The Unexpected

After the cold meal in the car, the lunch buffet tasted like a five star restaurant. Castle was amazed at all the food Kate was putting away.

"You keep eating like that and people are going to think you're pregnant. No…wait…scratch that. You keep eating like that you're going to look like you're pregnant."

"Castle, you better zip it if you don't want to see me crankier than I already am."

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

He was watching as she finished off her second plate when Mandy appeared at their table.

"Hi, I'm here to invite the two of you to the orientation and tour that you missed this morning. If you'd like to, you can meet me at reception when you're done with lunch."

"That sounds great," Kate replied. "We'll see you shortly."

Once Mandy was out of earshot Castle piped up. "Orientation? Boring!"

"Yeah maybe, but I want a better look at the place. A guided tour will let me know what's what around here."

"Spy stuff, it sounds more exciting when you explain it that way!"

"Don't get too excited, you're just the eye candy here."

"Why detective, you've promoted me from window dressing to eye candy. Thank you."

"Anytime Scaramouch"

...

They spent the following hour with Mandy. She briefed them on their schedule for the next two days and gave them a tour of the facility and the grounds. The Center still boasted the original hotel amenities. Inside there was a full gym a game room and the small bar that Castle had found earlier in the day. Outside there were two tennis courts and a full size pool for use during the summer months. Past the pool, a tree covered walkway led to the small lake and boat house that stored an assortment of canoes. The path to the lake continued on into the surrounding woods where a multitude of small cabins were set against the shoreline. The snow made these cabins accessible only during the summer months. There main buildings that interested Kate were the four large maintenance and storage buildings located just off the northwest corner of the center.

When the tour was over they headed back to their room. Kate was dying for a shower. Castle plopped down on the bed as she made her way over to her suitcase. She dug through her bag and pulled out a change of clothes and her toiletries.

"I'm taking a shower," she told Castle as she headed for the bathroom.

"Need any help?" He offered, not expecting a reply.

She just shook her head, rolled her eyes and closed the bathroom door.

Castle lay there, thinking about what was going on behind that door. She was just a few feet away from him, naked. Naked and in the shower rubbing soap up and down her arms, across her breasts, down her stomach and… "Ok, stop this," he said to himself. "Distraction, I need a distraction." He grabbed the TV remote. What to watch, he wondered. What would be the equivalent of a cold shower? Fox News? No, Glen Beck! 'Yeah,' he thought, 'that would make his balls shrivel'. He turned on the TV and began channel surfing. Oddly enough, and true to his nature, he found himself distracted by an episode of Forensic Files.

He was caught up in the show when Kate emerged from the bathroom thirty minutes later. Looking at her he couldn't help but notice how cute she looked in her pale blue yoga pants and snug form fitting t-shirt. He turned back to the TV, but secretly watched her as she returned her things to her luggage. He noticed her looking around the room.

"It's a bitch, isn't it," he commented.

"What is?" She asked looking at him.

"Irony."

She looked puzzled.

"No couch." He explained. "It looks like Mr. and Mrs. Donaldson will be sharing a bed tonight."

"You're just loving this, aren't you?" She smirked at him.

He smiled back and patted the bed. "Come get comfortable. Forensic Files is on."

She sighed and headed to the other side of the bed. She pulled out the pillows from under the comforter and placed them against the headboard. She lay atop the covers and leaned back into the pillows, letting the last two days stress ease from her body.

It wasn't until the show ended that Castle noticed Kate had fallen asleep. He turned off the TV and rolled over on his left side to face her sleeping form. He was thrilled by the opportunity to watch her again, though his view was obscured by locks of hair that had fallen across her face. He reached over and gently lifted them away. She stirred but never woke.

'God, this has to end!' His mind screamed out.

He would have to push her, but he was afraid of how hard she would push back. Laying there thinking this and a million other thoughts, he never remembered falling asleep.

…..

Hours later a noise awoke him to a darkened room. He instinctively reached out towards Kate and found her gone. He sat up quickly and fumbled with the bedside lamp. He turned it on just in time to catch a glimpse of Kate's bare back as she pulled a dark turtleneck down past her bra to the top of a pair of black pants she was now wearing.

"Did you just….while I was?" He tried to ask.

"Yeah, you were asleep, so what?"

"You could have woken me!"

"You snooze, you lose," she quipped as she grabbed her boots, gloves and coat. She sat down at the end of the bed to put on her shoes.

"Where are you going?"

"Seeing as we slept the rest of the day away, now is a good time to do a little recon."

"What time is it?" He asked while rubbing his face awake.

"About 11:15."

"Wait for me," he said sliding off the bed,

"Castle, I told you, you're window dressing. I don't need you to come with me."

She noticed his eyes darken when he spoke next.

"I thought I deserved more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"You agreed to partner, and partners have each others backs, or have you forgotten our conversations."

"No."

"So it's settled. I'm coming."

"Ok, get your coat."

