Re-watched some of season two the other day, and got inspired. Just had to write it down. Hope you find it okay ;) Post-ep for 2x23 – Overkill, and goes AU.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Those belong to, well, Armand or Marlowe? I don't really know… but not me, obviously.

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Kate was just about to fall asleep when her phone went off, blaring into the silence of the small, temporary apartment. Ugh. If this is another case, that won't be the only murder tonight, she thought, reaching over for her night stand, picking up her phone.

"Beckett." Her voice sounded tired and annoyed, but she didn't even care at this point.

"Hey, this is Marcus O'Connor. I'm calling from my pub in the Bronx. I have a Rick Castle here. He's got you listed as one of his in-case-of-emergency-calls. Do you know him?"

This was about Castle? What had he gotten himself into now? Was something wrong; was he injured? And what the hell was he doing in the Bronx this time of night? Her pulse rose slightly, without her consent.

"Uhm, yeah, Rick Castle, I know him. Is everything alright?" Was that a quiver in her voice? That is just pathetic. He's fine, she told herself. Nothing to be worried about, at least not yet.

"He's drunk, and I've cut him off. Tried to get him to go home, ya know? But he refuses to move. Says he won't leave 'cause of some chick problems or something. I tried the usual I'm-calling-the-cops-routine, but he just laughed at me. Said he didn't care. I figured since he ain't doing nothing illegal yet, I might try this first, save New York finest some trouble, right?" Oh, if he only knew. "Do you think you could come get him? He's kind of the last one here, ya know, and I wanna close shop for tonight."

Come and get him? Shouldn't Martha or something be doing this? Besides, Castle was a grown man. He could take care of herself. Wait, what was that about chick problems? None of your business, Kate, she told herself. "Yeah. Uhm, sure, which bar was this?" He says a name of a bar she's never heard of before, but he gives her approximately location. "Okay, thanks. I'll be there in forty."

Not a moment later she had hung up on the phone and was already in the process of getting dressed. If he was drunk enough for the bartender to call, something was obviously wrong. Kate had seen him really tipsy, but never straight out drunk. Of course, she hadn't known him for more than soon-to-be two years, but she still liked to think of them as good friends by now. Hell, he had her as one of his emergency contacts. Oh, wow. He did, didn't he? Might be he actually thinks they are even closer than she imagined they were? On the other hand, it would be sensible to have her as an emergency contact, given the fact that she knew his family and she was an officer of the law. Yeah, that was probably it. It had to be, right?

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Even in the middle of the night, the traffic was heavy in the Manhattan streets. She considered for half a moment blaring the police lights, but realized she was not really on police business, nor was this a matter of life and death. Sometimes she hated her own honor code and all that stuff. Not that she was that interested in knowing what was up. This was Castle; he was probably not even that drunk. He was probably being his dramatic self, and the bar owner, not knowing this new person, thinking he was way off into an alcohol filled ramble or something. There was no reason to be interested in any of what was happening. Kate was just ready to get to bed. She was annoyed she got a call right now. That was it, she was not desperately curious about this Castle thing. She was not.

Despite the heavy traffic, she made it there in just over 45 minutes. The bar looked somewhat shady from the outside. Not that she had expected something five star all the way out here, but still. She would have thought Castle would have some standards. At least, if not standards, then some ounce of self-respect would have been nice. He could have at least tried not to go to the one place guaranteed to give you food poisoning or some other creepy disease.

Opening the door, she was welcomed with a ding from a bell and the smell of stale beer. The lights inside were dimmed, and some jazz blues kind of music was playing in the background. All the booths were empty, except from the one all the way in the back. A looming figure she knew all too well, sat there hunched over the table. She walked slowly towards him, nodding for the bartender as she made her way over to her drunk partner. She stopped a few feet away, not wanting to crowd him.

"Hey, Castle, what are you doing all the way out here?" Her tone was calm, yet she could hear her curiosity shine through. His head turned towards her, and a glint of anger passed over his face.

"Beck'hett", he hiccupped. "Come to pretend like you care, I see?" His words were slurred, his tone spiteful. "What's wrong? Robbery cop blow you off?" She could see the hint of hurt behind the surprising anger shining in his eyes.

"What are you talking about, Castle?" her eyebrows furrowed up, a confused look on her face.

"Oh, quit acting like you don't know ex'hactly what I'm talking about. Don't think I didn't see you guys swah'pping spit in the middle of s'precinct earlier. I thought you of all people would keep PD'hays to a minimum at work, acting proff'ssional and all that bullshit." There was a tone to his voice, which Kate had never heard before. At least not directed at her. Even through his blurred speech, she could clearly hear anger and hurt. When all she could do was look stunned at him, he continued. "Then again, you could say 'is my own fa-hault. I mean, after all, I could have told him to back off." A manic laugh escaped him. "Did y'know he asked me?" Kate looked like a question. What was he talking about? "He actually had the decency to h'ask if me and you were, ya know" he gestured between them in wavy gestures, making his thoughts clear, and Kate couldn't help the surprised look that took over her features. "Yeah, he did. And I said no. What kind of idiot says'hat when someone asks if the girl he loves is free?" his self-deprecating smile could almost be cute, were it not for his disheveled appearance and reek of cheap booze. Kate had problems registering anything, though. The word "love" was ringing in her ears like church bells.

"I can understand it, though. THAT is the wu-hurst part. I mean, he's kinda cool. I kinda like him, ya know? That makes it, like, I think, ten times worse. He's good. Obviously better than me, right? Cool cop, pretty face 'n all. Compared to him, I must be some catch, right? " He shook his head gently from side to side, a little longer than natural. That broke her out of her thoughts; he actually liked Demming?

