A month elapsed since the wedding and the gang just closed the hardest and most gruesome case of the year. It took a lot, possibly everything from them. Even Ryan, fresh off two glorious weeks of blissful honeymooning in Aruba , could not helpbut
bejust as exhausted both mentally and physically. They needed a release and Castle knew just what that should be.
Rick sent a mass text to the gang announcing the resumption of Thursday game night. As always the theme would stay secret until the evening festivities. As soon as the cell phones dinged indicating the reception of the message, Castle could see the
heads ofEsposito and Ryan nod in approval. Beckett just turned her head slightly to face Castle which also served the purpose of shielding her from the boys. The smile on her face spoke volumes, and as such, she wanted to keep itall hidden
fromthem for
the time being. Lanie texted back her acceptance and in a very surprising move, Ann Hastings approached Beckett's desk with an interesting look on her face.
"Kate?" She sheepishly whispers
"Hey Hastings, what's up?"
"Is this for real?" Showing Kate her cell phone with the text still displayed
"Oh, That is great! Will you be able to make it?"
"I would love to! So I am really invited?"
"Sure looks like it and, oh by the way, you will be expected to bring Paul"
Hastings let a slight giggle escape, being thrilled to be included. She knew they had a great time at the Ryan's wedding with them, sitting at the same table and then being included in the after parties. Still this invite gave heranother indicationof
her acceptance into the best homicide team in the NYPD. She felt especially happy that Castle extended the fun night offer since she effectively replaced him, albeit temporarily, as Beckett's partner. She couldn't wait for thenext night!
The next morning came with the perp in central booking and just the last few dozen pages of paperwork left, Castle thought it time to head out when the clock struck noon. The order of lunch from Remy's arrived, they only delivered for Castle and by extension,Beckett.
Rick even had a tab there! Certain his absence could be tolerated, he said his goodbye's, plus he needed time to assemble his grand night. His bright idea would take some doing. The guests would show uparound seven so skippingout after
/lunch gave him plenty of time to hatch his plan.
On his way out, he stopped at Luigi's of Arthur Avenue to order cold cut platters, salads, rolls and antipasto to be delivered by 6pm. Next he bribed Eduardo to come in early to help arrange theloft. First they hauled up two leather lovesofas fromthe
basement storage. Those along with the two already in the living room would provide sufficient seating for the evening's festivities.
Next the huge 75 inch flatscreen came out from the office and situated against the main wall. Next the seats were carefully arranged with end tables for drinks and plates. Finally the entertainment of the night found its perfect spot. Looking at hiswatch
andseeing that the food would arrive shortly, he decided a tumbler of Jameson's was calling his name. Settling into a bar stool at the kitchen island, he sipped his reward and waited.
No sooner than his butt hit chair, the door bell rang. Food here, he thought while opening the door. But he got a surprise instead. "Hey Castle"
"Hey Beckett, her a bit early eh?" Stepping aside to allow her entry.
"Yea, thought maybe I could lend a hand for the Big Rick Extravaganza", sporting a wise ass grin proudly.
"Why thank you my dear detective, but everything is coming together very nicely!"
Rick did not catch her facials at first since he had his back to her, working on getting Kate a drink. But when he did, he bloviated:
"hahaha, I will tell you my dear detective, tonite will rock" then winced at the bad pun.
No sooner did they offer each other a toast, the bell rang again. Along with the caterer, a burly man tailgated behind the fooddelivery. Additionally two largemen sporting Big Apple Movers work shirts entered, wheeling aplatform cartwith
audio visual equipment. Right behind them, Billy, the manager of the Old Haunt strode in. His arms opened wide as he approached Castle.
"Ricky!"
"Billy, got everything?"
"All here boss, same system as the Haunt"
Rubbing his hands in anticipation, Rick peruses the wares. As he let his mind drift, Billy reached around him to get started.
"Rick, need to get this all assembled"
"Right, right, let me get out of your way"
Castle returned back to the kitchen to where Kate sat. She sat there simply taking in the bizarre sight in front of her.
"So I am guessing this will not be very low key?"
"Oh my dear Kate, this may be our crowning achievement. Our shining moment!" Rick gushed
"So your big idea is karaoke?"
"Isn't that great."
Kate took a long pull on her drink and continued to supervise from afar, slowing growing in trepidation as to having to actually sing in front of their friends. She knew both Ryan and Espo would go nuts over it and Lanie had a beautiful voiceand wouldkick
ass. But herself, no, not her style, not her cup of tea, so to speak. No she needed to excuse herself somehow from whatever torture Castle planned.
She got up to inspect the culinary delights. It looks soooo good. Everything was ready, the plates and silverware assembled by the platters. Several steps away, Castle has several bottles of high end wine, twice as much red as white. A Bucket of chilledpremium
beers sat next to the wines, wine glasses and beer mugs separating them. Kate figured she could decant the wine closer to the arrival time of the guests,
Being ever the detective, Kate inspected the seating arrangements. "How convenient, four separate love seats". Kate murmured to herself. Quickly deducing the mathematics, she gasped insurprise "Four couples! I will be sitting with Castle! They don't knowweare
actually together!" Scanning the open space further, she spies the dining table set perpendicular to the big screen TV having only three chairs. In Frontof eachchairs placetags signifying "JUDGE". "Hmmmm". Kate pondered "hereally
did extend himself on this. The team will love this!"
