A/N: No time to peruse.. Let me know if there's any mistakes! ..Enjoy x..
Castle hovered in the doorway for a moment, tasting the sweetness of her on his tongue. He grinned at the memory of her body, the heat of her, her irresistible powers of seduction. Extraordinary wasn't going to suffice soon enough. Not with what that woman was capable of!
Succeeding in capturing the uncatchable, it was unreal. Rendering her completely and utterly infatuated with him, that was out of this world. But breaching her defences and actually getting her to let him in fully, all the way. Not even he thought that was possible. Yet he had. Infiltrated her defences, oh so many times!
He grinned, closing the door and making a futile attempt at reverting his mind to Alexis. Futile ultimately because he could not stop thinking about Kate Beckett, and their incredibly hot indiscretions were ruling every thought his mind had room to offer. He wondered if she would be the type to heat up every room in the house, christen every surface possible. Knowing that incredible woman, she would be! And he was so getting his hands on that tape tomorrow night. Another day and he could have her again, just them...
Castle sighed, turning around and almost toppling over the suitcase left to the side of the door. He put his hand out, grabbing onto the handle and stopping it from crashing to the floor as well. Good one Rick, look where you're going! Gee an entire day to go, and he was already just about falling on his face... Wait! This was all he could think about?? Fair game the spicy sex with Kate, but whinging he had to wait a day to see her just when Alexis has been away for a week!? What was wrong with him!?
"Dad!"
Castle jolted, nervously stepping forward as if his daughter was privy to every one of the thoughts that were just racing through his mind. He paused, watching her move about the kitchen and ready a plate of pancakes for herself before she pulled out two chairs at the table.
If the unamused expression steadily held on her face wasn't a clear enough indication of her mood, the sharp clink of her plate hitting the table surely was. She pointed to the other chair, frowning.
"Sit. We need to talk."
Whaaat?? Kate gets Dr. Jekyll, and here I get Mr. Hyde? So not fair! Castle inched forward to the table, demurely taking a seat as he wondered what he was in the bad books for. From what he could tell, it was not telling her, failing to consult her, or she was about to drill to find out herself. Either way, he was in trouble. Alexis was clearly in full swing of playing the parent.
"So," she started, observing the dread in Castles eyes. "A few things need to be addressed. First...You didn't think I needed to know when some crazy person makes himself look like you, then gets killed?" Castle opened his mouth to reply, or it dropped from the shock of her words, he couldn't tell. She continued abruptly, cutting off any chance of him uttering a word. "And not only that, you were considered missing??"
Whoa! "How did you—?" he stopped, staring wide eyed.
"Find out?" Alexis finished curtly. "Esposito told me. Why didn't you tell me??"
"I...just—" Wait a minute! "Why were you talking to Esposito?"
She crossed her arms. "It was my only way of checking up on you! I go away for a week and barely get a few texts. Then after trying you and Kate a bunch of times, I called Esposito. Now answer the question dad, why didn't you tell me?"
Castle gulped, a pained frown crossing his brow as he ruefully stared at her expression. "I didn't want to worry you sweetie."
"Well you did just that, not answering your phone." Alexis shot back. "And I would rather know than not know dad. No secrets remember?"
"I know. I'm sorry. I've just been kind of... distracted."
Alexis arched an eyebrow at the last word, forking a piece of pancake into her mouth. Distracted? That was surely obvious! And a major understatement.
She watched him as she ate, giving him a pointed look to continue.
"I don't know much about the case myself pumpkin. I was in London for the book offer, I got a call from the front desk to ring Esposito, and he told me they were about to announce me as AWOL. I had no clue anyone thought I was missing, my phone was dead, and if I had the slightest inclination you knew, I would have told you immediately."
Alexis swallowed, softening a little. "Immediately?"
"Immediately." Castle assured with a smile.
"So what's the case?" Alexis asked pensively.
"Guy got a facelift to look like me. Had a fake I.D, murder board, the lot—" Castle stopped, purposely omitting certain events. "Beckett wouldn't tell me anything else."
"Creepy," Alexis murmured quietly. "Who killed him? Was he like..." Her voice cut to a strangled whisper. "After you?"
