Brushing his lips over his girlfriend's shoulder, Castle watched as she moved and then turned to lay on her back. "Morning," he said when she opened her eyes before they focused on him. He reached up and gently smoothed away her hair from her forehead before leaning over to brush his lips to hers. The urge to tell her he loved her was intense, but he tamped that down and instead said, "You look beautiful."
Smiling and sitting up, Beckett said, "Thank you." She reached up to him and smoothed down his hair that was mussed still and said, "You look…"
"What?" Castle asked in surprise when she trailed off. He was momentarily startled when she was leaning into him but recovered hurriedly and leaned over to share a kiss with her. As soon as their lips met, he was wrapping his arms around her tightly before they parted. "More?" he asked.
Though she wanted to say yes, Beckett knew what they were risking doing that as they were still naked, and she shook her head. "I-" she started to say before her boyfriend's stomach was growling. "Well, I guess we're hungry," she finished with a smile.
Making a brief face, Castle smiled as his girlfriend laughed softly and he said, "True, and I do want you to get some clothes… for when we're not here in bed."
"Still a pervert," Beckett told him teasingly before they were getting out of bed and getting their things. She dressed as her boyfriend had ducked into the bathroom and when she was done, she watched him while he was finishing shaving. "Thank you for that," she told him as he looked at her reflection in the mirror.
"For… oh, you mean for shaving," Castle started to say before he realized what she was saying. "You don't like facial hair."
"No, it tends to be a turnoff," Beckett said, brushing her hair quickly. She looked over at his reflection in the mirror and said, "Were you thinking of growing any?"
"No, I was just lazy when we first met," Castle replied. He smiled as she laughed and then said, "But thank you for letting me know."
"Would you ever want to grow a beard or… anything?" Beckett asked.
"Don't worry," Castle told her quickly. "I wasn't intending to."
"I'm glad to hear that," Beckett said as she put her hair into a ponytail quickly. "Anything I should know for myself?"
"No," Castle said so quickly he wasn't surprised that she appeared startled. "I'm serious, don't change anything. Though I would say… let your hair down at night."
Smiling at him, Beckett waited a moment before she said, "Pervert," at the same time he was. She squeezed his arm and put on her makeup before she was walking with him out to the living room. She was about to ask him if he wanted to go the café by her place as they'd been talking about the day before when he was bringing it up first.
"You still want to take me to that café, right?" Castle asked her.
Beckett nodded and said, "I was just going to ask if you still wanted to go."
"I'm following you," Castle said. When he saw the way his girlfriend was looking at him he said, "I know, like always."
Unable to help laughing softly, Beckett said, "I was just surprised you admitted that." When he frowned, she was smiling again before she kissed his cheek saying, "You did."
"I did," Castle said. "Let's go." When his girlfriend nodded, he opened the door to let her step into the hall first before he followed, and they walked to the elevators before they were going down to the lobby. As they did so he looked at her when she touched his shoulder to get his attention.
"I'll have to call you my friend," Beckett said. "I've gone to the café so many times they know me. And they see me usually on my own though I have met Lanie there a few times."
With a quick nod Castle said, "That's fine, and we were friends first weren't we?"
"Past tense?" Beckett asked teasingly.
Castle's response was to kiss the back of his girlfriend's hand briefly as they were stopping and then walking out into the lobby. They were quiet as they were in the taxi he'd hailed, and he looked at her while she was watching the buildings and people they were passing. He couldn't resist and though it was a risk he reached over to her and took her hand, holding it gently until they had reached the café and she was letting go to get out. He paid the cabbie hurriedly and followed his girlfriend into the café where he saw she'd been right about them knowing her well.
"Good morning Kate," the hostess said as she walked up to the podium at the entrance.
"Good morning Wanda," Beckett told the woman with a smile. "I'm going to be eating with my friend today, so two menus."
"Sure," Wanda replied with a nod, smiling at Castle behind her. She grabbed two menus and then said, "This way."
Castle wondered, as it looked like the woman was taking them towards the windows looking out on the street, if Beckett minded but she didn't say anything, sitting down first at the bistro table. When they were alone he said, "You're not afraid someone's going to walk by?"
