Company - Chapter 21
"Are you seriously changing your shirt again?" Kate asks, watching from the bed as her boyfriend sheds one button down and trades it for another. "Rick, you look fine."
His mouth drops open, offense radiating off him. "Kate, I don't want to look fine. It's my first day on the job–"
"You are not on the job," she interrupts. "You're riding along for a couple of days. That's all."
"Regardless of our differences in terminology, I want to look my best. It's like the first day of school."
She hides a smile in her hand. He's as nervous as a kid on the first day of school, too. "You want me to fix your hair? Take some pictures? Make sure you have your lunch money?"
Rick grins, moving closer, shirt half-buttoned. He crowds into her space, moving her fingers from her lips and teasing a kiss from her mouth. "Funny. But you know, I wouldn't be opposed to you offering up some extra tutoring. Just to make sure I get ahead…"
Kate pulls her hand away and swats his belly, getting to her feet. "Just pick an outfit already or we're going to be late. And unlike you, I am getting paid to be there on time."
"Kay. I think this is good. It just screams 'cop helper.' don't you think?"
She pauses mid-stride, turning to face him again. "Cop what?"
"Cop helper," he supplies, oblivious to her stare. "You're a cop and I'm a cop helper."
"Since when?" Kate laughs, lifting onto her toes and swiping her lips over his. "You haven't even started shadowing me."
"I helped solve one case already," he points out with a sly grin. His hands sweep up her back, tugging her closer. "It's how we got here."
"Mmm," she hums, deciding not to argue that point. She's still not quite sure how they got here; technically he hadn't won their bet, she'd just decided to let him shadow her anyway, knowing how much it would mean to him. It's also possible she's lost her mind. Smoothing his collar down, she pats his shoulder. "Time to go, cop helper."
Rick's smile deepens, his giddiness bubbling to the surface once again. "Kay."
Kate can't help the excitement that wells in her belly as they gather the rest of their things and make their way out of the loft. She'll never tell him, but she might just be looking forward to this a little bit, too.
Having Rick at the precinct is… surprisingly fun. They catch a case almost as soon as they get to work, and he approaches it with a humor that doesn't feel abrasive or disrespectful – no more so than Ryan and Esposito's quips do, anyway – the way she had worried it might, making it easier for them to fall into an easy rhythm, tossing theories back and forth while they wait for autopsy and ballistics reports. It seems almost normal to have him there, in fact, a fourth body on the team.
There's also the perk of having Rick there to notice that her coffee has run dry. He doesn't say a word, in fact, merely swiping her mug off the desk and disappearing into the break room. Of course, he also returns a little while later, his face twisted in disgust.
"What?" she asks, glancing at the half-filled mug in his hand. "What's wrong?"
"I was going to pour a refill for you, but this–this coffee is terrible, Beckett," he says, horror tingeing every word. "No, it's beyond terrible. It tastes like – it tastes like a monkey peed in battery acid. And that's the new pot I made! How do you drink this stuff?"
She lifts a shoulder, pursing her lips to hide her amusement. "You get used to it, mostly."
"You mean you ruin your taste buds and possibly your stomach lining, too."
Kate snorts. "Yeah, probably." Her grin widens when he huffs in response. "Hey, you wanted authenticity."
"Authenticity, not an ulcer," he says, setting the mug down with a grimace. "I'm going to get you something consumable. Just… don't touch that. It might bite."
She grins, stepping closer to him. "Don't worry about the coffee, Rick," she murmurs, letting her tongue poke between her teeth, "it's not the one that bites."
He goes still for a moment, then blinks and offers her a grin in challenge. "I can live with that."
Rick's lips brush her cheek. "I'll be back," he adds, pulling away before she can admonish him. He's been warned about PDAs in the precinct while he's there in a semi-official capacity; clearly, he'd paid attention.
She turns back to the murder board to find the guys propped against a desk, watching the show.
"What?" she asks, daring them to comment.
Ryan and Espo look at each other before looking back at her. "Nothing, boss," Esposito answers for the duo. "It's just, uh, a good look for you."
Her eyes narrow. "What is?"
They just smirk.
"Tell me what you've found," she says, rolling her eyes at their antics. They've been downright gleeful since she'd cleared it with the captain and announced that Castle would be joining them for a few days; this is only the beginning, she's sure. "And if you two turkeys are lurking just to say 'nothing,' I'm going to put you on dumpster duty for the rest of the week."
"Oh, trust me, Beckett," Ryan starts, grabbing a file from behind him. "We've found plenty. And some of it's even about this case."
"Funny," she drawls. "Did you find his next of kin?"
Ryan sobers. "His parents are both deceased, and he had no siblings, but an ex-wife who lives in the city popped up on the background check. She didn't answer when we called to notify her. I left a message, though, asked her to call me back."
"Good," Beckett murmurs, hating that they may have to break the news to someone via phone. "How long have they been divorced?"
Her colleague checks the folder. "Ah, six years."
"He paying alimony?"
Esposito shakes his head, jumping into the conversation. "She is. A lot of it, in fact, if his financials are to be believed. Must have been one hell of a divorce settlement."
"So maybe she was tired of paying for her ex's expensive watches and shoes," Kate muses, moving to the board and writing the word 'ex?' under the still-minuscule list of potential suspects. "I'm going to get unis to her address to bring her in; I want to see her reaction when she finds out the news. See what else you can dig up on her," she orders. "I'd like to know more before we get her here."
"On it, Boss." Espo taps the folder against his palm. They both retreat to their desks, leaving her to make her request to LT and consider the next move.
The arrival of the espresso machine doesn't shock her in the slightest. Nor does the broad smile on Rick's face and the proud line of his shoulders. No doubt he arranged this as soon as he left earlier, didn't waste a moment in getting it delivered.
Still, she can't help but gawk as he flits around the delivery guy and asks questions about the machine that the poor kid can't answer. "Castle, you didn't have to do this," she jumps in finally, giving the guy a break. "Our coffee is fine."
"Your coffee is one step above toxic sludge. Which would be cool if you were trying to become superheroes and just waiting for something radioactive to spill, but less cool when all you want is a jolt of caffeine."
He, well he has a point there. Over the years she'd learned to ignore the acrid taste and just gulp the coffee down, but she can admit over the last few months with Rick, she's grown spoiled by his hand-crafted blends. God, he's making her soft.
Her chin lowers as heat rises to her cheeks. "Still, this is… a lot. It's very sweet, but you didn't have to," she repeats, licking her lips.
Her boyfriend grins over his shoulder, cocky and unrepentant. "I know. But isn't it great that I did?"
Ass.
"After the first cup, you'll see," he insists, pretending to ignore fact that she's sticking her tongue out at him. "You'll love it."
He's right, of course, but she waits until they're at home later that night to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.
Once again, thank you all for your kind words! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!