June 27, 1977
In early hours of the morning, the sound of rain pounding against the window pane wakes Beckett. She slides silently off the mattress, grabs a blanket from the foot of the bed to wrap around herself, and settles onto a padded bench beneath the window. Dragging a finger across the fog of perspiration building on the glass, she watches the hot, summer rain fall from a dark sky.
She glances over at Castle, taking in the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and a soft smile steals across her face. Almost like he can feel her staring, his eyes blink slowly open and land on her.
"What're you doing awake?" he asks hoarsely.
"It's raining," she says simply. He sits up, throwing the covers aside. "You don't have to get up," she chides.
"S'okay," he mumbles sleepily, tripping into a pair of briefs and walking over to her. "May I join?"
She scoots forward so he can slide in behind her. With some maneuvering, she finds comfort between the vee of his legs, her back sealing to the expanse of his chest. They're both silent as they watch light filter through steel gray clouds, a new dawn breaking.
"Your hair's lighter," Castle comments as sunshine dapples through the glass.
"Uh, yeah. Thought it needed a change," she says, absentmindedly worrying a strand between the pads of her fingertips. He didn't need to know she got highlights because she'd decided to start dating again. She briefly thinks of the doctor she's supposed to have dinner with in the future and makes a mental note to cancel if they ever get back.
"I like it," he says, playing with a stray lock. "So...your dad's party isn't until tomorrow," he adds.
"Uh huh."
"So...what if we did something fun today, you know, take a break from thinking about, uh, disrupting the space time continuum and what not?"
"Go on," she says.
"Okay—what's one thing you've wanted to do but didn't have the time for?" he asks.
Beckett's quiet as she contemplates.
"I haven't been to the theater since my mom died and it used to be our thing...you said your mother is in the King and I right now?"
"She's just an extra," Castle says.
"We could go to a matinee!" Beckett says, growing excited.
"That's really what you want to do?"
"Did you have something else in mind?" Beckett asks.
"We could go see Star Wars. It just came out this summer."
Beckett snorts.
"Your idea of fun is going to see Star Wars, a movie you've arguably watched a thousand times already?"
"Did I mention I have a life-size replica of Boba Fett back at the loft?"
"Please do not remind me," she groans, "Has anyone ever told you you're a man-child?"
"Yes," he replies, "You," he says, his eyebrows drawing together in thought, "On more than one occasion."
"I can't believe I agreed to be your girlfriend," she teases.
"You make it sound like we made a pact on the playground."
"Partner, then," she decides.
"He's a writer of wrongs. She's a reader of rights," he says in an announcer-like voice.
"I take it back," she says, chuckling.
"No," he protests quickly, "I like it. It fits."
"Partners," she starts, "In crime," she finishes with inflection.
He gasps with joy. "Do that again."
"Matinee first," she says.
"That's really what you want? What if we make a big sports bet on a winning game? It's standard time-traveling behavior," Castle says.
"You know nothing about sports," she scoffs.
"That's where you come in," he says cheerfully.
"The Yankees win the world series this year, actually" she says.
"See? We'll be rich by noon."
"The games are in October," she sighs.
"Well, we're going to have to come up with something if you want to buy theater tickets. Our pizza money won't last forever," he says, "Do your grandparents have any other secret stashes of cash?"
She sits up suddenly, "Hold on..."
In the pantry, she reaches up for a nondescript flour jar hidden on the top shelf.
"Can you—?" she asks, unable to grasp the rounded edge. Castle easily snags it and hands it to her. Beckett unscrews the top and says, "My grandmother called it her emergency fund."
"This definitely qualifies as an emergency."
She pauses and lifts a brow. "Going to the theater?"
"You know what I mean."
She loosens the lid and lets out a low whistle. Castle's eyes widen as she pulls out a roll of hundred dollar bills and passes it to him. He snaps off the band holding it all together and thumbs through the cash, counting.
"This is like a grand!"
"She grew up with post-war parents, so she was always squirreling things away just in case. I remember her hiding stuff in books and shoes," Beckett explains.
Castle extracts another roll from the jar and gives her a look. "Huge distrust of banks?"
"Oh, huge."
They spend the rest of the morning showering together before going to grab brunch at a nearby cafe. They decide to walk from the cafe when the rain stops and stroll through Central Park on their way to Times Square. Castle winds his fingers through hers and she doesn't mind. She can't stop smiling. She's stuck in the wrong decade, and she can't stop smiling.
