Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I still don't own castle.. If I did, it probably wouldn't be as good of a series that It is. I wouldn't of been able to think of Cuffed, Heartbreak Hotel, The Double Down (maybe that one ;) ), or even Under the Gun..
AN: Thank you all for the kind reviews; they make my day with a smile. I took the advice from one of you awesome peoples and put more space between the reading.
Kevin Ryan split the paperwork in his hands and handed part of it to Esposito for him to work on.
The detective continued to write on his part, neatly writing legibly as he always did. He flipped over a page and scanned over the next one.
Before he began on the fresh page, he turned his head to make sure that Alexis had found her dad. What Ryan saw was not what he expected.
"Hey bro, mom and dad are fightin' again," the blue eyed detective informed his partner.
Esposito looked up from his paper with a smirk. "20 bucks on Beckett."
Ryan shook his head and went back to his paperwork. "I don't care who's winning, I'd just like Castle to stay in the precinct. He helps close the cases faster sometimes."
"Whatever, Bro, I know you just want to stay on Castle's good side," Esposito chuckled, watching the writer and his muse fight.
Ryan returned to his papers as soon as Castle noticed his daughter was crouching by the break room door. It really was none of his business to watch what went on between the father and daughter... And between the author and detective.
Detective Ryan hoped that what he saw with Castle and Beckett wasn't a private matter. If it was, it would be quite awkward.. Why wasn't the door closed? If they didn't want anyone to hear their conversation, wouldn't they close the door?
Keeping that thought close in his mind, Kevin began to feel a little less guilty. He still felt guilty, just not as much as he did before.
Before he knew it, Alexis was walking past him with a goodnight call, "Talk to you later, Kevin!"
Kevin Ryan raised his hand in a goodbye and answered, "You too, Alexis, stay safe."
Esposito flashed the other detective a suspicious look. As soon as the elevator doors closed, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "'Kevin', really?"
"I just let her use my first name, it's no big deal," Ryan shrugged off Esposito's suspicion.
"Not a big deal? You two are already on a first name basis and you haven't even texted the girl!"
"She's been busy. I know you saw her talking with her dad, I just didn't want to interrupt anything."
"Whatever, Ryan. Whatever you say," Esposito sighed as he put the pen in his hand back to paper.
"Hey guys, you got the paperwork?" Kate Beckett asked, her voice unusually cheerful. This was definitely something the detectives didn't hear a lot during work hours.
Ryan turned in his chair, the wheels of the chair rolling against the hard wood floor as he did so. It was then, when Ryan was handing Kate her paperwork that he noticed something different.
Beckett's eyes were glowing as if she were actually happy. She had a smudge of lipstick off to the side of her face, and it looked reapplied to her lips. The last thing Ryan saw was that Kate was standing strangely close to Castle, or was it that Castle was standing close to her? Anyway, they were standing closer than they often did. Usually when they stood next to each other, they would stand a distance away, other times, their shoulders or arms would almost touch. This time, they were standing arm to arm. Kevin glanced down at the pair's hands. Nope, not holding.
Ryan switched his gaze back up to the detective's face and handed her a stapled packet of paper. She took it with a nod and stepped back over to her desk.
"Espo, did you see Beckett and Castle?"
Esposito nodded eagerly, grinning so widely that his smile could've fallen from his face.
"Yeah, of course I did!" He pulled out his phone and pressed one of the speed dial buttons. "Gotta call Lanie, I'm not going to let this one slip. Hey Chica, you're not going to believe what I just saw..."
Ryan took advantage of this moment to pull his phone from his pocket and put Alexis's number in his contact list. With that taken care of, he sent her a quick text. Before he flipped it closed, he got a text from Castle. Ryan opened the message and it read: Thanks for keeping it a secret, I owe you.
It must've meant Johanna Beckett's murder case of course.. Castle had told Ryan that he was working on it behind Beckett's back, and not to tell her. So he kept that promise, even though he wanted to tell her badly.
Detectives don't keep secrets from each other.. Except for some that may have to.
***
"look, Kate, like I said, I'm sorry. For keeping this a secret from you, for disobeying your trust in me. For everything I did wrong to hurt you, I'm sorry," Richard Castle apologized over and over again.
