First Day Back
By Minstrel164
Set post episode 7X07
I thought I would contribute to the already large collection of 7X07 Once Upon A Time In The West stories. I have only seen excerpts of the episode on You Tube but this little story came to me yesterday and would not leave until I had written it down. I hope you enjoy it.
Kate Beckett and Richard Castle approached the elevators. They had managed to extricate themselves from the posse of uniforms that had surrounded them the moment the newlweds had stepped into the foyer of the 12th Precinct on their first day back after their honeymoon.
Castle could not recall the last time he had his back slapped so hard and for so long as he received heartfelt well wishes from the cops that had surrounded them. He was sure the smile on Kate's face was starting to hurt as she too accepted all the well wishes. They must have been standing at the front counter for over ten minutes before either of them remembered they had to get upstairs and start work. They had been released to get on with their day only with the promise of more stories of their adventures on that dude ranch in Arizona.
The elevator was slow as usual and they had to wait for its arrival. Castle glanced at Kate. He knew that he had promised her that he would restrain himself from touching her while they were at work but looking at her now looking so happy he knew he was going to break that promise. Kate turned her head and raised a single eyebrow giving him a look that said she knew what he was thinking.
"Castle." Beckett warned in a low voice.
"But Kate..." Castle whined.
"You promised."
"Fine." Castle huffed.
Castle looked up at the floor indicator above the elevator doors and saw that it was currently stuck somewhere between the second and third floor. To keep his hands occupied he dug into the pocket of his jacket and extracted his phone. He swiped his finger across the screen and opened it up. From out of the corner of his eye he saw Kate cast a glance in his direction and once satisfied that he was distracted with his phone she turned to face the elevator.
Castle saw that he had received an alert from one of the celebrity gossip websites he subscribed to. He quickly clicked onto the alert. His eyes suddenly widened in surprise. At that moment the elevator arrived on the ground floor. Automatically he followed Kate into the elevator and turned to face the front but his eyes were riveted on his phone.
As soon as the doors slid closed Castle let out a loud guffaw.
"Something funny, Castle?" Kate inquired with some amusement.
Castle covered his mouth with his left hand to stop himself from further laughter as he held out his phone to his wife. Kate took the phone and looked down to what had caused Castle so much amusement. Her eyes became as wide as saucers as the colour drained from her face.
"Oh...my...God! Castle!"
Castle took back his phone and started reading:
"Recently married author Richard Castle and his new bride, New York Police detective Kate Beckett, were reportedly asked to leave a resort hotel in Arizona a couple of days ago. While neither the representatives of Mr Castle or the hotel wished to comment on the report, it is believed that newlyweds were asked to leave following some damage caused to furniture in their hotel room. A source close to hotel management did confirm a queen-size bed in their hotel room had been damaged beyond repair following what is believed to have been some honeymoon hi-jinx."
"I don't want to hear anymore." Kate said in a firm voice.
"My wife the Tigress, the breaker of beds." Castle said proudly. "Wow, who'd have thought?"
Kate looked at an amused Castle and glared at him.
"I...I mean about the breaker of beds...not the tigress bit because we know you're a tigress in..."
"Castle!" Beckett hissed. "It's not funny."
"Yes it is."
"It's mortifying."
"Come on Kate, It's a little bit funny." Castle teased as he nudged his wife's shoulder with his own.
"We were asked to leave the hotel." Kate countered.
"And pay for the damages you caused."
"I caused?"
Kate turned to face Castle and found him nodding his head and grinning.
"Listen, bud." Kate said pointing her finger at him. "I wasn't the Lone Ranger back there."
"Good point." Castle said. "But you started it, my tigress."
"I started it?" Kate said, her voice rising a couple of octaves.
"Yes, it's your fault."
"How's this my fault?"
"Well, if you hadn't bewitched me in that sinfully sexy black outfit..."
Kate stared at Castle in astonishment for a couple of moments and in that time, the consternation she was feeling at suddenly finding that their mishap with the bed had been splashed on the internet drained away. A big smile spread across her face as she remembered the priceless expression on her husband's face when she first stepped out wearing that black outfit, and the second time, and then the third time. The look on Castle's face was well worth the minor discomfort she had wearing that corset.
"It is a sinfully sexy outfit." She giggled.
"I'm glad you kept it." Castle whispered.
"Yeah, me too."
The elevator announced its arrival on the fourth floor with a jerky halt. The smile faded from Kate's lips as the doors started to slide open. She drew in a deep breath to quell the return of her anxiety.
"I think you're worrying over nothing, Kate." Castle said softly, sensing his wife's concerns.
When Kate did not respond but just stood there staring straight ahead, Castle placed his hand in the small of her back and gently propelled her forward. Kate started moving.
Kate stepped out of the elevator with Castle beside her. His hand on her back was just the kind of reassurance she seemed to need right now. Together they set off down the hallway heading for the bullpen.
"It's not nothing, Castle." Kate said in a low voice. "I don't like having our marital activities published on the internet."
"I don't think anyone has seen the story."
"Ryan and Espo will be all over this." She retorted.
