Disclaimer: I am not the great Andrew C. Marlowe, therefore, I do not own Castle.
Chapter 1
Kate let her fingers fly softly over the raised edges of the books' covers. They were shelved so neatly and with such precision that she didn't dare do more than merely skim the surfaces. As far as she could tell, they were in chronological order, starting with his earliest works to his latest. She knew them all well, could probably break each of them down chapter by chapter if she were asked to, but she certainly wasn't going to reveal that fact – at least not now.
She stood there, mesmerized by his books, idly wondering if the colors of the covers had been purposely chosen to work so well together on the shelves. All 29 of them were stood there, taking up a single shelf. Her mind wandered back to her own apartment, where the same books were scattered between various rooms in her apartment. She'd never admit it, but she liked that they were never to be found in the same place; his words were always close at hand when she felt the need to hear his voice, no matter where she was. She'd even taken to buying the digital copies through the Barnes & Noble Nook app on her new iPhone.
"Are you a fan?" asked a voice from the doorway. It was strong, masculine, sensual, and not at all the voice she wanted to hear at that moment.
Kate turned to find the voice's owner leaning against the door frame, two glasses of red wine in his hand, curiosity blooming on his face. He was handsome, she would give him that. Dark brown hair, matching brown eyes, and a square jaw with that slightly sexy five o'clock shadow. The man was built well, muscles taut across his chest and upper arms, not even needing to be flexed to be seen. A dark blue shirt complemented the tan tone of his skin, sleeves rolled up to above his forearms to allow more comfort. Black slacks hung loosely around his waist, secured in place by a simple black leather belt.
"You could say that," Kate replied, shrugging. There was no reason to let on more than she needed to.
The man stepped towards her, holding out a glass of the wine he'd so thoughtfully poured for her. She accepted it gratefully.
"I like his work," he said. "It always keeps me on edge when I read it."
"Oh?" she responded, cocking her head to the side slightly.
The man nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah. He certainly has a way with words."
"That he does," Kate whispered softly, hoping that the man beside her didn't hear it. He did.
"What was that?" he asked. Kate sipped her wine, which turned out to be a Merlot. Not the best brand, but it would do, she supposed.
She ignored his question, pretending as if she hadn't heard it. "Which one is your favorite?" she asked instead.
A smile rose on the man's face, clearly excited to be able to have a conversation with her about an author and his literature. His hand briefly skimmed over the spines of the books, just as hers had done a moment before, and then landed on a blue cover. He pulled the book from the shelf and handed it to her.
"Here," he said. "This one."
She turned the book over in her hand. It was one of the author's earlier works, well-liked and popular, still favored by many of his long-time readers. Kate shouldn't have been surprised. The man had shown almost no originality throughout the entire date, so she supposed that there was no reason for him to now.
Kate, in turn, pulled from the shelf the one third from the end, which was cloaked in red and had a cover image she was all too familiar with.
"I prefer this one," she said, handing it to him.
He took it from her gingerly, then rolled his eyes at the title he saw on the cover. "Really, Kate?"
Green eyes narrowed quickly. "Yes, really. I think that is one of his finer works," she said. Although I'd never admit that to him, she added mentally. An audible sigh escaped her date.
"Heat Wave?" He asked. "How can you think that Heat Wave is better than In a Hail of Bullets?"
"How can I think that?" she asked, defensively. "Easily. Heat Wave creates a much stronger personal connection with the protagonist than any of his other books do. The cases feel much more realistic, and thanks to his shadowing an NYPD detective, the details are far more accurate. It's clearly superior."
Her date threw back his head and laughed, clearly mocking her – perfectly valid, in her opinion – explanation.
"Really? That's your reasoning?" he asked. Kate's eyes narrowed even further, and she could feel the irritation bubbly inside of her. She hadn't mocked his poor choice; the least he could do was not be condescending towards hers.
"Yes," she said, raising her chin defiantly, as if daring him to say anything of it. He took the bait.
"Richard Castle's characters all come from fantastic back stories, and all of his cases are realistic. As for his shadowing that NYPD detective, whoever she is, I have no doubt that he's only using her for whatever sex he's getting out of her. After all, what better way to ensure his place in the woman's bed than by calling her his 'muse'?"
The irritation had faded away by the end of his rant. She put her glass of wine down on the desk that sat on her right and set the book down beside it. Striding from the room with purpose, she found her coat and clutch where she had left them and grabbed them. Stopping momentarily to put on her coat, she found her date gaping at her.
"Seriously, Kate? You're leaving? Because of what I said about your taste in books? He's just an author, for god's sake, and you have to know I'm probably right about him," he guffawed.
