Kate could tell him to go home until she was blue in the face. He wasn't going anywhere. Not when there was obviously a reason for her to be here, undercover. That only meant one thing. That there was a reason for him to be here too. His eyes shone as he realised what this meant. Research. Honest to goodness drug dealer research with the opportunity to observe his muse in the starring role.


An hour later, Castle's still fascinated by watching Beckett from across the room. He hasn't made another move toward her- he's keen to keep his ear attached to his head. Nothing has really been happening though, that he can tell. He's fascinated by her role. On one hand, she looks every bit the part, dress askew and make up overdone. He noted the bruise on her neck too, and remembers being the one to put it there, because, God, it had been a good night. On the other hand, there's a classiness to Kate which shines through. He wonders what she had planned to do with her life. Not cop, obviously. It's pretty apparent that her chosen career path is a reaction to her mother's death. Her class, her accent- he's willing to bet money that Kate Beckett grew up well off, never wanted for anything in her earlier life. Beckett's cosied in a booth with two guys- oh, and the jealousy is an odd and unwelcome visitor. This is not something he's comfortable with, hadn't foreseen that stab across his belly when he'd signed up to watch her in action- but she's just talking to them, he knows that. He assures himself he'd be more jealous if he wasn't so aware it was a ruse.

The other cop- Beckett introduced her as Amanda, although he's sure Amanda is as much a made up name as Anna- is at the bar, chatting up a bored barman. How the other patrons in the bar can't tell these two women don't belong is beyond him.

But then the door swings open loudly and Beckett and the other cop whirl around to get a handle on it, and Castle can only see one thing. A gun. The black haired guy in the doorway has a gun. It's pointed roughly in Kate's direction, but the guy isn't looking at her, so he can't tell if it's really aimed at her or not. He sees Beckett pulling a small weapon from- well, he doesn't even know where she had that concealed. Beckett's colleague is doing the same.

It's almost over before he knows it- shots are fired, and Beckett and Amanda are announcing themselves as NYPD, and back up is there before he can blink. The moment, though, where the guy meets Beckett's eyes and she commands him to drop his weapon, and the guy hesitates before doing so- that moment is the longest in his life. Because, so help him God, if Kate is shot in front of him… He wants to think he'd leap up, push her out of the way. And maybe he would have, if they'd been closer, but she's more than halfway across the room.

As Beckett cuffs the guy, he closes his eyes, willing himself to not pass out.


Only after the perp is cuffed does Beckett approach Castle. Hunter had given her a nod, a tilt of the head, and she remembered, let herself breathe. Shit. Castle's here, and she has to deal with this. Telling him her work stories from the safety of his living room or over lunch is one thing, but letting him be involved in a shoot out? Not good. Not good at all.

She has to admit to herself, she's a little surprised by his reaction. She wondered if he might be a little excited- he was so into her being a cop- but he's the colour of snow, and looks like he's about to throw up.

"Hey, Castle," she starts gently. "Castle, you okay there?"

His eyes widen. "Me?" He's incredulous. "That guy had a gun pointed at you- I thought- I saw-" He's gripping her wrist, and she's struck by the amusement that this is the exact same position from which he had rescued Hunter an hour ago.

"Hey… hey now. Castle." She frowns at him. "Castle, it's okay. It's my job, and we're all okay."

He shakes his head, but before he can say anything else, Hunter is beside her. "Montgomery wants us back, Beckett. The other uniforms will get some statements around here." Her eyes fall on Castle, and his grip on Kate's wrist. She glances up at Kate, shaking her head in mockery. "What is this, Beckett? Bring a boyfriend to work day? Because if I'd known…" She takes a last knowing look at Kate's neck, and heads towards the door smiling

"Look, Rick, I have to go-"

"Can I come with you?" Rick's looking better, and sounding delighted. "I'll give my statement down at the precinct."

"No!"


