Playing Hard to Get
Chapter 23
Kate woke up and was a bit disoriented. First, she was literally on the edge of the bed, about to fall off. Second, a quick look told her that Castle wasn't in her bed with her, and she realized she didn't much like that. He had been her warmer keeping her comfortable. All that body heat, and now she was almost cold. Worse, thanks to being almost off the bed, she was almost completely uncovered, and she had gone to bed naked for a change. It was what she had done with Castle in her bed.
That was also when she noticed that Lilly was in her bed. Not only that, but she was lying perpendicular to the length of the bed. Had Lilly been trying to get close to her and somehow, while sleeping, had moved away? Maybe while asleep, she had been chasing a squirrel or something, and kicking her legs caused her to move away.
Whatever it was, it was just about time for her alarm to go off and for her to go into work. She was able to turn off the alarm before it could ring, but she didn't actually move much. As she lay there, Kate finally let herself acknowledge that she really missed having Castle in her bed, and after ten days off work, she suddenly didn't want to go into the 12th. She wanted to go back to Paris. What did it take to get a French Passport so she could get a job in France? People got killed in Paris, right?
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"Let's go, Lilly. You need a walk before we go to work." Kate only needed her leash and some poop bags. Lilly was long since past needing treats to get her to learn. Now all she needed was attention and being told she was a good dog when she did something outside.
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Kate found Lilly straining at the end of her leash to get inside the Precinct. At least one of them wanted to go into work this morning. Once they made it into the elevator, Kate unhooked her, and the second the doors opened, Lilly took off like a rocket. She had people to meet and greet since she hadn't seen them FOREVER! At least in her doggie mind, it had been forever, which was what counted.
Kate merely chuckled as she walked toward her desk. The boys weren't here yet, though Captain Montgomery clearly was since she could hear him greeting Lilly. Apparently, Roy was one of Lilly's many stops before she came back to her.
It gave Kate time to fill her water bowl with fresh water and to pound out any dust from her doggie bed. Thank goodness she had gotten a far too big a bed for a tiny little puppy. Except right now, Lilly was rapidly approaching being too big for even this bed. Her cute little puppy was almost all grown up. It was kind of sad, actually.
"Beckett?" Roy was at her desk, waiting for her.
"Sir!" Did they have a case while she was gone that was that bad?
Roy attempted to calm her down. "Relax, I only wanted to know how your European vacation was."
"It was nice. Maybe a little too cool at times, but still, very nice," Kate replied with a faraway look. "I could learn to like living in Paris."
"I knew I shouldn't have let you go," Roy grumbled teasingly.
Kate actually smiled at that and then calmed his fears. "Nothing to worry about, Sir. I'm not French and have no idea how to get a job in Paris as a detective."
"That's not very helpful. I'm willing to bet Castle has already started researching how to do just that. But I'm glad you had a good time. We missed you around here," Roy confided.
"Yes, Sir." Kate blushed a little; she felt good about that.
"And you too, Lilly. It's not the same here without our mascot." Roy petted her yet again since she was here. Roy turned to leave, but when he did, something sparkling caught his eye.
Roy stared down at her. "Beckett, what have you done?"
"Done, Sir?" She didn't understand till he lifted his left hand and pointed at the ring on his finger. "OH, THAT!" Kate moved her hand to look at her ring yet again, and she saw how it sparkled under the harsh lights of the Precinct.
"I'm not officially engaged, Sir. We're… Honestly, I'm not totally sure just what we are." Technically she wasn't engaged since Castle hadn't officially proposed, and she hadn't officially said yes. In fact, they had gone all through this last night after Alexis had spotted her ring.
What she did know was that they were lovers. And not having had sex last night showed her just how much sex with Castle suddenly meant to her.
"Well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, Castle." Roy paused, waiting for her to say something.
"Yes, Sir." Now she just needed to wait for Roy to lower the boom on her. How that Castle couldn't work there any longer because she was wearing a ring and likely dating him was against regulations. So either Castle got tossed, or she got fired. Maybe Castle could get Mayor Weldon to save them…or something.
"Good. You weren't having any fun, Beckett, till Castle showed up." Roy took a quick around. "Where is Castle anyway?"
"I don't actually know, Sir." It was then that Kate realized she had no idea where he was or what he was up to this morning. Knowing him, he was off doing something.
"Well, when he gets in, I want both of you in my office." Roy gave Lilly one final quick pet and headed for his office.
