Chapter 7
February 16, 2012
Castle sat in his office chair, flipping the folded piece of paper over and over in his hand after Sofia Turner showed herself the door. He hated this. There was nothing that Beckett could have said, whether in front of his daughter or not, that would have made him feel worse about the whole situation than he already did. He knew that they both had their pasts and while it was not pleasant to hear about the other's exploits, it was infinitely worse hearing it from the former love interest. He had gone from saving Beckett's life to trying to diffuse an entanglement with a former muse in record time. He had let Sofia blindside her when she had been most vulnerable. Sure, he was irritated that his partner had taken all her frustrations out on him, especially when it meant that she wouldn't let him comfort her in the car, but he did understand. She'd felt cornered and Sofia Turner, his former muse and love interest, had delighted in rattling her cage.
Alexis had seemed more amused by the exchange in the morgue than anything, for which he was oddly thankful. He didn't want her to fume about any perceived injustice in Beckett's comments since his partner was already on shaky ground with his daughter. In fact, during the car ride home Alexis had asked how she was and seemed genuinely concerned about her welfare, which gave him hope.
He put down the paper that Sofia had given him and picked up the spare phone they kept in the loft for emergencies. Alexis had killed her battery more than once so he'd learned to be prepared. He considered calling Beckett then remembered that her phone was in the Hudson. It was just as well since he likely would have driven her to say more things that she would regret in the morning. He sent Lanie a text instead.
"Thanks for your help today – RC"
He took off his shoes and ran the hottest shower he could tolerate in order to get circulation back into his feet. When he was ready for bed he checked the phone one last time,
"See me before you see K. You owe me. GO TO BED!"
He said, "Yes, Ma'am," out loud, pulled back the comforter and felt as though he dropped right through the mattress into a dreamless sleep.
Castle entered the morgue holding out a white bag. Lanie was in no mood to suffer pleasantries. "Give me that pastry, Romeo."
He relinquished the bag containing, a sprinkle doughnut, an apple fritter and a scone, "You deserve options."
She hummed her approval, "You thank Martha for raising you right."
"I do every day. What's up?"
"Your girlfriend kept me here past two."
His jaw tensed, "I left at 12:30, what happened? Is she okay?" He ran a hand through his hair.
"She had a bit of a meltdown, but I fixed her up and called Javier to take her home."
"What do you mean by a meltdown?"
"I gave her a talking to after the way she was treatin' you. She didn't take it too well."
"Look, it was fine. She was exhausted and the trip to the CIA was stressful. I didn't take it personally."
"I guess Martha didn't teach you any self-respect! It is not okay for her to treat you like that, and she knows it. Anyway, I was giving her an earful and the next thing I knew the girl was sobbing."
Castle grimaced, "Beckett . . . cried?" He let that sink in then rounded on Lanie, "Why didn't you call me?" He straightened, which only served to rile the medical examiner further.
"Why? So she could abuse you more to save face? Nu-huh. She was in a bad place but she was not the only one who was traumatized last night. I had two people to worry about. I did you a favor by letting you sleep then and I'm doing you a favor now by telling you what I know." He crossed his arms to emphasize that he didn't appreciate being managed, but he let her continue, "Don't you even look at me like that. You get your medical degree and stick around Beckett for a decade, then you can judge me."
Castle stopped as the words medical degree registered. He grasped Lanie's elbow, "Lanie, you said you 'fixed her up.' What else happened last night?"
Lanie appreciated the intensity those blue eyes could hold, "Calm down, I was gonna tell you. Her lungs sounded worse so I gave her a breathing treatment."
He loosened his grip. "You mean like the oxygen mask?"
"No, it's more like an asthmatic inhaler, but stronger. The fluid in her lungs could lead to a form of pneumonia. She should be on oxygen and have consistent treatments until it clears, but good luck convincing her of that. She was too tired to fight me last night. She even slept through most of it."
Castle paced, tapping his fingers against his leg, "What do we do?"
"Honey, she's stubborn and hurting, which is not a good combination. I called you down to broker a compromise." She pulled open a drawer and pulled out an inhaler and placed it in his extended palm. "This is better than nothing for the time being. Once this case is over, she has to use the machine regularly until those lungs clear. You have to make sure that she does, or you'll end up bringing her coffee in the hospital."
He inspected the plastic cylander. The last time he visited her in the hospital he had entered the room bearing flowers and brimming with hope and had left it feeling dejected for months. He wasn't sure he could stomach walking into another hospital room, even if they were in a better place. "I promise I'll do what I can."
"Castle, any signs of distress, she needs it."
"Thank you, Lanie. I got this."
"See that you do. And Castle, no more spats today, okay?"
"I'll be on my best behavior, although I can't vouch for Beckett."
"Oh, I hear ya."
She scrutinized the man before her, "Castle, you look really pale. You feeling okay?"
He shrugged. "Just concerned."
"Just remember you need to take care of yourself, too."
"I will, so don't waste any worries on me." He waved the inhaler, "Thank you for this."
"Good luck." when he left the room she shook her head and continued, "You're so gonna need it."
When the elevator doors opened he saw Beckett with her elbow on her desk & head leaning in her hand. At the sound of him sauntering towards her desk she straightened and smiled meekly. He handed her a coffee cup and waited for her to set the tone for the day.