Castle leaned forward in his chair. "We don't know, but no-ones taking me away from you sweetie. Kay? I'm always gonna be here for you. Up until I'm a cranky old geezer moving in because I can't hobble down the street on my own." He smiled comfortingly. "Deal pumpkin?"
She laughed in reply, the slightest pull of a smirk playing on her lips. "Won't you have Kate to help you down the street?"
Play it cool Rick. "What makes you think Kate would help me? She'll probably be the one tripping me up. War of the canes..." Castle trailed off, ignoring the shake of her head as she dropped the fork onto her plate.
Alexis grinned. "You can have all the cane fights you want, and you'll have a motorised scooter. If you think I'd leave you hobbling down the street with a rickety hip you're mistaken. But you're missing the point."
"I didn't think of that! Oh that is so cool! I've always wanted to try one of them. I can run her over if she tries to hit me, good battle strategy my little Obi Wan."
She frowned. "That's a horrible thought dad. Kate's definitely getting one if she's in mortal danger on her feet."
Castle grinned. "It'd just be a little bump, and—" He stopped as a thought struck him. "Hey! How come she gets one too?"
Alexis smiled knowingly. "I'm sure she'll be around."
"I don't know why you would think—"
"Sure." Alexis interrupted. "Save your breath. I know."
Castle smiled, evasively switching the subject. "You know that I want to know how you got back a day early?"
"Dad," She shook her head unenthusiastically. "I know you've been distracted. I'm not under any false pretences that you and Kate aren't—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He quickly cut her off before the feared word slipped form her lips. "Let's keep your innocence there honey. Now what were you saying? Cuddling?"
Alexis smiled sardonically. "Cuddling it is then. But I'm not a child anymore, dad. I am aware you know."
Castles face dropped. "I don't want my little girl being aware of such things."
"I'll always be your little girl." Alexis frowned gently. "But I'm not clueless."
"You never were." Castle replied absent-mindedly.
"Good then try not treating me like a child. Okay?"
Castle blinked, surprised at her sudden request, not to mention the sternness of her expression clearly backing it up.
"Kay. Beck – Kate told you didn't she?"
"When you left her to do it by herself? Sort of."
"I had to do something quickly... Sort of?"
She rolled her eyes, and Castle couldn't help but think how much it reminded him of that woman. If she rubbed off in as little as a few hours, Alexis was bound to be a mirror image of her in a week!
"I'd already figured it out. I told her instead, so she didn't need to feel the pressure of telling me by herself. She just confirmed it."
Castle smiled. "She was fine by herself."
Alexis scoffed, staring at him disbelievingly. "Dad! First she looked like she was going to bolt out of the building any second. Then I had to embarrass her by making her aware of something. And felt horrible for it! Covering up your doing." She shot him a pointed look, ensuring he thoroughly got the gist of her meaning.
Castle grinned at the memory, unable to hold back his amusement at the notion.
"No dad. It was not funny." She crossed her arms sharply, giving him a hard stare. "It was really immature running off and leaving Kate to tell me, you know better than anyone how she is with people she's not entirely comfortable being around."
His mouth dropped open, completely stunned, and yet he found himself obediently nodding as if he was standing in the principal's office.
"She's comfortable with you but."
"Towards the end she might have been. She doesn't know me enough to be comfortable having to tell me something like that dad, without you there to back her up."
Castle nodded his head submissively. "You've made you're point my dear. I promise never to leave Beckett alone again. You're concern for her is very touching by the way."
"Anymore announcements and you tell me together, right?"
"Right," he replied instantly.
Alexis smiled. "Good. That's everything then."
She pushed her chair back, grabbing her plate and giving him a light kiss on the cheek as she swept into the kitchen.
Castle grinned, turning in his chair to watch her. "She really admitted it?"
Alexis rolled her eyes, spinning to face Castle. "Yes dad." She turned back, rinsing her dish and smiling to herself at the joy in her father's eyes. She'd never seen him this happy. She knew he was always in love with Beckett, he just FINALLY acted on his feelings!
"Hey!" She shook herself from her thoughts at the sound of his voice.
"Does that mean you're going to have favourites?"
She laughed, "Favourites?"
