May 2010
This was weird. Kate had tried calling Castle when she'd arrived home last night, but his phone had been off, as was Skype. This morning she'd shot him a message in spite of the fact she knew he would be asleep, uncertainty welling in her stomach. She went through the motions, making coffee, pouring cereal into a bowl and eating almost half of it before she let herself pick up the phone again and dial Castle's number.
Nothing but voicemail.
"Hey… it's me…" she started, unsure what to say. "Just… checking in. Call me back, 'kay?"
She hung up, gripping the edge of the counter. Paranoia was swirling now, and she did her best to push it down, assuring herself that she did not need to be that girl, the one who needed to know her boyfriend's whereabouts every minute of the day.
But it was strange. She mentally marked off what she knew, sizing up the facts.
Fact: Three days ago she and Castle had broken all records, talking for hours before she'd fallen into bed.
Fact: He had messaged her when he'd woken up the next day; she'd been at a body drop by then, and been late home, falling into bed with just a few more messages.
Fact: The following day she'd called him, intending to be both comforted by his voice during a messy case, and also to bounce theory around.
Fact. Castle had cut that phone call short.
Fact. She hadn't heard from him since.
She shook her head; would it be crazy to call Alexis?
She rolled her eyes at herself; Castle offline for eight or so hours wasn't worthy of a call to his daughter. In fact, it might even be a good thing. It might mean he was lost in writing, finally finishing up the Bond book, and the sooner that happened, the sooner he would be free to move back to New York.
Pushing herself away from the counter, Kate buried the thoughts that were messing with her head this morning. She swallowed the last of the coffee in her cup before pouring a second one, this time into her travel mug.
Next up, she needed shoes before she could leave, and she stared at her collection before selecting a particularly high pair of heels; even if she didn't feel quite right, she could at least look the part.
She cast a final appraising look in the mirror next to the entrance before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway - and spilling her coffee all over Castle.
"What the hell?" Beckett exclaimed, the words past her lips before she'd even fully processed the fact Castle was there.
In the hallway.
Standing in front of her.
In New York City.
Before she could say another word he was kissing her, his mouth hot against hers, and she was kissing him back, letting him walk her back into her apartment and kicking the door closed with a kick.
"I spilled coffee on your shirt," she managed inanely as he drew away from her lips, pressing his mouth to her neck, and he nodded into her even as his teeth grazed the delicate skin of her throat and she swallowed back a moan.
"I'd better take it off then," he offered, his hands working their way from her waist to the top button on her blouse, unfastening it, and then the next, and the next.
"I didn't say there was anything wrong with mine," she protested, and he chuckled low in her ear, the sound sending shivers up and down her spine as her own hands made their way to his shirt, opening it and pushing it off him.
Her eyes closed of their own volition. He was here, really here.
Beckett buried her face in her hands as her cheeks warmed, and Castle looked at her, his sleepy eyes curious.
"What is it?"
"My coffee cup is on the floor in the hallway," she said, and he laughed.
"So is my suitcase."
"And I'm really late to work," she added, glancing at the clock on the nightstand.
"Sorry," he said, but the smile dancing in his eyes betrayed the lie; he wasn't even a little bit sorry.
"What are you doing here?" she asked as she pushed the covers out of the way and sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, looking at the trail of clothing that traced their path from the front door to her bed.
"Um… surprising you."
"Consider me surprised," she said, turning back to him. "But… what… why?"
"There's an event this weekend that I've been invited to… a Bond exhibition. It's tomorrow night."
"Oh." Beckett fell silent as she processed the information.
"So actually I was coming here to see if you would be my date," Castle continued, and she blinked at him as he ran a hand through his hair, then stretched. "I swear I didn't mean to…" he indicated the disheveled bed sheets, the clothing on the floor, "to do that. I mean. Not like that, right away."
Beckett shook her head, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his mouth before standing. "I'm not sorry," she whispered. "But I am running late now… I have to shower." She smiled as she walked to the bathroom, turning and raising her eyebrows at him. "You coming?"
"Are you sure it's okay for me to come into the precinct with you?" Castle asked as they approached the 12th, and Beckett cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Since when do you ask permission?"
"Since…" he grinned. "Since never. I'm coming into the precinct with you."
She rolled her eyes. "But you have to act normal," she warned him, and he nodded, his eyes wide with feigned innocence.
"Of course."
"The boys can't know," she continued. "And Montgomery definitely can't know!"
"Does anyone know?" he asked.
"Lanie," Kate admitted. "The boys know we... talk. But that's all. I think."
He nodded. "And Alexis," he added. "Okay, secret relationship, check."
