Title: Room for Error
Author's Note: I went beta-free on this, (as I normally do) so any mistakes are mine. I tried to edit it, I really did. I haven't written a longer piece like this in a while. Anyways, this is an insert for my story Child's Play, although you don't need to read that to understand this. It was way too long to fit there.
Disclaimer: Nope. It's all Marlowe's. (Not even trying today...)
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He has it all planned. The ring sits in its little box, carefully hidden. It should all work out well.
Yes, he could go for an elaborate proposal, or take her back to the place they met. However, Beckett had mentioned years ago that she didn't like the idea of a big, out-there "Will you marry me?", and he wasn't really looking for a cliché proposal like the second idea.
So he had come up with the somewhat creative idea of slipping the ring into her jacket pocket when she wasn't looking. He had even chosen a day without a murder, where he could spend the entire day waiting. Whenever she found the ring, he'd propose. He was prepared. She wouldn't suspect a thing.
At first, he thinks she suspects something when he decides to tag along. "You're actually coming to the precinct when there isn't a case?" the detective ponders, throwing her boots on. "Shouldn't you be writing?"
"Someone has to make sure Ryan and Esposito get work done, don't they?" He teases, handing her the coat.
She squints her eyes ever so slightly, trying to read him. "What do you want to do?" Beckett asks, eyes daunting but joking at the same time.
Great. As if he isn't nervous enough, she's got to go and look at him like that: that look that screams "I know what you're planning". He really, really hopes she doesn't, though, for that would take away all the surprise.
Yet they make it out of the door, into the precinct, and up to the bullpen without any notification that she knows what's going on. Sure, she still glances at him suspiciously, but she says nothing about relationships or marriage or them as a couple at all, which is good.
After an hour of sitting around, (well, Beckett sits. He decides about ten minutes in that he should challenge the boys to a game of paperclip basketball) the writer begins to get suspicious. Had he accidentally given her the wrong jacket? Had it fallen out? Or was she ignoring it?
He knows he can't check; he happens to be far less sneaky than she and it would ruin everything he planned.
Now, two hours since arriving to the bullpen, Castle stands in the break room, picking up the two mugs of freshly brewed coffee. Quietly, he begs the brown liquid not to slosh all over him as he takes it to his partner. "Coffee," he murmurs, placing it next to her.
She smiles, taking a sip. "It took you an awfully long time to make one round," the detective comments, glancing over at him.
Something is off, he notices. Something is missing but he can't quite place it. All he knows is that he's getting filled with some sort of dread. "Yeah, whoever used it last time messed it up pretty badly. I had to fix it and start the brew over again," he states, shaking off the feeling. It's probably nothing.
"I never knew you were good with machines," she comments, voice on the edge of a laugh. "Anyways, Lanie swung by while you were in there. Ended up taking my jacket with her-"
Oh crap.
That's what's missing. The jacket.
"How long ago did Lanie leave?" he questions, trying his hardest not to sound panicked but Lanie is off somewhere with the ring that he plans to ask Kate to marry him with and there are so, so many ways this could go wrong now.
Beckett furrows her eyebrows, a look of confusion and worry blossoming over her features. "Maybe one, two minutes ago. Are you okay?" she questions, but he's already standing up and heading towards the exit.
"Yeah, I'm good! I just need to talk to her about something right now and seeing as she was just here I should catch up with her," the writer rambles nervously. "I'll be right back."
Jumping in the elevator, he wills Lanie not to find the ring. But really, if Beckett hadn't noticed the ring all morning, would her best friend find it? Most likely not.
He just makes it outside before Beckett calls him. "Hello?" he asks, glancing around for the sassy medical examiner.
"Lanie came back in and is talking to Espo about something," his partner tells him, obviously distracted. "Whatever it is, she's making a big deal about it."
He's back inside immediately, disconnecting the call and mentally cursing at the amount of people in the lobby. Once he gets through, he jumps in an elevator and tries to calm his racing nerves. Lanie has found the ring and he's going to have to propose now, he assumes. Why else would she be yelling at Espo?
Not that it's a bad thing. He wants to marry Kate. He wouldn't have bought the ring if he didn't.
He just doesn't want her to say no.
The doors open to Lanie and Esposito arguing about something. "I swear, Lanie, I didn't put anything in the pocket of your jacket!" The Latino whispers loudly.
"Oh really? Then how did this get here?" She asks, pulling the ring box out of the pocket. Beckett, the one standing on the outside of the argument, gasps.
Cool. Exactly what he didn't want.
He sighs, exasperated. "Maybe you should ask Beckett. It's her jacket." By now, it seems like the entire bullpen (including Gates, which makes him even more nervous) is watching the confrontation.
Lanie whips around to face her friend. "Did you know this was in your pocket?" She asks, one hand on her hip. And boy, does she look kind of scary. No wonder Esposito looks relieved that he's off the hook.
Beckett shakes her head, slack-jawed. "I- um, no."
He knows he has to stop standing there dumbly and go take credit for the ring. Especially now that everyone is looking at him.
Swallowing, he smiles and nervously jokes, "Took you long enough to find it."
Beckett looks at him, confused and completely flabbergasted. "What?" She asks softly, eyes boring into his.
Finally, the writer puts one foot in front of the other and plucks the velvet box away from Lanie, who grins. She's totally enjoying how awkward this is for him.
When he looks up again at Beckett, he notices that her hand rests over her mouth and her eyes glisten with emotion. Through her fingers, he can see a smile. He takes it as a good sign, opening the box and getting down on one knee.
The brunette gasps. "Are you…?"
"Beckett," he starts, smiling nervously. "Kate. I think I knew since the day I met you that you would be special. I just never knew how much I'd fall in love with you. Every moment of waiting was worth it but now, I don't want to wait anymore. Will you be my always?"
She slides her left hand off her mouth, revealing a bright grin. "Of course," Beckett responds, nodding. "Of course I'll marry you," she announces, laughing.
Castle slides the ring over her finger, the gold warm from being in her pocket all day. She then holds his hand as he gets up, pressing her lips to his the moment he stands upright.
The clapping and whistling sits in the background of his brain as the moment processes in his mind. Kate Beckett is going to marry him. She's kissing him now not as his girlfriend, but his fiancée.
When she pulls away, he grins and whispers, "We're getting married."
"Yeah, we are." She responds, shaking her head at the diamond on her finger. "We're getting married."
Eventually, (he doesn't really know how long it's been, really) the crowd around them disperses. Lanie, Ryan, and Esposito congratulate them personally, and even Gates nods with some sort of approval.
Thankfully, they get through the rest of the day without a catching a murder (or dragging each other into the nearest supply closet), and Gates tells the team to head out early.
Castle helps Beckett with her coat, fully knowing he'll never be able to look at it the same again. She won't either, if the way she keeps looking from her coat to her ring is any indication.
They get ready to leave quietly until the detective speaks. "You know, that wasn't your smartest idea," she remarks, attempting to act stern but failing.
Grinning, he entwines his fingers in hers. "I didn't think you wouldn't be able to find it."
The detective gives her partner- no, fiancee- a grand smile, examining the diamond on her finger once again. "Well, you could have come up with a proposal that didn't have quite so much room for error," she teases.
"Lanie didn't mind that much, once she calmed down," Castle responds defensively, pouting like a child.
She laughs, bumping his shoulder playfully. "I know. I didn't mind much either."