"All done". Billy shouted, hoping to catch Rick who slipped into his office.
"Can we do a test drive?" Rick questioned as he emerged from his personal batcave.
"Would not leave before"
Rick knew how the system worked from the bar so once Billy declared all systems go, he would be able to run it and let Billy get back to his evening off. Grabbing Kate's arm, he dragged her onto the makeshift stage and microphones. Billy popped ina populartune
cueing the couple to begin as the words crawled across the screen.
Kate resisted furiously at first, but soon got into the tune as Billy adjusted the volume, base andtreble. Satisfied that they were ready to party, Billy handed Castle the playlist to choose from then made his exit.
Once Billy left, Beckett called over to Castle
"No way in hell I am singing!"
"Come on Kate" he begged, "one solo and one duet, how can you say no" he whined as only he could.
Kate picked at a pimento stuffed olive, mulling her fate. She knew he was right. There would be no way she could not participate when all her friends were. Two short songs, and the hell would be over.
"So what is our duet song?" She mumbled questioningly
"What about this one?" He suggested as he used it as his test run to ensure hecould work the system.
Kate had a reply on her lips when the doorbell rang twice.
"Can you get that?" Castle requested as he fiddled with the equipment
"Sure" Kate replied over her shoulder as she opened the door revealing their first guests
"Ann, Paul. Come in! Do glad you made it". Kate exclaimed excitedly
"We can't believe we are here and for the legendary Castle Thursday Fun Night"
"Legendary?" Her face literally formed a question mark
"Yes, they are the talk of the precinct, I can't tell you how many daggered looks and jealous comments I get over being part of your team alone, I can't imagine what the scuttlebutt will be if they find I was included in these!"
Kate blushed briefly and lead them to the bar area. Kate had just decanted a lovely Merlot and a Chardonnay to which Paul poured Anne a glass and grabbed a Smithwick's for himself.
With a flourish, the front door opened again and in waltzed Martha and Alexis with Bergdorf Goodman shopping bags. After a quick general hello the two ladies assented the staircase to their rooms to store their treasures. Coming back down,they joinedthe
two other couples at the food spread. They made small talk mostly about Paul's newest installment of Lone Vengeance and graphic novels in general. Castle had hooked him up with Black Pawn to give him a larger commercial reach.
The Ryan's and Lanie with Espo in tow showed fashionably late. Now everyone filled their plates with Italian delicacies and libations. Somehow Castle snuck away and put name placards identifying what seat to take. At the dining room table satMartha
andAlexis who are apparentlyjudges. Conspicuous was the last empty chair. At 15 after the hour, the door bell rang again and Captain Gates appeared and sauntered over to greet those whose mouths hung agape. After getting a redwine
and plate
of food she joined Martha and Alexis at the judges table.
Castle cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention.
"Please take your seats, your places are assigned. We are competing in my version of "AMERICAN IDOL". Each of us will pick a song from the vast library provided. After each performance the judges will rate you on a one to ten scale thensealtheir
verdict. They will open them after all of us compete. Then we will have a duets competition, again scores will be sealed and revealed later. "
"I have taken the liberty of putting each of our names into a hat so our order of singing is random. Will we do the same at the duets portion. All songs are karaoke style, ergo the equipment from the Old Haunt. Are their any questions? Good?JudgeGates,
please pick the first name!"
As luck would have it, Kate drew first song. Her choice was "Wild Angels" by Martina McBride to which she did a credible job. Jenny then Anne followed doing adequate justice to their choices making Lanie last togo in the female category.
Lanie chose Whitney Houston's version of " I'll Always Love You" and once Lanie nailed the crescendo, Kate knew the ME had won easily. Castle lead the way by flicking his lighter as if he were at a concert.
Rick drew first for the guys andstumbled through an awkward version of "Together Forever" by Rick Astley. Paul followed with possibly a worse rendition of some obscure rap song. Javi and Ryan faced off, knowing bragging rights were within theirindividual
grasp.
Ryan had the microphone next . He pulled up the collar of his jacket, ran his fingers through his hair to sort of slick it back then spun on his heel a belted out an incredible version of a song from "JERSEY BOYS". When done,the othersgave hima
nice ovation making him feel confident.
Not to be outdone, Espo killed it with a version of "Purple Rain". Again an ovation followed the performance. Always cocky, Espo shouldered Ryan on the way past to try to intimidate him. Once again, Castle cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.
"Let's take a short break, get something to eat and drink. Next up are the duets. Each couple better bring their 'A' game!"
After fifteen or twenty minutes, the gang reclaimed their spots. Ann and Paul basically mumbled through their try. Jenny and Kevin did a love sick interpretation of "Endless Love" closing with a kiss. Javi and Ms. Parrish claimed the stage nextkickinginto
high gear with Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown song "No Air". Their rendering ended with a big ovation. Now the pressure was squarely on Rick and Kate.
