A/N: I loved the positive feedback I received on the last chapter. Thanks again to everyone who's reading! - A.
Previously:
As Kate headed back to her apartment, she bolt-locked the door and leaned back against it while she tried to steady her breathing. She didn't know what the hell she had stumbled into, but she suddenly had the feeling she was in way over her head.
Kate didn't know how much time had passed since she returned to her apartment. She was still standing against the door when her phone started ringing. With shaking hands, she set her gun down on the coffeetable and answered.
"Beckett, we've gotten another lead on the Bracken case," Stack's voice sounded over the line. "Can you come in this morning?"
"Yeah, I'll be there in 30."
Hanging up the phone, Kate moved to her bedroom and quickly dressed. Across town, Michaels's cell phone vibrated in his lap signaling an incoming text message: It's handled. You have one hour.
When Kate entered the tech floor 30 minutes later, she looked for Agent Daniels. Stack wasn't even on the Bracken case, so it was strange that he called her. It was even stranger that he was the only person there. "You said you had something for me to see?" Kate asked uncertainly.
"In retrospect, it probably wasn't big enough news for you to make a trip," Stack said sheepishly. "Tech hacked into the Senator's bank records last night and made printouts. All of the donor money he requested last week has changed hands. Here's the donation from Brent Hudson," Stack said, highlighting dollar amounts for Kate's reference. "We also have audio from a private meeting the Senator held last night with his campaign staff. His analysts are projecting that he's going to need to spend at least $500,000 in this first leg of the Presidential race, so we're expecting a lot more action within the coming days."
"Is that all?" Kate asked suspiciously. The more time she spent with Stack the less she trusted him. Why was he suddenly up to speed on the case? And how did he know about Brent Hudson? He hadn't listened to the call.
"For now. Daniels got a break in another case he's been working on. He'll be out of town until Monday, so he briefed me last night before he left."
"Do you need me to stay?"
"No. I didn't mean to interrupt your morning if you had plans. I just know you're eager to solve your first case. We also try to keep phone communication to a minimum since phone lines are not always secure. I'll call you if anything else arises. At the rate we're going, we should be ready to get a search warrant for a raid of his campaign quarters by midweek at the latest."
"Great," Kate said, finally feeling like they were getting somewhere. "Thanks for your help."
Everett Michaels was in the final stage of installation when he heard a key in the lock. Beckett had only been gone for 30 minutes. There was no way she would be back already. Grabbing the microchip, he ran to the walk-in pantry located in Kate's kitchen, just adjacent to the living room, and closed the door. He held his breath and quietly listened as heavy footsteps sounded from the entryway.
"Kate?" he heard a man's voice call.
Of course, she'd have unexpected company this weekend. She was more work than his pay was worth. After this, he was going to need a raise.
"Kate?" he heard the man call again as the footsteps came closer. After a pause, the footsteps faded away again, and Michaels guessed Kate's visitor had headed back towards her bedroom. "Where are you?" Michaels heard through the wall as Kate's visitor made a phone call. "I'm in Washington. Really. I wanted to surprise you. I didn't realize you'd have to work this morning. Do you want to meet for breakfast? Yeah, I can meet you there. Just a minute…let me write down the directions. Okay, I will see you soon."
Thank God, Michaels thought. He waited a few more minutes until he heard the front door close and the lock click back into place. With a deep breath, he quickly finished the installation and left Kate's apartment through the back window near the fire escape, grateful for the second time today that he hadn't been caught.
"I can't believe you're here," Kate exclaimed, nearly knocking Castle down as she threw her arms around him in an uncharacteristic show of public affection when he arrived at a café near Pennsylvania Avenue 20 minutes later.
"I'm going to surprise you more often if this is the greeting I get," Rick laughed as he kissed the top of her head.
"What about the press tour?"
"I pulled some strings. I still have the signing on Tuesday, but I'm yours for the whole weekend," he said with a crooked smile. Kate smiled back at him, but there was a tension in her eyes that he couldn't quite place. "Should we order?" Castle asked uncertainly a few minutes later when Kate still hadn't let go. She hadn't clung this tightly since their first night together.
"Yes, let's," Kate said with an embarrassed smile as she finally let him go. Ten minutes later, the pair was seated at a corner table with coffees and pastries. They were both quiet, but the silence wasn't tense at all. They were simply enjoying breakfast together.
"Did you guys catch a lead?" Rick asked finally breaking the spell.
"I guess, if you could really call it that," Kate said, still uncertain about her morning meeting with Stack. "It was strange; my training partner is out of town this weekend, so Stack is filling in. He asked me to come in this morning, but all he had to show me were a few bank records that basically confirmed what we already knew. I'm just so used to the way we operated in New York, you know? This office is so different."
"Maybe they're just being more thorough since it's your first case."
"Maybe." The pair lapsed back into silence, and after finishing breakfast, took a walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to take in the sights. "Someone tried to break into my apartment this morning," Kate finally blurted awkwardly.
"What?" Castle asked, pulling her to a stop.
"I fell asleep on my couch last night, and when I woke up, someone was trying to get in my front door. I tried to confront him, but by the time I grabbed my gun, he was already retreating down the hallway. I chased him, but he got away."
