Last Train

It had been another hard case, another long string of late nights.

Beckett paced the empty train platform waiting for the last train of the night. Castle had offered her a ride home, but she'd refused. After a case like this, she was always wired. It didn't help either that ever since the kiss, Castle hadn't stopped staring at her. Even when his eyes weren't on her, she could tell he was still thinking about her. She simultaneously hated it and relished it.

She hoped that waiting for the train would give her time to burn off a little steam before heading home to bed. To her city girl heart, trains had always made her feel small and peaceful.

Beckett was pulled from her thoughts by the clatter of feet down the concrete steps to the platform. She looked up to see Castle rounding the corner of the stairwell.

"Castle?"

"Beckett?" Castle assumed the position of feigned surprise at her presence.

"What are you doing here Castle? " Mild annoyance.

"Flat tire on the taxi."

"And you couldn't catch another one?"

"At this time of night? No." Beckett's eyes narrowed into her Castle-tell-me-the-truth-and-stop-jerking-my-chain look. Castle smiled slightly and looked her straight in the eyes. It was a little unnerving. "I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"I'm fine Castle. Go home."

Like usual, Castle ignored her. He slowly began advancing toward her. For a moment she felt like prey. And she liked it.

"It was a rough case Beckett. You were obviously shaken up when you left tonight."

By this point he was within two feet of her. As he advanced, Beckett had walked backward until her back hit the wall. She cursed herself for getting trapped like this. What kind of cop lets herself get backed into a corner? Any of her tension that had dissipated during the time she'd spent pacing was suddenly back full force. Curiously, it was no longer hovering in her shoulders, but seemed to have taken up residence around somewhere in her lower abdomen. Now it no longer resembled stress, but a rather hyperactive fleet of butterflies. Curious indeed.

"Castle, I mean it. Go catch a cab. The train doesn't even go near your neighborhood. I'm going to go home, take a bath with a good book, and catch some sleep. I'm fine."

During her little monologue, Castle had advanced another foot. He was now close enough to see the way her breath hitched a little when he rested one hand on the wall next to her shoulder. He leaned in a little, and was pleased to see her eyes flicker to his lips.

There was water dripping from a pipe somewhere on the other side of the tracks. Or maybe it was Beckett's brain slowly leaking out of her ears. She was ashamed of the way her breathing had gone a little shallow.

"This book you'll be reading in the bath… Might it be one of mine?" The words came out light and teasing, and his smile agreed, but his eyes were telling a whole different story.

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words got stuck somewhere between his other hand coming to rest on her hip, and his lips brushing across hers.

She'd like to say she pushed him away. She'd like to say she yelled at him for kissing her in public…again. She'd like to say she threatened him with the gun on her hip. But she'd be lying.

The last train sped into the station two minutes later. Neither noticed.