Chapter 5
.
"Who was that?" Castle asked as a young woman scurried past him having just exited the interrogation room.
Kate leaned against the doorframe. "I'm interviewing nannies."
"In there?"
"Yeah."
"You'll freak them out!"
"That's kinda the point, Castle," said Kate. "I can't have just anybody looking after my kid."
"You're mentally unscrewed, Beckett."
"Oh really?" Kate countered, "And exactly how many times have you had me run background checks on Alexis' boyfriends?"
Castle opened his mouth. Then shut it.
"Point made." Kate triumphantly walked back towards her desk and plopped down in the chair.
"Why do you need to interview nannies anyway?" Castle sat down as well. "What's wrong with Rosie?"
"Nothing. If I want to move to Sarasota."
"Oh."
"Exactly. She's leaving next month but she's only working until next Wednesday."
"And she only told you this now?"
"Well, no…" Kate said, with chagrin. "She told me a while ago but I didn't have time to do interviews and then I kind of debated whether or not to just take Zoey to a daycare. But I have such weird hours and she's so young and still so shy around strangers. I feel guilty just thinking about doing that." Kate leaned back in her chair and let out a groan. "This is a disaster."
There was a gap of silence and then, "Why don't you let me look after Zoey?"
Kate sat back up so fast, she felt a little dizzy. Castle actually looked serious. "What?" she said stupidly.
"I was Alexis' nanny from the time she was born and she managed to turn out just fine. Or," he paused, "it could just be a fluke. Either way, I can't test out my theory without a new guinea pig."
"What about your writing?"
"I can do that at home. In fact, home is where I get most of my work done. What a surprise, right?"
"But, with a toddler running around?"
Castle grinned, "The house has gotten too quiet now that Alexis is off at Yale and my mother decided to move clear across the country with her new husband. Besides, Zoey can't possibly be more distracting than Halo."
"You're really being serious?"
"And you wouldn't even have to pay me."
"Castle, that's –"
He held up a hand to cut her off. "You've never let me give you any royalties from the Nikki Heat books. Consider this payback for letting me follow you around and for not shooting me when I wouldn't listen to your orders."
Kate bit her bottom lip. "You'd no longer be following me around if you decide to take care of Zoey all day."
"I love Zoey more than I love gruesome murders," he quipped.
"Real nice, Castle."
"She's also way more fun than those stuffy CSU guys."
"You're willing to revoke your all-access pass to the NYPD?" Kate teased.
Castle smiled, "I haven't had to use my connections with the mayor for a while now. You guys just let me hang around because I can be surprisingly useful."
Kate opened her mouth to protest.
"Admit it," said Castle, "I'm like an honorary member of the 12th precinct's homicide department."
Kate rolled her eyes. "Well, what about your research?"
"I have enough material to write a hundred Nikki Heat books." Castle suddenly looked so intently at her that she couldn't look away if she tried. "We both know that I'm not following you around for research purposes anymore, Kate."
Two beats of silence and then Kate started to feel increasingly uncomfortable. She dropped her gaze. "Zoey has a lot of fun with you. She really trusts you." Kate thought her voice sounded strange all of a sudden. She cleared her throat. "Just, as long as you're sure…"
"I'm sure," said Castle with a huge grin. "Call off the Nanny Inquisition."
.
"So, I heard you and writer boy are playing house."
"From who?"
"So you're not denying it?"
"Lanie, I don't know what you heard –"
"—and really, why is it that you aren't telling me these things yourself? Why must a girl's best friend be the last person in on the gossip?"
"We are not playing house, Lanie. Castle's just looking after Zoey for me while I'm at work."
"Which is every day."
"Well, not every day."
"It might as well be with the hours you put in."
"You make me sound like such a bad mother."
"You're not. You're a great mother."
"Thank you."
"And Castle's a great father."
"Well yeah, I guess he is. Alexis is doing really well at Yale."
"I'm referring more to his newly acquired daughter."
"Oh, jeez."
"Zoey really likes him."
"She's a year and half. She likes everybody."
