1) I know this was supposed to be possessive!Rick. & I do have one of them in my mind, but this came out first.
2) I figured you'd rather have an update than a pattern. If I was wrong, I apologize.
3) Pun pun pun pun
4) You are all awesome. Seriously.
5) Hopefully fanfiction doesn't mess up like it has been and you can all read this and such.
6) Don't forget to head over to castleficawards(dot)com to vote for your favorite Castle fics of 2011!

Interrogation Rooms & Mirrors

Rick had always loved being a part of interrogations. The first time he was involved in one, he was on the other side of the table as Beckett, outwardly cocky and nonchalant, but inside his head was spinning, fascinated by the fact that the woman across the table from him never once lost her control of the room, no matter what comment or look he threw at her.

The feeling of sitting on the same side of the table with her was just as intoxicating. He knew her tricks, knew her methods that she used to get her suspects to crumble and give her what she wanted. Montgomery wasn't kidding when he said she was like a tiger in there. She was powerful. She demanded attention. She was in her element. And it was absolutely breathtaking.

(Looking back on it he thinks he started falling in love with her in the interrogation room all those years before. And while the rooms had been renovated and changed, she was a constant, and he only fell harder and deeper in love.)

Her voice brought him back to the present.

"So that, Ms. Carmichael, is why you shot your husband to death before walking up the stairs to your neighbor's apartment and shooting her too."

Lucy Carmichael just looked at the two of them before smiling sadly.

"Everything you've just said, Detective," the woman said condescendingly, "is conjecture. You have no proof."

A knock on the door interrupted them.

Kate stood up at the knock at the door, leaving Castle sitting across the table from the women they were positive killed her husband and the woman he was having an affair with out of jealousy, despite the fact that she had only been faithful to her husband for the first 6 months of their 4 and a half year marriage.

As soon as Kate stood up, the woman looked her up and down before looking back at Castle.

"Really? That's Nikki Heat?"

Rick sat still with his expression blank, staring at the woman in front of him. Clearly, he had a fan.

Already knowing the answer, the woman looked back at Kate who was talking to Esposito in the doorway, her back turned toward them. Then she leaned across the table towards Rick.

"I was expecting someone a little less… uptight, ya know?"

All Rick did was raise an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly.

Ever since he and Kate had officially gotten together just over 7 months ago, his protective instinct had gone into overdrive. While the comments and slurs people had made about her had bothered him before, now that they were together they made him see red. The first time he nearly assaulted a suspect because he tried to grab Kate as they were leaving an interrogation, Kate kicked him out of the precinct for nearly a week, telling him he needed to calm down.

He had tried to tone it down. He hadn't punched anyone in the face yet. That counts, right?

The woman smirked, drumming her fingers on the table in front of her.

"And you're together?" the woman didn't waste a second to wait for his answer, "You must like being on a tight leash. Tell me, Mr. Castle," she said, her tongue coming out between her teeth, "Do you come when she tells you to?"

His fists clenched underneath the table, but he still didn't respond. He heard the door to the interrogation room shut and the sound of her heels making their way back towards him.

"You know," the woman continued, "once I get out of here, I bet I could show you a much better time."

When Kate slammed the folder down on the table, he knew she had heard everything. He leaned back in his chair. An angry Castle had absolutely nothing on a pissed off Beckett.

"Fortunately for him, Ms. Carmichael," Kate said, her tone instantly making Lucy Carmichael lean back in her chair, "it seems that's not going to happen anytime soon."

Kate opened her folder, placing the ballistics report in front of their suspect.

"Ballistics just came back. The bullets that were used to kill your husband and his mistress were a match for the gun that had your fingerprints all over it." Kate pulled out another piece of paper and placed it next to the ballistics report on the table, "the same gun you bought from a hunting supplies shop three days ago using your American Express card."

Lucy Carmichael pursed her lips, looking at both of the documents in front of her before looking at Beckett.

"I'd like to speak to my attorney now."

Kate stood up and motioned towards the mirror for the people standing behind it to come and get their suspect. Two uniforms walked in moments later, Ryan and Esposito trailing behind them. Castle gathered the papers up off the table as the uniforms handcuffed Lucy Carmichael, leading her out of the room as he put the reports back in the appropriate file. He walked over to where Ryan, Esposito, and Beckett were talking, handing the case file to Beckett who immediately handed it off to Ryan.

Hm, that's odd. Usually she handles the case files.

"… take her down to booking until her attorney gets here," Kate said, "When they do, make sure they know what the evidence is against her and she has no information that we want, so we're not interested in cutting deals. We'll tell Gates what happened when she comes back from vacation on Monday."

The boys nodded and left the interrogation room, heading off in the general direction of their suspect.

Castle began walking after them, but something pulled against his wrist. Hard.

Kate had wrapped her fingers around his joint, cuffing him with her hand, giving him a steely look.

He froze at her expression and moved back towards her gingerly.

"What's wrong?" He said, his voice low.

