Chapter 3

"Okay, so what's our play here."

Kate glanced beside her and practically did a double-take when she saw Castle unfolding his bullet proof vest with the label "WRITER" where the word "POLICE" would normally have been printed. She hadn't even seen him bring it with him to the car! Now it was clear his intent was to put it on and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. What had she gotten herself into?

Nearly six weeks had passed since her mother had more or less called her out on her attitude and treatment of the writer. After taking two days to think it over, Kate decided that she not only needed a change of attitude, but she owed Castle an apology as well. He seemed genuinely surprised when she told him she was sorry for her harsh treatment, though not because he thought her incapable of surprising him, but because he didn't think her behavior had been that unkind. She requested that they have a fresh start to their relationship and he easily agreed.

Since that time, things had been going well between them. While he still drove her absolutely crazy sometimes, she had learned to appreciate some parts of his humor, particularly since she was not used to laughing a lot during her day. Also, once she stopped trying to find absurdities in everything he said, she discovered he actually could be quite insightful. He was quite intelligent and well-read on a number of subjects, so he could often contribute out of the box suggestions or solutions to issues that came up. Of course, his batting average wasn't that high, but sometimes just the suggestion was enough to take their case in a different, more successful direction.

Now that they were nearing the end of the pre-arranged shadow time, Kate was bordering on disappointed that the prior six weeks had passed so quickly. She wasn't quite ready to admit that she would miss Castle when he left, but her days would certainly pass more slowly. Then again, considering a few comments he'd made and the recent purchase of the bullet proof vest, something told her he would be trying to swindle his way into extending their arrangement very soon.

"Our play? Our play is nothing. I am going to go into that warehouse and see if this is really the Encino family's secret drug stash and you are going to wait in the car."

He clicked his tongue with annoyance. "C'mon Beckett—that's why I got the vest; so I didn't have to wait in the car anymore."

Perturbed, she rotated in her seat to face him better. "You do realize that your lack of bullet proof vest is not the only reason I made you wait in the car. You don't have training, you don't have a weapon and there could definitely be a dangerous situation in there."

"All the more reason that you need backup," he said pointedly. Then, without waiting for her to reply, he tugged the vest down over his head and began fastening the Velcro at the sides.

Not having the energy to argue, Kate threw her hands up and said, "Fine. But you'd better stay behind me at all times."

Castle grinned. "Absolutely!"

Several minutes later the duo walked down the sidewalk towards the warehouse a block away. Kate maintained high alert, watching the entrance for anyone coming or going, but she didn't see anyone so she proceeded with caution.

The NYPD had been watching the Encino family for months, certain they were the ones importing most of the "party drugs" into the city but hadn't had enough evidence to move on them. Then, a few weeks prior, a bad batch of the drugs killed one girl and sent six other teens to the hospitals where they were in critical condition for days. Only then did the DA agree that they could ramp up their searches, but the leads had been disappointing at best. Finally, Kate discovered the warehouse owned by a friend of the family, but the connection was weak at best, which meant she and her shadow needed to do some further digging.

"Remember," Kate said, hesitating just before they reached the entrance to the warehouse's property, "stay behind me." Castle gave her a thumbs up and she nodded before proceeding to the driveway.

As they walked, Kate tried to search every window and door for a possible threat but saw nothing. Just as she was about to conclude that the warehouse must be empty, the first gunshot rang out. She immediately pulled her gun from its holster and began searching for cover. Fortunately, there was a dumpster several feet away. She rushed towards it and had just about made it when another shot rang out. Suddenly, she found herself on the ground.

For a brief, horrifying moment she thought she'd been struck by a bullet, but a metal slug was not the reason she'd fallen over. Instead, it was a six-foot-one brown-haired man. Judging by the fact that she was laying on her side and he was half on top of her, Kate could only assume that he had tackled her and that was how they ended in that position.

"What are you doing? Get off!"

"They're shooting at us!"

"I know that!" she shouted back while trying to wriggle out from under him. Feeling like an eel she writhed her way forward until she felt she had a clean shot at the building while still being mostly protected by the dumpster. Again, she searched the windows for a gunman, but saw nothing. Cursing under her breath. She groped for the cell phone in her vest pocket, pulled it out, and shoved it in the direction of the writer. "Call for backup," she instructed, figuring as long as he was there, he could make himself useful.

