I'm, hum, speechless with all those reviews. I'm beaming with pride right now, seriously, it's ridiculous. Plus I think I'm addicted to reviews now, there should be a warning about those things. So thank you, so, so, so much !
And thanks also to everyone who pointed out typos, they make me sick with embarrassment. But apparently, this is not enough to make me check more than once. *blushes*.
Everybody is here. All the time. "Since when is this precinct so crowded?" is a question that comes often in Castle's and Beckett's mind. To make matters worse, Gates has assigned her a rookie detective. He's with them, all the time. In the car, at crime scenes, during interrogations, during lunch. It's Beckett and Castle and Rookie. He's quite good and eager to learn, so it's difficult to be mad at him. He comes in early and leaves late. So much dedication shouldn't get on her nerves. It wouldn't under different circumstances. When she snaps, Castle has to reassure the poor young detective that it's nothing personal.
"She's a bit stressed out."
She glares at him for that. Every time. He acts like this doesn't affect him. But it does, she knows it does. It's the tension in his shoulders. The longing looks - more longing than usual - with kind, sweet, loving eyes which turn feral when he catches her staring. And she has to remind herself that she doesn't want all the precinct to know in order to not kiss him. Right there, right then.
Beckett sometimes wonders where this shift in her comes from. She used to bottle up her feelings so well. Admitting to him she wants more must have annihilated the last of her restraints. The situation is frustrating and she is slightly shocked to see that Castle is taking it better than her. She half expected him to just push her in the bathroom or something. But he's even making private jokes about it. At the most awful times. Like this wife of their victim, dramatically crying that she was now alone in the world without her husband. Yes, they already knew she was cheating on him. But he assured her that the precinct was the "less lonely place in the world, You are never alone here, I tried." It was a bit too much. Esposito and Ryan looked puzzled but shrugged it off. She just scowled, once again, but knew that a reaction from her would rise suspicion.
The only things keeping her sane are, weirdly, the murders that keep coming in. At least, she has something to focus on. Something important, solving murders. And not dull. Usually. Because right now, they are going over the financials of Michael Sims, their victim. Tax lawyer extraordinaire.
"It's a nightmare," Ryan sighs from the other side of the conference room. The table is scattered with papers and laptops. Esposito and Castle groan their approval. Donovan, the rookie, is too engrossed to talk. He has been highlighting numbers like a maniac for the last two hours.
"I need coffee," Beckett answers. She's expecting Castle to spring to his feet, but Esposito is the first to get up.
"I'll go get some for the coffee shop. I need to move before I lose my legs, or my sanity."
At the door, he crosses path with Karpowski.
"Lanie just called. She finished her report but their internet is down. If you want it, you have to fetch it," she tells Beckett. Esposito runs for the coffee or away from the possibility of facing his ex-girlfriend. On the other hand, Ryan is smiling at her, hopeful he'll escape the dull task.
"Thanks, Karpowski. Ryan, can you go?"
"Sure" This picks up Donovan's attention. He looks at Beckett with wide eyes. He reminds her of a puppy, or Castle.
"You can go too," she offers with a smile and they take off.
Beckett suddenly realizes that she is alone with Castle in the conference room. At last.
"Alone in a closed room. With windows all over. The universe is screwing with us." Castle's tone is light but his eyes are telling another story. Beckett looks out towards the bullpen. She sees uniforms and detectives passing by. She even spots Gates, right in her line of vision.
"It really is."
They burst out laughing. One eye on the windows, Castle inches his chair closer to her. Under the table, he moves his hand to her knee, head down, pretending he's still reading. She sees his adam's apple bobs. He suppresses a smile when he feels her hand on his. She intertwined their fingers.
"How come you're so calm about this?" she asks, also pretending to be studying the numbers in front of her.
"Calm?" He chuckles. "This is killing me. If you only knew what I want to do every minute of every day... But it's like there is always someone or something," he groans.
"And what with Ryan offering you a ride home almost every night?" she hisses.
"I know! He wants advice on the wedding. Like I can help? Bachelor party I can organize. Wedding ceremony, he should let Jenny handle that."
"Bachelor party? Preparing to have some fun?" Her hand slips away from his but he catches it.
"Huh, huh," he shakes his head. "We're not having a fight before I can even kiss you." He talked a bit louder and she shushes him. But she keeps her hand in place. A coy smile is playing on her lips.
"This is really weird," she whispers.
"Good weird?"
"Good weird." She's adamant and looking straight into his eyes. Her teeth bite her lower lip. He moans.
"You're killing me..." Then he catches a glimpse of Esposito coming back with the coffees. "Dinner, tonight?" he slips in before the detective enters. Their hands reappear on the table, separately.
"Yeah."
TBC...