"Yes, Sir." Oh, boy. He was waiting for Castle before lowering the boom on both of them. Throw Castle out and send her world tumbling into what might be a free fall. Definitely not what she needed this morning.
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Kate was deep into all the email messages she had on her computer when suddenly her favorite coffee and a bear claw appeared on her desk, and she could hear Castle greeting and petting Lilly. She and Lilly had barely made it out of the loft last night. Dahlia clearly hadn't wanted to see either of them go, and Lilly had resisted leaving a little. Apparently, the Castle loft was home to her now.
"Hey, Castle." Kate was happy and very relieved to see him.
"No murder yet?" Rick was bummed. He needed some inspiration for his next Nikki Heat book. Though, that trip to Europe had helped enormously in that regard.
Then Kate broke it to him. "Captain Montgomery said he wanted both of us in his office when you showed up."
"Oh?" Rick's first thought was, What had he done wrong now?
Kate knocked before entering. "Close the door and sit down, you two." Roy was ready for them.
Rick didn't know about Kate, but sitting like this in front of Roy reminded him of when he was a kid. All those times, sitting in front of the Principal after he had done something. Even if it wasn't him this time, he was the first suspect in whatever it was.
"First, I'm glad you two are back. Ryan and Esposito have been overloaded and need the help. I'm also glad it sounds like you two had a good time. However..." Roy let them stew in their own juices for a moment or two.
Here it comes! was what Kate was thinking. Kick Castle to the curb and ruin everything.
"Beckett here is wearing a nice big engagement ring." Roy started with that.
Kate tried to stop him. "Sir, we're not engaged. Not technically."
"No? Wearing a ring like that says engaged all over it." Roy was somewhat confused.
"I bought the ring for Kate while we were in Amsterdam. I got it from the jeweler himself, more or less. They had made it right there on the property. Right upstairs, even. I didn't…" Rick took a deep breath, then he continued. "I didn't want some guy to think Kate was available when she wasn't. Or shouldn't be, or I didn't want her to be, or…" Rick ceased babbling when Roy raised a hand to get him to stop.
"Beckett?" He had heard Castle. Now it was time to hear her side of this interesting story.
"It's true, Sir. Castle didn't really propose, and since he didn't, then technically speaking, I didn't say yes. It's complicated." She didn't know how it had gotten so damn complicated, but it was.
"Castle bought the ring, put it on my finger, and told me why and why I couldn't take it off. I still haven't figured out what to do with it when it comes time to put on gloves, at least not yet. We're not actually engaged. In fact, I'm not sure just what we are." It almost felt like a high school betrothal ring. A promise to each other, maybe? Yeah, it was complicated.
"Okay." Roy was a little surprised, but given how he believed Beckett worked and thought, it didn't sound all that strange. Still, it didn't change what he had to tell them any.
"Here are the rules for you two. Castle is not an employee of the NYPD, so technically, he doesn't work here. The regulation about you two not dating doesn't apply. However…" Roy raised a finger before they started to celebrate. "This is still MY Precinct, and I don't care what the mayor says about Castle being here. I could have said no the second he pulled that stunt. But I didn't.
"Sooo, I don't want to see or hear about any PDA in my Precinct. That includes the stairwells, parking garage, and even the mop closet. Anywhere. I do, and Castle will be out of here so fast it'll make both your heads spin, and...Beckett will face suspension. For how long is yet to be determined.
Roy spelled it all out to them. "Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"
"You do, Sir," Kate responded and poked Castle in the ribs when he didn't say anything fast enough.
"Got it," Rick told him.
"You two better. I'm not letting the pair of you turn this Precinct into some kind of high school…" Just then, Roy was interrupted by Kate.
"No, Sir, we would never. Right, Castle? ...CASTLE!?" He was just sitting there looking stupid, which was unusual even for him.
Roy was biting his inner cheek to keep from grinning. Beckett was clearly in charge of the two of them. It was just that she looked happy for a change. Not so devoted to her job and trying to burn herself out into early retirement.
"What? Yes! …I mean, no, we wouldn't do that." He was still kind of shocked that Roy wasn't coming down on their heads for this. Okay, the ring had been a sudden inspiration, and he was happy that Kate hadn't said no, and was even more happy that she was still wearing his ring.