She just kept staring at him, and he shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

A moment passed before Kate began to walk to the door, her fingers still locket tightly around his wrist. He thought she was going to lead him out of the interrogation room, but she surprised him, closing the door with a harsh click.

As soon as it was closed, she shut the blinds on the window, shielding them from the rest of the precinct. She turned them around and marched him back over towards the large mirror on the wall that connected them to the observation room before stopping them in front of it abruptly.

"If there is anyone behind this mirror," she said, her voice dangerously low, "I suggest you leave."

They quickly heard the sound of feet shuffling behind the wall, clearly sensing the threat in her voice. They heard the door open and close quickly, and the distinct sound of someone locking it behind them, keeping anyone from coming in after they left.

Kate didn't say anything for a few moments, no doubt listening for the tell-tale signs of someone moving behind the mirror. When she was seemingly satisfied, she stood up a little bit straighter. He shifted his eyes and looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Why is it so hard," she started, looking at their reflections in the mirror, "for people to believe that we're together?"

Sometimes he forgot that she was only human. She's always so strong and confident with her job that it often slipped his mind that she wasn't impervious to the derogatory comments or personal attacks.

He also knew it was a rhetorical question. Her tone was something he hadn't ever heard from her. A mixture of desire and anger and hurt and… was that, mischief?

He met her gaze in the mirror.

She looked dangerous, her eyes dark and focused on his. Her heels nearly brought her to his height, not a single hair out of place in the cascade of brown curls. Her jaw was clenched and so were her fists by her side.

He swallowed hard.

Kate took that as a sign to continue.

"So what if I'm just a cop…" he opened his mouth to tell her that she was so much more than just a cop, but he didn't get the chance, "… and you're a famous writer."

She cocked her head to the side and looked at their reflection.

"… I think we look pretty good together. Don't you?"

Of course he did. He never looked better than when she was standing by his side. He was an attractive guy, and she was a goddess in blazers and power heels. She had the ability to make anyone standing next to her look like a celebrity. After all, you have to be something special to capture the attention of Detective Kate Beckett. And to be given the opportunity to be hers? Well, you my friend should immediately go buy a lottery ticket because you're one lucky son of a –

"And why am I always going to be the bad one?" she said, her eyes still locked on the mirror. Another rhetorical question, yet he felt his throat start to close up. Slowly, she moved her hand up from her side and wrapped her fingers around his, holding them up between them before slipping her fingers away and dragging them down the length of his arm, the touch burning through the sleeve of his dress shirt as she made her way past his elbow and up around his bicep to his shoulder. For the first time since she moved him over towards the mirror, she looked away from it. He watched unblinkingly as she shifted from his side, letting her hand trail across his back to his opposite shoulder, settling herself behind him. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin slightly. He felt her lips press themselves against the back of his, placing a tender, wet, kiss, there. She exhaled against the place where her lips had just been, and he shuddered faintly.

"Why am I the one who is using you?" he heard her whisper.

He hadn't realized his eyes had fallen shut until he felt teeth scratch against the hollow under his ear. His eyes snapped open immediately finding her staring at him, her tongue darting out and just barely touching his ear lobe. He placed his hands on the mirror, trying to keep his knees from falling out from under him. She knew exactly what that did to him. The first time she had done it they nearly set the loft on fire by burning dinner, and he didn't think he was ever going to be able to look at the stools in his kitchen the same way again.

He refocused on her when he saw her reflection smirk at him, nuzzling her nose against his ear.

"For all they know…" she started, her voice low and seductive, "… you could be the one using me."

Her teeth sank into his earlobe and he bit his lip.

"Using you for what?" he managed to choke out, his voice almost embarrassingly rough.

She just smirked again, running her hands over his shoulder.

"A reason to come to the precinct, the thrill of going on takedowns and interrogations, research for your books…" she paused, and he felt her press her entire body up against his back. He could hear the smirk in her voice, "… my body."

With that he dropped his head forward so it was leaning against the mirror, his mind conjuring up images of all the ways he wanted to use her body right then.

He felt Kate settle her chin against his shoulder, her hands moving from his back to wrap around his torso. He lifted his head away from the reflective surface, looking at her with dark eyes.

He watched her face go from mischievous to innocent in a second, her fingers moving to tease the buttons of his shirt.

"Why am I always the frigid bitch?" she said, pouting, popping a button out of its hole with one hand and then putting it back in over and over again, as she looked at him.

"You don't think I'm frigid, do you?"

Oh, she was good. She knew she wasn't. And she knew that he knew she was teasing him. But she had him right where she wanted him. In the current state he was in? She could tell him to kill off Nikki Heat and he would do it. Oh, he would do anything to end the delicious torture of her breath against his ear, her fingertips teasing the skin of his chest while she played with his shirt.

Still, he opened his mouth to respond, and his words died on his tongue as she removed himself from his back, spinning around in his arms and squeezing into the miniscule space between him and the mirror. She tilted her head up, immediately peppering his jaw with feather-light kisses. His jaw clenched in response, his hands bunching up into fists against the mirror.

