A/N – Well, it's been a while. I have been writing several other stories. I hope you will read them, as well. Thanks go to everyone who has read, followed and added this collection of moments of Caskett to their favorites. Thanks especially to the reviewers and those of you who take the time to drop me a PM. I love chatting about the show, the characters and my writing.
A great big Casketty smooch goes to concreteangel16 for throwing the idea for this chapter's date out. I hope you like it. Another smooch goes to J., K., L. & M. – not only for being awesome letters in the middle of the alphabet, but for song suggestions and all around humorous and unfailing support. You guys are great!
Enjoy!
~GeekMom
The Courtship of Katherine Beckett
Chapter 21
Every Line, Every Word, Everything
The sun rose over the Atlantic presenting the largely still slumbering world with another run of the mill, unbelievably majestic, grand opening of the day. Castle witnessed it. In fact, he rarely ever missed it whenever he sojourned at his home in the Hamptons. There was something renewing and energizing about the beginning of a new day, how the appearance of the star over the horizon caused all of nature to awaken. He felt it in the sticky spray misting his face and inhaled the thoroughly salt-saturated yawn of the ocean, wakening from its deep, dark repose.
It was magical and different from daybreak in the city. To be able to see the sun just as it peeks over the horizon instead of peeking around the many man-made steel effigies made him feel more connected to nature and the universe. He hadn't shared the experience with many.
He bought the property after Meredith divorced him: consequently and thankfully, she never saw it nor could she claim the house in her quest for monetary reparation for her pain and suffering endured while married to him. He let her keep her director boyfriend, though.
Gina, who rarely left the city while they'd been married, never came out of the house before eight (it was a vacation rule) when she deigned to venture there with him at all. When he subsequently brought various dates for weekend trysts they had been more interested in the clothing optional milieus of the bed, hot tub or pool rather than the semi-public beach. His mother rarely came down to face the weathering and aging effects of the sun and surf, besides he was not convinced that she was aware that the clock possessed hours before eleven.
Since they'd been dating, Beckett would, from time to time, come out to share this with him, but mostly she let him have it. It was almost as if he was a different person during the sunrise and it unnerved her. He was quiet, meditative or wholly introspective, which admittedly was peculiar behavior for him. He had even acknowledged the sense of quiet and peace that came over him, as if he were sitting in a hand-polished pew at a small country church or contemplating the universe and his place within it in the Infinity Room at MOMA instead of on damp chilly sand contemplating his place in his universe and how privileged he was to experience any of it including the sogginess seeping into his jeans right through the ineffectual beach blanket.
They were coming to the close of a week-long jaunt at his summer home. It was still too cold for swimming in the ocean, but they had made good use of his heated pool, hot tub and sauna, appropriate clothing required for group activities. Springtime on Long Island could be glorious, but chilly. They had enjoyed walks and bonfires on the beach, bundled in layers against the chill that stubbornly hung in the air, devoured electronic smorgasbords of marathon movie nights and online gaming the two days and nights it had rained, relaxed in the course of long talks over beer or coffee; and partook of mischievous shenanigans perpetrated mainly by the men, but the women had prevailed with a high jinx ending trump card having to do with missing (or stolen) clothing, a sudden power outage (or tripped circuit breaker) affecting the hot tub (exclusively), and many pounds of ice (Castle had an ice maker for parties). They'd had fun, laughed and played, but mostly they had grown closer as friends and family.
He and Kate had invited Lanie and Esposito, who were at an on-again period of their relationship at the moment, the Ryans as well as Alexis and his mother. The boys and their respective partners came, but his mother had some kind of charity event inscribing her signature to playbills, photos and marquee posters, none of which were from the current century, but it was something she rarely did any longer and she was delighted to accommodate for charity, of course, which was just as well that she remained in the city since Alexis begged off because of school work, the final push to overly excel in high school. After Ashley, Castle suspected her new study partner; Lynn was not as feminine as the name suggested.
Castle watched the sun climb lazily, but steadily into the sky, its meandering a mirror of his thoughts and musings, although his mind had a tendency to wander while chasing wild geese, zig-zag and loop-de-loop and not keep to the straight sure path of the sun's. His thoughts that morning swirled around Alexis. Melancholy over the fact that his child; his little girl, would be leaving home soon, ruled his ponderings, which were quickly becoming artistic brooding and bade the strains of the analogical chorus of Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof into his skull without his permission, reverberating as it repeated, taunting him. He blamed his mother for the disconsolate reprise. So it was analogical and annoying. He didn't know when, but he was positive that he had been backstage during a production of the play. It may well have been prenatally. Placing blame on her shoulders or possibly on her womb, cheered him up a bit. He whispered, "Too soon," to the pageantry before him and the refrain in his head. He sighed heavily.
"Hey," Kate called softly from halfway down the dune, so as not to startle him.
Castle twisted and looked back over his right shoulder and smiled. "Hey," he returned their preferred greeting. "You just missed the show."
