Previously...
If Lanie hadn't seen it, she wouldn't have believed it. Castle just up and left Kate in the middle of a crime scene. She was dying to know what was going on. "Just what's going on between the two of you, girl?" she asked Kate.
Esposito smiled and elbowed Ryan. "Looks like mom and dad are fighting again." Ryan smirked. Esposito was just happy that Lanie was picking on Kate instead of him for once.
As for Kate, she just continued to stand there…
Castle was able to hail a cab quickly, and before he knew it, he found himself completely removed from the crime scene. Simply put, he was fed up and angry. He had spent the better part of four years shadowing Kate, becoming her partner, her best friend, her… Who was he kidding? He didn't even know what the hell this was anymore. He did know that he was a slave to her every beck and call for the past four years. Countless times, he had brought her coffee. Hell, countless times he had saved her life. And how did she respond to that? She shut him out again. She expected him to stand on the sideline like a faithful puppy dog and watch while she got herself killed. Well, enough was enough. He wasn't going to do it. How could she expect him to? He remembered scrubbing her blood from his hands at the hospital after she had been shot. The thought of it sickened him all over again. Then, he remembered that crime scene. His stomach turned. There was no way in hell she was going to make him find her in a pool of her own blood, dead, and with her heart ripped from her body. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't survive it. He could still remember how excruciating it was when she didn't call him for three months after she was shot. Damn her anyway!
When he finally made it back to his loft, he slammed the door, and leaned his head back against it. He stood there for a minute, while contemplating what he should do next. A vase on a nearby shelf caught his eye. The silk magic flowers she surprised him after the Drake case were nestled safely inside of it. Without thinking, he grabbed the vase and threw it across the room at the fireplace. It smashed into hundreds of tiny little pieces, and the flowers within it fell silently to the floor. He glanced at what he had done for a moment, and then he went directly to his study and slammed the door to it as well. He opened his laptop and stared angrily at it. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen minutes passed. He would write. He wouldn't let her get to him. He even contemplated writing Nikki Heat off, as being murdered in a dark back alley with her heart ripped out because she was too damned stubborn and obstinate for her own good. Finally, he got up and flipped on the stereo as a diversion.
Alexis must have been listening to her music on his stereo because he didn't recognize it at first. He listened to a few songs, and then realized the music sounded a lot like that damned uncomfortable song playing on Kate's car radio earlier. As he started to calm down, the lyrics to one of the songs caught his attention.
I feel like I'm drowning in ice water.
My lips have turned a shade of blue.
I'm frozen in with this fear,
That you may disappear,
Before I've given you the truth
I bleed my heart out on this paper for you.
So you can see what I can't say.
I'm dyin' here (I'm dyin' here),
Cuz I can't say what I want to.
I bleed my heart out just for you.
As he listened, the song seemed to be a reflection of his life. He might not be lying in an alley with his heart ripped out like the guy today, but he might as well be. Nikki Heat existed for a reason.
I've always dreamed about this moment.
And now it's here and I turned to stone.
I stand here petrified,
As I look in your eyes.
My head is ready to explode.
He remembered how good her lips felt when he pulled her into the kiss that saved Ryan and Esposito. She kissed him back just as fiercely as he had kissed her.
I bleed my heart out on this paper for you.
So you can see what I can't say.
I'm dyin' here,
Cuz i can't say what I want to.
I bleed my heart out just for you.
It's all here in black and white and red.
For all those times those words were never said.
I bleed my heart out on this paper for you.
So you can see what I can't say.
I'm dyin' here,
Cuz i can't say what I want to.
I bleed my heart out just for you.
I bleed my heart out just for you.
When the song was over, he got up and flipped the stereo off. Even though he had calmed down considerably, there was still some residual anger left. He didn't know where they stood, but he did know he was tired of being shut out. Kate was different than most of the women he knew. She was stubborn, headstrong, intelligent, willful, and most of all-dangerous. She was certainly a handful and one of the most tantalizing mysteries he had ever come across. He knew he couldn't let this obstinate woman go out there without him, her partner, and get herself killed, but he also knew he couldn't stand idly by and do nothing but watch. Things were complicated.
He finally shut his laptop and left his study. His mother and Alexis would be back later, and he didn't want them to see the broken remnants of the vase. As he was almost done cleaning up the glass, a stray piece caught the bottom of his hand and cut it. Even though it was deep, he didn't figure it would need stitches. He ran some cold water over it for awhile and haphazardly put on a couple of Band-Aids. He was in a hurry to fix supper. To that end, he put some ACDC on the stereo and started chopping tomatoes for his famous spaghetti. Thoughts of Kate would have to wait until later.
