A/N: As promised, here's chapter 7 – thanks to BURN3 for speedily proofreading it. Also, I'd like to thank you for your reviews, follows and favorites so far. This is really the only way I get to know people enjoy this story. So once you've finished reading this, you'll all review and let me know if you still care for this fanfic, okay? Good =)
By the way, hang on to your seats for tonight's episode: you're in for a real intense hour.
Almost two months had passed since the last time Rick Castle had seen Detective Kate Beckett. During this time, Rick had managed to write a whole eight chapters of his new Storm novel – just in time to meet his fourth deadline with Gina, which had been due a week before. Now, he could only hope the folks at Black Pawn would be satisfied with the direction the new book was taking, which he would be informed of in his meeting at their headquarters the next day.
During these past months, Rick had also done his best to enjoy his newly found singleness and work on his celebrity status, consolidating his playboy fame – he had attended three different galas, a few high profile parties and one rock concert, all with a total of six different ladies. As he readied himself for another night out on the town, the famous novelist caught sight of his mother standing at his bedroom door watching him fasten his golden watch on his left wrist.
"So, what are your plans for tonight?" She asked.
Passing Martha as he walked into the living room, he commented offhandedly, "Just dinner and a Broadway play."
"Sounds romantic," he heard his daughter say from where she was sitting on the couch, book in her lap.
Turning to face her, he placed a quick kiss on her head and checked his pockets for his phone, wallet and keys before replying, "Yeah. You'll be alright, right?"
"Of course, Dad. You have a nice date."
He smirked, turning towards the loft's door. "I've left a credit card hidden under the fruit bowl for you, in case you want to sneak out and party like there's no tomorrow, okay?"
"Thanks, Dad, but I have a Physics test tomorrow."
He was stopped by Martha at the door. "You sure she's your kid?"
Rick smirked at the both of them. "The story of my life." Then, he kissed his mother on the right cheek. "Don't wait up!"
"I guess dinner and a show are not all you have in mind, then," Martha spoke up knowingly before he had a chance to walk out.
"Good night, Mother," Rick replied, ignoring her comment, before closing the door behind him.
Martha then turned to Alexis. "Which one is this again?" She asked, referring to her son's date.
"You know, Anja." Alexis replied, adding in airquotes, "The blonde and statuesque Latvian fashion model."
"Oh, right. Date no. 7, if I'm not mistaken," The older redhead commented as she walked into the kitchen in the direction of the wine cooler.
"Ever since his divorce, he's been unstoppable."
"He's just enjoying his life while he's still young. You should start doing it too, kiddo," Martha advised. "You're always studying. Go live a little."
"Well, someone has to keep the two of you in line," The young redhead joked.
"Why?" The Broadway diva asked rhetorically as she poured herself a goblet of Chianti. Walking back into the living room, she sat next to her granddaughter and tipped the glass in her hand in the teen's direction. "Sip?"
Alexis shook her head. "You know I'm only fourteen, right?"
Martha shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'your loss' and took a sip of the red wine herself before speaking again. "Look, kiddo, it doesn't take Freud to see your father's working through the five stages of grieving after his failed marriage: anger, denial, booze, blondes and rehab." Smiling sarcastically as she hugged the teen sideways, she finished. "Good news is he's up to blondes."
Laying her head on her grandmother's shoulder, Alexis retorted, "Let's hope he manages to exchange the fifth stage for something better than rehab."
The next day, Rick turned around the corner of Park Avenue and 17th Street late in the afternoon, enjoying his quick stroll from the building where Black Pawn was headquartered on 20th Street to the large Barnes & Nobles located at Union Square, all in the cool spring breeze that preceded the soon to come hot summer days. Once inside the store, the author walked around aimlessly for a good twenty minutes in the cold and dry surroundings (courtesy of the blasting air conditioning) while he waited for his daughter, who was supposed to meet him here once her group study meeting ended.
For his part, his meeting at Black Pawn had gone as good as he could have expected. Gina had been surprised by the storyline he had written, but had embraced the changes he proposed for the book.
"I'd never expect you to kill Clara Strike," She had told him.
Rick had decided that, for his next Storm novel, the character of Clara Strike would be found murdered in a hotel in Manhattan, and a devastated and irate Derrick Storm would find a way to insert himself in the NYPD's murder investigation, which would be lead by a smart and sexy young female detective whom Storm would not be able to get out of his mind.
