Defending her Honor

By

Natalie Elizabeth

Beckett groaned as she heard her phone ringing. Who was calling her at this ungodly hour? Their latest case was closed just after 10.30pm, but there was the inevitable paperwork and Beckett had finally crawled into bed at 2am. Montgomery had been quite generous and had given them the next day off; Beckett surmised it was because of the victim. The first of her team to arrive at the scene, Beckett had almost collapsed at the sight of the crumpled body of a redheaded teenager. While Perlmutter rattled off details, Beckett had scrambled for her phone, trying to reach Alexis. The victim was shorter and more solid than Alexis, but Beckett still needed to hear the teen's voice. Thankfully, Alexis hadn't thought she was crazy and was glad for her concern. Still, the case had been quite trying, with seeing the young redheaded girl's photo on the murder board all the time.

Beckett reached for her phone and answered it. Even though she wasn't on call, it must be an emergency for someone to try and contact her at this hour.

"Beckett," she growled into the phone.

"Hi Detective. Sorry to call you at this hour. It's LT."

Beckett frowned. LT? An officer from the precinct. Why was he calling her? It wasn't normal procedure for him to call her about a case.

"What's up, Officer?"

Beckett sat up and pulled the covers away, preparing to get out of bed to go to the precinct.

"Actually, it's kind of unofficial."

Beckett frowned. Either it was police business or it wasn't.

"Is everything okay? LT, are you in trouble?"

"No no, I'm fine. It's about Rick."

Beckett narrowed her eyes. "Rick?"

"Umm yes. Mr Castle. See, a friend of mine works over at the 9th, and he just called me to say Rick had been arrested."

Beckett groaned. "Did he steal a police horse again?"

L.T. laughed. "No, not this time. Drunk and disorderly. My friend knows I work with you, so he called me. He said there was a fight at a bar and Rick was being arrested. I thought you might want to know."

Beckett sighed. Drunk and disorderly. That wasn't like Castle at all. It must be the case. She had told him to go home and she would call him for the next case. He refused. Instead, Alexis had sent him photos of herself every hour to prove she was alive. Castle wanted to find justice for some one else's Alexis,. At least that was what he had told her.

"Thanks L.T. I'll get down there now."

Beckett opened the door to the 9th precinct and made her way inside. She had already paid Castle's bail, and was now going to speak to the arresting officer. That, and pick up her charge. She doubted he would have called Martha or Alexis at this hour.

While waiting to be seen, Beckett saw a familiar man walking out, holding a bag of ice to his face.

"Josh?"

The ice pack was removed from the man's face as he turned to her.

"Kate?"

Beckett sized up the bruise on his face.

"Ouch, that looks nasty. What happened?"

"Ask your sidekick,"came the reply.

Beckett had taken a step closer to look at the damage. When she heard Josh say sidekick, she stepped back.

"Who?"

"Rick. He did this to me."

Beckett eyes widened in shock. Castle. He wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it was covered in ice-cream.

"I don't understand, Josh. Castle isn't usually violent. What happened?"

Josh shrugged. "I don't know. A bunch of us went to a bar after work. I was sitting there with my girlfriend when I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and got an eyeful of fist."

Beckett took a few steps back and closed her eyes. Oh, no, this was her fault.

"Girlfriend?" she asked. Openiong her eyes she saw the bruise on his face and winced again

Josh became very interested in looking at the ice pack in his hands.

"Look, Kate, I know we only broke up a month ago. I wasn't planning on dating anyone so soon. I mentioned we broke up to a colleague at work, and Callie overheard me. She asked me out to dinner, but I said no. It had only been a few days, and I didn't think I was ready. Callie had just ended a relationship too, and promised it was just dinner. She thought it might be good to talk about our breakups. At dinner we just clicked. It has never been like that before. I'm sorry, Kate - you shouldn't have found out like this."

Beckett shook her head. "No, Josh, it's fine. I'm glad that you've found someone. So, the two of you were at the bar. Sorry to ask this, but were you two being affectionate with each other?"

Josh shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."

Beckett took a deep breath. "Listen Josh, I'm sorry Castle hit you. It's not like him. I heard he was drunk, and I've never seen him like before. We've just come off a hard case tonight. The victim looked just like his daughter, and it really got to him."

