Heartlines

Castle jostles with Alex Conrad on the sidewalk, good-naturedly teasing the groom-to-be. Alex's college friend, James, takes up the ribbing, extolling the virtues of married life.

After awhile, Alex ducks away from them and catches up to the cousin who is his third groomsman, an arm around the younger man's shoulders. The boy has just come into the city for the wedding. Reid is walking Alexis down the aisle, Alex mentioned, which Castle thinks might be good for her. A cute college boy who has to pay her some attention. Plus Reid seems to be a good guy.

"Hey, now that we've got the tuxes," Castle starts. "I booked us massages at a day spa."

Alex turns around and laughs. "You did what?"

"The girls get to have lunch and gossip, and what do we get? Tuxedos? Not good enough. We're going to get full body massages."

Castle gestures to the day spa down the block. He picked it because it was strategically located near the tailor's, and they know his name there.

"You guys ready for this?"

James stands next to him, eyeing his friend. "Alex is afraid."

"I am not!" Alex says hotly, his cousin stopping at his side.

Reid grins. "Yeah, you are, ya pansy."

Castle stalks closer, gripping Alex's neck. "There's nothing to be afraid of, Alex."

"I'm not afraid. Don't listen to them-"

"Don't listen to the guy who's been your best friend for the last ten years?" James laughs and slaps Alex on the back.

"Yeah, what does he know?" Reid grins. "I remember that time-"

"You shut your mouth," Alex warns, punching Reid in the shoulder.

"No, no," Castle separates them with a shove. "I gotta hear this."

"No. We're going to get massages," Alex interrupts. "Now lead on, Rick."

Castle never does get to hear the story. They're in white robes relaxing on lounge chairs, waiting to be called back, when Castle hears something else.

Someone else.

The men and women are separated, but Castle gets up, tilting his head at the voice, tightening the belt on his robe. One of the employees, a man in a white polo and kahkis, tries to stop him at the connecting doorway that leads to the other side.

Castle, blocked by the competent-looking man in front of him, turns a frustrated eye towards the room beyond but the man steps into his line of sight as well.

Forget this.

"Kate!" he bellows, because he can hear her voice.

There's a moment of absolute silence and then strained laughter, a few women glancing his way from just over the employee's shoulder.

"Kate-"

"Castle."

He bodily moves the man in front of him and finds Kate in a similar white robe, bare-footed with her hair piled up on top of her head. She's frowning at him.

"Lower your voice," she hisses at him. "It's a spa, not a sporting event."

Castle grins and steps forward to catch her up in a hug. But the guy he moved out of the way is back, and intercepts him with a body block.

Kate puts a hand on the guy's shoulder. "It's okay. He's my - he's mine."

Castle grins like an idiot as the guy steps back, ignoring the employee's little speech about the women's section being off-limits, and moving in to wrap his arms around Kate.

"I'm yours," he murmurs into her ear.

"You are. Don't you forget it," she laughs back, apparently not as put out with him as she pretended to be. "You don't need to yell for me, Castle. You'd have seen me in a few hours anyway."

"Yeah, but I was excited to hear your voice," he whines, turning his head to kiss her cheek. He steps back, giving her space, and she leads him to a wooden bench on the women's side, pushing him down.

"That's ridiculous, Castle." But she sits beside him and twines her fingers with his. "You big idiot."

"Yeah, but I love you."

She laughs and turns her face to him; he loves the hair piled up like that, half-falling down, lazy and dissheveled like she's just gotten out of his bed.

"I think it's supposed to be, 'Yeah, but you love me.'"

"Oh, I think you already know that," he murmurs, lifting a finger to stroke her cheek.

"Um-hmm." She lifts a brow and quirks her lips at him. "What are you doing here, Castle?"

"The boys are getting massages."

"You knew we were here."

"No, actually, I didn't."

"Alexis asked you about this place, remember? About four weeks ago?"

He tilts his head, thinks back. "Oh. *That's* why she brought that up? I didn't know it was because you guys were coming here."

"And so then it put it in your head, and voila-"

"Voila. Here I am," he grins. "You should be. . .a detective."

"You shouldn't steal ideas from your daughter," she says, thumping his knee with their tangled fingers. "That's. . .plagiarism."

He gasps and puts a hand to his chest. "Low blow."

She grins and twitches an eyebrow, then reaches up with her free hand to smooth a thumb over his lips. "Okay, Rick. You've seen me. Now go back to your boys, get your massage."

He doesn't want to. He wants to follow her around, be the one to put his hands on her, knead the muscles of her back, her thighs, massage her body. He wants to-

"Later," she whispers, and her thumb brushes over his lips before following it with a kiss. She stands up, gets ready to move away.

He catches her wrist, plants his mouth there to feel the erratic thump of her pulse.

