To answer a question I've been getting a lot, yes, there will be an M-rated chapter. This isn't it. If you were looking for nothing more than dirty sex you've come to the wrong place; but there will be a scene that crosses the line into M territory, which is the reason for the rating.

I don't know if I've ever had so many follows after a first chapter before. It means a lot either way, especially since when I originally uploaded it there were a lot of errors, most of which have since been fixed. Thank you, and I hope you like this next chapter, which takes place after Law and Murder.

ps Liz, if you see this, you may not want to read it on a full stomach.


March 30, 2011
8:15pm
Precinct


Richard Castle, you diabolical genius, Castle commended himself as he followed Beckett to the elevator.
"Alright, then, can I have, uh, candy and popcorn?"

"Sure. Oh, Castle, you're going to love this; this is Leslie Nielson before he became a comic genius," Beckett said.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Can we stop for burgers at Remy's after?"

"Now you're pushing it."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Kidding."

As Becket gushed about one of his favourite films next to him in that elevator, he couldn't help a triumphant smirk. Because he may not have the girl, but at least for tonight, Beckett wasn't going to be with Dr. Motorcycle Boy; she was going to be with Castle, watching a movie, eating, talking... while Josh was stuck at work. And even though it didn't change anything - she still had a boyfriend who wasn't him, and would still have one by the end of the evening - Castle had learned to appreciate the little victories in life; and an evening with Kate Beckett outside of work definitely felt victorious.

Just for tonight, he could even pretend it was enough.


It felt like a date , in the dark theatre, sitting so close to her he could hear her breathing. She was beautiful. Not just in the obvious way he'd always known.
More and more he was privileged to get glimpses of Kate, and tonight was a special treat. She really did adore this movie - possibly as much as he did. She hung on every word and no matter how many times she'd seen it, she still reacted to every thing like it was her first time. He wanted to watch her more but every time something funny happened on-screen she would be looking at him to see his reaction.


They exited the theatre in total silence, smirking occasionally when they caught each other's eye. It wasn't until they were sitting down at Remy's that one of them finally spoke.

"Well?" Beckett asked.

"Well, what?"

"What did you think of the movie?"

He shrugged.
"It was ok," he said, looking down at his menu, discretely looking back up to see her reaction.

Her face fell.
"Oh. Ok."

Castle smiled and put the menu d own.
"Relax, Kate. I loved it."

Her face lit up. She quickly reigned in her emotions and cleared her throat.
"Really? You're not just saying that?"

Castle grinned.
"Trust me, Kate. I absolutely loved that movie."

"You didn't think there was too much exposition? Some people think so."

"Well, maybe by today's standards. But this was made in the fifties and that was the style of sci-fi at the time. So I'll give it some leeway for that. Besides, I thought Morbius was interesting and I liked watching him speak."

"Me too. Even if he was a bit of a psychopath."

"That's what made him so interesting!"

"Right. Right, I forgot who I was talking to."

They smiled at each other.

"You know, you didn't seem too surprised by that ending. The first time I saw it, I was pretty shocked."

"Well I guess I'm a little more jaded by modern Hollywood. Besides, you said the Matrix had inspired it..."

"Right. Right, yes I did. I'm sorry."

"It's ok. It didn't spoil my enjoyment."

"I hate being spoiled on endings!"

"Well, me, too but you didn't overtly spoil me and besides, it's not a mystery."

The server came by and they made their orders.

"Cheeseburger, extra pickles please."

"Same," Beckett said. "And a strawberry Milkshake."

"Coming right up," said the server, who left.

"I thought you liked those mysterious Boris Burgers."

"I do. But I like cheeseburgers, too."

"Well, what's not to like?"

"Do you ever eat any other type of burger?"

"Sure. Sometimes. But cheeseburgers are so good. The meat, the ketchup, the cheese - and if they have pickles, even better. They're great brain-food. Maybe my work isn't Shakespeare but thanks to cheeseburgers, I'd say it's still pretty good."

"Oh! Speaking of Shakespeare, did you know Forbidden Planet was loosely based on The Tempest?'"

Yes.
"No. No, but, uh... now that you mention that, that makes a lot of sense - thematically, at least."

