A/N: I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who has reviewed and followed and favorited (and simply read) this story so far, including those who just joined since my last update – in the latter case, I think that's all because NoOrdinaryLines started stalking me, though ;)
Of course, I'd also like to thank Tree23 for EVERYTHING. You're seriously amazing!
Ryan and Esposito noticed the bothered look on Beckett's face once she spotted the bad-boy writer in attendance at the benefit.
"You okay?" Espo asked.
"You seem tense," Ryan added.
The brunette looked at both her partners and tried to swiftly come up with an excuse for her behavior. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just, he really got on my nerves the last time, when we worked that case back in September."
They both nodded, not having any reason to doubt Beckett's explanation.
Beckett watched as Castle purposefully made his way through the crowd towards the three detectives, taking long, frantic strides with a desperate look on his face. The brunette quickly had this inkling that the boys would soon have quite a reason to doubt her explanation unless she did something to stop whatever it was the mystery novelist was about to do.
Hoping to avoid any insight to her personal life – especially relating to her recent involvement with the novelist –, she immediately spoke up once Castle was within talking distance. "Good evening, Mr. Castle. How have you been?"
Her tone might have been polite enough, Rick noticed, but the narrowed eyes on her face were doing nothing to calm his nerves. At least, he got the message loud and clear: You give away what's going on, you give your life up.
Trying to calm down a little bit, he greeted, "Detective Beckett, Detectives Ryan and Esposito. I didn't expect to see you here."
You sure didn't, he could read Kate's features telling him in perfect sarcasm.
The writer tried his best not to be intimidated, and so carried on. "What's going on?" He asked nonchalantly, although his eyes were begging Kate for some time alone with her.
Esposito was the one to first address the question. "We're investigating a murder."
"Looking for a suspect," Ryan piped in.
"In here?" Castle asked, slightly aghast and all too interested at once. "Who's the guy?"
Before Beckett had a chance to stop them, the three men in front of her were already deep in conversation about Mason Archibald and the murder victims. It was amazing how the three of them seemed to instantly hit it off, she noted. Boys will be boys, indeed.
"You think he killed both the guy and Babs?" Castle was asking, referring to the murdered couple.
Something snapped in Beckett's mind. "Babs? You knew our victim, Barbara Watson?"
Castle suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Well, yeah, I bought some paintings from her art gallery for my house in the Hamptons."
"Dude, you've got a house in the Hamptons?" Ryan interrupted, excitedly.
"Of course he has a house in the Hamptons, bro," Esposito admonished in a lower voice.
Beckett just stared at Castle, trying to filter the other two detectives out of her mind. "And that's all?" She asked him, doubtful.
Esposito, on a roll, answered her question for the writer. "Young, pretty girl like that, rich, playboy guy like him… of course there's more to that." Turning with an impish grin to the author, he continued, "Am I right, man?"
Castle forged a smile at the male detective when he admitted, "Yeah, we slept together a couple of times about two months ago." Turning to Beckett, he added awkwardly, "I hadn't seen her since then, though."
Ryan cut in, "That's when Barbara started dating our other victim, Ian Cohen."
As Ryan, Esposito and a vexed Castle fell back into speculating about the different scenarios in which the murders could have been committed, Beckett just stood there, watching them.
Of course he had slept with their victim. This was Richard Castle, womanizing rich novelist. A player.
Had he been playing her too?
"Well, I hate to break up this party," The female detective finally managed to get in after a while, "but we need to find Mr. Archibald." She looked pointedly at the fellow detectives.
"Right," The two of them, chastised, replied almost in unison.
Rick suddenly recalled why he had come over to them in the first place. Not wanting to give Kate a chance to get away, he mentioned, "Actually, Detective, could I talk to you before you leave?"
Ryan and Esposito knew that Castle certainly wasn't talking to either of them, so they just glanced at Beckett – a little too knowingly, if you asked her – before adding that they'd go ahead and meet up with her later.
As soon as the boys left, Castle put on a dazzling smile and asked, "So, how have you been?"
Kate scoffed. "Oh, cut the crap, Castle. Better say whatever it is you want to say fast, because I have work to do and they," She nodded her head at the small group of women standing by the bar trying to watch them unobtrusively, "are waiting for you."
"Alright, that's not fair. I told you this would probably happen!"
