AN: Hopping around with the timeline a bit here. In this chapter, they're back to being engaged.
"What the hell is that?"
Kate stares at the green liquid Rick has plopped down on her desk in front of her, unsure if he wants her to drink it or file a lawsuit against whatever company produced it.
"It's green beer. In honor of today being St. Patrick's Day and all. You've met my family of redheads, you must be aware that I've got some Irish in me." He glances over at Ryan who is decked out in varying shades of green. "Although not as much as he has."
"I'm at work," she reminds him gently. "I can't drink alcohol while I'm on the job."
He glances down at his watch. "Fine, drink some in 15 minutes when you get off. It's been a slow day case wise. You should be able to get out of here on time for once."
"Get out of here and do what? Drink beer that looks moldy?"
He rolls his eyes at her. "It isn't moldy. But if you find it so repulsive we can go somewhere like an Irish Pub and find you something better to drink. Oh and we missed Pi day earlier this week, we should find some pie.."
Kate smirks at him. "I'm not even Irish."
Rick smiles at her. "Doesn't matter. A drinking holiday is a drinking holiday and it's also the start of the weekend. When was the last time you let Rebel Bex come out and play anyway?"
She narrows her eyes at him. "College."
"Well then, this is long overdue."
"Maybe I like keeping her hidden away. Keeps my cop reputation intact. Or something."
"Now you're just making excuses."
"Hey, if you don't want to drink that when our work day is done," Ryan starts, sidling up to her desk. "I will happily take that off of your hands."
"See? Ryan gets it," Rick says. "Tell her to come out drinking with me after work."
"Go get drunk with your fiancé," he says flatly before turning back to Rick. "There, how was that?"
"You're a lot of help," Rick grumbles.
"Why do you want to get me drunk so badly?" Kate asks, eyeing the green beer again.
"Because," he starts slowly. "We're getting married in two months and I've never even seen you drunk. The wine coolers in high school do not count."
She laughs, nearly snorting. "This is what you're concerned about? That I'll be a mean drunk or something?"
He shoots her a look. "Are you?"
She shoots him a look right back. "No."
"All right then prove it."
She smirks at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"
"Don't get into a drinking contest with her, bro," Esposito warns, joining them all around her desk. "She can take you."
"I'd like to see her try," Rick taunts.
"Oh it is so on," she says, standing up and extending her hand to shake. "Winner gets to pick the song for our first dance since we've been arguing about it for weeks now."
Rick shakes her hand. "Get used to the idea of Springsteen, honey."
He really should've listened to Esposito. This woman can hold her liquor. Getting her drunk tonight is going to take a lot more than he thought, and he's already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.
"What do you say, babe, another tequila shot? We can get you the training wheels if they're getting to be too much," Kate taunts.
She can drink straight tequila. No salt. No lime. Just downs the shot and moves on. And she's trying to kill him.
"I'm getting sadder and sadder that I missed your college years," he mumbles motioning for the bartender to bring them another round.
"You didn't miss much. Trust me. I stayed away from drinking for a while after watching what it was doing to my dad. But then some friends talked me into going out for my 21st...guess I learned how to handle it after that."
"End up with a lot of good drunk stories during those years? I mean come on, you're totally killing me here. I take back what I said about Springsteen; I fold. But you must have had a crazy night or two, right?"
Kate winces. "No."
Rick narrows his eyes at her. "I may be borderline drunk right now, but you're lying."
She downs the next shot placed in front of her, avoiding his eyes. He glances at the tequila next to him and grimaces, offering it to her instead. She takes it, shaking her head as she places the shot glass back on the bar.
"Okay, I'm done. No more tequila. I thought this was an Irish holiday anyway? Why aren't we drinking Baileys or Guinness instead?"
"You were trying to out drink me," he points out. "And you won. Okay so back to this wild night in college you seem to be avoiding."
"Maybe we should order something Irishy. Bartender!"
He puts his hand on her knee, bringing her attention back to him. "Kate."
She hesitates, starting to gnaw on her lower lip. "Don't hate me."
Okay well now that piques his interest. "Hate you? Why would I -"
"I almost got married in Vegas."
Rick blanches. Definitely not what he was expecting to come out of her mouth. At all. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Tequila," she groans. "Tequila is very bad."
"I can't tell if this comment is directed at this moment or at your previous fiancé."
She scrubs a hand over her face. "I got sick at the chapel and so it didn't happen. Thankfully. I just wonder if I'd had a few shots less of tequila, if we actually would have gone through with it."
"I'm surprised you can still drink tequila after that."
"As am I."
Rick eyes their empty shot glasses lining the bar. "If I get a few more in you, can we ditch this whole planning a wedding thing and elope?"
She groans and shoves him. "Nice try, but not gonna happen."
