CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Back To Work

"Tell me you finally made your move." Esposito leaned in, whispering to Castle.

"Yeah, c'mon Castle. Tell me you didn't spend a week in L.A. with Beckett without trying something." Ryan chimed in. Looking carefully over his shoulder, he sees that Beckett is still closed in Montgomery's office.

"Just how freaky did you two get?" Esposito asks, eyebrows raised.

"You can tell us, we won't say anything." Kevin, a sincere expression on his face, wheedles for details.

Voice squeaking with discomfort, Castle is trapped. "Guys. C'mon! Really. Think about it. How tacky would it be for me to put the moves on Beckett while she's grieving for Royce? We were there for work!"

"Work. Right. So what about the other four days? The case was closed."

"Yeah. Castle. And you took an extra four days. All that sun and sand, and skimpy clothing. You expect us to believe that you and Beckett extended the trip through the end of the week and nothing happened?"

"Does she wear a bikini or a tank suit?"

"Give us something Castle."

"There's nothing to give!" he squeaks out, a bead of sweat trickles down his spine. These two are relentless and have cornered him twice already this morning. Each time, he gets a brief reprieve when Beckett is near. But the minute she's gone, they start in again.

"You're going to lose your man card Castle if you don't do something soon, man. I can give you some pointers if you need help." Esposito says, looking smug.

"Hey! That's not fair! Just because I'm a gentlemen doesn't mean I'm not a man! I can get plenty of girls if I want to."

"Sure. Right. Anytime. So you say…." Ryan latches on. It's so fun to bust Castle.

"So, if not Beckett….who did you spend your time with in L.A.?" Once again, Esposito ups the ante.

"It wasn't like that! C'mon guys. Beckett needed a friend. That's all. I was there as her friend."

"Ryan! Esposito! Break room. Now!" The sharp bark of Beckett's voice cut through everything. Cringing, they look at each other, a look of dread shared between them.

With a smug look on his face, Rick can't help but rub it in. "Somebody's in trouble!" he sings out softly. "You should have quit while you were ahead."

Guiltily, they slink off to the break room. "I'll be right there" she throws out, before crossing over to Castle and grabbing him by the ear.

"Right, boss. See ya Castle!" Esposito smirks gleefully, thinking Castle has done something to piss her off.

"Ow! Beckett! Stop!" he whines. She releases his ear, which he immediately starts rubbing. "What was that for?"

"Sorry, Rick. I just needed to get them off your back. I could see they were putting you through it. I know they've been on you all morning. Did you tell them anything?"

"What? No! We agreed not to say anything. Not that I wouldn't mind telling them, but I can hold my own."

"Look, Rick. I know we said we wouldn't say anything, but Montgomery took one look at me and knew. He congratulated me and said it was about time. I couldn't lie to him. So I asked him what it meant for work and he said that it didn't need to interfere with work as long as we keep it professional. So I told him that we were engaged and have been together for a few months. He couldn't believe it. I've never surprised him like that. He was happy for us."

Looking at him carefully, she sees that special light come into his eyes that he gets when he looks at her. "So what about the boys? What do you want to tell them?"

"If you don't mind, I think we should tell them. But I want to mess with them first. You in?"

Nodding eagerly, he says, "Yeah. Sure. What did you have in mind?"

X X X

Striding into the break room, Kate closes the door behind her. Ryan and Esposito spring apart guiltily. They'd been whispering furiously when she arrived. They'd agreed to try to deflect from whatever had her worked up.

"So, Beckett. What'd he do this time?" Esposito asks, full of bravado.

Ryan wisely stays silent, waiting to see how she reacts. He's always been the more careful of the two.

"Castle? You think this is about Castle? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"What do you mean…?" Ryan asks tentatively, sharing a look with Ryan.

"Do you think I don't know what you two were doing out there while I was in with Montgomery?" She asks sharply.

"Um…"

"If you want to know what happened in L.A., why not ask me?"

"Um. We didn't mean…."

"What, I'm just some bimbo that he can jump just because we spend a few days in L.A. working a case? What do you take me for? When have you known me to hop in and out of someone's bed? And when have I ever brought my personal relationships into work? That would be you two!"

"That's not what we… C'mon Beckett. We were just messing with him. You know he has a thing for you. We didn't mean anything by it. We know you'd never…"

"Shut up." She cuts him off. "I can't believe you two. I thought you respected me. I thought you two knuckleheads understood that I'm not just some bimbo! Why would you encourage Castle to think of me as some conquest? Do you know what this does to my credibility? I expect this from the press. But not from you two!"

Chastised, they share a look. They'd let the joke go too far. It never occurred to them she'd feel objectified.

"Beckett. We didn't mean to make you feel that way. We know you're not like that." Ryan offers, apologetically.

Crossing to the door, she opens it. "Castle! Break room. Now!"

The boys exchange a look. God, they've stepped in it now.

"Um. Beckett?" He asks, tentatively. Looking at the boys, he raises his eyebrows.

Shrugging, Ryan looks away. Esposito mouths "sorry" to him, while also trying to make himself as small as possible.

"So I understand the three of you have been having a little fun at my expense. That these two jokers think that you and I have been doing the mattress mambo while in LA?" gesturing angrily at them.

"Beckett. No. I'm sorry. We didn't…it didn't mean anything…" Ryan feels so small.

Irritated, a scowl on her face, she starts pushing Rick backwards until his back hits the wall. "Look. Let's just get this over with so they can get back to work and stop obsessing over it."

Leaning in, a spark of mischief in her eye, she runs her hands up his chest and locks them behind his neck.

"Beckett. What are you?" Castle plays his part, acting reluctant.

