Hey Guys... sorry this update is a bit late...i just started a new job so ive been running around quite a bit. But I'm back. So... yea. :)
Enjoy :)
"So..."
"So."
"You two...are...together?" Esposito asked... his face hard with an undescribed emotion.
"Like...together..together?" Ryan quipped as Kate shot him daggers.
"yea... I guess we are.." Castle replied cautiously as he watched Lanie. To other's it may have seemed that he was gazing at her... they way only sickeningly infatuated couples can manage. But Lanie recognised the panic in his voice and decided to fill in the blanks.
"We've been dancing around each other for a while now..." She said as Kate swallowed uncomfortably. "But we decided to give it a shot... it was only very recent. And we were NOT expecting to come out like..that" she gestured to the newspaper now hanging threateningly in Esposito's hand. "But yes.. it's true."
And then there was silence.
Kate could almost swear that the awkwardness was beginning to peel at her skin.
Castle would give half his fortune to start laughing hysterically right then and there. Really... How did he manage to get himself in these situations...really..
Lanie was just content in letting the aftermath of her scheme fall into place... well the aftermath of their scheme (Mya's and Alexis's smug faces popped into her mind). Oh those girls were absolute geniuses... she'd have to tell them one day.
"Sooo...together together?" Ryan mused, staring blankly at nothing in particular. "Like...sexually together...?" He was speaking to himself really... trying to digest the entire concept. But when the outraged squeak of Esposito met his ears he looked up at their gaping faces and looked away ashamedly... his own face turning bright red.
Rick grimaced and turned to Lanie, sharing a special look as they decided to catalogue the concept of sex for a later conversation. Kate however could feel the bile rising up in her throat and Esposito looked as though he was about to throw something.
Sex... Castle and Lanie...
CASTLE AND LANIE HAVING SEXY TIMES? Nope. No.
There was a lot generally expected of a homicide detective of the NYPD. But this...This.
This type of torture was definitely not in the job description.
...Sex?
Oh dear God... There have to be aliens involved in this right?... Come on... little green people... UFO's...Probing? Anything?
Suddenly the ringing of a phone erupted the awkwardness and Kate half jumped... expecting the extraterrestrials to attack at any moment.
All she got was Richard Castle looking around sheepishly while he dug into his pocket for the offending object.
She groaned and put her head in her hands; mind whirring as she began plotting on ways to kill him. Surely not many people would notice if a world famous author went missing right?
Right?
She could always blame it on the aliens...
"KATE!" Lanie all but yelled at her
" NO ONE WOULD FIND OUT!" she said as she jumped out of her daydreams. And then she caught the incredulous look on the faces around her and cleared her throat. "Sorry... what?"
"I was just saying that Pearlmutter informed me that your second Vic was just as intoxicated as the first... he texted me the blood test results..." Lanie said as she watched her. "You okay?"
Yea if being okay means that I just lost the love of my life to my best friend... wait... I'm referring to Castle as the love of my life now? Crap.
Great.
That's just effing GREAT. "Yea no I'm fine..." she replied as Castle returned to the conversation clearing his throat expectantly as the rest of the group looked up at him. He moved closer to his girlfriend (Kate again had to stop herself from throwing up) and the regarded the rest of them.
"What are you guys doing tonight?" he asked casually
"Oh I don't know Castle" Esposito said icily. "SOME of us have to work... you know. We all don't have the privilege of sitting in front of a laptop for a couple of hours and then calling it a day."
Silence.
Oh the awkward silence.
But Castle had a hint of a smirk playing around his lips. And if Kate didn't know him the way she did... didn't know almost every expression that mischievous face of his could make.. then she may have missed it. "Well if you guys aren't doing anything then I'd like to host dinner at my place... kind of give our relationship a good coming out party.." He said gesturing to Lanie whose eyes widened slightly.
"Really?" she asked uncertainly
"Really.." he smiled. "It was Mya's idea"
"Offcourse it was." Lanie deadpanned. Okay forget being a genius... that girl was going to get her KILLED. Really Mya... DINNER?
"So you guys in?" Castle asked his eyebrows arching. "My daughter's are cooking... and they make food to die for" he wiggled his eyebrows in temptation and Kate nearly melted in a puddle where she stood.
Dammit Castle.
Why'd he have to look so hopeful when all she wanted to do was go home and crawl up in the foetal position until the aliens came to get her. She sighed in resignation. "Well... I'm in."
Both Ryan and Esposito looked at her incredulously and she rolled her eyes tucking her hair behind her ears before giving them the both a death glare.
"Yea..okay...sure" they both mumbled under the scrutiny of Beckett and Castle smiled broadly making it almost worth it. Almost.
The fact that she had just agreed to a dinner in which she had to pretend to be happy for the new couple and listen to probably really romantic date stories; did not escape her. And suddenly the fact that she had not thrown up yet seemed like the most positive thing that had happened to her today.
Great.
Just effing GREAT.
"Lanie is probably plotting of ways to kill us... you know that right?" The redhead stated as she swept the broom vigorously across the wooden floorboards.
"Yea... I know" Mya replied, flipping her curls out of her eyes as she carved through the chicken pieces now present on her board. "But you know...Lanie... Kate...Esposito AND Dad in one room... BEST DINNER EVER!"
"our LAST dinner ever..." Alexis deadpanned
"Worth it...soooo worth it" The raven haired girl sang as she marinated the pieces.
Alexis rolls her eyes. "You know... if it wasn't for that fact that I'm actually STILL in high school... one might think that I'm the elder Castle daughter."
