"So can you do it, Dad?" Alexis' voice pleaded over the phone.
Castle rubbed the fingers of his left hand over his temple and was glad his daughter couldn't see the pained expression on his face. "OK, sweetheart, I'll do it for you. 3:24, right?" He tried to keep all annoyance out of his voice.
Alexis breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank you, Daddy. I owe you one. I've got to run to class. Love you!"
Castle put his phone away. He shifted in his chair next to Kate's desk and glanced over at Kate, her arched eyebrow silently asking what Alexis wanted. Castle sighed, "You remember I told you that Meredith was coming to town for a few days?"
Kate nodded, wondering where this conversation was headed. "As you know, Alexis was going to pick her up at the airport, and I was blessedly not going to see her at all this visit." Castle paused.
"But?" Kate supplied.
"Apparently Meredith caught an earlier flight. She left a voicemail for Alexis before she got on the plane. Anyway, Alexis has a class when the plane arrives, and she asked me if I could pick Meredith up." He was sure Kate wasn't going to be happy about this new development. Since they were at the precinct, he couldn't hug her or touch her in reassurance. "Look, you can come with me if you want or…or I could just send a car for her." He tried to smile but it was almost a grimace. He knew if he sent a car it would make Alexis mad, but on the other hand he didn't want to make Kate mad.
"Is that all? I thought we were going to have to have dinner with her or something," Kate could see how concerned he was about her reaction. She thought it was cute. "I have to work, but I wouldn't really want to go with you to pick her up anyway." She leaned forward smirking slightly, "Unless I have something to worry about?"
Castle looked mortified, "No, of course not! By the time I get her to Alexis' dorm room, Alexis will be all done with her classes and I won't have to see her again for the rest of her visit."
"It's OK, Castle," Kate said with a smile. She wanted to put her hand on his but refrained.
Of course she knew how easy it had been in the past for Castle to jump into bed with Meredith when she came for a visit. Kate wasn't worried. Castle had waited for years to get together with her, and she knew he wouldn't do anything stupid now that they were finally a couple.
They had wrapped up their latest case before lunch. Kate was mired in paperwork, and Castle was jotting down a few notes from the case that he wanted to remember for possible use in a future story. He glanced at his watch and stood up. "I've got to be going, Beckett."
Kate glanced at her watch as well, "OK, I'll see you tonight." Castle started toward the elevator.
"Yo, Castle, where you going, Bro?" Espo asked standing up from his desk.
"I've got to pick Meredith up at the airport," he replied jerking his thumb over his shoulder not anywhere near the direction of the airport.
Javi's eyebrows rose in amusement, "Oh, deep-fried twinkie," he said knowingly, glancing over at Ryan who stared at him in horror. Espo's eyes got big as he realized how inappropriate his remark was now that Castle and Beckett were together. "Sorry," he muttered.
Castle and Beckett both glared at him, "I'm just doing Alexis a favor." Castle turned to walk away, then looked back and with a wave added, "See you all at the Old Haunt later."
"Richard!" Meredith called with a wave as she caught sight of Castle. Castle smiled back at her as she hurried towards him. He did have feelings for her. After all, she was the mother of his only child and that alone would forever link them. He could remember how much he had once loved her and how much fun they had had together in their early years. Now he could only handle small doses of her.
Meredith dropped her bag and went to throw her arms around Castle, but he caught her by her shoulders and kissed her cheek as he deftly reached around her to snag her bag. He grabbed her upper arm and started guiding her through the crowd. "Where's Alexis?" she finally seemed to notice her daughter wasn't present.
"Why did you change your flight? You know she has school." Castle's voice was gentle even if the words were accusing. He knew Meredith didn't think about things like that.
"But that gave her the perfect excuse to cut class!"
"You know she's not a slacker like us. Sometimes I wonder where she gets her work ethic. It can't be from either one of us."
"Tell you what, I'll drop you at Alexis' dorm and take your luggage on to your hotel for you. Where are you staying?"
"I was hoping I could stay at the loft. Alexis is gone now, and we could have some quality time together," Meredith said in her seductive voice. The one he used to find irresistible.
"Meredith, we are not married any more. You're here to see Alexis. You are not going to stay at the loft, and this is the last time I will see you before you leave," Castle said firmly getting a little annoyed now.
Meredith squeezed his bicep, "Ooo, I love it when you are so strong and forceful."
"Meredith, please," Castle said with a sigh as he removed her hand from his arm, "just tell me where you want to stay – what hotel?"
Meredith seemed to have no clue so Castle started calling around to find her a hotel. "OK, I've got you at the Trump Soho. You know I'm not paying for this right? Can you afford it?"
Meredith was pouty now. "Of course I can afford it."
"Great," Castle muttered as he collected her luggage off the baggage carousel and moved towards the taxi stand.
Castle finally arrived at The Old Haunt. Ryan and Jenny were already there, sitting in the booth that Castle had reserved. He slid into the seat across from them.
"So where is everyone?" Castle asked.
"I think Espo is picking Lanie up," Ryan said with a grin. It was hard to keep up with their on again, off again romance. "Beckett had one report she was finishing up. She said she'd be right behind us."
