Chapter 10

This one was interesting to write, as it seems the show is catching up with my speculation, and I find myself consciously trying to keep it different. Not too much movement here, just attempting to put them in a new, more comfortable place, before moving forward.

Rick gaped at her, trying to process the last few minutes and the roiling emotions that her words had brought. He'd gone from hopeful to crushed in the time it took Kate Beckett to speak a couple of dozen words. She'd rejected him, told him he wasn't a safe bet, wasn't good enough. But then, three more words and it all changed. He was struggling to cope with the sudden pleasure that had replaced his misery, and felt he had to be sure he understood her. "Did you just say…"

Her grip on his hand tightened slightly, and she fixed him with earnest, nervous eyes. "You heard what I said, Rick." There was his name again, it sounded so sweet coming from her lips. She'd only ever said it before in anger or mockery.

"You want me to convince you that I'm worth risking your heart over?" She responded with a tight nod, and he felt a grin slowly spread across his face. "I can do that."

Beckett smiled back at him, relief showing on her face. Her grip on his hand loosened, but she didn't let go. Instead, he felt her fingers idly caressing the back of it. His grin widened invitingly, and he watched the colour in rise in her cheeks. A thought occurred to him, and though it was really the last thing he wanted to ask about, he had to know. "What about Demming?"

Her hand stilled, and she looked down at the desk for a moment. "I ended things with him two days ago." He couldn't help but feel smug about that, and it must have shown on his face, because he saw a fire spark in her eyes, and she continued. "Not because of this. I didn't break up with him for you, so don't go thinking I did. But it wasn't fair to him, and I had to tell him the truth."

"Which is?" He couldn't resist, and got the uncomfortable feeling that he was pushing his luck when she narrowed her eyes.

Luckily, at that moment, the interrogation room door burst open. Their hands flew apart and they both turned to stare at the two men exiting with very self satisfied expressions. "I'm telling you, man," Ryan declared, "I thought he was going to cry, the way you took him down in there."

Esposito grinned back at him, and answered, "Yeah, but even better was when he thought you were going to come to his rescue. You make a Hell of a 'Good Cop'."

Beckett cleared her throat, avoiding looking at Rick, and asked, "You get a confession?" At their nods, she smiled. "Is it safe?"

"Safe as houses," Esposito said, still with that insufferable grin. "He's no badass drug dealer. Just sells to his buddies and a few guys he works with. White collars, the lot of them. He came home and found his stash had been pinched, and panicked."

Ryan took over. "Yeah, apparently he hadn't paid his supplier the full whack yet, and couldn't afford to without the sales. So, he asked a few of the shadier people he knew, and they ended up pointing him in our vic's direction."

Beckett finished the story off, guessing the ending. "And when the vic didn't have them, and wouldn't tell him who the thieves were, he lost it, reached for the nearest heavy object and wham." They both nodded again, confirming the story. "Ok, so notify the D.A. Good job, guys."

Rick had been enjoying the interplay between the three of them, but roused himself to offer his own congratulations. Then, he suggested, "So, now this case is done, for us anyway, what say I take you all out for lunch. My treat, and I can tell you all about my trip." Both Ryan and Esposito immediately grinned at him, not even considering passing up a free meal. Beckett stared for a moment, and he thought she was going to decline, but then a smile broke out on her face again, and she stood up.

"Ok then, Castle. But we're going somewhere simple. None of that ridiculous, gourmet stuff that you get so excited about."

Staring at his computer screen, Rick couldn't help but replay the events of the previous day over and over in his head. He still couldn't quite believe she'd been so open and honest with him. Though he was having a slightly difficult time trying to figure out just what she meant by "convince me". Not gifts or compliments. She's not going to be swayed by shallow stuff like that. He knew her well enough to know that. No, the trick wasn't to convince her that he cared, because she was clearly aware of that. What he had to do was make her believe that he could be mature, that he could stop making insensitive comments at inopportune times and, most of all, that he could be a man who wouldn't let her down or hurt her, if she was generous enough to give him her heart.

