Don't hate me! This idea just came to me and it seemed like something that would happen to our lovely budding couple. But, it's still progress! Enjoy!
I own nothing!
Everything was set. The reservations were made. Beckett told him she arranged a sitter for Genevieve. And most importantly, there was no major case to keep them from actually making their reservations. Castle was ecstatic. He checked his reflection in the smudged elevator panel as he rode to Beckett's apartment. While he normally opted for a suit on dates, tonight he settled on dark jeans, a blue sweater and a slate grey jacket. He had made reservations at a restaurant that was nice but not too over the top as to not overwhelm Beckett on their first date. He'd learned a long time ago that the detective could not be wooed with his money and clout.
As soon as the door to the apartment swung open, Castle's heart sank. The scene before him told him that in no uncertain terms, he wouldn't be going on the date he so carefully planned. Beckett stood stock still, staring at him like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. She was still dressed in what she wore to the station that day, including her gun and badge. Off to her side stood Genevieve looking almost exactly the way she had when she showed up at his apartment by herself. Her dark eyes peeked out nervously from under the hood of the sweatshirt Kevin and Jenny had given her for her birthday and another book was getting the white knuckle treatment against her chest. She looked more anxious than he had seen her since that night. Castle couldn't piece together exactly what was going on, but it didn't look good. He suddenly felt awkward, like he was walking into something that was none of his business. He was half tempted to pull the door shut and leave.
"Castle…" Beckett sighed. There was almost a resignation in her voice, like she just realized she wasn't going to make their date.
"I can just…" he offered, gesturing over his shoulder as his face flushed with embarrassment. It was rare Beckett got to see Castle flustered, in fact she probably would have laughed at his reddened cheeks had her day not been spiraling catastrophically out of control.
"No, come in, please," Beckett pleaded hoping she would have a chance to explain things. Castle stepped over the threshold and shut the door behind him. A heavy silence hung between the three. Genevieve cautiously stepped forward and pressed herself against Castle's side. Whether it was his parental intuition or the need for something to do besides fidget in the uncomfortable tension, Castle lifted Gen off the ground. She flung her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his neck. Instinctively, Castle began rubbing her back. Looking at Beckett, he noticed her whole body sagged in relief as Gen settled in his arms. "I am so sorry," Beckett started. "I know we had our date tonight and I was really looking forward to it, but I had to take Gen to meet up with her dad. He showed up late and caused a scene which set off her anxiety. Then the sitter called and cancelled at the last minute which I guess doesn't matter because to be honest I couldn't leave her anyway. So here we are, on a school night, she hasn't been fed, I have no idea if she has homework, our date is ruined, and I haven't had a second to myself to pee or lock my gun up," she finished with a shrug.
"Go pee, get yourself settled, we're ok here," Castle urged, ignoring the rest of her statement for the time being. Beckett looked frazzled and exasperated; it was obvious that the most pressing issue was finding her a few minutes for herself. She looked like she wanted to protest, but Castle speared her with a look. She conceded and turned down the hall. Castle wandered into the kitchen, hoping he could find something to easily pull together for dinner for the Beckett's. As he searched the cabinets, he tried to engage Genevieve in conversation, but he got nothing, she just kept her face tucked against his neck. He almost thought she had fallen asleep, but her tight grip on his jacket and her uneven breathing told him different. Finally he found enough odds and ends to throw together a decent meal in a matter of minutes. He pulled a steamer bag of corn and a package of chicken strips from the freezer and a carton of mashed potatoes from the fridge. It wasn't exactly gourmet, but it would do. He struggled to find a cookie sheet without dropping Genevieve, but every time he suggested putting her down, she tensed in his arms and tightened her hold. He decided it was easier just to struggle.
Beckett felt significantly better after she had a few moments to decompress. Dealing with Genevieve's anxiety was exhausting. Had Castle not shown up, she wouldn't have been let out of the little girl's sight until she went to sleep. It wouldn't have been the first time, but that didn't make it any less of a long night. At least now she had her time to herself and was prepared to get her daughter all sorted out before morning. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she started back down the hall. She found Castle in the kitchen, still holding Gen and it appeared he was making dinner.
"What are you doing?" she asked. His head snapped up, startled. However, once he saw no hostility in Beckett's expression, he relaxed.
"You mentioned that Gen hadn't been fed. I figured I would toss something together and mark another thing off your list. It seems you have you hands full," he replied with a tentative smile.
"Actually, it looks like you're the one with your hands full," Beckett returned with a small laugh as she watched him try to navigate the kitchen while holding a lanky twelve year old girl. He hadn't even taken his jacket off; he just swooped in and started saving the day. That made her feel even worse for botching their date.
"You can go if you want. You didn't have to do this," she offered gently, as to not make him feel like she was pushing him out, but letting him know he was not obligated to stay and help out.
