Feb. 9, 2012
While standing by the murder board with Ryan and Esposito, Kate couldn't help watching the elevator, waiting for Castle. They had gotten so busy yesterday that she didn't get a chance to talk to him again before her shift was over. Then he left without saying goodbye while she was across the room putting away a file. They always walked out together and as she had stood in the elevator alone, a wave of anger had washed over her. Not at him. At herself. She couldn't believe she had turned him down. It was just that he had taken her by surprise and she had reacted without taking time to think.
Of course, she shouldn't have been surprised. Although Castle had been great, waiting while she worked through her issues, she could tell that he was getting impatient and she had figured that it was only a matter of time before he got tired of waiting and made a move. In fact, there had been several times recently that he would just stare into her eyes, and she thought for sure he was going to act on the feelings she saw written all over his face. At those times, her heart would race and her stomach would do a little flip flop of anticipation. She always felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when he would finally look away, the moment gone. At first relief over-shadowed everything, her fear still getting the better of her. But as time went on, the fear slowly faded until she was left feeling the most incredible feeling when he would lock his eyes on hers. Then when he finally asked her out, what did she do? She panicked, reverting back to her old defense mechanisms as if nothing had changed. But things had changed, and she had spent the rest of the day waiting to tell him so. But she had waited too long.
So here she was, pretending to listen as Ryan filled them in on what he knew about their latest case, when all she could really think about was Castle. She had just looked down to check her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes, when she heard the elevator arrive. She smiled when the doors opened and she saw him.
"Umm, Ryan, can you go and pull our vics financials? Maybe you'll find something that will give us a lead." She had already turned back towards Castle or she would have seen the look of confusion on Ryan's face.
"But I just told you that..."
"Yo, Ryan," Esposito interrupted. "Can't you take a hint? Let's go 'run those financials' and give those two some space. Geez, and you call yourself a detective?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny," Ryan muttered as he followed Esposito away from the board.
"Hey Castle," she said as he walked up.
"Morning." He set her coffee cup on the table. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, but she could tell it was strained, an indication that he was hurt by the way she had acted the day before.
Wiping her suddenly moist palms on her pants, she said, "Listen, about yesterday-"
Before she could finish her sentence, his phone rang. She sighed in frustration as he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, stepping away from her as he did.
"Hey Casey! I guess you got my message. How are you?" After a minute, obviously listening to her response, he said, "I know it's kind of short notice, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me next Tuesday." He paused, waiting for an answer. Kate found herself holding her breath as she waited as well. "Of course I know that it's Valentine's Day." Her heart sunk at his smile. "Okay. That's great! I'll get the reservations." Another pause. "This Saturday night? Absolutely. Do you still live on Cain? Okay, then I'll pick you up around 8:00. See you soon."
Kate quickly turned away as he hung up, staring hard at the board pretending she didn't hear what she had just heard. It took everything she had in her to keep her face neutral when inside she was crumbling. This situation took her back to the time when he had asked her to go with him to the Hamptons. She had told him no then as well, and later changed her mind only to find out he had made new plans with his ex-wife. It had hurt then, but nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The pain was so intense that she ended up excusing herself to the bathroom, needing a few minutes alone to compose herself.
He watched her walk away with mixed feelings. He knew she had to have overheard his conversation. The fact that Casey had called right as he started to talk to Kate was pure coincidence. Not wanting to play games with her, he hadn't intended to tell her about his date, but a part of him couldn't help but be secretly pleased that she had overheard it. Maybe knowing he was going out with another woman was just the nudge she needed to think about what she wanted, and hopefully what she wanted was him.