At the Barrymore Theatre, Castle charms the front box office woman and gets them Orchestra seats for the 2pm matinee of The King and I. During the performance, Beckett is perched on her seat, leaning forward, her mouth slightly open, a look of wonder in her eyes as she watches the scene unfold in front of her. She glances at him when his mother enters the stage and he grins.
He can't remember the last time he saw his mother perform. Guilts lances through him. He's been so focused on Alexis and writing lately. He thinks fondly of all the times he watched her from the wings growing up and bonding with the backstage crew, his second family. He didn't realize he missed this side of her, where her talent breaks through, even playing such a minimal role.
After the show, they migrate towards Fifth Avenue, window shopping.
"That was great," Beckett sighs in content, listing into Castle.
"I just realized I haven't been to the theater since my mom was in Mousetrap," he says.
"The longest play?"
"Completely ruined my sanity."
"That explains so much," Beckett says, a laugh tumbling from her lips. She bumps his shoulder and motions at an upscale neoclassical structure behind them as they wait to cross the street towards Grand Central Station. "Is this place usually here? It looks familiar."
He turns to inspect the building and gasps slightly. "No way."
"Hmm?"
"This is the Biltmore! They tear it down in the early '80s. My mother took me to their Tea Room once," he says, gently pulling at the crook of her elbow and leading her inside, excitement spilling out of him. They pause in the lobby, taking in the rose-quartz marble, sweeping columns, and gilded ceilings.
"Wasn't it built by the same guys who designed Grand Central? My mom told me once there's an underground tunnel that connects the two," Beckett says, eyeing a swath of people streaming out of a nearby semicircle gateway.
"Yes! And they also say F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, honeymooned here. And that—" he points at an ornate clock hanging in an archway above the landing of bifurcated staircases. "That's the Biltmore Clock. J.D. Salinger would meet the editor of The New Yorker under it. It's allegedly where the phrase 'Meet me under the clock' comes from," he explains eagerly and Beckett chuckles. "What?" he asks.
"Nothing. You're cute when you're excited," she says, looping her arms around his neck.
"Cute?"
"Very, very cute," she says, arching on her toes and kissing the pout on his lips. His hands automatically lift to her waist, holding her close. He catches her mouth with his again, reveling in being able to kiss her in public.
"We should get a room," he husks.
"Not a chance."
"They have a rooftop garden and an indoor pool!" he exclaims, begging.
"Grandma Irina wouldn't approve of such frivolous spending," Beckett says, tapping her cross-body clutch.
"Just one night," he appeals. "I'll make it worth your while," he adds, dusting his lips down her neck.
Her toes curl and her skin hums with anticipation. Damn, him.
"One night."
After christening their suite, Beckett drifts off, napping, and Castle sneaks down to the concierge desk with a few bills from her clutch. Later, when he wakes her, he surprises her with VIP tickets to see Fleetwood Mac, who're performing at Madison Square Garden that night as part of their record-breaking Rumours tour.
"How? Aren't they sold out?" she asks, incredulous, forgetting to be annoyed at his impulsive buying habits.
"Another hotel guest cancelled last minute. Just got lucky."
"Well, if you expect me to go see Stevie Nicks wearing my grandmother's blouse, you're sorely mistaken."
They make a trip through the Biltmore's underground tunnel and find themselves at the shops in Grand Central, searching for proper concert outfits.
Beckett eventually settles on a flowy orange dress with a high-low cut and pairs it with a silver elephant necklace she catches sight of on a display counter. Castle ends up in a vest with a beaded fringe to slide over his green-and-burgundy diamond patterned button-up, which he tucks into a pair of maroon bell-bottoms.
"You checking me out, Detective?" he asks when he spots Beckett sweeping her eyes over him.
"You look ridiculous," she observes.
"But sexy, right?"
She rolls her eyes, biting down a smile. She can't believe she's dating him.
At the concert, they sing along and sway to the dreamy folk rock music, losing themselves in Stevie Nicks' light and breathy alto. Castle stands behind Beckett, twining his arms around her and she leans into him, enjoying the easy comfort of his embrace. During their visit backstage, the band manager invites the both of them to take shots with the band. Stunned, they both nod wordlessly.