Kate distantly heard Castle speaking to the central dispatch team while she continued her search for the source of the gunfire. Finally, she spotted movement in a second-floor window and fired two quick shots in that exact direction. Return fire was almost immediate. That time, it wasn't just a single shot, but an array of them.

"Shit!" She cursed as she ducked back behind the safety of the dumpster. A second later, she felt Castle's body covering hers again. That time, from the feel of it, he had both hands atop her head. She poked at his arms, trying to get him to release, but there was no point in calling out; he would never have heard her over the obnoxious sound of the bullets ricocheting off the metal dumpster. When the barrage stopped, Kate once again shoved herself away from Castle so she could return fire. That time, she emptied her clip in the building and shrank back behind the dumpster to reload.

For the next several minutes, their back-and-forth battle continued until Kate heard sirens indicating their backup had arrived. It wasn't until the two squad cars pulled into the warehouse's driveway that she actually let out a sigh of relief—particularly since she was down to two bullets. She shrank back behind the dumpster once more, shut her eyes, and took in a deep breath, knowing she needed to have her full wits about her before she joined her sisters in blue to bring down whatever members of the Encino family that had started this war. Before she could, however, she felt a hand pressing against each of her cheeks.

"Wha—Castle." She groaned when she opened her eyes to see him hovering above her.

"Are you okay? Did you get hit?"

"I'm fine I-"

"You look pale—are you sure you're not hit and you don't-"

"Castle!" she scolded immediately when she felt one of his hands skim across her thigh. She rolled onto her back so that she could gaze—and yell at—him more directly, only when their positions shifted, Castle's body somehow landed directly atop hers. She shifted her legs, trying to move away from him, but inadvertently caused him to nestle even further between them—to nestle so that it was almost as if he—

"Oh!" Kate let out an audible gasp at the very unfamiliar position, but then immediately felt her cheeks flooding with heat as the thought foremost in her mind was entirely inappropriate for any situation let alone one as serious as they one they found themselves in.

Thankfully, Castle picked up on nothing inappropriate, for his face only registered concern. "You are hurt! What-"

"I'm not hurt—you're crushing me!" she snapped.

"Oh. Sorry." He apologized as he rolled to the side and clambered up in to a crouch, so she could do the same.

Looking at him directly she said, "Stay here and don't move until I come and get you." Then, with that, she picked up her weapon and reentered the fray.

Standing in the breakroom at the Twelfth waiting for a new pot of coffee to brew, Kate chewed on her bottom lip as she reviewed the prior few hours in her mind. Thankfully, with regards to her case, everything turned out well. One of the hostiles had been killed, another wounded, and two more arrested for their numerous crimes. The NYPD had come away with no injuries and several cases full of drugs that would no longer be on the street harming anyone. Considering it was a near runaway success, Kate should have been pleased. Instead, she felt unsettled, but she had to admit her feelings had absolutely nothing to do with the case.

No matter how much she tried, Kate could not stop thinking about Castle's close proximity to her during the ordeal. Before the moment he'd tackled her—something he'd later described as "pure instinct"—they'd barely shared more than a handshake, but behind the dumpster he'd been so…close. More than close considering he ended up fully laying on top of her, his torso covering hers, and his leg—

No. No she couldn't think of that. Not then. She needed to keep her head clear so that she could finish up her reports. She needed to get some distance so she could think about her feelings rationally and not react emotionally. She needed—

"Here!"

"Ah! God! Castle!" Kate yelped and then groaned when she became startled by Castle's voice. She had no idea how she had failed to hear him enter the room—she had been too consumed by her thoughts, obviously—but not only had he snuck up on her, but he'd ended up right beside her holding out a take-away coffee cup in his hand.

When she met his eye, he quirked his lips in a half smile and said, "Didn't mean to startle you. Just thought you might want some of the good stuff after the morning we had."

"I, ah…thank you," she said before accepting the cup and giving him a nod of appreciation. She took a sip, but finding it still a little too warm, she placed the cup down on the counter and rested her hand beside it while she waited for the coffee pot to finish brewing. Even though she wouldn't be drinking it, she was sure someone would. Besides, she needed to wait so she could empty the filter and throw away the grounds, per the office protocol.