She watched as his back muscles rolled under his hoodie as he turned back toward the sea, his normally perfectly styled hair as unruly and wind-whipped as the beach grass she so carefully navigated moments before and commented, "No, I haven't missed all of the show." He grinned up at her just before she plopped down in the cold sand beside him and lifted his arm to snuggle underneath and into his warmth. She looked up into his face. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine: just missing Alexis. She used to come out with me and we'd have a picnic breakfast: coffee and cocoa and scones or muffins while we watched the show. Before old Sol even rose fully above the horizon, she typically put her head in my lap, I'd play with her hair, and usually she'd fall back asleep. I had to carry her back inside too many times to count."
"That's a lovely memory," she whispered as a shiver had her burrowing deeper into his chest.
Castle smiled and kissed her quickly reddening nose. "Are you cold, Rudolph?"
"Probabblee…sh…" shiver, "…shood abought…" shiver, "…asweshshir," she mumbled incoherently between shivers into his chest.
"Probably," he agreed, chuckling. "Here; sit up." He shoved her off his chest and pulled his prized NYPD dark blue hoodie over his head, messing up his windblown hair even more. He scrunched up the neck and plopped it down around her head.
"Castle, I can go get…"
He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Not necessary. I was actually getting a little warm."
She believed him. The man radiated heat as if he had his own star-driven fusion power plant hidden deep inside his core. She nestled into him again, but not as urgently.
They sat quietly together until he stretched his back and woke her up. She looked at him through sleepy eyes: the too innocent twinkle in his eyes and his characteristic smirk were firmly in place. "What?"
"You snore."
"I do not snore, Castle. That was you," she said categorically.
"So, I snore while awake?"
"Probably," she baited. She looked up at him when he no longer defended his side of their back and forth banter that had become their normal and preferred mode of communication. "Babe?"
He was staring down at her penetratingly. Before she could probe his feelings further, he grabbed both her hands and stood them both up. He snatched her lips in his own as their bodies merged together, enveloped in each other and the sun, casting a single long shadow over the sand. Which is where Lanie found them several moments later.
"Damn," she said, quietly admiring a good kiss when she saw one and then cleared her throat sedately. When that didn't work she tried, "Castle! Are you ever going to let my girl breathe?"
Rick smiled out of the kiss and pulled back far enough to answer, but not wanting to break contact with her, kept their heads pressed together. He inhaled for his reply, but Kate spoke up first. "I'm not dead yet, Lanie." She pulled back and smiled brilliantly enough to wrestle the sun for the title of the brightest spot of the morning. She didn't even need a chair. "Matter of fact, I'm very much alive." She crashed back into Castle in an uncharacteristic public display of affection, her right hand laying tenderly on his chest and other arm around his waist while she snuggled in what was becoming her favorite spot: within the strength and warmth of his caring embrace. You would have thought that Christmas and his birthday came on the same day and that he'd been given an original, autographed light saber and potato chip fudge ice cream by the look of utter joy on his face. He held her close and even more tightly under his arm as he picked up his blankets.
Kate reflected that he appeared free, or freer. Her request that they keep their romance quiet (read secret) weighed heavily on him, Castle was a person who proclaimed things; she was not. The selfish desire to ensure that they be allowed to continue to work together outweighed any instinct to claim him as hers. Essentially, it was Kate's 'cake and eat it too' moment and what a cake he was. When they'd talked about the getaway, they had both decided that it was a no holds barred week with their close friends. They both had permission to display their affections publicly.
The surprising thing was that Kate was the first to take that leap. After a rather enthusiastic round of chicken in his pool, she dismounted his shoulders by slithering down his body expertly and provocatively as if it was a dancing pole. The kiss her actions provoked from him left time and space standing still, and their friends applauding. Basking in the openness of their relationship was undeniably freeing. The look of bliss on his face at that moment was all the evidence anyone would ever need.
They turned toward the medical examiner, who had her hands on her hips in a posture that mocked annoyance and impatience. "It's about time. I left Jenny up there fixing breakfast all by herself."
"She can handle it," Castle said confidently while trailing behind Kate, their fingers still entwined at her lower back. "That kitchen has everything she could possibly need or want, but where are the dynamic duo?"
"After they got themselves coffee, they went into the library. I'm pretty sure they were saving the Earth from something called the…Covenant Empire?" she ended in a question because she wasn't sure about the reference.
Rick nodded. "Oo, Halo," he said excitedly and like a puppy jumped in front of Kate so she could see his very best puppy dog eyes.
Kate grinned and squeezed his hand. "Go," she said. "Go save the world…Buck."
He stopped dead on the dune, pulling her off balance into his chest. After dancing and twirling her around, which couldn't have been easy on the sand covered incline, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and nuzzled next to her ear. "Sexy," he whispered. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You're the best," he said and jogged up the dune, dodging the prickle bushes in his bare feet and then past the beach grass and Lanie who was slightly ahead of them on the path.
"But just until breakfast," she warned him as he began to disappear over the top of the dune. "We've only got today left and I want to do something…"
He stopped and turned around. "Something?"
