Halloween Surprise

A season 5 AU story. Rick and Kate are a couple and a chance discovery by Kate leads to an interesting surprise for Rick's Halloween party.

Standard disclaimers apply

AN: Since this isn't really about a scary boo type Halloween story, I don't feel the need to wait until late October to post. It's an idea that came to me a while back that I wrote for my own enjoyment and now I share it with you.

Kate Beckett stood in front of the salon where she'd been getting her hair styled for several years now. She glanced at her watch, there was still twenty minutes till her appointment. She looked around and went over to sit on a bench that was half way down the block.

She tucked a windblown lock of hair behind her ear as she sat. A frown tugged at her mouth and creased her brow. Was she really thinking of doing this?

She ran her hand through her long caramel colored locks. Her and Castle had been an acknowledged couple for several months now, and her hair was longer than she had worn it since her high school days. She liked wearing her hair long and she thinks that Castle likes it too. He sure plays with it enough in bed. Still, he often will make comments about how 'adorable' she looked with the short, serious, haircut when they first met.

After making detective she had felt it necessary, as part of her job, to project a professional, no nonsense attitude. Growing her hair out once Castle was part of the team was a bit of a nod to the 'girly' part of her personality that she had to submerge so often. Lanie had called her on it saying she was doing it to catch Castle's attention. Of course she vehemently denied it. She claimed she just wanted a change. That's what she'd told Lanie, and that's what she'd told herself at the time. And so she'd had embarked on getting back to a long haired Beckett.

Lately, though, the hassle of dealing with so much hair every day was getting a bit tiring. She could always just pull it back into a braid, ponytail, or bun, which she found herself doing more and more lately. But if she was going to do that all the time then what was the point of having long hair?

After thinking about it for a while, she had decided it was time to trim it back more than just the split ends. Perhaps even taking it up past her shoulder blades. She mentioned the idea to Castle, but he was no help. He just kissed her and told her no matter how she wore her hair she was still beautiful.

But did she really want to go as short as she was now thinking?

The whole question came up because she wanted to 'stick it', so to speak, to Castle. Halloween was Castle's second favorite holiday. Next to Christmas, nothing got Castle more excited than Halloween and to say that he knew how to celebrate it was the definition of understatement.

For the years that she was partnered with Castle he'd always expressed disappointment in her lack of enthusiasm for the holiday. Especially her cavalier attitude toward a 'cool' costume for his party. In the past she'd always just come up with something at the last minute in order to fulfill the requirement of wearing a costume for the party. At the last party she just wore her old patrolman's uniform.

Now that her relationship with Castle had moved up to another level she decided that she wanted to try to come up with a costume that would knock off that smug look that he always had on his face. She wanted to watch his jaw drop when he saw her arrive.

Her idea had come about when she was digging in the back of her closet. When she came across her old jacket she forgot what she was originally looking for. Immediately a smile crossed her face. It was the jacket she was wearing when she went to Castle's book launch party. She was there to question him about the Tinsdale murder because of the copycat nature of the crime scene. It was the first time that they met, well except for that time she waited in line to have her book autographed. But that didn't count because he never remembered it.

Having her curiosity peaked she had to find the rest of the outfit she had worn that night. It took her nearly an hour, going through every inch of her apartment, until she had located all the items she'd worn that night. Including the high-heeled boots she'd worn. She was amazed that she still had them. That they had been amongst some of the clothes that survived the destruction of her previous apartment.

And more amazing was it all still fit her!

Suddenly it hit her. It would be a great costume to wear at Castle's party. She'd come to the party just like she did back then, march up to him and flash her badge in his face and request his cooperation by accompanying her to the precinct to answer some questions.

She couldn't help herself. She put it on and looked at herself in her bathroom mirror. Her smile fell when she saw her image. The cascade of long dark curls of her hair ruined the picture. The woman she saw in the mirror definitely didn't bear much resemblance to the earnest detective who'd confronted Richard Castle at his party.

