Two Idiots Abroad… in L. A.
Just a thought about what I might like to happen in L. A. A realization and some... contact. One shot.
On the elevator ride up to their suite, (their suite?, how the heck had that really happened, anyway?) Kate kept glancing over at Castle, wondering how he did it. How he knew just the things to say or do to help her hold herself together when things seemed too overwhelming. It was a recurring theme in her mind, lately. When she let herself think about it, anyway.
This time, she' d started to wonder from that awful moment she'd heard that Royce was dead and she'd felt Castle's hand on her shoulder, his silence speaking volumes. No words needed; one glance at the empathy on his handsome, troubled face and the reassuring squeeze conveyed support for whatever she intended to do. Somehow, hours later, she'd found herself at the airport, waiting with Castle for a private plane to whisk them to L. A., arrangements all made from his ubiquitous phone with maximum efficiency.
Once on the plane, sensing her tension and melancholy, Rick had switched to a completely different tack. With his flair for the ridiculous and dramatic, he'd regaled her with the misadventures of a precocious, and probably just as charming Ricky Rodgers flying across country for the first time on his own, at the tender age of 11. At one point, she'd actually had to change her blouse, having snorted and spilled the coffee she was drinking when he came up with the reason the baggage handlers had found him in a dog pen with a labrador, a copy of Lady Chattereley's Lover & some mini bottles of rum.
"Can't touch the stuff to this day. I'm alright with labs, though."
"What about the book?" Kate had asked with a bit of a smirk.
"A bit over my head at the time. Of course I wasn't reading it for its' philosophy or social commentary. As an adult, I can appreciate it much better." Quoting, "A woman has to live her life, or live to repent not having lived it." Castle had looked at her soberly for a moment, and Kate had found she couldn't hold his gaze. After an awkward pause, Rick had changed the subject again, throwing out theories and suggestions as to how to go about their rogue investigation. And as usual, thanks to the combination of Castle's 'outside the box' thinking and her own, well trained instincts, they had definitely made some progress.
That was how she found herself here now, nearly 10 hours after touching down in L. A., exhausted, but in good spirits and heading into a hotel suite with her partner, Richard Castle. He opened the door for her and followed her inside, sighing as he removed his jacket and threw it on a chair. "Home Suite Home," Rick turned to throw his charming grin at her. His smile widened in pleasure after seeing the bottle of champagne chilling on a side table, next to a large bowl of strawberries. Plucking up the card next to the bucket, he read aloud, "For Nikki and Rook. A little bird (or 2) told me you were here. Hope to see you both. PS. Does he have permission, yet, Kate?" Natalie." Well, that was nice of her. What's this about permission?" He was untwisting the wiring around the cork and had popped it open before she could come up with an answer.
"Eh, um, she just wanted to um, know if you'd gotten permission to have police training, yet. So, that's a definite, 'No'. Kate watched him do a double take, amazed excitement lighting up his face.
"What! Has that been discussed? For real? That would be so cool." Castle brought her a glass of champagne, noting her flushed face and unusual stillness. The giddiness dropped away and she took in a deep breath at the concern in his blue eyes. "You must be exhausted. Why don't you take this into the bath and have a nice, long soak. Don't come out till you're all pruney. And, don't worry, Kate. We'll figure this out." Leaning toward her, Rick gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek, his warm breath sweet on her face. He never saw the shudder that ran through her body, because he he'd already turned toward his room, unbuttoning his shirt as he moved.
"Castle?" He turned to her, still undoing his shirt, the tiredness in his own eyes finally showing. "I... I just wanted to say, thank you. And I'm glad that you're here with me." Kate watched as his eyes lit up, happy to be the one to make him smile. "Although I still don't understand how there isn't another room to be had in this city." She playfully made a point of checking out his now bare chest. "Still trying to make me one of your conquests?" Something flared briefly in Rick's face, then he drained his glass of champagne and set it down abruptly on a table.
" Yeah, you nailed it, Detective. Going on three years, getting up in the middle of the night, spending time away from Alexis, risking my life, watching you risk yours, for a sexual conquest. Even I'm not that shallow. Or patient. Or... desperate." Pulling his shirt together, Castle straightened his shoulders and said, "Get some rest, Detective. You might need to be sharper at following clues and reading people tomorrow. 'Night."
Stunned, Kate stared as Castle walked into his room and shut the door firmly behind him. She was just trying to be funny, and what had happened? She couldn't remember him ever being so abrupt with her, or disparaging her,,, what? Instincts? Resentment kicked in quickly, angered at the way he misread her little joke, Kate finished her wine and went for a refill. Shrugging, she decided to take the bottle into the bath with her. Hell, she deserved it after today, and tonight.
Twenty minutes later, Beckett was still replaying recent events, and had finished the last of Natalie's excellent wine.
She grimaced at the thought of Natalie and what she still, evidently, wanted from Castle. Hopefully, there'd be no time to visit the set... ?
Stepping out of the tub, only moderately buzzed, or pruney, she shivered as the air conditioning kicked in . Involuntarily, she was reminded of the tremor that ran through her when Castle kissed her cheek. How was it that he could do that with an innocent gesture, when she'd had trouble feeling more than impatience when Josh kissed her goodbye as she left for the airport. And, what had happened with Castle that she couldn't tease him ? All she'd said was that he wanted her body. And he had thrown in that stuff about being away from his daughter and risking his life and... watching her risk her own.
Suddenly, Kate's stomach did a flip and she sat down on the edge of the tub. Why was he sacrificing so much for her, when he wasn't even a cop? Or her boyfriend? Why go to so much trouble to help her? In the large and small ways that maybe she'd taken for granted after so long. In her mind, she'd always figured Castle was about the 'grand gestures', because sometimes he'd seemed larger than life. Who else would buy a bar, for nostalgic reasons? And who else would set up a memorial scholarship in her mother's name, just because it would make her happy. (And who else would know or care enough that it would make her happy?)
Maybe she should be better at reading people, and following clues. Like the way he looked when she was with another man. Like how protective he was of her. Like how he knew her better than anyone else in the world and still thought she was extraordinary. Like how he made her laugh, even at his own expense. And she'd just had the nerve to insinuate that after all this time, he just wanted to sleep with her.
Smacking herself on the forehead, (harder than she'd intended) Kate wrapped herself in a silk robe and left the bathroom, headed for Castle's door. Normally, she would have hesitated for an instant, but thanks to Natalie's champagne and the sick feeling in her gut that she'd done Rick a huge disservice, Kate threw the door to Castle's room wide open, only to run smack into a large wall of ..., well, Castle. Still fastening his robe, hair still damp from his own time in the bath, he caught her arm to steady her after the sudden impact. The two stared at each other for a minute before they said simultaneously, "I'm sorry! I was an idiot!"
End of scene.