"See to it. Now get out and get to work." Roy dismissed them. He grinned as they retreated and shut his door. Letting Castle stay and work with Beckett seemed to be working out. He hadn't really been trying to play matchmaker. He wondered what his wife would say to this when he got home.
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Kate hurried to her desk and picked up her coffee before it got too cold to drink but paused. "Did he say he could have said no when you got the mayor to talk him into letting you follow me around?" Kate was stuck on that.
But Rick was stuck on something else. "Did you notice that he didn't say anything about me following you on your vacation?" Roy hadn't even batted an eye at that.
"Will you focus, Castle," Kate chastised him and then processed what he had just said. "He didn't, did he?" Something was going on around here. Kate answered her phone. "Beckett."
"Dead body!?" Rick was all set to go and see yet another dead body. Kate still found it weird that he liked going to see dead bodies. To her, it meant someone's family had just been shattered.
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"Victim is Sophie Ronson, 35. She's in from LA for a wedding," Espo told them.
"Is she a guest?" Kate inquired.
Espo shook his head. "Nope, a bridesmaid."
"Lanie?" Kate didn't need gloves just yet, so she wasn't trying to put on any.
"Preliminary cause is asphyxiation. Given how the windpipe is crushed, I'd say the killer choked her from behind. Contusions on her neck and one of her earrings is missing. It looks like it was yanked from her earlobe, there's a fresh tear in it." Lanie turned her head for Kate to see.
"Time of death?" Kate queried since Castle was being unusually silent.
"I'd say between 3:00 and 5:00 am this morning," Lanie replied.
"Thank you." Kate turned to leave.
"Not so fast, girlfriend! Where in the world did you get that rock!?" The sparkle of Kate's ring had caught her eye.
Kate knew it had to happen. "Body first, please, Lanie."
"Alright, but we are talking later." Lanie pointed her finger at her. "Your place or Castle's, I don't care which."
"Fine." Kate at least had time to get ready for her.
"And girlfriend, I am so happy for you." She was wearing one big, expensive-looking engagement ring, and it had damn well better be from Castle, or she would smack that woman around. A LOT!
"Who are the bride and groom and where are they?" Kate asked as she walked down the hall.
Ryan consulted his notepad. "A Greg Murphy and Kyra Blaine. They're just down the way, waiting for you."
Rick was stunned into stopping dead in his tracks. "Did you say, Kyra? Kyra…Blaine?"
"Castle?" Did he know her? "Castle?" But instead of answering her, he began walking down the hallway.
"Richard Castle!" Kyra's eyes opened wide the second he walked in. Except she was standing next to her future husband, so she didn't move or say another word till Detective Beckett started asking them questions.
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Kate had finished with them both for now. "You know her, Castle?"
"You could say that. She's the one that got away." Rick was still in a daze. He couldn't believe she was in New York City and hadn't even tried to contact him. And here she was trying to get married...and not to him. Rick was betting that Greg must have money, or her parents never would have approved.
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Kate had called for an elevator and saw her when the doors opened. Forced to take it, she stepped inside with her. "Hello, Kyra."
"I see congratulations are in order." Kyra couldn't help but notice her ring. It had a sparkle to it that hers didn't.
Kate raised her hand to look at her ring. "Um, thank you." Everyone would make assumptions and it took too long to explain, so she went with it.
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"Overactive imagination or not, I know he only dedicates his books to people he truly cares for." The elevator dinged, Kyra got off and then suddenly stopped and turned around, but the elevator doors were closing.
Dedicated book, engagement ring. Those two things had to be related, but she was gone.
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Rick wasn't looking forward to meeting her again. "Sheila." Kate thought the woman looked shocked, followed by angry.
"Richard! It figures you would be at the heart of this mess." She was more than willing to lay the blame for all of this on him. She probably even killed Sophie to prevent the wedding.
"Detective Beckett, this is Sheila Blaine, mother of the bride." Rick looked at her for a moment. "I didn't end up homeless after all."
"There's still time." Sheila was sure he would slink into the gutter eventually.
He smirked. "I've missed our little talks."
"It was never about money, Richard. It was about character, and you would know that. …If you actually had any." Sheila looked down at him haughtily from her throne on high and stalked off.
"WOW!" Even Kate hated her now. "Just think, if you had married Kyra, you would be spending every Thanksgiving with the wicked witch." Kate's cell phone rang, and she answered it just as Rick was ready to throw up at that thought.
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"We met in college. We were together for nearly three years," Rick told Kate while they were in an elevator.