A logical person would see that the obvious solution would be to wear a short haired wig, so that's what Kate checked into. She tried on several wigs, trying to get the proper style and color, but she suddenly realized that a wig just wouldn't do. Considering that it was just for a costume for a single night, most would believe that a similar wig would work fine. And if she was only interested in a "cute" or "clever" costume a wig would have done the job.

But she didn't want a costume that was "cute" or "clever". She wanted "epic". She wanted Castle to be shocked into incoherence. She wanted him to question whether or not he had gone back in time. To achieve that kind of reaction it had to be real. The costume had to be authentic in all aspects, including the hair. That meant, if she really wanted this, she had to take the final step. The long hair had to go.

Just then her phone alarm went off. She glanced down at it to see that it was time for her appointment. She pulled the small photo from her pocket as she walked back to the salon.

She passed another woman leaving as she entered. They exchanged the stranger's smile as they maneuvered around each other in the doorway. Kate was surprised not see clients waiting in the lobby, and there was no receptionist at the desk.

"Hey, Kate long time no see. You've been avoiding me I see."

Kate smiled at the good looking man coming toward her. "Hi Greg, and I haven't been avoiding you, I just haven't needed your skills lately."

Greg was a tall young man. He was a few years younger than Kate. He had a slender build and thick curly blonde hair. He had a nice smile which was turned toward Kate at the moment. He walked up to her, gave her a quick hug, and then ran his fingers through Kate's long tresses. "I can see that."

Kate looked around at the empty salon. "Where are your other clients, and where is Marie?" Marie had been Greg's gal Friday since he opened the salon.

Greg laughed. "You're my last appointment for the day so I sent her home." He put his hand on her shoulder and led her to his "workshop" as he liked to call it. "Actually, you're my last appointment for the next three weeks."

"Really?"

"Yep." His smile grew bigger. "I'm heading down to the Bahamas for some warm weather before I have to come back and deal with winter. I mean someone has to go down there and keep the sandy beaches from getting lonely"

Kate laughed. "You are such a martyr, but somehow I think you'll manage to survive."

Greg had been Kate's stylist for the past few years. Once she had decided to grow her hair out again, he'd helped her through the awkward stages of the in between lengths and ever changing styles.

Greg ushered her to the chair and began running his fingers through her curls, straightening some of the windblown tangles from her walk over.

"So, Kate, what do you want to do with this impressive mane you now have? Looks like it could use some shaping up, and trimming up the ends."

Kate bit her lip. "Welllll, not exactly. I was thinking of something a bit different."

Greg nodded. "I can see that. Truthfully, Kate, I think this is a little too much hair for your face. The extreme length pulls the focus away from your beautiful eyes and lowers it to your chest as your hair falls past your breasts." He grabbed a comb and started running it through her locks. "If you want my opinion; I think you should cut some length off. Bring the ends up around your shoulder blades. You would still have enough length to do just about anything style wise, but it wouldn't seem so heavy on your head."

Kate chuckled. "Truthfully, that's exactly what I originally had in mind before I made the appointment."

Greg raised a brow at her. "But…"

Kate cocked her head to look at Greg. "But the other day I had a different idea. I was wondering if you could cut my hair so that it would look like the style in a picture I have."

"If it's a decent picture, and the person in it has a similar head shape."

"That shouldn't be a problem, it's a picture of me from about five and a half years ago." She reached into her shirt pocket and pulled out the picture of her taken not more than a two weeks before she intruded on Castle's book release party. She handed it to Greg.

He took it and looked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. Can you do it?"

Greg frowned at her. "Sure, I could do it, but why would you want me to?"

"Well it's kind of a long story."

He waved his hand around to indicate the empty state of the salon. "I've got all day. My flight doesn't leave till tomorrow."

