A new chapter at last! This one is extra-long for all of my loyal reviewers, story alerts, favorites and of course to
phalangesbyfive: thanks for being awesome and for putting up with my ADD, OCD and random urge to quote Oprah (I don't always tell you, but I do it quite often).
More smut in this chapter- it deserves its M rating, so if it's not your thing, skip it. I decided to play around with points of view- there is also some father-daughter bonding stuff, some of Alexis and her musings, and a pretty smutty flashback….
"Mathew Gregory was not in the Armed Forces," Ryan said, dropping his findings on Beckett's desk. She sighed, frustrated at yet another dead end.
"Nothing is going to go my way today, is it?" she asked, rhetorically, Ryan just grinned stupidly in response.
"You didn't let me finish, detective," he said. "He wasn't in the Military, but his brother, Joshua Gregory was."
"Any connection to the victim?" she asked, sitting up straighter.
"No, actually after his time serving in the military, he apparently decided he preferred the other side of the law. Josh's alibi would be the five year sentence he's half-finished serving in the Tombs, but," he was quick to throw out the clause before she could get annoyed. "Before his little escapade to the Manhattan H of D, she was living with his brother in a small apartment downtown.
"So Matthew would have easy access to the knife," she caught on, a smile forming on her face.
"I've got a warrant on the way," he told her, before she could give the order. Again she smiled.
"Go treat yourself to a cup of coffee, Ryan. Then go wait for the go by the apartment. Have you heard anything on Matthew?"
"Negative. Espo has his boys on the lookout for him, and he is working on getting in touch with him." Kate nodded.
"Call me as soon as you get the go on the warrant. I want to see the inside of this guy's place for myself."
-x-
"Are you pretty confident it's him?" Castle asked. The warrant for the Gregory apartment had come through and she was making her way down Pike Street, strapping on her vest as she walked. Her pace was a brisk one, but that did not deter Castle, who met her stride, adjusting his vest of his own, 'writer' plastered across his chest.
"Pretty damn," she answered, not slowing down.
"Why are we wearing vests?" he asked her, all of a sudden worried. "Is this going to be dangerous?"
"It's protocol, Castle. It's pretty safe to say nobody is there anyways, but we have to be cautious," she answered. "The fact that I let you out of the car should be enough to tell you that. Don't worry; you will make it out with your pretty face intact."
"It's not me I'm worried about," he answered, seriously, placing a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to stop and turn to face him. She punched him in the arm, hard.
"Don't you do that-" she began, torn between being touched at his concern and being annoyed at the situation. "I do not have the time or the patience for this.." she muttered, looking around her, almost self-consciously. "Can we have this conversation later?" He swallowed and nodded. "Good. Now stay behind me, protocol," she reminded, turning to face the apartment door. Esposito and Ryan were waiting on either side of the blue door. She reached into her back pocket, retrieving a piece of paper. With the warrant in hand she rapped on the door. "Matthew Gregory, NYPD, we have a warrant," she shouted, authority oozing from her tone. When no one answered she backed up a little, nodding to Esposito as she pulled her gun from its holster. He nodded back and in response stepped in from of her, kicking the door jam with extreme force, causing the door to fling open. The cops flooded in first, Castle close behind, guns swinging wildly.
Three shouts of 'Clear!' sounded and the team reunited in the center of the apartment. "Espo, Castle, you take the west end," Kate delegated, pointing to the hall that led to the bedroom and bathroom. "Ryan, you take the kitchen, I got the living room," she hurried off, holstering her gun, leaving to room for negotiation. She stepped into the living room, the space separated by a small kitchen counter and the switch from tile to hardwood floor. The Gregory household was by no means a tidy one- but then again she expected nothing less from two sleazy criminals living in the village. Everyday debris times 20 cluttered the floor and table, grime an inch thick on the surface of the cheap furniture.
The plethora of blankets and pillows that decorated the cheap futon told her where Matthew had been living. The dropping under the couch, nestled between used napkins and other waste, told her where the rodents had been living as well.
Other than a TV guide two months old and a unique selection of porn stashed not-so-cleverly between two cushions, she found nothing of interest in the gross habitat, pardon maybe a new appreciation for clean air and comfort in the Hoover sitting at home.