He pulled on his shoes, grabbed his coat and gloves and followed her into the hallway. She headed towards the side exit. As she reached the door she turned and noticed he was gone. She turned to head back to the room and ran into him coming from a small vending machine recess in the hallway.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she saw him slip something into his coat pocket.

"I had to grab something. Let's go," he said, moving into the hallway. They slipped out the side exit and headed around to the back of the facility.

"So, where are we going?" He asked quietly.

"I thought we'd check out the maintenance and storage buildings first. They would be the best possible transfer and storage location for the quantity of drugs moving through here."

When they arrived at the buildings, they noticed several security lights were on outside. Only one of the buildings had any noticeable light coming from its small solitary window. There were signs of footprints in the snow. How long they had been there they couldn't tell.

"Come on." Kate said as she started off towards the closest building.

"You go ahead," he said. "I'll stand lookout."

"Huh?" She looked back to see him pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket. It was his purchase from the vending machine.

"You don't smoke!" she admonished.

"No, but it's a great cover for me to be standing around out here late at night."

"Ok," she said. "I'll be back in thirty minutes. If I'm not, call Montgomery. Don't try to find me by yourself. I don't want anything to happen to you. You have family that needs you. I don't."

"Damn it, Kate! You're not alone. You have more people that need you than you realize!"

She looked at him hesitantly. "Don't worry, I'll be right back," was all she could say.

Castle angrily tore open the pack pf cigarettes as she walked away. He crumpled the plastic wrapper and shoved it in his coat pocket. He pulled out a cigarette, returning the pack to his breast pocket. He fished out the matches he had taken from the bar earlier in the day and lit up, inhaling deeply. A few sputtering coughs later he realized what a mistake he'd made. Holding the cigarette at arms length, he took a position leaning against one of the parked maintenance vehicles and waited. Twenty five minutes and two slow burning cigarettes later he heard footsteps approaching. A man was coming down the sidewalk towards him. He brought the cigarette back to his lips as the man approached. He noticed a facility logo on his jacket.

"Hey", the guy said. "You're not supposed to be back here. This area is for employees only."

"Sorry," Castle said waving the cigarette. "The wife's making me quit and this seemed like the safest place to hide."

The man laughed. "I know what you mean, dude. Can I bum one from you?"

Castle reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack. "Go ahead and take the rest, I don't want to get caught with them."

The man thanked him as Castle lit his cigarette. He hung around while he smoked and talked about wives and women. Castle began sucking on the cigarette he was holding so the man wouldn't get suspicious. About five minutes later the guy squashed out his butt and said his goodbyes and headed off around the west side of the building.

Castle let out a chocking breath and threw his cigarette to the ground. As he stamped it out, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He jumped out of his skin and spun around. He found himself looking into Kate's laughing eyes.

"Jesus, Kate! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry." She apologized. "Thanks for being my lookout though."

"Not a problem," he said composing himself.

"So, what did you find?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yep, absolutely nothing. We'll have to look elsewhere. Let's head to the boat house and the outlying cabins."

Kate headed towards the lake. It was a moment before she noticed Castle wasn't keeping up with her. She looked back. He was following, but slowly and very unsteadily.

"You ok?"

"I'll be alright," he waved her onward.

Even in the weak moonlight Kate could see that his face had a slight green pallor. She grabbed his arm and led him to a concrete bench set off from the sidewalk. She brushed the snow from the seat and sat him down.

"You look like you're going to be sick," she commented.

"I'm just a little dizzy, it'll pass."

"It'll pass faster if you put you head down," she said, shoving his head down to his legs. He didn't resist.

"I think that dumb idea of yours was a dumb idea."

"Yeah," he said, trying not to wretch.

Kate lightly rubbed his back until he felt well enough to sit upright.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. This reminds me of the time I was fifteen and my best friend Karen Lipinski stole a pack of her dad's cigarettes. We smoked the whole pack in one afternoon. God, I had never been so sick in my entire life." They laughed together as he slowly stood to check his balance.

"That's better," he said, taking a few steps.

"If you want to call it a night and head back to the room, I'll understand," said Kate.

"No, I'm fine. I think walking around out in the cool air for a while will help, let's go."

They walked off towards the boat house and spent an hour searching it and several of the closer outlying cabins. They found nothing.

"I don't get it." Kate was frustrated. "Nothing, not even a hint of anything."

"Where else can we look?"

"The only place left is the receiving dock at the back of the main building next to the kitchen. There's no other place out here that can handle the amount of drugs we're looking for."

"Let's go then."

"It's too late," she said. "It'll be too easy to spot us inside nosing around. We need to wait till tomorrow when there are more people around making it easier to find a way in or cause a diversion."

"So, we're done working for tonight? He said with a glint to his eye.

"Yeah…why?"

"Come on then," he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him back towards the main building. He stopped when he reached the small pond that had been turned into a skating rink.

"We have it all to ourselves," he said with a flourish of his hand.

"Castle its…, she glanced at her fathers watch, "…one thirty in the morning. Do you really want to go skating now?"

"Yes. Why, are you in a hurry to get back to the room so we can cuddle?"

