January 2010
The sound of the phone shrilled just once before Beckett's eyes flew open, and she darted her hand from under the covers to the nightstand, answering before the second ring could finish, already cursing dispatch and the as yet unidentified killer who was dragging her away from the much needed slumber.
"Beckett."
Silence greeted her on the other end, and she frowned, bringing a hand to her forehead to push her hair out of her face, blowing at a couple of stubborn strands before trying again.
"Hello?"
"Beckett?"
She blinked, exhaling as the tension eased out of her muscles; not a body drop, and therefore not a demand to be on high alert, ready to move. The familiar voice though…
"Castle?!"
She sat up, squinting at the glowing numbers on the bedside clock. Two. In the morning. What the hell?
"Hey, Beckett…"
On the other end of the line there was a weak chuckle and her eyebrows drew closer together. "Castle! It's two in the morning! Why are you calling me?" She shut her eyes, the bite in her tone harsh in her ears. What if something was wrong? "Are you okay? Is Alexis okay?"
"Oh. Yeah. I'm- Alexis is fine. I'm good, Beckett. I just- I forgot about the time difference. I'll, um- I'll let you go."
"No." She shook her head. "I mean, I'm awake now. What did you- Why are you calling?"
"Uh- I was just…" She heard him sigh, the noise heavy through the cell, and she swallowed, reaching with her free hand to flip the bedside lamp on. "I was just wondering how you were."
"Oh." Beckett cleared her throat. "I'm- good."
"How are things at the precinct? Got any good cases?" He sounded a little melancholy, and she shrugged, trying to calculate the time difference between them. New York was behind London, but it must still be early there.
"Yeah… Wrapped one up late last night, so we're between cases right now. Hoping for a quiet one today, to be honest."
"Oh. So, I wouldn't be there anyway. I don't do paperwork." A note of smugness crept into his tone and she suppressed a smile.
"Yeah, some partner," she teased back, and he laughed on the other end. "Besides, I got it all done last night before I left."
"A late one then," he mused, and she hummed in agreement as he continued. "Besides, I helped you with the more important things!"
"Yeah, you did," she agreed, pausing for a beat before continuing. "Making coffee, and uh-" She faltered deliberately, waiting for him to swoop in with claims of assisting with something other than just keeping the homicide team caffeinated.
Instead he sighed once more, and she heard the note of wistfulness in his voice as he breathed, "coffee," almost reverentially.
"Coffee?" she asked. "You… what?"
"I miss coffee," he clarified.
"Well, it's morning there," she pointed out. "Go make yourself one, if you miss it so much." She brought her hand to her mouth, smothering a yawn.
"I can't," he said, and she rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean? They have coffee in England."
"They do," he assured her. "But they- the place Alexis and I moved into was partially furnished, but there wasn't a coffee pot, and I figured, well, I'll drink tea, this is England, and I got a few coffees from this cafe when I needed to, and-"
His words rushed at her, and she laughed. "Moving abroad is no time to mess with your caffeine intake, Castle," she teased.
"Well I know that now! I ordered an espresso machine, and let's just say, life in London is looking up."
Beckett bit down on her lip to suppress the laughter that was threatening to bubble out. "Good night, Castle."
"Night, Beckett," he murmured. "Can I call you again?"
"During the day," she instructed, and he laughed.
"Deal."
She ended the call, sliding the phone back onto her nightstand and switching the lamp off. Burrowing under the covers, she nestled into the soft pillows, a smile on her face as she sank into sleep once again.
She hadn't hung up.
No, instead of not answering - or worse, picking up and then ending things with him then and there - Kate Beckett had taken his phone call. At two in the morning.
Castle made a face, grabbing his watch from the nightstand and pulling it over his hand onto his wrist. Oops. That had been one hell of an oversight. But in spite of his stupidity, she hadn't hung up!
Her voice had been sleepy and warm, and the bite to her tone had faded quickly, almost like she was… pleased to hear from him. Plus, she'd told him he could call again, and he intended to make good on that instruction.
He grinned. Next time he would indeed check that it was a more reasonable hour; he had the app on his phone already, a duel clock that showed London and New York. He just needed to make sure to use it. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, smiling at the pale light that filtered through the ajar curtains, flinging them wide open and letting the sunshine flood in before bouncing up the hall to the kitchen.
He stopped short when he got to the counter - still no espresso machine - before shrugging and dismissing the idea. Coffee could wait, but writing couldn't. He flung the balcony door open, the rush of freezing air brutal but delicious against his skin. Right. He needed a robe, and socks, and pants. Gloves wouldn't hurt, either, even if they impeded the typing. Most of all, he needed his laptop.
He booted it up when he was ready, connecting the extension cord so that the low battery wouldn't die when confronted with the crisp chill. He huddled down on the balcony chair, its wooden slats hard against his ass, yet the smile that had plastered itself on his face wasn't going anywhere as he opened the file he'd started at the pub last night.
