So this is my one-shot follow up to Bah! Humbug. I hope you enjoy the story. It's quite fluffy if you ask me. Let me know if there are errors and I will do my best to correct them. Thanks for reading.
Dickensian Auld Lang Syne? I Think Not.
She stood outside his door, giving herself one last "once over" before she knocked, although she was fairly certain with the leer she received from the cabbie, Kate Beckett was holding her own. It was half past ten o'clock; she was running pretty late and had almost talked herself out of coming. Why was she nervous? Christmas was over and New Years' was something she routinely celebrated.
But not at Castle's.
Denial was something she was unfamiliar with, but she wouldn't call what she was doing denial. Kate was well aware of the physical attraction and chemistry between Rick Castle and her. That's all it was though. She liked him as a friend, but she never intended to be one of his "conquests," or for that matter, to quote the writer, to let him be one of hers.
So why was she so nervous? Because technically tonight she was his "date." That was the deal: he was able to bring her around to enjoy Christmas, so she came to his party as his date.
Her boss was here. Ryan, Esposito and Lanie were here. Everyone would know she was here as Castle's date. But how different could it really be?
Martha opened the door after the first knock. Kate was blown away. All of the glitz and glamour (and gaudiness) she had expected at Christmas arrived at this party. She was reminded of the first time she came to Castle's apartment. Bat cave, indeed. Tonight was a new kind of awe. The whole place was done up in sliver and gold. Even the tree, which was still up, had exchanged the Christmas ornaments for silver and gold ones.
"Detective Beckett, how are you, kiddo? Happy New Year!" Martha had obviously been enjoying the holiday spirits.
"Happy New Year to you too, Martha."
"I'm so glad you're here. Now Richard can finally relax. Let me get you a drink. What's your poison?"
"Dirty vodka martini."
"Coming up!"
So, Castle was nervous that she wouldn't show. Inwardly she fluttered a little when she heard that, which settled uncomfortably in her heart. She made her rounds in the room, saying "hi" to those she knew and introducing herself to those she didn't. There was a guest there, a man she hadn't met before, but the look he gave her was a red flag, so after speaking with Lanie, Kate searched out the room for Castle.
"There you are dear. I've been searching for you everywhere. Here's your martini."
"Thank you, Martha."
"I need to go rescue Chet from some bimbo over there, pardon me dear."
Kate smiled, "No problem. I met him. He seems like quite a catch."
"Oh, he is, dear," Martha winked, "Some things haven't changed since high school. You look fabulous by the way."
"Thanks, Martha." That was part of the reason she was late. Lanie was required to talk her into every dress she's worn for the past year. Well, except for the one she wore to Castle's reading. She wore that one on purpose, because she knew how men responded to it and she wanted to upset him. The dress she was wearing tonight was totally Lanie's idea, but Kate almost lost her nerve. It fit her like a glove: very snug. In fact, if her grandmother had seen it on her, she would have said it looked like someone melted her down and poured her into it. Yin and Yang, Kate called it. One arm was encased in a sleeve of the short, black dress and the other was bare, it's only adornment the bracelet Castle gave her at Christmas.
Kate turned to resume her search for her "date," and came face to face with "red flag." He was probably her height, but she was standing a bit taller in her heels. "Flag" had short dark hair that was cut kind of like Ryan's and blue eyes that didn't show an ounce of light or merriment. They were just cold. "Oh, excuse me." She tried to side step the creep, but he blocked her path.
"Where are you making off to, Dollface?"
"Excuse me?" Kate was a little stunned at the nickname. "What did you call me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you more comfortable with Nikki Heat? I can totally see how Rick was inspired. One night with you and I'm sure I could pound out a best seller too."
"Oh, I don't know. Rick has quite the imagination." She used her distracted tone, trying to catch someone's eye. "Red Flag" was backing her into a corner next to the tree. "One thing he wasn't imagining is the 'cop' part."
"Well, that's the sexiest part. My name's Jamie by the way." He leered at her. "Just like Rook." He took a step closer to Kate and she stiffened. It wasn't like she couldn't handle herself, but she didn't want to make a scene at the party. She was really hoping she could diffuse the situation without violence, but her intuition told her it wasn't in the cards.
"I'm Detective Beckett. Not like Heat. Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to go say 'hello' to the host."
"I think we have some time, Detective. I saw Ricky Boy laying it on pretty thick over there to a voluptuous blond. He probably doesn't want to be disturbed." Jamie stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Let's go find a place ourselves and play."