"That doesn't give him the right to hit me."

Beckett shook her head. "No, it doesn't, but Castle can get really protective sometimes."

"Who was he protecting? He threw the first punch."

Beckett bit her lip. "I guess he thought he was protecting me."

Josh frowned. "But you weren't there."

Beckett nodded. "Exactly."

"I don't understand Kate, and he didn't hit me all that hard."

Beckett gulped. "Castle doesn't know we broke up."

Josh raised his brows, then winced at the movement. "He what?"

Beckett shrugged. "We were in the middle of a case, and it really wasn't any of his business, so I didn't tell him. I had planned to, I just never felt ready."

"Ready for what, Kate? You broke up with me. It's not like he would have pitied you or anything. I was actually surprised you weren't with Rick tonight."

Beckett shook her head. "Josh, Castle and I are just friends. I'm only here because one of the officers that arrested Castle is a friend of an officer at the 12th."

Josh rolled his eyes and Beckett got an idea of what Castle must feel like when she did that to him.

"Kate, I know you were always physically faithful to me, but mentally you weren't."

"Josh," she tried to deny his accusation.

"No Kate, it's fine. When we started dating, you were distant at first and I just thought that's who you were. I didn't mind. I wasn't after a serious relationship that took a lot of work. Then you started talking about Rick, the way you work together and figure things out. Something changed within you whenever you mentioned him. I thought I was imagining it, but then I saw it for myself. The way Rick looked at you, the way you looked at him. The distance I felt when I was with you just wasn't there with Rick. I knew that, yet I stayed. I figured as long as you were faithful, I could deal with it. When you broke up with me, I wasn't surprised or even that hurt."

Beckett shrugged. "I don't know what to say Josh," What could she say apart from you're right.

He shook his head. "You don't have to say anything. It really is fine. I have Callie now."

Beckett smiled. Josh had been a great guy. He just wasn't the right guy. He was right: she had been distant when they first started dating. She had been recovering what she had dubbed Castle's betrayal. Josh hadn't pushed, which made dating him ideal. Yet as time went on, she started feeling more and more empty. It wasn't fair to herself or Josh to keep dating, so she had ended it. She knew she had feelings for Castle, but she didn't realise that Josh had figured it out. So much for being good at hiding things.

"Thanks, Josh. You're being really good about this. Most guys wouldn't."

Josh shrugged. "We had some good times."

Beckett nodded. "Yeah. Listen Josh, I know I have no right to ask you this, but would you consider dropping the charges against Castle. I know he hit you, but it was for me. Once he realises, I am sure he will apologize."

Josh shook his head. "I'm not pressing charges, I'm just here to give a statement. The owner is the one who got Rick arrested."

Beckett frowned. "The owner?"

"Yeah, he works behind the bar sometimes. When Rick threw a punch, some of my buddies stepped in. I guess Rick had a few friends at the bar as well, and it ended up in a bit of a brawl. Some damage was done to the bar."

Beckett raised a hand to her head and massaged it. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Okay. Thanks, I really appreciate it."

"No problems Kate. I was more shocked than anything. I can see why he would want to protect you."

"Detective Beckett,"

Beckett tuned to see an officer walking towards her.

"Ahh Josh,"

The man waved her off. "It's fine. I need get home anyway."

"Thanks," she told him before turning back to the officer.

"Hi, you're Detective Beckett, right?"

Beckett nodded.

The young man smiled. "I recognise you from a photo L.T sent me of you and Rick Castle."

"You're the friend who called him?" she asked.

The man nodded, and held out his hand. "I'm Officer Richter."

Beckett took his hand and shook it. "Thank you for calling him."

Officer Richter shook his head. "Oh, it was no problem. L.T has told me about all the good work Rick has done. He even babysat for L.T when it was his 2nd wedding anniversary and his sitter cancelled."

Beckett was surprised: she hadn't known that. This was the reason why she had been so shocked to hear Castle had been arrested for drunk and disorderly. Sure he acted like a kid, but he was generally responsible.

"I hear the owner is pressing charges. Is it possible to speak with him at all?"