Kate shrugged her shoulders then launched into the whole Halloween costume idea and why it was so important to her that everything be just as it was that night. The night that she met her one and done but hadn't known it. She fumbled a few times, like when she tried to explain why it couldn't be just a costume replication, but needed to be the real deal come to life again. To do that, she not only had to wear all the same clothes, the same make-up, or back then, the lack of make-up, and most importantly the same haircut. The haircut that defined who she was back then. She explained that most of her life she had worn he hair long. As a high schooler, college student, and even as a young patrolman in the NYPD she had kept it as long as the regs allowed because that's the way she'd always worn it. After she'd become the youngest woman to make detective she felt she needed something to outwardly show the she was a serious detective. So she cut her hair in a simple no nonsense style. She kept it that way until she met Richard Castle, and her life began to change.

Greg nodded. "I think I understand your feelings, but I can't imagine how setting yourself up for several years of future grow out is going to be worth one evening of surprising your boyfriend at his Halloween party."

Kate gave him an indulgent smile. "You don't have to. You just need to be able to cut my hair like the picture."

"I'm going to go out on the line here and guess that you cut your hair yourself back then, didn't you?"

Kate giggled. "Yeah, I did. I was still just getting by, and I couldn't justify an expensive stylist… like you back then."

Greg gave Kate's shoulders a squeeze. "I can do it, but you have to be prepared for the shock of what you are going to look like after having long hair for a long time." He picked up a handful of her curls. "Especially considering how long it is right now. You are going to lose a lot of hair, Kate."

"I know, but I've made up my mind. It's only hair, and it will grow back."

Greg laughed. "Bite your tongue. You're talking to a man whose livelihood depends on women who think their hair is the most important thing in their world."

Kate slapped him on the arm. "Just chop this mop off before I change my mind."

Greg chuckled. "You know. I think this is actually going to be fun."

Kate stared at her reflection in the mirror as her 'stylist' combed her hair back and held the mass in his left hand. With his right he took the scissors and sawed away at the thick bundle of dark curls. It took a few minutes until he managed to cut all the way through, but finally he was able to separate the tresses in his hand from those still on Kate's head. He then dropped the large pile of hair on her lap.

Kate had to bite her bottom lip to keep from gasping as the ragged ends of her cropped hair tickled her cheeks. Her eyes got wider as she saw what had once been her long locks then pushed them off her lap.

Greg swept her over to the wash sink and gave the hair that Kate still had a quick wash. Then he used the blow dryer to partially dry her hair. He needed it damp in order to give a cleaner cut, but not soaking wet.

Greg spent the next several minutes working the comb and scissors as more and more of Kate's chestnut locks found their way to her lap, or the floor.

"Ah, Greg, I know that I had pretty short hair back then, but aren't you cutting too much off?" It was mesmerizing seeing her hair continuing to fall as it was snipped off. Was he ever going to stop? Was there going to be any left?"

After several more minutes of lip biting she could finally see her new/old haircut taking shape. Soon he set the scissors aside and used a brush and the blow dryer to get the short locks to find their proper place.

She was somewhat shocked when she saw the woman staring back at her. She looked like she did five years ago. The transformation was perfect.

She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know how you did it, Greg, but it looks just like it did that day I walked into Castle's book release party. I know this may sound silly, but I can't thank you enough. This is exactly what I needed to complete my costume."

Kate stood up and brushed a lot of hair off her lap. She still couldn't get over how she looked. "What do I owe you?"

Greg gave her a wide smile. "I had too much fun recreating your early self-cut hairstyle, so you don't owe me a thing."

Kate shook her head. "No, this is your livelihood, you deserved to get paid for your efforts."

"I'll make you a deal." He led her out toward the front of the shop. "First; you don't tell anyone who did this to you." She laughed. "And second; after this costume party you did this for, and I get back from my vacation, you come back and let me 'fix' your hair. I'll create a short style for you that will be practical, but cute, and will grow out more evenly as you let it go longer." He grinned. "And for that cut I'll charge you full price."

Kate laughed with him. "Deal."