"Nuh-uh. Not the same way that she likes Castle. She seems to adore him just as much as she adores you."
"Zoey's just shy."
"But not with Castle."
"Well, Castle's not a stranger. And she spends a lot of time with him."
"And why is that?"
"Lanie, Castle's like a child himself! Of course a toddler would like that."
"That didn't really answer my question."
"Look, Castle is just filling in the nanny role that Rosie, who I was perfectly happy with by the way, vacated."
"But, you're not paying him."
"How did you—"
"I have my sources. So? What about the manny services?"
"Manny?"
"Male nanny."
"Ookay."
"How do you not know what a manny is?"
"Now I do."
"Okay. So?"
"So?"
"Castle's not charging you?"
"He says it's payback for interfering with my work all these years."
"Riight. Except, let's be honest here, you didn't really mind the interfering."
"I did that time I almost got shot!"
"You seem to be more worried about him getting shot."
"Well, I'd have a million fangirls chasing me down the street if that happened."
"'Cause it has nothing to do with the way you feel about him."
"I don't feel anything for him!"
"Oh, really?"
"Well, obviously, not nothing. But it's not the kind of feelings I think you're thinking of."
"And what kind of feelings are those?"
"…"
"You can't even say it!"
"Because there's nothing to say!"
"You're in denial."
"Okay, can we just get back to the point? I don't even know what the point was anymore."
"You said writer boy's just acting like a nanny and I think writer boy's acting like a daddy."
"He's just helping me out as a friend."
"So, now he's a friend?"
"Of course he's a friend. He's a friend like you and I are friends."
"Uh, no."
"Okay, like Esposito and Ryan are my friends."
"Wrong again."
"You can't tell me I'm wrong. It's my opinion."
"And your opinion is…"
"There is nothing going on between Castle and I."
"Except friendship."
"Right."
"But he's also helping you raise your daughter."
"No, I'm raising my daughter."
"But she sees him as much as she sees you."
"…yes."
"So, it's like joint custody."
"No!"
"Girl, no matter how much I love you, I would not want to take care of somebody else's child day in and day out for an indeterminate amount of time."
"So, you're saying he pities me?"
"No, I'm saying he genuinely loves Zoey."
"Maybe. That's possible."
"No, that wasn't a question. I'm stating that as a fact. Zoey's like… Alexis' little sister or something."
"I don't think—"
"—Well I do."
"This conversation is going in circles."
"Kate, how long has it been since you've been on a date?"
"Lanie, I just landed myself a daughter less than a year ago and I still work full-time. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is; do you really think I have time to date?"
"Okay, fair enough. But, let me ask you this: how long has it been since Castle's been on a date?"
"How am I supposed to know! I don't keep track."
"Oh, you so do."
"Lanie."
"Let's just say, for argument's sake, that he hasn't."
"I didn't know we were having a debate."
"So, he hasn't been dating and you definitely haven't been dating."
"Did you even hear me?"
"Just let me get this straight one more time."
"I'll take that as a 'no'."
"Castle voluntarily and without complaint lets you wake him up at the crack of dawn every morning or at whatever absurd hour you get up. You go over to his house and he looks after your daughter for the entire day, playing with her and feeding her and teaching her the ABCs, while you work. And then at night, after you're done work, you go back to his house."
"To pick up my daughter. I go back to his house to pick up my daughter. You seem to have left out that part."
"And you seem to have something wrong in that brain of yours – those neurons must not have been wired together properly because everybody else besides you, and apparently writer boy, can see what's going on here."
"And what's that?"
"You're playing house. Except, you know, without the sex. Which is a damn shame."
A/N: I kind of really enjoyed just writing dialogue for, like, four pages… I hope I didn't confuse you guys with my complete lack of dialogue tags… Anywho, Alexis will be in the next chapter. Who's excited?
P.S. I know I haven't been replying to each and every one of you but I just wanted to let you guys know that I've really, really been loving and appreciating all of your reviews! It makes me more accountable and keeps me updating my stories since I know that there are actual people reading! :) Gracias a todas y todos!