Kate closed her eyes, willing her breathing to remain calm. She couldn't fault him really. He had no idea who she really was, and was especially clueless when it came to the rather unorthodox partnership she'd held for over three years now. That had been her choice though. For once, she'd hoped she could get through a date without mention of Castle or their partnership. All of her dates as of late had been interested in her as 'Nikki Heat' once they had realized the connection, and she was tired of it.
Still, she could not get past his brash comments he'd unwittingly made about her character – or Castle's. He didn't know them, and for him to presume that the relationship was simply sex was, well, unforgivable in her mind.
"See, Brett," she started, "The thing is, he's not just an author to me, and his books, especially the Nikki Heat series, aren't just books to me either. Richard Castle is my partner."
Brett laughed again. "Your partner? Are you sure you aren't delusional, Kate?"
Her head shook softly. "Trust me, I'm not delusional. Although, there are days when I wish that was all it was. Richard Castle has been shadowing me for over three years. I'm the NYPD detective."
His mouth fell into a perfectly shaped "O" and she could see him mentally kicking himself for being such an ass. "Kate…"
She held up a hand. "Don't. Save it."
"Kate, give me a chance – "
"I'm going home," she said resolutely. "Thank you for a lovely evening, Brett."
She turned and walked towards the door, turning the knob slowly and opening it just a crack before looking at the man again.
"And for the record, I've never slept with him."
(…)
Despite common opinion, Kate Beckett was not a morning person. She felt no need to start her day early, was never compelled to run at 6 AM, and hated her alarm clock with a fiery passion. Given the choice, she would gladly stay in bed until well after noon.
Unfortunately, the murderers of New York City didn't seem to care about her love affair with sleep – one that she so rarely was allowed to indulge in.
The loud, blaring ringtone that Castle had set for her after he'd stolen her phone at the precinct had jerked her from her slumber. Growling in irritation, she didn't even bother to check the caller ID before pulling the phone to her ear.
"Beckett," she snapped.
"Woah, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," cajoled Esposito's voice on the other side of the line.
"Esposito, if you don't tell me where the body is in the next five seconds, I'll make sure Lanie withholds sex. For a long, long time."
Esposito groaned. "Alleyway just off of 54th and Lex. Double Homicide. Man and a woman. Mid 20's."
"Alright. I'll be there in an hour."
"Got it. I'll have uniforms start canvassing the area. Do you want to call Castle or should I?" he asked.
Kate sighed. "I'll do it."
"'Kay. See you soon, Boss." The line went dead, and Kate was left with the overwhelming urge to hold a pillow over her head and pretend as if it had never happened. Between her god-awful date last night and the fact that it was 4AM, she was not in any mood to be dealing with criminals and nosy coworkers. Much less Castle. Still, she had to make the obligatory "there's-been-a-murder" phone call.
Castle answered on the first ring, much to her surprised.
"Thank you for calling Chez Castle. To make reservations, press one. For phone sex, press two. To speak with the devilishly handsome mystery writer-slash-owner, press three. For real sex, press four. To report a murder and request said mystery writer-slash-owner's presence at a crime scene, say 'Castle' in an irritated fashion."
A small smile came to Kate's face. "I think that some has had a little too much coffee today," she said.
"Boo on you for not playing along," he said. She could almost see his lower lip pushed out in his patented pout.
"54th and Lex," she said, repeating the info that Esposito had given her a few moments ago. "Double homicide. Man and woman, mid-20's apparently."
"Apparently?" he questioned.
She shrugged, and then realized he couldn't see her. God, it was early. "I haven't actually made it out to the scene yet. I just got the call from Espo."
"Ah, I see," he said. A pause, and then realization dawned on him. "So you're still in bed, then, detective?"
Kate groaned. "I'll meet you there Castle."
Rick laughed. "I look forward to it. I'll be there. The usual?"
"Please?"
"Of course."
"See you, Castle," she said, ending the call. Quickly she threw the covers off of her, and the cold of February hit her full force. She shivered as goose bumps formed on her skin. Green eyes sought out the alarm clock by her bed.
4:03 AM.
Today was going to be a long day, she knew.
(…)
She arrived at the crime scene in less than the hour she had predicted to Esposito. Guiding her unmarked cruiser into the last empty spot, Kate unbuckled the seatbelt and took in the flurry surrounding the crime scene before her. Much like Castle had described in Nikki Heat, Kate did like to take a moment to study the scene and prepare her before getting out of the car. She found it to be a grounding ritual that helped her steady her emotions and gather information before it was thrown at her.
