Castle nodded in agreement. "If we can't move forward in the investigation then the only thing we can do is to make them believe that you have really given up the investigation."
"But how do we do that? By now they surely know that I have been suspended. How can we convince them that I'm not going rogue?"
Castle gave her a devilish smile, "I have an idea, but you may not like it."
Beckett fidgeted nervously trying to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress. She adjusted the scarf at her neck. Finally she clasped her hands in her lap not sure what to do with them. She glanced around the room taking in the flowers, the little tray of donuts and pastries, and the slightly uncomfortable chairs. It was just yesterday that Castle had told her his hair-brained idea. She had reluctantly agreed to it, but she never dreamed it would all happen so quickly. If he had any other ideas, he probably ignored them just so he could watch her squirm. He was enjoying this way too much. Although he did take her out and buy her a new dress and shoes. She loved the dress too. It was a deep purple and made her eyes stand out. Of course he got her a scarf, too. She had to have the scarf to cover the bruises on her neck. It wouldn't do to have people thinking that Richard Castle had been strangling her.
Just then Castle walked in. "Here you go sweetheart," he said his eyes twinkling as he handed her a cup of coffee. Beckett rolled her eyes. Yeah, he was definitely enjoying this too much. "You'll be fine," he said confidently giving her a warm smile. Beckett could picture him saying that to Alexis as she went in to see the dentist for the first time. "It'll all be over in a few minutes."
A head poked in the door, "Five minutes guys."
Beckett looked over at Castle. As soon as this was over she was going to kill him - slowly, but right now she was depending on him to get her through the next several minutes.
"You know what you want to say, right? Do you want to go over it again?" Castle was trying to be helpful.
Kate shook her head. "I think I have it. It'll be fun," she lied shooting him a fake smile.
The head poked in the door again, "It's time. Come with me."
As they walked down the hall Castle put his arm around her, "Just remember to smile and remember that I love you." His arm squeezed her slightly and Beckett flashed him a genuine smile. Suddenly she felt like she could face anything as long as Castle was by her side. She felt protected with his arm wrapped around her. After all, they had faced death together several times and they always came through it. This couldn't be worse than death – could it?
"Rick Castle," said their host extending his hand in greeting.
"Good Morning, Al." Castle said warmly shaking his hand.
"Do you remember meeting at the Emmy's after party several years ago?" Al asked.
"Yes, I do. That was quite the shindig," Castle acknowledged. Why would Castle be at the Emmy's Kate wondered. A question for another time.
"This is obviously the beautiful Kate Beckett," Al said shaking her hand as well. "Take a seat. We'll be on in a minute." He gestured at the two bar height chairs opposite his.
Castle pulled the two chairs a little bit closer together. "Is that OK?" he asked looking out at the cameras.
"Not a problem," came a voice from the control room. "30 seconds," said the same voice. Castle and Beckett took their seats.
"We're back with famed mystery writer Richard Castle and his muse the lovely Detective Kate Beckett," Al introduced his guests. Kate and Rick both smiled. Rick gave a little wave into the camera. "Our viewers just saw a piece about your back story so they are familiar with how the Nikki Heat series got its start. I understand a new book is due out pretty soon."
"Yes it is, Al. I'm wrapping up work on Frozen Heat and it should be in stores in a couple of months."
"That's great. I understand that there is an announcement that you would like to make?" Al prodded.
Castle reached over and took Beckett's hand. "I've been following this amazing woman around for four years watching her track down murderers and getting the inspiration for the novels I've been writing, but now I'd like to announce that she is more than my muse. She is the love of my life. We are officially a couple." Castle couldn't contain his smile as he looked over at her. Kate's smile was dazzling as she gazed lovingly into Castle's eyes, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks.
"Congratulations! I know there has been speculation for years that you two were romantically involved. What finally turned the tide, Kate?"
"As a homicide detective I'm pretty well surrounded by death all the time. It takes a toll on your personal life. In the past couple of years I've had several brushes with death myself. I always loved my job, but I finally realized at this point in my life I want to concentrate on living. Therefore, I am resigning from the police force. Someone else can investigate the murders and the cold cases. For now I just want to concentrate on Rick Castle." She turned her gaze to Rick and smiled. She hoped she looked as happy as she felt.