"Can I ask you something I didn't really want to ask before?"

"What's that?"

"Does that happen a lot? A shootout like that, I mean."

Kate glanced over her shoulder and gave him a small shake of her head. "No. Thankfully."

He hummed. "I figured with all the NYPD's gun buy-back initiatives and all."

"Plus women were already less likely to own firearms and with the dramatic drop in crime rates, they didn't feel the need to own them—at least, not after the initial wave fifteen years ago," she said, referencing the point in time right after the terrorist attacks when many, especially those with children, felt the need to arm themselves for fear of someone worse happening in the near future.

"Well, that's definitely good to know. I don't really want to experience that again if I don't have to."

"No. It's definitely…upsetting." She sighed as she pulled the filter out of the coffee maker and carried it over to the trash. When she turned back around, she found the writer standing a little bit too close to her as though he was about to pull out a magnifying glass and examine the pours on her face. "What are you-"

"Are you sure you're okay, Kate? We can talk about it if you want."

"Wha—no. I'm fine," she replied, twisting her body so that she could step around him and return to the coffee waiting for her on the counter.

"Really? You look a little flushed."

"Well, you just startled me and you're…you're crowding me."

Castle looked down at the floor, almost as though he was measuring their distance, and then back up to her, his brow slightly wrinkled. "Not really. I'm not standing that close—especially not compared to earlier when—oh! Oh I see!" He smiled and chuckled to himself, almost as though he'd just heard the punchline of a very good joke.

Her tone slightly annoyed, Kate planted a hand at her hip and asked, "What do you see, Castle?"

He took a step close to her. "You're not rattled because of the gunfire, but flustered because of…well, me."

"What does that even mean?"

Again, he took a step. "How long has it been since a man has been on top of you, Beckett?"

If Kate's jaw had been able to fall any further, it may have hit the countertop. As it was, her mouth hung agape; she could hardly believe the question that had come out of his mouth and its bold insinuation. "Excuse me?!"

He grazed his eyes up and down her body and continued with, "Has that ever happened?"

Knowing her cheeks were beginning to feel a flame, she straightened her spine and began, "I have no idea what you think-" but he interrupted her.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You were, what? In your mid-teens when it all went down? Then, in New York with the male population being reduced so dramatically, there are plenty of women who never-"

"Stop." She commanded. "This discussion is entirely inappropriate."

He shrugged, seeming more amused than anything else. "It was just a question, Beckett."

"No, it was an inappropriate question especially—especially since this is my place of work!"

"Technically," he began, leaning just a little bit closer to her, "this is the break room."

A growl escaped Kate's lips. The nerve of him to ask such a thing! He was riling her up on purpose now that he'd found a button he could push that she didn't like him pushing. Worse, she was letting him. "Listen, Castle, this…this…whatever we have here-"

"Partnership," he jumped in.

"Wha—no. No. Not a partnership. A working relationship emphasis on the working. This is a professional environment and we need to be professional."

"I see. So," he paused to rest his hand against the counter just a few inches from hers. He arched his body forward and dipped his chin so that his lips were just inches from hers. Kate swallowed involuntarily. "What if we weren't in a professional environment? What if we were, I don't know, say…huddling behind a dumpster."

"With bullets flying at us?" she snipped in an attempt to deflect him so that she could have a moment—one single moment!—to attempt to calm her hammering heart.

He tiled his head. "Without the bullets. Let's just say it was just you and I and maybe," he reached out his hand to stroke his fingertips down the outside edge of her arm, and every muscle in Kate's body seized up. She had no idea what he was playing at, but she knew she had to cut him off before anything further happened.

"Stop," she said, taking a purposeful step back. "Please."

To her slight surprise, Castle backed off immediately. He took two steps away and raised his hands defensively at his sides.

"I'm sorry if…if I made you feel uncomfortable."

She nodded and then picked up the take-away coffee cup and saluted him with it. "Thanks for the drink; I appreciate it."

He folded his hands in front of him, blinked slowly, and said, "Always."