Prompt at the end

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"You don't think he did it, do you?" asks Ryan from the passenger seat of the cruiser.

"I don't know, man..." Esposito's response comes on the end of a long sigh. "I mean, Castle and Beckett were on the rocks for a while and even you saw how weird he was acting. Showin' off the blondes, looking for a thrill with Slaughter – I'm not really sure I know what to expect anymore."

It's been weeks since they've even heard from Castle; he'd stopped showing up at the precinct just before Beckett's suspension. It'd been clear to anyone with eyes that his absence and sudden change in character had played into Beckett's ominous moods and the forlorn look in her eyes.

They'd barely heard from Beckett in the long period of her suspension. She'd texted them occasionally to check up, to let them know that she was alive and well, but the boys could only guess what she might be going through on her own. It was no secret how she felt about Castle or how his sudden change in character had been affecting her. Beckett had gone off into the deep end with her mother's case without Castle there to catch her and her boys were worried.

And now this. Ryan and Esposito sit in the NYPD cruiser parked just outside of Castle's building, stalling. Stalling before they have to ascend the stairs and arrest the man they've known as a friend for over four years, for the gruesome murder of a young woman. The financials, fingerprints, and strange shift in personality all pointed to one conclusion: Castle had snapped.

"We've got to protect Beckett," Esposito's tone is firm. They've been through too much to let their family disintegrate after all this time.

"Javi, Beckett doesn't need our protection. She's perfectly capable of-"

"I know Beckett can handle herself," Esposito interjects. "But she's our partner and Castle's not on the team anymore. It's up to us to have her back."

"Look," Ryan starts, "all I'm saying is that if it were anyone else we'd look into it. We've got a job to do. Regardless of whatever went on between Castle and Beckett before she left, we know the kind of guy Castle is. Maybe the evidence isn't the whole story."

"Alright, alright. Let's go Castle Jr.," Javier huffs as he gets out of the vehicle mumbling under his breath about how cops don't tell stories.

They flash their badges to the doorman, though it's not necessary; he recognizes them from the many poker nights they've had at the Castle residence. The boys opt for the stairs and as they hit the top floor, they both take a breath before approaching Castle's door.

Before Esposito can lift his hand to knock, the sound of gunshots echo from inside followed by the sound of something shattering and a decidedly female shriek. Ryan and Esposito lock eyes briefly and draw their weapons.

"NYPD" Ryan shouts. "We're coming in!"

Castle's front door meets the ground as the two men storm their way in, beginning to clear the living room before proceeding further into the loft.

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Contentment. It's the only thing that Kate can think of as she positions herself to spend another evening in the arms of her lover. She's never been one to believe in fate or destiny or perfect fits, but with him everything is different. She feels a lightheartedness that she hasn't known since before the bitter January night when she'd lost her mother. But Richard Castle has spent the past six weeks reawakening parts of Kate that she'd forgotten existed. Tentative as she may have been, Kate's given this man her heart and he holds it with as much reverence as he'd held her with on their first night. And God is she a goner.

These thoughts cross Kate's mind as she settles on the couch next to Castle. It's a Wednesday night which typically means that it's movie night at Casa de Castle, but this is the first movie night that Castle and Beckett have had to themselves. Generally, Alexis joins them with a large bowl of popcorn and the three laugh themselves to tears at whatever comedy Castle has selected, adding their own commentary and luxuriating in the comfort of what feels like family.

But tonight is different. Alexis is on a class trip and Martha will no doubt be doing the walk of shame at some ungodly hour after her night out at the theater. After having spent the afternoon with her father, Kate is eager to have the loft - and her boyfriend - at her disposal.

She'd left Castle to set up the projector in his office, claiming that she was going to change into something more comfortable. Kate didn't miss Castle's appreciative leer when "something more comfortable" turned out to be one of his t-shirts that she'd appropriated as her own and a pair of his boxers. He'd probably never get tired of seeing Kate Beckett in his clothing.

They're barely ten minutes into the movie - a 1930's film, Angels with Dirty Faces, that he'd insisted on watching - when his hands start to wander. Kate hums appreciatively as Castle's hand sneaks under her shirt to trace meaningless patterns against the bare skin at her side, his strokes steadily growing bolder. Kate decides to turn the tables and skates her hand up his thigh to trace his length through the flannel of his pajama pants.

"Well, well, Rocky. This is a surprise," Kate says, quoting the film Rick hadn't even realized she'd been paying attention to.

And wow, this is new. In their few short weeks together they haven't tried role play. They've been content to bask in the glow of four years of anticipation. But this - slipping into a heated old fashioned persona with the enigma of a woman he gets to call his girlfriend - this is the fuel of his fantasies and Rick can only hope to give as good as he's getting. He pulls her into his lap and slips a hand beneath the waistband of the boxers she wears.

"Yeah well," he smirks at the gasp his touch elicits, "next time you roll a guy for his poke, make sure he don't know your hideout." Rick grins as she laughs at his poor double entendre of the movie quote.