He pulled a miserable expression. "Kate's gonna be your favourite now isn't she? She'll be the parent you listen to. Won't matter what dad is lecturing."
"Lecturing?" Alexis grinned, pushing her chair in and leaning forward on it. "Am I the one who disobeys rules? Has no self control? Acts before thinking?"
He shrugged silently.
"I didn't think so. I'm not the unruly one in the family dad. That special title goes to you." She shot him an accusing look, yet smiled sweetly and headed for her suitcase.
"But what if Kate and I have an argument, whose side would you pick? Castle grinned optimistically. "Your faithful ol' dad..." He paused, dropping his face. "Or the shiny new kick ass mom?"
Before she could answer a cheery voice floated down the stairs, followed by the eccentric Martha Rogers.
"I vote Beckett, doll face. I know that's who I'll be siding with."
Castle leaned back in his chair, giving her a cynical glance as she flounced down the stairs. "No one asked for your opinion, mother."
She smiled in response. "Ah well. You should know by now you get it anyway."
Alexis grinned and bounded over to the older woman, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "Grams! When did you get back?"
"I just got in a few hours ago actually." She shot Castle a mocking grin, followed by a wink.
Castle was glad it seemed to slip by Alexis, but knowing his daughter he never knew how much she was taking in, or better yet, when she was going to fire it at him later.
Alexis stepped back, glowing as brightly as the sun. "I think I'll go with grams. Beckett all the way. Who could resist a kick ass mom right?"
"That's my granddaughter!" Martha beamed proudly.
Alexis glanced at the appalled expression across Castles face, suddenly laughing.
Castle shook his head in disapproval, warranting an arched eyebrow from his daughter
"Oh, the betrayal!"
Martha scoffed in response, rolling her eyes and heading into the kitchen for a glass of water. "Speaking of Beckett, when are you going to get your head checked Richard?"
Castle frowned, instantly firing a threatening glare for her to stop speaking.
"I don't need to mother."
"You sure? That was quite a fall..." She grinned teasingly.
Alexis quickly caught onto the conversation, hearing certain words that spiked her interest. "Fall? Dad, what is she talking about?" Her mouth hardened as she crossed her arms. "There something else I should know about?"
He glanced at his mother, directing the words to her though it was addressed to Alexis.
"Nothing sweetie. Grams has just had a few drinks."
Martha ignored it, conceitedly grinning as she continued. "Your father and Kate had a little tumble in the shower. I heard the bang from downstairs. Like I said, quite a fall..."
"Wait!" Alexis's eyes widened along with her smile. "You walked in on them grams??"
"Afraid so dear," Martha replied offhandedly.
"Please tell me they were half clothed at least!"
The actress shook her head. "Completely starkers. On the floor, baring everything!" She threw her arms in the air theatrically and quickly elicited a burst of laughter from her granddaughter.
Alexis squeezed her eyes shut, half horrified at the possible image. "Ew dad. The floor?"
"Hey," Castle defended. "You heard grams, the floor was not the intended place —"
"And what," Martha interrupted audaciously. "The wall was? Give the girl some comfort next time why don't you?"
Alexis laughed, shaking her head as if she was trying to shake unwanted images from her mind.
"I think I'll be using the guest bathroom from now on."
Castle grinned. "We'll be sure to hit every room in the house next then."
Alexis automatically shuddered.
" Ugh. Do us a favour dad, if you do go on a rampage through the whole house. Please don't tell us where, or when. I'd need a top of the line therapist to get me through that trauma."
Castle laughed. "I'm kidding pumpkin."
"Well god willing you do get the urge," Alexis continued, ignoring his comment. "My room," She shot him a glare to prove her point, "Off limits."
Martha laughed, coughing and spluttering the last mouthful of water, before nodding in agreement.
"Payback," Castle replied cheekily.
She smiled, undaunted by his comeback. "My room's also a no fly zone kiddo."
Castle fought back a severe shudder at the thought. "Just to clear that one up for you mother... Ew. And so wrong, on so many levels."
He flicked his gaze back to Alexis. "I promise I would never even think of doing that to you sweetie. A good therapist would burn a hole in my wallet."
