Thank you for all my fabulous reviews! Although I don't update often with this fic, it's nice to know I amuse you with my stories. Some of the ways they could be discovered are a bit cliched or overdone but I'll try my best. If you have any requests, I'd be willing to try them out.
Enjoy!
"Thish ish mhhmmm."
"Good, huh?"
Rick Castle was a pretty good cook. He'd make meals for him, Alexis and his mother frequently. Simple and exotic. Although, what he called exotic, his family called deadly. He had a tendancy to mix foods together in combinations that should be illegal. He'd given himself food poisoning several times before, and would whimper loudly until Alexis gave in and nursed him unnecessarily. Yup. He loved to cook, but he also loved people making food for him, especially breakfast as it meant he didn't have to mess about when he was only half awake. It was in the mornings when he was most clumsy and dangerous. Specifically, he loved when Kate cooked for him. Granted, it was only waffles, but it was her mother's own special mix which made them all the better to eat.
And of course, there was the added bonus of seeing her half naked in his kitchen with bed head.
"Good, doesn't even begin to explain it." He took another mouthful. "Jushh sho goooood."
"Stop talking with your mouth full. It's disgusting." She cringed as he noisly chewed his food with his eyes closed to savor the flavor.
"Then stop making me talk. Not my fault you wore me out last night."
He was unaware that his daughter had just walked through the door after a sleepover at Paige's house. Alexis heard the comment and immediately plugged her ears with her fingers and sang "La la la!" going up the stairs to her room.
Kate shook her head at her boyfriend. She'd gotten used to Castle embarassing the young girl and effectively scarring her for life.
"I'm surprised that girl is still normal. She's not like you. She's... likable," Kate teased.
"Hey! Just you wait. She'll kick your ass at laser tag."
"Correction: We'll kick your ass at laser tag. There's a difference."
He scowled at her mockingly and straightened as he heard a fist knock at his door. Kate immediately scanned the room for any evidence that she'd been there before rushing to Castle's bedroom to hide. They hadn't come clean to anyone but Alexis and Martha and wanted to explore their relationship before everyone found out. She entered the room and sat on the bed, pulling on her clothes so she would at least look presentable if she was discovered. Her friends were Detectives after all. As she was fastening her blouse, she heard Castle exclaim a surprised, "What?" and leant against the door to listen in on his conversation. She heard silence and then footsteps approaching the bedroom. She leapt back before she got concussed by the door swinging open revealing a half-naked Castle sliding into the room.
"What's goin-" Kate started to speak but was cut off by Castle's hand on her mouth as he placed a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. He removed his hand walked to the closet to start retrieving clothing.
"What's going on? Who's at the door?" She whispered this time, careful not to speak too loud.
"It's Karpowski at the door and some rookie. There's been a murder and they want me to go down to the station for questioning. They're being nice enough to trust me to get dressed and not climb through the window."
"And they think you've committed murder?" She laughed.
"I know, right. I'm a loving, affectionate writer, I don't kill people. Unless they're fictional of course, but at least I have the decency to make sure the killer is found and arrested."
She rolled her eyes and patted him on the chest. "I'll head out to my place, then go to the station and see how you're getting along. Just behave, okay. I've had the 'pleasure' of interrogating you twice in the past, and I wouldn't wish it upon anybody else." She made air quotes with her fingers as she said the word pleasure, which made Castle gasp mockingly.
"Castle, are you in there?"
They went silent at Karpowski's voice on the other side of the door. Castle kissed her silently and mouthed, "Bye," before disappearing out of the room and following the detective to the station.
She was now at her apartment showering and getting a change of clothes. She'd told Alexis that they'd gone to the station, leaving out the fact that Castle had had no choice. Brewing a quick coffee, she heard her phone ring out and checked the caller ID before answering. Esposito.
"Beckett."
"Hey, you need to get to the station."
"Do we have a body?"
"No, Castle is being questioned by the other homicide team and they're getting pretty frustrated. He's a suspect in a murder that happened last night. Witness said it looked like a famous author he'd seen in the papers, and said it was Castle when they showed him pictures."
Oh. Not good.
"I'm on my way, and tell him to play nice."
She hung up and grabbed her coffee before heading out the door of her apartment. Stood in the elevator, she remembered what Esposito had told her.
A murder that happened last night.
Last night.
She groaned out loud, thankful for being the only one in the empty box.
She was Castle's alibi.
