Author's Note: Posting a day early as I won't be able to post tomorrow. The first of two chapters taking place during 2x10 "One Man's Treasure," and also involving Castle and Beckett's first official date.
Then Came Love
Chapter 36
Kate would not have admitted it to probably anyone else but her immediate reaction when she heard about a body that had been found quite literally dumped into the trash a couple days later was her heart seeming to drop into her stomach. She and Castle were supposed to go on their first date in just a couple days on Friday and if they were in the middle of an active case, that would be harder.
She should be used to this sort of thing by now–and of course, she was. It wasn't the first time–and wouldn't be the last time either–that her work would get in the way of plans; it was just the nature of the job. When she'd been with Will, they had needed to postpone their Valentine's Day celebration because he'd needed to work on Valentine's Day evening itself and thanks to her job, she remembered that they had ended up having a rushed pseudo-Valentine's Day dinner a few days after the actual day.
So she wasn't new to the way her job rearranged things. What was new was the intensity of her disappointment at the mere thought of possibly having to postpone her date with Castle. She knew she was being silly–feeling as petulant as a child who'd been denied an anticipated treat–but she couldn't deny the feeling either. He had told her he'd made reservations for them and had arranged for Alexis to go watch a movie with some friends so Alexis would be occupied all evening too.
She had just been looking forward to going out on an actual date with Castle. Looking forward to it more than she'd even realized until now when the plans were put into jeopardy.
She had given in to Lanie's insistence–okay, she hadn't needed much persuasion–and gone shopping to buy a new dress just for the occasion, which admittedly was necessary because the distinct curve of her stomach wouldn't allow her to wear one of her older dresses and she hadn't wanted to simply wear the dress she'd worn to the Heat Wave launch party again either. So she had bought a new dress (and while she was at it, bought actual maternity clothes too. She had been getting away with wearing her loosest slacks and pants with the buttons undone and hiding, as it were, behind loose sweaters but that wasn't sustainable anymore.)
And Lanie had, of course, been more than happy to help Kate shop for the date with Castle. Lanie had all but danced a jig of glee when Kate had told her the news about their relationship and only drooped marginally at Kate's further admission (to Lanie's prodding) that so far, she and Castle had not had sex yet, not again at least.
She and Castle had tacitly agreed to take things slow, a step at a time, with their new relationship. They had engaged in a few intense makeout sessions on her couch (Kate flushed and felt a delicious little thrill run through her just at the memory of the way he had kissed her and touched her the other evening) but his hands had not strayed beyond just dipping past the hem of her sweater and she had not done more than unbutton about half the buttons of his shirt. She couldn't have exactly explained why she was hesitating–she wasn't shy and she certainly wanted Castle, her dreams lately had been increasingly heated–but hesitating, she was. Maybe it had to do with the way they had ended up where they were–with her pregnant after what had basically been a one-night stand–but somehow, it seemed… important to wait, as if to prove, to herself or something, that it wasn't just lust pushing her to Castle now. That their relationship was about more than just physical attraction, no matter how potent the attraction was.
Fortunately–or something–the crime scene and the undeniable stench of the dumpster with the victim's body in it was an effective distraction from any thoughts of her personal life–she was hard-pressed not to gag as it was–and only exchanged a quick, half-rueful look with Castle. A look, which he returned and gave her a small nod and she knew that he understood that they might need to postpone their date. And even in that moment, faced with the victim, she felt a little tendril of warmth in her chest at his understanding. Not that she had expected anything less but she still appreciated it.
The case immediately took on a unique character when it came out that the victim had not only been living a double life under two different names, but that he had also been juggling both a wife (and kids) and a fiancée. Adultery was, of course, commonplace in murder cases (although for the affair to progress to an outright engagement was unusual) but creating a whole new identity for a job was a new one and it took a couple days to try to unravel the victim's lies and try to guess at the reasons behind the lies.