Kate raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask."
"You were not asking very loudly." Rick tried to stop her in her tracks. "Do not get all jealous on me. Kyra was a long time ago, and yes, I was a different person back then."
"I'm not jealous." Kate looked at him. "I'm not." She tried again. "I'm wearing a ring, Castle." Kate held her hand up to show it to him just in case he had forgotten about it.
"I remember, and once more, Kyra was a long time ago." The elevator stopped and Rick walked out, but Kate was rooted to the spot.
Fine, she was jealous. Suddenly she had competition for Castle, and she didn't like it, not one bit.
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Kate joined Lanie at her lab. "You called?"
"I did. I found traces of metal in the wounds on Sophie's back," Lanie said.
When Lanie didn't say anything else, Kate asked, "What kind of metal?"
"I have no idea," Lanie told her, "but I sent a sample to the FBI lab to see if they could narrow it down. We should have the results tomorrow."
Kate frowned. "You got me down here for that?" She could have phoned it in.
"I did." Then Lanie confronted her. "Castle's love that got away is walking around in her wedding dress, and you're wearing an engagement ring that you didn't have before you two went on vacation. So don't tell me you aren't a tiny bit jealous."
"I'm not jealous," Kate told her. "I'm. Not." Kate turned and left. "Next time call," Kate yelled over her shoulder.
"We are going to talk, girl!" Lanie called after her.
"Sure, sure." Kate kept walking down the hall. Yes, she was still jealous. But she didn't have the slightest idea what to do about it.
She stepped into the elevator to go back to the 4th floor. Once there Kate went to her desk and leafed through the stack of paper she needed to deal with.
The elevator in the Precinct dinged and the doors slid open. "Key card," Kate suddenly thought.
"MIKE'S KEY CARD!" Rick yelled as he entered.
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Rick walked around with Kate. "What is so important about this room?"
"Maybe it wasn't this room she was trying to get into." Kate pointed it out, "Room divider door."
"So whose room is this one?" Rick liked what she was thinking. "This might be where she was killed."
"Hey, what are you doing in my room!?" All Greg saw was Rick, the lost love of his not-yet wife. Then he saw Detective Beckett right behind him, and she was holding up a bloody earring.
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"Stay away from Kyra, Castle. You are far too close, and it's far too personal. You want me to keep this ring?" Kate raised her hand to show it to him again. "You will drop this case and let me do my job. If you can't do that, then we don't have a future, and I would really like to find out if we do.
"Come on, Lilly, we're going home," Kate called out and could hear dog nails on the floor telling her Lilly had heard her and was running to join her from wherever she was. "Alone."
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Kate was so not happy. "Why are you here, Castle? I told you to go home and stay off this case."
"I thought I could help," Rick insisted. "And I'm not too close." Rick watched her pick up her phone and call someone.
"Tori, I need Castle's monitor device again, please. ...Thank you." Kate hung up.
"WHAT!? Come on, Kate." Rick pleaded with her with his eyes. "Fine! I'm going, but you're wrong." Rick glared at her as he left the Precinct. Except he didn't go home.
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"Thank you," Rick told Kate. He took the recording, went into the room to talk to Kyra, and played her that tape. "Teddy's plan would have worked too, save for one tiny platinum tie clasp. Stealing Greg's money so he could sustain his lavish lifestyle... Greg is a good man, Kyra. He's an honorable man, and he clearly loves you."
"I know, I love him too," Kyra said. "But that doesn't mean I won't wonder what could have been if I hadn't backed out thanks to my mother."
"Your mother is a real piece of…art, and we don't get along." Rick tried to help her. "Don't let her control you, Kyra. Her money isn't going to buy you happiness."
"I know that too." Kyra stood and gathered up her coat. "Thank you, Rick." She kissed his cheek and walked out, straight over to Kate, who was trying so hard to look like she didn't care or wasn't jealous of her.
"He's all yours. Take good care of him. He really is a good man if you can make it past the exterior armor he wears to protect himself from yet another mistake," Kyra told Kate and walked away. This time, for always.
That left Kate looking at Castle. All hers, huh? The sparkle of her ring caught her eye. Then she heard Lilly bark and watched Kyra give her a quick pet and a kiss to her head. She straightened up and Kate saw her enter the elevator.
"Lilly!" Kate could see her come running. "Do we want Castle?" Kate asked her puppy. Hearing his name, Lilly barked and barked.