DISCLAIMER: None of what you recognise belongs to me - I wish it did but sadly it doesn't. Silent Witness, Castle, and all characters and storylines that you recognise from the shows, all belong to the BBC and ABC. I can only take credit for story lines and characters which you do not recognise from the shows.
"Hey Nikki?" Lanie calls across the morgue. Nikki is sat doing paperwork while Lanie is elbow deep in the chest cavity of Mrs Monroe.
"Yeah?" She responds, not averting her attention from the pages in front of her.
"You busy tomorrow night?"
Tapping her pen against the table in thought Nikki replies with "I don't think so, why?"
"Beckett, Alexis, and I are having a girl's night? I was wondering if you wanted to join us." She sees Nikki's apprehension straight away.
"Erm, are you sure I won't be intruding?"
"Of course not, we all gather at Castle's, drink his wine, and complain about men. It'll be fun."
"Who's Castle?" Nikki inquires, feeling like an outsider as the slightly younger woman mentions all these people she is yet to meet.
"Richard Castle, the writer, he follows Beckett around like a lost puppy. They're both completely in love with each other it makes me want to throw up sometimes." At the mention of the best-selling mystery novelist, Nikki perks up - she has loved his novels since the very first one she read. A smile spreads across her face as she thinks about how Harry has always teased her about her love for the books.
"Doesn't he mind that you invade his home and drink his wine?" She asks, not showing any signs of knowing the man in question.
"Of course not. One, Alexis is his daughter, and two, Beckett's with us. That man would do anything for her. Hell, a few years back he almost jumped in front of a bullet for her."
"Almost?" How can someone almost jump in front of a bullet? You either do or you don't.
"Yeah, we were at the captain's funeral and he saw the sun reflecting on the gun or something, so he tackled her only he was a little too late and the bullet her." Nikki senses that this is a sensitive topic for her.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Guilt courses through her body, embracing every nerve end as she ponders the terrible time they must have gone through. She knew what the loss of a loved one felt like but to almost be killed or to watch as your best friend or daughter is almost murdered while you were honouring the memory of said loved one… she cannot image the pain they must have felt.
"Hey don't worry, it was 3 years ago now. So are you going to join us?"
"I don't see why not."
"Alright, well we usually just go straight from work so just bring what you need with you tomorrow."
"Nikki?" They both look up as Alexis enters the room, a folder in hand "I have those toxicology reports for you."
"Thanks. So, Lanie invited me to your girl's night tomorrow. I hope you don't mind."
Before Alexis could reassure the blonde that she was ok with it, Harry entered the morgue "Girl's night? Can I come?"
"Well it is girls only so I don't see why not." Nikki answers him, glad that after a year apart, the banter between them still flowed strong, almost as if they hadn't spent a second apart.
"Ha ha." He replies dryly. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, just let me grab my stuff." As she leaves the morgue and heads towards the locker room, Lanie approaches him.
"So, you must be Harry."
He gulps as she gives him once over. "I guess so."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lanie." To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was pretty sure the woman would rip is heart out where he stood.
"Lanie, stop torturing the poor man." Alexis speaks up from where she was stood.
"Alexis?" Harry was confused, what was one of his pupils doing in a morgue?
"Hi, Professor Cunningham." She smiles at him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I intern here. My dad works up in homicide with Detective Beckett and her team." She replies.
"Well it's nice to see one of my pupils going that extra mile." He tells her, just as Nikki re-enters the morgue.
"Ready. I'll see you guys later." She waves goodbye to her new friends as she turns and follows Harry out of the 12th precinct.
Slipping their coats from their shoulders, and toeing their shoes from their feet, Nikki collects the wine from the fridge before she settles down on the sofa beside Harry.
"So, what am I supposed to do tomorrow night if you're out?" He asks his blonde companion.
"I make up some excuse and stay home with you if you like?" She feels guilty for leaving him to his own devices.
"Nikki, I was joking. You go out with your friends and enjoy yourself. You deserve it." He gives her a genuine smile as they settle in to watch Mamma Mia for what must be the 100th time.
Just as the cast finish their rendition of Dancing Queen, Nikki raises her head from its position on his shoulder and asks."What are we doing here Harry?"