The days were, at least, enlivened by the presence of Alexis volunteering at the precinct for a few days in connection with a school project. Kate had initially been a little apprehensive on seeing Alexis for the first time since Alexis had found out about Kate and Castle's changed relationship–but Alexis had only given her a smile and a quick, quiet assurance that she was happy for them and otherwise Alexis had been, as the teen herself had put it, all about getting the job done. Or as Kate teasingly told Castle, Alexis needed less adult supervision than he did.
(And Kate found herself thinking, again, that she could only hope the Sprout would turn out to be even half as responsible and well-behaved as Alexis was when the Sprout became a teenager.)
Kate procrastinated, uncharacteristically, on making a definite decision on what to do about her date with Castle until Friday afternoon, the very day of their actual date, when the boys returned with additional evidence that proved that not only the victim but his fiancée too had been living a double life under an assumed name. Which meant they needed to bring the fiancée in, again.
Kate glanced at Castle but before she could say anything, the Captain interceded. "Interesting twist but you, Beckett, can go home. I told you I didn't want you working overtime unless it's absolutely necessary and I meant it. I'm sure these two can handle talking to the fiancée. Right?" he eyed the boys.
"Of course, sir," Ryan answered.
"Not a problem," Espo agreed and glanced at Beckett. "We'll keep you posted. Night, Beckett."
Kate hesitated but subsided after another look from the Captain and forcibly resisted the urge to look at Castle to see his reaction. It was true that the Captain had told her she needed to limit her overtime but still, she did wonder a little at his timely intercession now. Just in time to save her date with Castle.
She and Castle dutifully left the precinct and she felt herself flush a little at the look of hopeful anticipation on his face as he turned to her. "So, I'll pick you up at your place in an hour?"
Standing right in front of the precinct, they could not kiss but she briefly clasped his hand. "An hour," she agreed, her heart giving a silly little bound as she said it.
She was going on a date with Castle.
The words seemed to repeat in her mind. And as she returned to her apartment and changed into her new dress, she found a small smile flirting with her lips more than once. She was going on a date with Richard Castle.
She was looking forward to the date because it was with Castle, the real man she'd gotten to know, the one who was such a good father, the one who took such care of her, the one who had reassured her so beautifully that she would be a good mom. But even so, she was aware of a little added thrill because he was also, well, the Richard Castle. A man who was famously experienced in the romance department, who was just so… different than anyone she'd ever really dated before. More charming, more romantic, more fun.
Will had his virtues, was as decent and reliable a man as she'd ever met, and he was good-looking too, but she could not say that he had been charming. He was too straightforward and serious-minded for that and yes, she had liked that about him because she was not someone who was inclined to trust men who were too attractive and too charming. In her experience, attractive men, the ones with that sort of rogue-ish bad-boy charm who could draw women like moths to a flame, were not trustworthy, would be almost as bad for women as the flames were for the moths. Men, or boys like Max Snyder whose combination of attractiveness and weakness had proven to be so fatal for Lyla Bernard. In her experience, men like that whose very presence could be so intoxicating, were trouble, would only upset the proverbial applecart, leaving a wreck behind.
But then she'd met Castle. Her favorite living author, who had initially been such a disappointment with that shallow, arrogant playboy persona of his. Castle, who had upset all her expectations and proven himself to be so much more than she'd ever imagined. Castle, who for all his occasional moments of vanity and childishness and impulsiveness, was also a good man, with all that entailed, and an amazing father.
And she was going on a date with Castle.
A smile played on her lips as she surveyed herself in her mirror. Her new dress was a dark purple with a high waistline that managed to emphasize her breasts and, she hoped, somewhat downplayed the noticeable curve of her stomach. Not bad, if she did say so herself. She stepped into her shoes, a pair of low wedges which were about as high of heels as she could wear these days.
As if on cue, a knock on the door announced Castle's arrival and she tried to tamp down the silly thrill that immediately wriggled through her. She was a grown-up and a cop, she really should not be reacting like some giddy teenage girl about to go on her first date.
So she told herself but all her admonishments amounted to nothing when she opened the door to see Castle, who had also changed and was now wearing a dark suit that seemed tailored to showcase his height and the breadth of his shoulders, and a shirt in a deep maroon that made his eyes seem even brighter and bluer in contrast. Oh god, he looked good.
