Title: The Payout

Author: MooseandSquirrel

Rating: T, possible K for innuendo.

Spoilers: Up to and including "Little Girl Lost": S01Ep09.

Disclaimer: Don't own them. Not making money. And for that, I am sad. But, thankfully, that means I can take them for a spin in the cluttered hallways of my brain. Will bring them back in the same condition. Promise.

Author's Note: My AWESOME beta and I were brainstorming possible "missing/extended scene" ideas, and she noticed that Castle brought Beckett coffee for the first time in "Little Girl Lost," which came directly after "Ghosts." So, this little fic grew out of that discussion.

For those of you who would not know an inside straight from a nut flush, I suggest the following link for poker terminology: flop turn river /poker-dictionary (no spaces)

Castle held up a folded wad of twenties. "Your winnings," he said matter-of-factly.

Beckett turned her head ever so slightly. "My winnings?"

"Oh, don't play coy with me. You threw your hand." Castle sounded indignant.

Beckett paused, doing everything she could not to smile. It was no use. She conceded, "All right, I was trying to be nice. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."

"Now we're even. So, what do you say to a…little showdown?" Castle said, pulling out a deck of cards from the inside of his jacket pocket. "Head to head. Toe to toe. Winner take all. Mano…y Mujer." As Castle narrowed his eyes and slowly leaned forward, the air between them became charged, alive with something Beckett could not define.

Beckett wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "Hand to woman?"

"Whatever it takes," Castle smoothly replied.

She leaned forward until her face was mere inches from his. Then, a small, predatory grin spread deliberately across her face, and she teased, "You're on."

"No mercy."

"I'm gonna make you hurt."

"Oh, you're gonna get hurt."

"What are we playing for?" she asked, as she cast a quick glance at Castle, who was beginning to encroach upon her personal space.

"Pride." Castle's eyes flicked suggestively down Beckett's body. "Or clothing," he added.

After a brief pause, Beckett raised her eyebrows, and teased, "I think I got a bag of Gummy Bears."

"Shuffle," Castle challenged as he held up the deck.

Without missing a beat, Beckett snatched the deck from Castle's fingers. "Deal." She leaned back into her chair and pulled the rubber band off of the cards. Castle settled back with a serene half-smile on his face as he took in Beckett organizing the cards in preparation for their showdown.

"Comfy with Texas Hold 'Em?"

"I'm comfy so long as my cards come from the top of the deck," he said, his voice dripping with confidence.

"Huh. Whatcha got up your sleeves?" she asked, while shuffling.

Holding her gaze, he dropped his voice and crooned, "Aside from my muscular arms?"

Beckett bit her lip and stared down at the deck. Her hair fell forward and obscured her eyes from view. Castle noticed this and grinned inwardly.

Impervious to the bustle of the precinct around him, Castle lounged with an impassive expression on his face and watched Beckett shuffle the cards with a deft, practiced flick of her wrist. He had put on his game face; no way was he going to lose this round. He made a big show of shaking out his cuffs and playing with his mother of pearl cufflinks, almost daring Beckett to deal the cards. His foot flexed inside of his shoe, and he had to remind himself not to let his excitement show with a shaky hand, a bouncing thigh, or a twitch in his eye. He was certain: Revenge would be his.

Beckett, on the other hand, was the picture of meditation and composure. She knew she possessed one weapon against Castle that most women had at the poker table: male players, almost to a man, tended to believe a female show of strength, whether it was through a bet or re-raise. She knew that, and she planned to make him pay for his previous condescending, patronizing fold. The corners of her lips turned up as she recalled the roll of twenties in her purse waiting for her to find the elusive bottle of wine that would ease her into her dreams this Saturday night.

However, Beckett could not keep her thoughts from wandering to Castle's gesture, why he had folded when he had her so soundly beat. It was kind of "sweet." When she caught Castle staring at her, she shook herself from her reverie.

The Gummy Bears were divided up, and to Beckett's amusement, she noted that Castle had separated them by color and placed the spares to the side.

"Side pot already, Castle?" she said incredulously. "We haven't even started. Is there another bet before I have dealt the first hand?"

"You wound me, Detective. I am merely ensuring the game is perfectly even. I will not give you a single out. You and I are going to settle this once and for all. No outstanding variables. Pure skill. We'll see who has the last laugh."

She smirked at him as she shuffled the deck one more time, pulling off a fast, thorough bridge, the cards neatly settling into their place.

Castle's eyebrow quirked upward, and he observed, "I see this isn't new to you, Detective."