"You know what. You talked me into it." She acquiesced. "What are we going to use for skates?"

"There's a storage shed by the trees over there. There's probably skates inside."

She walked over and jangled the padlock on the front of the door. "It's locked," she said.

"You've already broken into the maintenance building, the boat shed and three cabins, what's a storage shed going to matter?

She quickly picked the lock and they chose their skates from off a rack that displayed them by size.

Castle quickly had his on and was soon pirouetting around the ice. Kate watched him nervously. Why was he so damn good at everything? It had been more than twelve years since she had last skated, and even then she wasn't very good. She heard him calling out from the ice, pestering her to hurry. She finished and cautiously made her way to the pond's edge.

"I told you before, I'm not very good at this," she called out as a disclaimer.

"Come on, it's not a competition, you're not going to be judged, just let go and have some fun," he encouraged her. She stepped out, a little wobbly at first, but soon she had her balance. She pushed off and headed out across the ice. 'Not bad', she thought. She went to propel herself forward again and found herself sitting on her ass on the cold ice. After a few more attempt and a few more falls, Castle appeared at her side.

"You're right. You're not very good at this, are you?" He grabbed her arm and helped her stand. She clung to his coat.

"How'd you get so good?" She asked.

"I've been taking Alexis skating every year since she was five and I've had to match her skills over the years just to keep up with her."

"Here, let me help you." He guided her around to his right side and put his arm around her waist. "Let's go. I'll give you some pointers and you'll be and expert in no time."

He showed her how to keep her forward motion and her balance. He then showed her how to make a gentle sweeping turn. As they came out of the next turn, he let her go.

"Castle!" She yelled out at him.

"Just do as I showed you, you'll be fine."

And she was. She continued on straight and transitioned smoothly into her next turn. Everything was perfect. Coming out of her turn she pushed off back towards Castle before she realized something important. She didn't know how to stop.

"Can't stop!" She called out.

Rick threw his arms out to slow her, but she was going to fast. They collided. She grabbed at his shoulders. He caught her at the waist. They spun around several times before they collapsed into a laughing heap upon the ice. Kate continued to giggle as she lay atop him, still bound by his arms around her waist. Their laughter subsided, and he found her face suspended inches above his. He tried to look into her eyes and read her thoughts, but her mane of hair had fallen down. He removed his right hand from her waist and reached up, brushing her hair back away from her face. His gloved hand lingered on her cheek. He lifted his head and tentatively caught her lips with his. He was overwhelmed as she responded. He brought his other hand to her face as their kiss deepened.

Kate felt herself becoming lost in him, surrendering to his kiss. She had never felt this with anyone before, this loss of self. It caught her off guard. A sudden panic hit her, pushing aside everything else she was feeling. She broke from his embrace and rolled off his chest. She sat a moment with her back to him. She could hear his heavy breathing as he remained prone on the ice.

"It's late," she said, as she struggled to her feet.

She heard him exhale heavily as he sat up.

"Is it always going to be too late with you Kate?"

She heard him but didn't respond. Instead, she made her way to the bench and began removing her skates. He joined her. They removed their skates in a tense silence.

Kate finished first. She rose and set her skates down on the bench next to him and walked away. He turned and watched her until she disappeared from sight. Returning their skates to the shed, he slowly made his way back to their room.

…..

When he arrived back inside he found her secluded in the bathroom. He made his way to the far side of the room and stood in front of the portable stand that held his suitcase.

'Damn her sensibilities!' He cursed, as he kicked off his shoes. He pulled off his trousers and threw then in the chair. He heard the bathroom door open but he didn't turn around.

Kate came out of the bathroom she was surprised to see him standing there in his boxers, unbuttoning his dress shirt. As he removed his shirt she noticed the tension that seemed to be knotted in his back. She crossed to the bed and watched as he balled up the dress shirt and threw it into his suitcase. She slid into bed and turned away from him. She found she was trembling as she turned off her light. 'What the hell was he doing to her?' She struggled with her composure and to keep the suspended tear from slipping from out corner of her eye. It dropped silently on her pillow. Squeezing her eyes tight, she refused to let another one follow.

He pulled on his t-shirt and turned to the bed. He saw her clinging to the edge with her back to him. He turned off his light and climbed under the covers, taking care not to touch or disturb her.

There they both lay, listening to each others breathing and judging the growing distance between them as they lay less than two feet apart.

An hour later, Rick had enough. He got out of bed and pulled on his pants. He yanked on his socks and shoes. He wasn't worried about waking her. He knew she wasn't asleep. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

Kate listened as he dressed. She chose to feign sleep rather than talk. The beam of light from the hallway shone through her eyelids as he left the room. Opening her eyes, she could see his shadow as he stood on the other side of the door. Minutes passed and he never moved. She felt the urge to go to him and ask him to come back inside. As she lifted the covers, his shadow disappeared.

Why did she wait? She asked herself. Why did she always do and say the wrong things to him? Frustration and confusion overwhelmed her. She buried her face into her pillow and silently cried herself to sleep.