A/N: So, the little scene towards the end of the chapter? Yeah, total tribute to the awesome video that made Castle fandom explode yesterday! To Bones35: Thank you for the opinion; duly noted, and because you used the word "quibble", I used no parentheses in this chapter, though I can't promise I'll never use them again ;) Thank you so much for your continued reviews, please keep them coming! Also, I start school tomorrow so updates will not be as quick, but fear not, we will prevail! Also, I don't own Walmart. Or Castle, for that matter!

Chapter 12

Castle led as he and Kate made their way to check out at the reception desk. Castle had won the chivalry battle and was carrying both their bags as Kate glanced around the main lobby. He figured she had been too fatigued the night before to really notice.

She lagged behind as he stepped up to the counter, hands clasped casually behind her back, sunglasses propped on her head holding a few stray locks of hair out of her eyes, and her straight-leg jeans accenting her slender ankles as she pivoted on the balls of her feet taking in her surroundings. The morning sun shone through the large bay window looking to the outside.

Wow. He wanted to stare at her all day- the way the natural light accented the highlights in her hair, how she slowly turned on her toes with one knee bent and one hand to her mouth absently holding her thumbnail between her teeth. Maybe he would conveniently forget about shoes because without them she looked like a fairy. If he looked closely enough he could almost make out pointy ears disappearing into her hair. She could be so...cute.

Oops. With any luck, she would never find out he'd just used that adjective to describe her. He couldn't help it. She was always beautiful to him but when she thought no one was watching...just, wow.

"Um, can I help you, sir?" Crap, caught in the act. And he knew he probably had some brand of goofy grin plastered on his face.

He tried to ease it into a cordial smile, "Yes, we need to check out."

The young woman tapped on her keyboard, "And the name, sir?"

Kate casually came up beside him gifting him with an easy smile as she leaned her forearms on the counter.

He really needed to quit staring. "Uh...Rogers, it's under Rogers."

Kate noticed the name but only subtly raised her eyebrows at him.

"Very good, Mr. Rogers. It looks like you paid in cash last night for the room so all that's left is the room service charge. Did you and Mrs. Rogers enjoy your stay?"

He flicked a look at Kate whose eyebrows were raised even higher than before. Castle opened his mouth to explain, or respond, or...just say something! But words were failing once more as Kate smoothy slid next to him and linked an arm through his, placing her other hand on his bicep.

"Yes, everything was very nice. We don't get the chance to get away very often so this was a special treat." She responded for him easily but he didn't miss the purposeful squeeze of her fingers around his arm. Oh, boy. He was undoubtedly going to pay for this later.

He closed his mouth and tore his eyes away from her expectant ones.

"Well, Honey, are you going to pay her or just stand there all day?" God, was she talking again? Hearing her pretend like they were married was unfortunately turning him on in the worst way.

"No, of course." He dug for his wallet and paid for the room service from the night before.

"Thank you, come back and see us!" The young woman took his money.

He picked up the bags and turned to make sure Kate was still following him, then realized she hadn't ever let go of his arm. When he met her eyes she just smiled sweetly at him which somehow made him more nervous about being in trouble.

When they exited the front doors he tried to explain, "Sorry, Kate! I panicked last night when they asked for my name, and then they were looking at you like you were a barefoot lunatic so I was trying to gain us some credibility so they'd accept cash instead of a card so I just said you were my wife without thinking..." then much quieter, and if he had to admit it, a little pathetically, "don't be mad."

She was looking at him incredulously, "Geez, Castle! What kind of person do you think I am? You drive all the way to Rockland to make sure I wasn't shot to death and then sneak away with me on your dime- which the FBI will reimburse you for, I promise- and you think I'm going to be mad at you for pretending we're married so we can fly under the radar?"

Somehow he still felt as though he was being punished for something, "You sound kinda mad."

"Well," she sounded a little exasperated now, "I am mad at you. For thinking I'm a..." she flipped a hand in the air as she searched for the word, "...meanie."

Meanie? Shweeoo! So she wasn't totally mad. "That's okay, I kinda like my wives mean." He grinned at her and though she rolled her eyes, she returned it.