"Wow," Al turned to look at the cameras. "So you heard it here first. One of New York's most eligible bachelors is off the market and one of our best detectives is off the force. Next up, we'll take a look at summer fashion."
"…and we're out," a voice said.
"You guys did great," Al said standing up. "I'm not at all surprised about you two becoming a couple and congratulations on that by the way. I am a little shocked that Kate resigned."
"It was the right thing to do," Kate replied.
"Thanks, Al," Castle said, shaking the man's hand. "It was a pleasure to be on the show and to see you again."
Since the segment was over, a few of the crew came over to get an autograph. Castle was very gracious with everyone, signing autographs and taking pictures with some of them. Beckett marveled at him. He always took time for his fans. Granted it wasn't like he got recognized like Brad Pitt, but she still felt people were often rude and invasive when they asked for autographs or pictures when he was eating or quietly sitting in the park. He even had been asked at crime scenes. Several times! Those requests he politely declined, but usually he interrupted whatever he was doing to comply with his fans' requests.
Lanie Parish was getting ready for work. She was working on her hair in the bathroom when she suddenly heard "Richard Castle" coming from the TV in the bedroom. She ran in there in time to catch the end of the back story piece. Then Richard Castle and Kate Beckett were introduced. What the heck? Suddenly, Rick announced that they were a couple. "Yes!" Lanie screamed jumping into the air; however she was instantly mad that she had to find out from the TV. Then she heard Kate say that she had resigned. "Just what is going on?" Lanie said out loud hands on her hips obviously pissed. "Girl, you have some serious explaining to do," she said as she leaned in and wagged her finger at little TV Kate.
Castle and Beckett were relaxing in the cab on the way home. "Did I mention how incredible you look?"
"Only 3 or 4 times. It's so much easier to look good when you go to hair and makeup. I wish those guys would come over every morning and get me ready for the day." She was obviously pleased with his compliment.
"You were gorgeous before you got to hair and makeup," Castle crooned leaning in to kiss her lips. His hand lightly brushed along the side of her face and neck. Kate's eyes were bright when they broke away, lit up by the electricity from his kiss and his touch. She could see the desire in his eyes as his hand brushed down her arm leaving goosebumps in its wake.
He sat back not wanting to get carried away in a taxi.
"So how bad was it really?" Castle asked her.
Kate shrugged. "I was pretty nervous, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be," she tried to suppress the smile that tugged at her lips. "I couldn't have done it by myself though."
Castle just smiled. "You were really great. You didn't seem nervous at all."
"Do you think it worked?" She asked afraid to get her hopes up.
"It's a good start. Paula is going to release a statement later today, so we'll get newspaper coverage and maybe even internet coverage as well. After we do the Fallon show on Friday it will really be out there. We'll just have to pretend like we're a happy couple, in case they are watching us," he smiled and gave her a quick kiss. He grew more serious. "With all of this publicity, I think it would be pretty undesirable to harm one of us. They don't want to be involved in a high profile murder if they don't need to be and if we're not investigating they won't need to mess with us."
"Hey, how about stopping somewhere for breakfast?" Castle asked enthusiastically changing the subject.
"Castle, we were just on TV. If we stop somewhere we'll probably be mobbed!"
Castle pouted. "Wait, I know the perfect place to go. Driver, take us to Maxine's on 71st. The menu is incredible but if a Belgian waffle sounds good, they are so light they can practically float away. We definitely won't be mobbed there either."
Maxine's was different. What they called booths were more like little rooms. They had walls that were about 6 feet tall. A door-wide opening allowed you to enter. Inside there was a table cloth covered table with very comfortable upholstered chairs. You couldn't see into another booth from your own booth and the only chance you had to see who was in a booth was when you walked by as you were seated.
"Wow, this really is private," Kate said. "I've never seen a restaurant set up quite like this."