"I do love you," she says, squeezing his fingers before slipping them out of his grasp.

"You better. Cause you're gonna marry me."

She tosses a smile over her shoulder as she walks away, wriggling the fingers of her left hand in both good-bye and a reminder.

No ring yet.

He's working on that.

Kate gets copiously teased when she gets back to the luxuriously warm, turquoise water, Lucie and Beth joking about separation anxiety and how sometimes distance is a good thing ("And how did Castle get that black eye anyway?"). Kate drops the towel, her swimsuit still damp, and steps down into the whirlpool.

Kate meets Alexis's eye, and the girl smiles and blushes at the same time, as if she can't decide between embarrassment and the pleasure of knowledge, of being in on the secret.

"Did Dad actually follow us here?" She asks, looking disbelieving and somewhat disturbed.

Kate laughs. "No," she answers, arching an eyebrow over at her sister. "He brought Alex and the guys here as a…bonding experience? He didn't know we'd be here, although he probably chose this place because Alexis asked about it last month."

"Alex is here?"

The glimmer of interest in Beth's eyes is unmistakable. Kate finds herself smirking; her sister can tease all she wants, but when it comes down to it, she's just as bad as Kate. Which is reassuring. Sort of.

Not really. The Beckett sisters are doomed.

Lucie distracts her by elbowing Beth, mock reprobation on her face.

"No no no, missy," she scolds. "You don't get to see your fiancé today. This is girl time, Liz. You can survive without Alex Conrad for a whole day, trust me."

Beth sticks her tongue at her, grabs Alexis – who is relaxing, her back to the massaging spray – and puts the girl in front of herself as a shield. From the way Castle's daughter seems to be containing her laughter, she obviously doesn't mind.

"Alexis is my only true friend here," Beth claims, narrowing her eyes. "Maybe I only need one bridesmaid after all."

Kate turns to Lucie, shrugs. "What do you think? Would you mind not walking down the aisle, wearing a debatable green dress, and standing up in front of people you don't know through a boring ceremony?"

"Hey now –" Beth objects indignantly, but Lucie's already saying, "Jeez, when you put it that way, I sure don't. Shall we move on to one of those lovely steam rooms, leave them here?"

"Agreed," Kate nods, letting Lucie link arms with her as they step out of the pool. The two grab their robes and shrug them on, deliberately slowly.

"You can't walk out on me," Beth threatens, laughter shining in her voice. "This is *my* wedding. My day."

"Oh?" Kate says, pretending to be surprised as she holds the door to the steam room open for Lucie. "Well, it seems like we're doing it anyway."

And she steps inside, closes the door, a sly smile on her lips. If she's not mistaken, Beth is going to join them in three, two, one –

The glass door opens again, giving a little squeak under the forceful shove. Beth and Alexis in their robes as well.

"Okay, okay," the future bride lets out reluctantly, trying to look haughty and failing dramatically. "Maybe I can re-hire you, after all. We might need some help." She tilts her head, asks, "Alexis, what do you think?"

"In my experience," Castle's daughter says, sliding out of her robe, pretending to think as she takes her place on one of the mosaic-covered seats (the steam room has an oriental look to it, and is actually rather gorgeous), "It's always good to be merciful."

"Wise words," Beth approves gravely.

"Fine, fine," Lucie laughs, pulling her to a bench. "We'll be your bridesmaids. Now get in here before all the steam is gone."

Kate comes back from the spa alone. Alexis took the cab to meet friends and Beth was going to dinner with Lucie. So Kate flips the lock behind her and takes off her shoes, then heads for the sounds emanating from the kitchen.

Castle is in bare feet and jeans, one of his black dress shirts stretched across his broad shoulders, standing in front of the bar and pouring salsa into a bowl.

She grins and catches his eye as he turns to look at her; he closes the lid on the jar and puts it down. His arms come around her before she can sneak a chip, his mouth descending to hers.

He tastes like salsa himself, and it gives her tongue a kick of flavor. She growls and breaks the kiss to lick his lips, startling him; she feels his hands clutch at her, his body shiver.

"Kate," he groans, open-mouthed against her cheek, breathing hard just from that.

She grins. Steam room always makes her feel pliable and sensual.

"I've got the mystery writers over tonight for poker."

"Damn."

He laughs, a rather strangled sound, and rubs his hands up and down her back. "And Alex too, remember? A kind of professional-writers bachelor party."

"Yeah, I forgot." She really wanted to take him to bed, drag him back to their room and stay in all night. With everyone gone. . .

"When do they get here?"

"Soon. Twenty minutes or so."

"Is that enough time?" she murmurs, mostly to herself.

He laughs. "Kate-"

"No, I know." What is she supposed to do? She can't stay here. "Oh, actually. I should call Lanie. We haven't talked in ages."