-x-
Castle and Esposito were in what one would guess was supposed to be a bedroom. The mattress in the middle of the small room was the only indication that someone actually slept there, though. It was just a mattress- no frame and no box spring, covered in sheets and magazines and other trash. Papers cluttered the floor, along with some clothes that had evidence of being trampled on over a long period of time and a crushed pack of cigarettes. Castle was immediately gravitated towards the desk, a writer's habit, while Espo started shuffling around in a dresser.
"So you gonna tell me what you said to piss her off or am I going to have to harass Lanie about it?" Esposito asked, not looking up from his search.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Castle claimed, giving the surface of the desk a precursory glance. It was mostly bare except for some unpaid bills, a pen that didn't write and a candy wrapper.
"Don't play the dumb card," he warned, looking up. "Beckett wouldn't have sent you in here with me if you hadn't done something," he reasoned.
"Being in here isn't a punishment," Castle told him, not understanding. "I like to consider us friends."
"I'm just saying your basing a book off of her, not me. What are you doing in here?"
"We are not attached at the hip, you know. I find it a refreshing change of pace to see other cops in their element. You're not as attractive as she is, but then again there aren't any that are," he reasoned, pointedly.
"Any?" It was then Castle realized the implication of his slip.
"Many, I said many," Castle corrected, although he could tell the detective didn't believe him.
Esposito knew what he heard. He opened his mouth to retort when Castle opened the top drawer of the desk, mouth dropping open. "Esposito-" he said, in a voice that alerted him. "Beckett!" he called out, louder, so that she could hear him through the paper thin walls. She appeared in an instant, making her way over to the writer.
"What?" she asked, making her way over to him. All he did was point into the drawer, and she moved around to his side to get a better view, her hand resting on his shoulder as she looked over him. This did not escape Esposito's attention. Inside the drawer, Beckett saw a white paper towel, stained red through and through. She carefully reached in with a gloved hand and unfolded the napkin to reveal a knife. It was a Mark 3 navy seal knife from the looks of it, complete with toothed edge and metal, gripped handle. Castle felt her grip on his shoulder tighten a little in excitement.
"Get this to Lanie," she told Esposito, who nodded, not bothering to waste time with words. He shot a look at Castle, informing him in one glance that the conversation was not over.
Now he just had to find Ryan and share this knew nugget of knowledge…
-x-
Alexis knew something was up. Her dad came home and told her they were going out- they were going out to Kate's.
This was weird.
Not hanging out with Kate, no that had been something she had become accustomed too and rather fond of, but at Kate's apartment?
That was new.
In what could only be a very good way.
She selected her outfit carefully before climbing down the steps and waiting for her father, who of course was taking forever.
-x-
It was important to him.
He had to look good.
The evening was not only on in the company of his two favorite women but a big step, more for Kate than him. It was the first sign of actual commitment. When it was just them, anything was fair, but now family was being dragged into it- things were getting serious.
Castle liked this idea.
A little too much?
Probably.
He checked himself in the mirror, for maybe the millionth time, readjusting his jacket and fixing the collar of his button up, a pale blue one he had rather favored. He loved that shirt- but his mind liked the possibility of it on her even better. He smiled as he remembered the night before.
It was amazing.
She looked amazing, nothing short of beautiful, although he daren't tell her.
As much as he likes her outfit he quickly decides he likes her out of it even better, hardly able to suppress the smile when he strips her of them. Her mouth can't seem to still, moving anxiously and with fervor, as if he may change his mind. Her excitement makes him damn near giddy, more than happy to assist her in her sudden urge to have him then. They kissed for a long time- the longest he had in years. He had never enjoyed kissing as much as he did with her, and if she hadn't have spoken, he probably would have been content to just appreciate her body that way. "Castle," she said, breathlessly. Her fingers were threaded through his hair and she was using her extraordinary upper body strength to hold him to her.
God she was hot when she said his name like that.
As much as he loved the slow, leisurely pace he was moving, the taste of her skin under his tongue indescribable, he couldn't ignore the need in her airy plea. "You sure?" he asked, one last time. He had to be positive- he had to know she was okay with it. He stopped his ministrations to catch her eye.
"Yes," she whispered, caught off guard by his gaze. Despite her insecurity she met it, and he read the truth, right there in the emerald color. He caressed her leg gently before he lifted it around his waist, entering her smoothly. The small gasp she released was an aphrodisiac to him- he couldn't get enough of the sounds she made. It was right then he made is life goal to elicit those sounds again.