"Oh don't worry about my mental health at all..."
"You'll be right."
"Well the urge hits you, think of grams."
He grimaced, focusing on his mother. "What's all this urges and cuddles, since when did Alexis know about all this?"
Alexis frowned. "I'm still in the room you know."
"Well?"
"How should I know?" Martha replied. "Probably what is it seventh Grade?"
"What??"
Martha laughed. "Before you get your jocks in a twist, it's called sex Ed kiddo. You were too busy getting expelled from school to school. You probably missed that little jewel."
"Ah indeed, I learnt by experience dear mother." He grinned smugly.
"Are you forgetting your daughters in the room?" She indicated to the younger girl who had silently excused herself from the topic and moved over to her suitcase. "You want to make learning by experience sound any better for her?"
"Certainly not!" Castle exclaimed. "Fair point."
She nodded, rinsing her glass and placing it on the sink. "A mother always knows best."
Alexis smiled, rolling her suitcase over to the stairs. "I've got a bit of study to catch up on, so I'll gladly leave that conversation to you two."
"But I thought we were gonna do something." Castle griped, pouting.
"Sure dad. Later on but."
The suitcase clunked on each step as she pulled it up the stairs noisily. She stopped at the top, rolling into her room before reappearing at the top of the stairs. "And dad?"
Castle stood up from his chair, moving into view. "Yes pumpkin?"
She arched an eyebrow, leaning on the banister. "F.Y.I. I really like Kate okay? I don't want her being another of the ones that don't work out."
"She won't be sweetie. Kate's nothing like the others. She's the one." He held a finger up, showcasing his point with a smile.
Alexis duplicated the gesture, grinning at the cheeky glitter in his eyes, before she lowered her hand and pointed at him instead. "Mess this up and I'll kill you."
He opened his mouth to reply, switching his gaze to his mother as she moved past him and stepped up the stairs.
"I'm with Alexis."
"So my life hangs in the balance of my relationship?"
Martha smiled, flouncing past her granddaughter and calling out over her shoulder. "I'm sure Beckett could help hide the body, so you should probably treat her like a queen!"
"And no more chest signing, fame or not." Alexis finished curtly. "Promise?"
"Got it. No more chest signing. Cross my heart. I wouldn't dare."
She grinned. "Kate would probably shoot you anyway?"
"Yup." Or more precisely nail a certain part of him to a wall!
"I love her already."
"More than me?"
"No-one could replace you dad, you're one of a kind."
A wide grin quickly spread across his face, powering his ego in an instant. "Thanks pumpkin."
"But," She paused, watching for the change in his expression. "If anyone came close, it'd be Kate."
His face dropped.
She laughed, pushing herself back from the banister and smiling vibrantly as she walked backwards into her room. "Love you dad!"
He pouted, calling out as he pushed his chair in, hearing the grinding of it across the floor echo through the empty room.
"Your loyalty is truly touching!"
Castle stared at the empty staircase, suddenly feeling abandoned.
"If anyone cares, I'm going to the station! At least Beckett will want me!" He listened for a reply, his spirits dampening at the stilled silence through the apartment.
He picked up his keys, stopping at the door. "I might be home late! So don't wait up!"
The light click of a door sounded before Alexis came out of her room and bounded halfway down the steps. "Wait dad!"
He spun around grinning brightly. "Don't go, you love me too much?"
"Actually," She smiled charmingly. "Could you get some more ice-cream while you're out, and maybe some biscuits...?"
"Nice to see where I stand in this family." He deadpanned.
"Please?"
"You just keep me around for my money don't you? You don't actually love me, don't want to spend any time with me, cheat on me with this Owen kid, betray me with this Kate now, and then you ask for treats? No siree young lady."
Alexis smiled, rolling her eyes and finally raising an eyebrow. "You ate it all in a week dad."
Castle reflected for less than a second, remembering his pit of despair surrounded in double chocolate ice-cream and just about every source of junk food in the house. He shrugged. "Fine I'll get all your favourites, and enough junk food to last us a month! Provided there's no emergency crisis."
"Love you dad."
"I highly doubt that."
He grinned, opening the door and stepping into the hall. "Back in ten."