And he was holding a bouquet of flowers.
His eyes skimmed down her figure, his eyes going wide and dark. "You look… wow," he breathed.
Her heart seemed to flip in her chest. It was not the sort of suave compliment she might have expected from Castle's reputation but what it lacked in suavity was more than made up for in sincerity. She liked him better like this, when he was real.
She smiled. "Thanks, Castle. You clean up pretty well yourself," she managed but the tease was belied by the slight breathlessness of her voice.
His smile softened as he held out his flowers. "Oh, and these are for you."
She bit her lip to try (and fail) to hide a smile, her cheeks flushing. So absurd, to react like this, and it was more about the look in his eyes, his voice, than it was the flowers themselves but still, she couldn't help the little flutter in her chest. "Thanks." She accepted the flowers and made quick work of hunting up a vase for them.
The moment her hands were free, she found herself being gently tugged against him as he kissed her. "Mm, hi," he murmured as he drew back.
"Hi." she let her arms slide around his waist, aware, as usual these days, of the press of her stomach against him. She did sometimes miss her usual high heels but it occurred to her that not wearing them had its benefits too because she liked the way she fit against him like this, liked the way their height difference allowed her to nuzzle the little hollow of his throat. As usual, he made a soft sound like a sigh at the touch of her lips to his neck. He liked it when she did that and she liked doing it and she wondered idly if that was part of the reason he had chosen not to wear a tie. Although from what she could tell, Castle didn't often wear ties. Which was fine with her.
He tipped her chin up with his finger so he could kiss her again and then released her with palpable reluctance. "As much as I'm enjoying this, we have dinner reservations."
"I am hungry," she admitted.
His lips quirked upwards but to his credit, he didn't comment on how frequent, if not quite constant, her admissions of hunger were becoming. "Well, then, our dinner awaits."
He moved to pick up her coat before she could do so and helped her into it, his hands lingering on her shoulders and skimming down her arms in a light caress as he paused and brushed a kiss to the nape of her neck, sending a little shiver of pleasure through her.
But then he dropped his hands and stepped back and they left her apartment in decorous fashion.
The moment they stepped outside, she immediately noticed that one apparent difference of going out on a real date with Castle was the transportation, with a luxurious private car and a uniformed driver, who Castle introduced as Patrick, waiting for them.
Castle opened the car door for her and helped her inside and she tried to act as if being driven by an honest-to-goodness chauffeur in a fancy town car was an everyday experience for her. (Well, she had been wondering what it would be like to be romanced by Richard Castle, hadn't she?)
Castle promptly took possession of her hand the moment he was settled beside her and she hid a smile, warmth welling up inside her. He liked touching her. Which wasn't surprising since she'd always known that Castle was a very tactile person (one of his childlike tendencies). He refrained when they were in the precinct but whenever they were out of the precinct, he was almost always touching her in some way. What did surprise her was how much she liked it, all the random little touches and caresses. She'd never thought she was–had never been before–inclined to be clingy or overly affectionate with anyone and maybe it was just the novelty of it but at least for now, she had no wish to pull away or keep any distance between them.
"Beckett, what is it?" he murmured, although he really didn't need to since there was even a privacy screen which separated the back seat from the driver. Patrick could still see them but not overhear them.
She made a little gesture with her free hand. "Just… this. You really are rich, aren't you?"
His lips curved rather wryly. "I do okay, but it's not like I use this car service every day or anything. It's just something for special occasions."
"Oh, so today is a special occasion, is it?" she teased.
"As if you didn't know. Which reminds me, I don't think I've ever liked Captain Montgomery more than I did this afternoon when he let you leave at the end of your shift."
That really had been well-timed. Almost too well-timed. Was she being overly suspicious? And yet… she knew Castle and Captain Montgomery were friends in a way that was separate from their working relationship in the precinct and the Captain was supportive of her relationship with Castle. "You didn't happen to mention or hint to the Captain that we had plans for tonight, did you?"
"No!" he blurted out with just a shade too much emphasis. She turned to look at him and he made a rueful face. "I can't say I wasn't tempted. I thought about mentioning it to the Captain but knowing you and your scary telepathy, I decided not to. I didn't want to risk getting into an argument on our first date."
