Movie Night

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: It's theirs, not mine. Time: Between Overkill and A Deadly Game. Rating: M.

"Hemingway Movie Night?" Kate asked.

"One night only at the Fox. We have to go, colleague." Castle reached out to take Beckett's hand, but she pulled it away.

"Not here! Someone will see!" she said sharply.

"I don't meet you until we're four blocks from the precinct. I park another three blocks away. Beckett, no one is going to see us."

"How about him?" Beckett asked, pointing to a kid on a skateboard zooming by.

"Him?"

Beckett nodded with a smile. "You can never tell about Internal Affairs, they're sneaky." Castle snorted and shook his head, but Beckett kept talking. "I'm serious, Castle. There are serious consequences if I'm caught in a relationship with a colleague. I've told you, I could lose my badge."

"Kate, you're the best homicide detective in the city. They would never fire you, or even demote you, or anything. I'm sure if anyone found out about us, the whole New York Police Department would tie themselves in knots trying to avoid officially acknowledging that anything had happened that would force them to punish you. "

"When I'm meter maid Kate, I'll remember that. How are you going to like writing about Nikki Heat when she's tracking down overtime parkers?""

They turned into the parking garage and once well inside, Castle took her hand. "Okay?"

She nodded. "I love having you touch me, but only when we're alone. Considering how much touching we do, is it so hard to keep your hands off of me…" She realized she'd made a mistake.

"It's impossible. Can't be done. No mere human when confronted with the awesomeness that is Kate Beckett could not touch."

Kate pulled him behind a concrete abutment and kissed him. "Perhaps I should ration you then?"

A look of fake horror came over Castle's face. "You wouldn't."

Kate just laughed as they headed for the elevator.

"Anyway, I was talking to my lawyer about the NYPD and their archaic rules." He said as they entered the elevator.

"Why?" Kate was puzzled.

"I'm not a cop. I don't work for the city. I'm just a writer following some detectives around. Legally, I'm not a part of the NYPD. My lawyer says that if they tried to punish you for going out with me, they wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on." Castle leered. "Unlike you, who have two gorgeous legs to stand on."

Kate rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised how the department can unofficially punish people if they put their minds to it."

"Look, if anyone complains about you being my girlfriend…"

"What did you call me?" Kate turned and glared at Castle.

"Um, I know we…That is…We should…We're, you know…"

Beckett pushed her face into Castle's. "What. Did. You. Call. Me?" She said slowly and deliberately.

Castle took a deep breath. "You're my girlfriend, Kate Beckett. That's exactly what you are. My girlfriend. There. I've said it and I'm not taking it back."

"What did you call me?" Kate was trying to keep her glare, but her smile was starting to show through.

Castle smiled back. "You are my girlfriend. My girlfriend."

"Say that again."

"No."

"No?" Kate was confused.

"No, it's your turn."

"You're my boyfriend, Rick Castle." Kate frowned. "My god! That sound like we're in high school."

"I'm afraid you're right." Rick said very seriously.

"You're my lover, Richard Castle. That's it, my lover."

"Much better."

"And what was it my lover wanted to do tonight?"

"Hemingway movie night at the Fox, a triple feature."

"Didn't Hemingway say he hated all of the movies that were made from his books?"

"What do writer's know about films?" Castle asked airily. "But these are good movies. First up is The Killers, the 1946 one. A film noir classic. Burt Lancaster in his film debut. Ava Gardener, and Edmund O'Brien with Charles McGraw and William Conrad as the killers."

"Next up is The Snows of Kilimanjaro, with Gregory Peck as a writer dying in Africa with his girlfriend, Susan Hayward."

"She shot him, I presume?"

"Now that is cold. Of course she didn't shoot him. He dies of an infected wound caused by a thorn. That's in the book. In the film it's ambiguous whether he dies or not."

"The third film is?"

"They saved the best for last. To Have and to Have Not. Bogart and Bacall together again for the first time. I met Betty Bacall once. Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Mom was five months pregnant with me. It was some sort of award show."

"Gee, Castle. I'm impressed. Why, you're practically family."

"Walter Brennan is in it, too. He was always old, I think. He must have found the fountain of elderly."

"If I remember correctly, the only thing the book and the movie have in common is the title."

Rick shrugged. "We writers suffer so at the hands of Hollywood."

They reached Rick's car. He opened the door for her and she got in. As soon as Rick got in, Kate reached over and kissed him. After a moment, he pulled away.

"What?" she asked.

Rick pointed to an electrical junction box. "Could be a hidden mike in there. Internal Affairs is sneaky that way."

Kate gasped dramatically. "They must have my place bugged. Well, we can't fool around anymore, can we?"

"You wanna bet?"