It might be freezing cold, he might be on the wrong side of the world, and he might have slept like crap, but today was a new day. For one thing, at some point the doorbell would ring and his espresso machine would be here. For another, this morning's effort at the computer might not be destined for publication, but letting his fingers dance across the keyboard felt amazing.
Beckett stretched out, relishing the moment before she had to get out of bed. The alarm was yet to sound and she extended her arms as far as she could, arching her spine, her eyes still half closed. Beside her, the clock hit seven-thirty and it buzzed, the flat tone an unwelcome intruder in the solace of the early morning. She blinked, reaching to silence the device before rolling over and pulling the covers up, cozy for another moment before wrinkling her nose and admitting defeat; it was time to start the day.
She padded across her bedroom into the adjoining bathroom. She wasn't exactly in a rush, but her morning routine was one of second nature in its brevity; she was in and out of the shower in under five minutes, dashing to the kitchen wrapped in only her towel.
The ends of her hair dripped water onto the counter as she heaped coffee grounds into the filter on her coffee pot, snorting as she turned it on, the switch glowing red as it came to life. What was Castle thinking, going without coffee for a month? He'd moved to a modern city, not an alternate reality from a Dickens novel, and she shook her head. The man needed coffee the way she needed coffee, and for every cup he'd bestowed upon her he had downed a second.
She ducked back into the bathroom to blow-dry her hair, sweeping a brush through it one last time when she was done and heading back into the bedroom where she opened her underwear drawer. She stared at her delicates with a furrowed brow, in the end selecting not the functional panties at the top, but instead, a sexy navy thong. Grinning a little as she slipped into it, she fastened her matching bra, appraising herself in the full-length mirror.
So what if no one was going to see her in it? It felt good to be wearing something not strictly practical, and she shrugged on a shirt and dress pants over the underwear.
She returned to the kitchen ready but for the day's coffee. She still had a few minutes, and this wasn't a hastily made pot. Unlike most of the coffee she made, its sole purpose wasn't to inject as much caffeine as quickly as possible into her system, she actually wanted to enjoy this one. Opening the pantry, she pulled out the vanilla syrup that had been languishing there, letting a generous amount of the sugary liquid coat the bottom of her travel cup, she before topped it up with coffee, and added a dash of creamer. She grabbed her apartment keys, locking the door behind her, and headed to the subway.
"Morning," Beckett called to the boys as she strode into the bullpen, taking the last sip of the coffee and placing the empty travel mug on her desk. "What have we got?"
"Montgomery's got us going over cold cases," Ryan groaned, wrinkling his nose, and Esposito nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Better hope a body drops soon, or we'll die of boredom," he claimed, and she quirked her lips at them.
"Come on, it's not that bad," she disagreed, flicking her computer on and making her way to the break room while it booted up. The creak of the guys' chairs told her they were following her, and she flashed them a smile before turning her attention to the espresso machine.
"You okay, Beckett?" Ryan asked as she pressed coffee grounds into the portafilter and twisted it firmly into place.
"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" She indicated to the machine. "You want one?"
"Uh- you're using that?"
"What else would I use?" Beckett followed Esposito's pointed gaze to the older coffee pot that predated Castle's gift.
"Oh." She shook her head. "Whatever, guys. I had a decent coffee on the subway on my way here, and I want a good one now, what's the big deal?"
"The big deal is-" Ryan shook his head frantically at Esposito, but his partner forged on, ignoring the clear warning. "You haven't used that machine since Castle left."
"So?"
Ryan shrugged, apparently he figured that the damage was done, and Kate almost laughed at the hesitance she saw written all over his face. "So- you've been kind of down lately. We just- Javi and I-" he indicated to his left where Espo stood, and Kate rolled her eyes, turning back to the machine and watching in satisfaction as the steady stream of espresso made its way into the waiting ceramic cup. "We were worried about you, is all."
"There's nothing to worry about," Beckett insisted, narrowing her eyes at the steamer. Could she do it? Not today, she decided, not with those two in her business. She splashed some cold milk into the cup, sipping from it, her eyes half-closing in satisfaction before she snapped them back open to stare the guys down. "Nothing. I mean it."
"Okay. Then we're just glad you're in a good mood today," Esposito mumbled, and she raised her eyebrows at them as they backed out of the room in unison.
"I'm allowed to be in a good mood," Beckett called to their retreating forms.
She bent closer to her cup, the comforting scent making its way into her system, and she brought it to her mouth, its rich flavor delicious on her tongue. Never mind that her sleep had been interrupted by an unexpected phone call. In fact, maybe that was why she was so happy.
Not because it had been Castle - she cleared her throat at that thought - because Castle had nothing to do with it. No, the point was it hadn't been dispatchon the line, and so she'd been able to go back to sleep, snuggle down under the covers until she'd enjoyed the rarity of a solid eight hours.
She lowered her voice in spite of the fact the guys were well out of earshot, having convinced herself that Castle had nothing to do with her good mood this morning. "I just… I slept really well last night."
A/N: Thank you guys for the reading and reviewing, and to J&K for the beta! Mwah! x