Disclaimer: All these characters belong to ABC and Mr. Marlowe

Standing in the Precinct elevator, Rick leaned against the wall for support. Today brought the arrival of date number three, and he wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

As the doors gradually opened, he slowly exited onto the fourth floor, briefly pausing in attempt to spot Kate. After glancing around, he was unable to find her, however spotted Ryan and Esposito working at their respective desks.

Ah, friendly faces.

"Hi, Guys!" he greeted, casually walking towards the two detectives.

Looking up, Esposito noticed the writer. "Hey, Castle. What are you doing here?" he queried.

"Ah, I'm coming to meet Kate. Do you know where she is?" he asked, again scanning the large area in attempt to find her.

"She's out running a few leads," Ryan casually replied, eyes directed to his computer screen.

Shooting his head back to face the men, Castle narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What? Why aren't you out with her? I sort of got the impression you guys were in a threesome."

Ryan and Esposito quickly shot their heads up, eyes wide.

What were they looking at him like that for? Oh-

Catching on to his slip of words, Castle let out a nervous cough and quickly corrected himself. "Partners, I mean a threesome as in work, police, arresting partners," he explained, motioning his hands in front of him for further clarity.

Both the detectives narrowed their eyes at him, before returning to their work.

"Ah, nah, Esposito and I are partners, but Beckett's more like our boss," Ryan informed, still cautious of Castle.

"Yeah," Esposito continued, "I mean, we share the same cases with her and all, but when it comes down to it, she prefers to work by herself. More of the, independent type."

"Don't worry, I noticed," Castle chuffed. The way she was so guarded and defensive, he figured she didn't like to spend a lot of alone time with others. "I just thought it was mandatory or something for every cop to have a partner. I mean, who does she eat doughnuts with?"

"Not everything is how they portray in the cop shows, Castle," Ryan noted.

Nodding in agreement, Esposito further highlighted the point. "Look, not all cops require a partner if that's what they prefer. Some like relying on others to have their back, others, like Beckett, would rather do things themselves. As long as they can handle it and are adequate enough."

"She's that good at her job?" Castle asked, surprised.

"Are you kidding?" Ryan began, "Beckett's one of the best, and this job is practically her life. Trust me, she's fine."

"So, she's just out fighting criminals by herself?" questioned Castle, still unable to comprehend.

"She's not going in a gun battle or anything, Castle. Just checking a few leads," Esposito continued to reassure.

When he first met Kate, Rick instantly got the impression she was a dedicated detective. She even brought her case files to his house. But he really didn't think she was that committed and self-reliant, that she would be so willing to do her job on her own.

Returning from his thoughts, Rick once again glanced around for Kate.

"What time were you meant to meet her?" Ryan asked, noticing the writer looking at his watch. "I wouldn't think she'd be too long."

"Ah, fifteen minutes ago, actually," Castle noted. "She said it would be her lunch break."

Esposito raised his head in confusion. "Lunch break? She really told you that? I didn't even think Beckett knew the definition of the term."

"Hey, I heard that, Espo," Beckett warned, confidently striding from the elevator. Noticing Rick hovering around her colleagues, "Castle, what are you doing here?" she strictly enquired.

Castle turned and cautiously walked towards Kate. "We have lunch today, remember?"

Briefly looking up at him, Beckett sat down at her desk. "I don't have time for this, Castle. I've got work to do," she sighed.

"What? You cannot be serious!" he began. There was no way she was bailing on him now.

"Castle, all of our leads for this case have taken us to dead ends. I want to stay here and go over the evidence a bit."

"But Kate-"

"Castle, despite this whole arrangement, work comes first," she sternly informed, organising papers on her desk.

"I just travelled all the way here. Besides, if Paula discovers that we didn't go, she will chop me into little pieces and eat me! She was already sharpening her knives after she found out about what happened at my place!" he whinged, now standing in front of her.

Glancing from his desk, Esposito directed his attention to Beckett. "Oooh, what did happen at your place, Castle?" he teasingly suggested, raising his eyebrows.

