Unbetaed. Every mistake is mine and mine alone. Please be gentle. Hope you like it!

Comparing Notes

Dinner had gone surprisingly well. Meredith, as flamboyant as she was, in the end was nice and affable, easy going and funny in a good way. In front of a delicious meal and a three bottles of great Italian red wine at Maddie's restaurant, they spoke of everything and nothing, about their careers, Alexis, Martha and, of course, Castle.

Meredith Lee, the actress, the disgraced mother that pulled her daughter out of school to bring her out for lunch, in Paris, the deep fried Twinkie that loved to barge in the loft for hot, wild early morning sex with her ex husband, seemed extremely at ease as they talked.

After the dessert, an astonishing work of art made of chocolate, passion fruit and rum, they headed out. Both women were wobbling on the high heels they were wearing.

"I think we had a little too much to drink!" laughed Meredith.

Kate nodded, before realizing that moving her head so fast wasn't a good idea. "We definitely had too much to drink. I don't really want to go back to the loft in these conditions though."

"We could walk there!" proposed the other woman. "Clear our heads a little. You're right, I don't want to go back to the loft drunk, Rick wouldn't like it."

Beckett shrugged. "We could… slowly though. Alcohol and high heels don't really work well!"

Meredith sneaked her arm beneath Kate's. "Then, let's go. Slowly. But tell me, now that we are alone, Kate… you and Rick, how's it going?"

"What do you mean, how's it going?"

"Oh Kate, don't be coy!" exclaimed the redhead. "We're both adults and we have both seen him naked. So? How's sex going?"

Oh. She wanted to know about the sex. "Well… it's good, yes, we have good sex. Why? Wasn't it good when you two were married?"

"Oh dear no! Sex has always been great with Ricky! It's actually one of the few things I had to give up with the divorce that I actually regret but… No, sex has always been awesome with Rick. He has a special talent, don't you think?"

She blushed slightly. "Definitely. I don't know what it is, he's just so…"

"Great at reading you…" Meredith finished the sentence for him. "He's like a pianist, maybe all those hours typing…"

"Don't even get me started Meredith, really! That man does things with his fingers that should be illegal!"

"Oh I remember that time he just…" the redhead stopped midsentence, as if looking for words. "Listen, I don't want to sound crude or anything, but there were time he stuck a finger up my butt when he fucked me from behind and…"

"I love it when he does that!" screamed Kate, her voice a bit too loud for her tastes. "God, it makes me cum in like… ten seconds?"

"And if that isn't a talent, I don't know what talent is."

They walked for a while in silence. Kate felt at ease, despite the very personal conversation they just had. She smiled at the thought, she'd never thought they'd be talking about sex with Castle, if not for the copious wine they had at dinner, but the subject came up so easily and naturally… it was strange, but also fun.

"Well, he might be talented with his fingers…" she started. "But that thing he does with his tongue…"

She felt Meredith shiver beside her. "Don't remind me please… I'll get jealous. But," she shrugged again. "You're right. It's like… It's like he's everywhere!"

"And he's relentless! Does he ever get tired? I mean… I'm not complaining but for fuck's sake, sometimes he goes down on me for twenty minutes straight and…"

"Has he ever pulled the cuffs out?" asked Meredith.

Kate glared at her. "Like a week after we got together. And not only the cuffs."

Meredith jumped a bit in excitement. "Oh so he expanded the selection of toys! Come on girl, spill the beans."

"He has a whole drawer of toys in his wardrobe. Should I even tell you these things though? Isn't it a bit private?"

"Kate, come on… we've fucked the same man, it's like we're sisters!"

In her inebriated state of mind, the reasoning made sense. Had she been sober, she wasn't sure she'd consider it the same way. "Okay well… He's really into bondage so… lots and lots of restraints."

"Ah, I wish he had them when we were married… and?"

"You can bet that if something vibrates or is remote control or has some kind of crazy function, he has it. I thought I had a decent selection when it came to sex toys but Castle… he's got the whole collection of Fleshlights. Every one that has been released, and a couple of custom models too!"

Meredith laughed. "Guess he got tired of his right hand!"

"That's what he said! And you should see how he well he maintains them, they all look brand new! He personally cleans everything made of leather after every use. Once I came home from work, one day he knew Martha and Alexis wouldn't be there, and he was cleaning every single restraint made of leather. He said he had been working for hours, and he was only halfway through."

"I don't want to know how much leather polish he used. If he's as obsessive as he is about his shoes…"

Kate nodded. "Trust me, he is."

"Well, toys are better when clean, right?"

"Yeah, definitely…"

Again, a comfortable silence fell between the two women, now only slightly tipsy. The cool winter air galvanized them and cleaned their heads. Not enough to steer away from the subject they were so enjoying as they discussed it.

"Sure he's big…" said Meredith out of nothing, eyes glassy as if daydreaming.

Beckett swallowed a lump in her throat. "Never had one like him."

"First time it hurt a bit…"

"Yeah, but it was so good…"

"Did he do that thing with the leg?" asked Meredith.

"Not the first time, I was a little banged up, but when I felt better… turns out all the yoga I do serves something. Never thought that lifting only one leg that way could make me…"

"Make you what?" inquired the redhead.

"Squirt?"

Meredith lifted one hand. "High five girl, welcome to the club!"

Laughing, they smacked their hands together with a loud clap, and they realized that they had finally arrived at the loft.

In the end, the whole evening turned out to be a very pleasant, if a little x-rated, time, spent in the gracious company of a woman that she had misjudged, forming an opinion based only on a few, very specific anecdotes that Castle and Martha had told her. While certainly not suited to be a mother, or a wife, Meredith had a flamboyant and histrionic personality, not too different from Martha's despite the lack of grace given by experience, and she was really fun to be around.

Who knew, maybe next time, with enough alcohol flowing, they could be compare notes some more.