This story is co authored with kimmiesjoy

Detecting Darkness

The light shone brightly from the smart board, illuminating the shadows and casting the entire room in an eerie glow. Thunder rumbled, thick and heavy, all around, shaking the floor beneath them. Rain pounded relentlessly against the windows and every few seconds lightning flashed.

But nobody seemed to notice.

The three detectives and their eager writer were locked in a theory battle as Victoria Gates watched amused from the sidelines.

The back and forth of whose idea was better, more far fetched or just plane stupid went on and on and to her surprise they actually made headway with their unique approach. Poking and prodding each other, sharing smiles and annoyances.

But as she looked on, she couldn't help but think none of them were right this time and it wasn't until a silence descended on them that she could actually see the professional focus.

That moment when they put their differences of opinion aside and looked for the proof, the right evidence.

The lightning flashed again and Beckett darted forwards.

"Freeze it there." She pointed and Ryan jumped to press at the surveillance video.

"There!" She stated triumphantly.

"What?"

"There!"

The boys all leaned in, Espo's arms crossed while Ryan looked on, hand to his chin. Castle was so close to the screen, his eyes almost crossed and his nose skimmed the board.

"I don't see it." He turned his head towards an annoyed Beckett, shrugging his shoulders.

She growled. "Zoom in."

"Bossy..." Ryan mumbled even as he followed orders and Gates smirked, pushing herself away from the door for a better view.

"What?"

"Boss...I said Yes Boss." Ryan moved quick, sensing the tone.

Kate narrowed her eyes, but ignored him. "Stop! There, see?"

"All I see is a cat."

"Exactly."

"Our suspect is a cat?"

"Noooo." She made a sound in exasperation. "Look what it's wearing."

Again they all leant in, heads twisting back and forth as they tried to figure out what obscure detail she had spotted that they were missing.

Castle gasped, "I...Kate... if you say there's a galaxy in tha-"

Blackness.

"They know!" Castle shouted, jumping into an upright and extremely defensive position as the darkness overtook the room. His arms were held out in front him, one hand attempting to pull Kate behind him even as she shoved him away, laughing under her breath.

"Relax Mister Castle." Gates said into the pitch black, just as she bumped into the doorframe and swore under her breath. They heard a roll of thunder, the room lighting up with a flash as the doorknob hit the opposite wall. "It's just a blackout, caused by the storm."

The group moved as one, a sudden surge towards the door that had them bumping into each other, knocking things from the desks and shoving. Elbows collided with arms and knees knocked into shins.

"Okay, everybody FREEZE!" Gates cried out, her arms in front of her for safety,

"Guys, Guys!" Beckett yelled over all of them, "Chill!" She threw her arms in the air even though no one could see. "We have a back up generator."

"Good point Detective." Gates agreed, "So may I suggest we just stay calm and wait it all -"

"Hey! Who just grabbed my ass?" Espo yelled.

Silence descended into the confined space, the thick swirl of the tense atmosphere settling over them.

"Sorry." came Kate's sheepish voice from somewhere in the black. "I thought you were.." She gasped, held her breath and bit her lip hoping it had gone unnoticed.

"Thought he was who?" Ryan asked his eyes dancing with mischief, which luckily no one could see, the blackness of the room completely unrelenting.

"The door, I thought he was the door." Beckett cleared her throat, glad of the power outage, her cheeks felt hot and her hands suddenly slimy. She ran them down the front of her jeans, mentally trying to locate all the people in the room, and the intended source of her wandering hands.

"Why were you gonna molest the door, Beckett?" Espo grumbled, one hand across his backside, trying to regain the feeling.

"Molest?" Castle barked, coughing to cover the noise of his laugh. "You were trying to molest...?" He gulped loudly enough for them all to hear and Kate tilted sideways, following his voice.

"Groping her way to freedom, it felt like." Esposito said, disturbed as his voice squeaked and he had to clear his throat.

Kate groaned and felt behind her for the desk, sitting down on the edge of it.

"Ahem!" Gates barked, "If we could just curtail this childish behavior, perhaps we could find our way out without groping each other."

There was soft laughter as the others agreed and the gentle of hum of a generator. Around the precinct white lights blinked back on, and the red emergency lights over the doors lit up brightly.

Gates cleared her throat, "Which means, Mr. Castle, as much as I appreciate the gesture, perhaps you could let go of my hand?"V