"Watching Mamma Mia." Well done, captain obvious, she thinks.
"I mean us. We kiss and we never talk about it. We flirt and we become jealous of whomever the other dates. And I don't know about you, but when I'm around you I have all these feelings inside me and I don't know what we are. Are we friends? Are we more than friends?" Once the words have left her, she drains her glass, needing the courage.
"Nikki." He sighs. "I'm pretty sure over the years I've made it very clear how I feel about you. The balls on your side of the court."
Without saying another word, she lunges forward and connects their lips, pouring everything she has into the kiss. Teeth clash and tongues duel as he reaches across to pull her onto his lap. They part breathless after what seems an eternity. "I love you" He whispers, his breath reaching out and caressing her face.
"I love you too." She returns, a smile lighting up her face.
Returning home the following evening, Castle is not only accompanied by Beckett and Alexis, but by Lanie and Nikki as well. He gives Beckett a quick peck on the lips and drops a kiss to Alexis' hairline before he makes a beeline for his office, throwing an "enjoy yourselves" over his shoulder as he goes. He's experienced girl's night in the past, and after having been traumatised on the same night 2 months ago, it's not something he's keen to repeat.
"So what's the deal with you and Harry?" Lanie asks Nikki before the first bottle of wine had even been collected from the fridge.
"Well, we've known each other for about 10 years and I don't know about him but I liked him from the start, but we've just danced around the topic ever since. Until last night that is." She tells them, a smirk on her face as she leaves them wondering about what happened last night.
"What happened last night?" Beckett asks, returning from the kitchen with a bottle of red wine and 4 glasses.
"We finally talked. We were watching Mamma Mia and I asked him what we were doing and at first he tried to play it off, told me we were watching a movie but in the end, he told me he loves me and I kissed him." Never before had she been so open with people she had only just met, but she felt free. She finally had someone she could talk to about these things. "Now enough about me, what about you guys? Anyone special in your lives?"
"Well you all know about me and Castle and I will not be responsible for traumatising Alexis, and we all know about Pi. So that leaves you Lanie. What's the deal with you and Javi these days?"
Lanie sends a glare in Beckett's direction. "He says it won't work between us. I'm willing to try but he's not. Doesn't stop the occasional booty call though." She winks at the three girls.
The four girls continue to complain about the various men in their lives and before they know it, the clock strikes 10pm and Nikki and Lanie decide it's time to hit the road and head home. Castle emerges from his office as the two turn to leave the loft.
"Hey Nikki, we're all gathering here for a poker night next week, why don't you join us?" Castle asks, wrapping an arm around Beckett's waist.
"Sure. I'll warn you now that I'm a terrible player though."
"No worries, I'm not the best either." Lanie speaks up from beside her. "Why don't you bring Harry along? Introduce him to the rest of us properly."
"Sure. We'll be there… or here."
A week later, sees Harry and Nikki knocking on the door to loft. The door swings open in front of them and they are ushered inside by Castle.
"Hey everyone." Nikki calls across the loft. "This is Harry. Harry this is, Rick Castle, Kate Beckett, Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan, and you know Lanie and Alexis." She points to each person in turn.
Sensing his unease at being around so many unfamiliar people, Castle claps his hands and suggests they start playing. The eight people all sit around the poker table as Castle deals out the cards and chips.
The night is spent consuming copious amounts of junk food and alcohol. The night comes to a close with Castle and Beckett head to head for the third time that evening - Beckett with a royal flush and Castle with four of a kind. With calls to Beckett to "beat his pants off", which she could so easily do, she places her cards face down and folds. "Sorry guys, it's just not my night."
"She may have lost the round, but I'm pretty sure once you lot have gone and Alexis is up in bed, she'll take my pants anyway."
"And on that note, we're off." Esposito announces, standing from the table and heading to the closet to collect his, Ryan's, and Lanie's coats.
"We should probably be heading home too." Harry turns to Nikki for confirmation. She nods in return.
"Thank you for inviting us, we had a great time." Nikki tells them as she grabs Harry's hand and they make their way to the closet to collect their own coats.
"Anytime." Castle tells them.