AN: You guys are the best! Enough said. White Pawn, you manage to pick up on things I don't even consciously realise I'm doing – it's kind of amazing. Also, psychology, very cool.
Chapter Thirty
"Not sure. Just one second I was fine and now I feel like crap," she admitted weakly.
Lanie sighed and patted her friend gently on the back.
"It's probably just a bug," she assured her friend. "You haven't got much sleep over the past couple of days so it's perfectly reasonable that your defences are down."
"Mmm," Beckett hummed weakly in response, her face pale and drawn.
"You should go home," Lanie suggested lightly, but Beckett felt the levity of her words, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Which was unfortunate considering it was the only answer she was prepared to give. She shook her head defiantly.
"Can't. Gotta catch Dunnings. Keep Castle safe," she asserted, her tone lacking the usual conviction. Lanie arched her eyebrows at her friend, partly due to her refusal to go home but also somewhat impressed by her easy admission that she wanted to protect Castle. That made for a refreshing change from the usual denial of how deeply her feelings for Castle ran.
"Fine. You get worse I will drag your sorry butt home. You can't stay on the floor in here all day," Lanie conceded.
"Break room couch," Beckett croaked weakly, pulling herself up off the floor and washing out her mouth in the nearest basin. She drew her hands to her stomach and walked unsteadily from the room. Lanie was at her back, a hand raised to steady her if need be.
Castle was at her side before she'd cleared the doorway, a hand at her waist. She leaned into him, glancing round to see who was watching them, satisfied to find only their friends and her father. She wasn't all that happy with the matching concerned expressions on all their faces.
"I'm fine, it's just a bug," she answered their unspoken questions. No one looked all that relieved to hear it, still worried about her, used to her hiding her weak side from them. Seeing her sick and leaning into Castle for support was somewhat disconcerting. She didn't need to tell Castle that she wasn't intending on going home, he was already steering her towards the break room.
"You should go to the doctor," he whispered, the sound echoing deeply his lips at her ear.
"You know that's not going to happen," she grumbled, gripping him tighter.
"I know. But I wouldn't be me if I didn't try make you go," he smiled softly.
"Yeah," she sighed. "It's one of the reasons why I love you so much," she admitted, her filter obviously impaired by the lightheaded ill feeling running rampant through her body. Castle froze momentarily, then remembering their surroundings, he half-carried her into the break room, slamming the door shut behind them. Ecstatic didn't even begin to cover the emotional turmoil rushing through his heart, his nerves on edge. Teetering on the cusp of forever. It was unnerving, it was amazing. He hurriedly shut the blinds surrounding the room, his hands shaking. Beckett lowered herself onto the couch, a hand pressed to her forehead, a feeble attempt at controlling the dull ache in her skull.
"Beckett," he whispered eagerly, coming to rest on his knees beside her, tangling his fingers with hers. "Really?"
"Mmm, course," she mumbled, smiling feebly at him. He kissed her fiercely, quickly, not wanting to worsen her condition.
"I don't think it really counts if you're practically unconscious," he teased, a hint of seriousness behind his words.
"You're one to talk," she practically slurred, close to falling asleep.
"Touché my dear detective," he chuckled softly, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek. He sat with her for a moment, stroking her hand as she lapsed into sleep, whatever sickness this was clearly draining her.
X-X-X-X-X-X
"What do you think they're doing in there?" Esposito hinted suggestively, coming to stand beside Lanie.
"Probably hoping whatever Beckett's got is not contagious," Ryan chimed in. Esposito grinned widely and extended his hand to his partner, 'feeding-the-birds'.
"So did my man finally manage to seal the deal last night?" Esposito directed the question at Lanie, nudging her gently to ensure he had her attention. The trio were so entirely focussed on the shut door in front of them, they forgot about the addition to their party, who could clearly hear every word of their reasonably hushed conversation. Jim Beckett cleared his throat loudly at Esposito's words. The cop startled, jerking away from Lanie and turning to Jim, his face flushed. "I, um, sorry, Sir," he choked out.
"Your apology isn't going to help me un-hear it," Jim muttered, a wry grin on his face. Esposito smiled awkwardly in response.
"How was Beckett this morning," Lanie asked Jim, still concerned about her friend's health.
