Thank you so much for all your kind words regarding the first chapter. Here's the next one.
As promised, Castle returns with lunch for them all-burgers, fries, and shakes from Remy's. The boys bring him up to date on the case while they eat, though not much has happened in the two hours he was gone. Kate focuses on her food, only speaking when she is specifically asked a question. She wants to be mad, to have him notice that she's annoyed.
Truth be told, she's not so much annoyed with him as she is annoyed with the way the morning has gone. After all, he can't control the number of times Gina calls him.
Ryan gets a phone call and walks into the hall, only to come back a moment later. "Javi, that was the owner of the club. He pulled the security footage from the night our vic was there."
Esposito jumps up, shoving the last of his fries in his mouth before he picks up his trash and throws it in the can on his way out the door.
She and Castle sit quietly in the break room. The awkward silence between them isn't normal. She knows the ball is in her court-that she has to be the one to move them forward and try to establish a balance between them again. "Get everything settled with Gina?"
"God, I hope so," he says through a sigh. He leans back in his chair and stretches, releasing the tension. He's not the only one that observes, that files away the details. "I swear to you that I'm yours for the rest of this case."
"Just for the rest of the case?" The words are out of her mouth before she can stop them, and she wishes her mind didn't get in the way so much, because these are the kinds of things she needs to say to him.
It was easier before, when she had yet to accept that she wanted him as more than a friend and partner. Before he said I love you as she died in his arms. The teasing was more playful, because at the time there was no truth to the words they exchanged. But now? The words and the meaning behind them have implications neither one of them can deny.
"Are," he starts, the hesitancy in his question obvious in his voice. "I mean, are we still just talking about the case? Because I might have missed something if we're not."
Kate suddenly becomes very interested in the few fries that remain on the wrapper from her burger. She pushes them around in an effort to gather up extra salt, and in these few moments her mind wages a war with her heart as she tries to come up with a response that puts off giving Castle a direct answer without taking a step in the opposite direction.
"Let's start with the case. We can negotiate anything further later."
If she thought he looked shocked before, the expression he sports now as the words leave her mouth is priceless. And while she knows that she will inevitably have to answer questions about her words, she likes that she can render him speechless.
"Later?"
"You heard me, Castle," she says with a laugh, feeling more confident now that she's managed to find a bit of a happy medium for now. "Let's finish the case, then we can talk."
He practically bolts up from his seat, gathering his trash and throwing it away before he stands next to her, holding his hand out with a smile that reminds her of a little puppy who wants to play.
"What?" she asks, even though she has a good idea why he's suddenly so eager to work on the case.
"We have a case to solve. And I don't have to worry about being interrupted by Gina anymore."
Kate takes his hand and lets his pull her up from the chair, noting with a smile that he doesn't let go of her hand immediately. They're away from prying eyes for the briefest of seconds, and he gives her hand a squeeze before letting go just as they cross the threshold back into the bullpen.
They can't solve this case soon enough.
Four hours later, Kate's leaning against her desk staring at the murder board with Castle at her side. They've been that way for twenty minutes, without a word between them. She vaguely registered Ryan and Esposito coming back, but they didn't say a word-just went to their desks-so she continued to stare at the board.
"When you're writing," she says as she leans away from the desk to stand closer to the board, "do you ever feel like you're trying too hard?"
"Sure," he answers, moving so that he's standing next to her. "Sometimes, if I try to force myself to write, I can sit and stare at the cursor for hours and the words just won't come to me. I finally had to learn not to force it. Of course, that also means I have these binge moments where I write for hours."
"I think I understand that frustration right now." It's an honest confession, and she chances a look in his direction.
"You think we're trying too hard?"
"At the risk of you using this information against me later," she prefaces, "I really want to solve this case soon. But I feel like we might be looking for connections that just aren't there yet."
"You're right," he says through a laugh. "I'm definitely going to use that against you later. But what do you suggest we do in the meantime?"
Kate glances at her watch and realizes it's past five in the evening. They won't get much more done tonight. And there's a part of her that wants to ask him out for a drink, maybe even dinner, but she knows where their conversation will go if she does. She really does want to wait until the case is over for them to have their talk, even if waiting gets to be a pain in the ass. The last thing she wants is distractions. She's been working on making herself better for so many months now that she doesn't think she could handle hitting the pause button once they get started. No, they need to wait until the case is over and the paperwork is done.
"I suggest we knock off for the night and come back with fresh eyes tomorrow."
"You think that will make a difference? Because I think we both know where our minds really are right now."
"I know." She nods in agreement, even as she returns to her desk and retrieves her jacket from the back of her chair. Castle hurries over to stand behind her, taking the jacket from her and holding it out as her arms slide into the sleeves. His closeness makes it easier to say her next words. "But maybe part of it is that we're trying to force it in anticipation of what comes after the case is solved. So let's go home-separately-and try to clear our heads. We'll come back tomorrow and see how it goes."
"Can I make a confession?" He asks softly as his hands linger on her shoulders. Kate turns to face him, making eye contact as she nods for him to continue. "I'm afraid we're going to close this case and something will happen that keeps us in the status quo."
Truth be told, she can understand his apprehension. She hasn't exactly been the most forthcoming person in the time they've known each other, and she could be considered an expert at avoidance when it comes to him. But she can't let this go on any longer than is absolutely necessary.
"Not gonna happen, Castle. In fact, let's make it a date. Once this case is closed, we're going to the Old Haunt. You still use the office on occasion, right?"
"Yeah, when I need to write and the other women in my life have taken over the loft."
"Then it's settled. When the case is over, you and I are going to have a long talk at the Old Haunt. Do we need to shake on it?"
Castle shakes his head, even as his smile reaches from ear to ear. He stands to the side, leaving space for her to walk toward the door. "After you, Detective."
I have to take a moment to thank Kylie for everything she's done to help me with this story. It means a great deal.