Author's notes: Sorry this part is a bit on the shorter side. I am planning on starting to post the questions in the next day or two. I was planning on working on a bunch of them today but then I got a call from the school about a sick kid. Then I had bunch of errands with a 4 year old in bright sun so then I got a headache. I dislike bright sunlight. So no writing. Will try to work on it tonight after kids and sun goes to bed.
Don't forget you can find me on Twitter. I have 20 followers now. Whoo hoo!
"Hey, thanks for fixing us lunch, Castle," Esposito said.
"I didn't," he said.
"But you fixed Beckett lunch," Ryan stated.
Rick and Kate both roll their eyes at the boys then walked away into the study. Neither missed Jenny asking just a bit too loud.
"Are you sure nothing happened between them?"
Rick didn't look at Kate and just walked to his desk, propped his feet up and pulled the laptop to his lap. Kate wandered around and looked at some of the books on the shelves. She wanted to read Heat Rises but she wasn't going to bring it up if he didn't. She did find a selection of books that surprised her. She turned to look at Rick, who wasn't typing, he was watching her.
"What are these?" she asked pointing to The Book of Questions and If Questions for the Game of Life.
"Oh, those are fun," he said as he put down the laptop and stood up to join her by the books. "If I ever get stuck, I pick up one of these and try to answer the questions as my characters would. It's a good writing exercise and a fun game with friends in any event."
"How do you use that for writing?"
"Okay. Imagine Rook and Heat are talking but then I hit a bit of a speed bump. I pull one of these out or look at the list I have on the computer and jump to a random question. Sometimes I can just use the question almost directly in the story other times, just the writing the answer will give me a bit more insight on the characters and then I'll know the answer."
"Give me an example."
"Okay," he said as he grabbed one book and flipped to a random page. "What is the strangest thing you've ever eaten?" Now, I can imagine that Nikki probably hasn't eaten too many totally off the wall things but Rook, definitely. He is a reporter who has been all over the world and seen lots of different cultures. This question could be a great conversation starter between the two of them when they are having dinner somewhere, maybe at a place that Rook chooses that is a bit out of Nikki's comfort zone."
"So Rick, what's the weirdest thing you've eaten?"
"I don't know, that could be anything from coffee jello to chocolate covered crickets. You?"
"Coffee jello?"
"Yeah, it's not nearly as good as it sounds," he shuddered in memory causing her to chuckle. "It looked like cold, sweaty liver."
"Ew. The weirdest thing I've eaten. You mean other than the cows foot stew?" He nodded. "Rattlesnake sausage."
"Seriously?" he asked and she nodded in return. "That's not too weird though."
"For a city girl like me?"
"True. Where did you get rattlesnake sausage?"
"During college, I went with my roommate to her parent's house and we went to this pizza place that had rattlesnake or alligator sausage."
"Louisiana or Texas?"
"It was in North Carolina actually. But it is a chain that has most of its stores in Louisiana."
"Wanna take a road trip?" he grinned.
"Sorry but they've changed their menu. They don't have the crazy stuff anymore, except for hotdogs."
"How are hot dogs an unusual thing for a menu?"
"Because it's a pizza topping not just a hot dog. They also have a spaghetti pizza."
"That place sounds fun," he said with a smile.
"When I was there, I looked at the menu and it had this long list of toppings organized in categories like cheeses, meats, and vegetables," she smiled at the look of confusion on his face. "I mean a long list of toppings. The one I remember the most was the beans category."
"Beans on a pizza?" he asked with a grimace. "What kind of beans?"
"Garbanzo, green beans, jelly beans, refried beans."
"Jelly beans on a pizza?" he asked with surprise.
"Yep. I heard that if you asked for a topping they would get it and put it on a pizza. Oreos and Captain Crunch were mentioned in one instance."
"I don't know if I should be intrigued or scared," he said with a smile.
"Says the inventor of the s'morlet."
"So what did the rattlesnake taste like?"
"Sausage. Same with the alligator. Nothing really special, the rattlesnake did seem pretty lean though."
"That's cool. That will have to go in the book, if you don't mind. Oh, speaking of the book, here is that copy I promised you. Sorry I didn't think to give it to you last night."
"That's okay," she said as she took the offered pages and went to sit down. Before she was able to get comfortable, the rest of the guys came in.
"So, Castle. I know you said we would have plenty to do but I wasn't counting on this rain," Esposito complained.
"What do you want me to do?" Castle asked.
"Entertain us," Ryan said.
"Well, it's not storming, you can always go for a swim."
"In the rain?" Lanie asked surprised.
"You'd get wet in the pool anyway," Castle replied with one quirked eyebrow. "Did you bring your swimsuit?"
"Yes," Lanie replied.
"How about you Beckett? Did you bring your suit? Is it a two-piece?" he asked not giving her a chance to answer.
"I thought you said you were going to be on your best behavior," she glared at him
"For me, this IS my best behavior," he leered at her causing her to roll her eyes at him.
"No, I'm not going swimming. How about 'The Book of Questions'?" Kate suggested.
"What's that?" Jenny asked.
x-x-x-x
After explaining the book and finding out that Lanie and Kate had both been to the same pizza chain, though Lanie preferred the crawfish on her pizza. They all settled around the living room with a stack of books around them all. Since he was the host to this little party, Castle picked up a book, flipped to a random page and read the question.
"What is your favorite sexual position?" He stopped in surprise once he realized what exactly he read. "Well, let's just put this book away and find some different questions."
"That might be more fun after a few drinks," Lanie suggested.
"How about this one," Ryan suggested. "What was the happiest moment of your life?"
"Kevin's proposal," Jenny said with a smile as she reached for his hand.
"When she said yes," Kevin said.
"I have some ideas but I can't really share them," Esposito said as he raised one eyebrow at Lanie. "But other than that, driving that Ferrari made me pretty happy."
"The day I graduated from medical school. My mom said I wouldn't be able to do it and I proved her wrong," Lanie said.
"I don't know," Kate said. "Maybe graduating from the Academy."
"The moment the doctor said, 'it's a girl.' Best. Moment. Ever." Castle said with a wide grin.