Kate had gone to her own apartment as soon as she left the salon. She showered, but didn't get her perfect haircut wet, and then went to her closet to pull out 'the outfit'. She laid it out all on her bed. A smile grew on her face as she put on her underwear and got ready to don her 'costume'.

The last piece of her wardrobe was to pull on her boots. She stood up and was mildly surprised that they seemed to fit okay. A little tight, but not uncomfortably so. She guessed that she should easily be able to survive the evening in them. She was a little annoyed by the fact that her pants were a bit tight in the seat. Just what she needed. Castle ogling her butt all night.

She checked her watch and went out the door.

She drove over to Castle's and parked in the building's attached garage space. Castle had gotten her a pass a few months ago. It was needed since she spent more time at the loft now than at her own apartment. She checked her watch again. She'd need to wait a couple more minutes.

She had called Alexis earlier to help her set up her entrance. She was going to make sure that Rick was near the front door at precisely 9 o'clock. That was when she would knock. She really hoped that he would appreciate the costume and the effort she put into it for him.

She was standing outside the door of the loft watching the second hand on her watch tick slowly toward 12. As soon as it did, she stepped up and knocked firmly on the door.

She heard some movement in the apartment, and could hear some footsteps coming her way. Suddenly the door opened and Castle was standing in front of her with a strange look on his face.

Kate held up her badge. "Mr. Castle, I'm Detective Beckett with the NYPD. I need you to come down to the precinct with me to answer some questions about a murder that happened this evening."

Castle opened his mouth but nothing came out. Beckett's brow raised as she stepped inside the door. Castle's eyes followed her movement as she placed herself in front of him again.

"Kate?"

She fights off a grin. "Mr. Castle?"

Rick reaches up and touches her hair, a puzzled look on his face. "You, you cut your hair?"

Kate finally lets her smile out. She shrugged. "I couldn't show up at a Richard Castle Halloween party in a costume that wasn't 100 percent authentic now could I?"

Castle finally let a big smile come across his face. "No, you couldn't." He put his arm around her back and guided her into the living room. He bent down and whispered in her ear. "You look amazing."

Rick ushered Kate into the center of the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce our latest guest. Welcome Detective Kate Beckett NYPD circa 2009."

Amongst the cheers and laughter Lanie came running up to Kate and grabs her arm. Her best friend reaches up and runs her fingers through Kate's hair.

"I can't believe you actually cut your hair? And this outfit, it looks just like something you would have worn back then."

Kate smiles at her friend. "It is. It's exactly the outfit I was wearing when I crashed Castle's book release party and brought him in for questioning. It was finding it in the back of my closet that gave me the idea for this costume."

Lanie just shook her head. "I still can't believe you actually cut your hair. I mean, girl, your hair was nearly down to your butt."

Kate laughed. "I just felt that to make it the truly authentic look, the haircut had to be real."

Lanie shook her head again. "You definitely have been hanging around Castle too much. His craziness in beginning to rub off on you."

Castle chose that moment to join the conversation. "Oh, I can think of many other things that I'd like to rub off on Detective Beckett here." He made a point to glance down at her behind. "If I'm not mistaken, I think that her butt is a bit perkier than it was back in 2009."

Kate couldn't believe it. He did notice. She just shook her head and gave him a patented Beckett eye roll, but she couldn't hide the smile that insisted on spreading across her face. She loved the man. She loved the big, goofy, man-child. Because he was her big, goofy, man-child and he always would be. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

fin

AN: First off, thanks to all who read this little effort. I hope it made you smile. Now, when it comes to Kate Beckett, I'm a big fan. And as beautiful as she looked with her long cascade of waves and curls I found myself preferring some of the shorter styles she wore during parts of seasons one and two. For me it was the difference between the gorgeous runway model that you would never be able to know, and the really cute gal who was more approachable. Kind of like how you wished the girl next door looked like. So, given that attitude, don't be surprised if/when I continue to play in this fandom that there won't be times where I find reasons for Beckett to cut her hair. Also, I have some older stories where I just get a bit nasty.