"How will they see through the blinds?" Beckett pointed out to him though she had thought of that for a moment herself.
Looking at the blinds in front of them, Castle nodded a few times before saying, "What's good here?"
Beckett couldn't help smiling at his changing the subject and she turned to the menu saying, "Their eggs Benedict dish is really good. I think I'm going to get their French omelet."
"What makes it French?" Castle asked though he was reading the description as well. "Oh, nice," he said as he saw it had some French cheeses, truffle oil and mushrooms along with tomatoes and ham. "I'll get the same."
Beckett ordered for them before they were sipping their orange juice and watching the foot traffic outside the café. She was about to comment on the heat of that day; though it was still morning; when her boyfriend suddenly touched her arm briefly, making her look at him before she asked, "What is it?"
Shaking his head quickly, Castle said softly, "How long were you thinking of staying with me?"
"You're lonely?" Beckett asked.
"I'm not asking you to stay with me the entire time," Castle said. "What about for a week?"
About to speak, Beckett paused and said, "Alright."
"You don't have anything? Your dad?" Castle started to say.
"He's on vacation right now," Beckett said. "Spain."
"Nice," Castle said. "But I'm wondering about Lanie…"
Shaking her head, Beckett said, "She might call, but she's working right now. And I can stay for a week."
"Great," Castle had the chance to say before their food was being served to them. After they'd eaten a little he said, "I had more to say."
"No, I figured," Beckett told him quickly. "We won't be here that long."
Castle gave a quick nod before they were finishing eating and he paid though she tried to stop him. "You can take dinner if you want," he told her.
"You're not going to cook?" Beckett asked.
"We can eat at the noodle restaurant by my place," Castle said before they were leaving the restaurant. Since he was aware of where her building was, he walked with her in its direction before he told her, "If you're okay with that."
"Thanks for asking my opinion," Beckett replied with a smile. "And that's fine but that's going to be a long time from now."
"Yeah," Castle said simply. When his girlfriend looked at him because of his tone, he shook his head before they were entering her building. Once they were inside her apartment, he grabbed her and was about to tell her how much he was looking forward to her week with him when she was speaking first.
"I get the feeling I know what you're going to say," Beckett told him. "And at some point I'll be asking you to come over for a while yourself."
"I will," Castle said immediately.
Beckett laughed briefly before her boyfriend was kissing her and she was hurrying to respond until they were breathless. She was tempted to continue kissing him before she paused and said, "Let me get my clothes, so we can go back to your place."
"I'll wait," Castle said, though he knew it didn't need to be said.
"First you need to let me go," Beckett said.
"Do I really?" Castle asked, pretending to mean that.
Shaking her head, smiling at the same time, Beckett shared another kiss with him before they were letting go of one another and she was hurrying to go into her bedroom and fill her overnight bag with everything she would need.
"Ready?" Castle asked when his girlfriend was walking out to where he was sitting on the couch.
"Yeah," Beckett said. She saw his surprised look and asked, "What?"
"That fast?" Castle asked her slowly.
With a smile Beckett said, "You've never seen me pack before."
"I should have gone in to watch," Castle commented as he stood up. When she glanced at him, he said, "Thank you for not saying that out loud."
"As long as you knew I was thinking it," Beckett told him teasingly.
Nodding, Castle reached for her and stopped her before she could walk into the entry. He cupped her cheek before he leaned over, kissing her lightly on the lips before they were parting and looking into each other's eyes. What he saw in her brown pools pushed him to move and he kissed her again, deeper, before he gently slipped his tongue into her mouth.
Moaning before she could stop herself, Beckett was responding eagerly before they had to stop so they could breathe. "We… we should go," she said breathlessly.
Castle was about to protest when he realized they were going to spend too long there and he wanted to take her back to the loft. "Yeah, good point," he told her with a quick nod. He let her go before they were walking to the door and he stepped out first, looking back while she locked it and he took her hand.
"I can't," Beckett murmured, smiling briefly.
"Sorry… it felt necessary," Castle explained.
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said before they were reaching the elevator.
"I just realized something," Castle told her when they were nearly to the lobby. "I need to go to the market; I don't have enough for a week without us going. Would you mind stopping?"
"Not really, where do you go?" Beckett asked.