"I don't know: something memorable, maybe."
"Something memorable like…something extraordinary?"
Kate grinned. She grinned stupidly and couldn't stop herself when he used that word; it was his word for her. Lanie arched an eyebrow, but smiled for her two deliriously happy friends. Rick smiled and waved as he practically galloped toward the house. If anyone had seen him that didn't know him, they'd be hard pressed to convince that he was the owner of the property; he was more of a big goofy kid right then. Kate watched him go.
Lanie watched Kate. "I am so happy for you, girl," she said quietly.
"Oh Lanie, it's been…"
Lanie raised an eyebrow. "Extraordinary?"
Kate bit her lip as she grinned and studied her toes burrowing in the sand. "Yeah," she admitted to her best girlfriend. She hadn't designated Lanie in her mind like that before, she had always been just her best friend, but Rick filled that role now and had for a long time before he became her boyfriend and it seemed like she was slighting him by defining anyone else the same way.
"I was right. I was so, so, so right." Lanie gleefully sang.
Kate bumped shoulders with the doctor. "Yeah you were, but are you ever going to stop gloating?"
Lanie pursed her lips and confessed, "Probably not…at least not until after the wedding…Oo and the reception, too."
Instead of the pushback and scolding she was expecting for her assumptions and haste, Lanie watched a blush creep into Kate's face, heating her chilled features from within. "See?" she asked. "So, so right."
They walked through the gate onto the natural stone deck by the pool to shake the sand out of their clothes before going in the house. The copious amount of white sand that made its way onto his hardwood floors never seemed to bother Rick; he'd just quietly sweep up or wipe down whatever needed sweeping or wiping after his guests. His fastidiousness had surprised Kate early in their relationship. Martha disclosed that his tidiness was due to his unorthodox upbringing. She would frequently have to work in the evenings and weekends, so a lot of the housework fell to Richard when he was old enough. He seemed to prefer order and neatness and it used up some of his abundant energy.
She glanced toward the floor to ceiling windows of the library which overlooked the pool. The men were in there, their eyes absolutely glued to the flickering screen, sitting shoulder to shoulder on his deep crimson leather sofa. Castle was between the boys. Precipitously, Castle smiled and Ryan dropped his controller and leaned back, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.
The women couldn't hear them, but Espo was obviously gloating. It was in his posture and countenance and his inaudible but recognizable smack coming from his mouth. Both smiling, he and Castle high-fived, but then Castle nudged Ryan, good-naturedly. Ryan smiled begrudgingly, picked up his controller and sat forward again.
"Boys," Lanie sighed. "I don't think they'll ever grow up." She wiped her feet once more before entering the house. Kate stood and stared at her boys for another minute. Imagining what they might have looked like as children. Suddenly a small version of Rick, complete with piercing blue eyes, unruly sandy-brown hair and two front teeth slightly larger than the rest, ran into the room and plopped onto the couch. He picked up the game controller, turned and smiled as her Rick dropped down next to him. He tussled his already wild hair and began to play a video game with the boy. She smiled and then the boy looked up and out the window, directly at her. He smiled and waved. Kate dropped her gaze guiltily as if she had been an interloper in a private moment.
"Kate?" Lanie called as she glanced through the window to see what had her friend's rapt attention. She rolled her eyes and left her on the deck.
"Yeah, I'm coming." She tentatively peered back in the window, but Ryan and Espo were alone on the couch. Disappointed, she turned and reached for the doorknob, which vanished from her almost grasp as the door swung inward making her misstep on the doormat and fall into the house.
She fell right into Castle's arms.
"Hey," he said standing her upright. "Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah," she answered shakily. Her daydream seemed so real. "I guess I'm still sleepy."
"I saw you checking me out," he said flirtatiously, but then sobered. "I waved, but then you looked frightened or upset or something. Are you feeling alright?"
Kate looked up into Castle's concerned eyes and smiled. "I'm fine," she hummed as she swatted him on the chest. "Go play your game before I make you cut onions."
"Onions don't scare me, Beckett: I've got goggles."
He sashayed backwards until he spun and skipped down the two steps into the sunken library. Just as he swung the door closed, a chorus of 'ohs' from the men erupted followed by laughter; Castle's the loudest of all.
"See?" Lanie nudged Jenny as they stood at the kitchen island chopping various omelet-stuffing ingredients. Kate noticed the chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers had been set out and smiled. It was an terrible combination of flavors, and the first time he'd asked her to try a s'morlette she'd been more than a little drunk. He had improved his recipe since then. It was now more of a sweet dessert crêpe filled with an egg custard drizzled with fine chocolate and toasted marshmallow crème and dusted with finely crumbled graham crackers. Like most things he did, he started with a rough draft, worked at it, and refined it until it was something breathtakingly delicious. His s'morlettes, his books and their relationship had all received the same patient artisan's skillful consideration and devotion.
