A/N Time to jump into the FanFiction pool! This story is my first ever so to those of you who take the time to read/review, I am thankful!
I have enjoyed MANY writers here and you are all terrific!
XX00Meg00XX, you are AMAZING! Your writing is incredible and your encouragement invaluable! You are an inspiration and I can not thank you enough for your beta! (Read XX00Meg00XX stories, you will never be disappointed!)
This story takes place after 7x23. Hoping to add four chapters (more or less), if interest is there. I appreciate and welcome constructive critcism...it's how we all improve!
Disclaimer: I own Castle...on DVD and love watching whenever I have time! Other than that, these characters DO NOT belong to me!
For your consideration, chapter one of "Back Your Play"
Poe's Pen, could it be poetic justice? An evening to honor Richard Castle's writing accomplishments, a night for him to celebrate those he loved...his mother, his daughter, his friends from the 12th, his muse...his inspiration...his wife. His chance to publicly proclaim, (as discreetly as possible for him), that the reason he stood before them, the only reason in his mind that the Poe's Pen was in his hand, sat at the table quietly celebrating him. This night seemed scripted. All the important people in his life together and having fun! No stress of the precinct, not one publisher deadline and thankfully no crazy suspects, just a party and a night to enjoy the company of his "family".
And then Kate got the text, the call that they were needed at the scene. And then the party was over. Each one at the table had a role and they knew what it was. Everyone from the twelfth began to move, like a well-oiled machine. Time to do what they do best, solve a mystery and provide justice to the victims.
After the notification from the precinct about the murder, the team headed to the scene of the crime. This one was open and shut, a rare occurrence for Beckett's team... they always got the freaky ones. Tying up all of the details in less than three hours made this case one for the files. It never ceased to amaze him how killers in this city thought they were so clever. Dropping the gun and blood stained clothes in the trash can at the scene...really!? He had half a mind to give the killer a copy of his first Derrick Storm novel... there was some creative thinking! Now, as they all headed off home, Castle looked at Beckett and sighed. Home, they were finally headed home.
Kate took a deep breath and gave her husband's bicep a squeeze. "Everything ok babe?"
"Huh? Yeah, fine." Castle mumbled as he stared out the window looking for an answer.
"Really?" Kate smirked. "I'm not convinced. After seven years together, and six months as Mrs. Castle, I don't buy your "I'm fine."
"Really, Beckett, it's nothing." Rick could not have been more unconvincing if he tried.
"I know nothing. Nothing and I are very good friends...this, this is not nothing." There was no way that Kate was letting him off the hook that easily.
She was right. Kate knew Rick...she knew him well...better than she might know herself. The distant look in his eyes told her that his mind was in overdrive, his brain was working overtime. There was something that he needed to reconcile, something he wanted to "fix". Kate Beckett knew that Richard Castle was a determined man.
Rick's mind was racing. Sure, Poe's Pen was an incredible award, something he aspired to achieve but never thought he would earn. And then, with Kate by his side, everything fell into place and he had another notch in his belt. As wonderful as life was right now, Rick Castle was focused on something else, something in the future, the next great thing. But this next "thing" was more important than any one goal in his past because this goal involved her...Beckett...Kate...the most important "thing" ever to him. She was at a crossroads and therefore, so was he. His existence only mattered now because his heart beat with hers. (Wow, Rick, when did that happen!?) If he was honest, it happened the day he met Kate Beckett.
So here they were, leaning against one another, exhausted, in the back of the cab as the driver made the way to the loft.
"C'mon Castle, I know you. What's going on in that mind of yours?" Kate drew closer to Rick as she looked at him searching his eyes for an answer.
"Kate, you know I love you, right? You mean everything to me." It was as if Rick was having trouble catching his breath. Looking at Kate when he was in this state always made him sound vulnerable.
"Yes, Castle, of course I know that." Kate was strong in her answer. There was no doubt in her mind that Castle loved her.
"There is nothing, nothing that matters more to me than you and our family." He almost sounded desperate.
"Rick, you're scaring me...is everything ok?" Kate gently touched Rick's jaw and turned his head so that they were face to face. "What's going on in your head? What's up?" Gently, she kissed his forehead.
"Sorry, Kate, I don't mean to worry you." Rick return her kiss and pulled her to his chest. "It's just that tonight has me thinking. You...we...have a big decision to make." He gently grabbed her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes, "Senator Beckett, Captain Beckett...what's best for you?"
"You mean, what's best for us...and why not Senator or Captain Castle? You do know I'm proud to be your wife, right?" The smile on her face matched his as he beamed at her proclamation.
"Senator Castle... (His mind temporarily wandering down the halls in Albany...)
"That would be Senator Katherine Castle!" A quick swat to his chest brought him back to their current reality.
"Right! Sorry!" He winked.
"Castle, c'mon, what's bugging you? You can tell me, partners, remember?" Kate became serious again, hoping to get Rick to give up the reason that he was so concerned.
"I just want to help you find the right thing...the thing that will work best for you...for us." Castle was serious now. He looked straight at Kate and didn't blink. "Kate, you are meant for great things and I want to help you figure that out. But no matter what, whatever you decide, I want you to know I will back your play, always."
She slips her left arm around his waist and drops her head to his shoulder. The smell of Rick Castle makes everything ok. She takes a deep breath and sinks into his side. Thinking at three in the morning after a homicide is more than she is ready for right now.
But, just like that, her mind begins to turn, the events of the last few weeks fighting with the glow of tonight's celebration of her husband. Rick had traveled a lifetime in the last few days, recalling the terror of his eleven year old self staring into the face of a serial killer. His frustration in trying to convince the boys, and her, that he really did remember the voice of Dr. Holtzman from all those years ago. She had come so close to losing him when Castle struggled with that maniac in the barn. Silently, she shivered, recalling the split second thinking of her husband to reach out to her for her weapon and end the nightmare of his, of their ordeal. Poetic justice, indeed.
So she leans in just a bit closer, holding on to her heart, her one and done. His scent reminds her of all that makes her world right. Rick Castle is her world.
"Babe, can we just get home, crawl in bed and sleep right now? I know you want to help me figure out where we are headed but, can it just wait for a few more hours?" Kate stifled her yawn and continued, "Omelets...not Smorelettes... and coffee in the morning and a serious discussion, I promise."
"Deal. Just promise me you'll at least listen to my idea." Rick gave Kate a gentle kiss and pulled her closer.
"OK, I promise, but why does my cop sense tell me I should be worried?"