"This?"
"Yeah, the… women! The… the…"
She interrupted the writer's stuttering spree, acidly commenting, "The ridiculousness of your drooling all over them?"
"Droo – what? No! I wasn't drooling! There was no drooling!"
"Really, Castle?" The brunette detective questioned, a single eyebrow raised in incredulity. "Yeah, right."
"They were just flirting, and I –"
"Flirting? They were throwing themselves at you!" She hissed. Then, she added in a menacing whisper, "And you – you were completely into it!"
"I was not!" He replied in a tone that was louder and more high-pitched than he intended, which caused a few heads to turn their way. Noticing this – and the self-conscious look in the detective's face –, he uttered in a deep voice, "I was not into the flirting nor the women."
"Whatever, Castle, this shouldn't matter. Actually, it doesn't. You're entitled to all of this, right?" Beckett forced out on a roll, conflicted. "I think I should just go."
"No, Kate, wait –" The novelist said still in a low voice, reaching for the brunette's forearm before she had a chance to completely turn away from him. He kept his body close enough to hers to give people the idea that they were deep in conversation about something important, but not so close that it would give away that this was a personal discussion. He took a look at her chagrined features and decided to not let it stop him. "You are entitled to being annoyed here. I did ask you to come with me, and I wanted you here with me." He told her, before adding with a smile, "You would've helped keep them at bay."
Apparently, he didn't realize that wasn't a great thing to say.
Kate took a step closer to him and narrowed her eyes intimidatingly. "That's why you wanted me here? To keep the bimbettes away?!"
"What? No!" He replied, confused and stunned all over again. "I – look, Kate, I wanted you here because I wanted you here, that's it." He took the fact that he managed to stop to take a breath without her either interrupting him or leaving him as a good sign and carried on. "I don't care about those women, I'd much rather enjoy your company."
A bit more subdued, Kate replied in a low voice, still laced with wary, "That's a funny way of showing it, Castle."
"I have to live the part, Kate. At least until we know what this is."
"What what is?"
"Us," He replied simply.
She stared at him, speechless for a moment. Was he playing her after all or not? "You barely know me, Castle."
Rick thought he could feel her starting to give in, and that gave him the confidence he needed. "It doesn't take a lot to realize that you're no ordinary woman, Kate. You're worth the effort," he finished, before taking a step closer to her.
Now with only a few inches keeping them apart, Beckett looked down to avoid the pull his eyes exercised over her. She ran her hands through her hair, aware of the warmth of his body standing so close to her, of the way it did things to her she couldn't explain.
Even if he was playing her, so what? It's not like she was getting ready to marry the guy.
And he was fun, Lanie had pointed out once. She needed fun.
All in due time, though.
"I can't do this now, Castle," She finally spoke, eyes still directed at the marble floor under her feet.
"I know," He said gently and not at all judging, causing her to look up at his face. "We'll talk tomorrow, " he added, before planting a gentle lingering kiss on the corner of her lips.
She smiled shyly at him, relaxing once she noticed that the look on his face denoted delight at putting her at ease more than it did any arrogance she might have expected.
She wasn't ready to let all that happened be forgiven and forgotten just yet; still, she decided to tease him a bit. "Well, if you're happy with just talking…"
With that, Kate walked away from Castle, leaving him staring after her like a loyal puppy lost in the park.
As she moved around the room in search of the boys, she realized that the bimbos by the bar were openly watching her, envy shining in their eyes as they whispered amongst themselves, probably about what they had just witnessed.
Kate smiled haughtily then.
Take that, bitches.
Early Saturday afternoon had Beckett and the other detectives in the precinct, going over all of the evidence they had in connection with their cases again.
They were certain Mason Archibald was their killer. They just needed enough evidence to prove it.
After the detectives had picked up the suspect at the Metropolitan Club and brought him to the precinct the night before, Beckett had barely started questioning the man about his relationship with the victims before he lawyered up. And he didn't just lawyer up – he also smiled at her, that cynic smile that only a guilty man who knows he's about to go free is capable of showing.
It had pissed her off.
So, the female detective was once more looking over autopsy and lab reports, all the while rearranging the evidence on the white murder board in front of her. In the meantime, Ryan went over all information gathered with background checks on the victims, suspects and every person of interest in these cases, and Esposito reexamined the victims' financials.
