Thank you for the great response to this story so far. I hadn't been too sure about extending it beyond the first chapter, but the response thus far has made me glad I did. Here we see Beckett and Lanie chatting about it all and what Beckett has planned for Castle. I hope you enjoy it. Gregg.
Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
"So, are you planning on some big sex marathon with Writer Boy now that he's home?" Lanie asked with a knowing look on her face as they got the bar ready the party that was planned.
Kate laughed. Leave it to Lanie to move the conversation to sex. "I have a few ideas," she conceded, a sly look on her face as she hung a streamer. They had made sure that Castle's bar was closed to the public for one night so that they could give him a party for the article he wrote about New York's Finest.
"Whip cream bikini? Hand cuffs? Whips, chains? Tell me!" Lanie demanded, a gleam of excitement in her eyes.
"Done the first," Kate smirked and then chuckled remembering that event. "As for the rest? Castle's a lightweight on the BDSM stuff, no matter what he says, and he whips out his safe word in seconds."
Both women shared a good laugh on that one. Neither was to into BDSM, though like everyone they enjoyed teasing their men about it, and for Kate, she enjoyed a bit of restraint in her sex play on occasion.
"You remember when we had the case involving the dominatrix club?" Kate asked.
"Oh, yeah," Lanie smiled. "Writer Boy looked like he'd died and gone to heaven when we teased him at the crime scene."
"Well, to get a lead on the case, I called one of the dungeons and made an appointment for Castle," Kate revealed. "You should have seen his face! He was petrified and reminded me over and over what his safe word was!"
"God I wish I could have been there!" Lanie exclaimed. "He must have had some serious questions about your sexual repertoire, Girl!"
"He must have because the first time we went out on a date a few months ago he handed me a list of the types of sex play he liked and didn't like," Kate continued laughing. "The thing was four pages long!"
"He must have been pretty sure he was going to be getting some," Lanie had to admire the guts of the man for doing that on the first date.
"Backseat of his car that night," Kate admitted, a small blush on her cheeks, and then she burst out laughing with Lanie. "I'd been teasing him all that week once I agreed to go on a date with him."
"The backseat?" Lanie asked, a bit surprised. It sounded so high school.
"Let's just say neither of us was too keen on waiting until we got to either of our apartments or a hotel by the end of dinner and all the innuendo," Kate elaborated subtly.
"That must have been some dinner," Lanie gave a sidewards glance at her best friend.
"The fabulous buffet at Mama Leoni's," Kate told her. "Castle introduced me to Matthew McConaughey, too."
"Damn! Why can't I ever be there when that kind of thing happens?" Lanie groused good naturedly. "I love his movies!"
"Colin Ferrell was there, too," Kate dropped one more name into the mix, knowing Lanie had a long time crush on him, too.
"That settles it, Girlfriend," Lanie exploded. "The next time Writer Boy decides to take you to a star studded haunt like that, you are inviting me and Javier! Assuming, that is, that my man gets the hint and shows up with a ring sometime this century. I swear, men are brain dead when it comes to the important things, and taking hints. Well, except for Castle. He came through in that regard."
"I still can't believe it," Kate said in wonder as she looked at her ring as if to make sure she still wasn't dreaming this somehow. Then she realized how that sounded and backtracked slightly. "Not that he got me a ring. I knew he would. It's just how soon."
"Soon?" Lanie asked. "The man's been in love with you since almost the first day he met you."
"He wanted in my pants the first day he met me, Lanie," Kate smirked. "I'd say that's more lust than love."
"You know what I mean," Lanie smirked back. "By the time he'd been working with us for a couple of months, he was beyond the lust phase and in love. The two of you were just too damn stubborn to see it."
Kate began making sure that the collection of e-mails which had been coming in since the article had been published were securely in the binder. They had hemmed and hawed about what they could do for Castle that would show him just how much his article meant to all of the NYPD and this was what they had come up with. The binder held close to 1,000 e-mails, and a separate flash drive held all the rest for him to see at his leisure.
"I don't know if it was because we were stubborn," Kate said finally.
"What do you mean?" Lanie asked as she sat down at the table. The bar was decorated now, so they could take a break.
"Agent Shaw said something to me that makes a lot of sense," Kate replied. "She told me that Castle cares for me a lot, but that I may not be ready to see it. I think she was right. Otherwise there's no way I would have turned to Demming, and then Josh."
"So Demming and Josh were what? Distractions?" Lanie asked curiously. She'd never understood how Kate could be so blind to what was right in front of her the whole time.
"As bad as it sounds, looking back on it they were," Kate admitted. "Castle is fun, sexy, and dangerous, Lanie. Not dangerous in a break your heart kind of way. He's too loyal for that, but he's dangerous because he meant so much to me before I even met him. I think I was afraid that when I really got to know him, beyond just being friends and partners, I would lose something very important to me."
"Well, you're together now, and engaged," Lanie smiled. Then her countenance darkened slightly. "I wonder what's taking Javier so long to get down on one knee and put a ring on my finger?"
"Probably money, Lanie," Kate suggested, knowing that it was the likely culprit.
"Well, at least Writer Boy doesn't have that problem," Lanie chuckled. "But I'd be happy with a simple ring. Not that I'll ever say that, but it's true."
Kate nodded. She was of the same school that if you admit to being satisfied with less, your significant other would become too complacent. Not that she ever had to worry about that with Rick Castle, but in general she agreed with Lanie.
"Having that much money isn't all it's cracked up to be, though," she told her friend. "Castle can be lavish, and incredibly generous, but it also hides a fear. The fear that someone may only like him because of what he can do. He preempts that by being ostentatious from the start. He acts like that, and no one knows any different, so if they like him, they like him and if they don't, they don't."
"So was he worth the wait?" Lanie asked. She didn't want to sound too nosy, but she'd wanted to see this come about for so long, she wanted to make sure that it was a good thing now that it was a reality.
"You know?" Kate said as she wrapped the binder and flash drive. "It was. I'm not happy about the mistakes, and essentially lying to each other about our feelings for so long, but now that we're together, it's like everything is finally where it should be. Castle makes life fun. I think that's what I've needed for a long time."
"I was telling you that before Writer Boy ever came on the scene," Lanie pointed out with a raised brow.
"And now I'm glad I didn't listen back then," Kate smirked as she inwardly winced at the thought of having found her "one and done" before meeting and becoming friends with Castle. She stood up. "I've got some things to do before the party, so I better get going."
"Sure, leave me to fend for myself," Lanie teased. "Go on. I've got some paperwork to finish up before I can enjoy my weekend."
Kate hugged her friend. "Thanks for the help, Lanie. See you tonight!"
A/N: I wanted this one to be a simple, but fun, conversation between Lanie and Kate. Next up will be the party, and then Kate's surprise for Castle. I hope you enjoyed this one. Gregg.
A/N2: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but I've been under the weather with the flu, so hopefully I will be able to work on some more updates over the next few days, but I'm not committing myself to anything at the moment.