He chuckles to himself, watching as the bartender brings them each a glass of Guinness he completely missed her ordering.
"You're not even Irish," he points out her earlier remark, amused at her insistence to celebrate 'properly.'
"I'm also not even drunk. Intoxicated? Yes. But that drunk Rebel Bex you're aiming for isn't quite here yet."
He laughs at that watching her reach for her beer, still wondering what exactly he's setting himself up for here. They fall into a comfortable silence as she nurses her drink, listening in on the conversations around them. Half the bar patrons already seem to be drunk off their asses and it's nowhere near closing time. Rick finally reaches for his own beer to take a swig, focusing his attention back on Kate.
"Did you love him?"
He finds that he has to tell himself that it would be okay if she did. He got married and had a child in their time apart after all. But the alcohol does not help with his jealous tendencies.
"Who? Vegas guy?"
He nods.
She shakes her head. "No."
"Please tell me you at least knew the guy."
Kate laughs. "Yes, we were dating. And it was...serious. And maybe back then, on that night especially, I thought I loved him. But love is what I feel for you, and I did not feel this way about him."
His hand finds its way to her knee again, his fingers gently stroking over her patella. "I stole a police horse once. Naked."
Her eyes widen. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I haven't told you that story?" he laughs. "Well that's about all there is to it. If you ever look up my arrest record though that's what you'll find."
"I'm marrying a wild man," she shrugs. "Someone warn my dad."
Rick laughs again. "I think Jim already knows."
"He knows you stole a police horse?"
"Not what I meant," he says, narrowing his eyes at her.
She hums, downing the remnants of her beer. She drank hers a lot faster than he has. Of course she's now purposely trying to get drunk. He, on the other hand, is not. He wants to enjoy the full effects of drunk Beckett, without being clouded by his own drunkenness. After all, they have the rest of their lives to get drunk together. If they don't decide that they're getting too old for it...
"You know what, after this we should get pizza," Kate says, placing her empty glass back on the bar. "You said something about pie earlier, right? Well they call it pizza pie in some places. I think. Don't they?"
He smirks at her. There's that alcohol starting to kick in.
"Wow, you ramble when you're drunk."
"I don't even think I'm that drunk. Okay, but I think we should go to Ray's. The original one. Although no one can ever agree on which location is the original one, so whichever we see first is fine. We did eat dinner, right? ...Yeah okay we already did that."
"I don't think I've ever seen you talk this much," he starts laughing. "Or this fast."
"Yeah I've been told that happens. To me anyway. Although I'm sure it also happens to other people. It must. It would be strange if it was just me. You know if you hadn't stopped matching me shot for shot, you could also be talking this fast right now."
He shakes his head, still laughing. "That - no. I haven't been told I do that."
"You just steal things while naked apparently. Which is probably not as common as the word vomit. Or the weddings in Vegas even."
"I don't get naked and steal things every time I get drunk," Rick protests. "The two aren't mutually exclusive."
"So then which is it? Do you always try to steal things or do you always end up naked?"
"I'm not - answering that."
"Interesting," she says, nodding. "So about that pizza."
She proceeds to talk about pizza for around five minutes, somewhere in between ordering a shot with Baileys in it to 'top off the night.' And then she practically drags him out of the bar, beyond determined to find said pizza.
Definitely not a mean drunk. Just an adorable, hungry one.
He hears her start to stir next to him with an irritated groan and some mumbling that sounds like she wants him to turn down the sun. He definitely has a hangover from the tequila shots, but he assumes hers is much worse.
"How's it going?" Rick asks teasingly.
"Coffee," she says, opening one eye to look at him. "I need coffee."
He passes her the extra mug from the nightstand he brought in for her. Figured the smell of it brewing would wake her like it usually does. He'd been right.
"It's still hot," he tells her.
Kate sits up with a groan, taking it from him appreciatively and pushing her hair out of her face.
"I knew there was a good reason why I don't drink tequila anymore," she mumbles, inhaling the scent of the coffee. "Why did you think letting me get drunk was a good idea, again?"
"I'd never seen it," he shrugs with a smirk.
She squints at him, sinking back against the headboard. "Did I actually out drink you or did you just stop?"
"I conceded. The tequila was too much for me. I gave up on trying to keep up."
"Ha!" she exclaims and then immediately winces. "Maybe we should go with some Cyndi Lauper. Match our Valentine's Day dance."
"What is your sudden obsession with her?"
Kate starts to laugh and then winces again, taking a sip of coffee in return.
"Oh come on Rick, you know I can do better than that."
He shakes his head, reaching for his own coffee mug. "I may be slightly concerned that this decision falls entirely in your hands."
"You're the one who bet on it."
"Yes, but I thought I would win."
She smiles, rubbing at her temple with her free hand. "This hangover better be worth the accomplishment."
"Oh, I have a feeling it will be."