So... it's been a while.
1. I've been finding it harder to write Caskett as canon now that Caskett actually is canon.
2. It's incredibly annoying.

Girls' Nights Outs & Alleyways

"Wow," Castle said, walking into their room, looking at her in her black skinny jeans, killer stilettos, and that cobalt blue tunic with the sequins on the front that he loved so much because it was backless and gave him the perfect opportunity to run his hands over the skin of her back, "You are particularly stunning tonight…" he walked up behind her as she was touching up her mascara, wrapping his arms around her middle, his hands sliding under the material of her top as he put his chin on her shoulder, tilting his head to murmur against the skin of her neck, "… What did I do to deserve this?"

She chuckled, swatting at his hands, "Down boy, this isn't for you."

"I knew it… it's for your other boyfriend."

Kate nodded, trying to look serious.

"Yup, Boyfriend #3."

"Ah, that's right," Rick said, "Boyfriend #2 is cross country skiing in Europe. I almost forgot."

She smiled at him in mirror teasingly, turning around in his embrace and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing the line of herself up against him.

"Esposito did something to annoy Lanie… again. Demanded a girls' night. She told me to, quote 'put something sexy on and get ready, we're going out for drinks.'"

"Well that's just entirely unfair," Rick said, pushing her back against the dresser.

"How so?" Kate questioned, her eyes dancing in amusement.

"Why am I being punished for Esposito's mistakes?"

She threw her head back and laughed and he admired the line of her neck.

"You're not being punished."

He shook his head.

"I am…" he insisted, "…You're going out looking like this and I can't even touch you."

She ran a hand up his chest and up his neck, her hand rubbing the skin above the strained tendon on the side.

"What if I said you can touch me all you want after I get back?"

"But that could be hours!" he whined, only half messing with her, his hands moving to crawl under the hem of her shirt again, teasing the skin there.

"So write about it," Kate said, playing along, "Nikki and Lauren just went out for drinks, leaving Rook all alone in his apartment with nothing to do, thinking about how long her legs looked in those heels, how he just wanted to wrap them around his waist… What would Rook do to Nikki when she stumbled into his apartment later that night...?"

He swallowed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

She smiled at him, leaning forward and giving him a quick kiss.

"Actually… I think I'll enjoy the surprise."

He exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"You're evil."

She kissed him again, her fingers still dancing across his neck.

He sighed when he heard a knock at the door.

"That's Lanie," Kate murmured, pulling away from him slightly.

"So?" he moved back to kiss her again.

A hand on his chest stopped him.

"Castle."

"What?"

"Go get the door so I can finish getting ready."

"But…"

"Now."

As soon as Lanie knocked back her third shot and ordered her fourth, Kate realized that it was going to be a long night.

Kate had only had one, realizing that one of them was going to have to be coherent enough to get them home at the end of the night, and understanding that Lanie needed this.

"And then," Lanie said, smacking her hand down on the bar, "the girl on the scene actually had the nerve to slip him her number. AND HE TOOK IT!" Lanie said, her eyes on fire, "And when I asked him calmly about it… He told me I was overreacting. Overreacting? Do you know what he would do if I took another guys number? He would be out for BLOOD, Kate Beckett. BLOOD."

Lanie's fourth shot arrived and she knocked it back immediately.

"Look, Lanie," Kate said, trying to salvage some of the night, knowing how much she would regret the alcohol in the morning, silently signaling to the bartender for two glasses of water, "He's not going to do anything with it. You can't control what other people do. Women flaunt their chests at Rick, and I don't like it, but I deal. He doesn't act on it. Should he have taken her number? No, but it happened. It's not worth throwing everything you have away. You love each other."

Lanie squared her shoulders, clearly not liking where Kate went with the conversation, "And how does Castle feel when people hit on you while you're working when he's standing right next to you?"

"He hates it," Kate says honestly, thanking the bartender with a smile when he returned with their waters, pushing one of them towards Lanie. She sipped at it obediently, "But he knows he can't do anything while we're working…" Kate grabbed her water and took a sip, smirking over the edge of the glass, "… he just reminds me why I'm his once we get home."

Lanie's eyes widened, "Girl, you've been holding out on me."

Kate shook her head, putting her water down, choosing not to give Lanie any of the salacious details, "The point is, that's what you should have done. Just prove to him why he doesn't need anyone else but you. I know you have no problems marking your territory."