They had come to the edge of the sidewalk and he was about to tell her to wait there while he loaded the bags and brought the car to the curb so she wouldn't have to walk in the street but she was no longer beside him.

"Uh, Kate?" He knew he was panicking a little prematurely but, as much fun as he was having with her, he hadn't forgotten the reason for their little road trip, and he wanted her in sight at all times. "Kate?"

He suddenly felt her weight as she leaped from the curb onto his back, wrapping her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck and shoulders. He steadied himself from the change in balance, still holding a bag in each hand.

"Geez, Kate! You scared me!"

She laughed so near his ear he could feel her breath, "Take a chill pill, Castle! I thought hitching a ride this way would be faster!" She stretched out her legs on either side of him, "Can we please get me shoes now? I'm starting to feel like I'm trying to make a statement about being 'one with the earth' or something."

Castle involuntarily gasped. Did her lips just brush his ear, because he could have sworn...

"Come on, Castle, get movin'! This isn't exactly comfortable!"

"Right." He began walking to the car with the two duffels in his hands and Kate on his back. When he stopped she slid down his back carefully, putting one foot on the ground at a time. He opened the back door.

"Wow, Castle, you're a smooth ride." She tossed a look over her shoulder and swayed her hips a bit as she walked to the passenger side.

Yep. She was going to kill him. He shook his head wondering how he was going to survive her.

Kate one. Castle zero.

Castle drove them further into the city so Kate could shop for her shoes, even though she assured him that any would be fine just so long as she didn't have to go barefoot anymore.

For some reason she thought it seemed like he felt obligated to show her a good time; like they were actually on vacation.

"Castle, we could have stopped at Walmart or something."

"No! Besides, my GPS found a small shoe store and it's always better to support local businesses."

"Alright, alright. I just don't want you to feel like we have to drive around for hours looking for a specific place."

He cast her a sideways glance, "Listen, Beckett, just because you always drive in New York does not mean that I'm incompetent! I know where we're going!" She could see the humor in the way his eyes crinkled and smiled without the help of his lips.

She smiled in return. Day number two and she was still happy he was here with her. Not that she was surprised. It was true he could be obnoxious at times but for the most part, she'd grown accustomed to his humor and comparatively easygoing attitude. As it was she kept forgetting they were currently in a dangerous situation with a fed following their every move. Oh yeah, Jensen.

"Hey Castle, do you have my phone? We should probably check in with Jensen."

"Oh yeah. I already did that this morning." He suddenly had lost a bit of the levity that was naturally present in his demeanor. "He said everything's fine. Nothing to worry about. He just wants to get back on the road in a couple of hours."

"Oh, well thanks for calling him."

"Sure. Don't really know what his hurry is in getting out of town though."

"Well, he's probably just trying to do things by the book, ya know? And now he's all by himself without his partner..." She trailed off. Oops. Too close to home. She looked out the window and cupped her chin in her hand.

"Hey." Castle's voice was soft beside her. "Maybe the other guy will be okay."

She shook her head, she knew better. "No, Castle, you should have seen him. Even by the time I got there he'd already lost so much blood. It kind of kills me that I can't call someone and ask how he's doing. Part of me doesn't want to know, I guess."

He pressed their palms together folding her fingers with his, "You did everything you could, completely disregarding your own safety, and I'm sure somehow he knows it."

Castle could have easily been talking about himself right then and she squeezed his hand a little and looked at his profile even as he focused on the road in front of him, "I know it." She said it quietly but he heard it and took his eyes from the road to look at her with a puzzled expression. She didn't offer anything else, just gave him a sad smile and turned her gaze back out the window.

Castle pulled up and parallel parked along the street in front of the shops.

"Ha! Victory! There's the shoe store!"

She smiled, "I'm impressed, honey, way to use the GPS." It had gotten a little heavy so she decided she'd try her hand at lightening the mood.

He grinned and rushed around her side to open her door and help her to the sidewalk.

"Gross." She made a face, "I'm so tired of my feet touching everything!"

