CASTLE – Before, During and After

A night at the Old Haunt after a long case means the end of some things, and the beginning of a whole lot more, including a hell of a lot of alcohol, and even more embarrassment. Caskett, with some Esplanie, Ryan and Jenny. Post Pretty Dead, Knockout doesn't happen.

CASTLEBECKETTCASKETT

*Chapter One - Before*

The door to the Old Haunt opened, and the few people sitting at the bar turned to look. It was hours past last call, and all of the patrons had cleared out not long after. The current occupants of the bar, including the owner, were waiting for one person to walk through the door. Her.

"Hey, sweetie," Lanie stood up, walking towards her best friend. "We were expecting you hours ago, where have you been?"

Castle, Ryan, Jenny and Esposito turned around, their gazes looking towards the lynchpin in their family. Beckett's face was red, her eyes puffy, mascara tracks running down her cheeks, the tears having long since dried. "Josh dumped me," she whispered.

Lanie stopped in her tracks. "He what?"

Kate collapsed on the next available bar stool, conveniently next to Castle, and downed the remainder of his scotch in one gulp. "He dumped me, just told me I wasn't worth fighting for, not when I wasn't giving him everything; and he dumped me," she rubbed her face furiously with her knuckles, trying to erase all evidence of her tears, not that she knew why she even cried in the first place.

"Honey, you're a cop," Lanie grasped her hands, pulling them away from her face. "He can't expect you to give him 100 per cent of yourself 100 per cent of the time."

"Not what he meant, Lain."

"Oh."

Kate took a deep breath and turned to face Lanie, showing her back to Castle; the man put a hand on her lower back in support. She couldn't help but shiver unconsciously at his added warmth. "He said that I never gave him enough attention, that I always have something else on my mind, something unrelated to casework and him." She closed her eyes and let her shoulders slump a little; Castle added another hand to her lower back, massaging the tension he could feel building up. She couldn't help but lean into his touch.

"Are you okay?" he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, his hands never leaving her back.

"Castle, he said I already belonged to you."

His hands stopped moving and Kate almost squealed in protest as he spun her bar stool around so she was facing him. "What did he say?"

Kate sighed. "I didn't understand then, but I understand now. My heart belongs to you, and he could see that, but he tried anyway."

"Kate, you've always been mine, you just never let me in, and you never acknowledged it until now."

"Actually…"

Castle waved his hand at her, "Semantics."

Neither of them noticed the others had moved to the booth behind and to the left, giving them the illusion of privacy.

"So, no more Josh?" Castle couldn't help but ask.

"No more Josh," she replied with a smile.

"Good, because that means I can do this."

Kate was shocked as Rick moved in closer to her, slipped his hands around the back of her head and kissed her. She stood there shocked for a moment before kissing him back. He slipped his tongue through her lips to caress her own, and Kate couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure.

Lanie was bouncing in her seat watching her best friend mack on her shadow, or the other way around as it was, and Esposito had to grasp her hands in his to prevent her clapping. "Chica, calm down. You can jump on her once they break for air."

Kate regrettably had to break the kiss when the need for oxygen became too great, but she rested her forehead on Rick's as they broke apart. "You're amazing," Rick breathed, running his fingers through her hair. "Just… wow."

"You're not so bad yourself," she smiled, moving one of her hands to rest over his heart.

Rick pulled his head back, dropping his hands to her waist. "Is that so?" he smirked.

Kate shrugged, knowing they had moved back to playful teasing. "Yep, not bad, but not great either."

"Oh, you're gonna regret that," he chuckled, moving in to kiss her again. This time, Kate was ready for it, and moved her hands to run her fingers through his hair. Their tongues battled for dominance, much like their verbal sparring, each eliciting sexy moans and groans at appropriate intervals. Rick pulled Kate's body closer to his, so she was standing between his legs, as he was still on the bar stool. She pressed her breasts to his chest, her nipples rubbing up against him through her blouse.

What seemed like minutes later, they broke apart, almost breathless, and this time Kate rested her head on Rick's shoulder.

"Girl, that was some kiss," Lanie called from their booth, using her hand to fan herself.

"I think the vultures are circling," Rick whispered, kissing Kate's hair as she stood up properly.

"Yeah," she replied. "I should probably go talk to her before she explodes."

"How was that?" Rick asked louder, obviously now putting on a show for their friends. "I personally would categorise that kiss, and you, as amazing. Totally. Amazing." He punctured the last two words with kisses on each of her cheeks before letting her go. The smile on Kate's face was infectious, and Rick couldn't help but mirror her as she slipped out of his grasp to be jumped on by her best friend.

"Good god, girl, you been holding out on me or something?" Lanie all but screeched, dragging her towards the other end of the bar. "That was some kiss!"

"I know, right?" Kate was giggling, and she wasn't embarrassed about it. "Just… wow."

"That's what I said!" Castle called out from behind her.

"Butt out, writer boy!" Lanie laughed and flipped the writer off, dragging Kate further away from him and gesturing for Jenny to join them. "Girl, talk."

Kate sighed and smiled. "When I arrived back at my apartment, Josh was waiting there for me on the couch. He had a glass in his hand, and a half empty bottle of scotch on the coffee table in front of him; as soon as I saw that, I knew what he was going to say…"

CASTLEBECKETTCASKETT

"Dude," Esposito awed. "About time."

"I know, right?"

"Dude."

"Dude," this time, Ryan had his say.

"Dude."

"Okay, enough with the 'dudes'!" Castle exclaimed. "Yes, Kate and I can finally been together; no need for a press release!"

"Are you sure about that? What's your agent going to say?"

Awkward silence.

"Shit."