"Are against going to Zabar's?" Castle said.
"No," Beckett said immediately since she knew his loft wasn't that far of a taxi ride from the store. "And I like shopping there when I can."
"Your bag…" Castle started to say, looking at it as they were stepping out on the street.
"Don't worry," Beckett said with a smile. "I can carry the groceries too."
"Some of them," Castle told her firmly.
"Some," Beckett echoed, nodding her head before she watched him hailing a cab. They headed over to the market and she said, "How much are you planning on cooking while I'm there?"
"You want to?" Castle asked.
"I can take care of lunches," Beckett said.
"Okay," Castle replied with a nod before their cab was slowing down. His girlfriend paid for the ride and they walked into the market where he glanced around quickly to see if he saw anyone that might know them. He was soon reassured; since it was a weekday and summer; and they started to walk together through the store to get whatever they needed.
"I'm only staying a week you know," Beckett said when they were finished getting what they needed, and he was taking her to the baked goods.
"Tradition," Castle replied. "We usually get something when I come here."
"You don't always?" Beckett asked.
Shaking his head Castle said, "It was a special occasion."
Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling and touched he was calling it that, Beckett said, "Okay, but you said I wasn't paying?"
"No- oh, I need to get us bagels," Castle said, going over to them after he'd picked out some rugelach.
"I think that's enough," Beckett said, looking at their cart where he'd put a bag of plain and another of sesame in it.
"I'll keep eating those," Castle replied. He smiled when she nodded slightly, and they walked to the registers where he paid; waving off his girlfriend's efforts to take some of the food to pay for it. When they were outside, he said, "You don't have to worry, since we're at my place this is all my treat."
"So once we're at mine I'll pay?" Beckett asked. She saw her boyfriend's slight hesitation and said, "Castle, I'm not poor."
"No… okay, okay," he said finally. "But if you ever need help; for anything; don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't," Beckett said reassuringly as she could tell he was serious. She smiled when he looked at her and they carried their bags before they were getting another taxi. She felt a little strange with the bags in between them, looking at them and thinking of the items inside as theirs. She had to shake herself a little as Castle was asking her what she wanted to make. "Let me wait and see once we get everything inside."
Castle could only nod as they were reaching his building and he paid for the ride before they were going up to his loft. He had to help her in putting away the groceries but didn't mind, seeing she was obviously studying where everything went, and it made him hopeful for future instances. "So, since you're cooking, whatever you want to make I'll eat," he told her as soon as they had finished.
"Good," Beckett said. "Reubens."
"Perfect," Castle said. He smiled when his girlfriend laughed and was taking her quick kiss before he was walking to the living room. "What do you think about playing something after lunch."
"A video game?" Beckett called.
"No, I was thinking chess," Castle said quickly. "I thought you didn't like video games?"
"I figured you might want to," Beckett replied, getting the things she needed for the sandwiches. "And I'd try them."
Watching her as she was moving around, Castle suddenly realized he didn't want to play those video games for a while, at least for a week. She glanced at him and he quickly said, "I'd like to play chess better; we never got to finish our game before. And it'll be better playing here."
"No interruptions?" Beckett asked. She laughed briefly when her boyfriend nodded rapidly, and she finished their meal while he was getting the game set up. They sat at the table together, talking idly as they ate and when they had finished, she looked at Castle as he was taking her hand.
"That was an excellent meal," he told her seriously. "And-" Castle started to say when she was pulling him to her so they could kiss. "The… the game?" he asked as they had been kissing for some time.
"I think it can wait," Beckett replied, standing and watching him look at their plates and then the chess board on his other table in the living room. "Or we can clean up and play."
"No…" Castle said slowly as he turned his attention to her then. "Your idea is way better," before he was grabbing her so he could crush his lips to hers hungrily.
"That was a great week," Castle said, trying not to think of how eagerly they'd made love once they were back on his bed.
"You always say that," Beckett commented, shaking herself of the memory of their intimacy as well.
"You didn't enjoy it?" Castle asked jokingly. "But it was… it was fun," he started to say, about to use the phrase 'very domestic' and was going to assure her he'd enjoyed it greatly, but he wasn't sure about that. He decided to bring it up later when his wife was speaking, and he turned his attention back to her.