Kate laughed. "Maybe just a little. Now take me home so I can change. Your triple feature starts early, you know."

Four hours later, the two walked out of the theater. "I enjoyed all three of those." Kate said.

"Which was your favorite?" Rick asked slyly.

"Oh, the one about the writer, of course. I have a thing for writers, you know."

"Writers? Plural?"

"Oh, yes. The more the merrier. You can never have enough writers around, you know."

As they walked towards his car, Kate slid her arm around him. "Do you ever worry, like Harry did, that your writing isn't…meaningful? Important?"

Castle thought for a moment. "No. That's not the sort of thing I would have thought about BB, you know."

"BB?" She asked. She had a feeling that her name was one of the Bs.

"Before Beckett. I divide my life into my time with you, and the time before when I was in the outer darkness."

"It always looked to me like you were enjoying the outer darkness."

Castle sighed. "No one really knows how we artists suffer for our art. We have very fragile souls."

Kate gave him a raspberry.

"You wound me to the core, colleague. But, to tell you the truth, I see myself as a citizen now, not just as a writer. I now spend my days keeping the world safe from criminals and keeping the world's finest detective filled with caffeine. She gets grumpy if she isn't properly caffeinated."

"She gets even grumpier if she isn't something else on a regular basis." Kate said archly.

They got to the car. Kate leaned against him. "Take me home, Rick."

"No late night snack?"

"Oh, I have a dessert all planned."

Kate relaxed and enjoyed the ride. Then she noticed something. "You're not going home, Rick."

"Sure I am."

Kate checked the street signs. "You're going to your home?"

"Sure. Why not."

"No!" she cried. "Turn around. We'll go to my place."

"Why?"

"Suppose Alexis and Martha are home?"

"You don't want my family to know about us? You want to keep this a deep, dark secret? You don't want people to know that Kate Beckett is dating, gasp, shudder, a…writer. Oh, the shame. It's not just any writer it's…Richard Castle. What will Alexis and Martha say?"

"Castle!"

"Kate, they know about us."

"WHAT!" Kate screamed. "You told them about us? Why?"

"Kate, you do remember that Alexis is very smart, right? And that Martha is pretty sharp about these things, too. If I take Detective Beckett out to dinner and regularly come home at six AM, they aren't going to think we've been having a killer game of Scrabble."

"They know?" Kate said weakly.

"Don't worry about it. Actually Alexis thinks you're the coolest adult she's ever met and Martha thinks you're way too good for me, but hopes I'll eventually measure up."

"But that's me as Detective Beckett. How will they feel about Kate, Rick's lover?"

"They'll manage. Besides, we're home."

Rick parked and walked around to open the door for Kate. When she got out, she threw her arms around his neck, held on tight and didn't move. "Castle, I'm not ready for this. Please."

"Beckett, you'll never be ready for this, so come on. Let's get it over with. This is a school night, so Alexis will be asleep by now. She sleeps like a log, don't worry. And my mom is out with her friends at a play. She won't get back until late. She'll still be asleep by the time Alexis leaves for school tomorrow. We'll have plenty of time to sneak out, get you back to your place and changed and get to the precinct. Come on. I really want this. Okay?"

Kate nodded and followed Rick into the elevator and out into the hallway on his floor. Then she stopped. "If there's a light on, if there's anything moving inside, if there's anything at all inside, I'm running."

Rick took her hand and slowly opened the door. "The only light is the clock on the kitchen stove and the lights on my computer in my office. The coast is clear."

Beckett took his hand and dragged him to his bedroom. Once there, she closed the door and locked it.

"I've always wanted you to drag me by main force into my bedroom, you know. I always imagined you'd look a little happier about it, though."

"Shh! Not so loud! You'll wake Alexis." Kate whispered.

"Artillery fire wouldn't…"

Kate was headed for the bathroom. "I have to brush my teeth and get ready for bed." She whispered.

"There's some new toothbrushes in the drawer on the left, I think." Rick said, in a normal voice.

"Castle! Do you have to be so loud?"

"Sorry." He whispered back.

In minutes she was back and started to take off her jacket.

"Hey! Don't start without me. You know how I love undressing you. I'll be out in a sec."

"Remember, I like undressing you, too, Castle." She whispered at the closing door.

When Castle came back out, Kate was waiting for him by the bed. He took her in his arms and gently kissed her. "I can't believe this is happening sometimes. I've wanted you so badly for so long."

"I've wanted you too."

"Kate, honey, it's not just physical, it's not just the sex. Although that's great. I'd rather sit by your desk and watch you than be with any other woman."

"I feel the same. I can't tell you how miserable my life was before you." Kate laid her head on Rick's chest. "If you ever get tired of me…"

"No!" Rick cut her off. "Don't say that. We're going to be great together."