He quickly divests her of her shirt and goes to roll her onto her back so that he can hover over her, but they both wince when she lands on the remote. The volume instantly sky rockets just as a particularly zealous 1930's gangster opens fire. At the sudden burst of sound, they both flinch, Rick kicking out and knocking over their glasses of scotch and Kate letting out a loud yelp of surprise when the liquid suddenly splashes across her ankles.

Rick leaps for the remote to return the movie to a normal volume just as Kate turns toward the living room.

"Rick?" she asks. "Did you hear something?"

"You mean the mobster? Or that little moan you let out right when I was about to -"

"No, really?" Kate implores, her tamped down but ever-present cop instincts beginning to kick in.

"Kate," Rick tilts her head back towards him and looks into her eyes, beginning to grow concerned. "It was nothing; the gunshots from the movie probably startled you. They got me too."

Kate's brief uncertainty fades away, as do the frown lines creasing her forehead. She reaches for Castle, pulling him back down over her.

"So where were we?" she smiles into his kiss.

"FREEZE."

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To say the people in the room are startled would be a gross understatement. Castle shoots up from his position nuzzled against Kate's bare chest as she lets out a stunned oh my God and attempts to cover herself.

"Beckett?" Esposito fairs no better, almost confused as to why he's found his two former teammates in this current predicament.

Ryan however, is the first to recover and steps out with a "We'll give you two a moment to compose yourselves."

Esposito steps out into the living room and looks to Ryan, "Bro..."

"Looks like we found more than we bargained for," comes Ryan's response.

"What. The. Hell?" Beckett emerges from Castle's office and stalks toward the boys with Castle hot on her heels. She's looking far more fierce than she should considering she's currently barefoot wearing only Castle's oversized clothing.

"We're ah – we came to—"

"We're here to take Castle in for questioning regarding the murder of Tessa Horton," Ryan explains.

Kate freezes. "Excuse me, what?"

"Hahaha, very funny guys. We get it, you're upset that we haven't been keeping up with you as well as we should have," Castle's all smiles as he attempts to usher the boys toward the door. "How about you come over on Saturday and we'll have a Call of Duty marathon and order in? My treat."

"Castle," Esposito says, putting an end to the rambling. "This isn't a joke. We didn't come here to come spy on whatever fetishes you and Beckett have been indulging in," Javi cringes at the unwelcome onslaught of images.

"Sorry, Castle" Ryan adds softly, "but you are currently the prime suspect for the murder we're working. All the evidence is pointing to you, man. Mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Yeah, um sure. Just – here – have a seat in the living room" he turns to Kate who looks just as flabbergasted as he feels.

The four sit in the living room gathered around the coffee table as Ryan lays out the evidence: financials, images from jewelry store security footage, crime scene photos complete with reports of Castle's fingerprints being found.

"You don't seriously think I did this do you?"

"Where were you the night of the murder, Castle?" Esposito asks, ignoring Rick's question. The four are however, momentarily distracted when Castle's mother enters the loft in her usual whirlwind fashion, heading straight for the kitchen for a glass of wine.

"He was here," Beckett draws the attention back to the matter at hand. "We both were here. In bed."

"And how do we know that you didn't sleep through Castle leaving, committing the murder and coming back to bed?" Ryan's question brings a blush to Beckett's cheeks.

She dips her head and murmurs, "We weren't exactly sleeping…"

Neither Castle nor Beckett miss the disgusted look to pass Esposito's face before he asks "And how do we know you're not just covering for him?"

"Well darling," they all turn toward the kitchen at Martha's unexpected interjection. "Richard and Katherine are not exactly a quiet pair. I could certainly corroborate their whereabouts last Friday."

Ryan and Esposito turn back to face Rick and Kate, both of whom are sporting bright red blushes.

"Thank you, Mother" Rick grits out, standing and looking to the boys. "If that'll be all, I can see you two to the door."

Ryan smirks, "Don't worry, Castle. We can show ourselves out, right Javi?"

"Yeah, and you kids keep it down. We wouldn't want to have to come back for a noise complaint."

The boys make their exit and Castle turns to find Kate with her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"Castle, please tell me that didn't just happen. Tell me we fell asleep watching the movie, the boys didn't find me half naked in your office, and your mother didn't just say that she can hear us having sex because of those God awful bookshelves you call walls."

"Ahh, well… That all did just happen," Castle breathes out as he comes to sit next to his mortified girlfriend. Kate turns and buries her face in Castle's chest.

"So much for being home alone."

Prompt:

Probable Cause AU- Ryan and Espo, under Gates' orders, have to bring Castle in for questioning in the middle of the night. They find Kate and Castle together at his place in their jammies/underwear.

A/N: Thanks for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks to Evan for knowing I'd write this before I'd even started, for helping me sort through my jumble of ideas, and for the lovely editing.

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