"What, the horses?" Castle quipped. "I don't think the horses have access to the internet."
Kate glanced at Castle and gave him one of her death glares. Her husband had been expecting a mildly amused and very cute roll of her eyes but got the death glare instead. Quickly he offered an apologetic smile for his little joke.
Reaching her desk Kate was relieved to see that both Esposito and Ryan were not at their desks. At first she thought they had not come in to work yet but corrected that when she noticed their jackets hanging off the back of their chairs. The boys had wandered off somewhere.
Kate let out a small sigh of relief as she dropped her purse on the desk. Castle, she noticed, had already taken residence in his chair. She could only shake her head in wonder at how calmly he was taking this story about them that was on the internet. Perhaps he had grown used to such stories over the years. She on the other hand was struggling not to hit full panic mode.
"I might tell the boys you named those horses after them, you know."
Castle had been looking at his phone. Slowly he lifted his eyes from the phone and up to his wife.
"You wouldn't."
Kate could not stop the small smug smile that appeared on her lips when she saw the hint of panic that rose in those blue eyes of his.
"You really want to find out, Castle?" The question was punctuated by a single arched eyebrow aimed in his direction.
Castle looked at his wife as he thought over the challenge she had just thrown out. He was still in the bad books with the boys for not having invited them to the wedding. He did not need further black marks against him.
"No dear." Castle shook his head.
"Okay, then." Kate nodded.
"I'll speak to Paula and get her to have them take down the story." Castle informed her.
"I would appreciate that."
Kate started to reach for her chair to sit down.
"Hey, look who's back." Esposito called out as he and his partner walked into the bullpen.
"It's Hoppalong Castle..." Ryan grinned
"And Kid Beckett." Esposito finished, also breaking into a grin.
"Hey guys."
Despite her anxieties Kate forced a warm smile to her face as she came around her desk to greet her colleagues. She hugged Ryan and then Esposito.
"Welcome back, girl." Esposito said. "You have a good time on your honeymoon?"
"We had a great time." Kate responded casting a glance in the direction of her husband and found him smiling warmly up at her. She returned the smile with equal warmth.
"Guys, thanks for the present." Kate told them. "That was really sweet."
"Yeah, we really appreciate it." Castle added.
It had been a really nice gesture on the part of the boys to give Kate two days of their leave each so that she could have a proper honeymoon.
"Don't mention it, it was the least we could do." Ryan said, speaking on behalf of his partner.
Esposito glanced at Ryan exchanging a look before he turned and quickly made his way over to his desk.
"We got you a little present." Ryan announced.
The Hispanic detective returned a moment later carrying a gift wrapped shoe box sized present. He passed it across to Beckett.
"You shouldn't have guys, really." Castle said.
Ryan and Esposito shrugged their shoulders in unison in response as if to say it was nothing.
Kate took the gift back to the desk and sat down. Slowly she started to unwrap it. Castle leaned forward in his chair with an expectant expression on his face. For a moment Kate thought he was going to jump out of the seat and take over the task of unwrapping of the present. Somehow Castle managed to restrain himself.
Kate finally removed the gift paper and set it aside. The smile on her face froze when she lifted the lid of the box and saw what lay in there. Looking up she saw the two detectives smirking.
"Seriously guys?"
"What is it, Kate?" Castle asked, half rising from his chair.
Kate reached into the box and pulled out a claw hammer.
"A hammer?" Castle said.
"Don't forget the bag of nails." Ryan pointed out.
Kate rolled her eyes as she dug into the box and pulled out the bag of nails.
"You never know when you might need to do some running repairs to your furniture." Esposito said, trying to keep a straight face. The two detectives burst into laughter.
"Get back to work." Kate growled. "Now!"
The two detectives sniggered loudly and fist bumped as they scurried back to their desks.
Kate sat down on her chair, dropping the hammer and bag of nails back in the box. She slid her gaze to her husband.
"No one saw it, huh?"
"It could have been worse." Castle said innocently.
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head. She pushed aside the gift the boys had given her and switched on her computer.
"Welcome back, Detective Beckett, Mr Castle." Captain Gates said warmly as she stopped by Kate's desk. "I trust you both had a good time?"
"Yes, sir. Thank you." Kate said.
"I got you a little present." Captain Gates announced as she held out what looked like a cylinder wrapped in gift paper.
"You shouldn't have Captain." Kate said as she took the offered gift.
"It's nothing, Detective." Captain Gates smiled. "I'm sure it will come in handy."
While Kate cautiously unwrapped the captain's present Castle watched the departing figure of Captain Gates. A look of curiosity crossed his face when he saw that the captain did not go into her office but instead walked past Esposito and Ryan's desks. He was surprised when he saw her high five Esposito and then Ryan before walking out of the bullpen.
"O-oh." Castle muttered.
"Ugh!" Kate muttered loudly.
Castle turned to look at his wife and saw that she had her head down with one hand covering her face while with her other hand she holding up a tube of Liquid Nails.
"Okay, it just got worse." Castle conceded.
The End
As usual your thoughts and opinions would be gratefully appreciated.
Con