"Oh, and you don't?" Lanie said incredulously.

Kate just smiled, "I never said that. I just prefer not to do it in public."

"So what about that one time at the book signing he dragged you to when you grabbed him and practically made out with him on the signing table after a woman slipped him her number and told him he should call her when he's single again because he 'looks better without all that extra weight'?"

Kate glared at her friend.

That woman was lucky Kate had better control of herself.

But yeah… that had made its way onto Page Six… and all over her desk at the Precinct… and the Internet.

"Or that time the new assistant to the D.A. was doing trial prep with you two?"

"Hey! I kept that professional."

"Yeah…" Lanie deadpanned, "… you just brought him into work the next morning with a hickey under his ear that didn't go for a week that he tried to play off as 'he fell in the shower onto a shampoo bottle'."

Admittedly, it hadn't been his best lie.

"I offered to help him cover it up."

"So Ryan and Javier could call him out for wearing make-up? Wasn't gonna happen. And please, girl… a hickey from you? He's going to wear that like a medal of honor."

She smirked at Lanie and opened her mouth to retort, but she felt someone knock into the stool she was sitting on. She saw a man appear on the other side of Lanie before looking behind her, finding another a man now sitting next to her.

"There's something wrong with this picture," the man next to Lanie said, getting both of their attentions.

"Yeah," the one next to Kate said, "there's no way two lovely women such as yourselves should be paying for your own drinks at a bar like this."

Kate fought the urge to roll her eyes.

Oh, if she had a dime…

"I'm Aidan," the man next to Lanie said, holding out his hand to shake.

"Lanie," she answered, smiling.

"And I'm Derek," the man next to her said.

She almost smiled.

"Kate," she replied, shaking his outstretched hand.

"It suits you," Derek said.

Kate motioned to the bartender for another water.

"What are you drinking?" Derek said, gesturing towards her glass, "The next one's on me."

"Water," Kate said curtly.

"Well order something else," Derek said, "I'll buy it for you."

Kate narrowed her eyes as the bartender brought her another water, "I'm perfectly capable of buying my own drinks."

She looked over, saw Lanie talking to Aidan.

Suddenly, Aidan moved back a step, holding his hand out to Lanie, who took it quickly.

Oh no, this was a bad idea.

"Lanie…" Kate said, the warning clear in her voice.

Lanie was her best friend, but Esposito was like her brother.

She couldn't just watch Lanie hook up with another guy because she was still angry at Esposito.

"Don't worry," Lanie said, standing up straight, and stepping off of her stool without any trouble. Apparently the water had helped a little. "Just a couple of dances."

Lanie walked away, bumping shoulders with Aidan before they both looked over their shoulders, laughing.

And that's when it hit her.

Aidan wasn't the instigator, but the wing-man.

Lanie wasn't the intended target, she was.

Lanie was trying to get back at her for not taking her side completely.

"So…" Derek said, sliding his bar stool closer to hers, "why don't you tell me about yourself, Kate?"

That bitch.

Twenty minutes later and Lanie still hadn't returned from the dance floor.

She was trying her hardest to get rid of Derek. She told him that was dating someone, and he thought she was lying and brushed it off. She told him that she dealt with dead people every day, and he told her it was awesome. She told him that she had been shot in the chest, he asked if he could see her scar. He had bought her an apple martini that was sitting untouched in front of her while he was there, telling her all about his dog and how impressive his job was (he worked at a bank) and god, how didn't she have a boyfriend because she was just so beautiful.

To which she once again responded that she did indeed have a boyfriend.

To which Derek laughed again and ignored it.

She didn't want to get up and leave because she still wasn't sure where Lanie was. She had searched the crowd for her but couldn't find her, and no matter how angry she was at Lanie for doing this to her, Kate wasn't the type of person to leave her friend at a bar by herself with a man she just met. She didn't want to get up from the bar because if she got up, Derek would most likely follow her, and while he was being a creep, she really didn't want to have to take him down in the middle of the club for being a little too exuberant for her liking.

So she stayed put, her phone resting on her lap, sending texts to Castle every now and then telling him how much she missed him. She got the sense that he was suspicious, but he let it go, texting her back almost instantly to keep her entertained.

And, since clearly being more enthralled in her phone than with the man sitting beside her didn't work, she figured her best bet of getting rid of Derek was just to make herself seem crazy.