She arrived at the precinct and was greeted by 3 empty desks. Hers, Ryan's and Esposito's. Looking around, she could see her two colleagues, but caught sight of the door to the interrogation room propped open by a foot from the inside. She took off her jacket and placed over the back of her chair before making her way to the room. When she opened the door, six or seven people, including Ryan and Esposito turned their heads to look at her and then returned to facing the glass. Standing next to her two team mates, she saw the man of their attention sitting across a table leaning back into his chair looking right at home. She wouldn't expect anything less of Castle.
"How's it going?" Keeping her voice quiet, she asked the boys details while everyone else continued to observe.
"Let's just say we're sorry for ever leaving you alone in there when we arrested him. It's a miracle Karpowski hasn't hit him yet. Don't get me wrong, he's cooperating but he's making a game of it."
She sighed and rolled her eyes, focussing on the ongoing conversation infront of her.
"So you've never met this woman, Mr Castle?"
"I know a lot of women, Detective. But no, as far as I can recall, I've never seen her before."
The detective jotted something down on paper as Castle stood. He knew how these things worked and figured he'd finished.
"One more thing, Castle. Where were you last night?"
He stopped moving suddenly and rubbed his face with the palms of his hands. Kate could tell he'd just had the same 'Oh crap' moment that she'd had earlier. She tensed in the observation room, hoping nobody was any good at reading body language. She heard a voice she didn't recognise behind her mutter, "This looks like it's gonna be interesting."
Interesting, indeed.
"Mr Castle. Do you have alibi for last night around 12AM?"
He sighed and sat down slowly.
"I was at home in bed."
"Can your daughter tell us that you didn't leave the apartment?"
It was well known around the precinct that Castle lived with his teenage daughter and eccentric mother. The fact the Martha lived with him used to be basis for a lot of jokes when he first started helping Beckett out.
"My daughter was at her friend's house and my mother was at one of her wild parties."
"So you were alone?"
"No. I was with a friend."
Karpowski raised her eyebrows.
"A lady friend by any chance?"
He nodded slowly. His actions drew a few 'oooh's' from the men around her. She felt cornered. There was no way that Castle was going to get out of this without giving her name up and she was surrounded by witnesses to his admission.
"I'm gonna need a name, Mr Castle."
"Could I possibly whisper the name? I have no doubt that there are several people behind the glass right now, and my sex-life is exactly that. Mine." He looked so childish and innocent sat there. He knew full well that the detective sat opposite him knew he was innocent, but he also knew that it was protocol and would save him a lot more grief.
"It will go down on file, her name too. So I suggest that you tell us, sorry, me, now because everybody with access to those files and my team will find out anyway."
He looked at the mirror and made eye-contact with her. He'd known Kate long enough to know that she stood in the exact same place by the glass whenever she was in the observation room. She crossed her arms over her chest and leant forward so that her forehead made contact with the glass.
He spoke quietly as he sad her name.
"I was with Kate."
Karpowski's eyes went wide at his words. "You mean our Kate? Kate Beckett?"
He exhaled loudly. "The one and only."
Looking around the room, every single face was looking at her intently, most of them wearing smiles.
"And you and Detective Beckett were together all night?" She was seeking revenge from Castle's earlier cockiness by winding him up about his alibi. He opened his mouth to speak when Kate knocked and opened the foor to the interrogation room.
"You," she pointed to Castle,"say nothing. We're done here, don't you think?"
Castle quickly left his chair behind and followed her out the room. They walked over to her desk silently and sat on the edge of the table as though they were looking at the murder board.
"I'm sorry, Kate."
She smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, Rick. They'd have found out eventually. Besides, they certainly didn't see that coming, did they?"
He chuckled and saw Ryan and Esposito approaching the desk.
"Go home, Castle. Get a shower and come back. You smell."
He feigned hurt and placed his hand over his heart.
"Your words wound me."
She leant up and kissed his cheek before whispering in his ear. "That's all the PDA you're gonna be getting so enjoy it while you can."
Ryan and Esposito were within earshot now, tempting Castle to tease her.
"Bye, babe."
She'd told him before not to call her babe, but to be honest she kind of liked it. He disappeared into the elevator and gave a little wave as the door slid shut. She turned to meet the gaze of her two amused colleagues.
"Babe, huh?" Ryan grinned at his partner and then stopped suddenly when he caught the look on Kate's face.
"Do I have to threaten bodily harm again?"
They both walked back to their desks, pausing to give each other a high-five.