He'd been up early this morning, and had gone straight to his office, intent on writing. The deadline for his book loomed ever closer, and despite the progress he'd made on his lengthy flights to and from Los Angeles, he was still desperately behind. As luck would have it, today was looking like it might be a good day. The words were flowing, he wasn't second guessing himself after every sentence. Rick smiled to himself, content for the first time in a long while.

He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice Alexis until she was stood at his shoulder, peering over it at the computer screen. "Hey, dad. You're writing. Properly." She smiled down at him. "That's great."

"Morning, sweetie." Rick smiled back at her. "Yeah, I'm starting to think I've gotten over the block. I might even get this finished before my hair turns grey." He waited for the inevitable crack about it being too late for that, but it didn't come. He looked at his daughter more closely now, and saw that something was bothering her. "What's wrong, Alexis?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, really. It's just…" She sat down on the corner of his desk, and frowned at her hands. "Have you made a decision yet? About the summer?"

He leaned back, giving her his full attention. She continued, "I know you didn't have too much fun there this week, and you've been disappointed in how they do things out there. I was just wondering, do you still want us to go?"

"Alexis, I really don't know." He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "It's not an easy decision to make, and I thought I'd know my own mind after this last week. But it just seems to have muddled everything up even more."

"Too many variables?" She asked, a crooked smile on her face. More than you know, Rick thought, but he wasn't going to say anything about his current situation with Beckett. Not until he had something to actually say.

He still needed to get used to the idea himself, and try to figure out just how far away he was from his goal, and how quickly he might be able to get there. But none of that was anything he should burden a sixteen year old with, even one as mature and intelligent as Alexis. Instead, he just told her, "Look, I was pretty disillusioned with the whole idea after the way those producers acted. Pretending to love every idea I came up with, even the really dumb ones. And I'm wondering whether the movie that is eventually made will be anything at all like the one I want to write, like the book I've already written."

"Yeah, but, that's their job, dad. They're supposed to butter up the people they want something from. How else would they get what they want?"

"I suppose so." He answered, reluctantly. "Anyway, I'm sure Paula will be on my case about it soon enough. What about you? You've clearly been thinking about it."

Alexis smiled sourly, and dropped her eyes from his again. "It would be ok, I guess." He dipped his head to re-establish eye contact, and she added. "But Paige asked me if I'd like to go on holiday with her and her family. They've got a chalet in Switzerland, the Alps. I've never been skiing before."

Rick smiled at her reassuringly. "Alexis, whatever I decide, you can go skiing if you want to. There's no reason you couldn't spend part of the summer there, and part in L.A." She looked doubtful, for some reason. But before he could interrogate her further, his phone rang.

He fished it out of his pocket, and answered, the ringtone already telling him who it was. "Detective Beckett, good morning to you. What a pleasure it is to hear your voice." He kept his greeting light, but Alexis still got that questioning look in her eyes. For her part, Beckett didn't seem to know how to react. For a moment, she was silent, then just said, "We've got another murder."

"I'll be right there."

Rick didn't bother hailing a taxi, and just walked. The crime scene was only ten blocks from his building. He couldn't miss it when he got close, seeing several police cars cordoning off the entrance to an alley. He spotted Ryan talking to a couple of uniformed officers, and waved. Ryan ushered him over. "Hey, man. What have we got?" Rick asked.

"Looks like a pretty straightforward shooting. Back there." He pointed over his shoulder, and Rick thanked him, heading down the alley.

Beckett, Esposito and Lanie were there, gathered around the body. Rick stopped for a moment, and stared at Beckett, drinking in the lines of her face. She was listening to Esposito as he explained that the body had been found by the owner of the restaurant next to the alley, when he'd been preparing for the fresh meat delivery. Rick was barely listening, just watching her, a dopey smile on his face.