"Just shut up and kiss me." Pulling his head down towards her, she seals her mouth to his. Starting slowly, she rubs her lips gently over his, her tongue peeking out, seeking entry. Granting her entrance, he lets her pull him under and escalate the kiss before he grabs her hips and dives in. Without a thought, he reverses their position, pushing into her against the wall, giving her a long, wet, salacious kiss as he presses his body into hers. A small whimper escapes from her as she pulls him against her, enjoying every moment of the kiss. Oh…the way this man makes her feel!

The sound of a throat clearing in the background signals its time to end the kiss. Pulling back from their kiss, Castle takes a small step back, giving her a little room. Face flushed, chest heaving, he got a little more into it than he intended. Looking down, he sees she's similarly affected. The look on Kate's face makes it difficult for him to step back. But he does, even as he keeps his hands firmly on her hips.

Clearing her throat, she rasps out in a deeply husky voice, eyes looking past Rick to the stunned faces of Ryan and Esposito. "Satisfied? Is that what you guys wanted him to do? To take charge and make a move on me?" The twin looks of surprise on their faces are worth it. Thinking she could knock them down with a simple push of her finger, she enjoys the moment, knowing she's finally shut them up. After years of innuendo, questions and suggestions, she feels good knowing she managed to truly surprise them.

"That was so hot…" Esposito whispers, unconsciously, seared by the heat between them.

"Dude!" Ryan whispers furiously. "Cut it out!"

At the stunned look on his partner's face, he understands that it wasn't intentional. He has to admit, the chemistry between the two of them is tangible. "Um. Ok. Point made. It's none of our business." Ryan says quietly. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean anything by it."

"Yeah. Sorry." Esposito echoes, wanting desperately to get out of the room and tell Lanie what just happened. She'd flip if she knew they'd kissed. He knew Castle liked Beckett, but there was more than just Castle involved in that kiss. There's no way she was faking that. On one level, he was seriously grossed out – mom and dad kissing? Ew! On another level, he knows they're right for each other, so he can't help but hope this will jump start something between them. The thought of the trouble between him and Lanie pales in comparison to his need to tell her about this.

Staring them down, Kate lets them squirm for a minute before relenting. "Apology accepted. And from now on, will you two lay off?"

At the quick nods of confirmation, she relaxes, feeling like she's made her point. Unconsciously giving Rick a quick kiss, she moves away from him before sitting on the couch.

Ryan and Esposito share another, equally surprised, look. That seemed entirely too familiar from Beckett for it to be an accident.

"Um, Beckett? Is there something else going on here?" The look on Ryan's face is priceless. He looks…hopeful, as if he just figured out something wonderful, or thinks he did.

Looking over at Rick, she pats the couch next to her and holds her hand out to him. Crossing over to her, he takes her hand and sits next to her on the couch, a quick smile passing between them.

"Yeah. Actually, there is. I've been wanting to tell you guys for awhile. But I wasn't ready. The truth is, we are together. Have been for months, actually. And while in LA, we got engaged."

Ryan's face splits into a huge grin. "Oh, man. Jenny is going to flip." Rushing over, he hugs Beckett, his enthusiasm taking her by surprise before he slaps Castle on the back and shakes his hand. "Congratulations, man. I am so happy for you guys."

"Months?" Esposito asks. "Just when did you two….?"

"Really, Javi? That's what you want to know?"

"What? I mean, Congratulations! That's great! I mean. I just thought…. Months?"

"Yeah. We didn't want it to be a distraction. We still don't. We're not making this publicly known, just a few friends and family. But not the precinct as a whole. Or the media."

"Montgomery?" Ryan asks, the implications sinking in. "Can Castle still work with us?"

"He knows. He's fine with it. Nothing has to change. But we can't let it be a distraction."

"Months? I can't believe you… and we didn't know…"

"And you call yourselves Detectives." Rick tosses out, thankful for the chance to get some of his own back.

"Oh, man. Lanie is going to flip!" Ryan says.

"Yeah, she will." Esposito comments, an uncomfortable look on his face. Knowing how awkward things are between the two of them, she feels for him.

"Um. About that…"Kate begins.

"Lanie knows?" Esposito asks, an accusatory look on his face.

"Yeah, she knows. About all of it. She dropped in on me last night and saw the ring. She's known all along."

"What?!" Esposito asks, clearly upset.

"Javi. Don't. You can't blame her. She's my best friend and I swore her to secrecy. She knew about it before I did. She's been my sounding board. Don't make her feel badly for being my friend. She doesn't deserve that. You'd do the same for me if I asked you and you know it."

Nodding thoughtfully, he agrees. "All right. I won't. I just can't believe you didn't tell us. We wouldn't have said anything."

"I know. That's not why. You know me better than that. You know I'm a private person. I've never been one to bring this stuff into the workplace. And I needed to figure it out. We needed to figure it out."

"Castle. Dude. After all we've been through, you couldn't let us in on this?" Esposito asks, turning to him.

"Oh, c'mon Esposito. You never would have let me rest and you know it. There was too much at stake for me to risk ruining my chance with her."

"He's right man." Ryan chimes in.

"Yeah. Yeah." Esposito admits. "I'm happy for you guys, really. I can't believe you two never let on…"

Knowing Esposito can't let it go, she decides its time to cut this short. "All right everyone. If that's all, we should get back to work. We can go out for drinks later. But for now, we have a case to get back to."

With a final squeeze of Rick's hand, Kate stands and heads back towards her desk. The whispered threats and questions being thrown at Castle as the boys surround him make her smile. She knows those two aren't done messing with him. But at least now she feels like he can defend himself without lying to two of his closest friends.