"You need to come up with a name for her ASAP, though," Gina had berated him. "I can't print this with '[KB]' written on it. What is 'KB' anyway?"
Thinking fast, Rick had replied, "Kate Beckinsale. I just had this dream of her as the detective." Sighing lewdly for effect, he had added. "Ah, good dream."
Rick was smirking to himself as he recalled Gina's reaction to his indecent comment when his eyes landed on the back of a familiar female's head by the French literature section. He smiled once he realized that the brunette standing a few yards in front of him was Detective Kate Beckett, and then took a few moments to watch the beautiful woman who seemed distracted while she perused a novel in her hands.
However, the writer didn't get a chance to walk in her direction as he felt a pair of arms hug him from behind.
"There you are. I thought you said you'd be waiting for me at the café upstairs," Said Alexis, turning her father's body around so they could look at each other.
"Sorry. I got distracted going through the bestsellers section," He replied, after dropping a kiss to the teen's head in greeting and before trying to surreptitiously glance at Kate Beckett again.
Following her father's gaze, Alexis noticed the brunette who had her back to them. "Who is that?"
Busted, Castle quickly averted his eyes and focused on his kid again. "Who's who?"
"Dad," the teen started cautiously, "don't tell me you're trying to pick up a date at the book store."
"What?" He said in a high-pitched voice.
As Alexis prepared herself to start lecturing her father on his womanizing manners, she saw that the lady had moved and the teen caught a glimpse of her face. Recognition falling over her face, she asked in a surprised voice and with an inquisitive expression, "Isn't that the detective you worked with a couple of months ago?"
"Detective Beckett," He provided the name immediately. Trying to prevent his daughter from asking any more questions, he instantly carried on. "It looks like her, doesn't it? That's why I thought she seemed familiar," The novelist said, hoping for nonchalant. "Shall we go say 'hi'?"
Before Alexis could say anything, he was already walking towards the oblivious brunette. Once he reached her, he noticed the French crime novel Beckett had in her hands.
"You know, you should be a bit more supportive of American mystery writers," Rick announced in a low voice, close to her right ear, as a way of greeting.
Turning to look at the man who had decided to bother her, Kate was bewildered once she noticed it was Castle standing right in front of her, young lady in tow. "Castle? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I'm a published author in a book store. You shouldn't be so surprised," He quipped before opting to give her an honest reply. "I just came from a meeting at Black Pawn and was waiting for Alexis to meet me here." He pointed at the teen he was embracing. "You remember my daughter, right?"
Alexis immediately took over, disentangling herself from her father's hold. "Actually, we were never properly introduced. Nice to meet you, Detective Beckett," She said as she stuck out her left hand.
Kate shook her hand with a smile, even if still a bit dazed. "Nice to meet you."
"What are you doing here?" Rick interrupted the girls' moment for pleasantries. Suddenly excited, he whispered, "Are you undercover or something?"
"Yes, Castle. I'm a homicide detective going undercover as a regular New Yorker in a book store."
Noticing the mocking tone in the detective's voice and the amused chuckle coming from his daughter, Rick commented, "It could happen." Then, resuming his line of questioning, he tried again. "So, what are you doing here?"
"I thought I was enjoying a nice calm day off," She told him, pointedly.
"You live nearby?" He bypassed her attempt to get him to leave her alone.
"No, I was visiting… someone."
Aware of her hesitation, Rick sobered. "Boyfriend?"
"Actually, we broke up." Whatever made her say it she didn't know, but once she realized what she had disclosed, she went on. "I was just visiting my father."
He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but all of a sudden Castle was glad the detective had ended her relationship. Hoping he could get a chance to talk to Kate, he addressed his daughter. "Pumpkin, why don't you go ahead and get us a table in the café? I'll meet you there in a few minutes."
Taking in the gleam in her father's eyes, Alexis had this irrational hope that the intelligent and level-headed woman would put an end to the string of blondes her father had been parading around with. She complied with his request, nodding mutely and walking away even as she heard the brunette standing in front of her start to protest.
Once the redhead had left, Rick stood in silence next to Kate for a few moments deciding on what to say. "Do you want to grab a coffee? Maybe we could talk a bit, catch up."
She turned to him to assess his meaning. Although he didn't overtly ask her out on a date, she knew this was more than your friendly cup of coffee – they weren't actual friends to catch up on anything. "Thank you, Castle, but you're here with your daughter," She told him politely.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind," He was quick to reply.