Seriously, this guy had to be completely dense. Did he really not see that she was disgusted by his advances? Over his shoulder, Kate saw Alexis looking her way. The girl's beaming smile immediately faded upon seeing the look on Kate's face. Her red hair whipped behind her as she slipped into the crowd. Kate hoped she would find Ryan or Esposito. Even Lanie could help her get out of this without too much of a scene.
"Listen, Jamie. I'm going to leave you now. You're crossing a line, here."
"Am I? Come on Nikki. You know I'll let you play the cop. Unless, of course, you want to be the bad guy." He placed his hand on the outside of her thigh and ran it up the side of her leg. "Bummer. No leg holster."
"Marty." Castle's voice sounded from behind him, "That's enough."
"Go away, Rick. Nikki and I were about to borrow one of your bedrooms."
"Marty?" Kate chuckled as she said it. "I might have gone with Jamie, but not Marty." She was hoping to embarrass him enough to get him to leave quietly. No such luck.
Marty did blush, but when Castle put his hand on his shoulder to steer him away, Marty turned and swung. Rick did an anticipatory dodge, but Marty's fist still glanced off his jaw. While his back was to her, Kate grabbed his arm and twisted it up behind his back hard, pushing him roughly against the wall. Esposito swiftly stepped in to take her place. As Kate moved to walk away and call a unit, she leaned over and whispered in Marty's ear, "Was it as good for you as it was for me?"
As it turned out, the majority of the partygoers had no idea anything transpired between them. Esposito and Ryan took the guy downstairs to wait on the black and white, while Lanie took Castle to the kitchen for ice. Kate stepped into the restroom to calm herself down.
Downing the martini in one take and taking another from Martha, Kate set her sights on finding Castle. It was after eleven and even she had to admit she was being a bad date.
Finally, she found Alexis.
"Hey, Alexis, Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year to you too, Detective Beckett."
"Thanks for the rescue back there."
"Yeah, well, Marty has always given me the creeps, and as soon as I saw the look on your face I went and grabbed Detective Esposito and he was talking to dad at the time."
"Where is your dad hiding? I've been through the entire room and I haven't spotted him."
"I think I saw him going into his office. You scared him you know. Not showing up until 10:30. You look fantastic by the way."
"Thanks, Alexis."
The office door was open a crack, and she slid inside the darkened room, closing the door behind her. Castle was standing in front of the window, examining New Year's Eve in New York from his view up high. Kate stood slightly out of sight of his peripheral vision.
"A penny for your thoughts."
Rick Castle almost jumped three feet in the air. "Jesus, Kate, you scared me."
"Sorry, Castle." She chuckled, "I didn't realize I was in stealth mode."
"Yeah, well…"
She moved in front of him to check out his jaw. Gliding her fingers down the side of his jaw she said, "You okay?" She didn't miss the tremble that overtook him.
"Yeah." Rick reached up and grabbed her hand, removing it from his face, but still lightly holding on to it. "Sorry about Marty. He's one of Meredith's cousins, and he always seems to show up every year. He's never been like that before."
"Yeah, well, I guess I just bring out the best in people."
"Are you okay?" Castle was looking at her intently. "When I saw his hand on your thigh I saw red."
"Well, when he took a swing at you, I thought I was going to break his neck. Are you sure you're okay?" She looked intently at his jaw.
"You could always kiss it and make it better, Detective." Castle waggled his eyebrows at her.
Kate performed the obligatory eye-roll, but surprising them both, she leaned in and kissed the edge of his jaw.
"Better?" Her tone was almost demure.
"A hundred percent. Nice bracelet by the way."
"Thanks. A very sweet gift from a guy I know. Now, let's go join the party."
They mingled about together, Kate playing the part of a good date. She let him place his hand on the small of her back and steer sometimes. Once when they were standing particularly close, Castle's hand moved around to her side and rested on her hip. The slow circles his fingertips made over her hip bone made her tremble. What the hell? She was frozen until he moved his hand again, and she caught the slight grin on his face.
As it grew closer to midnight, Martha turned on the television to watch the ball drop on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Castle had to go tend to some guests and went to retrieve some champagne for himself and Beckett. Kate retreated into his office. She really wasn't sure she wanted to be standing next to Rick Castle when the New Year rang in. She knew she was his date and it was to be expected, but the thought of kissing him made her flesh break out in goosebumps. And that scared her. But she moved into his office, so that if he did find her, she wouldn't have to kiss him in front of her colleagues and her boss. It was her contingency plan.
She could hear Martha in the other room exclaiming one more minute, and she thought that maybe he wouldn't find her. For a moment, she was disappointed. Then the office door opened and closed. She knew it was him. Kate heard the placement of the champagne glasses on the desk. She was staring out the window just as he had been earlier, and she felt the warmth from him as he stood behind her. When the guests in the other room started counting down from ten, she turned to him.