Meanwhile, back at the precinct, Kate was faring no better. After standing in the alley for what seemed like forever, she told the guys she would see them back at the precinct and indignantly walked back to her car. She slammed her car door getting in and slammed it again, while getting out at the precinct. She was so annoyed that she didn't even remember the drive. After she got off the elevator, she tried to get a cup of coffee, but the espresso machine wouldn't work right and burnt her hand. "Castle and his damned espresso machine," she muttered under her breath. She finally settled on a soda from the vending machine.
Esposito and Ryan tried to steer clear of Beckett as much as possible. They realized that an angry Beckett was a dangerous Beckett. Even though she barked orders at them for the rest of the day, they didn't come up with any concrete leads on the murder case. She ended up brooding over the murder board for over an hour, and then dug back into paperwork again. Even though she tried to turn her focus on the paperwork at hand, Castle kept invading her thoughts. She was a detective. It was her job to catch killers. Who was Castle to try to get her to turn her back and walk away from a case? It wasn't as if they were romantically involved. Before her shooting, he was the one who evaded answering her about what they were when she confronted him. I mean, one minute he was asking her to the Hamptons, and the next he was taking his ex-wife instead. Rick Castle was just a rich playboy. God, how he drove her to the edge of madness! Always underfoot. Always cocky. Always the smartass. Even he had admitted that much. She glanced over at his empty chair. What got to her the most was how he left her. He just left her standing there at the crime scene. She had endured a lot from him over the past four years, but walking away from her like that was the last straw.
She was so immersed in her own thoughts of ways to slowly torture Rick Castle that she didn't see Esposito walk over to her desk. "We're wrapping up and heading home. Maybe you should think about doing the same," he said gently. He knew it was a bold statement, but he hated to see her stewing like that for another couple of hours.
"I have a lot of work to do," she grumbled.
Esposito's brotherly instincts kicked in. "You know, he came in here every day for weeks after you were shot. He wouldn't let us give up. Kept on pushing us, driving us. I know how annoying he can be, but it's only because he worries about you. Hell, the man brings you coffee. You don't see him bringing me coffee."
Kate looked up. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not working. He's an arrogant, egotistical ass."
"And that arrogant, egotistical ass is your partner, like it or not," Esposito replied as he started walking away. "Like I said, go home."
After he left, Kate tried to immerse herself in paperwork again, but her eyes kept wandering back to the empty chair beside her desk. She thought of him coming in for weeks, while she never called. Guilt started to seep into her anger, slowly melting it away. Then, a fierce sense of possessiveness took over. Esposito was right. He was her partner. And like it or not, partners stood by each other and always had each other's backs. Always. Partners did not leave each other standing alone in an alley at a crime scene. He owed her more than that, and she was ready to collect.
It was about 5PM when she found herself standing boldly in front of Castle's door. She knocked three times, but he didn't answer. She was so consumed in her own thoughts, that she hadn't noticed the loud music, until now. With the music blaring that loud, he would never be able to hear her. Maybe he intended it to be that way. Maybe he didn't want to be disturbed. She hesitated and thought about leaving, but then she took out the spare key he had given her to his apartment. In case of emergency, they both had exchanged a spare key to each other's apartments. Since he wasn't answering the door, she reasoned it was her responsibility, as his partner, to make sure he was okay.
She quietly opened the door and stood in silent surprise at what she saw. There he was, chopping tomatoes, boiling water, and engrossed in making dinner. ACDC was blasting in the background. He turned to stir the boiling water and strummed his ladle, like a guitar. She observed that he had a couple of Band-aids sloppily applied to his hand. He seemed to squint in pain as he returned to chopping the tomatoes. As she started to move towards him, he glanced up, saw her, and jumped. "Kate, what the hell are you doing here?"
She immediately noticed that he called her by her first name again, which sent a small shiver up her spine. "I…uh…We need to talk." She looked into his bold blue eyes, trying to gauge his emotions.
Any residual feelings of anger vanished as he met her glance. She had the most amazing hazel eyes. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. I have a knife," he smirked.
"And I've got a gun. I knocked, but you had your music up so loud that you didn't hear me, so I let myself in. What happened to your hand? Have a run in with that knife of yours?"
"Something like that."
"God, Castle, you shouldn't be chopping tomatoes with it like that. You're going to get it infected. Let me see that." She walked over to him and gently grabbed his hand.
Her touch ignited a special warmth in his hand. "Band-aids, really?" she rolled her eyes as she removed them. She caught her breath. The cut was deep. He probably could use a stitch or two. "Castle, this is deep. C'mon, we need to take care of this." She effortlessly led him into his bathroom. "Do you have some gauze and infection cream?"