"C'mon, Castle," she countered. "You can't seriously think I haven't done this before. All. Night. Long." She purred the last few syllables and delighted at the small, almost imperceptible hitch in his breathing pattern and the fleeting widening of his eyes.

"We'll see how long you can…stand it tonight, Detective," he gulped. "Deal."

Beckett whisked the cards across her desk, and neatly slid the second card underneath the first in front of Castle's waiting hand. He nodded slowly as he fanned the cards, looking down briefly before casting a glance at Beckett.

"Bet's to you, Chan," she said, studying him carefully.

"I prefer Negreanu, thank you. But, I like the reference. Let's see: who would you admire in the poker world? Not many women fit the Kate Beckett mold. She would have to be smart, astute, fearless…" he trailed off.

Watching for her tell, he pushed four yellow bears to the center of her desk, finally saying, "I bet."

Beckett kicked herself. She had let herself get distracted by the way his eyes danced when they were following her. She squeezed her eyes shut, then squeezed her cards and saw that she was holding Jack-six offsuit. The computer hand. She had zip, zero, bupkis, squadoosh, nada. Breathing in, she gathered her wits about her. After all, this was just like an interrogation; she would see what she could learn.

Nonchalantly, Beckett dropped her hand to the table. She picked up one of the Gummy Bears and neatly twirled it in her fingers.

"Not going to check your cards, Castle?" she needled.

He shook his head slowly, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "Beckett, as you well know, poker is not about the cards. You play the player across from you. And, as much as you hate it when I watch you, I have a ready-made excuse to do so now. From what I can see, you seem to have a fair to middling hand. Jack-five offsuit, perhaps?"

Although she continued to sit serenely, her heart raced wildly. She willed her mind to stay focused, languidly twirling the Gummy Bear in her fingers. Giving nothing away, she directed her steely gaze right into Castle's eyes. She had never realized how blue they were.

Beckett lowered her eyes under the pretense of fanning her cards once more. She took a measured breath, then gathered eight Gummy Bears and pointedly slid them to the center of her desk.

"I raise. Oo, whatcha think of my hand now, Mr. Helmuth?" she mocked.

His voice smoothed out again, and he retorted, "I admire your courage, Detective. However, I like my cards." He tapped his index finger gently against the cards for emphasis. He slowly fanned them apart, revealing 10-8 offsuit.

Yet, still, he could not get a read on her. When Castle finally raised his head, he saw that Beckett had leaned forward in her chair by several inches. Her eyes were glittering, and she was studying him as she did on their fateful first meeting in Interrogation Room One. Sensing that her breathing rate had increased perceptibly, he swallowed hard.

What he said aloud was, "Hmph. As much as I would love to cut to the chase and have you begging for mercy on the first hand, discretion is the better part of valor."

He slid the cards across the desk towards her and drank in the sight of Kate Beckett giggling over her newfound riches of sugary goodness.

"What's the matter, Castle? Low cards not enough to play in the sandbox with the big boys?" she quipped.

Dismayed by her powers of observation, he blinked and perched on the edge of his seat. Once he had collected himself, he lowered his voice and said, "As you obviously know and refuse to acknowledge, Detective, anticipation is the best part of any contest. Feeling out one's opponents, discovering their particular weaknesses, probing their strategies is how one achieves total submission."

"Really, Castle? So far, I seem to be on the winning end of this contest. Your bears are so happy to be over here with mine, they may just start their own support group." Beckett swiftly restacked the cards, adroitly cut them several times, and slid them over to Castle.

"Oh, no, my dear Detective. No accusations of shady dealing or trickery. You get to deal out your own fate tonight." He pushed the deck back towards her, his fingers resting on the top card. "Be my guest."

She reached out, and as she took the deck from him, their fingers brushed.

Beckett twitched in her chair. The electricity had returned. She felt it in the tips of her fingers, and the tingle was inching up her wrist. Castle sat there, lips slightly parted, as he too felt a flush moving up his arm.

Disquieted, she recovered hastily and focused intently on shuffling, which seemed to be much more difficult for her. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Fine. You ready?"

He slid one red bear to the center of the desk. "When you manage to shuffle the deck correctly, Beckett, I will be waiting."

Undaunted, she snapped the cards expertly, finishing with her rather impressive bridge. She whipped the cards across the desk, and neatly slid the second card again under Castle's waiting hands.

He was mesmerized by the dexterity of her long fingers, rapt with wonder at how they handled the cards. Castle's momentary daydream evaporated as he cast a look downward. Pair of nines.

