Co-authored by kimmiesjoy and demuredemeanor.
Chapter Three.
Well she walks like a model and she talks like a trucker,
Doesn't wanna' lollipop but she sure loves a sucker.
She still has the glass bottle in her hand, the beads of condensation making it difficult to grip.
She's sweating, her hands clammy from the heat of the bar.
Kate hears the door open and her eyes dart towards the sound, the bar is packed and it's hard to make out anything useful. The new comer moves and she can just make out his shoes.
Castles shoes, she pushes the pathetic-ness of knowing what shoes the man wears out of her head as she tries to concentrate and catch a proper glimpse of the new arrival, after all it could be their guy.
But now Castle is in her head.
She misses him.
Even though it's only been a few days, he's her partner, her friend, her...
Whatever he is.
The man she's spent the last ninety-six hours really wanting to talk to.
She decides immediately the newcomer isn't their guy and leans into Espo to murmur that he doesn't need to bother shuffling her on the bar, making a show of getting repositioned.
She can stay focused on the man over his other shoulder.
The target.
Then her plan gets trampled over completely by those shiny Castley shoes because out of the corner of her eye, she spots him, the partner she's been missing too much, and she growls.
"Shit." Her hand tightens on Espositos shoulder where it had fallen when he lifted her.
She grips the glass, her efforts futile as it slides, she almost drops it and to an onlooker she looks too drunk.
Good.
That's probably all that's right with this situation at the moment.
"Problem?" Esposito asks, his voice a breath not even Ryan can hear. He's so attuned to her, tensing with her.
She's a quarter of the equation that makes up their team, she's his friend, and his partner and the minute she stiffens and starts cursing he knows it's go time.
Prepared and ready.
He lifts his hand from the bar and before she can manage to speak he's sliding it into his jacket. Seeking the only gun they'd dared bring with them.
Her voice is gruff, edgy when she speaks. "Castle."
Esposito's head snaps up, eyes finding hers and mirroring her own feelings, anger, confusion but mainly anxiety.
The man must have a death wish.
A lack of self preservation so strong that it draws him into places like this, into the middle of her undercover Op without even knowing how much danger he's in.
That or he's drawn to...Esposito eyes Kate as the thought sinks in, yeah moth to a flame.
Kate can't think straight. If she doesn't act fast, this will spiral rapidly, a vicious downward path none of them will emerge from.
Kate tilts her head to one side, letting her loose hair fall forwards, effectively hiding both her and Esposito, a barrier to stop him seeing them until they can make their escape.
They're teetering dangerously close to blowing their already paper thin cover.
Damn it.
Kate still has the glass bottle in her hand, the shared bottle of tequila that she and Espo were swigging from.
Only it's not tequila, it's water and all it serves as now is an icy reminder of the reality of the situation and she has to ditch it fast because Castle is moving again.
"Anything." Espo asks his fingers idle at her waist.
Kate glances, not convinced she wont look up straight into Castles eyes when she does, she shakes her head, not trusting her voice at the moment.
Crap.
The man is a fool. She shakes her head again, in annoyance, in disbelief, he's making for the bar, sitting less than three seats away, basically next to Ryan.
"Leverage?" Esposito doing his job, keeping her focused and Kate checks over his shoulder again.
Their guy is on the move so she grips tight to the Detectives shoulder and nods, a fast bob of her head, before he grabs her and she fakes a laugh, a drunken bar-slut giggle, then placing her boot on his thigh, she heaves her self up and scans the room...
Ha!
Kate Slaps her hand on the bar shelf in triumph.
Got him!
By the pool table, surrounding himself in a mixed group, ample cover, with jugs of beer and bottles littering the tables they claim, is Logan, his eyes flitting around as he takes in the bar, observing, with his group, but apart.
Shifty and suspicious looking as he watches the door.
Kate smiles, target re-acquired.
She lands, Espos hands on her waist as her feet hit the floor and she looks up straight into Castles face.
She can tell by his eyes, reading the hurt that registers within them, that he has taken in too much of what he saw and believed it.
Castle has seen everything and given in to his imagination.
He knows Javi well enough and he should damn well know her better than the way he's looking at them both.
He's burning up with it.
Jealousy.
Rage.
Castle looks like he's about to launch himself at Esposito. But as much Castle would have his heart in the right place, he looks like a bull in a china shop, swaying with the force of his feelings, one hand raised as he points, the other a fist clenched at his side.