"I miss Zabar's a little," Beckett said.
"Stop before we go home?" Castle asked her.
"We'll see when we get there," Beckett said, smiling.
Castle suddenly wanted to kiss her, but she was squeezing his hand before he turned his attention to the Capitol Building and noticed they were a little over halfway to it. "Do you need to call?" he asked her.
"Not yet," Beckett replied before she stopped her husband so he would turn to her. Once he'd done so she wrapped her arms around him and they kissed, meeting each other before they were passionate. She knew there were people walking by them but didn't care, her memory had reminded her of the rest of the week and how they had done more than just make love. She had learned that kissing was a lot better with someone who worked more with her and didn't try and command where she didn't want them to. She pulled away when they needed to breathe after a second kiss and said, "I need to."
Laughing breathily, Castle nodded and said, "Back to work?"
"Back to… work," Beckett began before she was interrupted by her phone ringing. "It's Patrick," she told her husband.
"No surprise there," Castle said.
"Hello?" Beckett said to her friend.
Watching his wife talking to the detective, Castle was surprised when she waved to the south and spotted Darnley there. "You-" he began before she was jogging towards him.
"Kate," Darnley said before he was embracing her as she was doing the same to him. Hugging her tightly he said, "How?"
"I know you," Beckett replied. "And I think Skye too."
"Really? Did she tell you?" Darnley asked in surprise. "Hey Rick."
"Hey, you're okay?" Castle asked.
"Yeah, everyone is at home too," Darnley replied, shaking his hand before Beckett let him go.
About to speak, Beckett jumped when her phone still in her hand vibrated and she hurriedly checked it saying, "It's from Skye." She read the text message and couldn't help laughing before she read it for the two men saying, "I'm worried about Patrick, Trevor better have helped and tell Patrick his former wife says she can't wait for dinner at their place tonight."
Darnley couldn't help laughing before he said as his friend was texting Skye back, "What did you say?"
"That he's; you're; fine and you're eager for dinner like we all are," Beckett replied. She got a response then and said, "She said Don't tell Mary I knew whatever was going on, she was worried for me. See you tonight."
"Worried or making love to?" Castle couldn't help saying.
Seeing Beckett's surprise, Darnley said, "When we were outside walking, I commented that everyone was likely to make love to their spouses in our group."
"Not Trevor?" Beckett said. When her friend looked at her in confusion and said, "Yeah, sorry. I forget he's a structures expert and not human factor in the NTSB."
"He's got a BA in psychology remember," Darnley said quickly.
"Right, so what's going on Patrick," Beckett said. "I want to know so I'm sure you're okay."
As his friend had taken his hands and was speaking so earnestly, Darnley sighed and told the two about his short, unhappy reunion with his brother. "Trev managed to convince me Tobias is an idiot and I have a family way better now than with the rest of the Darnleys." He wasn't surprised when Beckett was hugging him tightly and he said, "I'm okay, I mean you're okay doing this aren't you?" When she laughed, he let her go as she was but was surprised when she was holding his arms and speaking seriously as she looked into his eyes.
"I love you Patrick," Beckett told him. "And I wish you were my brother but…"
"Are you okay?" Darnley asked, touched by how seriously she had spoken but surprised when she trailed off.
"You were," Castle said as his wife didn't say anything. "Not the past life but likely the one before it."
"I love you too Kate, I was so happy I met you," Darnley said seriously. "I'd always wanted a sister; little sister too."
Castle smiled as his wife laughed and they embraced tightly before he said, "You could just be siblings now," not surprised when the two turned to look at him.
"I think he means just say we are," Beckett told Darnley wryly before they let go of each other. "And that'll work."
"It would," Darnley replied. "But I do have a case to update you two on," he said hesitantly.
"You should," Beckett said, nodding.
With a quick dip of his head in agreement himself, Darnley was telling the two about Allard and when he finished said, "With nothing attached to him… I really don't know if he just happened to be connected to both."
"We should head to the field," Castle said. "He'll be there right?"
"I talked with the other CEO of the airline," Darnley said with a quick nod. "And he explained that Allard was given the week off for the reenactment, so he'll be there." When the other two were just looking at him he said, "Okay, I'll take you since you don't have a car."