Genevieve pushed herself off of Castle's chest and sat back in his arms.
"But can he stay?" she asked quietly, toying with the drawstring on her sweatshirt. Castle and Beckett exchanged a look, Beckett letting him know it was up to him.
"Well, my evening did just open up. I guess I could stick around," he replied, winking at Beckett. She blushed deeply, more than a little embarrassed she had to cancel their date. Despite her embarrassment, she mouthed a thank you to Castle for heeding to Gen's request.
"Hey girlie, now that Castle's staying, why don't we give him a chance to take his coat off," she turned her attention to Genevieve. The young girl reached her arms out and was easily transferred from Castle's arms to Beckett's. "If you keep growing, I won't be able to do this much longer," Beckett groaned, settling her daughter's weight. The comment didn't receive the small smile it normally would. Beckett frowned and kissed the child's hair. Obviously, Gen wasn't feeling any better. Beckett moved to the table, taking a seat until dinner was ready.
After he passed Genevieve to Beckett, Castle eased out of his coat and continued working on dinner. After a few minutes everything was ready and plated. Castle carefully carried it all to the table.
Gen stayed in her mother's lap through the duration of the meal and although they did determine that she had no homework, she said very little.
"Castle, will you read to me?" she requested.
"Sure sweetheart, this book?" he checked, picking up the book she'd been holding earlier. Gen nodded. "Just let me help your mom with the dishes and then we'll read," he smiled. Beckett put a hand out to stop him from getting up.
"You cooked, I'll clean," she insisted.
"Then I guess it's just you and me, kid," he corrected, lifting Gen out of Beckett's lap.
Genevieve curled into Castle's side as he read the opening pages of "Hollow Earth". He head heard of it, the authors being the popular actor John Barrowman and his sister Carole, both of whom Castle had met at conventions in the past. He's been meaning to pick up a copy and was glad to have to opportunity to check it out.
When Beckett finished with the dishes and a few other nightly chores, she joined Castle and Genevieve on the couch, taking up residence on Gen's opposite side. Surprisingly the little girl moved from Castle's side and tucked herself against her mother. A true sign her anxiety was still high. Normally it was impossible to pry her away from Castle. Beckett toyed with Genevieve's dark curls as Castle continued to read.
"You think you're going to be able to sleep, baby?" Beckett asked as Castle got to a good stopping point. Genevieve nodded. Beckett pressed a kiss against her forehead. "Can you go get ready bed and I'll be in to tuck you in, in a minute?" Beckett requested. "But say goodbye to Castle first." Genevieve moved back towards Castle.
"Thank you for staying for dinner and reading to me. I'm sorry you couldn't go on your date. You looked really handsome through," she mentioned.
"It's ok, kid. You needed your mom more than I did. Thank you for letting me stay and thank you for saying I look handsome. There was no one at home when I left so I wasn't sure," he finished with a wink. He was only half joking with that last statement. He nearly called Alexis to come over and check him out, just to make sure he looked ok. Gen hugged him and took off towards her bedroom.
"Stick around?" Beckett asked, setting a hand on his arm.
"Sure," Castle agreed.
"She good?" Castle wondered as Beckett eventually returned to the couch.
"For now anyway, she may be up in the middle of the night," Beckett shrugged, obviously used to these kind of nights.
"I forget that you actually have to battle her anxiety. Do you have nights like this often?" he inquired.
"Not as much as we used to," she paused and smiled at him. "Especially since you came along. But we usually have some backlash after she sees her dad, but nothing like this in a long time." Her smile turned grim.
"What happened? You said there was a scene," he asked gently.
"Nothing really, her dad just showed up loud and pissed off, calling a lot of attention to himself and to Genevieve. The attention spooked Gen," she explained.
"Can I ask about her dad?" he continued with his cautious questioning.
"To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't yet," she laughed. "His name is Cole Harper and he's always been trouble, He's a mechanic who likes anything dangerous and has developed a problem with alcohol. Looking back, I'm not sure what I ever saw in him, but he apparently filled some need at the time. Needless to say, we weren't exactly expecting Genevieve. I don't regret it for a minute because she is the best thing that ever happened to me, but Cole does not agree. He thinks that fatherhood is something he can do as he pleases or when he feels like it, which isn't very often. When his alcoholism became a problem, I had our custody agreement changed so he only has supervised visits. Cole responds to the lack of control by showing up late or not at all," Beckett disclosed.
"Has he ever been around?" he wondered.
"He tried in the beginning and then a couple of years later, her tried again for a few months, but it never stuck. He always had better things to do, trouble to cause," she sighed.
"That's a shame, she's a great girl," Castle complimented. Beckett blushed and buried her face in her hands.