He looks wild with it, the need and-
Not now.
Kate steps between them, shoves Castle and watches as his eyes snap to her, (wow the man really is a fool) bright and fiercely protective, his dilated pupils betray a possessiveness that Kate has never witnessed before, he seethes, actually exhales the flames of his anger through his clenched teeth as he stares her down.
She lets him step around her, stupidly, as her eyes flit to the bartender, a rough ape of a man who is suddenly wielding a bat. Kate's cop instincts kick in and she reaches behind her, her fingers falling to the space where her holster normally rests.
Only she doesn't have it, of course not.
A police issue side arm in a holster on her back would be a dead give away, she might as well have kicked the door down wearing her pant suit and flashing her badge.
A hand reaches for her from behind, catches at her groping fingers, stopping Kate from giving herself away as she searches for the non-existent weapon. She turns knowing it's Esposito backing her up, but Castle knocks his hand away again, what the hell is wrong with him?
"Don't touch her." he growls. The dark, commanding tone of his voice sets fire to her veins, leaves flames licking their way up her legs, but anger is raging in her head.
Kate can see the shift in body language, watching the men and knows Esposito will take a lot but the man isn't a push over and Castle seems to have come here tonight hell bent on finding trouble to ease his visible frustration.
"Bro, what is your problem?" Esposito barks shoving Castle back, a little male pride and ego, a little tit for tat.
Kate makes a noise of annoyance and moves to step between the two men, end this before it gets completely out of hand.
It's really pissing her off, but just as Kate steps forwards, intending to be a little heavy handed herself , relieving some of her own frustration, there is a deafening crash from behind that has her whirling on the spot with her arms raised in defence.
Kate Takes up a protective stance in front of the two men, without even thinking about it as her head snaps to the bar.
The bartender stands, bat raised and his eyes narrowed, his skull tattoo ripples across his bicep as he lifts the bat again and brings it down heavily, loudly, on the bar, another resounding crash that startles a few of those close, but doesn't penetrate far enough into the din of the heavy atmosphere to stop the place dead.
Luckily.
"Take it outside before I make you take it outside." He thumps his meaty fist down next to the bat, a double threat in the wood and the bone that Kate sees for what it is.
The perfect opportunity.
"Good idea." She glances over her shoulder, curls her arm through Espositos and is reaching to do the same with Castle, desperately wanting to get them both outside, when the bartender, the one man meat mountain, barks at them again. "You two are fine, he didn't pay yet."
There is no way to avoid it, no way to drag him with them without arousing suspicion and they have to leave Castle to the mercies of the bartender.
Kate kicks at Ryan's stool as she stalks past him, catching the sly, barely there, nod of his head.
Ryan's got his back.
Reassured, she stomps to the side entrance, Esposito in her wake, Kate rams down the metal bar and the door pops open with an audible whoosh, smacking her in the face with a blast of cold city air as she barrels out into the night.
It means nothing because she's pissed off, barely feels it and her eyes dart back to the door as it closes.
Now she's worried.
"Grope me more next time Espo jeeze," she stalks around him in the alley, her anger burning like brilliant bright flames, she's not entirely sure who she is angry with now though.
Kate wants Castle out here too, safe where she can see him, where she can yell at him, pull him close, have him
near, scream at him for his stupidity.
His doubt.
"I had to make it look real." Esposito snickers, folding his arms across his chest.
It's the laughter that does it, and, not caring who she's angry at anymore, Kate smacks Esposito, hard, across the back of the head "Do not make me tell Lanie where you tried to stick your hand Espo, I am nowhere near as scary as that woman is."
Esposito rubs the back of his head frantically with his hand "Jeez Beckett. It was joke...you know I would never... I mean you and Castle are..."
"Her and Castle are what?"
The voice booms through the doorway as he appears and Kate glares at him, not a classic Beckett death stare, a whole other realm of anger in one look that blazes at him.
Him there in the doorway.
The true source of her frustration.
Her worry.
Kate clenches her fists at her side, nails digging into her palm, watching as Ryan finally appears behind him.
If Esposito doesn't answer Castle soon she's going to leave Ryan to pull them apart, turn away and not look back.
This is not what she signed up for.
She will happily abandon their tentative cover for the sake of her team.
Then she'd abandon them, leave them in this alley to hash it out while she goes home and draws herself a bath. Some normality amongst the drama, danger and madness. The warmth and comfort of home so much more alluring than a dank and dingy motel room.