The officer nodded. "Sure. I'll take you to go see him."

Beckett allowed herself to be led through the 9th precinct. She had never visited before, and picked up on the little differences. It was quite late, so there weren't too many people working. Beckett quickly spotted the owner talking with an officer. She held back while Officer Richter went and talked with them. He beckoned her over, and she tried not to put on her cop face. He wasn't a suspect, and she needed his co operation.

"Hi," she offered the owner her hand. "I'm Kate."

"William."

"Can I talk to you about the incident that happened tonight?"

The two officers left them in peace, so Beckett took a seat.

"If you want me to drop the charges, forget it. My bar got busted up real bad."

Beckett nodded. "I understand Rick Castle threw the first punch."

The owner agreed. "Just walked up to that nice doctor and hit him."

"Yes Josh told me that. You see William, Josh is my ex-boyfriend, and Rick is a friend of mine. He wasn't aware that I had broken up with Josh, so when he saw him with another woman, he got angry I guess."

Beckett watched as the man's face slipped from angry to understanding.

"Oh."

Beckett nodded. This man did have a heart it seemed, hopefully she could use that to get Castle out of trouble. "Rick was also having a bad day. You see, I'm a Detective at the 12th precinct and Rick follows me for research. He's a writer."

William nodded. "I know: my wife reads his books."

Beckett smiled. She could use this information to her advantage, maybe this wasn't going to be hard after all.

"Well you see, a few days ago we were given the case of a young girl who had been murdered. She looked a lot like Rick's daughter, so he has been quite distraught ever since. He enjoys a drink now and then, but never to excess. I guess the case was a bit much for him, and then when he saw Josh with another woman, he just snapped."

The man lowered his head. "Look, I'm not heartless, but my bar got busted up. He threw the first punch, but then others jumped in. My insurance is going to go through the roof."

Beckett nodded in understanding. This was the second time money had been mentioned.

"I understand that. What about if I talk to Rick for you, and get him to pay for the damages?"

William seemed to be mulling the idea over.

"I could get him to sign a few books for your wife. Maybe a few photos."

Nodding, William smiled. "Think I could get one for the bar that says Richard Castle drinks here?"

Beckett bit her lip. "I'm sure we could work something out."

"Beckett, what are you doing here?"

Beckett turned to see a bruised and battered Castle walking towards her. L.T's friend was leading him to her so Beckett stood up to greet him.

"Saving your butt, that's what."

Castle sighed. "Who called you. Did they call my mother?"

Beckett shook her head. "No. Officer Richter here is a friend of L.T's. He called me."

Castle looked at the officer in question. "Thanks."

Richter nodded, then left the two alone.

"Castle, this is William, the owner of the bar," Beckett told Castle. "He's willing to drop the charges as long as you pay for damages."

Castle hung his head down like a little boy being scolded by his mother.

"William's wife is also a fan of your work, and she would appreciate few signed copies of your books as well as a picture for his bar. Do you think you can handle that?"

Castle nodded before looking over to the bar owner. "I'm sorry about your bar. I'll pay for everything. Good as new. I promise."

William smiled. "It's okay. Your friend here explained. You keep your word, and I won't press charges. It's just the insurance company you know?"

Beckett tugged at Castle's arm. "Come on, it's late. Let's get you out of here."

Beckett led Castle out of the unfamiliar precinct. She noticed that he was on edge, looking around as if he expected to see someone. He obviously didn't find the person, and his shoulders seem to slump with relief once they exited the building. She guided him over to the car, and marvelled over his silence. It probably hurt to talk.

Even though she had noticed his cuts and abrasions in the precinct, she hadn't said anything. Her priority had been to get him out of there. The media would probably find out about the arrest, but she hoped that not too many officers had captured a picture of him on their phones.

Castle had the early signs of a bruised eye equal to the one Josh had. His opposite brow had a cut on it just like his lip did. Castle's clothes were dishevelled, and the jacket that she considered her favourite was now ruined. Beckett was sure if Castle knew what his hair looked, like he would be appalled.

"Thank you," the unusually quiet author finally spoke.

"No problem," she told him keeping her eyes on the road.

Castle snorted and then groaned in pain. "Beckett, it's 3am, and you got out of your nice warm bed to rescue me. Most people would find that a huge problem."