She was in the middle of a regaling story about her life with 12 brothers and sisters living on a farm down in Amish country Pennsylvania when she felt a hand on her back.

She froze, ready to spin around and deck the man who was stupid enough to touch her.

She wasn't in the mood.

She whipped her head around, her eyes widening as she saw him, dressed in a pair of black slacks, wearing a dark gray button up that made her bite her lip whenever she saw him in it because it hugged his chest and his arms and his shoulders just right.

Rick sat down in the stool that Lanie had left open beside her, leaning against the bar and looking at her at her appreciatively.

"Pardon me for assuming, Miss…" he said, looking at her with a smile, "… but it looked like you could use some rescuing."

Kate looked over her shoulder, saw Lanie on the dance floor with Esposito, Aidan conveniently absent. She caught Lanie's eye, and Lanie winked before turning her attention back to Javier, pushing herself against him and whispering something in his ear.

She looked back at Rick, who nodded slightly.

Oh, that angel.

He had been confused when he started getting text messages from Kate only an hour after she had left the loft with Lanie. The first one came in when he was taking her suggestion and writing, a simple three word text that made him smile softly at his phone.

I miss you.

He had texted her back right away, telling her that he missed her as well and hoped she was having fun.

She responded back only seconds later.

Not as much fun without you here.

Maybe she was drunk.

Yeah? He'd responded: the loft's not as much fun without you here either…

When his phone chimed with another message, he was surprised to see that it was Lanie.

She'd texted him the name of the club.

He was confused until he received two more texts in quick succession.

Kate needs you to rescue her.

Bring Javier.

He had called Esposito, told him that he would be picking him up in 10 minutes and was dressed and out of the loft in 2, the keys to the Ferrari clutched in his hand.

They found Lanie first when they got into the club, talking to a tall man in hushed voices on the dance floor, looking conspiratorially over at the bar, the man looking incredibly amused at what was about to happen.

Rick caught sight of Kate at the bar, her bare back hard to miss, her shoulders rigid, a man next to her way too close for his liking.

He excused himself from the others, making his way across the dance floor to the bar.

Apparently the man Lanie was with, Aidan, he thinks his name was, had told his friend that it was a bad idea, but he just hadn't listened. Aidan had a girlfriend, recognized all the signs of a girls' night out, but Derek (was that his name?) was desperate (clearly). When they had saw Kate and Lanie at the bar, Derek wanted to approach Kate, so they did. Lanie flat out told Aidan she was seeing someone, and Aidan was desperate to see Derek get his ego knocked down a few notches, so they had left them alone at the bar.

Which is when Kate had started to send him texts.

And when Lanie told him that she needed rescuing.

Well, he was here to do just that.

As he approached the bar, he heard her talking.

"It's so weird going from living with the Amish to New York City. I mean… I'm basically shunned by everyone who I was friends with back home because once you leave the Amish you can never go back. Only one of my 12 siblings came with me… and she's a stripper now…"

Rick almost laughed. How long had she been sprouting crazy lies about her childhood to try to get this man to leave her alone?

Well, maybe this would help.

He reached out a hand and splayed it across the open skin of her back, hoping that her cop instincts would rest for just a moment before she could see it was him and slid onto the stool next to her.

"Pardon me for assuming, Miss…" he smiled, watching her eyes widen, "… but it looked like you could use some rescuing."

She looked over her shoulder, a silent question of how did you know where I was? forming on the 'o' of her lips as she found Lanie, no doubt dancing with Esposito. She looked back at him and he nodded.

She smiled at him, "And you think you can help me?"

He swallowed. She was playing along with him.

"I know I can…" he said, holding out a hand, "Rick."

Kate smiled back, her eyes dancing, "Kate."

He heard someone clear their throat on the other side of Kate.

Rick leaned around her to look at Derek, looking him up and down before reaching out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Rick," he said politely and he watched Kate bite back a smile.

"Derek," the other man said curtly, shaking his hand once, matching Rick's solid grip with one of his own before letting go, clenching and unclenching his hand once under the bar.

Rick smiled.

"So Kate," he said, "What's a pretty woman like you doing alone at the bar?"

Kate shrugged, "My friend left me to go dance… Maybe you've seen her?"

Both of them looked out at the dance floor.

"Is she the one with the caramel skin and the hot pink dress?"

