Prompt sent to my from Alyssa, Thank you! I set this pre-Caskett. Enjoy!
36. "I wish I could hate you."
38. "You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."
Undercover missions were his favorite. Especially when they involved secret poker games and Beckett speaking in an unrecognizable tongue.
He was supposed to play the clueless high-roller, Beckett's sugar daddy of sorts. The first part of that was easy. The unfamiliar language rolled easily off her tongue, and despite his trying to read body language, or pick out phrases, he truly was clueless about what was being said. The second part was harder. Her arms around him as she whispered Russian into his ear, parts of her pressed against him in ways he'd only imagined, well it was hard to pretend that this wasn't an everyday occurrence.
He threw more chips on the table, and asked the young girl serving them for another scotch. "And another martini for my good luck charm here!" He grinned as he pulled Beckett closer, hoping she could see the apologies in his eyes as he raked them up and down her body.
The river was being laid out as the server came back with their drinks, setting them down in front of everyone. Beckett sat on his lap, eyeing hers, her facade slipping for the smallest second as she decided whether or not it would be a good idea to drink another.
Oskar, their suspect, grunted, "vypit'," and pointed at the martini, his eyes studying her for longer than what was appropriate. She took another moment to look him in the eye as she threw back her drink, the internal struggle seemingly forgotten as the gin travelled down her throat.
She leaned into Castle again, speaking in accented English this time, her eyebrows raised as she glanced at his cards. "Raise. I need new shoes." She took a few red chips from his pile and threw them in the pot, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest as she dared the other men to continue.
Alexander, the potential accomplice, raised his eyebrows at Castle, his jaw steering in a disapproving way. "Who is playing, you or her? I deal her in, yes?"
Castle shrugged, his arm wrapped around Kate's waist. "I just do what the lady tells me, you know? Gotta keep her happy." But as he chuckled, the men they were watching looked on, faces unchanging, as Castle felt Beckett start to go limp in his arms. Without his arms around her, she would have fallen to the floor, but instead she fell forward, scattering the chips on the table as she landed, her hair obscuring her face.
Now Oskar and Alexander laughed, muttering to each other in the unfamiliar language, their tone sinister, sending chills down Castle's spine. He abandoned his cards to brush her hair out of her face, checking her breathing as he went, trying to relax as he spoke, not willing to get himself in more trouble yet. "Katja? Katja, what happened?" He met Oskar's eyes across the table, the man's face still not revealing anything, and Castle had to try not to speak louder over his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He attempted a chuckle, and he wondered if it sounded nearly as nervous to them as it did to them. "She usually hold her liquor better than this. Just a quick question. Did you guys add any apples to her martini? She's really allergic to apples, and I might need to get her epi pen." His hands made their way to her neck, feeling for a pulse.
"That won't help nice lady cop now." Castle froze as Oskar spoke, his heart pounding even faster, which he didn't think was even possible, and his hands came up to his head when he found himself looking down the barrel of a gun. He could no longer hear Oskar's threats over his own thoughts, all the fears, regrets, and things he still wanted to accomplish.
His eyes closed as he prepared for the shot, but the bang he heard came from the door next to him, his ears registering the parade of feet before his eyes opened. "NYPD, drop the weapon, we've got you surrounded!" The sound of Esposito's voice had never been more welcome.
"Guys, I don't know what happened, she just fell over,"
"Don't worry, Castle, a bus is coming." The younger detective made his way to the table, and he dropped one hand from his gun to run two fingers over her neck, checking her pulse. Ryan turned his head as Espo and SWAT restrained the suspects, his blue eyes meeting Castle's. "You said "apples" twice, we figured it had to be bad."
"It was. Is. How long until that bus gets here?"
Ryan shrugged. "Another few minutes." At the younger detective's words, Castle stood, gathering his partner in his arms, her head resting heavily on his shoulder. "Castle, where are you going?"
"I'm taking her to the hospital myself."
He tried to get through the door, but Ryan had blocked his path, his hands resting on Castle's shoulders. "Listen, I know you're worried. I'm worried too. But we don't know what caused this, and we need you to get checked out too. The last thing we need is you passing out at the wheel on the way to the hospital." It had to be something she ingested. Did his clueless act fool anyone, or did he ingest the same poisons that she did? And as much as he wanted to get her seen now, the idea of passing out at the wheel and crashing only made him more nervous.