"God," he heard her gasp again when he nipped at her neck, paying special attention to the spot under her jaw that had her tugging at his hair earlier. He was lost in her and the next thing he knew they were rolling over the edge together, each other's names coming out it relieved cries, shattering the serenity the night provided. He floated back to himself, resting his forehead against hers, perspiration slick between them
"That was…" he couldn't pick a word, and after a moment of futile searching, he decided it didn't exist, and the 'it' just couldn't be described in words. She seemed to understand this conclusion. "Yeah," he heard her reply. It was hard to hear her whispers over the sounds of his heart beating, soft but ever present thuds as it threatened to burst from the ribcage that bound it. The rise and fall of her chest slowed and he took a minute to admire her under the kiss of the street lights illuminating her. She was gorgeous even in the orange glow. He smiled up at her, content to do just that. For once words didn't matter- he knew the second he spoke they would be the wrong ones, no matter what he said.
There were the rare occasions when words wouldn't help him, and even rarer when he realized this.
This was one of those times.
So he said nothing.
What he hadn't recognized was how much he was saying in that smile.
He realized it when she spoke the same volumes in a smile not unlike his own.
"I love you, too," she whispered to him, her breath yet to return to her. He smiled, remembering oh-so-vividly what he had told her earlier. She asked him to love her. As if he didn't. That alone proved she felt the same, but it didn't take the sweetness out of hearing it from her lips, even as breathless as she was. His smile broadened and he kissed her bottom lip, languidly and almost lazily.
He had half-carried her to the bedroom, but only made it to the threshold before she was up, awake and ready for round two. Her lips met his with revived passion, leading him once again backwards, giggling and stumbling over furniture as they went. He felt the bed with the back of his knees, and before she could push him onto it he placed a hand under the back of hers, using it as leverage to lift her and toss her onto the bed. She laughed, falling onto the mattress with enthusiasm. He grinned before climbing on after her, catching her and claiming her laughs and her lips as his own. He found her ticklish spots on accident on the couch and he made a point to memorize them for this very reason. She made it very obvious that she had been paying attention to his ticklish spots, too, when she
"Dad!" Alexis's voice sounding from downstairs jerked him from his memory. He tousled his hair a little bit, allowing one more precursory examination in the mirror before heading down.
"You ready?" he asked, grabbing his keys.
"Have been for the past 20 minutes, dad," she reminded him, not amused, her arms crossed.
"First of all, it is common knowledge that you are always ready 15 minutes early for everything," he told her, leading her out. "And secondly, I think you've been hanging out with Kate too much."
Kate. This set off another alarm for Alexis.
It wasn't like a fire alarm or anything, just an alarm.
A 'dad is calling Kate by her first name and we are going to her house and he most definitely didn't come home last night' sort of alarm. She made a mental note to come up with an acronym for that later.
"Why are we going to Kate's?" she asked, curiously, during the drive there.
"Because she makes this killer homemade ravioli that you need to be exposed to," he told her. She accepted this as the only answer she was going to get.
-x-
Kate didn't know why she had agreed to this.
Alexis, yes.
Dinner, yes.
Rick, yes please.
But at her place?
Whose idea was that again?
Certainly not hers.
Or was it?
No, she had good ideas.
She ran around her apartment, cleaning it, trying to make it look like someone actually lived there. She lit some incents, put on some music, and started the stove. Ravioli, she said.
It was her mother's recipe, and her grandmother's before her.
She dug out the old recipe box she had buried under bills in her kitchen junk drawer, fingering the box lovingly before opening it. She hadn't opened this box in years. Many, many years. She traced the top with a finger before opening it, inhaling the smell from inside. It was something Liz Taylor, surely.
Kate's grandmother always wore it, and even though it was an old joke between Kate and her mother, they both loved that. It still carried that smell after all these years, something that Kate smiled at.
After she got over the initial awe she began to shuffle the cards around in a desperate search for the ravioli one. She found it at last, pulling it out and squinting to read the tight, small cursive scribbled on there. And so the cooking began.