"Good answer." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "But you know, I was thinking today might not really be our first date. It's probably our third date at least."
"Our third date, huh?" He affected thoughtfulness. "How do you figure that?"
"There was the lunch at Remy's the other day and we had takeout at my place the other evening and you insisted on paying for both." Or more accurately, since he always offered to pay, those occasions were the ones when she'd given into his insistence.
"Lunch at Remy's might count, I'll give you that, but I think to qualify as an actual date, we need to go out somewhere. After all, the phrase is to go out on a date; no one says they'll go in on a date."
"Trust a writer to make an argument based on semantics," she quipped.
"Semantics are vital to how we communicate. It's the basis of all meaning in language," he pontificated.
"Life and death are in the power of the tongue," she returned, mimicking his tone.
He gave her a delighted grin. "You are so hot."
"It's just a quote, Castle," she drawled but couldn't entirely tamp down the renegade flutter of pleasure inside her at his admiring look.
"Doesn't make it less hot," he countered. "I love it that you read."
She had to laugh. "You're probably the only man I've ever met who finds literacy to be a turn-on."
"Spend any time on the party circuit and you'd understand," he said rather darkly.
Speaking of the party circuit, what was it that silly woman at the MADT fundraiser had called Castle? That woman had been on the party circuit. The nickname had been indirectly referencing a book, right–oh, she remembered now. The white whale, that was it. Ridiculous moniker.
But what struck her now was not Castle's appreciation for a woman's brains but rather what he'd meant when he'd said he wasn't used to having people who'd really listen. He was rich enough and famous enough that he would have experienced the downsides of such wealth and celebrity, the people who were interested in him only because he was rich and famous but didn't actually care about the real man at all. No wonder he had developed his cocky celebrity persona. It had been a defense mechanism, hadn't it?
She felt an absurd surge of protectiveness for him, protectiveness against anyone who might try to get close to Castle simply for his wealth and fame. Protectiveness against anyone who might try to take advantage of him the way Scarlett Price had tried to do.
"Don't look like that, Beckett. It's not that bad. And anyway, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm keeping much more erudite company these days."
"Yes, Alexis is erudite, I agree," she said with mock seriousness, hiding a smile.
He laughed. "Cute, Beckett." He leaned over to kiss her just as the car turned, sending her swaying a little, and his lips landed on her cheek rather than her mouth. She huffed a soft laugh and turned her head to correct the angle of their kiss.
But before the kiss could linger or deepen, the car slowed to a stop and he sighed and momentarily rested his forehead on her shoulder. "I guess we're here."
She patted his knee with her hand. "Never mind, Castle, we can make out some more later, when we're really alone."
"Well, when you put it that way…" He wiggled his eyebrows at her–silly, adorable man that he was–but then rearranged his features back into normalcy as Patrick opened the car door for them.
Castle slid out first and helped her out of the car and once standing, Kate took in her surroundings. Oh, they were little more than 10 blocks from her apartment. Absurd extravagance to have hired a car for such a distance but she felt a silly, renegade little thrill go through her. It wasn't something she would want or appreciate on a daily basis but she couldn't deny it was kind of nice to be indulged like this, at least for tonight.
The restaurant Castle had chosen was not one she had ever heard of or been to before and it proved to be an elegant, intimate sort of place, with dimmed lighting, a candle and a small bud vase with a single carnation on each table.
A maître d' greeted them with discreet warmth while a waiter led them to a table in a partial nook in the back, which even to her, didn't seem entirely necessary as the whole atmosphere in the restaurant was one of relative quiet, certainly not a place where the other diners were interested in people-watching.
"Wow, Castle, this place looks great."
"I aim to please," he responded lightly enough but the look in his eyes told her how sincerely he meant it.
"Have you been here before?"
"I was here just last month actually, for Alexis's birthday dinner. Not that Alexis is much for fancy restaurants but on her birthday, she's okay with letting me spoil her a little," he added with a touch of sheepishness.