Shortly after Castle got his drink, Beckett walked in. Castle jumped up and engulfed her in a hug. She felt wonderful in his arms as his hands roamed across her back. It was so hard to be next to her at the precinct all day and not run his fingers through her hair, or touch her soft cheek, or kiss her…. His thoughts were interrupted as her lips brushed against his. He could feel her smile against his lips and he smiled too. They stood entwined in each other's arms gazing lovingly at the other until Ryan cleared his throat loudly. They jumped but stayed in each other's arms looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Sorry," Castle said sheepishly as he dropped his hand to Kate's waist and guided her into the booth.
They were well into their second drink when Javi and Lanie finally showed up. Espo had a big grin on his face and Lanie was all giggly.
"And what took you guys so long?" Ryan asked pointedly.
"What? We came right over as soon as Lanie was done with work," Esposito replied with an innocent look.
"I won't even ask what she was working on," Castle chimed in. Lanie punched his arm. "Ouch!" he complained. Castle raised his hand to get the waitress's attention. He would get a tray of hors d'oeuvres as well as a round of drinks.
After everyone was settled with their drinks, Castle started entertaining them with stories of some of the crazy encounters he had had with the public.
Then Ryan told the story about Esposito getting ready to bust down a door just as the lady of the house had opened it wearing only a towel. Esposito was already in motion and couldn't stop and had collided with the unfortunate woman. They were lying on the floor all tangled up together. Esposito had leaped to his feet and somehow the lady's towel had snagged on his badge leaving her totally naked on the floor. Esposito had spluttered apologies while trying to untangle the towel to give it back to her. Ryan was paralyzed with laughter and was no help although he had soon composed himself for the lady's sake. It turned out she had no involvement with their case after all. Captain Montgomery had to do a lot of damage control to keep the department from getting sued.
Castle pulled Kate closer into his side and she briefly laid her head on his shoulder. Castle couldn't have been happier spending the evening with his girlfriend and their friends. He squeezed Kate's shoulder a little as he watched Ryan tilt Jenny's chin up so he could lovingly kiss her. Lanie was sitting in the corner and Javi was turned toward her, their foreheads touching as they talked softly. Castle turned to Beckett and pressed his lips to hers. She melted into him. Castle pulled away from her slightly and gazed into her beautiful hazel eyes. "You're so beautiful tonight, Kate," he said softly. "I love to see you smile and laugh."
Kate blushed a little and dropped her eyes for a moment. Then she looked into those deep blue hypnotic eyes. "You make me happy, Rick. I never smiled or laughed much before you entered my life. You give me so much joy." Her fingers traced along his jaw, and her thumb brushed over his lips. Javi and Lanie suddenly broke into laughter causing everyone to look at them.
"Sorry," Esposito said still chuckling, "Private joke. Hey, Castle, we could use some more drinks here."
"Coming right up," Castle said as he slid out of the booth to order a round at the bar. He couldn't remember if this was the fifth or sixth round.
"No more for me!" Jenny piped up. Castle looked around the table to see if anyone else would protest but no one did. He proceeded to the bar to place his order.
Although they usually tried to avoid talking about work, it always seemed to crop up at some point and tonight was no exception. They started rehashing some of their latest case. Kate wondered how Ryan figured out so quickly that their key suspect was innocent. They talked for several minutes when Kate finally realized that Rick hadn't returned with their drinks. She turned to look at the bar. Rick was taller than almost everyone else standing there so she picked him out quickly. His back was to the bar and she could see he was talking to someone. Through the crowd, Kate couldn't see who it was. She shifted in her seat to get a clearer view and gasped.
"What's wrong, Kate?" Lanie asked quietly as the boys talked.
"It's Meredith!" Kate exclaimed. "I hope something hasn't happened to Alexis." Why else would Meredith be here? Kate could only see Castle's profile. His body language suggested that he was not enjoying dealing with Meredith. Kate tried to keep track of the conversation at the table, but she was more than curious about Castle's conversation with Meredith and kept looking their way. Someone at the bar moved out of the way, and Kate now had a clear view of Meredith. She certainly looked like she was flirting with Rick. Kate felt a pang of jealousy. Rick's posture looked weary.
Meredith rose up on tiptoe and flung her arms around Rick's neck. Kate thought she was trying to kiss him but she was too short, and Rick grabbed her wrists and lowered her arms. Kate could see that Rick was talking, but Meredith suddenly looked straight at Kate and angrily said something to Rick. It looked like she was yelling but the bar was crowded and loud. It was impossible to hear any one conversation. Meredith tried to jerk out of Rick's grasp but he wouldn't let go of her wrists. That seemed to enrage Meredith even more. Kate could see her head moving from side to side as she continued to angrily talk to Rick.
Suddenly Rick slapped her hard across her face. Kate leaped out of her seat and started pushing her way toward them. Meredith's eyes were like saucers. Her hand held her face where Castle had hit her. A moment later she was running for the door. Castle took a step towards her retreating figure but Kate caught his arm. He spun around. His fist was coming up ready to strike whoever had grabbed him. He stopped himself when he saw Kate, but the cold, hateful look in his eyes made her take a step back. She never thought she would ever be afraid of Rick, but he was scaring her now as he menacingly towered over her.
"Rick, whatever she said about me isn't important. Just let it go."
Castle's face hardened even more, "Not everything is about you, Beckett. Go home." He turned and the crowd parted before him as he exited the bar.