Slender fingers found the thin silver chain in its place around her neck. She fiddled with it for a moment as she took in the picture ahead of her. Her eyes landed on a familiar face with bright blue eyes and a goofy grin. He was watching her, she knew, as she unbuckled her seat belt. She grabbed her coat and notepad and then let herself out of the car to go and meet him.
Castle held two coffee cups in his hands, and extended one towards her as she grew nearer. She accepted it, breathing in the beautiful aroma that wound its way from the small spout. The warmth in her hands made her shiver with delight as she raised the cardboard cup to her lips and relished in the taste of the coffee as it flowed into her eagerly awaiting mouth.
"Thank you," she said.
"Anything for you, detective," Castle responded. "Shall we?"
Kate nodded and they walked towards the alley, where yellow POLICE LINE: DO NOT CROSS tape closed the area to any onlookers. Ever the gentleman, Castle held up the yellow plastic as she ducked under it, then followed.
"Nice of you to join us, Boss," said Esposito, who stood slightly behind Lanie. Kate shot him a glare, and then crouched next to her best friend.
"Morning, girl," said Lanie, who was still examining one of the two bodies.
"Morning, Lanie. What've you got?"
Lanie shrugged. "Two dead bodies and a myriad of possible explanations."
"Huh?" Kate asked. Her brain still wasn't fully awake.
"Both bodies show signs of strangulation, stabbing, and gun shots, as well as a possibility of poison. I won't know for sure what killed them until I can get them back to the lab," Lanie replied, pointing to various parts of the body as she gave her explanation.
"Fantastic," Kate said sarcastically.
"Yep. I'll let you know more when I do," Lanie said. "Hey, how'd your date go last night?"
"Fanstastic," Kate repeated, albeit with a little more sarcasm that time.
Lanie winced. "That bad, huh?"
Kate nodded, grimacing. "I'll tell you about it later. Lunch?"
"Meet you at your desk around noon and decide from there?"
"Sounds like a plan. Now, though, I've got to go direct those buffoons," she jerked her head towards the three men huddled together behind her. Lanie laughed.
"Good luck."
Kate chuckled. "Tell them that."
"Oh, you thought I was talking to you? Cute."
"See you for lunch, Lane."
(…)
The rest of the day hadn't gone any better than her morning had started. Lanie had finally narrowed down the cause of death to the gunshot wounds, but hadn't been able to give her any more than a four hour time-of-death window that landed between 10PM and 2AM. The boys had canvassed the neighborhood, speaking with each of the residents and workers within the block, and had come up short. To top it off, they still hadn't been able to match the prints of their victims to anyone in the system, so they were still working with a John and Jane Doe.
Beckett's hand rose to her mouth and she began to chew on a fingernail as she narrowed her gaze at the murder board she and Castle had created. It was mostly empty, save for a few pictures of the victims and the crime scene, as well as the listing of their wounds. The white space irritated her, taunted her with information she didn't yet have, and she was quickly becoming frustrated.
"Esposito, where are we on finding the names of our vics?" she asked.
Esposito shrugged. "Same place we were the last time you asked."
"Great," she sighed. "Nowhere."
"Pretty much," Esposito affirmed with a sigh of his own. His hand scrubbed at his face, as if trying to wash away the tiredness that had come from such an early awakening. Kate could feel her own starting to creep up on her and turned her wrist so she could check her watch. It was almost noon, which meant that they had already been working for almost eight hours.
"I think it's time for a break," she said. "Take a couple of hours for lunch. Relax a bit. We'll come back with fresh eyes afterwards."
Esposito turned to Ryan, who had been silently watching the exchange. "Remy's?"
"Sounds good," Ryan nodded, moving to grab his jacket from the back of his desk chair. "What about you, Boss? You in?"
Kate shook her head. "Sorry, can't. I've got plans."
Castle, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, perked at the news. "Plans, detective?"
"Yes, plans," she said, simply.
"And what would these plans entail, exactly?"
"Well..." Kate started. Castle scooted to the edge of his chair, eagerly awaiting her next words. Luckily for her, she didn't have to answer. Lanie had chosen that moment to make her entrance into the bullpen, black peacoat in hand and purse slung over her shoulder.
"You ready to go, Kate?" she called.
"Yeah, let me just grab my coat. What are you thinking today?" Kate responded. From the corner of her eye, she could see Castle deflate a bit at the normalcy of her plans.
"Mexican. Or Italian. Or Chinese," Lanie listed, then paused. "Oh hell, girl. I don't care. Pick a place."
Kate chuckled. "How about that little Mexican place down the block? El Vira's?"