As midnight marked the start of a New Year, Kate Beckett brought her lips to Rick Castle's; it was a perfect fit. Their lips glided over each other sometimes parting slightly, Kate hands were on his face and neck. As she felt his hands slide to her hips and his tongue caress her bottom lip, she broke the kiss. She looked from his eyes down to his mouth, her heart pounding in her ears. When she spoke her lips brushed his.
"Castle, we shouldn't…"
"I know."
They came together again, the blood rushing in her ears. She slid her hands into his hair, as he deepened the kiss slightly. Now and then their tongues would touch slightly, sending currents of electricity through her body. Castle's hands were around her back now, and when one hand came to rest on her ass, she pulled from him again, breathless.
"Castle." She nipped his bottom lip.
"This is a bad idea."
"Okay."
He pulled her to him again. It seemed her entire body was in contact with him as he deepened the kiss. She moaned as her hands tangled in his hair. His arousal was obvious, but she made it apparent to him that she was just as caught up as he was. They were moving and suddenly he was lower than her. He had moved to sit on the arm of the leather couch, Kate positioned between his knees. His hands were gliding up and down her sides and over her ass. One of her hands seemed to move of its own volition to rest at the top of his thigh.
His mouth left hers abruptly and she instantly missed it until she heard him whisper "Kate," as his mouth made contact with the skin on her neck. Her hand grasped at his shirt, desperate to make contact with flesh as his hand glided up and caressed her breast over her dress.
"Rick, oh God."
Suddenly, a strip of light poured in from the other room as the door opened. "Dad, are you in here?"
Kate's hands flew to his shoulders to separate them, but he still had a hold on her so she couldn't back away. Breathing heavily, Kate said, "Yeah, Alexis. Your dad's in here."
"Oh. Sorry to interrupt, but some of the guests are leaving and I thought you'd want to say good bye." The look on Alexis' face was priceless. She was struck with awe, but also smiling.
"Okay, sweetie, I'll be right there." Castle was trying to regain his composure. After Alexis went back into the other room, he stood, still holding onto Kate. "I'm sorry, but I have to take care of this."
Kate nodded, still willing her body to calm down. "Yeah, go. You need to."
"Please don't leave."
"Rick—Castle."
"Please Kate."
She took a deep breath and nodded again.
When she exited the office, Lanie found her in the living room. "Hey girl, you disappeared." Her good friend leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Lanie." She smiled at her friend.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing." Her head shook.
"You kissed Castle."
"Yeah." The blush inflamed her cheeks.
"And?"
"And, what?"
"Details, girlfriend. Was it good?"
Kate looked at the floor, her face still flushed. "Yeah, it was good, but it's not going anywhere."
"Why not?"
"It can't, Lanie. We work together. We go into very dangerous situations together, and being romantically involved is not good for our relationship."
"Whatever, girl. You tell yourself whatever you have to, but I know different."
"Lanie…"
"I have to leave, now, because I'm not in denial. And I've been charged with making him forget that Ms. R kissed him." Lanie jerked her head slightly to the right, indicating Esposito waiting by the door holding her coat.
"She what?"
"At midnight, she was going around kissing everyone, but Esposito swears she slipped him a little something extra."
"Way to go, Martha" Kate smirked a little. "Have fun."
"I will." Lanie raised her eyebrows at Kate. "A little fun wouldn't hurt you either."
"G'night, Lanie."
"Night."
After all the guests had said their goodbyes, Alexis had long since retired to her room and Martha left with Chet, Kate approached Castle at the door. "Kate, you're leaving?"
"I had a great time tonight, Castle, really. But I have to go to my dad's early tomorrow, so I need to go home."
"That's it? We're not going to talk about what happened between us in my office?"
"What? The kiss? It was…nice."
"Nice." He looked at her with incredulity. "Nice?"
"Yeah, Castle it was—"
In an instant his lips were on hers and her back was against the door. Her tongue twirled with his, and his leg thrust in between hers creating delicious friction. How could she think they could go back to normal after this? As her hands roamed over his body, she realized that nothing would ever be the same. She didn't know if she would ever tire of the feeling of his hands on her, or if kissing him would ever really be just "nice."
As she walked back to her car, after saying goodnight to Castle (which took half an hour due to his efforts to convince her that their kiss was more than "nice") Kate pondered the past week and the coming year. In one day, Castle had won her over for more that just Christmas. He simply won her heart.