"Should we get one?" Castle asked as they were walking through the Mall to get to Independence Avenue.
"I think you'll be okay," Darnley replied.
"Have you ever gone to this?" Beckett said once they were inside his car.
"A few times, mostly when I was a kid," Darnley answered a little absently. "I did take Trev once since he'd never seen it, but that was a little after we'd gotten together."
"Are they all in full costume?" Castle asked.
"Full costume, and the same at the ball," Darnley said.
"Where do they hold that?" Beckett said.
"There's a home on the grounds of the field," Darnley replied. "And you should know this isn't DC fully, the field covers what's Virginia, the 66 and two schools that are next to each other in DC itself. The home is an old plantation one in Virginia and since it was gutted during the war the owners made it into a place to hold balls and parties. They built another home off the land, but the plantation house is the only building there that survived."
"Has Trevor called you about his case at all?" Beckett asked him as they were on the freeway.
"No, you're thinking about them being connected?" Darnley asked her. When she nodded, he shook his head and said, "I wish but he hasn't said anything. He did have to leave the same time I did, the Chairman wanted to talk to him and likely Skye."
"You think he's going to put pressure on them to investigate?" Castle asked as he saw the face the detective made.
"Most likely, after the crash yesterday?" Darnley replied. "I just hope he won't throw himself into it."
"He might be thinking the same about you," Beckett commented.
"We worry about each other," Darnley said. He smiled at his friend when she squeezed his arm and then focused on getting them to the field. When he had pulled off the freeway in Virginia he said, "I'd like to talk to Proulx first, could you two walk around and just observe?"
"Should we look for Allard?" Castle asked him.
"You can, let me park so I can show you his photo," Darnley answered, getting to the parking lot. As soon as he'd turned off the car, he was grabbing his phone and showing the two the picture of their person of interest.
"What if we see him?" Beckett asked. She saw the way her friend was looking at her and sighed saying, "Really?"
"What?" Castle asked from the back seat, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"He wants me to chat him up," Beckett said.
"No, not that!" Darnley said hurriedly as he saw how Castle immediately became angry. "Just talk to him and keep him around until I can go to you."
"And how long will that take if she finds him right away?" Castle asked, trying not to sound too annoyed since he knew what the detective was asking his wife to do.
"You can get me," Darnley said.
"I'll be fine Castle," Beckett said firmly before they were getting out of the car.
"Where will you find Proulx?" Castle asked as he saw the tents on the field.
"I'll have to ask around," Darnley replied. "So follow me until I know where he is at least."
While they were walking down the aisle the tents made, Castle was looking around and saw the people there were in full 1863 dress, including the women. He looked at his wife and said, "They're serious about this."
"So are most reenactments," Darnley commented to him.
"Yeah, but the outfits are really great quality," Castle said, turning to look at a Union uniform on a guy walking by. He felt his wife pulling on his arm and he said, "Sorry, was just checking out the detail work."
"Come on," Beckett said as Darnley was walking away from them. They hurried to catch up with the detective before they were walking again and looking around at the men before Darnley stopped. "Patrick," she said as she realized he hadn't asked anyone they'd been passing.
"That tent," Darnley said.
Looking ahead of them, Castle realized he and his wife had missed the sign that read Officer's Quarters while they were looking for Allard. "We should walk around?" he asked.
"Go ahead," Darnley said. "The officers are outside, so I'll be there."
"Don't tell me you want to split up," Castle said to his wife as the detective was continuing ahead of them.
"No, but don't look where I am," Beckett said.
"Oh, yeah I won't," Castle said before she was turning to walk down the aisle again and he followed. He was looking towards the left when he saw she was looking at the people at the tents to the right. When they were near the officer's tent he stopped with his wife and they turned back to the rest of the tents. "So… bathroom?" he asked.
"I don't know, maybe they have activities before the battle itself," Beckett said. She then said, "We never asked when the battle was exactly."
"There were three runs," Darnley said. When the two looked at him he said, "I forgot to tell you, sorry. The last one was on Wednesday so the ball will be that night, but they remain Thursday and Friday since the armies didn't leave until that Saturday."
