As two uniformed cops drag out a middle-aged man from the interrogation room, Richard Castle celebrates another victory over the villains of New York City in his chair next to Detective Kate Beckett's desk. He shoots his hand up in the air, waiting for the other half of the high five to come from her. She clicks away on her laptop, filling in the electronic paper work for the case they just closed. With a slight glance to the still hanging hand, she smirks and continues typing. Richard inches it closer to her face, not letting her forget the hand waiting for hers.
"Not happening Castle," she simply says, no changes her in position. Kate is determined to finish these forms done in time to have some evening time open for her book, coincidentally the lasted from the man sitting next to her, Heat Wave.
"Come on," he pleaded; inched his hand a bit closer. "We were awesome on that case!"
She pushes his hand down to his lap, without looking at him. Kate even managed to continue pecking away at the keys with one hand. "High fives are childish."
Richard looks hurt until he sees Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito coming towards them. He shoots his hand out behind himself, "Boys, you won't leave me hanging right?"
"Not after that slam dunk," Ryan replies with a smack to Richard's hand. Esposito is quick to follow on their way by.
Kate rolls her eyes at the computer screen. Thinking how she needs a "Do Not Feed The Animals" sign next to Castle's chair. Then she wonders, and lets it be known aloud, "Why don't you go home Castle?"
"Cause this is how we always wrap cases. You say something cop-like, I say something amazingly clever, and then everyone goes home happy."
"I've got two short forms left to fill out. Go home."
"But you'll miss on my amazingly clever comment." Richard is smirking, wanting to banter a bit more with Beckett.
"I'll live Castle. Go, really." She clicks away on the keyboard, a bit faster then she had before to try to get her point across.
Richard puts his hands up in surrender. "Alright. I'll go. Goodbye, dear Beckett. May you have pleasant dreams of me."
Kate lets out a burst of laughter. "Traded clever for just plain awful I see."
Richard has by now stood and taken a few steps from the desk. He turns back to her, "I will let that slide, only because it is really your sadness to see me go coming out in an angry manner."
Kate simply waves at him without looking up. Richard turns away, still smirking (this is his normal expression really; which was very unsettling to Beckett), and leaves the police department. He hails a taxi outside and arrives at his apartment twenty minutes later. His daughter Alexis and mother Martha are just settling in for a chick-flick on the TV.
"Who died today?" Alexis asked turning around on the couch to see him.
He gets down on his knees behind the couch, bringing up his best impression of a movie trailer voice over, "He was a man at the end of his rope. Desperately searching to find a way to survive. He-"
Martha bats him away, "Richard, enough of that nonsense. Our movie is starting." Martha turns Alexis around, reminding her that is why they were there to begin with.
Alexis looks back to her father, mouthing 'Later' to him. He winks and nods to her. Before leaving he gives both women a kiss on the head. This is because Richard Castle does not do anything halfway. Not when it comes to living, writing, and especially loving- that being a truth he was seeing more and more when around Kate Beckett.
Richard heads into his office, a goal of a few new pages written for his next book circling his head. Though it would all depend on if his FarmVille crops were ready to harvest.
The next morning Richard sat at the kitchen counter, munching away on some Frosted Flakes and reading the morning paper when his phone vibrated on the table. Looking at the screen he saw it was Beckett calling him. Dropping the spoon, which had been halfway to his mouth, back into the bowl and picked up his phone to answer. Unaware that he had also dipped his paper into his bowl as he turned to talk into the phone. "Morning Beckett."
"Got a case at the Hilton. Be fast Castle. Don't want to miss the fun," Kate spoke quickly before hanging up. He had been out of his chair at the world Hilton.
Richard shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed for his coat. Still unaware of the condition of the newspaper he hands it to Alexis, "You wanted it next, right?"
"Thanks," she slowly replies and slips it from him. Alexis tosses it back onto the table as he walk out of the apartment.
There is a taxi hailed for him outside the building and Richard tells the driver the address. Once they pull into traffic, his phone goes off again. Looking down, he sees a text from Beckett. He thinks for a moment how she never just texts him, but opens it anyway. It reads, "Second body found at 3249 Sundale Apt. #28. Moving there."
"I already love this case," he laughs and tells the driver the new address. When he arrives that the building, he is even more curious about this new case. The apartment building was nothing to look at. Basic brick building outside and the inside lobby area was sparsely furnished; also it was surprisingly empty for there being a crime scene. Though the concern is pushed away in another moment when he realizes that Beckett must be holding everyone on the floor of the scene. That way no one slips away from her. Although he was now wondering how the case could shift from the Hilton to here.
Upon arriving on the second floor, he saw no one in the hallway. No cops questioning tenets, no tenets peaking out doorways, no small mass of people outside apartment 28. Though Richard, the prime example of a curious mind, still made his way to the apartment door; which was surprisingly closed. He wonders if this is some top-secret case, with a big name suspect, and that explained the missing chaos in the hall. With renewed excitement, Rick opens the door to see nothing. The apartment was completely empty. He looked to the door and saw a brass 28 nailed to it. Rick pulled out his phone, preparing to ask Beckett what kind of joke this was (other then a bad one), when the door was pulled from his hand and opened completely. A brunette woman, hair coming just past her shoulders, in a black hoodie and blue jeans stood smiling before him. She plucked the phone out of his hand, tucking it away in her hoodie pocket, "No phone calls for now. Not till after I have my little chat with you."
"Hey...how about...you...I," Richard stuttered and then turned to run. The woman caught his coat and pulled him back, with a surprising amount of force. He stumbles back into the apartment, giving the woman time to shut and lock the door. As he opens his mouth to shout for help, a fist- connected to a man- comes out from another room and meets his face. Rick's head smacks the wall, sending him to the ground.
"Why'd you hit him Idiot?" the woman snaps.
"He was going to shout for help. I had to stop him," the man replied.
"That's what the chloroform is for idiot. The rag in your other hand?" She points out to him.
Rick begins to move and tries to put together a sentence, but the man is closing in on him and pressing the rag against his mouth.
Kate checked her phone for the time as the man she was questioning was trying to remember who he saw coming in to the room last night. It'd been 45 minutes since she'd called Castle. He hadn't called to explain what was taking him. The guy began listing a few names and Kate scribbled them down on her notepad. He walked away from her. Esposito came up to her, "You call Castle yet?"
"About 45 minutes ago. Has he contacted either of you?"
"Not me. Maybe he's got caught up with something at home?"
"I told him we were at the Hilton. Nothing would stop him from coming." Kate pulled out her phone again, calling Castle, but there was no answer. Though she was curious about where he was, that didn't change the fact that there was a case to be solved. Shoving her phone back into her pocket she went to the next witness to question.