"Earth to Kate," Jenny said demurely and as if she was auditioning for the picture perfect meaning of paradox, she intrusively waved her hands in front of Kate's face.
Kate blinked and inhaled. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm distracted." Jenny gave her a hug and the napkins to put on the table.
"I know why you're distracted, too," Lanie's sing-songing saucy tone captured their attention.
"Why?" Jenny asked as she carefully placed the plates on the large dining room table.
"Cause our girl here was having her tonsils examined on the beach."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Lanie said.
"No," Kate clarified. She was quiet for a moment and then slowly elucidated, "He wasn't examining my tonsils so much as he was…palpitating them."
"God."
"With his tongue," Lanie deadpanned and then a bright smile burst onto her face as she squealed like a fourteen year-old at a slumber party and was soon joined by her two cohorts.
The men tripped up the steps, alarmed by the squeals. Espo jumped to Lanie in a single bound (or so it seemed) and Ryan after having made eye contact with his wife, stalked the perimeter.
"Is everything…okay?" Castle asked as he took a tour around his kitchen. Kate guessed he was concerned about fire, flood, or maybe aliens.
She met him at the oven, automatically drawn into a loose embrace. They did that now. "We're good, Babe: just girl-talk."
He grimaced and said, "Ew." His face brightened and expounded, "Unless you happen to be girl-talking about a certain ruggedly handsome author."
Espo pursed his lips and said, "Yeah – not interested." He received a confirming fist bump from his partner and then asked, "Hey, how long until breakfast?" Ryan helped himself to a couple of berries Jenny had placed in cantaloupes.
"It should only be a couple of minutes," Jenny said. "Hey Rick?"
He spun to face her, spinning Kate to the barstool next to the island. He liked his friends calling him Rick. It was more casual, more intimate than the 'Castle' that he heard at the precinct, although he loved that as well. "Yes?"
"We need our barista."
"I'm on it," he said and moved across the kitchen to man the espresso machine.
Breakfast was like every other meal they'd spent together that week. Whether it took place around his table, on the patio or in front of his sixty inch projection TV, they bonded, joked, talked and ate good food, drank good drinks including masterful coffee creations a la Castle and they'd made a dent in his wine cellar inventory that could have been rivaled only by his mother.
"So…today," Rick began as he sipped his cappuccino, leaning back in his chair and stretching his long legs next to the table. "A request has been made to do something memorable, or extraordinary."
"Something like…?" Ryan prodded.
"That's what we need to decide: unless you'd like me to make arrangements and amaze you."
"I'd like to walk on the beach once more," Lanie, who had been rapidly succumbing to a food coma, piped up.
Jenny and Kevin added, "And swim," simultaneously. They smiled shyly at each other and came together for a quick kiss.
Espo rolled his eyes only to be visually admonished by Lanie's glare. She smiled an apology at the Ryans and Espo rolled his eyes again.
"Mid-fifties today and sunny," Rick reported, "Any of that or all of that will work."
"Why don't we hang out and do whatever without a plan today…" Kate began.
Rick picked it up, "…and I'll find us a great place for dinner tonight." He sat up abruptly. "I've got just the place." He snapped his fingers, drained his coffee cup and then stood and headed toward his office. "I'll be right back," he called and then without looking back, added, "The girls cooked guys."
Espo and Ryan, who had been casually sauntering back to the library, stopped and begrudgingly turned back toward the kitchen. After a rock, paper, scissors to determine jobs, they cleaned up after breakfast.
A few minutes later, they all heard a whoop from the office followed by rapidly approaching feet. Castle appeared in the kitchen with a broad grin on his face. "I've got the perfect FMAEA to TAW of MAEA."
Beckett scrunched her nose. Ryan and Esposito both squinted as they searched the top of the wall for a clue. Jenny and Lanie looked at each other, perplexed.
Finally, Lanie asked, "What the hell are you talking about writer-boy?"
Rick frowned and opened his mouth, but Kate corrected her, "Writer-man, Lanie."
He grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Thank you, my love."
A loud, "Ha!" from Ryan startled them. He excitedly said, "I got the first part. Farmers must always eat arugula."
Rick's eyes narrowed as he considered the answer, but then brightened and he started to laugh. "Um: no," he said, chuckling.
"Dude, what do farmers have to do with something memorable to do tonight?" Javi asked. "Some detective," he muttered and went back to deciphering.
"Is this some sort of puzzle?" Jenny asked.
Kate took pity on her. Where she and her partners had had years of Castle's games, this was new to Jenny and Lanie. "Castle likes to give us the acronyms of phrases, mostly phrases he's invented, and let us figure it out." She glared at her boyfriend. "It can be fun, but it can also be exasperating."
Jenny smiled and put on a game face they hadn't seen since she wiped the pool table with them earlier in the week. "Give them to me again, Rick."
Castle smiled at the woman, of whom he quickly was becoming very fond. "FMAEA to TAW of MAEA," he repeated.
Here were a few more minutes of concentration and false starts from all huddled around the kitchen counter, except Castle who loved that he'd confounded them…yet again.