Seven on the dot, a knock sounded at the door. What was it with him and timeliness lately? She thought to herself, setting down the wooden spoon she was wielding and opening the door. Rick stood, grinning, and beside him, a similar expression of joy on her face, was Alexis.
-x-
Castle absorbed the sight of her. She was dressed simply in a navy sweater and jeans, her hair pinned up in a twist that was probably an accident but perfect anyways, strands escaping the clip to frame her face. "Kate," he greeted, partly to be polite but mostly because he loved saying her name.
"Castle," she said, much to his chagrin. "Alexis!" the greeting towards the redhead came out much brighter. "Please, come in," she stepped aside and let them in. As he passed her, Rick reached out with his thumb, wiping away a smear of crème-colored sauce from her cheek, something that probably happened when she was cooking. He sucked his thumb into his mouth, eyes never leaving hers.
"Alfredo," he said, tasting the sauce. "It's good," he complimented her. She socked him in the arm, a smile breaking despite herself. Alexis, of course, saw the whole exchange, and knew right then.
She wasn't stupid. She had had her suspicions for a very long time, and she was just counting down the days until this to actually happen. This casual display of affection- paired with the fact that she hadn't shot him for it, just confirmed her thoughts.
"About damn time!" Alexis said, suddenly, snapping both of them back to planet earth. Castle raised an eyebrow. He had heard Alexis cursed once, twice tops, in her entire life, and that includes the slip ups before she knew what words were socially acceptable.
"Excuse me?" he asked, not only amused by her sudden language but confused at her statement.
"You two. Is that what this is about?" she asked, not needed or expecting an answer. "It's about time." Castle looked from Kate, who was blushing adorably, to Alexis, to Kate and back again. He opened his mouth, not sure what to say in his defense, but then stopped trying. It was Kate who spoke first.
"Funny, that is exactly what Lanie said," she told Alexis, still a little pink in the cheeks but smiling nonetheless. The elephant walked out at that moment, and that left more room for casual conversation and comfort. "I don't have a television, but you two sit and I will be right back, the ravioli should be just about done." She disappeared into the kitchen and left the two to themselves.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Alexis turned to her dad. She wasn't angry, no, she was too happy to be angry.
"This is me, telling you," Castle said. "That's what all this is."
"Since when?" It was weird to most but she and her father always shared everything. She didn't exactly have a mother around that she could share with, and her father had always been easy to talk to. Likewise, he was always open and honest with her. It was like an unspoken pact between them. She couldn't help but be a little put off he hadn't confided in her.
"Officially?" he asked her. "Yesterday." He was careful to mention the time of day (or night, rather) and the implication behind it. Somehow, even through the filter Alexis, as perceptive as she was, picked up on the indication.
"My therapist thanks you for that," she told him.
"Hey, I pay for that therapist, I can screw you up all I want," he told her, pointedly, before breaking into a smile. "I wanted to be sure this was something we were ready to do before I brought you into it," he admitted. He had to be truthful, he liked their open policy. He didn't like keeping things from her, not ever. "Forgive me?"
"Considering how unselfish your reasoning was, yes," she told him, mirroring his smile. "But now I know and you have to share her," she told him, smiling wickedly.
"I think it would be him and I sharing you, Lex," Kate walked in, balancing three bowls of ravioli.
"I'm impressed, Detective," Castle said, leaping up to relieve her of two of the bowls.
"I had to get through college somehow," she told him, sitting down beside him with a bowl of her own. The three of them made easy conversation, avoiding work and school altogether, simply enjoying each other's company, Sinatra in the background, something Castle made a mental note to tease her about later, and the amazing Alfredo Ravioli.
Kate was struck at how well this was working them. Not just them as in the two of them but all of them together. She was afraid things would be awkward and weird, but Alexis didn't miss a beat.
Alexis was struck at how well Kate and her father were interacting- things seemed so…normal. It was easy to smile and joke and laugh. It was easy.
Rick was struck at how good of a cook Kate proved to be. That he could get used to.
For those who don't know, I accept anonymous reviews, so anyone is welcome to leave a comment, good or bad!
I don't bite, I promise, and I meet some pretty fabulous people that way!
So let me know what you liked the most.
More Alexis?
Smut?
Flashbacks?
I crave your input, I really do.
Now susanatc, stop reading this random blathering and writewritewrite!
Reviews are appreciated greatly
sof
