Chapter 11: The Day After
Disclaimer: I really hope you guys aren't still thinking I own any part of Castle.
Kate Beckett was never the type of girl to be dependent on another person. Even as a child she never crawled into her parent's bed after a nightmare, never had a night-light; she was never dependent on anything. That was until Richard Castle came around. She found herself tossing and turning for most of the night despite her exhaustion. It wasn't that she couldn't sleep without him; it was that in the few nights they had spent together she had enjoyed his presence. She liked his arms wrapped around her, the light kisses he would press to her skin, and waking up to him in the morning. Their weekend together couldn't have gone better, and now as her alarm clock woke her at 5am she wished she had taken Castle up on his offer for dinner last night, as it would have been almost guaranteed that she would never had made it back to her apartment.
She managed to drag herself out of bed and was headed to the precinct by 7am. She was already ahead of schedule and glad because she had agreed to stop by the morgue and see Lanie at some point during the day. She knew Lanie wanted details about the weekend, but Kate was tight lipped. She wouldn't get a thing out of her no matter how hard she pried.
"You're in early this morning, Beckett." Esposito said as she reached her desk, and sank down into her chair, rubbing her face hoping that she could wake herself up somehow.
"You're point, Espo?" She asked, half joking, half annoyed due to her lack of sleep.
"Just strange. I certainly didn't expect it. That and you don't have a writer attached to your hip, also surprising." He finished, and speak of the devil Richard Castle walked through the precincts elevator doors, two cups of coffee and a bag which was sure to be a bear claw in hand.
He set the cup of coffee and the bear claw in front of Beckett, and she pounced on it, taking a long sip of the coffee in seconds, hoping that it would jump-start her brain.
"Well, good morning to you too detective." Castle said with a laugh, taking his seat next to her desk and leaning towards her. "I figured you would be in early after having the weekend off, and also figured you would need all the coffee you could get this morning."
"Thanks, Castle. But I'm fine, I could have done without the coffee this morning." She said, walking away from him, toward the break room to hide the small smile on his face. He really did know her too well.
"Just going off my own exhaustion this morning." He said, following right behind her. "It seems that these days I sleep better with one beautiful detective curled in my arms."
Kate couldn't hide the small blush that crept onto her cheeks. She smiled up at him; somehow he had managed to trap her between his body and the wall of the break room.
"I'm taking that blush as agreement on your part." He replied, placing a small kiss to her cheek and walking back to the bullpen to talk to Esposito.
She was going to have to kill him if he planned on keeping this up at the precinct. She lost all her composure around him now, couldn't keep her thoughts or actions straight. She really had to go talk to Lanie.
"I'm going to the morgue boys," She shouted toward them as she walked toward the elevator. "Be back in a bit."
"Do you not want company, Beckett?" Castle called after her. She simply smiled at him and shook her head. Castle coming along would surely only make things worse. She could keep her story straight without him there, not worrying about him spilling the beans, and she could keep some composure, which was the last thing she seemed to be able to do around him lately.
When Kate arrived at the morgue, she had prepared herself for a full-blown interrogation. Lanie had tried to pry details out of her the wedding and reception, now that the weekend was over, they were back in New York she could just imagine what kind of questions and speculation she would be facing this morning. She knew Lanie was watching her closely at the reception, and she knew her and Castle had acted more friendly than they normally were, not by much, but knowing Lanie and Esposito their already wandering thoughts paired with Kate and Rick's actions was a blueprint for disaster.
"Girl, I was wondering when you would finally show up." Lanie greeted her as she walked into the morgue. "Figure you were avoiding me. Any reason for that you want to share?"
And so it began. Kate simply laughed and shook her head.
"Nope, nothing to share, sorry Lanie. I knew you were hoping I'd come in here with all these stories to share, but I've got nothing."
"You are not getting off that easy Kate Beckett. You and Writer-Boy spent the entire weekend together, went to Ryan's wedding as each others date and shared a hotel room after the wedding, no stories is simply not an option."
Kate rolled her eyes at her best friend. She knew coming into this that she would be getting the third degree, but Lanie was really not backing down on this one.