Jenny sighed and timidly said, "How about the final memorable and extraordinary activity to…top a week of…memorable and extraordinary activities?"
The look on Castle's face was priceless. He'd been decoded, deciphered quickly and by a civilian no less. He stared at Jenny and blinked several times mutely as he worked his jaw a couple of times, also without sound as if he was a character in a badly translated Japanese movie, and then asked, "How?" before he conceded, "Yeah, damn-it." He blew out a breath.
Ryan grinned. "That's my girl."
"So writer-bo…" At his glare, Lanie raised her hands in surrender. "Man, I mean man, what does that mean?"
With a triumphant smirk on his face he responded, "What?"
"What is the actual activity?"
"Oh…well, I can't tell you."
"Castle, what do you mean you can't tell us," Beckett chastised over the others' groaning and protesting.
He raised an eyebrow to go along with the smirk on his lips. "Seriously?" he asked.
"Castle, what the hell?" came from Esposito, but Rick only saw and heard Kate's reaction. Heat flooded her cheeks and she dropped her chin to her chest, shyly, her hair curtaining the blush. She raised her head to peek at him and bit her bottom lip. It all happened in a millisecond, but, to Rick she seemed to be moving in slow-motion. She crossed the kitchen and met him in an embrace followed by a type of kiss she normally wouldn't put on public display. He didn't point it out, but he did bask in their newfound relational freedom.
"What's going on?" Jenny asked.
Castle, who had withdrawn from his girlfriend's mouth, smiled, swung Kate around so he could enfold her within his arms from behind. "Sorry, Jenny. We've taken each other on what we call, adventure dates."
Lanie jumped up. "Oo, I know about these. These are the best dates ever." She smacked Javi on the shoulder before she sat back down.
"Ow, hey!" he protested.
"Are adventure dates like the scavenger hunt?" Jenny asked. She had, as the others in the room, helped in the execution of that date and had earned a lovely dinner and weekend stay at the New York Palace Hotel. It had been the swankiest hotel Jenny had ever seen, let alone stayed.
Rick slid into a vacant chair at the table and modestly described the outings. "Yeah, they are usually just dates; some, like the scavenger hunt are more elaborate than others, but regardless of particulars, they are generally a surprise."
Kate stood behind Castle and placed her hands on his shoulders. "They're much more than just dates. They're special."
"I'd like to hear more about them. Rick, you should give Kevin ideas."
Ryan frowned. "Hey, our dates are okay."
"Yeah, they are. I'm excited about an adventure date though."
"I'd be happy to give him some ideas, Jenny."
"Thanks, Rick." She turned to her husband. "Kev, are we going to swim?"
Ryan nodded as she grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the stairs.
Lanie stood also. "Okay, if you're not going to give it up, writer…" Rick stared at her expectantly. "Man…" she finished, setting off his victorious fist pump, a grin and an abbreviated happy dance: abbreviated because when he spun and stopped in front of her, he received a patented Lanie glare: the one that conveyed annoyance, the type of annoyance that could end with a hand up to his face or actual murder. "I'm going to drag Javi down to the beach," she finished.
"Okay," he said in measured caution. "I'll text when we need to leave."
He and Beckett were left alone in the kitchen and as soon as the door shut behind Esposito she pounced. "Since it's not strictly an adventure date just for us, you can tell me, right?"
Rick grinned and shook his head. "Seriously? You know what seriously means, right?" She looked at him expectantly. He loved all versions of Beckett, however this version of Beckett: the one that played: the one that didn't take life quite so seriously: the one that was his girlfriend above all else, the one who wasn't at all Beckett-like or taciturn about sharing it, this was the version he adored.
They joined Kevin and Jenny in the pool and hot tub and Rick took a nap in his hammock after lunch while Kate read. Lanie and Javi had disappeared after both meals. Rick woke from his nap and sent a text to the five of them.
'We'll leave at seven. I've hired a car so no one has to be the dd. The place is casual, but a dressy kind of casual.'
Kate walked down the stairs from his bedroom at six-fifty. Rick and Kevin were waiting at the bottom of the staircase in the foyer. He was devastatingly handsome in his soft blue sweater. His black leather jacket was draped over the bannister. Kevin wore what Kevin always wore when he had to dress up a bit: an oxford shirt and a V-neck sweater.
They were talking quietly when Rick heard her footfalls on the steps. He turned and just as she had many times before, she stunned him. If or when they ever got to a ceremony in which she would wear white, he thought his heart might just stop. She wore a simple oversized sweater. It was tan, but had sparkly threads of burnt orange, maroon and yellow every so often. The effect in the soft light in the hallway was ethereal. She completed her outfit with jeans and her rust colored wrap. Rick noticed she was wearing flats, an oddity for Kate Beckett, and as much as he fantasized about her stilettos, he truly was partial to their dramatic height difference of nearly five inches.
"You look gorgeous," he said as he held her hand for the last two steps.
"Thanks, Castle,' she answered.