"So they can't know I'm your date for the Bond exhibition," she clarified, and he lifted a shoulder non-committally.
"But before we go in," Castle said, as they stood in front of the entrance, "I just need to do this." He ghosted a kiss onto her lips before pulling back with a grin. "Last liberty, I promise."
Beckett just raised an eyebrow at him before opening the front door, preceding him into the precinct and striding over to the elevator. "Remember, normal," she reiterated as she stepped inside, selecting the fourth floor. Beside her, Castle sidestepped a little, creating a fraction more space between them and she quirked her lips, closing the gap and stealing one more kiss before the doors opened and she stepped out onto homicide.
"Coffee?" Castle asked as they walked toward Beckett's desk. "Since your other one ended up on the floor?"
Beckett grimaced; their… delay this morning meant the mug she'd spilled on Castle, then dropped, had soaked into the carpet in the hallway. She'd cleaned it up as best she could while Castle selected clean clothes from his suitcase, but as they'd hurried out the door the distinct scent of coffee had followed them.
"I can get it," she offered, but Castle shook his head.
"The boys will know something's up if we change our M.O. that much," he staged whispered, and she cringed at the volume in his voice.
"Speaking of the boys…" Across the bullpen Ryan and Esposito wore identical expressions of shock as Beckett and Castle approached.
"Aren't you…" Ryan started.
"In London?" Esposito finished off.
"Have they been working on that while I've been away?" Castle exclaimed, turning to Beckett in delight, and she smirked.
"Beckett, what's he doing here?" Esposito asked, and she shrugged, indicating to Castle with a tilt of her head.
"Ask him yourself."
"Not that we're not happy to see you-" Ryan flustered, "but…"
"Just came by to see how you're treating my coffee machine," Castle answered, but Esposito had a retort ready.
"More like how Beckett's doing with no one here to make her coffee-"
Castle flashed Beckett a quick look before Ryan chimed in. "Hey, man, speak for yourself. I, for one, am really good at using the machine now."
"He is," Beckett confirmed as they walked into the break room. She leaned against the counter, watching as Castle took his place at the espresso machine, deftly making four lattes. His hand brushed against hers as he handed her one, and she smiled, letting the touch linger for half a second too long before she jerked back, schooling her features in case Ryan or Esposito noticed anything amiss.
"So you want to catch me up on the latest case?" Castle asked, and Beckett smiled, indicating with a nod of her head to the white board out in the bullpen.
"It's a quirky one," she promised.
"I thought we'd never get out of there," Castle exclaimed as he carried the Chinese food and a bottle of wine into Beckett's apartment.
"But you were so desperate to get to the precinct," she teased, and he shook his head.
"I was desperate to spend the day with you," he promised, his eyes dark. "And we're alone at last."
"Alone and hungry for Chinese," Beckett pointed out, toeing off her shoes and closing the door behind them.
"Not just Chinese," Castle argued, brushing a kiss against her cheek as he made his way into her kitchen, selecting two wine glasses and pouring the red into them.
"So is Martha excited you're back?" Beckett asked, moving toward the sofa, her dinner balanced in one hand.
"Oh." Castle's face twisted into a comical look of surprise, the cushions huffing as he sat with a thump. "I mean… I messaged her to tell her I was coming for the weekend, but…"
"…But you haven't seen her or spoken to her since you got here, right?"
"I've been with you all day," he protested. "I got off my flight at JFK, and caught a cab here. I had to hurry, otherwise I would have been too late and I would have had to meet you at the precinct?"
"Would that have been so bad?" she asked.
"Only if you have a problem with me taking you in a supply closet…" Beckett narrowed her eyes, trying her best to fix him with a look, but if the twinkle in his expression was anything to go by, she was failing miserably. "Would you prefer the break room? Because I wouldn't have minded, but once we got there the boys stuck to us like glue!"
Kate huffed; that they had. Every time she'd thought she and Castle might have a moment alone, one or both of the boys had appeared, making her paranoid as she'd checked and re-checked that she and Castle were suitably far enough away from one another to pass as colleagues, rather than lovers.
"You need to go see Martha," she urged, changing the subject back, but Castle shook his head, letting his eyes close a little.
"I'm jet lagged, Kate. I think it's best if I stay here with-" He swallowed, his eyes wide now, as if afraid he'd said too much. "I mean. If you want. I was thinking- but- no. You're right. I should go home. I shouldn't presume-"
"Castle," Beckett said, managing to get a word in, even as she thrilled silently at being called Kate instead of Beckett. "I want you to stay." She bit her lip. "I want you all to myself tonight."
A/N: Thank you Jamie and Kylie for the beta! And thank you to everyone who is reading! x