"She is."

"My friend ditched me, as well. He's the tall one in the red shirt, dancing with your friend."

Kate hummed in acknowledgement, turning back towards the bar.

"How funny," Kate said, "I guess we'll just have to look out for each other then."

"I'll be happy to watch your back for you," he said, reaching a hand out again and splaying his fingers across her back, fingers dipping low under the edged 'u' that curved just above her waist.

Kate smiled, lifting her drink up to her lips.

"What are you drinking?" He asked her.

She shook her head, "Just water."

"Oh," Rick said, shaking his head, "that just won't do." He caught the bartender's attention, "Two shots of tequila with a water back."

She tried her best to look shocked, biting her lip coyly.

"How did you know what I like?"

"Well," he said, leaning towards her, "you look like a girl who knows how to have fun. Who wants to have fun. You're dressed far too nicely to be in a mood to want to drink a beer, though I think that's probably what you'd prefer," at her nod and smile, he continued, "and you look like the kind of girl who knows how to handle her alcohol."

"Cute trick…" she said, "The question is…" she looked up at him from under her lashes, "Can you?"

"I've been told I can handle my alcohol, among other things, pretty well. And even if I couldn't… I'm pretty sure I would do anything to have an excuse to sit next to you longer."

"So smooth…" Kate said, a hidden smile in her eyes, "You should be a writer."

"Actually… I am," he smiled back, "And let me tell you…" he said, looking her up and down, "I could write novels about you."

Suddenly, he heard Derek scoff behind her.

Was he seriously still here?

"Listen creep, she has a boyfriend."

In response, Rick moved his hand up from her back, feeling every vertebra of her spine against his palm, reveling in the goosebumps that followed his touch until he slid his hand away from her back and over her blouse to wrap around Kate's shoulder, tugging her closer to him, smiling at her.

"She does?"

She crinkled her nose, adorably, and he fought the urge to lean down and kiss it.

"Yeah," Derek said, pulling his attention away from her again, puffing out his chest.

"Are you her boyfriend?" Rick asked, his hand moved back to her neck, his fingers making circles against her skin. She bit her lip to stop the moan from breaking out past her lips.

He knew what that did to her.

"Yeah, I am," Derek said, taking a chance.

Kate laughed then, threw he head back and laughed. If he thought she was winning any points in her book, trying to defend her and get this 'creep' away from her, he was sadly mistaken.

Derek had no idea how terribly he had just screwed up.

To her surprise, Rick just smiled, letting his fingers slide down from her neck, placing his hand on her back again, splaying his fingers as wide as they could, dragging them slowly down her spine again. She let her eyes close at the sensation for a moment before looking back up at Rick.

"You're a liar."

Derek stood up from his barstool, boldly plucking Rick's hand off of Kate's back as he stood behind her.

Rick raised his eyebrows.

"Oh really?"

Rick nodded, reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing the shell tenderly as he smiled at her, "Yes. You're not nearly good enough to be dating a woman like her… Especially not her."

Derek bristled, looking like he was preparing for a fight.

"What makes you so sure?" Derek scoffed.

Rick stood up from his stool, towering over Derek who visibly flinched back at Rick's presence.

"Because she's my girlfriend," Rick thundered, loud enough for the other people at the bar to hear.

Kate thought she heard Esposito howling in the background with Lanie.

Derek swallowed.

Rick squared his shoulders.

"But you already knew she had a boyfriend, didn't you?"

Derek didn't respond.

"Yet you hit on her anyway."

"Look man…" Derek said, putting his hands up in the air.

"Don't 'look man' me…" Rick said, fuming, taking another step towards Derek, moving into his personal space, "… You come in here, try to pick up my girlfriend, continue to hit on her when she says she has a boyfriend and then you have the nerve to try to play the good guy? You're a pig."

"Well, what kind of guy lets his girlfriend go out looking like that without doing something about it?"

"The kind of guy who trusts his girlfriend and respects her right to wear whatever clothes she chooses," Rick responded immediately, his voice steady, "The kind of guy who knows he doesn't 'let' his girlfriend go anywhere. She can go wherever she damn well chooses."

It strikes Kate that she should step in and stop this. They're making a scene, nearly everyone around the bar looking at them.

But she just… can't.

He's never defended her like this in public. He always just took it in stride, smirked at the guy as he walked away with her, and then took her home.