Lanie and Javi descended right after followed by Jenny. Rick herded them out to the waiting limo and they began their night.
The limo pulled into the unpaved parking lot of Cap'n Mal's Seafood Universe. Three letters on the neon sign were out and another blinked its prolonged death reflected in the numerous cars and motorcycles parked haphazardly in the lot. They parked between the sign, which currently read Cap'n Mal's Seafoo _verse and two monstrous motorcycles.
Kate's first impression was that the bar must have been one of those places that Castle had met a shady contact or mob enforcer for research. It didn't quite have the five-star ambience of the finer restaurants he had taken them.
Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking that the bar was beneath his usual standards. Espo asked, "Why are we stopping here, bro?"
Castle stood from leaning in the car's front window after having given instructions to the driver. "What do you mean? This is the place for the FMAEA to TAW of MAEA."
Javier shook his head.
Rick looked at the rest of his friends who all wore similar expressions of uncertainty. He read everything from doubt to fear to out and out disgust. He tilted his head and smiled softly. He wondered if he'd been spoiling them with finer accommodations and first-class dining. They, like most people, assumed that if you were well-off you always ate at upscale restaurants and stayed in the presidential suite at every resort or hotel. Whereas he did have certain preferences that his financial success had afforded him, like first-class air travel and top of the line laser tag equipment, mostly he preferred down to earth restaurants and the people you met there.
"Trust me," he soothed.
Beckett cocked an eyebrow, but it was Jenny who stepped forward, took his arm and said, "Can't judge a book by its cover, right Rick? Let's go," she ordered the rest of the group.
The inside of the roadhouse was just as they expected it would be. The bar figured prominently in the main room while neon signs advertising national and local beers were its main décor. The tables and chairs were a mish-mash of styles garnered from local flea markets and wholesale restaurant supply companies' discount rooms. Kate half-expected to see a mechanical bull or a mud-wrestling pit in the next room.
A man in an apron behind the bar looked up as their party entered. A huge smile found its way to his face. Castle waved.
The barman came to greet them. His arms spread wide as he clasped Rick's hands. "Ricky, jeez: how long has it been?"
"A couple of years, or nearly that J.T," Rick enthusiastically returned the man's greeting.
"Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. What…" the man scowled as he did the math in his head. "It was that summer you spent with that blonde…jeez, what was her name?" J.T. looked over the crowd with Castle.
"Yeah, J.T.: that was…You know what? We're not together anymore."
"Well to be truthful, you weren't really together then: not with you spending your nights here."
Castle cleared his throat, eager for a direction change of the conversation. "Ah, J.T. we're here for the stage room."
J.T. smiled again. "That's awesome. You got some singers in this group?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, let me check. You want the usual?"
"Yeah," he said and looked at his friends. "Beer okay with everyone?" He received silent nods and turned back to J.T. "That'll be fine, J.T. Where's the boss?"
"Oh, he's in the booth. I'll have him come by your table, if you want."
"That's great, but only if he has the time."
"Will do; Ricky."
Castle turned back to his entourage. He smiled his best host smile and indicated the back of the bar. "This way," he said cheerfully and led them past the bar and through a narrow hallway.
Esposito muttered, "This better not be something illegal, Castle."
Castle chuckled and held a door open, ushering them inside.
It took a few seconds for their eyes to acclimate, but once they did Castle stood back and listened to and watched his friends' reactions. They were no longer in an establishment where it was good sense to question the health department rating. They stood inside a theatre. The main focal point of the room was the small nonetheless well-lit stage on their right. The room also had tables, but it was not the mismatched roadhouse furniture from the front. About twenty smaller round tables for two and ten larger round tables were scattered around the tiered room. All set with linen tablecloths and small lamps. A few patrons sat at the tables, obviously waiting for the show to begin. The room was warm and well appointed. More than once, Kate felt as if she'd been transported to another place.
From somewhere at the back of the room came a shout of, "Ricky!"
It never stopped surprising Kate that so many of his friends called him Ricky. He had introduced himself as Rick most often. He adored being called Castle at the precinct. Early in his ride-a-long, after a grueling, but a satisfactory ending of a case, he had confessed late one evening over strawberry milkshakes and fries at Remy's that it made him feel like one of the guys, a part of the team. Even the uniforms had taken to calling him Castle. He grinned for a week when a young rookie accidently addressed him as Detective Castle. Not long after, the young officer mysteriously received an unlimited membership to a day spa from an anonymous admirer. The holdout was the captain. Her use of 'Mister Castle' kept him separate, on the outside, but to Castle; it was a challenge.
Rick turned just as a man barreled down the aisle and engulf him in a hug. "Hey, Boss. How's business?" he asked when he'd been released.
"It's great," the man replied.
Kate, along with the rest of their friends stood dumbfounded. Rick, her Rick, her Rick Castle, her partner and boyfriend currently had his arm slung across the shoulders of The Boss. Bruce Springsteen stood next to Rick Castle. There. Right there.