"Yeah, yeah, do that." Castle slides his hands under her shirt a little, feathers his fingers over her ribs. "That's good."

She leans into him for a moment longer, enjoying the feel of his body crowded close to hers. "We should stop."

"Hmm." He must not be able to stop either.

It's like they've already - but they haven't. She doesn't have a ring, and she doesn't want one until Beth is married (still, that's soon), but she can't keep from touching him, seeking him out, wanting him like they've just gotten engaged.

Oh jeez. They'll be engaged. Soon. Hopefully soon.

"We could lock the door, make a do not disturb sign," he rumbles, his mouth at her neck, traveling down.

"Yeah," she says automatically, not thinking, not able to think, and then jerks away from him. "No. No, you have to do this for Alex. And I haven't talked to Lanie in way too long. Since before this summer, really."

"Yeah, I can tell."

She cuts her eyes back to him. "You can tell?"

"Lanie's been. . .less than friendly. I think she thinks it's my fault that you haven't gotten in touch with her."

"I've been in touch, just not-" Kate shrugs, but it hits her that she's got a lot to make up for. Not just her family - this man who loves her, and his daughter who loves her as well - but her friends that she slighted all summer. Lanie and the boys. Although with the boys, all is forgiven. They're easy.

"Stop seducing me, and go call Lanie," Castle says, nudging her away with a knee. She shoots him a glare, but there's no real heat in it, just love. And she knows it.

Does *he* know it? Surely by now. . .Still.

"Castle," she says quickly, reaching out to catch his forearm, gripping him, her fingers circling. "I love you. You know that. Right?"

The easy amusement wipes off his face in a second, replaced with a depth in his eyes and a gravity to his mouth that stuns her. Even though she started it.

"I know, Kate. I've never doubted it."

Her chest eases; she lets go of him and steps back because if she doesn't, they really will wind up in their bed. Or right here on the counter. She has that little control around him anymore.

She swallows; her mouth dry. "Lanie." As if she has to remind herself.

Their thing is usually to go for drinks at a bar or a club somewhere, check out the fish swimming in schools or skulking like sharks, the two women disdaining any real attempts but willing to have drinks bought for them for however long it lasts. But not tonight.

Kate and Lanie go to a sushi place for dinner, pick over their California rolls and kappa without saying much at first. Kate can tell that her friend is still seething, and it doesn't take long before Lanie drops the politeness and starts pointing her chopsticks at Kate.

"Why the hell haven't you even called me?" Lanie starts.

"I-"

"You think I don't understand? That you need space? You think I don't get it?"

"I know-"

"And damn, girl, Castle? What the hell you trying to do to that poor man?"

And even though she shouldn't, she has no right, indignation rises in Kate. "I already-"

"I was the one crouched on top of your skinny white ass, trying to keep you alive long enough to make it to the ER. That was me. I had your blood under my damn fingernails, in my hair, for weeks. And you don't even call?"

Just like that, her defensiveness disappears. Kate stares at her friend, horrified. "Lanie-"

"It was like a bad first date. Like I don't even warrant a call back to let me know, yeah, you're not dead-"

"I'm sorry," she gets out, injecting the words into the first pause she finds. It shuts Lanie up long enough for her friend to merely glare. "I'm so sorry, Lanie."

"Castle may be okay with that weak-ass apology, but I am not. Oh no, you do not get off that easily. You are gonna have to make - it - up to me."

"Castle's going to propose," she blurts out.

Lanie stares.

Kate's pretty shocked at her confession as well. But she needed a way to make it up to her best friend and it just came out. She didn't realize she's been wanting, so badly, to tell someone. And she and Lanie have always had a friendship based on traded information.

"Castle is what?"

Kate chews on her lower lip, glances out across the crowd. But it doesn't give her relief; somehow every man in the sushi place has something in common with Castle. There are his hands, that's the shape of his skull, that guy the same hair, him a similar build; she swears she hears his laughter.

"Kate Beckett. Do not hold out on me."

Kate glances back at her friend when she hears the choked sound in the woman's voice. Lanie is staring down at her uneaten food, chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Lanie?"

When the ME looks up, Kate is stunned by the shimmer of angry grief. "You're not the only one who's been affected by that bullet, Kate. I called and you didn't answer me. You shut me out. I couldn't even tell you off because all you did was hide."

"I couldn't handle everyone's need. I could barely breathe at night without pain, and then during the day, it was an endless agony of movement. Staying in bed left too much to think about. I didn't know how to be."

"When that man came back from that first week at your dad's cabin. . ." Lanie shook her head. "I realized you'd have to deal with that first. I knew I'd be down on the list. But it's been four months."

The shameful thing is, Lanie's right. She did have to deal with Castle first, with how much she unintentionally hurt him. And his daughter. This is the first time she's gotten a chance to even think about Lanie. And that sucks. "I'm a terrible friend."