Ignoring her colleague's insinuation, Beckett stood and walked over to her murder board. "Castle, I'm not leaving. If you still want to go through with our plans today, your options are to leave and come back later, or you can sit in there and wait for me," she instructed, nodding to the lone chair in the break room.

Turning to see where she directed, "I'm not just going to sit in there," Castle scoffed. "Can't I solve a murder for you or something?" he asked, now gazing over her detailed white board.

"No," she firmly replied.

"But you could be hours! By the time you're done I could be covered in a layer of dust!" he over exaggerated.

"Ha-ha, he's funny," chuckled Ryan.

"Good. You can have him," Beckett responded dryly.

"Well, at least someone appreciates me," Castle mumbled. "Thanks, Ryan," he said, looking over at the detective.

Playing with the white board marker, Kate glared at the writer.

"Come on, Beckett. Go on a little break. We can look over the evidence for you," Esposito advised, remaining on point.

"See," commented Castle.

Glancing over the three men, Kate reinforced her decision. "No."

"Why don't you 'rock, paper, scissors' it? Castle wins, you go now. You win, you stay," Ryan suggested.

"Nah, cause then I would have to teach her the rules," Castle dismissed. "Anybody got a coin, so we can flip for it?" he asked, turning out his pockets.

"No need, Castle. Beckett knows how to play. Don't you, Beckett?" Esposito teased, looking over to his now glaring female colleague.

Simply wanting him to go away, Kate agreed. "Fine. But if I win, you leave me alone to do my work. Got it?"

"You actually know how to play?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I?"

"Because, it's you," he stated, creasing his forehead in confusion.

Drawing her eyebrows together in a frown, Beckett simply held out her fisted hand with a sigh. "Hurry up."

Castle followed her actions, overdramatically rolling up his sleeve as if he was preparing for a fist fight. Stretching his fingers, he cleared his throat and eventually held out his closed hand.

With matching stances, they both counted to three and displayed their choices.

Castle drew rock, and Kate presented paper.

"What? That's so unfair, as if you won," Castle complained, staring at his still closed hand in shock as Kate walked off.

Spinning to see Ryan and Esposito chuckling under their breaths, Castle hurriedly tried to catch up with her, still holding out his hand.

"Come on, best out of three," he propositioned.

"No. Rules are rules, Castle. You lost, so it looks like I'm staying right here," she informed, getting comfortable in her chair.

"This is ridiculous! I mean, how does anybody expect paper to beat rock anyway? I completely understand the logic behind scissors beating paper, and I get how rock can beat scissors, but come on, that's pushing it a bit."

"I didn't make the rules, Castle, and I'm not in the mood to argue, so go."

"You are all cops. I don't know how you can just sit there and ignore this clear lack of basic intelligence. Are we just expected to believe that paper can simply wrap around a rock and magically immobilize it?" he asked, looking around for support.

"Castle-" Beckett began through gritted teeth, attempting to focus on her notes.

"Is there a universal, 'rock, paper, scissors' committee, because if there is, I'm sending in a letter of complaint!"

"Castle!"

Stopping his rant, Castle turned to Kate, who was now piercing a stare straight through him. She was angry at him, sure, but there was something else. Almost like a hint of sorrow she was attempting to conceal.

Realising that she was genuinely affected by something, and not just annoyed with him, he dropped it. "Fine. I will call Paula and tell her about the change of plans. Text me when you're done and we can go to a cafe or something," he informed cautiously.

"Fine," she agreed, walking off into the break room.

Watching her leave, Rick stared in thought, unable to interpret her demeanour.

Quickly moving back over to Ryan and Esposito, he pressed for answers.

"Hey, what's up with her?" he asked, gazing his attention to Beckett. "I mean, she always seems kind of cranky, but this seems," attempting to come up with the appropriate words, "Different."

"I don't know, Castle. In case you haven't noticed, Beckett's not much of a 'sharer'," noted Ryan.

"But you must have some idea?"