Castle looked over his friends and punched the boss in the arm. "Never fails. Beautiful."
Bruce looked at the men and women. "You didn't tell them?"
"Nah, why spoil the surprise." He turned to his party and cleared his throat. "So, you're probably a little stunned." Kate flash-backed to the time he introduced her to Joe Torres. He'd told her afterwards, 'Pants, Beckett: one leg at a time just like everyone else.' It didn't matter, it was Joe Freakin' Torre and this was Freakin' Bruce Springsteen.
Castle continued, "Boss, this is Lanie, Jenny, Javier, Kevin and Kate." He indicated everyone and Springsteen shook each of their hands. "Everyone, this is…not…Bruce Springsteen. This is my friend, Brian Colchester. He owns the place and…"
"Looks like Bruce Springsteen."
"It's uncanny."
"Sorry, Boss."
"Nah, don't worry about it, Ricky. It happens all the time."
"Probably, the jeans and bandana don't hurt."
"No, they don't, but it'd be tough to do my job if I didn't dress the part."
"Anyway, Brian owns the best karaoke lounge in the Hamptons."
"That implies that there is more than one."
"As Paula says, it only matters if you tell them. As I was saying, Brian owns the place. He opens for the other acts and then the rest of the night is beer, the best seafood place this side of Nantucket and karaoke."
"Karaoke? You mean singing? On the stage?" Kate still stared at Brian. The resemblance was uncanny.
"Yeah. There are menus on the tables. You order your food and you order songs, as well."
"But Castle, I…"
"I know, right?" He led them to one of the larger tables down front and center. J.T. and a waitress brought pitchers of beer, glasses and platters of various appetizers.
The waitress smiled broadly as she described the specials and listed the soups. Castle asked about the preparation of the roasted oysters and gave Kate a smirk and eyebrow wiggle combo. The waitress grinned broadly at Castle and took a step a little too close to him for Kate's liking. She reached for his hand which was resting loosely on the table and tangled their fingers together as he placed their orders. The waitress noticed the obvious move to stake claim to what was Kate's and so did Castle. His eyes became brighter somehow in the dim light and, although his smile didn't broaden any more than the one he already wore, it seemed to encompass his whole face. Kate fully expected to see the familiar teasing smugness on his face when she lifted her eyes from the careful examination of the tablecloth, but she only found gratitude and love. She squeezed his hand drawing his attention. He lifted their conjoined hands and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.
Kate Beckett had loved to sing since she was a little girl and had been told that she had a lovely voice, but the thought of getting up on stage and performing in front of people terrified her. Castle didn't know it; no one did. She would feign a sore throat to beg off performing, she'd done it before. The important part of the evening was that they were all there; she reached for her glass, took a healthy swallow and relaxed.
In the middle of cracking crab legs, Brian took the stage and performed expert renditions of Thunder Road, Born to Run, Glory Days and finishing with Born In The U.S.A. The impersonator was the next best thing to 'The Boss' and he'd obviously put a lot of time and practice in on his show.
The stage played host to a continual stream of individuals, couples and groups performing their favorite songs. Esposito was the first of their group to join the queue. In fact, he'd been chomping at the bit and wolfed his food once he'd picked his debut, Blurred Lines. Robin Thicke had nothing on him. Jenny surprised everyone with her rendition of P!nk's So What. Next, she dragged her shocked and reluctant husband to the stage and made him sing Muskrat Love with her and judging by the blush in his cheeks, much to his embarrassment. Rick performed a rendition of a popular web movie's song entitled Everyone's A Hero. He had excitedly shown Beckett Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog one weekend when he was sick in bed and she could definitely picture him playing the rather unheroic, inconsiderate, and egocentric antagonist. Not that those descriptions applied to him, most of the time. Lanie's comical We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together had the group teasing Esposito who retaliated with Where Them Girls At.
The night grew later and they exchanged laughs, affection and good-natured teasing and had more song wars, pitting one against another. Castle began a round of guilty pleasure songs with George Michael's Faith. Jenny sang Firework and Kevin crooned Payphone, Lanie warbled Oops, I Did it Again and Espo brought up the rear with Mambo No. 5. Kate had made it clear that she would watch and cheer, but because of her throat, she wouldn't sing.
"How about another round?" Castle asked the table, receiving nods. He waved to the waitress, but was distracted by the next performer. Beckett, who had excused herself to the ladies' room, stood on the stage and the opening bars of I Knew You Were Trouble began to play. Castle was entranced and, if he was honest, turned on. He'd heard her singing in the cruiser (they head-banged to rock anthems at stoplights) and once or twice in the shower, but he had no idea of how mesmerizing her voice could be. They stood for her as she finished and she traipsed down the steps and into Castle's waiting arms.
"That was fantastic. I thought your throat hurt."
"It must be the alcohol. Nona always said that a shot of whiskey would cure anything," she quipped.
