Sorry for the delay, but I was blocked. I think I have a clear path now.
I want to thank LadyAilith and Mrs. Kingdaddy for their unwaivering support. Also I want to thank Pen to Paper for all of the encouragement and conversations on writing. His input has been a blessing.
Again I own nothing.
Chapter 114
Esposito and Ryan had been trying to find out what was going on in the Captains office ever since Castle and Beckett entered.
They had walked by inconspicuously, or so they thought, trying to peek in. Ryan had gone so far as dropping his pen and kicking it towards Montgomery's office. When he got to the office he leaned down and tried to eavesdrop, but one of the feds walked in calling his name, thwarting his plan.
As Castle and Beckett came out they were immediately shuffled off into the break room by the two male detectives. Esposito was the first to speak. "What did the Captain want?" Ryan, being Ryan, parroted, "Yeah, what did he want?"
"He wanted to know if I picked out a wedding dress! Speaking of that, I'm going to see Lanie. I'll be back in about an hour."
Castle looked over his shoulder, seeing no one by the door, returned his gaze to Kate and grabbed her wrist pulling her in to his embrace. When his arms were around her, he slowly kissed her, effectively turning her into a puddle.
"Ew, we don't want to see Mom and Dad do that!" the boys said in unison.
When Castle released Beckett she let out a loud "whew" and sauntered out of the breakroom.
Esposito was the first to speak once Beckett was out of the room. "Okay, what's going on?"
"Well, Kate and I are…going to get married!" Castle let out a little laugh, he never was one to miss a chance to have a little fun. But the stern looks the boys were giving him told him they were not in the mood for fun.
"Kate and I are going to a little Russian club tonight. We want to see if we can determine who might have hired Sasha and Lockwood," Castle threw out as he headed for the door. "I have just enough time to see a friend of mine before Kate gets back."
"Okay. No, wait! How did you know Sasha and Lockwood were connected?" Esposito asked in a hushed tone as he followed Castle to the elevator. Castle pushed the button and waited for the door to close. He couldn't hide his shit eating grin from the boys as he disappeared behind the stainless steel doors.
Ryan turned and grabbed Esposito's arm. "Damn! It was him. Now that's some scary shit! How could we have missed that he was capable of…"
"Bro, I know. But let's keep it down. Don't want the feds find out. Speaking of finding out, what we need to do is make sure we have his back in case something goes south. Got it?"
"Got it!"
Xx
Lanie was sitting at her desk with her feet propped up as Kate entered. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in!" she said with a grin the Cheshire cat would have approved of.
"Don't you look well rested? Some would even say sated. What has writer-boy been doing to you, Kate?"
"Writer-man Lanie, definitely writer-man," Kate said as she dropped her bag and plopped down on the well-worn couch in the ME's office. "He is definitely all man," she said, smiling the entire time.
Seeing her friend in such a good mood made Lanie happy as well. "It's good to see you happy for a change Kate. I've seen it so rarely in the past."
"I know… But I don't know how to do happy."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that I have never dated anyone who makes me happy."
An incredulous Lanie asked, "Seriously, never?"
Kate bit her lip. She was obviously nervous. "No, I've dated guys that were fun. Josh was fun for a short time; Demming, sort of; Sorenson, definitely not. No one has ever made me happy. But Rick, he makes me happy. He likes to say that I made him a better man, but Lanie… God Lanie, he makes me a better woman. He makes me want to forget all of this." She waived her hands around the morgue and continued, "He makes me want to leave all of this death and destruction behind, makes me want to jump on a plane and see where it takes us. Hell, I've even thought about having his babies. And you know I've never wanted kids."
Lanie just sat there in shock. She knew that if Kate ever gave Castle a chance it would be explosive, but she never expected it to be nuclear. "Kate he's good for you, better than anyone I have ever seen you with. Not to change the subject, but why are you here?"
"No reason. Just wanted to see you." She got a mischievous smile on her face. "And I wanted to see if you could come by the loft and help me get ready. We are going undercover and I might want to knock his socks off."
"Oh girl, you know I will be there."
Xx
Richard Castle was a man who knew what he wanted. He was used to getting what he wanted, and today he wanted an engagement ring. He was surprised when Kate put on the bread tie, but he was even more surprised that she had not taken it off. He was sure that it would be relegated to the dresser this morning, but there it was on her finger when they left the loft. So here he was outside a jewelry store in Gramercy Park.
He pushed the door open hearing the ringing of the bell that hung above the door. He mused about the fact that a store that had millions of dollars worth of jewelry had a bell to let the proprietor know that someone had entered.
A small man with a jeweler's loupe around his neck and an apron on came shuffling out of the back. "Ricky how are you doing?"
"I'm fine Sal, and you?" Salvatore Rosenblatt was a paradox. He was born to an Italian mother and a Jewish father. He entered his father's family business, but his mother's family business made sure no one ever decided he needed to pay for "protection." A Jewish/Italian who was born to a jeweler and a mob princess had its benefits.
"I'm good Ricky." Sal looked Castle over. He had a way of looking at a customer and knowing what he was there to buy. Today was no different. "Ricky I didn't know you were dating, let alone serious enough for my services. But here you are," he said with a smirk. "So what type of ring are you looking for?"