He was such a good dad and the way he admitted to indulging his daughter was so… cute. "I don't know how Alexis ended up being so well-behaved if you spoil her so much."
"I don't know either. I just lucked out with her, I guess."
"Does that mean that making sure the Sprout doesn't turn out to be a spoiled brat is going to be entirely my job?" she asked half-teasingly.
"No, I wouldn't do that. We're in this together, Beckett, all the way. I promise."
She believed him. "I'll hold you to that," she responded with mock severity but knew her words and her tone were belied by the twitch of her lips.
The return of their waiter with glasses of water and a basket of bread rolls caused a brief interruption, necessitating their turning their attention to the menus. Kate had to cling to her composure, again, as she got a look at the prices. Oh. Oh, lord. Just the appetizers cost as much as what she would normally pay for what she considered an expensive dinner entree and the price of the entrees here were… She didn't often focus on just how rich Castle was but the evening so far seemed to be a constant demonstration of the disparity in their incomes.
For the first time in a few days, she felt a return of a little niggle of uncertainty, of fear. Because this was Castle's life, his level of wealth. Okay, so he might not be quite as wealthy as the Wellesley family but the difference didn't bring him any closer to her own economic status. God, how could this possibly be her life, dating a man as wealthy as Castle was? She didn't belong in a restaurant like this. She had the sudden absurd thought that she could understand how King Cophetua's beggar maid must have felt when she'd first seen the palace—and that was just the problem. Because that was a fairy tale and she didn't believe in fairy tales coming true.
It wasn't easy but she managed to pick an entree without outright cringing or something like that and wasn't sure if she was glad or not that Castle didn't appear to notice anything amiss as he too ordered.
In an attempt to distract herself, she hurriedly asked the first thing that came to mind. "How is everything with the next Nikki Heat book coming along?"
"Well, Gina agreed to postpone the deadlines. The first draft is due at the end of July now. Black Pawn was initially planning for the book to come out around Labor Day next year, like Heat Wave did, but with the new deadlines, we're aiming to release it around Halloween instead." He made a small face. "Gina wasn't happy about postponing but don't worry about that. I don't think Gina's been happy about anything where I'm concerned in years."
The aside about Gina effectively distracted her. It wasn't the first time Castle had let slip a similarly disgruntled comment on his relationship with Gina and she had to wonder how and why he'd ended up married to her in the first place. She tucked the curiosity about his second marriage into the back of her mind. She could hardly ask him about his ex-wife on their first official date. She focused instead on her real curiosity about his writing. "Do you think you'll be able to finish the draft in time? Have you started the next book yet?"
"Oh, I don't know. My procrastination usually becomes more of an issue closer to the deadline, not this early," he joked.
She met his eyes and he blinked, his lips twisting rather ruefully in silent acknowledgment of his deflection. "If by started, you mean, actually starting to write, no, I haven't," he answered after a brief pause. "I'm still in the outlining stage, just trying to figure out the skeleton of the plot."
"How much of an outline do you have so far?" She felt a silly little thrill, a fleeting sense of unreality. Oh, wow, she really was talking to Richard Castle, of all people, about his writing process.
He paused and quirked his eyebrows at her slightly. "You really are interested, aren't you?"
She flushed a little. "Well, I am a fan, of the genre," she hurriedly added. "Of course I'm interested in finding out how a mystery novel is constructed."
"Sort of the opposite of real life. In coming up with a story, I usually start at the end, who the killer is and why, and then work my way backwards, basically. I think of it as a character study, what would make an otherwise ordinary person do something so heinous."
"Usually, but not always?"
He made a small face. "Okay, well, sometimes I've started with the idea for some dramatic opening twist, the one that goes into the blurb, and then I've basically constructed a mystery around that twist. In A Skull at Springtime, I wondered how someone would investigate a murder with no body, just the skull and a few other bones but nothing that revealed cause of death, and went from there but I wouldn't say the books where I did that came out the best."
"Yeah, I wouldn't say A Skull at Springtime was one of your better books.".