They were so engrossed in their conversation about the movie that they were both surprised at how quickly their orders made it to the table.

Castle smiled at Beckett.
"Where have you been all my life?"

Beckett looked uncomfortable.
"Uh... what?"

"I'm talking to the burger."

"Oh," Beckett said.

He took a bite.
"Oh yeah, baby."

"You're acting like it's your first cheeseburger, Castle."

"Every time is a new experience," Castle said. "Can I have some of your milkshake?"

"What? No."

"Come on, I'm thirsty."

"Then you should have ordered a drink."

"I didn't want to have to pee again after that giant soda at the movies. My bladder - "

"Castle, TMI for dinner conversation."

"Right. Right, sorry."

"Castle, just order a drink. I'm paying."

"Can you afford it?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I couldn't. I may not be Mr. Fancy best-selling novelist but I can afford to take my friend out for a burger." She winked.

Castle wouldn't have expected the word 'friend' to sting so much. Because he loved that she called him that, that she considered him a friend. But he had been pretending they were more tonight. She had made it so easy to pretend that things were the way they were supposed to be. But they weren't. It was ok, though. At least they had the rest of the night.

Beckett's phone rang.
"Oh."

Her face changed.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. Uh... yeah. It's Josh. " She answered it. "Hey, Babe.
"Well, I thought you were on late shift. Oh. Well, that's good. I just... I went to that movie I was telling you about.
"Forbidden Planet. Oh. I uh... wasn't alone. Yeah.
"Yeah. Um, we had a lot of fun." She checked her watch. "Oh, um, yeah, of course, Babe, of course. Yeah, no, I'll be there soon.
"Yeah, I'm, leaving now. Ok. Me, too. See ya soon."

She hung up.

"You're leaving?" Castle asked, keeping his voice as casual as possible.

"Yeah. Uh yeah. He got off work early. He came to my place to surprise me."

"He knows that you were out with me."

"Yeah," she said.

"And he's ok with it?"

"Well, of course, Castle, he trusts me. He knows you're just my partner."

Partner. Somehow that stung even more than friend. Maybe it was the way she had put the word "just" in front of it.

"Right, " Castle said. "Right."

"I'm going to go pay for our food. Then I'm going to take off. I had a great time."

"Me, too."

"See you at the precinct."

"Yeah, " he said, his throat dry. "See ya."

He dropped the fake smile as soon as she turned her back.

The hardest part of all was that he knew he wasn't just her partner. He knew she had feelings for him. Maybe they weren't as strong as the ones he had for her, maybe she didn't realise it yet, but there was definitely something between them and it wasn't completely one-sided. He hadn't imagined the way she smiled at him sometimes, the passion and heat when she'd kissed him and that fucking moan. The ease with which they could be together, like tonight, how important it had been to her that he like a movie she loved.

They made so much sense. They should be together, he could feel it. But instead, she was with Josh. It wasn't fair. Maybe it was petulant, childish and immature. But Castle didn't care. He saw her first.

He knew in his heart he was the one she should be going home to, whose arms she should be falling into at the end of the day, who she should be calling Babe. Not Motorcycle Boy. The more time went on, the less and less likely it seemed any of that would ever happen.

If only he could be sure she didn't feel the same, he could walk away, move on. But as long as he still had an iota of a chance, he couldn't walk away from her. Because it was Kate Beckett. But waiting for someone who was with someone else was taking its toll on him.


Josh was at the door when she opened it, greeting her with a warm kiss.

"Mm," Becket said, stroking his face with affection.

"Hey."

"Hey." He moved out of the way so she could get in, "Did you make it home ok?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about cutting girls' night short. I hope Lanie didn't mind too much."

"Oh, no, she has an early start any way."

"Oh, good," he said, wrapping her in his arms.

Beckett smiled. She wondered if perhaps she should have corrected him when he'd assumed she was with Lanie during their phone call earlier, instead of lying. From the few conversations they' had about Castle, he didn't seem to view him as a threat. Still, she couldn't take the risk that he might confront her about her real feelings for her partner. Lying to Josh made it easier to lie to herself.