CHAPTER TWENTY – Castle & Beckett, Gibbs & Kate, Tony & Ziva
If there was one thing Kate Beckett didn't want to do, it was go back to the hotel and try to sleep. She'd been waiting for ten years, and now they were on the verge of identifying the men who'd ordered her mother's death. She'd feared the chance was lost for good when she was forced to put a bullet through Dick Coonan's heart to save Castle's life a few months earlier.
Alexis pulled her father aside, away from Beckett peeking back over her shoulder to make sure the Detective didn't follow them, that she wasn't close enough to overhear what she was about to ask. "Dad, is this really going to happen? Are you going to catch the guy who killed Detective Beckett's mother?"
"It looks that way, kiddo," he said, keeping his voice to a near whisper, the same as she had.
"You have to do something," she said.
"There's not much we can do right now," he said. "We're waiting for confirmation of some information, and then we'll start making arrests."
"That's not what I meant, Dad."
"What did you mean?"
"Look at her," Alexis said, peeking around the corner at the group. "See how pale she is? And, when was the last time you saw Detective Beckett biting her fingernails? You have to get her mind off of it before it eats her up."
She had a point. Beckett never showed nerves. After all, it was her mother's case. Gibbs wasn't likely to budge. Alexis was right. He needed to do something to take Kate's mind off it all. "How did you get so smart?" he asked, for what must have been the millionth time.
"We've been through this, Dad," she said. "We never found the answer. The best we managed to do was rule out genetics." He was actually rather proud of the way she could deliver that kind of zinger with a trademark grin that almost certainly was genetic.
"Can you take Esposito back to the hotel?"
"Sure," she said. "of course,…you might be the only father in history to encourage his teenage daughter to take a man twice her age to a hotel in a strange city."
With that sentence, she managed to accomplish something very rare. She'd flustered the unflappable Richard Castle. As he started to splutter, she laughed. "I was kidding, Dad." She reached up on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. "Don't get in too late, or I'll have to ground you."
"Yes, Daughter," he said, finding his voice again.
When they returned to the Bullpen, DiNozzo and David were gone. Gibbs and Todd had gone down to Abby's lab. Beckett was standing in front of the plasma, biting her fingernails and staring at the pictures of Evan Haines, Elliott Warner and Merton Bell. Esposito sat behind her, on the edge of Gibbs' desk, his concern for her painted all over his face.
Alexis walked straight up to Esposito. "Would you mind driving me back to the hotel, Detective?" she asked. "I have a chemistry test on Monday, second period. I really need to study."
"Sure thing kid," Javier said. "You guys ready?"
"You go ahead," Castle said. "We'll be along."
Esposito nodded, understanding. Without a word, he conveyed his message to Castle with a simple look, "Make sure she's okay!" He plucked the keys to Caitlyn's car from Beckett's purse, which was sitting, unzipped, on the edge of Ziva's desk. "Let's go," he said to Alexis, walking with her to the elevator.
Castle and Beckett had the Bullpen to themselves. He looked around again to double-check, and then asked, "Are you alright, Kate?"
It was his use of her first name again that caught her attention. "What?" she asked, and then followed that up with, "Where did Javier and Alexis go?"
"Back to the hotel," Castle said, taking her by the arm. "Come on." He scooped up her purse with his other hand, handing it to her as they made their way to the elevator.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Out," he said. "We'll see Washington at night. Walk the mall, visit the Lincoln Memorial, have dinner at Antonio's Steak House." When the elevator arrived, they stepped on.
"Thanks, Rick," she said.
"Don't thank me yet," he said. "Maybe I'll do something you don't like tonight."
"I think that's a given," she said, "and don't forget, I carry a gun." As the doors opened on the bottom floor, and they stepped out, the ghost of a smile graced Beckett's lips, the first he'd seen in hours.
DiNozzo drove home, as was their custom, whether they were going to her place or his. Her driving had a way of setting him on edge, even though he was getting more and more used to it. It was her apartment in Silver Springs they were headed for on this night.
They made a call from the car to Enzo's, their favorite pizza place. They stopped on the way to pick up Tony's favorite, extra cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. Ziva had learned to love it as well. While she got the pizza, he slipped down to the other end of the plaza and got a movie from the video store before circling back to pick her up.