"This was supposed to be our first date and here we are chatting about the jackass who is the father of my child. I wouldn't blame you for taking off," she groaned. Castle's gently grasped her wrists and met her eyes with a small smile.
"First off, I've been on worse dates, believe me. Secondly, don't sell yourself short. I am in awe of you," he chastised. He moved back to the far side of the couch and pulled her legs into his lap and began rubbing her feet. "You work very hard Kate, and you come home and give all your love and attention to that little girl. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're incredible, And so what if we didn't make our date, I still got to spend the evening with you. So in my book this counts," he remarked.
"Well, I told you even easy was complicated for me," Beckett laugh finally allowing herself to relax. She wasn't sure if it was because what he had said or the fact that his fingers on the soles of her feet were rubbing her stress into submission. Castle made a face that said she had a point. She did warn him. But it didn't matter. He would do anything to make this work between them. "I don't think I've had a first date that was quite so…intimate," she added, gesturing towards her foot in his hand. The word intimate felt funny in her mouth. She never used it in reference to Castle, not even with the moments they shared that could be considered intimate. The kiss was unexpected and the being in bed together was circumstantial. Intimate was different.
Castle's hand's stilled wondering if he'd crossed a line. "Do you want me to stop?"
"Oh God no. That feels wonderful," Beckett chuckled. Castle's nervous expression eased into a warm smile.
"Well this date was a long time coming, in my opinion," he noted. Beckett playfully rolled her eyes. He stuck his tongue out at her. "Plus you have to remember, Kate. This is you and I, and despite your rallying against it, we are comfortable together," he added, his tone teasing. Beckett jabbed his stomach with her free foot. He feigned an injury.
"Yeah, yeah you won me over," she admitted. "But I still wanted the romance and the butterflies. The only thing romantic about this is that I'm wearing my good sweats," she sighed. Castle smirked at her sweats comment, but it faded into a more neutral expression.
"We will have a real date. I promise. This is just a hiccup. You needed to be with Genevieve, it happens," he replied nonchalantly.
"You still want to do this?" she seemed surprised.
"Of course I do. I've waited along time for this, for us to be ready. I'm not giving up now," he said, his voice full of conviction. Beckett just shook her head. Most guys would have ran by now. She felt a twinge of guilt for doubting Castle not only tonight, but in the past. "However, I think I am going to get going. You said Gen could be up in the middle of the night, so I want you to have some time to yourself before you have to be Supermom again," he mentioned.
"If you insist," she playfully sighed, pulling her feet out of his lap. To be honest, she really didn't want him to leave. She could sit there on the couch and talk to him all night, but he had a point. Genevieve's anxiety was still high and if she had a panic attack in the middle of the night, Beckett wanted to be ready. "Thank you for tonight. Wow, I feel like I say that to you a lot," she acknowledged.
"Well, I'm always here to save the day," he responded with a cocky grin. Beckett made a face. Castle smiled and pushed himself up from the couch, wandering off in search of his jacket.
"But really, you helped a lot. She usually doesn't want anyone but me when she's like this, but you gave me the time I needed," Beckett continued.
"It was no problem, Kate. I was glad I was here to help. I want to learn more about her anxiety. Maybe I can help more," he shrugged.
"You do enough," she replied, not trying to shut him down, but again reminding him it was not his obligation. She watched as he slid back into his jacket. Gen was right, he did look good. His soft sweater brought out his eyes and the jacket and jeans combination made the outfit classy but not over the top like one of his suits would have. She followed after him as he moved to the door. For a moment they stood there awkwardly, before Beckett found the courage to wrap her arms around him in a hug.
Castle was surprised when Beckett hugged him. Yes, they had hugged before but that was typically after their lives were in danger. He tensed for a moment but soon relaxed and pulled her tighter against his chest, relishing the feel of her in his arms.
Beckett could hear the quickened beating of Castle's heart as her ear pressed close to it. He was nervous. She smiled inwardly at the thought. He had butterflies. She loosed their hold and looked up at him.
"Genevieve was right, you do look handsome tonight," she commented.
"Why thank you," he smiled. Beckett bit her lip, contemplating her next move. She rolled onto her toes and placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. Castle brought a hand up to grasp her chin, just like when she kissed him in his office, pulling her back for more. He pressed his lips firmly against hers, not asking for more than that, just more than the tease she had given. "No good date ends with out a proper kiss," he said with a wink. She blushed. He loved it when she blushed; it made her even more beautiful. "I'll see you later. Will you call me in the morning and let me know how Gen is doing?" Beckett nodded, once again touched by his concern for her daughter. "We'll make our date soon, I promise," he finished, pressing a kiss to her forehead and making his exit.
Beckett leaned against the door after she locked it, taking a moment to replay the evening's events in her mind. For as bad as the evening started out, it didn't turn out so bad.