"You talked to Proulx?" Castle asked.
"I did, he said Allard should be here, but he hasn't looked for him since he's not supposed to mind him," Darnley said. "Those were his words."
"We've been looking around, but we haven't seen it," Beckett told him. "Is there anything else around here people can go to?"
"That I didn't ask," Darnley said before he called to the CEO as he was walking by them. "Sir? What other activities are there before you reenact each battle run?"
"There's a daguerreotype tent over on the field, since it's the first day we take pictures of everyone in costume here," Proulx said. "And there's a shooting range; we have blanks I told you Detective; but the men like to practice a little."
"Anything else?" Darnley asked, looking in the direction the man was pointing.
"No, we tend to stay here with these tents," Proulx replied. He looked at Castle and Beckett and said in surprise, "Are you the writers?"
"We are," Beckett said with a nod, glancing at her husband.
The CEO grew serious before he said, "I'm aware Investigator McDouglas is here as well. Are you all okay after the incident yesterday?"
"We are," Darnley said. "I'm sorry to keep this short but we need to continue our investigation. And if you see Mr. Allard please let me know." After Proulx nodded, he said to Castle and Beckett, "We'll check the daguerreotype, I can see the tent from here."
"Hopefully the shooting range is beyond that," Castle said. "Though there isn't that much risk from blanks."
"Darnley," Beckett called to her friend as he'd started to walk already. When he turned back to her she asked, "Do they check the weapons?"
"Local PD is here," Darnley explained. When the two moved to walk with him he said, "It's been a long time since you called me that."
"Do you really want to go back to that though?" Beckett asked him with a smile.
"Not really, but circumstances…" Darnley replied with a shrug. He smiled at his friend when she laughed and playfully slapped his arm before he saw the daguerreotype tent in front of them. He was watching the men walking by them and said, "I completely forgot, he'll be wearing a uniform from the 56th Ohio Cavalry Unit."
"What does that even look like?" Castle asked.
"Dark blue coats, pants and a darker blue stripe on the pants," Darnley answered. "The hat is dark blue too but there's a gold button at the very top which will be hard to see but it'll help since it's the only hat that has that."
Nodding her head, Beckett looked at the men that were standing in line for the tent, spotting some with the cavalry unit uniform but none of them looked like Allard. "They don't have a paging system of some kind?" she asked her friend.
"I thought the same," Darnley replied. "And asked that after I talked to Proulx about his company and the airways. Nothing there by the way, his coming to Potomac hasn't been unknown by that many people in the company and there wasn't any kind of protest."
"What'd he say about Allard?" Castle asked.
"He doesn't know him that well," Darnley said. "Though he does now since he went to him and the other CEO for the week off."
Beckett wanted to ask about the last two weekdays, but they had gotten to the end of the line and she watched her friend going over to a man she guessed was running the tent since he was dressed in a historic suit. She looked over at what she could see was the shooting range and then glanced at her husband.
"I can't really tell," Castle said, seeing the same since the men were facing away.
"Guys," Darnley said as he walked to them. "The people in the tent just now walked out, he's not there." He was about to ask if they could see anything at the range when Beckett was telling him first and speaking rapidly as they were watching the men that were there.
"We haven't seen him," she said. "But of course, we can't see those men's faces so I'm guessing we're going there next?"
"Smart," Darnley said, smiling when she pushed him playfully since he'd been teasing her. They started to walk towards the shooting range when there was a woman screaming behind them.
"Is that-" Castle started to say.
"She's in trouble, come on," Darnley said before they were running back to the two rows of tents. "Where did that scream come from?" he was yelling to the people outside.
"I think that one," a woman dressed as a Civil War nurse said, pointing to a tent that was a few away from her.
Nodding his thanks, Darnley rushed to it with Castle and Beckett close behind him. He held his hand out to them to slow down before he was listening to make sure it was the right one.
When there was another scream, shorter than the previous but still as panicked, Beckett wasn't surprised when Darnley motioned them to stay. She ignored that though she had no weapon, reaching for his spare she'd noticed as they'd walked. She came up behind him while he opened the flap of the tent and they could see inside Allard was holding a saber above a woman who was cowering on a cot bed underneath him.