"They tend to cater to the rich and famous because of the privacy," Castle said a little embarrassed afraid that Beckett might think he was flaunting his fame and fortune.
They studied the menu which for breakfast at least wasn't extensive. Beckett ordered the eggs comtesse and a Belgian waffle. Castle ordered the eggs benedict and also got a Belgian waffle.
"Kate, I'm not sure how you see us moving forward, but I really want you to stay at the loft for at least a couple of weeks until we can get a feel for how safe we actually are. I also want us to stay inside as much as possible and definitely not do anything on a set schedule. What do you think about that?"
Kate felt like things were getting a little overwhelming. She had a new relationship, lost her job, almost died and may still be a target, now she's doing TV appearances and moving into Castle's loft. Her life no longer seemed to be her own. She knew it wasn't his fault, but frankly she was having some anxiety about her loss of control. It seemed like she had no choice in anything that was happening. It was hard to argue about their need to be safe though.
"I guess that is the best thing to do," she said toying with her food. "But I'm going to have to go back to my apartment today to pack some things."
Castle could see her reluctance. He knew she felt like she was losing her freedom and he was scared that she would start seeing their fledgling relationship as a prison that she just wanted to escape. Castle put his hand over hers. "Your apartment is an obvious place for them to have staked out. It could be dangerous to go back there."
"Castle, you can't keep me a prisoner at the loft and not allow me to at least get my clothes and some of my things," she said hotly, glaring at him and reclaiming her hand.
"I just want to be sure we're careful. I'd like to have Ryan go with us."
That was the last straw. "I can take care of myself, Castle," she snapped. Her eyes were fiery. She was resentful and mad and didn't want people looking after her like she was a child.
Castle suppressed the sigh that wanted to escape his lips. This was starting to sound like their argument from the other night when he walked out. "No Kate, you can't. I know you want to, but you can't. Please for me, call Ryan and ask him to go with us." Castle's voice was firm but not angry. This wasn't something he wanted to argue about but he felt it was important.
"Fine!" she said. Suddenly there were tears wanting to spill over her lashes. She blinked them back and focused on her eggs so Castle wouldn't notice.
"Kate, I'm not trying to control you. We just need to take some precautions for a while. We're going to be OK." His voice was gentle as he took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.
It would be so much easier to stay mad if he would yell and be an ass. She kept her head down fixed on her food. She gave a slight nod in acknowledgement but didn't say anything. There was an awkward silence between them as they continued eating.
A few minutes later Beckett's phone vibrated. "Beckett," she answered.
"Why do I have to find out on TV that you and Writer Boy are together? And why did you resign and not tell me? You better start talking girlfriend!" Lanie said in no uncertain terms.
"Oh, hi, Lanie. How are you today?" Kate asked ignoring all the questions. Her mood instantly improved.
"Oh, no, no, no. Don't go actin' all innocent on me. What is going on?" Lanie asked getting more perturbed.
"Well as you know, Castle and I are together now and I quit the force. Gates suspended me and Javi and I just decided to resign. If you want more details, we're just going to have to have a girl's night out."
"Javi was suspended?" Lanie asked incredulous. "He's really got some explaining to do!" She sighed, "OK, how about getting together Friday night? You think Writer Boy will let you out of his sight long enough for a girl's night out?"
"Sorry Lanie, we're doing Jimmy Fallon on Friday. How about Thursday?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm doing Letterman on Thursday," Lanie fired back facetiously. "Kate Beckett, there is something fishy going on. You hate being in the limelight and all of a sudden you're doing a bunch of TV shows when you and Castle ought to be camped out in his bedroom. Are you two really together? Are you sure this isn't some elaborate undercover stunt? Yeah we can meet Thursday and you better have some answers for me!"
"Lanie, we are really, truly together – as a couple. I'll see you Thursday and explain everything." Warmth enveloped Castle's heart to hear her tell someone else emphatically that they were a couple.
Beckett sighed as she hung up. "That woman should have been a detective. Nothing gets by her!"
Castle grinned, "Imagine what her poor kids will have to put up with. They'll never sneak anything by her!"
I just love Lanie. We don't see enough of her.