Moment in Time

Knockdown

Castle winced as he unwrapped the bandage the EMT had swathed way too tightly around his swollen knuckles. "Hey there, Chuck Norris," Beckett said, climbing into the back of the ambulance, "how's the hand?"

"Excruciating," Castle answered.

"Hmmm," Beckett mused, re-wrapping the bandage around his hand.

Castle smiled. "Thanks. How are Ryan and Esposito?"

"Mild hypothermia and wounded pride," Beckett answered. "Guess which one will heal first?"

"Beckett, can we get out of here? I'd like to numb my wounds in about ten pounds of ice,"Castle told her, searching for a plausible excuse."

"Sure Castle," Beckett told him. "I can certainly understand wanting to numb the pain."

Castle was pretty sure that Beckett wasn't talking about bruises, but he followed her to her car.

Castles's hand was stiff enough that he asked Beckett to help him manipulate the key to the loft. Castle's freezer had an ample supply of ice, both for his hand and his scotch. Beckett got him settled on the couch with a glass and a cold pack and started to leave. "Kate, stay awhile," Castle pleaded. "You need to decompress at least as much as I do. Pour yourself a glass of wine or whatever you want and put your feet up. Hal Lockwood isn't going anywhere but jail. Besides there's some stuff I want to ask you."

Beckett sat next to Castle on the couch, her body still tense and her feet solidly on the floor. "I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this, Castle, but what do you want to know?"

"Why did you start back working on your mother's death last summer when I was in the Hamptons? Weren't you just getting started with Demming? Or was he helping you?"

Beckett sighed, pondering just how much she wanted to tell Castle. "I broke it off with Tom the day you left, actually right before you left. I was going to tell you and ask if I could still take you up on your invitation, but Gina showed up."

Castle's breath whooshed out of him, as if he had been punched. "So there was no beach house?"

Beckett shook her head.

"And you were alone all summer? Alone until Josh?"

Beckett nodded slowly.

I'm sorry," Castle told her. "If I had known, I never would have left you to relive all of that by yourself. Is that why you were so upset when I didn't call you after the summer? I really was going to, you know, right after my book tour, but I didn't think you'd care."

"I really don't know, Castle. It just really felt like you'd left us. I didn't realize you thought I had Tom for support."

"So when did you meet Josh?"

"It was a few days after I had to arrest Mike Royce. I was still upset."

"How did you guys meet?"

Beckett laughed. "I was at a biker bar. I had my Harley and Josh had his bike. He bought me a beer and we just started talking. He's smart and so dedicated to making the world a better place, I liked him."

"So he really is Doctor Motorcycle Boy?"

Beckett smiled thoughtfully. "I guess."

"But he's so dedicated to making the world a better place that he isn't here for you. Is that why you didn't tell him about looking into your mother's murder?"

"That's not fair, Castle. He's been here for me, sometimes. He's helped me research cases. We have fun together. I like that he's so busy. He's a good man. I just didn't think he'd really understand."

"Kate, if he doesn't understand about how you feel about your mother's murder, he doesn't understand you."

"Castle, I really don't need you to analyze my love life, or me. If you want me to stay, we need to talk about something else," Beckett insisted stubbornly.

"Okay," Castle agreed. "Let's talk about pizza."

"Pizza, Castle?"

"Yeah, I'm starving. Aren't you hungry after a hard day of crime fighting?"

Beckett hadn't thought about it, but at the mention of savory slices, her stomach began to rumble. Castle looked at her. "I heard that," he exclaimed. "What do you want on it?"

"Castle, you know how I like my coffee. You know what I eat for breakfast. If you don't know what I like on my pizza by now, that's a major hole in your research for Nikki Heat."

"Beckett, who do you think you're talking to? I know that you like sausage and pepperoni and that you love both mushrooms and banana peppers. I was just wondering if you had a special request."

"Okay Castle, I want pineapple."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Castle took a page from Beckett's book and rolled his eyes. "I'll have them put pineapple on half," he told her, putting his hand in his pocket for his phone and wincing a little at the pressure on his sore knuckles.

"Do you need some help with that, Castle?" Beckett asked, observing the sudden flash of pain in his eyes.

Castle smirked. "Beckett, I can do this with one finger. I have an ap for that."

Beckett covered her mouth to conceal her smile. "Of course you do, Castle."

The pizza arrived quickly, along with bread sticks, an array of dipping sauces, two salads and fried dough coated with cinnamon sugar. Castle tipped the delivery man generously. Beckett surveyed the feast they laid out on the table.

"You weren't kidding about being starving, Castle."

"Saving your life always makes me hungry."

Beckett shook her head and reached for a slice with pineapple, determined to convince Castle that she actually liked it. As the meal progressed, she hoped he wouldn't notice that she concentrated more on her salad and the bread sticks. Castle watched her with a knowing smile. As they cleaned up, Castle offered to wrap Beckett's leftover pizza to take home. She demurred a little too quickly, leaving Castle to swallow a laugh.

When the table was clear, Castle returned to the couch and his somewhat diminished ice pack. Beckett remained standing. "I need to go, Castle. After the food and everything else that's happened today, if I stay, I'll fall asleep."

"Beckett, you could sleep here. No funny stuff, I promise. Seems like I've said that before."

"Castle, I really do need to get home, but I want to say thank you for having my back tonight."

"Always."

A/N I think this is a plausible way for Kate to have met Josh. They never mentioned how it happened on the show. I actually like pineapple on my pizza. I picked that up from a Vietnamese co-worker. My husband hates it, though, so I almost never get to have it. Somehow I didn't think it would be to Beckett's taste either. Maybe we'll find out, if there's ever another Castle Paley panel, or better yet, Castle at Nerd HQ.