"I think I have some in the medicine cabinet." He fumbled around and grabbed both of the requested items. She softly took his hand again and gently cleansed the cut it in the sink. She noticed how masculine his hand was. This was the same hand he placed on her neck when he had kissed her, and the same hand that held her side when she was shot. She wondered what it would feel like to have his hand touch her again. She quickly pushed those thoughts aside and gently began bandaging it.
Her soft touch made it feel like his hand was on fire. He studied her as she concentrated on wrapping his hand. Kate was so beautiful. Maybe it was the way her chestnut hair hung in loose curls around her small face. Maybe it was the adorable way she furrowed her brows as she contemplated how to wrap his hand. And then he knew. She finished with his hand and looked up into his eyes. It was her eyes. They were an intense mixture of green and brown, with a deepness in them that he couldn't fathom. They were both mysterious and sad, and he couldn't help but wonder if there was passion hidden deep within their depths. Untamed passion. He instinctively leaned his head down to her earlobe, while trailing his fingers along her collarbone. His breath was hot on her neck. He lightly brushed his lips just below her earlobe and whispered, "Thank you."
Her gasp echoed through the room. She quickly pulled back. The unexpected contact shocked them both. She looked up, and the emotions in her alluring eyes left him spellbound. He started to wonder what it would be like to... "Are you hungry," he quickly spilled out.
She couldn't believe he just changed the subject. She hesitated and then said, "Sure." Oddly, she felt a little let down as she followed him back into the kitchen.
They both worked together to finish dinner. Rick cooked the pasta and added the sauce and the meatballs, while Kate put together the salad. Finally, they sat down and started eating. They were both careful to avoid talking about what happened in the bathroom.
Kate was the first one to speak. "So, we didn't come up with any concrete leads on the murder case. If you would have been there, maybe you could've seen something that we didn't."
"I had something to do," Rick murmered.
"Rick, I know why you left. You don't want to see me get hurt. I get that. But you need to understand that this is my job. The creep who killed this guy needs to be off the streets." Then she added softly, "I promise I'll be careful."
It didn't escape Rick's notice that she had used his first name. She rarely did that, and it made his breath catch in his throat. She also had made him a promise. Most importantly, she was letting him in. "I'm your partner. It's my job to have your back."
"You will. I'll be wearing a wire. You'll be close by watching and listening. If there's any sign of trouble, you and the boys will be right there."
"And you won't take any unecessary risks? You'll pull out if the stakes get too high?"
"I promise, but only if you promise to rescue me the way I rescued you when you were with the Russians," she smiled suggestively.
"No problem, but don't expect me to wear high heels," he smirked.
She smiled and hesitated before saying, "Are we okay?"
"Yeah, I think we are. I should clean up a bit before my mother and Alexis get home."
"I'll help." They started to straighten up the kitchen and put away their dishes. They didn't have much to say, as both were just content to be in each other's company, especially considering what had happened earlier that day.
Rick finished putting the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher. He stood up and turned slightly from being bent over. At the same time, Kate was walking past him and started to trip over his shoe. He caught her in his arms before she fell.
He heard her gasp and felt her body tensing. She felt his strong muscular arms envelope her. His arms made her feel safe and warm. The smell of his cologne surrounded her. She looked up at his tender blue eyes. She realized she could get lost in them. Then, she wondered...she innocently thought about what it would be like... Their faces were so close. She could feel his warm breath on her lips. It enticed her. If she moved her head just a little... Although she tried to stop herself, she brushed her lips lightly on his cheek. He caught her off guard when she felt his warm lips graze against her neck in return.
"Do you want me to kiss you, Kate?" he whispered, as he gently placed another kiss on her neck. A soft, small moan escaped from her lips. "Was that a yes?" She could feel his lips hesitate just above her chin, waiting for her reply. Her head was spinning out of control. "Say it," he commanded as his lips gently touched her chin. She couldn't say it. His lips moved closer to hers, and he playfully teased them by just barely touching his own lips to hers. "Say it," he commanded again, this time in a more husky voice. She knew if she didn't get out of his arms soon, she would say it. She yearned to taste his lips on her own, but the practical side of her brain told her to run, and she was trained to listen to the practical side of her brain.
They both heard voices, and the door to the loft opened. Kate jumped out of Rick's arms and took off out the door. Martha and Alexis just stood there as Kate buzzed past them in a whirlwind.
And Rick was left there standing...
So, our duo is finally starting to take small steps towards each other. I promise that the next chapter will find them even closer. The song for this chapter was "Bleed" by Hot Chelle Rae. I believe there is a Castle video of it on YouTube. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