Detective Kate Beckett swept out of the elevator and into the precinct, instantly bracing herself for the commanding tone of her superior. She moved toward her desk, smoothly, vigilantly, the light clicking of her heels echoing across the hushed reverence throughout the room. Her gaze flicked across the assembly of desks in front of her as she wound her way through them. A handful of familiar faces nodded a civil greeting and she smiled amicably in return, shrugging off the disquiet apprehension etching its way into her mind.
The station seemed oddly regular, as if nothing had happened. She knew logically nothing had. That finally, ultimately surrendering her heart hadn't caused a cosmic shift in the universe, and yet a part of her still expected something, anything different. Even the signs of an office bet, but nothing was out of place, nothing was altered, and nothing was giving her an explanation to why she felt so altered. For the first time in her life she was walking into the precinct without a single detail of the case in her thoughts. She felt like a freaking rookie!
Kate reached her desk, a sudden rush of power and authority charging through her as she caught sight of Esposito and Ryan. She dropped her belongings onto it, remembering a certain mission involving the boys. Her heels clicked sharply across the floor, storming toward them with a fury matching the blaze in her eyes. She gripped each of their ears and slightly twisted before either of them could react, ignoring the yelps of pain as she dragged them into the break room and slammed the door shut with her foot.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Ryan struggled to free himself, failing miserably as she twisted harder and strode forward, dropping them into the chairs at the table.
She quickly backtracked to the windows, closing all of the blinds and shutting out the commotion of officers shooting up from their desks and staring in their direction.
Ryan's mind flashed with the myriad of things he knew she could make happen as he watched her move tersely to every window before spinning to face them again. Oh shit. This is bad man. What the hell did they do??
Esposito kept himself composed, though his eyes reflected a similar fear radiating from his partner. He knew what she was capable of, and how much authority she had over them. The captain had granted her the rights to reprimand when they were partnered as a team. Despite them being equal partners in experience, Beckett was boss, and when she gave orders they had better be followed. In the level of reverence, she was respected as highly as the captain, and with that came the authorization to execute a certain scope of punishment without consulting Montgomery. And that was a huge cause for alarm right now!
Kate stepped forward to stand directly in front of them, crossing her arms, and glaring so fiercely both were sure she was fighting an urge to use them as shooting practice.
Esposito remained silent, knowing silence was the way to go if they valued their lives, but he had a small inclination of what it was about. And it was NOT good.
"Ow Beckett!" Ryan stared at her daunting stance, his eyes widening as he rubbed his ear. "What the hell's gotten into you?"
Esposito quickly shot a cautionary glance at his partner.
"Shut up, bro."
Ryan fell silent, flicking his gaze between the two and wondering if he was going to survive the afternoon.
"I tolerated when you found out about Castle and I," Kate started sharply. "That was my fault for picking up the phone. I even tolerated when you made your smart ass comments and pretended you hadn't heard anything." She stopped, studying their eyes for a flicker of recognition, before she continued, gritting her teeth and keeping her tone dangerously low. "You wanna play your little games FINE, but making a fucking BET with Martha I'm not fucking tolerating, got it?"
Both partners sat in their seats mirroring the expression of being slapped in the face, Ryan's even reddening as he reached a new height of panic. Neither had ever heard an exact curse from her mouth, especially growled so viciously.
Kate scowled at the confusion mixing with the alarm across Ryan's face.
"Oh puh-lease that aint gonna work Ryan, you guys are Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle fucking Dum, I can bet if you didn't have a hand in it, you still knew about it."
"Bet... with Martha?" Ryan answered warily. "I don't know about anything with Martha... Only the prec—" He closed his eyes instantly, mentally kicking himself for hurling her more ammo to shoot them with.
"You moron." Esposito muttered, firing a glare in his direction.
"Me, a moron? You're the idiot that got us into this. Betting stays within the precinct remember? So she doesn't find out." He flicked his gaze to Kate, noting the tightening of her jaw and the alarming sigh of restrained anger.
"Bro, it was five hundred bucks!" Esposito shot back. "You wouldn't turn it down either."
"Just shut up, man."
"You shut up bro."
"Quiet!" Kate snapped, fiercely glaring between the two.