"Oh please... that sentence cannot be coming from the girl who still hides monkey bunkey under her blankets..." she smirked as red gaped.
"Touché..."
"Hello Darlings" Martha greeted as she descended the stairs in her usual extravagant flourish as the two girls bickered animatedly.
"Gram Cracker... you will not GUESS who is coming to dinner today." Mya exclaimed as the elder woman made her way to the counter.
"Real Dad and his FAKE girlfriend..." Alexis quipped
"AND... Dad's REAL Partner and REAL 'love of his life'... not to mention FAKE girlfriends REAL 'love of her life' as well"
"All under one roof..." Alexis grinned
"With... COPIOUS amounts of wine" Mya finished as they all laughed at the ingenuity of their scheme
"well!... this should be some performance" Martha laughed as she ran her hands through her hair and the two girls eyed each other mischievously.
"Oh you have no IDEA..."
And then the ringing of the phone brought them out of their hysterics as Lanie's name flashed across the screen. Mya grinned and answered... loud speaker at the ready. "Welcome to Casa de Castle... were the food is excellent... the entertainment stellar... and the schemes just keep on coming... How may we help you?"
"DINNER?" Lanie said, and her annoyance reverberated through the tiny speakers.
"We all got to eat sometime right...?"
"Not if you're dead you don't" she replied icily and Mya couldn't help but grin
"Relax Parish.. think about it. All of you in one room... a relaxing atmosphere..."
"Oh I'm thinking about it alright... I HAVE been thinking about it ever since my so-called boyfriend enthusiastically brought it up! You do realise don't you.. that this little dinner you have planned, leaves us stranded and defenceless against THREE homicide detectives!"
Mya smirks at her obvious anxiety. "You do realise don't you.. that this little dinner leaves a one detective Kate Beckett defenceless against her OWN jealousy?"
"Oh..."
"Yea.. Oh. She'll be forced to confront herself... be forced to witness the arranged cuteness between the new 'couple'. And begin saying to herself... 'why didn't I tell him sooner'..And we all know what happens then..." , she grinned raising her eyebrows at Alexis who smirked right along with her.
"Phase three?"
"PHASE THREE BABY!"
Oh god... I wish I never agreed to go to this thing...I wish I that a body would drop right at this second so I can escape from going altogether. No... that's wrong. I don't want someone to be murdered. I'm still keen on the getting abducted by aliens thing.
Kate Beckett sighed as she drove toward her best friends place. She had gotten the 'I need a ride and my boyfriend is busy' call only fifteen minutes ago and was now forced to show up as she was escorting the entire reason this dinner was taking place. Dammit Lanie and her 'I live in New York... I don't need a car' mentality.
Dammit Lanie for dating Castle.
Damn herself for being too late.
"Hey girl" the raven haired...gorgeous (Dammit!) looking M.E. jumped into the front seat and beamed at her friend. Kate half-heartedly smiled in return.
"Hey Lanie."
"Excited for this dinner?"
Pfffttt no. "You bet!" she said again, her eyes never leaving the road as her friend got comfortable in her seat.
Lanie rolled her eyes. "Just get on with it Kate..."
She looked at her cautiously. "Get on with what?"
"You're practically buzzing with negativity right about now. Say what you have to say.." The M.E. replied, folding her arms as she waited for the inevitable. It had to happen she knew. It had to happen for the plan to be working.
"How could you Lanie?" She said the words quietly... but it didn't stop her best friends heart from breaking as she heard the hurt laced with the words. No... this was for her own good. Dammit Parish don't cave now.
"Do what Kate?"
"You knew... You always knew how I felt about him.."
"No Kate." Lanie said quickly, commanding attention. "No-one knows how you feel about him. Heck I'm pretty sure you don't even know. You've ALWAYS denied having feelings for him. I'm sorry that I actually believed you.."
Kate looked at her for a moment before returning her eyes to the road. "He is my partner Lanie... MY PARTNER. We've been through so much together... we've nearly died in each others arms. He is the person I call when I'm sad or alone... or just need to feel something. Don't you get that. Don't you see?"
"Off course I see Kate. I see it all. Richard Castle is always there for you. You have a strong bond and I get that... I respect that. But he has been fighting... fighting for you this whole time while you have stood and watched him. He is a good man Kate... and I appreciate that too. I've realised it. I've admired it. And so I started fighting for him... because Kate he is the kind of guy who will whisper jokes in your ear just to make you smile. The kind who will go out of his way just to show you he cares. He is the type of man to provide and create a home with someone that may not be his blood... but is just as important as any of his family..."
Kate stopped the car as the pulled up to Castles apartment building, her hands shaking slightly at the truth in her words.
"He is a good man Beckett. And if you didn't see it... or didn't appreciate it. I did... I am." And then she was gone, with the gently push of a door and the scratching of heels against cement, leaving Kate with her eyes closed, her head on the staring wheel.
He was a good man. He was the best person she knew.
He was the only person who could make her smile when her day felt like crap. The only person she really looked forward to seeing every morning with the coffee love pressed in his palm.
God.
The only man to ever challenge or excite her... the only man to get her blood rushing with one touch.
He is her partner.
He is her best friend's boyfriend.
But he is HER partner. She was done. ENOUGH of too late's... enough of not ready's.
He is Richard Castle. The only man she could ever want.
And you have to fight for what you want... right?
Should she fight for what she wants? :P
Tell me what you think :)