He made a grandiose gesture with his arms to the door of the shop and opened it.

"Thank you."

Truth be told she was little nervous about shopping with him. This was something she usually did alone when she had some time on her hands; definitely not when she had someone waiting for her.

But, true to his form, Castle didn't seem to be bothered by any of it and followed her with enough distance between them so she didn't feel smothered. Occasionally he would hold up a ridiculous pair of bright purple heels or combat boots with skulls and crossbones on them but for the most part, he left her alone, almost as though he could tell if he made his presence any stronger it would make her uncomfortable.

"Hey, what size shoe do you wear?" His voice cut through her thoughts from the aisle over.

"Why, Castle? What makes you think I would tell?"

"I don't know, what if I'm tasked with getting you glass slippers one day and, agh!, I don't know your shoe size!"

"That seems highly improbable." But he'd been good today. "I'm a 9."

"Oh my God, you have gorilla feet!"

She eyed him over the multicolored shoe boxes separating them, "Shut it, Castle."

Attempting to be modest she chose a pair of black flip-flops and brown flats, both versatile and would get her through till she could get home. She placed them on the counter and remembered she couldn't pay with a card. Castle would have to pay. Ugh, how embarrassing. But he was already beside her with his wallet out dropping two more shoe boxes next to hers.

"Castle, what-"

"Ah! Don't ruin the surprise, Beckett! Just go with it." Then to the sales clerk, "This will be all."

Kate donned her flip-flops as Castle shut the trunk of the SUV.

"Hey?" She turned towards his words, "Wanna grab some ice cream? I think I saw a place a block down."

She shrugged. She was certainly not in a hurry, "I could eat ice cream."

He offered her his arm, which she took without hesitation, and they started down the sidewalk.

"Your hair looks good pulled back." That was random, but she'd bite.

"Uh, thanks. Just didn't feel like dealing with it today."

"Yeah, I figured. I just. You seem more relaxed...with me."

So, he was digging. "Relaxed, or maybe I just don't care about impressing you anymore. You're old news." She shrugged her shoulders flippantly.

"So what you're saying is, at one time you were trying to impress me?" Of course that's what he would interpret from her teasing. Fine. Instead of responding she tossed him a flirtatious grin with her tongue between her teeth for a moment, complete with a little laugh at the end. Castle had stopped walking about four sidewalk segments ago and now just looked at her dumbly as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Coming, Castle?"

He hurried to catch up with her.

They ate their ice cream sitting across from one another at an outside bistro table making small talk. Castle was saying something to her about Nikki Heat being in some sort of debacle he couldn't get her out of but she hadn't been listening because he had a smudge of cookies and cream right at the corner of his mouth that was driving her crazy. Wipe it off. Wipe it off.

"So, what do you think?" Uh oh. Caught.

"About what?" Stupid.

"Ha! I knew you weren't listening! What are you staring at? Do I have a bug on my face?" He started wiping his hands across his face effectively missing the ice cream.

Before she could think about it she leaned in and used her thumb to wipe it away, leaving it there to linger just a bit too long as he froze beneath her touch.

"Sorry, you had a little..." she trailed off and gestured on her own face where the offending smear had been then, noticing his shallow breaths, grinned a bit evilly and stuck her thumb in her mouth, sucking away the ice cream.

"Mmmm. Yours is pretty good."

Castle still sat, dumbfounded. She loved when she could get him good.

"I would have given you some if you'd asked." Was all he said.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Uh, good point?" It was more of a question then an agreement.

She laughed. "Should we get going, Jensen said a couple of hours."

Again, at the mention of Jensen Castle seemed to darken. "Whatever, that guy's kind of a jerk."

"Oh, yeah?" She wondered what had happened when they had talked this morning.

"Yeah, I don't know." He began worrying his napkin in his hands.

"Castle." She used her slightly firm tone to let him know she meant business. "What happened?"

"I don't know. He was just rude, I guess. Said something disapproving about how we were playing house instead of staying on task..." He meet her eyes sheepishly, almost like he thought he was in trouble.

