I know I kinda got off track with story because Grief stole all my attention, but I'm going to get back on track. (:
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. If I did, I'd probably have stolen the loft by now. Not sure how, mind you. But I would have.
Enjoy!
Beckett sat at her desk once more, trying to finish up the last of the last report. It should have been simple, but once more, it was proving to be far too difficult.
Esposito and Ryan walked in just as she was moving Castle's usual chair back to it's original spot, figuring that if the hole he left wasn't so visible, it would go away.
The boys stood at the entrance, Esposito raising his eyebrows while Ryan furrowed his quizzically.
Beckett looked at the duo, and stayed halfway standing over the chair in its new spot, frozen to the spot. "I was just…" she began, then stood straight and composed herself, saying nothing else, but returning to her desk.
The pair's eyebrow expressions swapped, and Esposito stayed staring at Beckett as Ryan frowned at the chair and said "So you were serious then?"
"Serious about what?" Beckett asked, taking out another file to work on.
"When you said Castle was leaving." Esposito supplied.
"Yupp." Beckett said, not taking her eyes off the report, doing her very best to act like a hardass.
"But…" Ryan started, and then exchanged a look with Esposito, at a loss for words.
"Castle's gone for good." Beckett said. "Get used to it."
They stood awkwardly in the doorframe for a few more moments.
Finally, Beckett looked up at them. "Hey, will you do me a favor?" She asked.
Esposito looked at Ryan, who simply shrugged. If Beckett wanted Castle out, fine. Their first loyalty was to her. "Yeah, sure. What?" Esposito asked.
Beckett outstretched a hand, holding a file.
Esposito walked forward and took it, flipping through it. "A bunch of addresses?"
Beckett nodded. "I need you to run down all of them and ask them how they know an Anthony Marsh."
"What case is this for?" Ryan asked, reading over Esposito's shoulder.
"An old one." Beckett said, waving a hand. "Nothing huge but it needs to get done."
Esposito smiled and closed it with a soft pop of the paperboard hitting the other side. "We'll take care of it."
Ryan nodded his agreement.
"Great, thanks." Beckett said, then went back to her computer,
A half an hour later, Esposito and Ryan were in their squad car, headed to the 9th address on the list.
Ryan rattled off the address as Esposito drove.
Esposito nodded slowly. "That on the other side of town?"
"Uh, yeah." Ryan said, glancing at the address sheet again. "Some loft building." He shrugged.
They traveled in silence for a few moments before Ryan said "Bet you 20 bucks she won't make it a month without Castle." He smirked.
"I don't know man, Beckett's pretty tough." He said. "And stubborn."
"True." Ryan said. "But she's never normal about Castle."
Esposito chuckled. "You know what? You're on."
When they got there, Esposito parked, and Ryan peered up at the building through the windshield.
"Isn't this…?" He asked, looking slightly concerned.
"Yeah." Esposito said, nodding. "I wouldn't worry about it though, do you know how many people live in this building?"
"Yeah…" Ryan trailed off. "Yeah. No, you're right." He said, worry ebbing off of his face.
"C'mon." Esposito said, getting out of the car.
The duo made their way through the lobby, stopping to ask for the floor number, then taking the elevator to the designated floor. After finding the right hallway, Esposito and Ryan strolled down it, searching for the right number.
Locating the right door, Esposito reached out and knocked on it, putting on the cop face.
That face broke into confusion when he saw who answered the door. "Castle?" He asked incredulously.
Beside him, Ryan's eyes widened.
"Hey fellas!" Castle greeted enthusiastically, face breaking into a wide grin. "What're you doing here?"
Esposito grabbed the address file from Ryan's hands and double-checked the address. "We must have gotten the wrong address." He said, chuckling.
Ryan nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, how you been?"
"Eh." Castle said. "Better. You know." He shrugged.
Esposito and Ryan nodded knowingly.
Castle hesitated. "How is she?" He asked.
Esposito and Ryan exchanged yet another glance.
"She's alright I guess." Ryan said with a shrug.
"Kinda hard to tell with her." Esposito added.
Castle nodded solemnly, the grin slipping from his face. "Anyway," He recovered. "What do you have there?" He asked, eyeing the file.
"Just some old addresses Beckett wanted us to run down for some report." Esposito said.
"Yeah." Ryan said. "But…it's different around the precinct now."
Now it was Esposito's turn to nod his agreement. "Yeah…" he said looking down. He paused. "It's quiet." He said, and he and Ryan dissolved into laughter.
"Oh, ha ha." Castle said, trying to look stern, but his eyes reflected his amusement.
Esposito tried to compose himself. "Hey, listen man, we gotta get going."
"Yeah, but if you ever want to grab a beer or something let us know." Ryan said.
Castle shook his head. "I will. See ya."
Esposito and Ryan sobered up completely by the time they reached the elevator, and looked almost scared by the time they reached the car.
They got in their respective sides, then sat there for a few moments, not moving.
"Hey, bro?" Esposito asked after a while.
"Yeah?"
"You know that wasn't the wrong address, right?" Esposito looked at him.
"Yeah." Ryan nodded, taking a deep breath. "I noticed."
Did I ever mention how much I love writing Ryan and Esposito? They're fun. (:
Did I do them justice? What do you think is going to happen next?
Review for a happy author!