And it was… kind of hot.

Derek scoffed.

"Well it's clear who wears the pants in your relationship… She must be one good roll in the sack if you –"

Derek didn't get to finish his thought, because Rick's fist had landed directly on his nose. Kate jumped off of her stool, stepping in between the two of them, pushing Rick back slightly, a roar coming from the crowd. Derek was hunched over, holding his nose in his hands.

"You can say whatever you want about me," Rick warned, his voice dangerously low, talking around Kate, "But don't you ever talk about my girlfriend like that again."

Kate saw the security guards coming from the side while Rick was still glaring at Derek. She grabbed Rick's hand, and turned them around, quickly moving towards the exit (Derek could pay for their drinks seeing as he was so keen on doing it before). They got outside quickly, the crowd parting for them as she led them around the building, stopping them in an alleyway.

She crossed her arms and looked at him, her head cocked to the side.

Castle had calmed down a little, but only slightly.

"I know that you can take care of yourself," he said slowly, "But I'm not going to apologize for what I did in there. I let it go when we're working… but I'll be damned if I let someone talk about you like that when there's something I can do about it -"

She cut him off with her lips against his.

She pressed her lips fiercely against his, her hands gripping the side of his face as she pushed her tongue past the seam of his lips. He groaned, walking her backwards until her back hit the brick of the building behind her.

Her spine arched away from the cool stones, pushing her body closer to his. He wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her tighter into his chest as he swallowed her groan, her tongue scraping along the back of his teeth. She lifted her leg, locking it around the back of his thigh, bringing him closer to her.

He groaned, letting his leg settle in the space between her thighs, putting the pressure exactly where he knew she wanted it. He let his hands slide around from her back, moving and gripping her hips tightly. She lifted her leg higher around her hips as he hoisted her up, pressing her back against the wall again. She gasped against his lips as she locked her legs around him, bringing him closer to where she really wanted to feel him, forcing her lips away from his so she could get some air into her lungs, her mind spinning. He let his lips move down to her neck, pressing open mouth kisses along the column of her throat, his tongue darting out and tasting her skin every moment or two.

She squeezed her eyes shut, her hands finding his hair and tugging on it, refusing to let his lips move from her skin. He didn't seem to mind, taking that as encouragement and letting his teeth crape across her neck as he reached the skin above her collarbone, her chest heaving against his face.

A wolf whistle broke them apart.

Rick pulled away from her skin, his breathing heavy, his eyes immediately snapping over in the direction of the interruption.

They really shouldn't have been surprised to see that it was Lanie and Esposito, his arm slung casually over his shoulder, Lanie tucked into his side.

"You two better behave!" Esposito called out to them, "Or else I'll have to arrest you for public indecency."

Kate glared at him, though she knew he couldn't see it.

"I've got the chica," Esposito said, his arm tightening around Lanie's shoulder, "You kids get home safe, ya hear?"

He didn't wait for a retort, instead leading Lanie away from the opening of the alley.

When they were gone, Kate looked back at Castle.

"Castle?"

He hummed against her, tilting his head towards hers to capture her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Take me home." She murmured against his lips.

He let her down, groaning at the loss of contact, and grabbed her hand as he moved back over towards valet parking. She tried to smooth his hair back to normal with her free hand and immediately gave up, knowing it was useless, choosing instead to smile at him.

"What?" he asked once he noticed her smile.

She shook her head in disbelief, the smile still in place.

"You just punched someone in the face for me."

"Not the first time," he murmured. Both of their thoughts immediately going back to that cold, January night where they had to save the boys, when he had knocked out Lockwood.

The first time they had truly gotten a taste of each other.

My how far they'd come.

"Yeah," Kate said, squeezing his hand, "But now you know how to throw a punch."

He held up his free hand, flexing it triumphantly.

"Makes you want me, right?"

Kate pressed herself up against his side as they walked. She nudged his earlobe with her nose, before using their joined hands to pull him down to her level, letting her teeth close around his earlobe for a moment before she whispered into his ear.

"You have no idea."

She heard him gulp, freeze slightly.

"Castle?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Take me home."

"Yeah... home... that's... that's good -"

"Rick?"

"Uh huh?"

"Now."

1. Kris says this one is one of her favorites.
2. I like it because it was an excuse to make Castle punch a douche in the face.
3. Pray that I don't get busted by the MA police.