Letting out a sigh, Esposito glanced at Beckett, who was now busily making a coffee. "If I had to guess, it would probably be the case that we are working on." Turning back to the writer, he caught his questioning glance and pressed on, "A mother of two was murdered on the streets, and we're not any closer to catching her killer. Just probably brought up some emotions, that all."

"What do you mean? Did she know the victim?"

"No," guessing that he had already said too much, Esposito briefly paused. "Look, don't worry about it, okay. Don't you have a publicist to call anyway?" he asked, casually changing the subject.

"Uh, yeah," Castle replied, taking one last look at Beckett, before scrolling through his phone.

Something was wrong.

Sitting in a window booth in a small cafe, Rick was timidly eyeing the detective positioned opposite him. Sure, they got on each other's nerves, and they had definitely had their fair share of arguments, but seeing her like this made him uncomfortable. She was quiet, too quiet, avoiding his gaze and awkwardly palming her coffee. They weren't exactly buddies, but he could tell that something was up.

Just as he was about to form a sentence, she spoke.

"So, we are once again bound by silence," she began quietly. "Which one of your one-hundred and one conversation starters are you going to use now?" she finished, looking out the window in thought.

She appeared deflated; all of her fight and fire she normally directed at him, seemingly drained out of her.

Clearing his throat, he hesitantly spoke. "Ah, I wasn't actually."

Turning her head to face him, she responded, unbelieving. "What? You're not going to take this opportunity to remind me about how difficult I am, or even how grumpy I always seem to be?" she sarcastically questioned, returning her attention to the steaming mug in front of her.

"No, actually," he replied, cautious of his next words. "I was going to ask you if you were okay."

"What?" she asked, jerking her head up to face him, clearly shocked.

Quickly fumbling for words, "I mean, I know we aren't friends or anything, but you seem upset," he clarified.

"Since when did you care about my wellbeing?" she questioned, honestly confused by his concern.

"Well, I don't, not really, but-" Pausing, he attempted to compose himself, then continued, "I live with two women, so I'm kind of a good listener. If you want, that is."

He waited, gave her the chance to contemplate his offer. They didn't do this. This wasn't them, but for some reason Castle just couldn't help himself.

Kate simply stared at him, trying to decipher his motives.

She finally swallowed, then opened her mouth. "It's just a tough case, that's all," she informed, before once again averting his gaze.

Clearing his throat, Castle honestly spoke. "Well, try not to take your work home with you. Every sixty seconds spent sad is a minute of happiness you'll never get back."

"Jeez, thanks, Dr. Phil. Any other advise you'd like to give out while you're at it?" she apathetically sighed.

"Ah-yes, actually." Sensing the need to break the tension, Castle continued, "Never make eye contact while eating a banana. It can get awkward," he animatedly whispered.

Lifting her head up, Kate let out a small grin.

Whoa. Castle was stunned at the sight, and could do nothing but grin back at her.

Suddenly coming to terms with what occurred, he quickly spoke, still amazed. "Oh my God, you just smiled," he commented.

"No, I didn't," she softly responded, quickly dropping her head down again, and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Yes, you did. I definitely saw it. It only lasted a few seconds and was just a slight movement of your lips, but there is no denying it. Wow, I don't know whether to be amazed or scared," he casually teased.

"I'm sure you will be fine, Castle," she replied, lifting her head once again.

They sat there, for no more than three seconds, with their gazes locked on each other. They had made eye contact before, sure, but this was the first time they had done so without any hate or venom behind it.

Suddenly, almost like they had been burned, they both quickly dropped their heads and broke the connection.

Uneasily rubbing her neck, Kate eased the apparent awkwardness. "Ah, it's getting late, do you mind if I go back now?"

"Yeah, no, of course," Castle quickly replied, still unsure as to what just happened. "Until next time, I guess."

Standing up and placing a few bills on the table, she responded. "Bye, Castle," before turning around and walking out the door.

Thank you everyone for your feedback, suggestions, encouragement, and basically for still reading. I really take everything you say on board, and it's truly amazing to read your responses after posting a new chapter. Also, please let me know what you think of the pacing of their relationship too, as your opinions would help immensely!

BareWriter