Only the ding of the elevator as it reached the Homicide floor broke the detectives' concentration. And, as the three of them looked up to see who had arrived, they were greeted with the sight of Castle breezing into the bullpen.
Immediately standing up in nervousness, Kate murmured, "Castle, what are you doing here?"
"Relax, Detective," He replied in an easy tone. "I'm here to see Roy, actually."
The Captain, who had taken notice of the novelist walking into the room, came out of his office. "Rick! What brings you by?" He greeted, extending his hand.
Shaking Montgomery's hand, the writer replied, "Well, I was hoping I could speak with you about something."
"He what?!"
Montgomery answered Beckett's inquiry. "Well, he'd like the opportunity to observe the NYPD at work during this case, use this for a book. I told him it was up to you guys."
Beckett narrowed her eyes at Castle, who stood behind the Captain, an infuriating smirk painted on his face.
Ryan and Esposito, on the other hand, turned to watch Beckett's reaction to this news. They couldn't care less if Castle would follow them or not; the point here was how their fellow detective would react to having the playboy writer shadow her.
"This could turn out to be better than shark week," Esposito muttered to his partner.
Meanwhile, Beckett was trying to convince her boss that this was not a good idea. "Sir, he's like a nine-year old on a sugar rush, totally incapable of taking anything seriously."
"Oh, I take plenty of things seriously," Castle spoke up, leering.
The brunette looked pointedly at the Captain. "See?"
"Hey!" The writer exclaimed, indignant.
Montgomery intervened. "Beckett, he assured me he will follow your lead and keep out of the way –"
She muttered under her breath, "Yeah, right."
"And," the older man continued, as if uninterrupted, "he did help you solve the last case he was involved in."
That did it for the female detective. It was clear that the Captain wouldn't agree with her, so her best chance was to talk Castle out of this idea.
She knew it was a lost battle to begin with.
"Why would you need to shadow the NYPD now to write a book, Castle?" She tried anyway. "You've written tons of bestsellers before without doing so."
"To learn from the best," Was his immediate reply. "And thanks for acknowledging my success," He added as his smirk grew even wider.
She looked around nervously, hoping anyone would help her out here. Of course that wouldn't happen – the Captain liked this for publicity, and the boys liked this for messing with her. Her fellow detectives probably only saw this as an obnoxious novelist shadowing them, but Kate knew the writer's motives weren't just related to research for a book.
Suddenly, she found the perfect excuse to put an end to this. "I'm sorry, Castle, but, considering your involvement with the case, it's best if you don't."
"Involvement?" Montgomery asked, confused.
This might just work, she thought."Sir, he knows the suspect –"
"In passing!" The writer exclaimed in rebuttal. He was really afraid they would block him out.
"And he slept with our female victim," She got out through clenched teeth.
Well, that Castle could not refute.
The Captain looked from his detectives to Castle, seemingly disappointed, before saying, "Well, she's right, Rick. Maybe you could come for another case, though."
"I'll look forward to that," He replied to Montgomery's comment, although his eyes danced to Kate's face briefly while he spoke. Then he returned his full attention to his older colleague. "And to ripping you out of your paycheck again, Roy. Next game, my loft."
"Oh, you're on."
Rick turned to the detectives in the room, paying special attention to the boys instead of focusing on the beautiful brunette. "Maybe you guys could come too. We'll have a NYPD poker night."
"Sure," Ryan replied.
"That'd be cool," Espo shrugged, feigning indifference.
"Tuesday?" Castle offered to the occupants in the room.
"Deal," The Captain said as the two male detectives nodded.
"Great. I'll text you the address." Finally deciding to address Kate directly, he asked, "How about you, Detective?"
"I don't know, Castle," She said cryptically. "I think I might already have plans."
"Of course," He deflated a bit. "Well, let me know."
When her doorbell rang, Kate was just about to get into the tub for a long bath. Annoyed at the interruption – she really needed to unwind after spending the whole day in the precinct – she put on the short white terrycloth robe and marched into her living room to get the door.
"Yes?"
The man on the other side of the door widened his eyes upon the sight of a barely-clad Kate Beckett and stuttered, "I – sorry to bother you, Kate. I came to… is this a bad time?"