Now he was in business. He was almost giddy. "I raise," he said and pushed seven bears into the pot.

"Lucky number seven, Castle? You resorting to superstitions now?"

He tutted. "Moi? I suffer from no such malady, m'lady. Malady? M'lady? That's not quite right…"

"No kidding, Castle. And, yes, you do. Unlike most people, you stack your chips from right to left in descending order. So, even though you are right-handed, by common percentages, you stack your chips backwards. Approximately ninety-one percent of right-handed people would stack them in descending order from left to right, thereby giving them easier access to the lowest chips in their stack. You have to reach across your chips, which gives you a quick look at the remaining opponents at the table who have yet to bet. You are watching for their reactions to your movements."

Castle furrowed his brow and looked down. There, on her desk, he realized that he had unconsciously organized his bears by color. White was on the left, which at his game, denoted a one-dollar chip. Yellow was next, which would be a five-dollar chip. His small stack of greens followed, standing in for a ten-dollar chip. Lastly were two red bears, representing twenty-dollar chips. He raised his head and saw Beckett examining him in amusement, chin in her hand, and a quirky grin spread wide across her face.

"How'd I do, Ivey?" she asked.

Castle stifled a gasp, but tried to play it cool. "I…um…have no idea what you mean by any of that, Detective." He quickly tried to regain his composure. When he leaned in again, he caught a whiff of something delicious, sweet, amazing.

"Bet's to you, Detective. I believe I just made this little game much more interesting."

"We'll see, Castle. I can read you like one of your books. Maybe I should play this hand blind."

She fanned her cards, revealing the second card slowly. Pair of tens. "I call," Beckett said smiling, as she slid seven bears into the pot.

"A smooth call? I like your style, Detective. Decisive, confident, and so sure you aren't giving me all the clues I need to see right…through…your cards."

Beckett remained stoic, unflappable. "We'll see who's confident after the flop, Writer Boy."

Beckett burned one card and dealt out three facedown. She deftly turned them over, and the nine of hearts was in the door. Lightly placing the tips of her fingers on the bottom of the card, she fanned them out, revealing a ten and a King, all rainbow.

"Bet's to you, Matusow."

"Hoping for a meltdown, Detective? Praying to lure me in with your charms and your savvy play?"

"I don't need hope when I have a set, Castle."

Displaying her show of strength, she waited to see how he would wrap his head around that one. She couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Castle's eyes fluttered from the board to Beckett and back down again. He brushed her off, saying, "Aside from the obvious prurient comment I could make with that setup, you're giving away prime information so early in the game? Figured my powers of deduction are that good after only two hands? I appreciate the concession, Detective."

He looked directly at Beckett, leaning in as he slid ten bears to the center of the desk. Beckett returned stare for stare, feeling the smallest of shivers run up her back. She leaned in as well, grinned, and slid ten of her own bears into the pot.

"Call."

She burned another card, this time revealing a Queen of Hearts. Beckett brought her attention back to Castle to find him smiling broadly at her.

"Don't," she warned.

"This is perfect, Detective. The Queen of Hearts? The master of the most powerful emotion in the world? Lewis Carroll's second-greatest character? And, Ms. Helena Bonham Carter's most bizarre-looking role on the silver screen?"

"Not really into Burton, Castle. I have a soft spot for the Disney version."

"Let me guess. The Cheshire Cat?"

"Yep. Loved the way he could disappear at will and reappear with only the grin to show for it."

"Well, you better hope you can conjure up more bears, 'cos I bet." Castle casually slid ten more bears into the pot.

She was going to wipe the smile right off of Writer Boy's face. Thinking of the Cheshire Cat, she said, "Call."

Castle narrowed his eyes and fixed them on her thoughtfully. Another smooth call. She has something. But, she can't have a set. She would have never tipped her hand this early. She would need to have had a pair of Queens, tens or nines. Any of those would be easy to call with, but she can't have the Queens. She would have bet bigger. She wants to end this quickly. She can't risk me holding a monster.

"You'd better give up while you can, Detective. You're gonna need to conserve your stack if you want to…go into the night."

"I don't believe in prolonging the agony, Castle. Better to rip off the Band-Aid. Besides, if I hurry, I just might make it to my favorite wine shop."

That revelation piqued his interest and he sat up a little straighter. "Oo, where? I know a guy, he has the greatest deals on a case of the Chateau…"

"I'm not telling you where my favorite place is, Castle. Next thing I know you'd be buying out my favorite label just to get back at me."