They fell silent.
"You're both on desk duty for a week." A cold hint of steel scraped within her voice as she kept it low enough not to be heard from the outside.
"Either of you breathe a word of this, and I'll make it two. Either of you complain, and it's two." Her tone edged higher as she continued, warning them not to argue. "Either of you make a comment today, and it's two. I hear a whisper of a bet in this station, and it'll be three. Got it?"
Both nodded and Kate furiously bit back a burst of laughter as Ryan suddenly threw his hand in the air, keeping his mouth firmly shut.
"Bro, are you for real?" Esposito laughed mockingly, suddenly making it significantly harder for Kate not to lose all sense of composure herself.
Ryan ignored his comment, and she frowned instead, tightening her jaw and giving him a piercing look to get what he wanted to say out now.
"If there's already a bet – not saying there is, but if there was—"
"You have today to call it off." She cut him off sharply. "Anymore questions?"
Kate switched her gaze between the two, highly alert for any signs of defiance.
"I'm getting this out of the open so you can damn well drop it. Castle and I are dating, yes. I expect you to treat that fact like freaking men, not nine year olds, Kay? It's no-ones freaking business what we do outside the station."
"Does that include the bathroom?" Esposito challenged teasingly.
She stepped forward, tightening her fist to curb the urge to punch him, yet her voice faltered the slightest bit. "That was one time, and it will never happen again."
Ryan grinned warily, though the temptation to join in was too great. "Uh huh. One time?"
Kate sucked in a breath, calming herself as she felt the power of control slipping from her grasp.
"And phone calls?" Esposito added, growing bolder. "What happens when we get a front row seat to the audio show?"
"We ALL come in to work," Kate commanded louder. "We all do our jobs, neither of our personal lives are mentioned from this point on. For the next week I expect you both to bury yourself so far into your paperwork you're neck deep in it. None of you so much as step outside of your station, unless I say so. Got it?"
"Okay Beckett."
"You're the boss."
"Good." She glanced at the folder tightly clenched in Ryan's hands. "Where are we on the case?"
Ryan cleared his throat, prying his hands from it and opening it up, to read out the information.
"Found the gun," Esposito interrupted, earning a glare from his partner. "In a dumpster a few blocks away. CSU's testing it for prints now, comparing it with the prints of the girlfriend. Lanie called in about the micro chip."
"And?"
"It's not a micro chip, and we suspect it has nothing to do with the club, dead set coincidence the stamp was in the same place. It's a tracking device. Lanie sent it over to the FBI to get a trace, but whoever was trackin him switched it off two hours ago. Feds were able to narrow it down to a twenty block radius, on the other side of town. Miles away from the club and the crime scene."
"Shit." Kate muttered pensively. "So we're at square freaking one right? We have nothing?"
Ryan nodded in agreement. "Yup."
She spun around, growling in frustration. "I fucking hate this case. The girlfriend's gotta have something to do with it, I just can't freaking find anything to pin her for the murder."
"Amy Smart, twenty six years old, works as an interior decorator. Lived in Manhattan her whole life, no criminal record. Says she was at a party until four AM, and she was there at the time of his murder. Gina Cowell confirmed her alibi."
Kate frowned. "Castle's publisher?"
"Yup. The two are supposedly close."
"She couldn't have known anything about it. What did Amy say about the relationship?"
"Just that she believed he was Castle, and they apparently never went out. She never introduced him to anyone. He insisted it had to stay secret to avoid the press."
"Smart," Esposito commented vaguely.
"Terrible," Kate corrected, frowning. "And she was stupid enough to fall for that?"
Esposito grinned. "Not all women can be as sharp as you Beckett."
She arched an eyebrow in response, biting her lip to stop a smirk from slipping beneath the radar.
"Anyway," He carried on. "We've got her in interrogation room one, like you ordered what... four hours ago?"
Kate ignored the snide remark, turning back to Ryan. "That's all we know? Nothing else?"
"Yup, that's all we got."
"Okay." She chewed her lip in thought, suddenly snapping back to reality. "We're done. Get back to work."
She didn't have to say it twice.
Ryan shot up instantly, handing her the folder and heading for the door, desperate to get out and cancel the office bet before she had a reason to hang him.