She started with a sheepish, "Thanks, Castle." She sipped the drink, keeping her eyes on him over the lid.
He smiled and twitched up his lip, "Always, Beckett."
Cheesy, but effective.
He needed to communicate that they were okay, that they had a solid foundation that would not unravel from one bout of exhaustion-fueled pettiness.
Her fingers played along the lid of her coffee cup. "Listen, Castle, about last night . . . I'm sorry."
He placed his fingers over hers and shook his head, "Hey, it was an intense night. We were both tired and I was traumatized so let's just call it nearly a wash."
Her fingers stilled under his light touch.
"Nearly?"
He leaned in like he was going to tell a juicy secret, "Well, you did question my moral integrity in front of my daughter." He theatrically grimaced at his own accusation.
Kate rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm not used to scanning the room for Little Castle before I besmirch your good name." She bit her lower lip to suppress the fluttering surging through her from his index finger gently caressing hers. "Actually, Castle, I'm sorry that I never gave you a head's up about Alexis working with Lanie. When she approached me, I was just relieved that she was asking me for help. I know that I've been in the dog house with her, for good reason, so I jumped on the chance to do something nice for her." He made to object but she stopped him, "Castle, her skepticism is justified. And regardless of my selfish agenda to get on her good side, I also thought you'd like the surprise of seeing Alexis more before she left for college. But, I'm not a parent, and I didn't think of how much it would complicate your relationship with her, or how much extra stress it could cause you."
Castle's eyes were soft and smiling. He tapped her finger to stop her apology. "I hadn't realized that your motives were so altruistic and that knowledge is making it hard for me to hold this against you, especially if you use the word 'besmirch' again." Kate was laughing at him, and coughing, but he still took it as a win.
When the fit subsided he continued, "Nevertheless, I have conditions to this partnership for the rest of the case, and a little beyond, actually."
He resumed stroking her fingers, hoping it would make her pliant.
"I'm feeling generous and incredibly guilty so it might be your lucky day."
His eyebrows shot up, "In that case, I have a few more conditions -"
In a warning tone she reeled him in, "Castle."
"Okay, okay, I'll stick to the original terms. Anyway, first condition," He tapped her hand," If we have to go to the CIA, I want to be able to hold your hand. The black hood is scary."
"Okay, I'll protect you from the diabolical piece of fabric." She knew it was a self-serving concession. There was no way that Castle had endured a bigger panic attack than she had. "What's next?"
"Second." He squirmed then produced the inhaler from his pocket and deposited it in her palm.
"Castle, what is this and why does it have my name on the prescription?"
"Lanie." She closed her eyes in defeat thinking of how utterly fragile she must have seemed to her friend in the middle of the night.
She pointed it at him, "You said this was a condition. What exactly does this condition entail?"
"You use this when I think you need it during the case, then the minute the case is over you have to go along with whatever Lanie deems medically necessary." She glared at him but examined the canister, considering all she had put him through the night before. This little device was the embodiment of her diminishing pride. She knew that Castle would not think less of her for something as insignificant as using an inhaler, but years and years of abhorring the appearance of weakness was hard to combat.
She placed it back in his palm then curled his fingers around it. "Then you'd better keep hold of it. I don't trust myself not to lose it intentionally." That was as close to a verbal agreement as she could manage so he nodded. She sat back in her chair, flicking a pencil against her desk, "Any other conditions of my absolution?"
"Well, the last one is more of a favor." She was boring a hole into him and he could only glance at her then look away, as if he were looking indirectly at the sun.
"This is going to be good, isn't it?"
He closed his eyes, knowing that what he was going to ask next would be a bit much, but he had to make sure that she took care of herself.
"It's just . . . when this case is over, I'd like you stay at the loft . . . for a few days."
"Excuse me?" She said incredulously.
He tried to backpedal.
"It's just that I promised Lanie that I'd look after you, not that you can't look after yourself, but please, just let me do this. I assure you my intentions are honorable." He looked flustered, which was how Kate could tell just how important this was to him.
She thought about how secure she'd felt curled in his arms when he rescued her, how the warmth of his body repelled the bitter chill in the air. Normally she would have tried to create distance after such an intimate moment, but that was before she tossed the stone into the Hudson, symbolizing not only the end of the hold her mother's case had over her, but also the freedom to move forward in other areas of her life.
She feigned hesitation, "Well, I don't know. If word got out about that arrangement it may besmirch my reputation . . ." She really tried to look serious but she couldn't stifle the satisfaction that came with baiting him.
He gave her a pleading smile, "Please?" An idea popped into his mind. "I actually have something planned and you'll really enjoy it. I think you will anyway."
"Well, since you had to give me mouth-to-mouth yesterday, and not the good kind, I will humor you. Okay, Castle, you have a deal. I find myself intrigued."
"Oh stop! You cannot use besmirch and intrigued in the same conversation and expect me to behave!"
She reached over and gracefully ran her finger back and forth along his forearm. "And to think, we have the whole rest of the case for me to entertain you with my beguiling verbal arsenal."
She flicked an eyebrow then retracted her hand as the door to Gate's office opened. Castle rubbed his arm where her fingers had played and not so eloquently replied, "Oh, snap!"