"No, seriously. I don't want to intrude. It was nice seeing you, though."
Rick recognized a brush off when he saw one, and there was no way he would let Kate go so easily. Putting on the most charming smile he could muster, he spoke, "Fine. Dinner then."
"I have plans tonight," She lied – he wouldn't know it, though. She glanced at her watch theatrically. "Actually, I really have to go now."
He smiled in an attempt to cover his disappointment. "Maybe another time. I'll call you?"
Kate's smile was well-mannered and uncomfortable at the same time. "Bye, Castle."
"Hey."
Lanie jumped in shock as she turned to see her friend standing just inside the autopsy room. "What the hell! You scared me!"
"Lanie, you're surrounded by corpses," Kate pointed out.
"Yeah, and I don't expect the living after seven o'clock," The medical examiner said as she pointed to the clock above the door before walking towards the locker room and beckoning her friend to follow. "What are you doing here? Isn't it your day off?"
"Yes," the brunette detective replied as Lanie started changing her clothes. "I was home and I thought maybe you'd like to go out for drinks or something."
The M.E. stopped moving, shirt in hand, and assessed her friend for about ten seconds before speaking up. "Okay, what's going on?"
Inside her head, Kate smiled. Not much got past her friend. "I ran into Richard Castle today. He asked me out," she admitted.
"What?" Lanie squeaked.
"I didn't accept it."
"You said no?" Lanie cried, hitting her friend on the upper arm with the shirt in her hand. "Girl, what's the matter with you? When a famous, handsome writer asks you out, you say 'yes'!"
"I didn't exactly say no. I just… I don't want to become a notch on his bedpost, Lanie."
"What, you wanna marry the guy?" She asked sarcastically as she finished getting dressed.
"Of course not," Kate immediately replied, embarrassed. She didn't want a wedding, just… maybe more than one night of sex.
"Then just have a good time, girl," Lanie interrupted the detective's thoughts. "He seems like a man who knows what he's doing and you need some fun in your life."
The brunette waited a beat before speaking. "Yeah, but Lanie, I don't even think he's going to ask again."
Lanie threw her purse on her shoulder, completely ignoring her friend's irrational concerns with an all-knowing smile on her lips. "So, drinks?"
Kate smiled with a single nod in acceptance of the M.E.'s behavior. "Drinks."
"Beckett," The detective answered her phone on the second ring while she looked over the file in her hands.
"Why, if it isn't the lovely Detective Kate Beckett."
She recognized his voice immediately and chastised herself for not checking her caller ID. Using a low voice to avoid gathering attention to herself, she spoke, "Castle, what do you want?"
"I was just thinking of you –"
"Got yourself arrested?"
Smirking, he continued as if she hadn't interrupted, "and I wanted to ask you to dinner tomorrow."
Her heart skipped a beat. "Still intent on that, huh?" At his laugh, she smiled and continued. "Are you sure it's a good idea, Rick?"
For the first time he could remember, he was glad to hear her call him by his first name. "Of course it is. Actually, it's more than a good idea. Meeting you by chance now two days ago? It's a sign from the universe that I should ask you out again."
"I don't believe in fate, Castle."
"Okay. Do you believe in persistence, then? I can be very annoying when I want to."
"That I actually know firsthand," She smirked.
He chuckled. "So, what do you say?"
Lanie's words about having fun came to her mind and before she had a chance to stop herself, Kate replied, "Okay."
Rick was floored. "Come again?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "I said 'okay', Castle. I accept your dinner invitation."
Castle silently celebrated, so ecstatic that he actually forgot to say something.
"What, now is the time you'll choose to tell me you weren't serious?" She joked, slight fear in her voice.
"No, no, no," He was quick to reply. "Of course I'm serious."
"Okay," She smiled, quickly looking down once she noticed Ryan and Esposito watching her. Sobering a bit, she told him, "I'm still at the precinct and there's a lot I have to do, so… can we talk later?"
"Of course, yeah. I'll call you later so we can talk details, okay?"
"Okay."
Once they hung up, both Beckett and Castle had a hard time wiping the smiles off their faces.
TBC
(All characters and even some of the quotes in this fanfic don't belong to me. This is made available for entertainment only and not for profit. No copyright infringement is intended.)