Disclaimer: The only thing I own are my mistakes


North Star


Katherine Beckett is the city's most influential women's self help journalist. What happens when she becomes more involved in her next story than she initially intended? A Caskett AU story based on "How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days" for the 2015 Castle Summer Ficathon


Chapter 7

"Bro, what is that?"

Castle turned toward the object of Esposito's mocking and sighed. Both of the guys were crowded around Kate's plant, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Yeah doesn't seem like it fits the décor," Ryan teased.

"Shut up guys. Kate brought it over." Honestly, he didn't even know why he was defending the stupid fern. The fact that she showed up at his house with decorations and plants should be another notch on the "Kate Beckett was slightly insane" chart, yet he couldn't write her off.

No, instead he was more intrigued by the woman after spending so much time with her lately. There was a mystery to her that he needed to solve. She was in every way the down to earth, sharp witted reporter and he was falling for her.

Every way aside from the faux-Kate version of herself and he hadn't quite figured that part out yet.

"Kate…" Espo bit back a laugh while sitting down to shuffle and deal for their new poker hand.

"Yes, Kate," he said, holding back any further explanation to his friends. Though after avoiding their stares as he took a sip of his scotch, he heard Ryan's muffled chuckle.

"So, you two are still a thing?"

"We are."

"Well there's still time for you to mess it up," Esposito stated, leaning over the table to high five his partner.

"The bet isn't over until, it's over," Castle explained with a laugh. If they wouldn't leave the subject alone, he might as well play things off for the better. They didn't need to know that there were the two sides of Kate Beckett because at this point he couldn't even convince himself that it was true

"That's deep," Ryan scoffed, throwing his chips into the center of the table before his partner did the same.

"Laugh all you want, Castle, but we'll be laughing when we win the bet."

"Not going to win it. Kate was actually over here the other day."

"Oh she was?"

"Could be getting serious…" He knew he was just goading his friends, but he just wanted them to shut up. They were here to play poker; not gossip about his dating life.

"Serious? I hear most marriages start from relationships that were a bet," Esposito stated, sarcasm laced in every syllable. Really at this point, he felt bad that he had ever made the bet to begin with. The boys didn't have a chance in hell of winning and he felt the pang of guilt in his stomach each time he was around Kate, constantly reminding him that this all started as a bet.

"Well, maybe, but she doesn't need to know about the bet."

"Secrets come out eventually, Richard," his mother added, walking into the room on her way out for the evening.

"Thank you, Mother. But I've got this handled. Completely under control."

"Mmhmm. It looks like it," she said, the sing song tone of her voice hanging in the air. His mother never minced words so he knew by her voice and mannerisms that she was well aware that none of this was under his control. He glanced down at the cards in his hand trying to ignore the sounds of the red-head matriarch swinging the door open. She was hopefully out of his hair for the night so she could save her knowing glares for another time. "Oh, Richard?"

"What?" he answered, in a matching mocking tone.

"You've got company!"

The entire table perked up with the announcement as his eyes darted toward the entryway, just in time to watch Kate emerge from the hall wearing skinny jeans and a casual black sweater slung off of her left shoulder. Her smile stretched across her face as soon as her eyes met his. She was gorgeous as usual.

Blinking out of his short trance, from the corner of his eye he noticed Ryan and Esposito holding back a laugh.

Maybe now would be the time to work on creating a cloak of invisibility.


Walking into the loft, Kate was greeted with a group of slack-jawed expressions. Well, most of the surprise was painted on Castle's face and really she couldn't blame him. It was Lanie's idea to crash his guy's poker night and perhaps this could be the final push to end the madness once and for all.

The other night when she showed up at his place with items to redecorate the space with a "woman's touch," the look on his face was like a deer in headlights. Yet, after his apparent moment of panic eased away, the evening turned out nice.

Too nice.

So much so, that after a couple glasses of wine, she knew she needed a new plan. Not that she could really focus on that as his lips worked their way down her neck and his teeth scraped against her collarbone. She knew she had to flip the switch and not be herself, but she couldn't help it. Castle was so damn intoxicating, well Castle and the wine, but mostly his presence made her skin buzz when he was near.

It had been the perfect night, but he had stopped things before they went too far. She had found herself disappointed as much as she had known it was for the best. Sleeping with someone who was the subject of her story? She hadn't ever gone that far, but then again things hadn't ever been this confusing. She was so far over the line at this point; she couldn't even see the line anymore.

So here she was, in front of his friends, trying to put on the act again and wanting to secretly let him in on the hoax. Let him know that she really did like him and she wasn't this person that she was pretending to be. She really didn't want to scare him off, not when for the first time in God knows how long, she actually had a connection with someone.

Walking into the room with Castle and his friends, all smoking cigars, drinking, and betting amounts that would probably equal her annual salary; she took a deep breath and painted on a huge grin.

"Rick. Honey, are you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Yes, Honey. Are you going to introduce us?" his friend mocked. Castle glared at him before turning his expression toward her. The smile seemed forced; lacking the slight wrinkle of his lids and shine of his eyes.

"Hi. I don't know where his manners are. I'm Kate, his girlfriend."

"Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito, this is Kate Beckett."

"Nice to meet you, Kate," Ryan greeted.