They hadn't been in the apartment for thirty seconds before the movie and pizza box were on the counter, all but forgotten. There was a train of discarded clothing from the door to the couch.
Forty minutes later, they were nibbling on a slice apiece, wrapped in a comforter they shared. As always, Tony wondered when the police would come bursting through the door and drag him away for attempted murder. Ziva had been all too serious when she described herself as a "screamer".
"You want to pop the movie in?" he asked.
"Sure," Ziva said. "What did you get?"
"The French Connection," Tony answered, slipping out from the comforter to turn on the DVD player and insert the film.
"Is it good?"
"Excellent," Tony said. "Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle. The car chase scene was ground-breaking at the time."
"I am sure that it will good, my little hairy butt," she said.
"Thanks, Sweet Cheeks," he answered with a grin. "You want another slice while I'm up?"
"Please," she said.
He came back with two more slices, on paper plates and returned to the kitchen coming back with a lemon-lime soda for himself and a glass of red wine for Ziva. She grinned at him, waggling her eyebrows suggestively as he climbed back under the comforter with her.
"Later," he said. "I could use a little rest and some pizza. Besides, you'll like this movie."
She chuckled, but started her next slice and followed it with a sip of wine, while he pointed the remote at the DVD player and hit the play button.
Gibbs stayed at NCIS for another two hours, then ordered Abby and McGee to head home. There was no use keeping them all night. He watched them get into the elevator and then called himself a cab. He'd sent Kate home with his car shortly after the others.
He was really looking forward to arresting Merton Bell. He was a slimy son of a bitch, who'd managed to weasel his way free of the Mexican authorities. All that much the better, he supposed. If he was in jail in Mexico, it would be impossible for Gibbs to arrest him here.
He climbed into the cab and gave the cabbie his home address. He handed the driver a twenty to pay for a sixteen dollar fare. "Keep it," he said, stepping out onto the curb and heading up the walk.
He unlocked the door, the one he'd never bothered to lock before Kate had moved in. He'd never had anything in the house so precious he couldn't bear to lose it before.
He stepped across the threshold and his nose immediately picked up the scent of Kate's homemade lasagna. The grumbling that immediately started in his stomach told him just how hungry he was. Unless his senses were lying to him, she'd made garlic bread as well.
"Smells great," he said, coming around the corner into the kitchen.
"Thanks," Kate said. She opened the oven and pulled out the pan. The bread was on the counter, fresh from the oven as well, the cheese on top bubbling. The lasagna was perfectly browned on top.
"You had Henry call you when I left the building," Gibbs guessed.
"Yup."
"Clever," he said. They sat at the table and shared the meal, mostly in companionable silence. Gibbs sipped at a Corona with a wedge of lime, a habit he'd picked up while spending time in Mexico with Mike Franks. Kate had half a glass of Pinot Noir.
They finished their dinner, and Gibbs did the dishes. It was an agreement they'd made. If one cooked, the other cleaned up. Kate went into the front room and sat on the couch, her legs curled up under her. She set her wine, now down to a quarter of a glass, on the end table next to her. She picked up Castle's book from the coffee table and opened to the page where she'd left off, setting aside her bookmark.
When Gibbs finished the dishes, he came into the room. He turned the stereo on low, and put a record on the turntable. He was the only person Kate knew who still listened to records. Sure, McGee collected some music on vinyl, but so far as she knew, Gibbs didn't even own any CDs, and she was fairly certain he'd be utterly lost trying to download a song. The album he'd chosen was Sinatra.
He had poured himself a three finger glass of bourbon, neat. He sat at the other end of the couch, setting the bourbon on the table at his end. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting Old Blue Eyes start to calm his nerves. Kate un-tucked her legs, stretching them out, so her feet rested in his lap.
He used one hand to drink his bourbon. He slid his other hand up and down her leg, allowing himself to revel in the softness of her skin. They stayed that way until the album had run its course. When it had, Kate set her book aside and slid over next to him. He kissed her, and then again, before getting up. He took the dirty glasses into the kitchen while she turned off the stereo and the lights. They walked down the hall together, to the bedroom.
In an hour, they were sound asleep in one another's arms, both exhausted from the long day, and from the, rather pleasant, way they'd spent that last hour.