If he gave in and touched her now, he would surely end up doing something that would get him kicked out of the precinct.

It would be worth it - oh god it would be so worth it, but he didn't want to take that chance.

"Do you remember that one time," she murmured against his jawline, "when you came back from California?"

He nodded, tersely. How could he forget? It was nearly midnight and he had just returned from a publicity tour for the second Nikki Heat movie. Rick wanted nothing more than to go curl up in bed next to Kate (he had only been gone for a week and he missed her terribly) and sleep for a few hours before waking her up and celebrating his homecoming. He locked the front door behind him and dragged his suitcase into his office, immediately freezing and dropping his suitcase by his feet, the dull thud echoing in the otherwise empty loft. Kate was sitting in his chair, her feet propped up on his desk, his newest novel resting on her lap.

Wearing nothing but a smile.

(So the order got a little messed up. It had totally been worth it.)

"Or when I called in sick that day and we spent the entire day in our bed."

He gulped. Yet another one of the memories made with her that had been irrevocably burned into his mind. He thought she had been joking when she told him that she called out sick, playing hooky from her detective duties to spend the day with him. She told him she didn't plan on leaving their bed unless it was absolutely necessary. She wasn't kidding. The first time he tried to stand up the next day, he fell back onto the bed, his body still deliciously boneless after a day spent making love to Kate.

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I love that you have these reactions because of me," she said, linking a finger through his belt loop and bringing his hips into hers. "Has anyone else ever done this to you?"

He shook his head, his eyes locking with hers, the words finally tumbling out of his mouth.

"No," he choked, "no one but you."

And it was true. No one ever had such power over him. Things had been passionate and quick with Kyra, exciting and fun with Meredith, and more subdued and mature with Gina. Being with Kate was all of that combined and more. They could do slow and explorative, losing themselves in each other and the sheets of their bed, or they could do hard and fast against the front door, or his desk, or the elevator at the precinct when no one else was there (another time he wouldn't forget soon) with their pants around their ankles. It was never selfish with the two of them. It was always deep, it was always meaningful, and most importantly, the underlying current was always love.

She smiled at him, that brilliant smile that always took his breath away before her eyes turned serious.

"Nobody else."

It wasn't a question, it was a fact. She was telling him that there would be no one else. Not while he was with her. There would be no after her because she was it.

He pursed his lips together almost painfully, nodding quickly.

If there was one thing that Rick has learned after dating Kate, it was that you don't choose Kate Beckett. She chooses you. And when she chooses you, you better hold on as tight as you can, because the journey is full of mountains and valleys with rivers to cross and walls to knock down. He'd seen the mangled corpses of relationships along the way, men who gave up on her or she had abandoned along the way. But he was determined to be there until the very end. The promised view at the end of their journey was too beautiful to pass up.

He leaned forward without thinking, resting his forehead against hers, his nose pressed against her nose.

"I'm yours," he said, taking in the size of her pupils, "all yours."

Before he knew what was happening, his back was pressed flat against the mirror, the reflective surface vibrating angrily underneath him and she was everywhere.

He could feel every inch of her body deliciously pressed against his. She immediately latched her lips onto neck, pushing his collar out of the way with her nose before he felt her sink her teeth into the skin above his collar bone, sucking on it and then soothing the space with her tongue.

He groaned and reached out his hands to touch her, but she caught him, her hands fisting around his, moving them back towards the mirror and holding them there. He involuntarily bucked his hips against hers as her teeth scratched against his neck again. At his reaction, she pulled her lips away from his neck, resting her head against his chest. Rick fought to get his heartbeat back under control. She let go of his hands and wrapped her arms around his back. He wrapped his own arms around her waist, hugging her against his chest, his cheek coming to rest on her hair.

They stood there for a moment, both of them just content to breathe in the other. Eventually though, Kate remembered that they were still at work, and she was still on the clock, so she pulled herself away from him. Straightening the collar of his shirt, she walked over towards the door, reopening the blinds. She put her hand on the doorknob turning back to look at him. When she saw he was still leaning against the mirror, running a hand through his hair, her questioning gaze turned into a smirk.

"Come here, boy," she said, her smirk turning into a small smile as she saw the reference register in his eyes.

Rick was infinitely relieved that she seemed to be taking what their suspect said in stride, already making jokes about it, even if they were at his expense. He knew that she was just joking around. He played along, willing to do anything to make her smile, walking over to her quickly. When he reached her side, he pouted, telling her that he didn't like that they had to leave.

"Aw," she said, laughing at his expression, "don't be sad, boy." She ran her fingers across his cheek before reaching out and tugging on his ear lightly, her smile turning mischievous again, "if you're a good boy for the next few hours, I'll make sure to give you an extra special treat when we get home."

He swallowed involuntarily.

Kate threw her head back and laughed, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek before finally opening the door to the interrogation room and walking back over towards her desk to start to take down their murder board.

He paused for only a moment before he followed.

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