Kate lifts her head and finds Castle staring at her, the weariness leaves her in a heartbeat when she finds his eyes in the darkened alley.
"Partners," Esposito offers lamely. His voice means nothing now, he and Ryan may as well not even be here as they watch the flow of charged energy, crackle like static, back and forth between the other two.
"Is that what we are?" Castle queries, his eyes anchored to hers, darkly drinking her in, his smirk not one of amusement or even flirtation.
Kate is grateful Esposito hasn't gone where they all thought he was going, where she and Castle are dancing around heading.
It would be too much to deal with now.
Hell its too much to deal with day to day, but at least in the sanctuary of her routine she can take steps to being with him. Having him.
Loving him.
She exhales heavily, puffs out her cheeks, not caring that the noise draws the attention of the men, not caring if it shows her exasperation.
She drags her eyes back to Esposito, no more death glares, she gives him a nod, the man deserves a break.
Castle is angry enough for the both of them.
It's like he thinks there's still some battle he has to fight, some war to wage and win as he convinces her there is no other love she should be searching for. He is in full body armour raging for nothing, because he has already won.
She's battled, fought, argued and convinced herself enough.
He just doesn't know it and that's Kates fault.
She cant work out how to tell him, how to show him...
"Yeah well..." She flicks her eyes back to Castle, finds him watching her. She doesn't have any more to offer, nothing else to contribute, his gaze burns her with the ferocity of feeling as he waits on her.
Again.
"Okay, we need to move this down the alley." Ryan, ever the voice of reason, ushers his partner away. The boys exchange hushed whispers as they disappear into the shadows, and both Castle and Kate catch the tail end as they leave. Something about 'giving them a minute and he'll be apologising'.
She smirks and he glares and that makes her angry, the feeling surfacing again, but no...no that's not enough.
She's livid. Furious with him and herself, mainly herself.
"Do you have any idea the level of danger you put us in?" she turns away, her hair wrapping itself around her face in a lethal swish, but she's too full of rage to stalk off and she turns back "The danger you put yourself in?" She opens her mouth, closes it again with a snap before anything can spill out against her will. She narrows her eyes at him, scrunches her lips against the curse that lurks behind them, at the edge of her tongue and does the only thing she can think of.
She pokes him.
Hard.
Every vibe, ever ounce of anger and frustration and worry she channels to the tip of her finger and jabs him with as much force as she can muster, right in the chest.
It hurts.
They both jump back as she shakes her finger and he rubs his chest with a whimper.
"Ow Beckett, jeez," Castle gasps as he rubs at what will eventually be a bruise.
The anger drops off with the sharp pain in her finger and instead she shakes her head "You and Esposito going at it in that bar could have ended badly Castle."
He hears the soft truth hidden in the words as she speaks. She was worried about him, about her team, and...hurt he doubted her?
"I know, Kate." He doesn't apologise, she doesn't expect him to and she doesn't need it, but the feeling is behind the words, laced with emotion.
She drops her hand.
He forges ahead.
"This place is competition for the Haunt. I was just sussing it out."
The fact he was missing her, feeling unneeded and hurt, goes unsaid. Like it always is, it's easier to skirt the issues and leave the real meanings to float in the depths of his eyes.
Kate can feel it though, every unsaid emotion that emanates from him, just as easily as he reads her. Something glides through the conversation, ebbs in the rhythm and flow, the nuance of their speech, each so attuned to the other that they pick it up without even having to try.
She knows what he is saying without words, but they still refuse to acknowledge it.
"Really?" Kate tries to sound like she cares about the competition, but she's questioning that he missed her, because she missed him...so much.
She steps closer.
"How was I meant to know you guys would be here? You could have told me, I could have helped."
This time he moves, steps forward so that they stand opposite each other, barely a breath apart.
"Secret mission Castle." She smiles at him but it's probably the most truthful thing that she has said in awhile, a simple acceptance about the rules she follows daily in her job, the ones she inflicts upon herself and the personal mission she is undertaking to be more than she is, for him.
Her hand raises as his drops, fingers reaching for each other at the same time, a reassuring touch so much easier than words, and suddenly they are clinging to each others arms.
The door behind them opens and she whirls on the spot, coming face to face with the bartender, still wielding his bat.
Castles hand tenses and he tries to pull her backwards, but the man speaks before he has a chance.
"Get your ass back in the bar Beckett. Your guy's on the move."