She gestured to the empty ice cream bowls, "Well, I'd say he's right about that."

Castle's face fell a little.

"But," she continued, "you don't see me caring too much about it."

He suddenly lit up a little and smiled. God, he could be such a little kid sometimes.

"Look, Castle, he's just doing his job. We don't need him to be nice."

He pouted as she tossed their ice cream cups, "Yeah, but it'd be nice if he was nice."

She suddenly had this amazing idea that could kill two birds with one stone: gain her a point against Castle and make Jensen extremely uncomfortable, if he was watching, which she assumed he was.

"What's the matter, Castle, you afraid Jensen doesn't approve of our marital bliss?" She shook her hair out of her ponytail so it flowed around her face. Crazily.

She sauntered towards him and purposefully stuck her index finger between her teeth.

Castle froze on the sidewalk. What was she doing? If he thought really hard he could remember some idle threat he had made at some point about doing something to her if she bit down on her damn finger again. What was it?

She was in front of him now, her hands roaming across his chest, and he actually found himself completely confused and leaning into her at the same time. She looked from under her lashes at him and palmed the side of his face, letting her fingers tease in his hair for just a moment before moving down to caress the outside of his ear finally settling her thumb and index finger on his earlobe, lightly squeezing.

She was not breaking eye contact, and he was powerless to look away as he found a small bit of breath within him and forced out, "Wha-what are you doing?"

But her face was so close to his and she moved in as though she was about to kiss him but at the last minute moved her lips to the side and touched her cheek to his, only for an instant, and feather light, keeping her hand against his opposite cheek.

He forced himself to blink. Whatever this was...whatever. Brain wasn't working right now. Kate Beckett's hands all over him and face right next to his...yep, he was short circuiting and he knew it.

"Making Jensen see what a good time we're having posing as a married couple." Oh, yeah, he'd asked a question.

She pulled her hand back down and grasped his shoulder while inhaling purposefully to bring their chests flush and her nose mere millimeters from touching his.

"And we are having a good time, aren't we?" Wow, she was so breathy. She began moving the tip of her nose against his in little Eskimo kisses like he used to give Alexis when she was small, but these were soooo much different. Her face was so close to his but he couldn't close his eyes, he just kept trying to focus on her as she smiled and gave a contented little sigh.

He found his voice again, "Are we?"

She pulled back and he found himself involuntarily following her lips with his, but she escaped, that same satisfied smile on her face, "I think so."

With that she pulled away and began walking back to the car.

What the...? Was all his brain could think to say. She had killed him; dead. Teased him so much that his head and heart had exploded and now lay useless on the battlefield while the rest of him tried to scoop it up.

Kate two. Castle zero.

His feet finally obeyed him and he started after her. Oh, it's on.

Sidelines. He loved the sidelines. There it was easiest to blend in. Let the players get comfortable in the game, careless. And they were getting careless. Her guard was always up, until now, suddenly, she was relaxed, at ease. She'd forgotten all about him...how smart he was. They thought they could run. He would have to remind them. He'd already dealt with the FBI, they were no longer a threat. The man who was now with her annoyed him. Made her stupid and silly with love. Yes, love. He could see it flowing out of them; in the way they walked next to each other, apart but always bumping back together, as if neither one could be far from the other for long, like magnets.

It bothered him. This wasn't about love, it was about the job. But they hadn't known who they were dealing with when they hired him. He was a professional, yes, but he appreciated the human mind, especially when he could break it, and he could always break it.

He looked through the people milling around the street, happy. He watched as she glanced at him teasingly and when he caught up to her how she laced her fingers with his. He hoped she liked to be teased. She deserved it after what she'd just done to the man with her. Why did women always think that was okay? To tease a man. That was like playing with fire. But he liked her. She was smart, quick...that's why he'd missed her the first time...she had surprised him, acting intelligently, catlike under pressure.

But this man. He was her weakness. He made her smile, lose sight of the game. He would remedy that, but not yet. Not yet. Love made her stupid and would continue until he stopped it. Soon she would drop the ball, and when that happened...he'd be ready.