"I would not!" He pulled out his phone. Mind set on discovering Beckett's wine store of choice, his fingers flew across the keyboard. "Let's see, you are a creature of habit and of convenience, so that means it has to be somewhere along the route you take home. No sense in picking up a bottle on your way to work. If we assume you would not stop in the middle of your ride home, that leaves us within a five- to ten-minute walk from either the precinct or your apartment. And, since you still won't tell me where you live," he said pointedly, "that leaves me with the precinct. Let me see…" Muttering to himself, he turned his phone sideways, cocking his head in order to get his bearings on the tiny map.

Beckett froze, watching Castle's masterful manipulation of his phone. She thought of him showing up at her front door unexpectedly with a bottle of wine and thanked the heavens that he was focused somewhere else because she couldn't seem to get her heart to stop pounding.

"Got it. You frequent the establishment known as the 'Cask and Cork.'"

She gave him a withering look, saying, "And you are so sure that is the one, Castle? There are several within blocks of that place."

"Well, you would not set foot inside of 'Vino and Friends.' Took a look at their cellar listings, and they cater to whites and blends. You strike me as a Pinot girl. Spicy…fruit-forward…and…bold…" He trailed off. Castle couldn't help but notice that Beckett's mouth was hanging open and her hands had stopped just above her bears, as if she was readying another call.

"Wait, was I right? I had a choice between four places, and that one seemed to fit you best."

She recognized the smug expression on his face and refused to give him the satisfaction. "You are unbelievable. No, you aren't even close. Now put away your phone and get ready to lose."

"Oh, no. This is much more interesting. I check."

Damn. He knows I have something. Not a set, since he bet big to start. Likely has me on an Ace-King, or a King-ten, thinking I can't call without at least top pair, decent kicker. Have to bet. Got him dead to rights, unless he hits a boat off of two pair. But, he wouldn't raise with King-ten nor ten-nine. Unless he has a suited pair? Flop is rainbow, so he would have to go runner-runner to make his flush. Possible straight? Queen-Jack? Might explain the check. No way is he getting any of my Gummies.

"I check."

Castle crowed, "Looks like my straight is scaring you off the hunt, Detective. Save yourself the pain and suffering, and concede now. I am clearly the better poker player."

"In your dreams, Castle. I highly doubt you have anything aside from a low pocket pair."

Beckett burned the final card, and the river came into view. Ace of Spades.

"I check."

"Whatsa matter, Mr. Poker Pro? Afraid to put your money where your mouth is?" Beckett closed the distance between them again, took her lip between her teeth and worried it gently. She inwardly delighted as his elbow slipped off of the desk, almost sending his cards fluttering to the floor.

"Not at all, Detective. I was merely reciting the lyrics to 'Ace of Spades' in my head. You know, 'If you like to gamble, I tell you I'm your man, you win some, lose some, it's still the same to me…'"

"'The pleasure is to…play?'" she finished for him. She then slid four bears into the center of the pot, which had grown into a massive pile. Beckett rested into her chair, reveling in the look of bewilderment on Castle's face. Steepling her fingers, she regarded him as just another conquest of the Beckett interrogative method.

"Why, Beckett, I had no idea you were into Motӧrhead. Perhaps you know a little ditty entitled, 'The Chase Is Better Than The Catch'? In this case, I tend to disagree with Mr. Kilmister. My victory will be that much sweeter than the actual chase itself." As he pushed in four more bears, he flipped over his cards, revealing the set of nines. "Read 'em and weep."

"Oh, Castle. 'The more I get, the better it is.' Set of tens." She flipped over her cards, and saw his grin instantly fade, the gleam in his eyes immediately extinguished. She didn't expect to see that; maybe he was a sore loser.

He gingerly pushed the pile of bears towards her. "Well played, Beckett."

Seeing his crestfallen expression, she decided to play it off with humor. "That's it? You totally thought I had the straight! I can't believe you bit on the value bet. Four into a pot of over twenty? That just adds insult to injury, doesn't it? Y'know, I think if I get hungry, I could snack on a few of these and still have you two to one."

Castle merely nodded, handing her the cards from the desk. "Shuffle 'em."

To Beckett, his male ego looked a little bruised. She pursed her lips at the hint of sour grapes.

Castle seemed to have shrunk in his chair. He lightly poked through his pitiful pile of bears, and Beckett saw that he had around twenty left. His foot began to bounce with nervous energy.

He chastised himself. He should have seen that coming. After all, she had told him what she held. Castle looked up as the first card slid underneath his hands. "Got you right where I want you, Detective," he said in husky tones. His eyes had now darkened to a deep, cobalt blue.

