Chapter 2

Thanks so much for all of the kind reviews. I really appreciate it.

In answer to a question that came up in them, the spoiler in chapter 1 was that Beckett and Demming kiss, and Castle sees it. That's it. It was in a promo photo for the episode. Like I said, fairly minor.


Rick hopped out of the taxi, quickly paying the driver and, dodging through the lunchtime throng of pedestrians, made his way into the restaurant.

It was the same place Paula always arranged her meetings. She claimed it was because the food was good, but Rick reasoned she liked the place because they did the best Manhattans in… well… Manhattan. Paula was already there, buzzing with impatience as she jabbed at her PDA. Maybe she won't make an issue out of it, Rick thought as he crossed the floor to her.

His hopes were dashed as she looked up at him, "Where the Hell have you been?" She snapped. "Fifteen minutes late, Rick? Let me tell you something, if you leave a girl sitting in a crowded restaurant for more than ten minutes, people start to feel sorry for her. They think she's been stood up." She fixed him with a glare, "I hate people feeling sorry for me."

He sat down and tried to look contrite. "Sorry, I had a late night. Overslept a little."

Paula eyed him knowingly. "What was her name?"

Rick bridled a little at that, and felt the need to explain himself. "I had a bit to drink, and didn't sleep too well. And before you choose to misunderstand again, I was alone." He glared until the smirk faded from her face, replaced with a look of surprise. It took him a moment to realise why. I've never felt the need to protest my innocence before, he needed to distract her, and himself, before she questioned him further. "A few drinks. That's never caused me to oversleep before."

Paula shrugged, "Well, you're not twenty five anymore, Rick. Or thirty five, for that matter. You should stop acting like you are. If you get drunk, your body's going to feel it in the morning."

"Thank you, doctor," Rick replied, stung by the jab at his age. I'm in my prime! She's talking as though I'm on my last legs. It's not like she's a spring chicken, either. He thought better of mentioning his thought to Paula. The last thing he needed was to have a glass of wine thrown in his face this early on a Wednesday. Instead, he considered her words. OK, so he'd felt a little groggy when he woke up this morning, lethargic. That didn't mean he was heading into his dotage.

His train of thought was derailed when Paula abruptly changed subject. "I ordered for you. The usual, it should be here in a few minutes." He nodded his gratitude as she continued. "So, I've been talking to the producers, and they've confirmed that they want you to write the screenplay." Her excitement was palpable, she was literally on the edge of her seat, leaning towards him.

Rick was pretty enthusiastic about it himself. This was a big deal, he was being asked to adapt his own book for the movie. Not only would it allow him far more control over the project than he'd initially imagined, but it would also put his foot in the door in L.A. He'd never done any writing for television or movies before. Not that many novelists did, but it was something Rick had been intrigued by for a long while. He'd talked to Cannell about it at length, and he made it sound like a really collaborative, creative process. The right opportunity just hadn't ever arisen. Until now.

But that enthusiasm was tempered with plenty of concerns. "So, what's next? They come out to New York or…."

"They want you in L.A next week." Paula cut him off, clearly eager to impart the good news.

"Next week?" Rick was stunned, "I can't just pick up and leave now. Alexis has school, my mother's situation is a bit up in the air, as usual. And I think you're forgetting a certain book I'm supposed to be writing." He neglected to add a fourth pressing reason, a certain elegant, beautiful NYPD detective, but he was really trying to push her to the back of his mind. Deal with that later, he told himself, ruthlessly.

Paula gave him a tolerant look. "Not permanently, you idiot. They want to meet with you, throw some ideas around. Of course, they want a first draft, but they know that'll take a little time."

A momentary silence fell as the waitress arrived with their food, darting a flirtatious look at Rick from beneath her eyelashes. He barely noticed, but smiled at her in what he hoped was a grateful, charming manner. Paula thanked her and shooed her away from the table. As soon as she was gone, he leaned in towards Paula again, "A little time? I have no clue how long it takes to adapt a book into a movie. I don't even know where to start."

"Well, it's lucky you'll be meeting with the experts then, isn't it?"

Rick contemplated his BLT for a moment before tucking in. L.A. I had no idea things would happen so fast. But a meeting, a couple of days, I can manage that.

Paula was watching him, the smile on her face told him he hadn't heard the half of it yet. "What?" he asked, suddenly wary again.

"Bruce said that they were certainly sympathetic to your situation, with Alexis and school." Rick's eyes narrowed as he absorbed this, now sure he wasn't going like where it was going. "They're going to want you available for consultations, rewrites, casting. All the cool stuff, so they've agreed that they can wait a few weeks for that first draft. Alexis' summer vacation starts in the first week of June, right?" She didn't wait for his nod, before continuing, "So they've suggested you and Alexis head out to California for the summer. A working vacation, if you will. They'll pay for accommodation, a driver, all the perks, for a whole three months. Seriously, Rick, they're giving you the five star, A-list treatment, you cannot screw this up."

He stared at her, lost for words. This was all too much, even for him. They really want me involved that badly? They already own the book rights, no one would blink twice if they froze me out of the whole deal.

She could see he was struggling to absorb everything, "Look, you don't have to commit to anything now, other than getting your butt over to the Pacific coast and spending the week schmoozing powerbrokers and seducing starlets. You'll be in your element, trust me."

He nodded absently, "Yeah, sure. You've booked a flight already, I take it?" She waved her PDA at him, to convey that that had been just what she'd been arranging whilst waiting for him to show up. "I'll need to talk to Alexis about all of this. My mother too, I guess, and…" He cut himself short, before he said Beckett's name. Unfortunately, Paula caught his slip.