He smirked at her, his eyes abruptly bright. "Nice try, Beckett, but you know, just the fact that you've read A Skull at Springtime, to say nothing of Hell Hath No Fury, means you're definitely a fan. I think something like 10 people ended up reading Hell Hath No Fury but clearly, you're one of them."
"I didn't say I'd liked them," she tried to rally.
"No, but you still read them."
"I was bored at the time and the library had them."
"Uh huh, sure," he drawled skeptically. "I've seen your bookshelves, remember?"
Of course he had. Her bookshelves with one entire shelf devoted to all his books, damn it. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know I have a gun, right?"
He made a show of controlling his expression, lifting his hands in surrender. "Fine, I'll behave, I promise."
"Good."
He dutifully left off his teasing, moving onto telling a funny, self-deprecating story from one of his book signings. The story was briefly interrupted by the return of their waiter with their appetizers but then Castle resumed his story-telling, as she started to eat.
But just a few minutes later, when they were still eating their appetizers, they were interrupted again, this time by her phone vibrating. She glanced at it and then shot Castle a half-apologetic look. "It's Espo," she told him in quick explanation for why she had to answer and he nodded. "Beckett," she answered and then listened as Espo gave her a summary of their interrogation of Sarah Reed. "Okay, thanks. Night."
She ended the call and met Castle's eyes. "The boys talked to Sarah Reed. She admitted that she's a corporate spy too and was playing the vic, giving him fake formulas to throw him off. Espo said she honestly seemed to have no idea that the vic might have been playing her too."
"But we know she's a good actress, remember her devastated act," Castle pointed out.
She made a small face. "Oh, I know, but whatever else, she didn't kill him either. She has a solid alibi. Apparently, she was at her daughter's recital at the time."
"They turned out to be quite a couple, didn't they?" Castle commented. "Both spies, both playing each other and going so far as a fake engagement and–wait," he jerked upright. "That doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?"
"She was playing him, the engagement was fake all along, but if that's the case, then why would she give Sam–"
"—Her grandfather's fountain pen?" she finished in messy unison with him, catching on. "She wouldn't. So what was she really doing at the Parkers' house yesterday?"
"She had to be looking for something, probably whatever it was that the vic was planning to tell his old boss about."
"But I looked through her bag and there was nothing relevant which means she didn't find it–"
"—She didn't find what she was looking for," Castle finished with her.
She had set down her fork as they talked through the case. "We need to go back to the Parkers' house," they concluded at the same time and then they were smiling and then grinning at each other. Kate felt a surge of closeness, a sense of intimacy, she didn't think she'd ever felt before with anyone else. An intense, mesmeric attraction abruptly arced between them, so strong she could swear she almost heard the sizzle of sparks, an attraction that was less about a physical connection than a mental one. This, the way she and Castle worked together, was something she couldn't explain, because she and Castle approached cases so differently but somehow, in some way, they just… worked. They fit.
"I wish I could kiss you right now," he blurted out.
She flushed, still not able to look away from the intensity of his gaze, even as she became belatedly conscious of their surroundings. In a restaurant, on their date. But they had work to do now, didn't they? She hesitated, feeling the tug of duty, the urgency from the adrenaline of what they'd figured out. She was a cop; it wasn't just what she did for a living, it was who she was.
But their date…
"I'll get the check," he spoke up, lifting a hand to signal for a waiter.
She had thought it, half-resigned herself to not going anywhere. "But Castle–" she began.
He met her eyes. "It's the job, Beckett. I get it."
He meant it, he really meant it. She could see it in his eyes, his expression. She was a cop and he was her partner–and he knew, understood.
A waiter returned and Castle hurriedly made their excuses, dropping a few bills on the table, enough to cover the cost of the meals they wouldn't be staying to eat.
And somehow, that was that. They left the restaurant and returned to her apartment to retrieve her car in amazingly short order, almost before Kate had fully accepted it was happening, that the date was really over and by mutual consent and understanding, at that.
But at least, she thought, they were still spending the evening together, even if in a different fashion than what either of them had expected. And as long as she was still with Castle, it wasn't a bad evening after all.
~To be continued…~
A/N 2: Thank you, as always, to all readers and reviewers.