Beckett shrugged "It's not the first time I've had to bail someone out of jail for being drunk and disorderly."

Castle sighed. "I'm sorry, Beckett. I never get drunk."

Beckett scoffed. "But you're always disorderly."

"I can't believe you're being so calm about all this. You don't even know what happened."

Beckett stopped at a light and looked over at him.

"So tell me what happened," she implored.

Castle turned his head and looked out the window.

"Castle,"

"I can't tell you."

Beckett laughed and she proceeded to drive on. "Richard Castle is evolved in a bar brawl and he doesn't brag over it. Maybe I'm still asleep."

Castle hung his head down. "It's not something I am proud off. I want to tell you what happened Beckett. I'm your friend, I should tell you. That's what good friends do. I'm just worried you will shoot the messenger."

Beckett bit her lip and felt guilty about laughing now. "I wouldn't be a good friend if I did that now, would I."

Castle shrugged. "It happens all the time."

Beckett bit her lip. She knew they needed to have this conversation. Castle was obviously feeling sick over the thought of telling her about Josh. At least what he thought was the truth about Josh. She needed tell him that Josh wasn't a cheater but she was a scaredy cat.

"Come on Castle," she said as she pulled up to his building. "Let's get you inside and cleaned up."

"You don't have to do that."

Beckett was already unbuckling her seat belt.

"Sure I do. I need to make sure you live through the night. Otherwise, who's going to annoy me at work?" Beckett climbed out of the car and slammed the door. She was trying to make light of the conversation.

"I'm sure Ryan and Esposito could annoy you just fine."

Beckett nodded as she walked up to Castle's building without waiting for him.

"Yeah they do, but you bring me coffee."

Castle remained quiet the whole way up to his loft. He unlocked the door and let her in.

"So where do you keep the first aid kit?" she asked quietly looking around the dimly lit loft.

"It's upstairs, but I keep one in my bathroom to for emergencies."

Beckett tried not to laugh. More likely that he kept it there so his family didn't know how often he used it.

"Look Beckett, I can patch myself up."

Beckett crossed her arms. "You're going to put antiseptic on your eye and lip."

Castle screwed up his face at the thought. "That stuff hurts more than getting hit."

Beckett started walking off towards his bedroom. "An infection will hurt worse."

"Fine," Castle grumbled as he walked past her and into his room.

Beckett followed him into his inner sanctum. They needed to have a talk, and the last thing she wanted was for Martha or Alexis to interrupt them. Looking around Castle's bedroom, Beckett suddenly felt a bit uneasy. How was she going to bring this up? 'Hey Castle, you beat the crap out of Josh for no reason.' Actually, that was the perfect way.

"Here," Castle said, handing her the first aid box. He also held a damp cloth in his hand.

Beckett sat down on his bed and opened the box. His first aid box consisted of a few gauze pads, a bandage, pain relief, antiseptic wipes and SpongeBob bandaids. Beckett raised her brows at this.

"They're for Alexis,"

"She's a teenager, Castle," Beckett informed him.

Castle attempted to wipe his face over with the damp cloth but winced immediately. Beckett shook her head.

"Give it here."

Beckett took the cloth from him and folded it a few times. She then used the edge to dab gently at his cuts. She could tell he was trying to be a big man, trying not wince at her ministrations.

"I'm sorry," she told him.

"You're being gentle," he told her.

Beckett put the cloth down and tore open an antiseptic wipe. This time, she tried to be even gentler on his cuts, but the fact was she was still touching an open wound. Castle reeled back at her touch and Beckett felt guilty.

"Thank you for defending my honor," she told him.

Castle grabbed her wrist and leant away from her.

"What are you talking about?"

Beckett dropped the wipe as he released her wrist.

"I saw Josh at the precinct."

"Beckett, I can explain," he said quickly.

Beckett held up a hand to halt him.

"Castle, it's fine."

Castle shook his head and then lowered his eyes to his lap. "No, Beckett. I normally don't go around hitting people's boyfriends. Please, please believe me when I tell you this, Beckett. You're my friend, and I wouldn't lie to you, but Josh.."