"You are," Lanie agrees, but she's spearing another sushi roll. "You're making it up to me though. So come on girlfriend. Talk about Castle."

"What's to talk about? You know Castle," Kate rolls her eyes.

"Oh, no ma'am. You don't get to do that. Talk."

Kate realizes there is more - there's lots more she's never said out loud before. Only ever maybe hinted at to her own sister.

"Last spring. About eight months ago. I thought I was pregnant."

"You what?" Lanie screeches, then hunches forward, lowering her voice. "You what?"

"I wasn't. I was just late. And my sister was going through some stuff, so I didn't have the space to even quietly freak out, I just. . .took a test and kept going."

"And you weren't pregnant."

"No."

"But?" Lanie asks, because Lanie knows her, can probably read it in her eyes.

"But I. . .no, I didn't want to be. But it was. . .some little thing was there one moment, this idea, where it had never been before. And then that possibility was gone, that really never existed in the first place, but suddenly I wanted it. Want it."

"Want it," Lanie repeats softly. "Oh, Kate. Kate. You do?"

Kate shrugs and looks back down at her plate, the unappetizing sushi rolls, the unappealing dinner. "I do. He does. We sort of. . .inadvertently talked about it."

"Today?"

"No. Back then."

"Eight months ago?" Lanie says on a squeal.

"Hush, yes. Eight months ago. We talked around it, but then. I just - I wanted to make sure I couldn't go back. You know? I wanted it to be a step forward for us. So I made him a promise that the moment he wants it, us to-" Kate swallows, can't even say it to her best friend, even though the visions come often enough, readily enough. "Anyway. . .he gets to sort of call it in. Claim it."

"You mean, when Castle wants to have kids, he's allowed to get you pregnant."

Kate groans, holds both hands up to her face, runs her fingers through her hair. But it's the truth. "Yeah. Basically. Only he told me that he wanted to marry me first," she explains, and can't help the smile that contorts her mouth when she says it.

"So that's how we got here? It's been eight months, Kate. Why is he waiting around so long?"

"Oh, no, see. . .well, we talked about it and then it just dropped and then I got shot, and I hurt him. I hurt all of you, I know-"

"Moving past that," Lanie says, using a hand to sweep it away. "Back to almost being engaged."

"I got him a ring," she admits.

Lanie grunts, eyeing her. "You got *him* a ring. You do know it goes the other way around?"

Kate laughs, a dry sound that nevertheless brings some release to tension at the table. Lanie has always been quick to forgive. She blows up easily, but she doesn't hold a grudge. At least, not against Kate. "I know. But we were ring shopping and he saw-"

"Hold the phone. You've been ring shopping? Girl, you are telling this story all out of order."

"I was trying to. . .prove something, I guess? No, that sounds bad. You know Beth is getting married in like. . .days," Kate laughs and brushes the hair from her eyes. "It just brought stuff up. And I've actually been waiting on Castle to. . .I don't know-"

"Be his usual Castle self. I know. I get it. So you nudged him a little."

Kate can feel her cheeks flushing but she doesn't deny it. "I did. And I wanted him to know that just because of this summer. . .It could've broken us. *I* could have broken us, Lanie, and I didn't even know how to stop doing it. But I didn't want us broken. I still wanted to marry him. Want to marry him."

There's a long silence where her friend just stares at her, and Kate realizes how out of left field this must sound for her, since she's not been good about keeping up with Lanie. Not since Beth came back to the city to stay. "I broke a lot of things, didn't I?"

Lanie reaches out and snags Kate's hand, squeezing. "You're lucky you got us. We love you too much to let you ruin things."

Kate nods, chewing on the inside of her cheek to keep from spilling tears. Not here. "So I fixed it. With Castle. And we went shopping for rings one day this week. Just looking really. And Castle went all. . .Castle-y over this ring shaped as a crown."

"A crown? Like. . .a king's crown? You are kidding me."

"Nope. So I went back later and bought it."

Lanie tsks at her. "You bought that man a crown? You are nuts. You'll never hear the end of it."

"I kinda don't want to hear the end of it," Kate admits, biting her lip. Lanie looks appalled and jealous at the same time, and Kate laughs. "I'm not saying you have to buy Esposito one. I just-"

"Oh no. You shut your mouth, Kate Beckett. Do *not* go giving Esposito ideas. We're not looking for a wedding rash here. Beth and Conrad, Jenny and Ryan, you two. We are *not* next."

Kate stares at Lanie for a long moment, realizing just how far off the radar she's been these last four months. Lanie *doesn't* want to marry Esposito?

"Okay. Your turn. What is up with you?"

Lanie gives her a growling glare, but Kate knows she'll give it up eventually. So Kate settles in to wait.