Esposito on the other hand rose from his chair, cool, calm and collected, yet brandishing a wide grin. He fell into step beside her, watching her bite her lip as she silently read the information, finally mouthing it in the hopes that something, anything would jump out from the page.
"It doesn't make sense," She whispered, intensely studying every word. Her brow furrowed as she reigned in the degree of frustration building within her. She wanted to scream or punch a wall, no doubt cursing a multitude of obscenities she could launch every officer into heart failure with hearing from her mouth. She smirked at the image of the boys faces, the genuine shock ruling their expression, though they fought hard to hide the affect.
"Something funny there Beckett?"
"What?" Her eyes flicked up, shoving her thoughts to the far reaches of her mind as she met Esposito's stare. "No. Nothing."
He smiled charmingly. "We'll solve it Beckett. You always get the bad guy. Or in this case the – how do you say it? Bimbo? In twelve inch heels. Have you seen this chick yet?"
Kate shook her head, frowning.
"Honestly she looks like she belongs in the red light district, clinically insane to think Castle would go for her. He would never get with someone of such low class. And I mean style, Beckett."
She couldn't hold back the smile at his words, though an eyebrow raised sceptically. "Uh huh, don't think you can get out of desk duty with a little flattery."
He stepped ahead and stood in front of her sternly, proving he meant every word. "I'm serious Kate. You're the best here. Sure you're a female, and you're hot, but you've got class, you call it like it is, and you don't take bullshit from anyone. Every guy in this building respects you for that. Don't you forget it."
Kate paused, lifting her eyes from the file and meeting the sincerity it his. Don't forget it? It's only what she's been working for her entire career, to hear those god damn words! Again she couldn't restrain the bright grin that shone from his speech, but she could team it with a frown for the distinctive Beckett flair.
She stared at him awkwardly. "Thanks... I think."
He smiled, moving back into step with her. "Don't mention it."
"You're still not off the hook though."
He chuckled instantly, clearing the door and taking a step toward his desk as she turned to veer off in the opposite direction. "That's why I respect you girl. Oh, and Beckett?"
"Hmm..." Kate frowned, lifting her head from the folder again and ignoring the prying stares throughout the room. "Yah?"
"Nice scarf too." He winked, grinning widely.
A faint smirk played on her lips as she narrowed her eyes into a threatening scowl, stepping forward, swinging the folder, and hearing the glorious sound of it clipping the back of his head.
"Shut up, Esposito!"
He laughed jokingly. "Like I said, wouldn't respect you if you couldn't take it."
"Keep it up. You're going the right way of scoring two weeks."
Kate frowned and slammed the folder shut, swinging the door open and shooting the boys a haughty smirk as she stepped in.
Esposito and Ryan tore across the precinct, colliding with each other in the doorway as they scrambled to get into the back room to catch her in action.
Ryan's eyes lit up as he watched her stride slowly toward the other woman. "Oh man! How hard-ass is she gonna be? Think we'll see tears?"
"She's gonna tear her to pieces." Esposito countered, grinning wildly. "She's dead set Amy's our shooter bro. There's gonna be nothin left-a the girl by the time she's through."
"Reckon we'll get a confession?"
"If she did it, she'll break her in record time. Definitely."
Ryan glanced at his partner for an instant, quickly returning his focus back to the room, unwilling to miss a second of the performance.
"Do you think she did it?"
Esposito grinned, instantaneously. "I'm with Beckett. If she didn't commit the crime herself, she had something to do with it. Yo, just look at the girls face. It's been what, a week? And she's bin cryin? She's totally playin us."
Ryan turned the microphone up to hear the audio clearer, his eyes widening almost as much as his grin.
"Dude, Castle is missin out big."
"Daamn, straight for the throat!" Esposito exclaimed amusingly. "Sure is."
"Why do I feel like we're at a Knicks game?"
Esposito grinned, chuckling at the notion. "Because she is the queen of interrogations my friend. Sit back and enjoy the execution man. You aint seen nothin yet."
Next Chapter's going to have a date guys... What would you like to see?? Proper date or casual at home thing?? Thanks all... Loving the feedback!!!