"I will never figure out how you always know." A smile filled Rick's face that made it all the way to his eyes. "Sal, I need an understated ring. I need one that no match can be found on this planet and I need it yesterday. And as usual, price is not an issue."
Sal contemplated Rick's statement for a few minutes and responded, "It's for your detective friend isn't it?"
Castle would never know how he did it, but it seemed that Sal could read minds. "SHH… I don't want the whole world to know before it's time. This is all so new! But yes, it's for her."
Sal turned around with his finger on his chin, deciding just what to show Castle. After what seemed like an eternity he turned back to Castle and said, "Celtic. I think that a Rodgers and Beckett, both being of Irish descent, should have rings with a Celtic quality. And since she is a detective I think it should be a Caitlin setting." He turned back to a shelf behind the display case a pulled out a book. Flipping to a page, he turned, placing it on the counter. "Here it is, what do you think?"
Castle looked for a few minutes and looked up at Sal. "I love it, now do you have a stone in mind?"
Sal walked to the back without saying a word. Castle could hear him opening a safe and rummaging around. How could a jeweler be rummaging around in a safe? He has to be more organized than that!
After a few minutes Castle heard, "Here it is!" And then Sal reappeared in the showroom, placing the gem upon a pad on the counter. "What do you think?"
Rick was mesmerized. "I have never seen a stone like this one. What is it?"
"Ricky this is a flawless two and a half carat oval brilliant-cut green diamond. I have never seen another one, that's why I bought it." Rick questioned, "When did you buy it?"
"Right after your detective's apartment blew up." To say Castle was shocked was an understatement. "Why…how could…how could you know that long ago?"
"Martha came in and got a necklace for Alexis and we got to talking about you. She said that you had invited Detective Beckett to stay at your home while she found another place. I was shocked so later that night I looked her up and when I saw a photo of you and her, well I knew. So I went and found a diamond that I thought she deserved."
"Well my friend, I think you have outdone yourself. How long do you think it will take to get it set into a ring?"
"Elena will be here the next two days so I can work on it. You can pick it up on Friday, yes Friday will be good."
Castle would never understand how a half Italian, half Jew could have married a full-blooded Russian woman, but Sal had. "Thanks my friend, can't wait to pick it up, and I'll bring a cashier's check for seventy-five thousand."
"Deal!"
Xx
"Where's Castle?" Beckett demanded as she entered the bullpen noticing that he was not in his usual seat.
She glanced at the boys, seeing Esposito quickly burying his nose in a file. When she switched her gaze to Ryan he wasn't as fast. He looked like a deer in head lights. "Well, I'm waiting." She loved getting her boys all worked up. Ryan tried to answer but all he could do was stutter.
"It's okay guys I'm just messing with you. But do you know where he is?" As Ryan mumbled something about the evilness of one Kate Beckett the elevator dinged, announcing that the car had arrived at their floor. Kate turned around and saw her fiancé, or according to what he had told Sorenson, her husband, exit with enough Chinese food to feed a small army.
"I don't want my favorite homicide floor to go hungry, and with all of the feds here I couldn't very well spoil you guys without including them." He turned to the two delivery boys and pointed to the breakroom. "Set it up in there, but take the one marked Beckett and put in the conference room over there."
He turned to Kate and said, "I wasn't about to make you go through a buffet line like an animal. So ours," he looked over to Ryan and Esposito. "and theirs is being set up in there."
Kate looked around as the team passed chopsticks and containers around the table. Lanie was right, she had never been happier. Her boys, all three of them, were with her. She felt like the long lost mother that they needed. Well, two of them needed. One most definitely didn't need a mother, he needed a lover and she was more than happy to fill that role.
They were eating in silence when Kate decided to speak up. "So Castle what did you do today?"
"Oh, a little of this and a little of that."
Kate furrowed her brow and glared at him. Then she realized where he spent his day. "You went ring shopping, didn't you?"
Castle stuttered and stammered before trying to answer. "What in the world would make you think that?"
Beckett knew she had him now. "I didn't until you tried to answer, but your stealthy response answered my question. So where did you go? And you had better not have spent too much. Remember I am the one who asked you, not the other way around."
Castle smiled the smile that he knew always brought a smile to Beckett's face and answered, "Why don't you worry about cuffing killers and I will worry about engagement rings." He leaned back in his chair and smirked thinking he got the last word.
Kate couldn't let him get the last word. She leaned over to him and whispered, "What if I want to cuff someone other than killers?"
Hearing what his fiancé said and his precarious position leaning back in the chair, was enough to send him over the edge. After he collected himself off the floor and righted his chair, he glared at Beckett. "You, my dear, are an evil woman."
Kate rose from her chair and headed for the door stopping to turn. "You are so easy Castle. And don't come home until seven. Lanie will be helping me get ready."
Esposito looked at Castle and said, "Oh shit, I have seen the way Lanie likes to help Beckett get ready. Make sure you take blood pressure medicine before you get there, I have a feeling she is going give you a heart attack!"
I researched the ring and found that I like the Caitlin the best. I hoped to find a style that was a low setting allowing Kate to wear it at work. I think I found it, but if it doesn't fit, oh well I tried.
For all of you who think that the Celtic thing is crazy just wait a few chapters and it will be revealed.
Thought?