"It's fine, Damon," Even as she assured her next-door neighbor, she unconsciously hugged the robe a little closer to her body. "Do you need anything?"
Still a little uncomfortably absorbed, the man replied, "Actually, I just wanted to talk to you about our super, Mr. Williams. As you know, he's retiring after Thanksgiving, and the Tenants Committee thought it would be a nice idea if we could all contribute to a 'thank you for all the hard work and happy early holiday season' sort of thing."
"Of course. How much do I owe?"
The neighbors chatted for a couple of minutes after Beckett kicked in $150 for the cause and then – finally – Kate was left alone to start her bath. She was barely out of the living room, though, when there was a knock on her door. Again.
Damien was really nice, but she was going to have to kill the guy.
"Yes?" The brunette greeted before even the door was fully opened, a little exasperation tainting her voice this time.
"I – uh – wow, is this how you greet visitors?" Castle said from the hallway, eyes shining in a mix of admiration and lust as he was granted a glimpse of almost-nude Kate.
Not expecting the author, it took her a little longer than it should to come up with a retort. "Well, I'm trying to take a bath but I keep getting interrupted."
"So, someone has been bothering you this fine evening?"
"Other than you, you mean?" She jabbed. "Yes, my neighbor just came by to talk about a retirement gift to the super."
"And all the time you were wearing this?" Rick commented, a little jealous, before understanding suddenly flashed in the writer's eyes. "Oh, so that explains the polite guy with the flushed cheeks that was locking his door when I walked by." He smirked at the detective. "You know, it's just mean to do that to a guy, Beckett," he added as he pointed to her body, outstretched hand going from her hair to her naked thighs.
Beckett swallowed the smirk that was threatening to adorn her face and raised her brows in fake annoyance. "Is there a point to your stopping by unannounced, Castle?" Before he even had a chance to reply – not that it seemed that he would have done so anytime soon, if the way his eyes were suddenly glued to her bare legs was any indication –, she added, "Actually, how did you even get in the building?"
"Lock's broken," He told her without taking his focus from her body.
"Castle!"
The displeased tone in her voice caught his attention and his eyes snapped up. "Yeah?" At her pointed look, his brain resumed functioning. "Right. So, after recent events, I wanted to spend some time with you before you had the chance to fend me off, and I thought this," He picked up a grocery bag and a bottle of wine that were sitting by her door, "would be a nice idea."
For the second time that evening, she raised her brows at him. "What's this?"
"This is homemade dinner and a bottle of red Châteauneuf du Pape – actually, ingredients to prepare homemade dinner, but you get the point." He rambled. "I remember promising you a low-key second date," He finished as an explanation.
The corners of her mouth went up in a hardly noticeable smile. "I believe the actual word was 'inconspicuous'."
"Great memory, Detective," He noted, trying to sound coy. He would be lying if he said he wasn't also thrilled by the way she seemingly committed their conversation to memory. "So," He continued after she made no move to let him in her apartment, "Can I come in?"
Kate pretended to think it over before taking a step away from the door. "Please," She told him in invitation.
She watched entranced as the novelist smiled at her and made his way to her kitchen, where he settled the food and the wine. "So, are we going to work on dinner together?" She asked.
The thought of the two of them cooking together in the average sized kitchen was appealingly intimate, as well as strangely arousing, for Rick. Taking notice of her appearance once again – how could I have even forgotten she was only wearing a robe? –, he came up with a better idea. "Actually, why don't you go take your bath while I take care of everything here?"
"Are you sure?"
"Well, unless you plan on allowing me to see what else you've got on under that robe, then, yes, I'm sure."
The brunette blushed for a few moments before recovering, "Well, I'll just take a shower and when I come back I'll help you finish dinner."
"Deal," He smiled at her.
"Pans are under the sink and the cooking knifes and spatulas and stuff are on the top two drawers there," She pointed at the counter beside the stove. "If you need anything else, just take a look at the cabinets." She directed before leaving the room.
Once the writer heard the click of the bathroom door closing behind Kate, he started his quest for cooking utensils, a proud smirk on his lips. If there was anything Rick had learned in his life, it was to take his victories as small as they came. Any victory was a victory nonetheless, and this – Beckett allowing him into her home for an unscheduled dinner date? This was enough victory for now.
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.)