"Really Lanie, he took me to the Hamptons for the weekend, and we went with each other because neither of us had a date and didn't want to go alone, you knew that."
"And you just so happened to share a hotel room after the wedding?" She asked, eyeing her best friend, knowing there was more to this story than Kate was telling her.
"Really Lanie, we just shared a hotel room and slept. It was nothing, he insisted."
"Sure, whatever you say girl. I'm sure he insisted the two of you spend the weekend in the Hamptons, and you nearly fall asleep on his shoulder after dancing the night away."
Kate blushed, the memories of the reception flooding back to her. They really did act differently than normal that night, and she couldn't be surprised that her friend noticed it.
"He did." Kate replied, looking down at her feet. She couldn't keep on this denying game for much longer, and was hoping at the small sign of defeat Lanie would give up and stop prying.
"Well I still believe that is the furthest thing from the truth, Katherine Beckett, but I also now you and Castle. And I know that there's something that has changed with you two. And I know that once you two figure whatever it is out you will tell me. So I will drop this, but you better be telling me the whole story sometime soon."
"Thanks, Lanie." Kate replied, giving her best friend a small smile.
"I'll also let you get back to him. The way you two were acting at the wedding I'm surprised he's not here with you."
"Did you really think I'd bring him? He's worse at keeping secrets than I am Lanie."
Lanie simply laughed at Kate's comment and the truth it held.
"But I will tell you once we get things figured out Lanie, and thanks for not prying too much."
"You two better get things figured out soon, girl. I want these stories. And I haven't seen you as happy as you were this weekend in a long time. Castle is good for you Kate. Let him be there."
"Don't worry Lanie, I'm not running from this anymore, and I promise you'll be the first to know." And with that Kate made her way out of the morgue and headed back to the precinct to see if they had managed to catch a case yet.
As the day wound to a close, Kate finished signing the last piece of paperwork on the very simple case they got that day. Routine homicide, where they had it figured out within in minutes and the perpetrator in custody in a matter of a few hours. Kate didn't mind days like these, where she managed to get a case and close it in the same day, and where she actually got to go home at a normal hour. She noticed Castle and Esposito in the break room; laughing about something as she closed the file she just finished and went to join them.
"Beckett, joining us for some fun for once?" Esposito asked her.
"Actually I just came to let you both know all the paperwork on the case is done now, so I'm calling it an early night, figured you boys would want to do the same."
"Sounds great, boss." Javier replied, "Any plans for the night?" He asked her.
"Nope, just going to go relax at home, probably read a good book, the usual." She answered and saw the look that Esposito gave Castle after her reply.
"Well, don't you two have too much fun without me. See you guys tomorrow." He said and left Castle and Beckett in the break room.
"You know Kate, if you don't have plans you are more than welcome to come and join us for dinner."
"Is that an invitation, Castle?" She asked him.
"Of course," he answered. "You are always welcome to join us for dinner. And you know I have a new bottle of wine I've been dying to try, I wouldn't mind some company for that."
"Sounds like a good night, Castle, but you better be on your best behavior." She replied.
"Always, Beckett." He smiled back at her.
"I have a hard time believing that. Especially after this weekend."
"I was a gentleman this weekend!" He replied quickly, defending himself.
"I'm just joking with you, Castle. Now come on, I'm starving and someone promised me some dinner tonight."
"After you, Kate." He replied, holding her jacket for her to slip on before grabbing his own, turning back around to find her hand outstretched to him, taking it in his own, the two of them headed toward the precinct elevator, hand in hand, for the first time, the smiles not to be missed on eithers face.
And so that is that Ladies and Gentlemen. An awful long time later, One and Only is finally complete. I know I've been horrible with updating, especially with this last chapter, but I hope you all still enjoyed it. I would love for you all to leave me some feedback on this one. Also, if you are looking to read more of my stuff, I just uploaded a small one shot earlier tonight, and am looking very forward to getting another new multi-chapter fic going after this one. So I hope you all join me for the next ride. And I cannot thank all of you that have reviewed, favourited, and put this story or myself on alert enough. You guys are the reason I love writing so much. So many thanks to you all!
