn't you!"
Smiling he said, "Wha-at? I have no idea what you are talking about."
Dragging him inside, she stated, "That explains everything. I'll admit I thought the Thai restaurant was a lucky guess on your part, and Coney Island could have been just a coincidence, but bubble tea? No, Terlin's the only one who could have told you about that."
"Why? Is it some big secret that you like bubble tea?" he asked raising an eye brow.
"No," she said shortly, "but I've never gotten bubble tea with anyone else, nor have I mentioned it."
"Correction. You threw out an empty cup from Jasmine House once when you were visiting Beckett."
"What?" she stated in disbelief. "You're kidding…" she was cut off by the lady behind the counter asking her what she would like. Flustered, she stated, "um…I'll have the Coconut Black Tea. Thank you." Turning back to Javier, "When did I do that? I seriously don't remember. And how would you have noticed something like that?"
Looking at menu, Javier quickly ordered, "The Mango Milk Tea." Ryan better not find out about this he thought as he pulled out a few bills to pay for the drinks. However, bubble tea is way different than honey milk he mentally reasoned.
"Sure you did," he said as they sat down at small table. "Like two weeks ago."
At the statement, Stephanie had figured it out. "You're lying," She said laughing. "Two weeks ago, Jasmine House was closed all week due to a death in the family. You did talk to Ben," she said happily as though she had just solved another murder.
Before he could respond, a waitress brought them their drinks and wished them a nice evening.
"Do you perform background checks on all of the girls you take out?" she asked playfully.
Taking a sip of his mango tea, "Only on the girls that make me do detective work after hours."
Laughing, she nodded her head in understanding.
"Do you make all the men you date go all Sherlock on you?" he asked.
"ha ha...No. Only the ones that I like," she answered winking at him.
He smiled. "Ok, so I passed?"
"Yea, you passed even though you kind of cheated. You get an A for effort," she said. "Hopefully Terlin didn't reveal too many of my secrets."
"Nah, he was pretty cut and dry. Though, he did warn me that you have three older brothers and a retired cop for a father."
"Really now?" she questioned, "You'll be fine. My brothers are harmless and my dad would like you. You being a cop and all, and even if he didn't, my mom would keep him in line. She wants more grandkids."
"Ha ha…Well that's nice to know," he stated. "Oh, but Ben also mentioned a certain special someone in your life who has already stolen your heart," he confessed swirling his tea to force some of the tapioca balls to the surface.
Snorting into her tea, Stephanie blurted out, "What? Who? Other than you, I'm not seeing anyone."
"A certain blonde haired, blue eyed young man that goes by the codename: Pic?" he said looking up from his glass.
Relief washed over her face as she said, "Dill. I mean Dillon." She laughed. "You mean my six year old nephew?"
"Yeah, Terlin mentioned that you are practically his third parent. Your partner really admires the time you spend with that kid."
"Terlin exaggerates. My brother, Mark, and his wife both have full time jobs. Mark is a stock analyst downtown and sometimes gets home late. Terri, his wife, travels a lot for her work, so a lot of times on the nights that Mark usually runs late and Terri is away, I watch Dillon."
"And why exactly do you call him, Pic?" Javier was curious.
"Oh well his name is Dillon. After chasing after him for so long, I started to shorten his name to Dill. Then as a joke, I changed it to Pickles. Then it just got shortened again to Pic. Sometimes though, I still call him Pickles, Dill, or even Dill Pickles," she said smiling.
"That's cute."
"Yea, he does own a good chunk of my heart. He's a good kid." She smiled. "Alright, you know an awful lot about me, Sherlock. What about you? Have any siblings?"
"Yea, I've got a sister in Albany. A middle school teacher. Has two kids of her own. So you could say that she's…"
"tough as nails," Stephanie finished for him.
"Exactly. Doesn't put up with much either…" He continued. The night continued on like this for a while. Them swapping stories like they had done all day. They eventually finished their drinks and he drove her back to her apartment. He didn't stay for long, because they both had cases to get back to the next day. She thanked him for a wonderful day and promised that their next date would be her treat and that he could stop hounding Terlin for information.
He was pleasantly surprised a week later when she stopped by the 12th to ask him out on a second date waving Knicks tickets under his nose.
*~End Flashback~*
Stepping out of the elevator, a pizza box in one hand and a six pack in the other, Javier Esposito heard shouting and several gunshots coming from the end of the hallway. Dropping the food, he ran down to where the noise was coming from: Stephanie's apartment.
"Ah! Get the hell away from me!" he could hear his girlfriend yell at some unknown attacker followed by several more gunshots.
Acting quickly, he kicked in the apartment door scanning the living room with this pistol ready to shoot his girlfriend's assailant. Though upon entering the apartment, he saw his pajama-clad girlfriend staring back at him, jaw slack in surprise, with a white plastic Wii zapper gun pointed at the TV screen in front of her.
"Jav, what the hell are you doing?" she said, clearly startled from his police-raid entrance.
Lowering his weapon, he eyed her with relief. "I heard shots being fired and you yelling," he answered a little irritated. "I thought someone was trying to kill my girlfriend."
Understanding his reaction, her face softened and she walked over to him placing her arms around his shoulders in a comforting embrace. "Jav! I'm so sorry." Pulling back to look him in the eye, she said, "I should have remembered that the walls here are paper thin."
Pulling him over to the couch, she handed him the plastic case for the brand new Resident Evil video game. "I was testing one of your birthday presents, and I guess I got a little carried away and lost track of the time."
Shock had now replaced the confused look on Esposito's face. The game's sound effects were so accurate it was a wonder none of her neighbors had called 911. Stephanie smiled at him. "Happy Early Birthday!...ah ha haa!" she said busting into a small fit of giggles.
"What's so funny? I was really worried, Steph." he said.
"Oh, I know babe, and I'm sorry…heh heh" she said hugging his arm, "but you have to admit it's kind of funny in a way."
Silently sitting down next to her, he wordlessly told her that he didn't agree. Realizing he wasn't seeing her humor, she stopped laughing.
"Jav," she said leaning her head on his shoulder, "Thank you for coming to my rescue. Not every girl is as lucky as I am to have a boyfriend who would break down her door to save her from virus infected zombies."
A small smile formed on the side of his mouth. "You're welcome," he said leaning over and kissing the top of her head.
Looking around she asked, "Where's the pizza? We should eat before it gets cold, or I'll have to cook."
Finally, Esposito let out an enthusiastic laugh. "Oh no! Dear God, please let it still be in the hallway! I left it there when I heard the noise coming from your apartment."
Sending him a mock scowl over her shoulder, Stephanie went out into the hall. She grabbed the pizza and beer and retreated back into her apartment. Setting the food down on the coffee table, she returned to her seat next to her boyfriend. Handing him the Wii zapper she said, "Care to exterminate some zombies?"
"Sure," he said taking the zapper from her, "but we should turn the volume down so we don't scare your neighbors."
"Deal," she said picking up a second zapper. "But my neighbors have nothing to worry about."
"Why's that?"
"In case you didn't know, my boyfriend's a cop and likes to kick bad guy ass..." she said aiming a second zapper at the screen.
The End
*Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to ABC's Castle. I am just a fan having fun. My only claim is my character, Stephanie Reynolds.