Castle looked at the table, at the empty glasses and pitchers. They'd drunk beer – a lot of beer. He was feeling pleasantly warm and content. Espo was loudly trying to explain a life-altering epiphany to Ryan that he'd had while in the men's room. Lanie was smiling and giggling while wiggling in a little chair-dance to the current song and Jenny was all but passed out. He was thankful he'd gotten the limo. "I think we're beyond curing and into pickling."
"Oh Castle," she hummed as she crashed into his chest. Castle smiled. Beckett was drunk. "Hey, hey, hey, Rick." The hard 'K' at the end of his name clattered off her tongue like the report from a rifle. People tended to try to enunciate what they could when alcohol soaked language tripped off their twisted and slurried tongue. "Let's sing a song." (Hard 'G's, prolonged 'S's.) "You and me." She plopped into his lap and draped her arms around his neck and her fingers immediately played with, in and around his hairline.
"God," he exhaled. It was a genuine prayer, not a simple curse. "What…" he started, stopped and started again while she played with the shell of his ear. "What, um, do you want to, ah, oo, sing?"
She laid her head on his shoulder and breathed into the crook of his neck, "I don't care. You choose." He temporarily forgot that their friends were there watching, giggling and whispering.
He perused the title menu and his smile broadened when he found one for the two of them. "Come on, Kate," he said as he picked her up off his lap and then took her hand, leading her to the stage.
The opening bars made her smile, bringing to mind a childhood memory. Her parents had danced to that song in the living room after they thought she'd gone to bed. Castle always seemed to find the pleasant memories.
Castle began, "Those fingers in my hair, that sly come-hither stare, that strips my conscience bare: it's witchcraft."
Beckett purred as she leaned against Castle's chest in front of the monitor, "and I've got no defense for it, the heat is too intense for it, what good would common sense for it do?"
"Because it's witchcraft, wicked witchcraft, and although I know it's strictly taboo…"
"When you arouse the need in me, my heart says, 'Yes, indeed' in me, 'Proceed with what you're leading' me to'."
"It's such an ancient pitch, but one I wouldn't switch…"
They both sang, "Because there's no nicer witch than you."
He spun her around the stage in a few simple dance steps while the instrumental section of the song blasted from the speakers.
Kate sang again, "Because it's witchcraft, that crazy witchcraft, and although I know it's strictly taboo…"
"When you arouse the need in me, my heart says, 'Yes, indeed' in me."
"'Proceed with what you're leading me to', it's such an ancient pitch, but one I'd never switch."
"Because there's no nicer witch than you," Castle ended the song with Kate wrapped in his arms leaning back against his chest. They kissed and then laughed all the way back to the table.
"You guys are great," Lanie squawked waking Jenny.
Rick deposited Kate into her chair and leaned on the back of his, surveying the vestiges of their night on the table. "Thanks, Lanie. Do you want to stay or go home?"
"No, Castle. Sing my song."
"What," he looked confusedly at her and sat close to her. "What song is that, sweetheart?"
"You know."
"I really don…"
"Castle, you know," she said impatiently.
His eyes grew wider and a grin broke out all over his face right up to the crinkles at his eyes. Beckett said that he was guilty of full frontal amusement when whatever delighted him encompassed his whole face.
"You know…the one you sing in the shower when you think I'm not home."
Castle was instantly sober. She'd said home, as if they shared a home. A light dawned, as did the sun that morning and he knew what she wanted. He stood up and kissed her head as he headed toward the stage.
A bright cheery piano and acoustic guitar introduction preceded his warm baritone.
"You're a falling star, you're the getaway car
"You're the line in the sand when I go too far
"You're the swimming pool on an August day
"And you're the perfect thing to see
"And you play you're coy, but it's kinda cute
"Oh, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do
"Baby, don't pretend that you don't know it's true
"Cause you can see it when I look at you
"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
"It's you, it's you; you make me sing
"You're every line, you're every word, you're everything
"You're a carousel, you're a wishing well
"And you light me up when you ring my bell
"You're a mystery, you're from outer space
"You're my every minute of my everyday
"And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man
"And I get to kiss you, baby, just because I can
"Whatever comes our way, oh, we'll see it through
"And you know that's what our love can do
"And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
"It's you, it's you; you make me sing
"You're every line, you're every word, you're everything
"So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, so, la, la, la, la, la, la, la," he hopped off the stage during the bridge and finished the song directly in front of Kate. "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
"It's you, it's you; you make me sing
"You're every line, you're every word, you're everything
"You're every song, and I sing along
"Cause you're my everything
"Yeah, yeah
"So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, so, la, la, la, la, la, la-la-la, la-la-la," he ended the song quietly and then kissed his everything.
A/N2 –
No copyright infringement is intended. Just our favorite characters having some fun at a karaoke bar.
Below is a playlist that contains videos of all the songs mentioned in the story. Remove the spaces and replace the words in italics with their corresponding symbol or punctuation. Thanks for reading and for listening.
https colon backslash backslash www dot youtube dot com backslash playlist?list=PLr5oGZN7FXKlE22hqkEezmn0kyNdrsiVB