The new sirens outside cleared his thoughts, and he found himself pushing through the door again. "Fine, the bus is here anyway."
"Castle, you need to get checked out too."
"I'm fine! Just let me go!"
The calming hand on his back stopped his fighting, the older detective bolstering his weapon before facing him. "Castle, I can handle Beckett. Just get yourself checked out."
At Esposito's words, Castle paused. Of course they could take care of her. They'd had her back long before he ever did. Part of him worries that they might have been better inside, that they may have noticed something before he did. So even though he wanted to make sure she was alright, by following her to the hospital and never leaving her side, he handed her off to Esposito, watching her head loll backwards sharply, making her groan. "Beckett, we've got you, okay?" Esposito had reacted to her vocalization, shifting so that her head rested on his shoulder.
"Cas…" She struggled to form even half of his name, and her eyes wouldn't stay open, but she seemed to be coming to, and worried for his safety.
He ran his fingers through her hair, watching the worried wrinkles in her forehead disappear at the contact. "I'm here, Beckett. Just get yourself checked out, okay?" With that, Espo took off, climbing up the stairs two at a time to get to the paramedics.
Ryan barked orders at CSU, telling them to bag anything that had been consumed, and asking them to analyze the air for inhalants before escorting Castle upstairs and outside. They watched as one ambulance took off, Esposito watching it with arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. Castle climbed into the back of the other one, told them what had happened to his partner, and let them cart him away for additional testing.
If he'd downed his drink like she had, they might have died. He wouldn't have been able to say anything to get them out. At least, that's what the doctor told him. Which seemed to be the plan. Incapacitate the two cops, then slit their throats quietly, and escape. His doctor had gone on about dosages and body weights, explaining why Beckett was so much worse off than him, before releasing him with instructions to follow up with his primary care physician.
None of that mattered to him. Once he had the all clear, he made his way to the nurses' station, begging to know which room he could find his partner in. When he found the room, he felt himself let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Pale, but radiant as ever, Kate sat up in the hospital bed, a cup of water in her hand, her mouth stretching into a small smile as he approached. "You're okay." And in that moment, it didn't matter that she might be hurt, or that the table was in the way, or even that he might squish her, he just needed to feel her alive in his arms again. As his arms wrapped around her shoulders, he felt her burrow her head into the crook of his neck, her arms coming up to wrap around his midsection. And yes, her grip was still somewhat weak, her arms unable to squeeze him with the same ferocity, but her fingers wrapped in his shirt told him that she didn't want him going anywhere anytime soon. "You scared the shit out of me."
He heard her chuckle as she released his shirt, and he fell into the chair that sat on the side of her bed. "I'm fine, quit being so dramatic."
"Kate. You fainted." He scoffed, crossing his arms. "You know, if you wanted my attention, you didn't have to go to such extremes." He waggled his eyebrows at her, delighting as her grin grew, her eyes rolling back into her head.
"I hate you." She chewed her bottom lip after forcing the words out, her hazel eyes trained on him.
"You don't."
Her eyes squinted at his defiance. "I wish I could hate you."
"I'll give you that one." At that, she chuckled, her eyes brightening as they laughed, her head leaning back to rest against the bed. Castle took a moment to grab her hand, his thumb rubbing a soothing path over her wrist. "So maybe next time we bring our own drinks."
"Yes. But do you think that next time you can dress in the skimpy outfit? Because I'm getting tired of it."
He chuckled, squeezing her hand once more before returning his own back into his lap. "I'll bring it up to Iron Gates. Maybe she'll be into it."
Her nose scrunched at that, her shoulders coming up to her ears. "Gross." But despite her obvious discomfort, she was laughing, the sound infectious, making him follow along.
His phone rang, cutting through the racket they made, the picture on the ID reminding him that he had other obligations. But Kate's eyes were kind and understanding when met with his look of uncertainty. "I'll be fine. Talk to your daughter. Tell her we're okay."
"Right. We're okay." Because they were. She was conscious and breathing, he'd never passed out, and it wasn't the worst thing they'd been through. He got up, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead before making his way toward the door. "Until tomorrow, Detective."
"Goodnight, Castle."