She's rolling her eyes for the billionth time by the time they make it into the precinct. Rick is fascinated by everything. Like a nine year, she would have thought, until she actually met a nine year old- his daughter- and realised just how sensible nine years old could be. Unlike Richard Castle. He wants to talk on the police radio, and he wants to ride with the gumball flashing. He has endless procedural questions, and he wants to know the male to female ratio in the NYPD. He asks Hunter what kind of gun she prefers and asks Kate where she was concealing her weapon. He's delighted by their fake hooker names and he wants to offer a few suggestions, assuring them he's good at thinking of names for characters. Hunter answers most of the questions while Kate pretends that driving takes a lot more concentration than it does, snapping out an occasional negative to Rick's requests. Meanwhile, there's a thumping in her chest, and she silently wishes to fuck that Hunter wasn't there and that Castle was in the front seat next to her. She needs to touch him.

When she and Hunter make it into the restrooms to change back into their uniforms, Hunter can't conceal her laughter anymore. "God, Beckett. You're the most private person in this precinct- possibly on the force in this whole city- and that's your boyfriend? He doesn't stop talking!"

Kate grimaces. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Really?" Hunter exits the bathroom, leaving Kate alone to remove her make up.

Kate watches Hunter go and looks back at herself in the mirror. "I don't know," she sighs at her reflection.


When Beckett comes back out the restrooms, she's back in her uniform. He is strangely relieved to see she's taken most of her make up off too. She looks softer, more like her. More like the woman he had in his bed last night, less like the edgy cop he'd seen today. Not that he doesn't like what he saw today- she's strong, commanding, sexy. He's beginning to realise the side he glimpsed last night really doesn't get seen by many people. She's told him as much, when she told him only two people at the precinct know about her mother. He wonders who got that close to her at work, and how, and again, the unfamiliar sting of jealousy stabs at him.

"What, Castle?" she teases as she catches him staring? "Prefer the other look?" The look on her face tells him he'd better not, but he can't resist teasing her back, just a little.

"Both looks, Beckett, I prefer both. This one on you, the other on Nikki- she's kinda slutty, you know."

She shakes her head, but he thinks he sees a twinkle of humour in her eyes, before they flick back to concern. "Are you really okay." He wonders (prays) she'll come home with him tonight because he needs to hold her. It's all he can do to stop himself reaching out for her again, but he keeps his hands in check. Messing with her is one thing, but actually making a scene at her workplace. He hopes she knows he wouldn't do that.

"I am," he assures her. "What happened there, Beckett?"

She shakes her head. "Still trying to work that out. We don't know if the shooter was related to our sting or not, but the odds of it being unrelated seem like a long shot. Then again, he seemed kind of surprised that NYPD was in the bar, so your guess is as good as mine."

"And your sting was? Drugs?"

She shakes her head. "Honestly, Rick? Do you really want to know?" At his uncertain look she continues. "We're investigating a prostitution ring. It's… unpleasant." Before she can go into any more detail, she turns her head, seeing Roy come out of his office.

"Do not let him know we're together!"

"I-" He can't resist. "We're together? The other day you weren't so sure about dating."

"Not now, Castle. Not a word," she hisses, silencing as Roy approaches.

"Beckett," her boss cautions, noticing only that his officer is shooting daggers at Castle. "Officer, do you know who this man is?" He subdues a chuckle at the thought of Roy chastising his officer for being short with a witness.

Before she can defend herself, Rick interjects, reaching out to shake the captain's hand. "Roy."

"Rick." Montgomery claps Rick on the back.

"You two know each other?" Beckett looks like she can't believe it, and he realises this is probably pretty weird for her.

Roy nods. "Officer Beckett, this is Richard Castle." He pauses, then adds, "the author."

Kate lifts her eyes heavenward, but Castle is still smiling. "We know each other," he assures Montgomery. Officer Beckett-" he waggles his eyebrows, and Kate blushes scarlet- "and I had the opportunity to meet several weeks ago." He turns back to Kate. "Your Captain and I have played poker a few times."


A/N: Another short and sweet one; I can't promise every update will come out this quickly! Thanks, as always for the amazing reviews, follows and favourites. They blow my mind and even if I don't always reply, I assure you, they make me very happy and eager to update.