It was Lanie who noticed him first, looking up from where she crouched by the body. "Hey, Castle. You just going to spectate? Girls like a man who's not afraid to get his hands dirty." Beckett had turned to stare at him when Lanie called his name, but at that those words, she suddenly looked sheepish and uncomfortable.

He tried to break the tension. "Well, I just had my nails manicured a couple of days ago. Wouldn't want to ruin them, would I?" Stepping forward, he couldn't help wondering how much Lanie knew. Has Beckett told her? I thought she'd be more secretive than that. Looking down at the corpse, he felt a shock run through him. "It's just a kid! He can't be more than eighteen." The boy looked like a typical clean cut jock, right down to the blue and white varsity jacket he was wearing.

"Yeah, but kids get murdered just the same as anyone else." Esposito said, in a resigned voice. Rick nodded, still staring at the body with growing sadness. He'd been lucky, he guessed, in that so few of the murder victims he'd seen had been so young. Just two or three teenagers since he'd started shadowing Beckett. It was always sad, dealing with any murder, but when the victim was someone with their whole life ahead of them, it was so much more difficult to face.

"He was shot?" Rick asked, remembering what Ryan had said.

Beckett spoke for the first time since he'd arrived, her expression studiously blank. "Yeah, three bullets, by the look of it. Too early to guess the calibre." Lanie nodded at that, telling them that she wanted to get the body back to the morgue to do a proper examination. Beckett nodded at this, "Ok, Esposito, coordinate the search here, see if you can find a wallet, driver's license, any sort of ID." He nodded, and headed off to speak to Ryan and the uniforms.

Rick looked down at Lanie, and saw she was busying herself in gathering her equipment together, waiting for the gurney to transport the body. She didn't seem to be paying any attention to them, but still, he decided discretion was the better part of valour. He took hold of Beckett's elbow, and she looked up at him in, startled. He led her a few feet away before he spoke, in a low voice. "Did you talk to Lanie about us?"

Beckett blinked. "What? No, I didn't. Anyway, there isn't an "us" yet." He backed away a half step.

"I know that." He hated how defensive he sounded. "But I just want to be clear on whether you want anyone knowing about our… conversation."

Beckett frowned at him, biting her lower lip in a way he found very distracting. "I hadn't really thought about it, but it would be better if we kept it quiet, for now. At work." She seemed to be studying him, trying to gauge his reaction. "I just don't want people talking, judging me." Then, slightly exasperated, "You know what I mean. But if you want to tell your family, I'm ok with that."

Rick nodded slightly, feeling he should be honest. "My mother already knows. I spoke to her last night. She was pleased that you were going to give me a chance, though she did say it means you're probably crazy."

Beckett smiled at that, and leaned into him, just a little, their heads only inches apart now. "She's right, I must be." She whispered. The sound of someone clearing their throat very deliberately caused her to jump back a full two feet, utterly flustered. She glared at him, as though it was his fault. Well, it probably was, he thought, resigned.

Lanie was looking at them, a small smile on her face, her eyes alight with mischief. "If you two have finished canoodling, I have to get back to the morgue with this guy, and I'm sure you have lots of investigating to do."

"Thank you, Lanie." Beckett said, sternly, now refusing to look in Rick's direction at all. "We'll go now." Without another word, she turned on her heels and strode off to the top of the alley. Rick was about to follow when he caught Lanie watching him.

"About time, writer boy." She said, with a broad smirk. He laughed awkwardly and beat a hasty retreat, before Beckett left without him.

He drew level with her and hissed, "See, I told you. She knows." Beckett eyed him with irritation.

"And I told you, there's nothing to know yet."

"Well, with all the whispering in corners and awkward looks, it's kind of hard to tell the difference."

Kate directed a heated smile at him, "Oh believe me, Rick, you'll know the difference." Her laugh sent a spike of lust right through him. He faltered for a moment, watching her, and was sure there was a bit more sway in her walk than usual. Grinning in appreciation, he trotted to catch up.

Kate watched as Castle struggled with the espresso machine. He bought the thing, and he uses it several times a day, she thought, thoroughly amused at his travails. You'd think he'd know how to work it better than that.