"She seemed healthy to me, and really, really happy," he smiled softly, remembering the adoring gazes and subtle touches shared between his daughter and her writer as they waited in line at the coffee shop. He glad they'd finally succumbed to the inevitable chemistry between them, Richard Castle really did make his daughter happy. She'd been a different person since his books, and the man himself had wormed his way into her life. "Oh," he said recollecting the conversation they'd had that morning. "Katie was telling me the truth, right? Her and Castle only started dating or whatever it is you kids call it these days last night?" Lanie spluttered, her jaw dropping open.
"That girl is dead. What happened to keeping me in the damn loop?" she breathlessly declared. Esposito and Ryan managed to school the shock on their face, sharing a look that spoke volumes. Beckett and Castle had been on the brink of this for so long, it didn't seem real. But there was no way Beckett would have told her father unless it was serious.
"They're together?" Ryan exclaimed.
"For real?" Esposito added. Jim nodded, perturbed by the fact that none of their friends seemed aware of the ever increasing intimacy between the partners.
"Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it. Guess the secret's out now," he guilty confessed.
"Oh no," Lanie said patting the older man's shoulder. "You did the right thing. Boy are we going to have fun with this," she grinned at her friends. Their faces blossomed into matching grins.
"I want to hear the story, I bet it's romantic," Ryan sighed whimsically.
"You are such a girl," Esposito frowned.
"No, I'm a romantic. Chicks dig it. You should try it sometime," Ryan retorted, with an arched eyebrow.
"Whatever. We both know I got it with the ladies," he smirked. Lanie rolled her eyes.
"Please," she snorted.
X-X-X-X-X-X
Castle manoeuvred himself onto the couch to hold Beckett as she slept. Concerned as he was about the case, the opportunity to hold a practically dormant Beckett who wouldn't fuss over his clinginess, it was too good to pass up. Plus, he was feeling a little off himself, it was probably because he was curled around Beckett so tightly, breathing her stale air. Small sacrifice. Totally worth it he surmised. It wasn't long before he drifted off as well, his stomach feeling unsettled but the exhaustion overpowered the uncomfortable sick feeling.
X-X-X-X-X-X
The boys had returned to the case, frustratedly glaring at the break room door every few minutes, clearly stuck and needing Castle's crazy theories and Beckett's perceptive insights. Jim had taken up residence at Beckett's desk, half-heartedly reading one of Castle's novels that he found in a drawer, his eyes flitting to the door every few seconds, innately worried about his daughter but trusting Castle enough to care for her.
None of the men in the room paid much attention to the clicking of heels on the wooden floor, alerting them to the presence of an additional person. Gates extended her hand to Jim.
"Mr Beckett, I presume," she greeted him.
"You presume correctly," he smiled politely. "Nice to meet you Captain. I've heard so much about you."
"Hmm, none of it good I'm sure," she smirked, arching her eyebrows. Jim chuckled lightly in response.
"Where's your daughter? Off tracking down Dunnings without telling me where she's going again?" she sighed in annoyance.
"No. I like to think she's learnt her lesson about that," Jim muttered. "She's in there," he gestured at the break room, not quite sure if he should mention to his daughter's boss that she was evidently unwell. Esposito who had been silently watching the exchange from his desk jumped to his feet.
"I got it, Sir. Beckett's just refilling the coffee, you know how it is," he lied nervously, his hand on the break room door handle. He jerked it open and plunged into the room, an edgy glace over his shoulder at Gates. Being a detective, and an experienced one at that, Gates knew something was up.
"Excuse me," she said to Jim, following Esposito into the break room. He was leaning over the sleeping forms of Castle and Beckett, gently shaking them.
"Castle, bro. Beckett. You gotta wake up. Gates is looking for you. C'mon," he muttered at them as his attempts to wake them gently failed. Gates cleared her throat, causing Esposito to jump nervously. "Can't say I didn't warn you," he whispered. Gates eyed the picture before her carefully before speaking. Castle's arms were wrapped tightly around Beckett, her head lolling on his chest. She wasn't exactly impressed with what she saw.
"Detective Beckett," she began loudly, the irritation in her voice evident. Still the pair remained sleeping. Esposito was regarding them with a puzzled expression that was bordering on just plain panicked.
"I don't think they're waking up," he admitted, concern coating his words. He shook them harder. "Beckett. Castle. Wake up!" Gates gazed at them more intently, ignoring the compromising position and focusing on their appearances. Both were obviously pale and covered in a light layer of sweat that added a too-shiny tone to their complexions. The steady rise and fall of their chests indicated that they were breathing fairly normally, but the yellowing around their lips was disconcerting.
"Call an ambulance," she instructed Esposito tersely. His tone flickered to terrified for a second before he was out the door, phone at his ear.