She could see Lanie pondering for a moment, before agreeing. "Sounds good to me. Let's do it. I've been waiting all day for you to tell me about your oh-so-horrid date with Dr. Dog."
Castle perked once more, causing Kate to groan internally. She had desperately hoped that he would not get wind of her date.
"Dr. Dog?" he asked gleefully.
Kate rolled her eyes. "Come on, Lanie. Let's go. Before Castle here starts asking more questions." She slid her arms into her leather jacket and zipped it up about halfway so that she could still breathe in the building. From the drawer of her desk she procured her black leather gloves, but opted to leave them off until she had gotten to the cold. After a quick check to make sure she had everything, she started towards the elevator.
"Who is Dr. Dog?" Castle called from his chair. "Beckett? Who is Dr. Dog?"
Kate ignored him and Lanie's chuckle.
"Do you see what you've done?" she asked, glaring at her friend, who merely laughed in response. "You owe me. Big time."
"How about I pay for lunch?" Lanie offered.
"Fine," Kate grumbled in response.
"Okay now, start from the beginning. I want to know all about this date."
(…)
An hour and a half, two glasses of strawberry lemonade, two enchilada platters, and a round of sopapillas later, Kate and Lanie found themselves calling for the check. The waiter, a gangly teenager with a pimply face and hair that fell to his shoulders meandered over slowly, clearly in no rush.
"Yeah?" he asked.
Both Lanie and Kate raised their eyebrows at the boy's irritated tone. "We'd like our check please," Kate requested.
"Together or separate?"
"Together," Lanie answered this time.
"Alright," he said. "I'll be right back with it."
Kate waited until the boy had left, and then remarked, "Boy, gotta love New York."
Lanie chuckled. "Too true. Ready to get back to the case?"
Kate groaned. She hadn't been able to completely escape the theories that were swirling in her head during the lunch, but she had been able to push them aside for the meantime. It was easier knowing that the theories her mind was producing most likely had no relevance to the actual case, but theory building with Castle for the past four years had opened her to more and more possibilities. Still, and as much as her pained her to say it, she didn't want to return to the empty murder board.
"No, not really," Kate replied honestly. "The case is full of dead ends, and not knowing who are victims are doesn't help."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help," Lanie offered.
"Not your fault," Kate responded.
The lazy waiter dropped the check on their table in a slender black book that was worn with the use of previous customers and recited a scripted goodbye.
"I've circled the total on your check. You'll pay at the front cashier stand. Thank you once again for choosing El Vira's Mexican Café. My name is Brad and it was a pleasure to serve you today. Please come again."
He stalked away once more, the required task finished. Lanie and Kate looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Reaching for her wallet, Kate procured a few bills to leave for the boy as a tip.
"He must really hate his job," Lanie remarked, still feeling the remnants of her giggle fit.
"No doubt," Kate said, dropping the money on the table and scooting out of the booth. Lanie did the same, evening out the tip for the boy. Even if he'd given poor service, the women were both well aware that this was likely the boy's only source of income, and though he hadn't done it well, he'd still provided the service they'd come for.
Kate waited patiently as Lanie paid for their meal at the cashier box that stood slightly left of the entrance. The restaurant itself was a small hole-in-the-wall place, tucked in between two major food chains that rendered it almost invisible to the passerby's eyes. When she and Lanie had discovered it during the first few years of their friendship, it had quickly become a favorite. They'd met the cooks several times, and knew most of the waiters by face, if not name.
"Thanks, Sandra," she heard Lanie tell the small Hispanic woman behind the counter.
"No problem, Lanie, Kate. Come back and see us soon. It's been too long," Sandra said, mouth curling in a soft smile that showed genuine affection for the pair. Sandra was their usual waitress when they stopped in for a bite to eat, but being eight months into her pregnancy had rendered it difficult for her to maneuver the small spaces between tables.
"We will," Kate replied, giving the other brunette a smile of her own. "Be sure to tell Manny we stopped in today. And be good to little Junior for us."
Sandra laughed, and nodded. "You ladies enjoy the rest of your day, if you can. Bye!"
The women waved as the pulled the door to the restaurant and stepped out onto the busy sidewalks of New York City.
"Ready?"
Kate tightened her jacket around her small frame. "No, but I have a double homicide I need to solve. Let's go."
A/N: As a fanfiction reader, I can imagine how few people actually read these author notes. I'm guilty of doing it myself. Still, I feel the need to warn whomever may be reading this that posting on this story will most likely be sporadic, at best. I chose to put this note at the end of the chapter because, well, I still wanted it to get read. It is my hope that any responses I may or may not get will push me to finally finish it. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed it!
Until next chapter!
- K