Before they know it, they're throwing back tequila with Stevie, Lindsay Buckingham, and Don Henley from the Eagles, Stevie's then-boyfriend. They share secret glances and knowing smirks as they get buzzed with the musical luminaries, shrugging off the absurdism of the surreal scenario. One moment, they're sliding into a limo with Mick Fleetwood that whisks them uptown and the next, they're sailing through the entrance of Studio 54, glitter raining from balconies and lasers of light pulsing in a rainbow of colors all around them.
"Holy shit, was that Freddie Mercury?" Beckett whisper-shouts at Castle when the Queen frontman squeezes by them on the dance floor.
"I think that's Diana Ross over there!" Castle exclaims.
"This is insane," Beckett says.
"Totally worth the splurge."
"My grandmother's going to have a heart attack when she finds out how much of her money is missing, you know," Beckett says, laughing.
"I'll write her a check," Castle says and Beckett shakes her head, tamping down a grin.
When The Hustle plays over the speakers, Beckett joins in with the crowd, following along to the steps with ease. Castle watches her, mesmerized.
"I had no idea you could disco dance," he says.
"Oh, Castle. I'm a woman of many hidden talents," she says with a smile.
When someone bumps into Castle from behind, rudely pushing him into the detective, he turns to admonish the perpetrator but his eyes go wide instead.
"Mother?"
"What did you call me?" asks a young Martha, toting a sparkly crop top and high-waisted leather pants.
"Martha. Hi." Beckett blurts out, flashing a look at Castle.
"Do we know each other?" the redhead queries.
"Uh, no. Just a huge fan of your stage work. We saw the King and I today," Beckett explains.
"Oh, well. Thank you." She gives them another once over. "You guys wanna party?" She holds up a little baggy of tablets. Ecstasy by the looks of it.
Beckett holds in a laugh as Castle's face fills with horror.
"That's too bad. It would've been fun, handsome," Martha says. She waggles her eyebrows at him, and runs a finger across his chest as she slips by him. His jaw drops a little.
"Doing okay there, McFly?" Beckett asks, laughing.
"I knew she snuck out after I fell asleep. I knew it!"
She chuckles and says, "I think we've had enough excitement for one night. Let's get out of here."
"You really want to leave?"
She raises on her toes, bringing her lips to his ear. "We have a room for the night—I think we should use it," she says, her voice low and sultry.
Castle swallows, his pupils dilating. "Can't argue with that."
They take a cab back to the Biltmore and quickly shed their clothes once they make it into their room. Moonlight spills over them as their bodies wind together in languorous exploration.
Afterwards, Beckett lays her head on his chest, spent and sated.
"I really had no idea," Castle whispers softly.
She props her chin to look at him. "You remember that?"
"You turning me down after our first case? Vividly."
Beckett's heart rushes with warmth and she shifts, reaching up to kiss him, a silent thanks. Thanks for sticking around.
He keeps her close after they break apart, stroking her cheek with an errant finger. She meets his gaze and divulges a thought that's been niggling at her all day: "What if our coming here has already changed everything and we've created an alternate reality?"
He searches her eyes, wondering what she's really asking. "It's possible."
She looks down, drawing a pattern on his bicep. "What if I can save my mom? I mean, against all odds, we were sent here. Shouldn't we take advantage of it?"
"I say screw it," he says immediately and she glances back at him.
"Yeah?" she asks, fluttering with hope.
"This is our story."
"Our story," she echoes, "So we'll tell my parents the truth? About everything?"
"We only have to figure out a way to get them to believe us...how hard can it really be?"
A/N: Thank you for continuing to review!
Life has gotten in the way, but I've always intended on finishing this story. I actually have sequels plotted out but got stuck by the time travel of it all. After months of writer's block, I've finally pinned something down that makes sense, and there will be two more chapters for this installment. They're not quite finished yet, but I'll try my best to get something out as soon as I can. I also started writing a holiday-themed multi-fic that I want to complete in full before uploading—will hopefully have that ready by December!
In the meantime, I suggest checking out my other completed stories and if you're looking for something to scratch that time-travel itch, I highly recommend reading these incredible Castle fics: Our Serendipitous Paths by ColieMacKenzie and A Better Fate by chezchuckles and Sandiane Carter.