"Girlfriend?" Esposito asked, arching his eyebrow in Castle's direction.

"Shut up," he hissed at his friend, before standing up and kissing her on the cheek. "I didn't think I'd see you tonight. I thought I mentioned tonight was poker night."

"Oh you did? I don't remember that," she lied, gnawing on bottom lip to feign innocence. In reality she felt like any ass, but the words from Gates were playing on repeat in her head. This was her shot and if she messed this up, her exposé would be dead in the water.

Assessing the table, she noted the typical items for the poker game along with some beer and a bowl of pretzels. If she would've prepared more, she could've brought finger sandwiches to really seem overbearing, but she barely forced herself into the cab after taking a couple shots of tequila to calm her nerves. She was at constant war with herself. Straddling the line of wanting to come clean to him versus wanting desperately to just make the best of the situation so she could write the article she wanted to write. It was selfish and eventually it would all explode in her face. She knew it.

"Kate?"

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at Castle as his eyebrow arched in question.

"You seemed to zone out for a second…"

"Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking about what sort of snacks I could make for you boys."

"Snacks?" Ryan's head perked up and turned toward the pair. "What are you thinking?"

"She's thinking, it's not her job to make food for you."

She giggled and lightly smacked Castle's chest before brushing a kiss onto his cheek.

"Of course it is, Silly. It's my job to make sure my love and his friends have enough to eat."

"Isn't that cute, Caste? Her love…" Esposito made fun of her word choice as she expected his friends would. Anyone calling someone a pet name this early in a relationship deserved to be mocked. She laced her hand through Rick's and gave it a light squeeze while she surveyed the rest of the room to see what other ways she could make herself seem a little off.

Bingo. The fern. Castle didn't seem to water it since she brought it to his place, not that she was one to talk. Nothing living survived at her apartment or her office. She was far too busy to tend to a garden or even a singular potted plant, yet Castle's negligence would work to her advantage in this case.

"Oh no…oh no…What…?" she squealed, rushing to tend to the greenery.

"Kate?" Rick asked, his eyes squinting.

"Our love fern…It's dead!" Kate's voice raised a few octaves and she faked a small cry at the end, laying it on thick in hope that this would be the final nail to end this charade. Castle moved closer to her, running his hand down her arm to try to calm her heightened reaction. The touch of his skin against hers distracted her long enough that she allowed him to defend himself.

"No. No! Of course not. It's just sleeping…"

"You let it die!" With slight hesitation, she wiggled out of his arms and looked up at him with fake tears in her eyes. "Are you going to let us die? You should think about that!"

Someone should give her an Academy Award after that performance. In high school she failed her drama class, but she must have improved since then.

She stormed off to his kitchen, hiding her face inside of the fridge to hold in the eye roll and laugh. As embarrassing as this situation was, she couldn't help but find amusement in the lament over the fern. The situation was to the point of unbelievable. How could he think this was how anyone would really act? Better question was, why had he been putting up with it?

Trying to compose herself for a moment, she searched through the shelves for something she could piece together as a snack for the men when she heard of them whisper a question to Castle.

"Is she on something?"

Pulling out a box of crackers from the cabinet, she arranged the snack on the plate and went in search of some cheese as the men continued to whisper loud enough that she could make out the entire conversation.

"No, I think she's just stressed," Castle defended, even she could tell he didn't mean the words. He probably thought she was just as insane as his friends did. Wincing at the thought, she sliced up the cheese and paired the pieces with the crackers.

"Castle, seriously. She's not right in the head. Maybe you should suggest medication."

Oh, she could work with this. Sneaking up between the whispering men, she laid the plate of small finger snacks onto the table.

"Are you saying I'm some sort of mental person!" she shrieked, scattering the snacks with her movements.

"No. Of course not. They were just joking," Rick defended, reaching for her arm again. Did he realize that touching her was the one thing that could bring her off task?

Of course not. How could he? He didn't know any of this was an act.

"I don't think you're taking our relationship very seriously, Rick. Maybe we should take some time apart for you to think about that," she huffed. Turning away from the table, she moved toward the door and grabbed her purse without turning back.


The door slamming shut rang in his ears and caused his back to arch from the sheer volume. Everything about the reaction was wrong. It was all staged. He was sure of it, now more than ever. When things were normal with Kate, he found himself falling hard for her. After their last date, he started to piece together that something else was going on entirely. She seemed at war with the person she was and the person she seemed to be forced to be. Tonight was the deciding factor. Kate was acting.

"Looks like she just broke up with you," Ryan laughed as Espo playfully punched his arm.

"Yeah, Bro, looks like we just won the bet."

"She did not break up with me…" he mumbled, still staring at the door, trying to decide his next move. The guys didn't seem to even notice that he wasn't paying attention to their premature celebration dances.

"She left without saying goodbye, Castle. I think you're toast."

"Hey Javi, I call the Corvette first…"

"Guys, hold up. This isn't over," he muttered, making the final decision to rush out to find Kate before it was too late.

Tonight was over the top and quite frankly insane. He let her go through with her little performance for too long but he was going to put a stop to it for once and for all.

All bets were off. It was time for honesty now.


tbc

Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear from you!

I apologize for the delay for this chapter but appreciate all the messages and encouragement!

Thanks to Berkie and Esther for your help with this one!

xoxo