Beckett did not expect to see his reaction; he actually looked turned on. "We'll see, Castle. Not sure you can stand the heat."

"Nice. Nikki thanks you for that. Maybe in my next book, she can infiltrate a casino. We could call it…House Heat. Oo, no! Heat Streak!" The familiar twinkle in his eye had returned.

"And, how's that hot streak going for you, Castle?" Beckett fanned her cards to see she was holding Ace-King offsuit.

It was time to finish him, her chance to put him down. "Bet." She slid four bears into the center of the pile.

Castle squeezed his cards and found he was holding Ace-Queen offsuit.

He was back from the brink. "All in," he said confidently, as he pushed his remaining bears into the center. He crossed his legs and watched emotions flit across Beckett's face rapidly. "Wait, is that panic I see?"

Her smile fell, and she regarded him with a look he had seen reserved only for victims.

She whispered softly, "Call." Flipping over her cards, she revealed the bad news. Dominated, by her quick math, at least four to one. She knew before he even touched his cards again to show her.

"Ace-Queen?" He nodded meekly.

"Who knows, Castle? You've gotten lucky before."

He remained impassive. "We'll see."

First card was burned. Up came the flop: Ace, seven, eight, all rainbow. Beckett's eyes flicked upwards. Castle was on the edge of his seat, eyes narrowed. Beckett burned the second card, the river showed another seven. Blank. Castle put his cards down on the desk. His eyes flashed upwards and caught Beckett's, which were fixed on him. She burned the last card, pulling the river. Three.

Game, set, match. And, yet, Beckett felt like she had stolen a child's Christmas present.

Castle mucked his hand. "Rematch, Detective? We could always make it interesting. Clothing is always an option." His voice sounded flat, although Beckett could hear the attempt at keeping it lighthearted.

"In your dreams, Castle. Try again."

"Well, I have some beef jerky here." He pulled out a dog-eared, mashed package of jerky from his coat pocket.

Beckett made a face. "I don't want to know how long that has been in there."

"OK, how about…a car ride free from my incessant–yet entertaining–yammering? Redeemable at any time or place, regardless of the circumstances."

"As much as I would love that, I am a gracious winner, Castle. Just get me something you think I would like."

"Really?"

"Yes, Castle. Now, if you will excuse me, it's time to call it a night." Beckett stood and put on her jacket. Castle remained in his seat, concentrating on the pile of cards still resting on her desk.

"You coming?"

"You go on. I'll be along."

"Staring at them won't change the fact that you got spanked, Castle."

He raised his eyes to meet Beckett's.

"Maybe I should lose more often, Detective."

"Ugh. G'night, Castle."

"Until tomorrow, Detective."

Beckett bent forward towards him, picked a red Gummy Bear up from her desk, popped it in between her teeth, and leered at him. His breath once again hitched in his chest, and she granted him a smile as she turned and walked away.

As Beckett stood in the elevator, she saw the light framing Castle, who was still seated at her desk with a thoughtful expression on his face, his hand on his chin, his fingers lightly stroking the cards with which she had defeated him. She wasn't sure what had happened tonight, but she was most certain she was in for an annoying payout.

Beckett pulled in to the location, and shut off her car. For once, she didn't have to drive to the crime scene with him, and she rather enjoyed listening to her own radio stations for once. However, she did have that prickly feeling at the base of her skull every time she was called out to a homicide.

As she exited her cruiser, his unctuous voice cut across her musings: "Morning! Grande skim latte, two pumps sugar-free vanilla…and a bear claw."

Taken aback, she tried not to give in to a smile. Instead, she wondered aloud, "How did you know…?"

"I'm a novelist. It's my job to notice things."

Beckett paused. He brought me coffee. My exact order. He even got the sugar-free syrup right. And, my god, that bear claw looks amazing.

She looked up from the cup he handed her and saw Castle staring at her expectantly. Her mouth went dry.

"It's Sunday morning. Shouldn't you be slinking home from a scandalous liaison?"

"Would you be jealous if I were?" he mused with a faraway look.

Beckett scoffed, "In your dreams."

"Actually, in my dreams, you're never jealous. In my dreams, you just join…"

Beckett stuffed the bear claw into Castle's mouth, effectively shutting him up. She stalked away and left him sputtering in the street. Exasperated, Beckett took a sip from the cup in her hand. She refused to let him in on how much she was enjoying her morning coffee.

Castle grinned. Oh, this is going to be fun. Best. Payout. Ever.