"Did you call the police?"
"No."
"Kate, you should've called the police."
"I am the police," Kate said quietly. "Anyway, it's just had me kind of shaken up."
"Do you think he knows?"
"No, I don't think so," Kate responded, already on the same page as Castle.
"Why else would someone try to break into your apartment?"
"I don't know, Rick, but please don't let this ruin the weekend. If you don't feel safe at my place, we can get a hotel room."
Castle watched her closely before acquiescing. "Fine, but if they come for us in the middle of the night, you better protect me," he said jokingly. "Too soon?" he asked when he saw Kate's face.
"Maybe a little too soon," she said, nodding her head. "What do you want to do today?"
"I have a few ideas," Castle said suggestively. "But if we tried any of them out here, I think we'd be arrested for public indecency." Kate shook her head at him as she linked their fingers and began pulling him in the direction of her apartment.
Several hours later, Kate and Rick were lying in Kate's bed. He was close to sleep – after the party, he had only been able to snag a catnap before he needed to be at the airport – while Kate was wide awake, lost in thought, as she absentmindedly ran her fingers through Castle's silky locks. Rick's eyes were closed, mouth slack, as she watched him. In moments like these, the feelings she had for him crashed over her like a wave threatening to pull her under. It was scary, but it was also exciting and wonderful. And Bracken had the ability to take it all away from her.
"What are thinking about?" Castle asked groggily, as Kate's light, affectionate touches became more forceful. She looked at him, torn, but didn't speak. "You know what this party needs? Wine," Rick added, wanting to give Kate a minute to order her thoughts. "I'll be right back."
When Rick returned a few minutes later, Kate was propped against the headboard, waiting. "You must be planning on some serious pillow talk if you thought we needed wine," Kate teased, trying to keep the atmosphere as light as possible.
"I want to know what's on your mind."
"It's just this case," she whispered.
"What about it?" Castle prodded. He wasn't going to let her off the hook this time. It was high time Kate finally opened up to him.
"It's just brought back some unpleasant thoughts and anxieties."
"Like?"
"Castle…"
"What? I want to know."
"I'm scared," she whispered so quietly Castle barely caught her words. "Terrified. And I shouldn't be. I'm not a lone ranger anymore. I have the full support of the FBI behind me, but I guess I just don't trust my new colleagues yet. It's not like working with you, Ryan and Esposito. I don't know that they'll have my back when it counts. I have to trust them, and it's not easy. Let's talk about something else, okay?"
"Okay," Castle said quietly, willing to drop the subject now as a small reward for Beckett's honesty. "What do you want to talk about?"
"The wedding," she said with a small smile.
"You want to talk about our wedding?" Castle asked incredulously.
"Why is that surprising?" Rick's reaction felt like a punch in the gut, not because he was reluctant to discuss the big step, but because he looked so happy, so hopeful and so surprised. Had she really done this to him? Had she really made him start doubting everything again?
"I just didn't realize you were so excited about becoming Mrs. Castle," Rick teased with a small smile.
"I am, Castle. I'm so excited. I know I've made a mess of things. I know I've made you doubt…"
"We, Kate. We made a mess of things. Both of us. It wasn't just you."
"I want to live a long happy life with you, Castle. I don't want to constantly worry about a deal I made for my life when I was 32 years old. That's one of the many reasons I feel like I have to do this."
"I understand."
"So," Kate started after another brief silence. "Do you want a big or small wedding?
"Small."
"Good, I wanted small, too," Kate laughed. "I thought it would be nice just to have our families, close friends, and of course, our Twelfth family."
"Of course," Castle said, grinning at her enthusiasm. Kate launched into her version of a small dream wedding, and Castle felt the knot in his chest lessen a bit. If their conversation had proved anything, it was that Kate really, truly did want to get married as much as he did. And that was enough to temporarily banish any dark thoughts.
"Stack," Agent Stack barked into the phone.
"It's Michaels. Thank you for covering for me today. The Senator wants an update. Do you have enough evidence?"
"We should have enough to get a warrant. I'm guessing we'll be ready for the raid by midweek, sooner if we're lucky. After the raid, I'll delete all of the audio files."
"That sounds fine. I'll touch base early next week." After completing his call with Stack, Michaels dialed Bracken on his secure line, a line the Feds and their techies had yet to tap.
"Well? Is everything going to plan?"
"My contact says we should be ready for the raid of your campaign quarters by midweek."
"Perfect. And the file?"
"I installed the surveillance chip, but I wasn't able to look for the file. Her partner arrived unexpectedly."
"You've been searching for weeks. She's too smart to leave the file in her apartment. We may have to alter the plan. If we can't find the file, she can't be killed in the raid. We'll need her alive."
"Yes, Sir."
"Have your contact work out a different arrangement. Find a secluded space, have him bring Beckett to you, and keep her alive until I have the file in my possession, understood?"
"Yes, Senator."
"Good. Don't screw this up, Michaels, or I'll be forced to deal with you, too."
A/N: I thought we needed a little Beckett/Castle in this chapter. Things are really going to start picking up next time.