Hi guys, so it's been a long time since I summoned up the courage to post a story, and this is the first time for Castle! But I've been reading all your excellent stories and thought I'd give it another shot!
This is set between Demming and Josh :) Here we go, hope you guys like it!
All eyes shot up as the elevator doors pinged open. Esposito and Ryan fell silent as their eyes tracked every move of the pair of legs that had just started to walk down the corridor towards them. It should be illegal to have hips that moved that much from something so simple as walking! Castle smiled at something Beckett said, going to reply before he too caught sight of what the boys were looking at, and his words fell to mush as his eyes bugged, his mouth dropping open.
"Thing is Castle, if you were an actual cop, not a pretend one, we'd never get any work done because now, I get to cast aside your ridiculous theories and concentrate on the plausible ones, but if you were of equal status...what?" she asked, her smile changing to a frown as she realised that Castle wasn't listening. "Castle?"
Giving up, she turned her head to see a tall, blonde woman sauntering towards them, her long blonde hair curled to fall beside her pretty face beautifully. She was dressed in a slate grey suit, a white shirt poking out and emphasising her sizable chest to the men, who were still taking in the tight-covered legs beneath the pencil skirt that hugged her butt in the right places, and the ridiculously large heels that made her legs seem to never end...
"Castle!" she hissed, smacking him hard around the shoulder, as she finally got his attention, his mouth snapping shut instantly. She could swear there was a slight blush that started up the normally un-flappable writer's neck.
"Huh? What'd you say?" he asked, his eyes flicking between Beckett, who was looking more angry by the minute, and the blonde who was still making her way over.
"You know what, forget it Castle, it's not important."
"No! Beckett, sorry, I was just..."
"Pre-occupied. I get it. No problem, Castle!" Her voice was overly cheerful, Castle knowing that he had really upset her, although he could hardly understand why. It wasn't like he was even talking to the woman, and he defied any man to not stare! Good God, she was like sex on legs! What was a man supposed to do? And anyway, Beckett had made it perfectly clear over the years that she wasn't interested in what Castle wanted romantically, so why would she be so angry?
Just as those thoughts reached his mind and he started to ponder them, he looked up to see the cause of his problems standing right next to Beckett, who was doing her best to ignore her for as long as possible.
"Hey!" he said, a little too cheerfully as he squirmed in his seat, Beckett turning her head so slowly to glare at him with all the irritation she could muster.
"Hey yourself!" the woman replied, rewarding Castle with a huge smile, with pearly white, perfect teeth between oh so kissable lips...oh, she was talking! Shaking his head, Castle pushed thoughts away with a blink, trying to get his attention back to the conversation. "I'm looking for a...Captain Montgomery?"
Beckett breathed a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have to deal with this woman. "Door over there, second on the right. Can't miss it, you'll see him through the window."
Castle watched the exchange with interest, Beckett purposely not giving the woman eye contact, so that she had absolutely nothing to go on. He felt rather sorry for her, and was even more puzzled by Beckett's behaviour. She was never normally like this!
"Oh, great, thanks hun!" the woman replied, missing Beckett's furious glare at the name as she turned and sauntered away, obviously winking at Esposito and Ryan as she passed from the looks on their faces.
"What the hell was that all about?" Castle asked, his voice harsher than he intended in his surprise, making Beckett spin around and return her angry glare on him.
"What are you talking about?"
"You! Was there really any need to make the poor woman feel so uncomfortable? Jeez Beckett, all she did was walk in the precinct, you'd think an employee here would at least make an effort!"
Biting her tongue, Beckett tried to swallow the anger, flicking her hair away as she returned her attention to her computer screen. "Yeah, well, you know what Castle? If you're that bothered, why don't you offer her the no-access barred guided tour!"
Castle snorted. "You're being ridiculous. And I have no idea why."
Deciding she needed to get out of that situation before she blew, Beckett didn't even bother replying. She just glared at him, her eyes flashing with an anger he hadn't seen before, as she pushed her chair out of the way, stalking out towards the break room without a word.
"Beckett? Come on!" Castle shouted after her, rubbing his face when she didn't even acknowledge that he was talking to her. This was going to be an incredibly long day if Beckett was already potentially more angry than he'd ever seen her before already, and they hadn't even got far past good morning. Sighing, he settled down into his chair with the case file she had been typing up, deciding it was better to let her cool down before trying to make amends.
"Where's Beckett?" Montgomery had appeared out of his office, the tantalising woman following him out, her perfect smile still in place. Esposito and Ryan appeared at Castle's side, Castle looking at least slightly uncomfortable.
"She went to get some coffee," he replied awkwardly, one smile from the mystery woman seeming to appease his discomfort somewhat.
Beckett appeared with her cup the following moment, looking up with a smile at Montgomery, before her face dropped to see the woman behind him, becoming a stony wall again so her emotions were unreadable. She sat behind her desk, her heart pounding against her chest with hurt to see Castle with a dreamy look on his face again.
"Detective Beckett, can I speak with you a moment?" Montgomery asked, Beckett plastering a fake smile on her face as she put her elbows on the desk, leaning forwards with her eyes only on her captain.
"Of course, sir. What can I do for you?"
"This is Detective Cole, and she'll be working with you for the next few months. Detective Cole, Detective Beckett."
"Charmed," the woman replied, her face looking anything but when Beckett's face dropped open in horror, standing irritably from her seat.
"Sir! Can I speak with you for a moment?" she asked, Montgomery looking uncomfortable.
"Not right now, Beckett. I have some things I need to deal with." He softened, seeing Beckett's jaw clench as she sat again. "It's only for a few months, you might find the extra hands useful."
"I've been managing perfectly fine, sir." She paused, looking at Castle still practically drooling openly over the chance to work with the pretty detective. "Besides, I already have a civilian to look after, I can't afford my attention to be diverted further."
Montgomery almost chuckled, knowing that this was going to be a problem from the start. "Detective Cole is a fully trained detective Beckett, you hardly need to keep an eye on her. This has come down from the Chief of Detectives, not me, so I'm sorry but suck it up."
Esposito cleared his throat. "Detective Cole would be most welcome to ride with me and Ryan," he interjected, seeing Ryan nod enthusiastically by his side and resisting (just) the need to bump fists with his partner.
"Actually, I'm curious as to how the presence of a talented writer is affecting the working of the unit. So unless Detective Beckett has any specific reason for not wanting me around..."
Beckett sighed, rubbing her forehead as she sat down behind her desk again, and turned her attention to her computer. "No objections. We don't have a case at present."
Montgomery took that as his cue to leave, pausing only to pick up a file and throw it across to Beckett.
"Actually, this just came in. I was just waiting for Detective Cole to come in before handing it over."
Giving Beckett his sweetest smile, Montgomery fought back the urge to laugh at the look of complete annoyance on her face, her jaw clasping and opening slightly as she scowled at him, before turning her attention to the file. Castle grinned, looking like a kid at Christmas as he smiled at the new Detective, getting a smile and wink in return.
"42nd street. Are you guys meeting us there?" she asked Esposito and Ryan who nodded, already heading in the direction of the lift. Handing the file over to Cole, Beckett grabbed her coat. "Wipe that smile off your face, Castle," she hissed irritably, stalking off towards the lift and leaving Castle to scrambled to follow before the lift doors closed.
