"I've got it!" I exclaimed, my head popping up as I said so.
"Shhh!" Beckett warned, "We could be being watched!"
"Right. Sorry." I whispered back to her.
"So what's the plan?" She whispered back.
"Put your hand in my pocket and…"
"No, Castle!" She interjected, her irritation obvious in her voice. "I'll do many things but that is where I draw the line." She informed me sternly.
"Well if you let me finish I would have asked you to pull my phone out of my pocket." I clarified.
"Oh." She mumbled.
"Now what have we learnt today?" I patronized and if given the chance I would have placed my hands on my hips and lent over her slightly in a mocking way that a teacher does to a small child.
"To listen to all of the statement before… You know what; I don't have to listen to this. In case you haven't noticed, we're still locked up in here!" Her voice getting louder in volume as she continued the statement.
"I know, I know." I assured her, trying to calm her down. I could tell she was in no mood for my stupidity and that she was on the verge of becoming irate. "But if you take it out of my pocket and hold it for me, I might be able to call Ryan and Esposito for some help." She seemed to think about it for a few minutes, given her silence, before replying;
"Ok." Beckett wriggled her hands over into my pocket, her fingers brushing softly against my leg, making me laugh.
"What?" She asked, stopping.
"It tickles." I chuckled. I saw her roll her eyes out of the corners of my own and edged myself further back in my seat to help her reach it. Once she grasped it and began pulling it out slowly, I looked over my shoulder and got a small glimpse of the screen. I slid my finger across the screen and pressed the 'Emergency Call' button. A number pad popped up and I dilled the precinct. I quickly pressed the 'Speaker' button and listened as it rang.
"Ryan." He answered.
"Ryan, It's Castle."
"What's the matter this time?"
"This time? What do you mean this… That's not the point. Remember the bust location Beckett and I went to?"
"Yeah, why?"
"We're kinda tied up in the warehouse."
"Is Beckett with you?" He asked nervously.
"Yeah, I'm here." Said Beckett, turning her head towards the phone in her hands behind her. "We're tied up in the middle of the warehouse.
"Alright. I'll get Esposito and we'll come get you. Just say where you are and make sure you don't so anything stupid."
"I'll make sure she doesn't" I added cockily.
"I was talking about you, Castle." He said as he hung up and after it sunk in, I frowned as I exclaimed;
"Oh, that's mean!"
"Calm down Castle. He was only joking. For the most part anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I yelled in outrage.
"Castle!" She raised her voice, but not too loud if anyone was listening.
"Sorry." I whispered again, a slight hint of irritation evident in my voice as to my surprise, it made Beckett do a double take. "Sorry." I apologized sincerely as I gently took one of her hands in mine. "I didn't mean to sound so rude." Beckett was silent for a change which surprised me immensely and she seemed to be doing everything to avoid my eyes.
"Are you alright?" I asked, turning my head around as far as it would allow to try and look her in her beautiful jade eyes. But she just moved her head further away from my line of sight.
"I'm fine Castle." She replied softly. I was surprised that she made no move to remove her hand from mine as we sat there. I slowly twisted my hand in her and gently interlaced my fingers with hers, just waiting for her to pull her hand away forceful and say her usual little Beckett quip.
But it never came. In fact, if anything, she held onto my hand harder. I squeezed back, trying to reassure her that whatever it was that was bothering her, it would be alright.
It was like when Alexis was little and she would come into my room and gently push me on the shoulder and waited for me to roll over.
"I had a bad dream." She would tell me while she wiped the sleep out of her eyes with her tiny fist.
"Come here sweetie." I'd tell her, opening my arms wide and pulling back the covers to let her climb in and sleep next to me. I would wrap my arms around her and hold her in close to my chest and she would snuggle in close to me. It would usually vary in time but on average, it would take around ten to fifteen minutes and she would be sleeping happily in my bed. When I was sure that she was asleep, I would pick her up and carry her to her room and out her back in her bed where she would stay for the rest of the night.
This continued for a couple of years until she was about ten years old. And every time she came in, I would wait until she fell asleep and then I would pick her up and put her back in bed.
And this is what I had to do now. Be there while I was needed and move on when I was no longer needed.
"Here's your phone back." Beckett informed me as she carefully slipped it back into my pocket.
"Thank you." I murmured sincerely. I saw a small smile spread into the corners of her lips, which was Beckett for, 'you're welcome'.
Suddenly the door smashed open and Ryan and Esposito came running in, guns drawn.
"Over here guys." I called to them. Ryan holstered his gun and walked over to us, fiddling around with his utilities on his belt, trying to find the knife while Esposito covered him. His eyes seemed to drift down from his belt to our hands which, I forgot, were still interlaced.
"Am I interrupting something?" He raised an eyebrow. Suddenly Beckett ripped her hand away from mine, but it was too late.
He had seen.
He pulled out his knife from his belt and cut the ropes that bound our hands together and our legs to the chairs. Beckett rubbed her red wrists and stood up.
"So what information could you gather?" She asked.
"Not much." Replied Esposito. "They're basically invisible. No boat licenses, no names. Nothing. They're aliens." Beckett furrowed her brow in a mixture of confusion and irritation. I stood up from my hair, rubbing my red wrists as I did so and came to stand next to her and listened into their conversation.
"Well if we find the boat, we find the owners and if we find the owners, we shut down the business."
"That's a good plan." Added Ryan.
"But there is a problem with that plan. How do we know which boat's theirs?" Interjected Beckett. We began walking out of the warehouse when I, again, felt the cool metal of a gun barrel press against the back of my head.
"I believe you're looking for me." He whispered in my ear.