After leaving NCIS, castle and Beckett took a cab to Antonio's. They had Steak Diane, prepared tableside, and Crème Brule for dessert. Castle was amazing. He kept the conversation light, telling her stories of his past, and surprisingly few were about other women. She did get to hear about the reasons that he'd found himself naked, riding a stolen police horse. By the time they'd finished their appetizer, a lightly fried Camembert cheese served with champagne mustard, the tight feeling in her chest was gone, as was the anxiety over the impending possibility of finding her mother's killer.
She didn't know how he did that. He made her smile, made her laugh. He made her let go of herself in ways that she hadn't been able to in nearly a decade. She'd been fighting it for almost two years. Everyone knew that she'd fallen for him. Lanie was the first to see it, but Esposito and Ryan weren't too far behind. Even Captain Montgomery knew. She suspected that Castle knew as well. He'd never made any secret of his feelings for her.
He paid the check, leaving a gratuity for the server that was way beyond generous. He was a gentleman, holding her chair for her, helping her into her coat, and the door. She remembered the time, on one of their first cases, the one where the City Councilman had been found rolled up in a rug, he'd slipped through the door she opened, letting her hold it for him. She'd been amazed, at the time, that he had so few manners. She knew better these days. He'd been trying to get a rise out of her, and it had nearly worked.
Once back in another cab, he asked, "What should we do next? Lincoln Memorial? A walk through the National Mall?"
"How about we just go back to the hotel and curl up on the couch?" she suggested.
"Sounds good to me," he said. "Wait a minute. Will we be curling up together, or separately?"
"Guess," she said, wearing her best poker face. He immediately went into his sad, puppy dog face, complete with trembling lower lip, which always made her laugh. Of course, as soon as she did laugh, she got the trademark Castle grin.
Once back at the Adams House, they got into the elevator for the ride to the twelfth floor. By the time they'd hit the third floor, Kate made a decision she'd been slowly approaching for months. She turned to face Castle, pushed him back into the corner and then proceeded to kiss him, deeply, thoroughly.
For his part, Rick Castle was shocked. He'd always wanted to kiss Kate Beckett, and more than just the congenial kiss on the cheek, or the friendly press of his lips to the top of her head. He hadn't really expected it at that moment though, and he was caught completely off guard.
When she started to pull away, he decided that there was no way he was going to let that weak, surprised effort stand alone, so he pulled her back to him, gathering her into his arms. Beckett had been expecting better from the legendary lothario, Rick Castle when she pulled away from that first kiss. The second left her weak in the knees. If this was what she'd been missing for the last two years, why the hell had she put him off for so long?
They could barely keep their hands off one another, all the way down the hallway, to the door to their suite. Suddenly, Beckett pulled away. "Castle, wait," she said, breathlessly. "What about Alexis?"
He forced his mind out of the gutter for a moment, realizing she was right. They couldn't come through the door like a pair of wild animals. He took a deep breath, mirrored by her own, and then slipped the card into the electronic lock.
The suite was empty. Slivers of light came from beneath the doors to Alexis' room and the room Castle was sharing with Esposito. That was enough for them to let go again, kissing like mad all the way to Beckett's doorway. When they reached that doorway, Castle stopped, bracing himself in the door with both arms holding the frame. Beckett had hold of his jacket and tried to pull him in behind her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice barely more than a husky whisper.
Castle looked deep into those beautiful green orbs and said, "I don't want to take advantage of you. You're vulnerable right now."
"If I didn't want you, I wouldn't be doing this," she said, leaning up to pepper the side of his neck with kisses.
"Kate," he said, "I don't want this to be a one-time thing."
"Me neither," she replied, he breath hot in his ear.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
She stepped back away from him, letting her hands go to her hips, allowing just a touch of Detective Beckett to creep back in. "I've been fighting this for two years, Castle. I'm tired of fighting it. Now, are you ever going to shut up, or should I get my handcuffs?"
He smiled then, closing the door behind him and sweeping her up into his arms as he moved toward the bed. "Just remember," he said, "my safe word is apples."
Outside, the doors to the other two rooms opened simultaneously, Javier Esposito and Alexis Castle peering out. Each looked around and noticed the sliver of light coming from beneath Beckett's door. They looked back to one another and grinned. "It's about time," Alexis said. Esposito just nodded.