"Oh Rick, you're not still hung up on the detective, are you? You still haven't gotten her into bed? Christ, you're hopeless."

Rick felt a flash of true anger, then, offended that anyone would talk about Kate Beckett in such bald terms. She's not some toy, waiting around for the next man to pick her up and play with her! He squashed it back down before it could show on his face, and simply said "She's not a factor any more." Paula cocked her head doubtfully. "She isn't" He insisted, "She has a boyfriend."

"If you say so. Look, talk to whomever you need to talk to, think it over as much as you like. Just be ready to get on that plane. Sunday, 11am." With that, she waved the waitress over to get the cheque. "Hate to love you and leave you, Ricky, but I have plenty to do today."

She kissed him on the cheek, and sauntered out, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He glanced up at the clock behind the bar, it was not even one in the afternoon, and his life was threatening to turn itself upside down. He considered making an appearance at the precinct, to see if Beckett had missed him, then shook his head at the thought. He needed time to put all of this in order. Can I really just leave New York for three months? When it came down to it, though, was there really anything keeping him there? Alexis would be with him, his mother had her new boyfriend, and Beckett…. He shied away from that thought again. I'll start with the easy one. Talk to Alexis.


Kate glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 4pm. She frowned at it accusingly, now it had brought her the unhappy confirmation that Castle wouldn't be dropping by today. His meeting with Paula had been less than ten minutes walk from the precinct, if he'd been planning on making an appearance, he would have by now.

She'd been cooped up at her desk all day, doing paperwork on their last case, and tying up a few other loose ends. And she was going stir crazy. She must have glanced at her phone a thousand times, her hand reaching for it, ready to hit speed dial 1 and call him. Each time, she'd resisted, berating herself for being so silly. What was she going to say? 'I miss you, come around and distract me from my boredom'? They'd both know that he had no real reason to be there, and she couldn't face him realising just how important he was to her. He'd never let me live it down, of course, she reasoned, even only as someone who lightens my day, makes the dull monotony of staring at a computer screen easier to cope with.

Dinner with Tom hadn't gone particularly well last night. She'd been distracted and laconic, turning things over and over in her head. Of course, Tom had picked up on her discomfort, as he usually did. He was sensitive, and always responded to her dour moods by backing off and letting her stew in peace. She couldn't help thinking, though, that what she'd needed was someone who would do the opposite. Someone who would make a joke, draw her out of her funk and make her smile. Letting out a low, frustrated noise, she headed for the break room. Castle's coffee, that's what she needed right now. She'd been trying to limit her consumption today, as the last thing she needed was to be hopped up on caffeine on a day when there was nothing to do and nowhere to go.

"Hey, Beckett, " Esposito was sitting in the break room, feet up, reading the newspaper. "Castle still a no-show, huh? You think he got a better offer en route to the precinct?" He glanced up, clearly noting her poisonous glare, but ignoring it completely. "Some pretty young thing, wanting an autograph, maybe get a drink, and before you know it…"

"Is your mouth flapping for a particular reason, Esposito?" She cut him off, not in the mood for him yanking her chain today. "Or are you just looking to book yourself a month of night shifts?"

He smirked at her, totally unrepentant, "Just wondering where he is, that's all. It's not like him to no-show completely, unless something happened." He paused, and peered at her, feigning innocent concern, "Did something happen?"

Kate didn't bother answering, and simply turned her back on him. She needed to concentrate on making her coffee, after all.

She could still feel his eyes on her, and felt the colour rising in her cheeks. Spinning around, she declared "Nothing happened, ok? Nothing at all. And nothing's going to happen. In case you haven't noticed, I'm currently dating a perfectly lovely Robbery Detective. Why would I want anything to do with Richard Castle?"

"Why indeed?" Esposito countered mildly. He jumped lightly to his feet, dropping the paper on the table. "I think I hear Ryan calling me. He's been pondering whether to keep Ray Rice in his fantasy football team for at least the last hour. Maybe he finally made up his mind." He grinned at her, and cleared out of the room before Kate could respond, leaving her sputtering her disinterest in Castle to an open doorway.

Dammit, even when he's not here, he's getting under my skin. She shook her head, and looked to the heavens, hoping for some sort of divine intervention that might help her shake Richard Castle free from her thoughts.

Why hadn't he shown up today? She was quite sure that even Castle would never pick up some floozy in the middle of the day. What had his meeting been about? He had said it wasn't a big deal, but he'd been very vague about it, almost clandestine. What if it was bad news, of some sort? Surely he'd tell me. If it was related to Nikki Heat, I mean, he'd tell me. Wouldn't he?

Another, more unsettling thought came to her. What if he was avoiding her? He'd been upset last night, despite his best attempts to hide it. She knew him well enough to see through his bland manner, and she'd played poker with him often enough to know when he was bluffing. The thought upset her more than she would have ever assumed it would. She didn't want to hurt him, she knew that for sure. Now if she could only figure out a few more things, untangle the knot of conflicting emotions in her head and her heart. Just put it away, Katie, she said to herself, Wait until you get an opportunity to talk to him again, and hopefully you can clear up a few issues. One way or another.

One thing she was glad of today, she had no plans to meet Tom tonight. She wasn't being fair to him, but the idea of making polite, friendly conversation seemed beyond her just now. Her only plans for the evening involved a hot bubble bath, a glass of wine, and a good book. Kate idly wondered which one she'd pick.


So, I think I'm going to follow this format for much of the story. Alternating between Castle and Beckett's POV, and trying to fit a scene each into every chapter. A few other characters may get a look in somewhere down the line. Again, please review.