"Isn't my boyfriend anymore," she finished.

"What?" Castle asked looking up.

Beckett bit her lip. "We broke up a month ago."

"A month."

Beckett nodded.

"I'm sorry, Beckett."

Beckett packed away the kit before standing up.

"There's no need, Castle. I broke it off with him."

"Oh."

"Yeah, we," Beckett started.

"You don't need to tell me. Unless you want to."

Beckett shook her head. No, she would save that conversation for Lanie.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Beckett kept her back to him. "It just never seemed like the right time."

"To tell your friends you broke up with your boyfriend?"

Beckett shrugged.

"Beckett."

She turned when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Kate,"

"I was worried about what you would do if you found out," she said with a sigh.

Castle frowned. "What I would do?"

Beckett nodded.

Castle shook his head and walked away from her. "You were worried that I would do something? Like what? What could I possibly do that would worry you?"

Beckett bit her lip. "Ask me out to dinner."

Castle spun around. "You were worried I would ask you out to dinner?"

Beckett nodded.

Castle shook his head, and looked away from her. "Geez Beckett, tell me how you really feel," he said sarcastically. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you broke up with Josh for a whole month because you were so horrified that I would ask you out."

"No, Castle,"

"You know you could just say no instead of lying."

"I didn't lie," she told him.

"You didn't tell me."

"Which is technically not a lie, it's an omission."

Castle shook his head. "Oh, so that makes it so much better. You know, even without my money and fame, I'm still considered a bit of a catch. I'm funny, caring and loyal. I'm a great friend who got into a brawl because I thought your boyfriend was cheating on you. Yet the idea of me asking you out to dinner obviously repulses you. Am I too old for you? Do you find me ugly?"

Beckett tried not to smile. He was upset and being honest with her. It was just that his honesty was the most ridiculous thing she had heard.

"Castle, those are the qualities I like about you."

"You like that I am old and ugly?"

Beckett did laugh this time. "No, Castle. Your loyalty is one of your best qualities. The fact that you felt you had to do something because you thought Josh was cheating on me, means a lot. The thought of you asking me out to dinner worries me not because I don't think you're a catch, it's because I do,"

Castle frowned. "You do what?"

"Think you're a catch. If you asked me out, I would have said yes and that's what worries me."

A smile twitched his lips. "Are you worried you couldn't keep your hands off me, Beckett?"

Beckett rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yes," she said, shrugging.

The smile dropped off his face in shock.

"I'm also afraid that I would mess up. Your face is evidence of that," she said pointing at his bruised face.

"My face is evidence that I shouldn't drink alone. I do stupid things."

"Then I guess I should have a split lip too," she told him. "I should have been honest with you about Josh. My attempt at trying not to mess things up ended up doing exactly that. And you got hurt."

Castle shrugged. "Yeah, but I did get into a bar room brawl and lived to tell the tale. I also got you to admit you want to get your hands on me. Getting hurt was inconsequential."

"I don't want you hurt, Castle."

"I don't want you hurt either."

Beckett nodded. He didn't want to hurt her and she didn't want to hurt him either. Castle had kept his end of the bargain, she hadn't. Staring at Castle's bruised and battered face, her heart clenched. She had been worried about what he would do with her news of a break up. Maybe it was time to take control of her fate.

"Castle, do you have any plans for tomorrow night?"

Castle shrugged. "Snuggling up to a bag of ice and pain reliever."

Beckett knew that tomorrow he would probably be hurting more than he was now.

"Think you can fit dinner into your schedule?"

Castle narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought you were worried,"

Beckett shrugged. "I was worried I would mess up. It already happened and the world didn't end. I was also worried about you asking me out, not the other way around."

Castle smiled. "I like your way of thinking. Well if you don't mind having dinner with an old, ugly bruised man, then I won't object."

Beckett bit her lip. "I don't mind,"

"Funny, Beckett."

"I thought so. Well, it's late, I should probably go."

"Yeah. Thanks for bailing me out,"

Beckett walked over to him and found an unmarred section of his face. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks for having my back tonight. I'll look forward to our date tomorrow night."

The end

Authors note

Ok so this is a one shot. No plans to write their date. Still appreciate reviews though . : )