You Could Be Happy

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"Where's Castle?"

"He won't be joining us anymore."

"…are we talking for the next couple of days or—"

"—for the foreseeable future, okay? Now can we get back to work?"

That's the conversation Kate has with Ryan and Esposito the day after her conversation, her fight, with Castle. Her tone tells them that asking any more questions would get them severely injured.

Still, Kate knows they had gone running to Lanie because at the end of the day, Lanie walks up to her desk with purpose. "Drinks and girl talk," she says immediately.

Kate looks up at her friend. "No."

"Just talk, then."

Kate looks back down at the file.

"Okay… just drinks."

They end up at some club downtown and much to Lanie's chagrin, Kate's lips remain sealed even with several drinks in her system. Sealed in terms of words, at least, because she's been making out with the same guy on the dance floor for the last couple of minutes.

"Girl! What has gotten into you?" Lanie says after she finally manages to pry Kate out of the guy's arms.

"Nothing!" Kate replies in a cheery way that sounds nothing at all like her. She waves her hand up to signal the bartender and orders a vodka straight.

"Soda," Lanie amends, giving the bartender five dollars, "Bring her a soda."

"Lanie, just because you're no longer single doesn't mean I'm no longer single," Kate says, "I can dance with whoever I want."

"Yes, dance," Lanie stresses, "Which doesn't even resemble what you were doing out there."

Kate plucks the drink out of the bartender's hand when he returns and downs it. "Lanie, you're the one who brought me here. You're always telling me to get a life," Kate says defiantly, "This is me getting a life."

An hour later and Lanie needs back up.

"Lanie!" Esposito yells from two feet away. She's been standing at the bar, waiting for him.

"Did you drive?" Lanie asks when he finally manages to squeeze himself next to her.

"Yeah," he replies, "What did you say was wrong with Beckett?"

Lanie points out onto the dance floor. One look and Esposito can see why words hadn't been necessary.

Kate is surrounded by three or four guys, though he can't really tell from the lighting; what is made abundantly clear, however, is that if she doesn't stop teasing them with her erotic dance moves, one of them would be taking her home.

"Go get her," Lanie tells him and shivers, "They were pawing at me when I tried to. And I am not strong enough to drag Kate away even if they hadn't been."

Esposito looks at his girlfriend and nods wearily. He makes his way across the dance floor, trying to remember the last time he had seen Beckett like this: all dishevelled and out-of-control. He can't.

"Hey!" he yells, once he gets close enough to the group of guys, "This party is over."

"Who are you, man? Her boyfriend?"

The rest of them start to get riled up now that their friend has gotten the ball rolling. "Yeah, why don't you get lost?"

"She's already having a good time with us."

Esposito is way too tired to play games right now. He whips out his badge. "NYPD."

The four of them step back immediately. "Whoa man. We were just dancin'."

Esposito turns back to Kate, placing a hand on her forearm. "Esposito!" She looks surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"Lanie called," he replied.

Kate is still moving to the music and when she hears this, she pauses briefly. "I thought she left."

"You don't really think that, Beckett, do you? Lanie wouldn't just leave you here."

"Yeah, well, she's mad at me, so…" Kate shakes her head and resumes her dancing. "A lot of people have been mad at me lately."

Esposito's interest is piqued. This has to be the reason Beckett is acting like she is. "Like who?" he asks. "Does this have something to do with Castle's sudden disappearance from the precinct?"

Kate throws a dirty look in his direction. "Don't talk to me about him."

"C'mon," he says, grasping her arm, "Let's go. Lanie's waiting for us at the bar."

"Tell her she can leave," Kate says, "I'm fine."

"Beckett, we're not leaving here without you."

"Then you'll be here for a long time," she responds, pulling her arm away with unexpected force. By the time he's recovered, she had already started to make her way through the gyrating bodies.

"Great," he mutters. He should've known that even drunk, Beckett could probably still kick his ass. He returns to Lanie who has an expectant look on her face.

"Well?" she exclaims. "Why the hell isn't she with you?"

"It's about Castle," he explains.

"Of course it is," she says, pulling out her cellphone.

Half an hour later and Castle is joining them at the bar. "Where is she?" he asks.

"Last we saw, she was by the lounge chairs," Lanie replies.

"But we've been keeping an eye on the exit. She hasn't left," Esposito adds. "I don't know what's going on between the two of you but she thinks you're mad at her or she's mad at you… either way, Beckett's acting loco because of you."

"We're leaving," Lanie declares and then pats him on the arm. "Get my girl home safe. She's in a red dress, you can't miss it."

Castle finds her smack dab in the middle of the club. He taps the guy who currently has his hands all over her. "I'll take over from here," he says, adopting his most menacing face.

The guy does not look impressed. "Does she belong to you or somethin'?" he challenges.

Castle grimaces. "She doesn't belong to anybody. But she is a cop—" then, for good measure, adds, "—and so am I. If you don't want to get arrested for assault, I'd suggest you step away."

The guy looks leery of Castle's claim but he backs off anyway, in a move that could only be interpreted as better safe than sorry.

"It's a crime to impersonate a cop," Kate says. She hadn't uttered a word while Castle was speaking to her dancing partner – choosing to close her eyes and sway to the music until it was all over. Now, she sidles up to Castle, her heels bringing her nearly eye-level. "I could arrest you."

"Go ahead," Castle dares, "But that would mean you'd have to haul me out of here."

"That could be arranged," she shoots back.

"Let's go then."

Castle knows it couldn't be as easy as that.

Sure enough, "I'm not ready to leave yet," she says.

"Kate." He reaches out with his right hand to grab her left.

Quicker than he can react, she twists them and his chest ends up pinned against her back, his right arm now holding onto her midsection. His response to let go gets momentarily deterred when she grinds into him – her ass pressing tightly and rubbing shamelessly in a way that makes him instantly hard. He grits his teeth and detangles himself from her.

"If you can't take the heat…" she says, tone feisty.

"I think you're the one who can't take it," he retaliates.

She glares at him. "I thought you were 'done'," she says, spitting out the last word like venom.

His eyes narrow. "I am done. I'm just here to get you home."

"I'll go home when I want to. It's not your job to babysit me, Castle."

He stares at her for a full minute but her expression holds steady at mutinous.

He leaves her on the dance floor. But he doesn't leave her.

.

He gets her home when she finally passes out from exhaustion and no longer cares that it's him. She falls asleep in his car and he has to carry her up and into her apartment.

He takes off her shoes but leaves her in her dress. He sits beside her bed all night with a garbage can and a glass of water, afraid that if she throws up, she won't have the presence of mind to get back into the recovery position.

He leaves in the morning before she realises he's been there.

A/N: So... thoughts?