Kate Beckett looked up at her friend, partner, her always.
"Rick," she murmured quietly, purposely avoiding his gaze.
"I also have kept something from you..." She paused, instantly regretting what she said. To tell the truth, she was scared, and she knew it. She was scared of losing Castle as her friend and partner.
"I remember." That's all it took to get Castle's undivided attention span of a cocker spaniel.
"You... You remember?" He was slowly inching toward her.
"I remember Montgomery's funeral. My shooting. Everything." Her face was down and eyes were glued to the ground.
"Kate... Look at me," Castle told Beckett quietly. When she didn't lift up her head, Castle placed one of his hands under her chin and pulled it up slightly.
"That's better," he murmured, brushing a loose piece of hair off her face with his thumb. "You remember... Everything?"
Kate Beckett nodded slowly, eventually bringing her green-brown eyes to Castle's sapphire blue ones. "I remember what you said, what happened, everything."
Castle wanted to jump away and do a fist pump in the air. He knew Beckett was hiding that! When he asked her one time on their way to meet a dead body, he knew there had to be a reason why she responded so quickly.
They continued to look at each other for awhile, green meeting blue, and Castle's hand still under her chin.
"Why did you keep it from me?"
"The same reason you didn't tell me that you were working on my mother's case. I want you to continue to be my friend.. My partner.. I was scared that if I told you, you would get mad, run off, and I would never see you again."
"Kate, you know I could never do that... I'll always be there for you. Always."
It was that one word that always made Beckett's heart burst with happiness. 'Always'. It meant so much if said at the right time by the right person.
"Thank you," she managed to choke out, biting back tears of happiness and relief.
Castle brought his arms around her in a loving hug. He let her rest her head on his shoulder and he swayed gently. If Beckett didn't have her heels on, she probably would've had to let her head lean on his chest, but she had them on.
Castle released her from his embrace, but he continued to hold her shoulders in his hands. "Just warning you, I'm going to have to kiss you know," he informed her quietly, his tone of voice barely above a whisper.
He leaned in slowly and waited a couple of moments while they were nose to nose. He was willing to let her back off if she wanted, but she didn't.
Castle kissed her lips gently, covering hers with his own. It was soft and slow, but had all the passion in it one could wish for.
Kate responded after a few moments and took control. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She released a contented sigh, smiling as they parted and rested their foreheads against one another's.
Castle kissed Beckett a few more times from the corner of her lips, over her jaw and stopped at her ear.
"That was amazing," He whispered. He really meant it this time and didn't try to cover it up with a 'the way you knocked that guy out'.
Kate Beckett couldn't help from laughing a couple times. She grinned at Castle, her eyes sparkling with pride and admiration.
"It was. You are amazing," She responded, turning her head and giving him a peck on the nose. She took her arms from around the author's neck and beckoned him to follow.
"I've gotta do paperwork, you coming?"
**
"Grams!" Alexis greeted her grandmother as she walked through the door. She grinned from ear-to-ear and threw her arms around her in a hug.
"Good to see you, kiddo," Martha responded, returning the embrace without hesitation. "did the porcupine prick you with too many needles?"
Alexis laughed and released her hold on Martha Rodgers. "That's pretty much what happened. Grams, she drives me crazy and I just wanted to say hi because it was my birthday."
"I know, and I'm sure it was good to see her again, even if she drives you insane."
"I know," Alexis sighed. "What have you been up to lately, or do I not want to know?"
"Oh, the same old things I've always done. My career on the big screen (or theatre)." Martha looked over at her grand-daughter. "Is that too terrible for thine ears to hear?"
"No, it's okay. Much better than I thought you might say, but you wouldn't say things like that in front of me. At least I wouldn't think so," Alexis replied. A beep on her phone went off, and she took the mobile device from her purse.
She looked at her phone and opened the text message she got. It read:
Hey Alexis, finishing up this case's paperwork. I'll be free soon.
Kevin Ryan
Alexis flipped open her phone and began to text a return message.
Hey Detective Ryan (Kevin)! I don't really want to be cooped up in my room all day. How about I meet you for lunch when you finished your paperwork?
Moments later, Alexis got another text.
Sure, I'll meet you outside of Castle's loft, erm, where you are now.
P.S. Just call me Kevin ;)