She smiled to herself, thinking that she could get used to watching him performing such domestic activities.

"You're staring." He said, without looking around.

How did he know? Honestly, he does have a way of being inconveniently perceptive. "Just watching you attempt to make a simple cup of coffee, Castle." He glanced back over his shoulder, with a quick smile that clearly told her he wasn't buying it. She tried to change the subject. "So, you never did tell me, how was L.A?"

He turned, handing a freshly brewed coffee to her, and sipping his own, seemingly considering his response. "It wasn't quite what I expected," He told her, with candour that was unusual for him. "Most of the people I talked to were more interested in keeping me happy than in actually discussing what they wanted to do."

He frowned to himself, and she felt for him, seeing his disappointment. "I know I could end up with my name on a movie poster, but whether that movie will be anything like the book I wrote, I don't know."

He might not want to go back. She couldn't help but feel a little pleasure at that, closely followed at guilt that his disappointment could make her happy.

"I should tell you, in the interests of full disclosure," He paused, and she waited, wondering where this was going. "I ran into Meredith whilst I was there."

Kate stared at him, feeling a hurt she really had no right to, yet. "Your ex-wife." She stated, flatly. He couldn't go four damn days without…

Castle obviously saw her rising anger, and quickly told her, "Nothing happened! Really, I didn't do anything with her." Kate eyed him suspiciously, looking for any hint that he was lying. "All we did was talk. It was actually nice, to just talk to her. Usually other things get in the way." He laughed, light and amused, and Kate realised he was telling the truth.

The relief that flowed through her was greater than she had any right to. "Wow, Castle, I'm impressed." He looked at her, questioningly, and she added, "You passed on 'amazing crazy person sex'." He laughed again, louder, the skin at the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way she enjoyed.

"Oh, it wasn't that hard. Turns out all I had to do was drink until I passed out."

Kate couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up. "Well, that's certainly one way out of a difficult situation." They settled into a comfortable silence, just looking at each other. Kate felt a flush of pleasure, realizing that this journey they were going to embark on together might be a lot of fun.

"So, how's Alexis?" She asked, as a way to distract herself from that thought. "Did she miss you whilst you were gone?"

Castle grinned at her. "Of course she did. Neither of us are used to spending more than twenty four hours apart, so on the odd occasions it does happen, it's not easy." This was a Richard Castle that Kate had always liked a lot, and she also liked the warmth that spread through her whenever she saw him behaving as a father. "Oh, and while we're talking about her, I haven't said anything to Alexis yet. About this. I'd like to keep it quiet for a while, until we know where we stand."

Kate nodded mutely. He continued, "She really respects you, Kate. I don't want her to start thinking you might become a part of her life unless…"

"Unless I do become part of it. It's ok, I understand. This is a weird situation for me too." She smiled again, "And who knows how long it might take you to prove you're a grown man."

Castle leered at her, and spoke in a low voice. "I can prove that to you right now, if you like." Then he smiled, and Kate smiled back. His jokes weren't nearly so discomfiting when he made it clear they were jokes.

"Come on, we can't stand here chatting all day. Work to be done." Kate strolled out of the break room, and spotted Ryan and Esposito just entering the bullpen. "Hey guys, anything to report?"

Esposito brandished a wallet, calling across the office, "Vic's name is Jason Williams. Driver's license says he's seventeen. No cash, but we got a bank card and a credit card."

Castle stepped up behind her, "A credit card at seventeen? Must come from a pretty well off family." Kate nodded in agreement.

"Ok, you guys call the bank, see if you can get primary cardholder details. I'll head downstairs and see if Lanie has anything yet."

Castle still stood at her shoulder. "What should I do?"

Kate grinned at him. "You can stay here and come up with a story that'll keep us entertained… About the case." She walked away from him, and decided to tease him again, rolling her hips just a bit as she went. She could feel his eyes on her all the way to the elevator.

As always, please read and review.