"Wait, what? You like Demming?" she sounded incredulous, "I thought you couldn't stand him." she sounded way too whiny for her liking, like she couldn't stand some confusion. She wanted to sound like she didn't really care, that it was all the same to her. There was no way she wanted to sound whiny.

"Well, your boy might not be my best friend, but he's okay. That's the worst. If he were a total ass, he wouldn't be a threat. However, he's not 'n ass. I don't mind him so I don't lie to him. I tell him you're free, and just like that he's stolen the next best part of my life. I just tell him to go for it, and then BAM, the girl I love is in some other guy's arms." There was that word again. Love. Could he hear himself? He must be drunk beyond comprehension or something. Just drunk ramblings. Even though drunk people often are honest. No, she did not go there. He is just rambling. Nothing more. Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Katie.

She had no idea what to do with herself. Did she tell him she liked him, and that she secretly likes him better than Demming? Or was that as crappy an idea as it sounded? God, she hated this. Why did he have to make this so hard for her. Finally figuring out what to say, she went with the safe route.

"C'mon Castle, let's get you home." He shook his head like a petulant child.

"I don't wanna come. You go back to Demming, I'm fine" he grumbled out, sounding like the child he was acting as.

"The bar man is closing. I don't care what you think. You are coming with me, and we are going home, now." The usual no-bullshit-Beckett voice was back, and even though it took a minute, she could see Castle's resolve crumbling. "Come on, big guy. Time to go back to Manhattan and your Egyptian cotton sheets."

He rose, swaying on his feet until she grabbed him around the waist. He flung his arm over her shoulders, and leaned in. "You wanna join me, detective?" His breath washed over her face. It smelled like some scotch or other, and it reminded her eerily about all the times she had to practically, carry her father to bed after he had passed out on the couch. Castle leaned heavily on her.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Stud, but you're going home alone." She started dragging him along towards the door, shooting off an apologetic look to the bar man.

He let out a huff of air, and she could already feel him prepare hid whiny comeback. "Kaaate. Lexiss 'n mom's outta town. I'm aaall aloooneeee!" Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes. Trust Castle to turn a dark conversation light, not to mention make it all about him.

"And what do you suppose I do with that, hmm? I'm not your baby sitter. By the way, we need to talk about why you have me as emergency contact without telling me. I would might have liked to know, you know." She tried sounding stern, but she doubted he even registered her. He rarely bothered with the boring stuff, and she doubted that would change with the alcohol.

"Oh, like you miiind. You like having to save my sexy ass from trouble." He was just as full of himself as usual, though a bit more slurring version.

She lead him over to her car, almost having to push him inside, while he fumbled with the belt. Sure, walking straight he couldn't do, but remember safety was a priority. Eventually, she gave up on his fumbling, and grabbed the belt buckle herself, leaning over him.

"Mmmh, you smell good." His husky voice was right beside her ear, making her jump just a little. Then he did something that surprised her even more; he put his lips to her neck, gently nipping her skin. It sent a rush of sparks flying through her, making her blood feel it was boiling. She almost moaned aloud, before she gathered her wits. Having fastened the belt, she pulled back abruptly, clearing her throat in a suspiciously unnatural way. She opened her mouth, as to say something, but closed it again just as fast, before closing the car door, and walking around to the other side.

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Kate almost thought Castle had fallen asleep, when he spoke up. "Pretty please, Beckett, I don't wanna be aloneee tonight. Can I come with youuuu?"

"No"

"Pleeaaaseee"

"No"

"Don't be such a party pooper"

"I'm not" she defended. He just stared at her. "Fine." She rolled her eyes. If it was because of his exclamation of yes, or her own weakness, she did not know. "But you sleep on the couch."

"Alrightie" he spoke, as happy as ever. "Wanna sleep there with me?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Castle! Now you're pushing it."

"Fiiineee!" he huffed, "I'll do it your way"

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Kate woke to the awful sound of someone retching in her hallway bathroom. Using her hands to rub the sleep out of her eyes, she shuffled her feet out towards the sound.

The light from the bathroom lit up the entire hallway, and she could see the shadow of a figure bent over. Then she heard some more retching, followed by a loud groan. She walked over, and leaned on one side of the doorframe. She was met with the sight of Richard Castle, disheveled and pale, arms resting on the toilet ring, head resting on one of them, and his eyes were closed.

"How's it going?" She asked, trying to keep both the amusement and the concern out of her voice. He startled a little, opening his eyes, and looking up at her.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I should have closed the door." He sighed, sounding tired. Even though she knew he brought this on himself, she couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. She shook her head.

"Don't worry about it."

He nodded, but she could still see the hesitation in his eyes. She waited for him, knowing he needed the time.

"I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have said all that about … all those things." She could see he was struggling, but her curiosity kept her from opening her mouth, giving him an easy way out. "I just… I had no right to… and then you take me in for the night, and I'm such an ass. I guess I just… well, thank you. And again, I'm sorry." His eyes flickered all over the place, except from to her, and a small blush spread in his otherwise pale cheeks.

"Like I said, don't worry about it." She smiled at him, and he gave her a weak smile back. "I'll go to try and fix us some breakfast." She gestured towards the kitchen, before turning and walking back there. Walking a couple of steps away, she turned halfway back again.

"By the way, Castle, I broke it off with Demming after you left the precinct yesterday. There is another brown haired, blue-eyed man I'm more interested in." With that, she sauntered off; leaving what she knew would be a very stunned mystery writer in her wake.

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A/N: Just a little one shot. Let me know if you enjoyed it.