A/N: This fic is going to be kind of boring in this chapter, but please don't give up on it! It will get better, I promise. I just wanted to establish a bit of the case, and then next chapter I will jump right into it! So, here you go!
"Good morning, Detective," Castle greeted as he ducked under the crime scene tape, a cup of coffee in each hand.
Beckett took her coffee and immediately started to explain the situation. "The call came in to dispatch an hour ago, a neighbor saying that he was hearing some strange noises coming from here. After a few minutes, he saw a figure exit the house, get into a car and speed away."
They crossed the house's threshold and entered a war zone. There was broken glass and blood everywhere, cracked picture frames on the walls with strands of hair in them, overturned furniture.
Lanie was waiting for them when they walked into the living room. "The victim's name is Curtis Windley; it looks like he was beaten to death. We won't know COD for sure until we get him onto a table."
"All right. Once CSU's are done here, he's all yours."
"I don't know about that, Kate."
"What do you mean?" Castle asked.
"Curtis Windley is a petty officer for the Navy."
Kate sighed. "Ryan?" she called. "I need you to make a call."
"Sure. Who?"
"NCIS."
"Morning, Ziva," Tony said as he walked into the bullpen and dropped his backpack unceremoniously onto the floor by his desk.
"Do you think you are funny, Tony?" Ziva demanded.
"Actually, yeah, I do," he answered before her tone registered. Once it did, he asked cautiously, "Why?"
"Because you super glued my mouse to my desk, and I can not do a thing on the computer!"
"And you think I did it?"
"Who else would have?"
"Okay, let me see it," he said, deciding to help her find out who actually did it before she hurt him in any way. As he inspected it closely, his face lit up in admiration. "This is genius! They super glued the mouse to the mouse pad and the mouse pad to the desk! Oh, man!" After seeing Ziva's unamused expression, his enthusiasm washed away. "But I didn't do it!" he insisted. "I already pulled the superglue-on-computer-equipment prank. I wouldn't do the same thing twice. Besides, I just got here, and I left before you last night. Remember? I had to go with Abby to that concert. So it couldn't have been me."
"If you are lying to me, Tony…"
"Ziva, I'm not lying; I swear. It was someone else."
McGee walked in then, in an obviously good mood. "Good morning."
The two agents exchanged glances, suspicious of Tim's chipper attitude. They walked over to his desk and stood over him, arms crossed.
"McGee, is there something you would like to say to me?" Ziva asked.
"Like what?"
"An apology would be nice."
"Rule 6," he said smugly. "Besides, what would I have to apologize for?"
"Someone super glued my mouse to my desk."
"Do you know anything about that, McGee?" Tony asked. "I mean, we could dust for prints, I guess…"
"You are not denying it," Ziva observed. "Did. You–"
She was interrupted by Gibbs' presence in the bullpen. "Gear up."
"Where to, Boss?" Tony asked.
"You're not going anywhere. McGee, Ziva, you're going to need your overnight bags. Dead petty officer in New York."
"Boss, that's not fair!" Tony whined, still holding his bag.
"Haven't I ever told you that life isn't fair, DiNozzo?"
"Well, yeah, Boss. Almost every day. But–"
"But what? You know the rules: we need an agent here at headquarters."
Tony sighed. "I know." Then inspiration came to him. "Why doesn't Ziva stay?"
"She is the probie," McGee spoke up.
"I have said this before: I have been working here for five years! I am not a probie!" Ziva argued.
"And yet, technically, you are," Tony pointed out. "Come on, Boss. You made me do it when I was a probie, and McGee, and I bet Franks made you do it, too. Right?"
Tim, seeing that Gibbs was starting to cave, added, "She's never had to be NCIS agent in charge before, Boss, because she wasn't an agent then."
"If I agree to this, will the two of you shut up?"
They both nodded.
"Fine. Ziva, you're staying here. You could use the experience. DiNozzo, go pack. And pack light. You don't need your whole closet."
"On it, Boss." The two men made their way to the elevator.
"Wait!" Ziva called. "I cannot use my computer without a mouse!"
Gibbs shrugged. "Use McGee's."
"No, Ziva, don't–"
The elevator doors shut then, cutting him off.
"NCIS?" Castle asked.
"I thought you were the expert on all things law enforcement," Beckett teased. "It stands for Naval Criminal–"
"Investigative Service," Castle finished. "I know what it stands for, Beckett. I've just never gotten to work with them. Do you think they'll have a cool screen like Agent Shaw?"
She rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. I hope not. "I don't know, Castle, but we'll find out in a few hours."
He looked at his watch and his smile faded.
"What's wrong?"
"I told Alexis I'd pick her up from school so we could go out to lunch. Tomorrow's her birthday, and I've got a week-long Mystery Writer's Conference that starts tomorrow, and the first day is an all-day event. So I told her we'd take today and act like it's her birthday."
"Then what are you doing here, annoying me?" Kate joked.
"She had a history test that she didn't want to miss," he answered with a shrug. "And besides," he added with a trademark Castle grin, "it's fun to annoy you."
She rolled her eyes again and said, "Well, try to keep it to a minimum. We need to get to work. This case is technically their jurisdiction, but maybe if we find something they'll let us assist."
"What? You mean they can just take this case away from us?" Castle was appalled.
"Yes. And from what I hear about the guy they're sending, it sounds like he won't hesitate to do it. Which is why we need to start now. Ryan, Esposito!"
"What do you need, Beckett?" Ryan asked.
"Whatever you can find, as soon as you find it."
A/N: Yay! My first ever Castle/NCIS crossover... Actually, my first ever Castle fic at all! And I'm so inspired, I don't think it will take me long to update again! My cousin is hounding on me to update one of my other fics, Games, but after I work on that one for a little bit I'll come right back to A Novel Reason to Kill.