"Turn Around" a big baritone voice filled the room
"every now and then I get a little bit lonely
And you're never coming round". A soft sultry voice followed
"Turn around" once more the deep seductivetone asserted
"every now and then I get a little bit tired
Of listening to the sound of my tears" her voice practically pleaded
And the rest of the song followed in perfect Beckett-Castle harmony as if they were running theory at the murder board.
Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit nervous
That the best of all the years have gone by
Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit terrified
And then I see the look in your eyes
Turn around bright eyes, every now and then I fall apart
Turn around bright eyes, every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong together
We can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time (all of the time)
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
And there's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
When done, Kate dove into a huge hug from her partner, elated at their amazing portrayal. So invested in their own being, they did not acknowledge the accolades of their friends. As good as Esplainie were, Caskett were that much better. Comingbackto
reality,they all huddled together to celebrate a truly remarkable evening.
Kate excused herself, making her way to the kitchen to roll out the dessert bar. Castle got the expresso machine gurgling. All the happy faces just further gladdened Castle'sHeart. Gates slid in next to him, big smile on her face, leaned in and
whispered:
"Thank you for this" Then snagged an eclair takinga big bite.
Castle snuck out again, returning a moment later wheeling a tray of fancy trophies. The judges pickedagain from the Venetian table, leave it to Castle to provide one, before returning to their chairs to render their decisions.
This time it was Gates who commanded everyone's attention.
"Ok quiet down!" She shouted over the throng
"The winner for best male solo performance goes to" Gates doing her best Martha dramatic pause " goes to Kevin Ryan!
Esposito looked pissed initially then relentedto congratulate Honeymilk.
Castle then brought over a three foot trophy of a man holding a microphone with a karaoke machine at his feet. He slid the brass plate out of its place saying:
"I'll get this engraved tomorrow"
Gates once again assumed authority "The winner in the female group should be no surprise... Dr. Parrish!"
Castle duplicated the same procedure for this trophy, only difference is it had a female body.
"And last but not least, the duet trophy does to our host and hostess... Kate and Rick!"
Once more Gates got vocal " and everybody, enjoy to the fullest, I am giving you tomorrow off so you could have a three day weekend!"
The hooting and hollering could be heard all the way down to the street as Gates once again thankedBeckett and Castle for the fantastic time and thinking to include her. She quietly departed without notice.
Everyone refreshed their beverages and found their way back to the sofas. The camaraderie filled the loft as this team of eight and of course,Martha and Alexis, were truly special and everyone there, from rookie Hastings to leader Beckett, knew it. Hastings
simplyglowed with being so easily accepted, never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be both lucky at work and in love. The funny thing is, Beckett had the absolute same feelings as she discreetly embraced Castle's hand.
An hour must have passed and the night getting late when mysteriously a shopping bag appeared next to Lanie. Reaching into the bag, She pulled out and affixed her Judge Lanie wig.
"Ahem, it has come to my attention that we have some unfinished business from last time" Lanie demanded trying to stifle a giggle.
"It is the ruling of this court that one, Richard Edgar Castle aka Richard Alexander Rodgers, knowingly avoided and dodged a truth question posed to him. At this time, I expect this omission to be corrected"
When Kate saw the wig come out, she had an inkling of what was next so she discretely found her way to the bar and refilled herwine glass, looking for some liquid solace. Topping off her glass once more after a large swallow of libation shecame
back and rested on the arm of the sofa occupiedby the Ryan's across from Castle.
"Mr. Castle, do you intend to satisfy the court's mandate at this time?"
"Your honor.." A wordsmith on paper a talent whichnever transacted to the verbal in times of need "I err I mean ahhhh"
"CASTLE!"
"You see your honor, I feel this matter has been settled out of court and therefore not relevant nor appropriate to be disclosed here".
"Ms. Beckett, was this the case, you went behind our backs and settled this?"
"Yes Judge"
"If I may" Castle decided to push his luck. "Since the settlement the number has increased by one"
"Castle got lucky! " Espo needled forgetting that Alexis was still there. Everyone's eyes affixed on him admonishing his poor judgement. With all attention relegated to Espo, nobody could see the blush creeping up Beckett's neck.
Thinking they were very secretive, Kate and Rick both flashed two fingers on the left hand and one on the right. Judge Lanie caught that action and not being able to contain her excitement for her best friend, bellowed:
"Kate! You better explain! And I want ALL the details!"
EPILOGUE:
After the guests left. Rick and Kate made short work of filling two rolling suitcases dumping them in the trunk of the Ferrari. It might have been 1am but the euphoria of being a couple finally exposed to their friends gave them each a rush of adrenaline.
Kate again snagged the keys and burned rubber out of the underground parking garage. At this hour, the Hampton's would be an easy ride especiallywhen exceeding thespeed limit expodentionially. They would truly enjoy this giftthree
day weekend and solidify the great start as a couple now knownas Caskett