So here's the next chapter :) Thanks for reviewing the last ones hope you like this just as much. I think that the talk with Meredith is going to be coming up soon either over the phone or she might come for a visit. I haven't decided but if you would like to express your opinions please feel free :) I will gladly put anything you guys would like to see into the story after all you're the one's reading it so I want to make it the best I can for you.
"Seriously guys could you give it a rest!" Rick said for what must have been the tenth time that hour.
"Castle what's Beckett done to you? You would have been all over this." Esposito said laughing at the paint that Ryan had managed to get on him.
"She hasn't done anything to me Esposito." He said sighing and turning to look at them. "Honestly you've got more paint on the floor than on the wall!" He said looking at them both.
"Hey it's not our fault." Ryan said defensively.
"Who has the paintbrush in their hand?" He said raising his eyebrows in question and turning his stare at Ryan.
"Castle I'm sorry but in my defence he started it." Ryan said pointing a finger at Esposito.
"Have you honestly listened to yourself?"
"You used to be cool Castle."
"Hey what do you mean used to be? I still am!"
"Ever since you got with Beckett you've changed dude." Esposito shook his head.
"Hey I'm still me."
"I don't know how to put this Castle but…" Esposito looked at him. "You've grown up!"
Rick looked at them and stood still. "Well I can't have that happening now can I?"
He picked up the paintbrush he was holding and then smirked, Ryan saw what he was going to do and back slowly into the corner. Esposito watched him and with his eyes almost dared him to do what he was thinking of doing.
"You wouldn't dare."
"You're right I wouldn't." He sighed. He slowly turned around and Esposito had a smile on his face knowing that he had won. But in the blink of an eye Rick stopped turning then turned to face Esposito again before reaching out and getting most of the paint on his clothes.
"Dude!" Esposito shouted.
"Sorry couldn't help myself." He said shrugging slightly.
"That Castle wasn't cool." Esposito said. Ryan stood in the corner slightly chucking to himself. "I don't know why you're laughing Ryan." He said and looked at him. "Have you seen what you're leaning against?"
Ryan stood straight up and then tried to look at his back. "Oh man Jenny is going to kill me." He said sounding sad. All up his back he had a sky blue coloured paint on him. "The paint was going to be easy to get out now it's going be killer."
Rick stood silently laughing. "Can we please finish this room before the girls get back." He checked his watch and then looked at his phone. "Oh I've got a new text." He said sounding a little surprised. "Oh it's from Lanie." He said smiling slightly.
"You sending each other naughty texts now?" Esposito asked. "Should I be telling Beckett about this?"
"She already knows." Rick said smirking. "Who do you think helps me write them?" He then read the text and straightened up a little more. "Oh man they are on their way back!" He said almost alarmingly.
"Don't worry bro, if we call them and ask them to bring up back dinner it will all work out. We've almost done the room anyway."
"Right okay well I make this call you get doing the last bit of painting."
Ryan and Esposito both nodded and picked up the paintbrushes that had fallen to the floor, fighting the urge to get each other again they turned to the walls and started to paint. Rick made his way out into the hallway and rang Lanie's phone.
"Hello there handsome." She said laughing.
"Hello Lanie." He said back.
"How are you doing?"
"Listen we need you to stall. Maybe grab some Chinese on the way back."
"Oh I'm fine thanks for asking." She said still walking.
"So that's a yes?" He asked confused.
"I guess we could." She said.
"Great, we'll see you when you get back."
"You can count on it." She hung the phone up and turned to Kate. "You writer man wants us to pick some Chinese up for them on the way."
Kate looked at her, Lanie must have known something about what was going off surely. "Okay." She said. She was a great detective at work but she decided that when all her friends knew something and Rick was planning something it was impossible to know what was going off.
Lanie smiled to her best friend and held her breath. She didn't know how Castle could be so good at lying to her. Well it must come natural to him or, she decided, he really wanted her to be genuinely surprised.
Rick walked back into the room to find the boys hard at work, Esposito on one side and Ryan on another. "See was that so hard?" He asked sarcastically.
"Just get painting." Esposito said.
He laughed and then walked to pick up one of the brushes that was still on the floor. "The guy who's coming to put down a carpet is going to be here before the furniture right?"
"Yes. How stupid do you think I am?" He asked him. "Don't even think about answering it." He told him when he knew he was going to come back with something he thought was funny but actually wasn't.
After a few more minutes of painting Esposito dropped his brush again. "There all finished my side."
"Great I've done." Ryan said.
"It's about time." Rick said.
"Great so where's our stuff, we need to get changed if we you don't want Beckett finding out."
"I put your stuff in my room." He said. "Come on."
They both walked out and Rick had made sure that the window was still slightly open so the smell of the paint didn't carry through the loft. He knew Kate would be able to smell it as soon as she walked up the stairs, but he was hoping she would have been too tired to notice when she was going to bed. He walked into his room and picked both the bags up and handed one to Ryan.
"You can go get changed in there." He said pointing to the bathroom.
He then handed the other to Esposito. "There is a guest bathroom just down the hall."
"Where are you going to change?" Ryan asked.
"Outside." Rick said sarcastically. "In here."
"Erm…okay? Why can I not just get dressed in Alexis' room or Martha's?" Ryan said.
"What? And risk you going through their stuff? No way." Rick said laughing.
"You really think I'd do that?"
"Don't worry I'll be done and downstairs faster than you." He said laughing. "Kate's trained me pretty well. She threatens to go to a crime scene without me if I'm not up ad ready before her."
"Dude you are so whipped." Esposito laughed.
"Says the guy who goes running to the morgue when Lanie calls." He looked at Esposito.
"Good one Castle."
"Shut up Ryan, who's the one that checks their phone every hour just to make sure they haven't missed a call from Jenny?"
"I don't care." Ryan said smiling slightly but not fully.
"Okay guys domestic over." Rick said stopping them before they could say anything else. "Now hurry up before the girls are back."
Ryan went into the adjoining bathroom, as Esposito went down the hall. Rick walked to his dresser and pulled out a black t-shirt that fit him perfectly and a pair of jeans that were faded and worn. He moved his other clothes into the pile of clothes needed to be washed and the headed downstairs. He opened the fridge and pulled out three beers and opened them.
"Dad?" He heard someone call out. "We're home!"
"Okay pumpkin." He shouted. "That was a close call." He whispered to himself.
He walked into the room smiling before noticing Lanie, Jenny, Kate and Alexis dropping bags that they were carrying onto the floor.
"Whoa!" He said suddenly. "How much did you buy?"
"We got a little carried away." Kate said looking at him, her eyes then showing confusion.
"Oh my god dad! You should see it they have the cutest baby stuff." Alexis said grinning.
"Hey what are you trying to tell me here?" He said cautiously.
"Oh don't worry dad." She said waving him off. "I just like looking at them." She walked into the kitchen and then opened the fridge getting out some drinks for everyone.
He turned back to look at the three women stood in the middle of the room. "So how much did you buy?"
"Enough." Kate said staring at him still.
Ryan and Esposito then came down the stairs and smiled. "Hey there girls." Ryan said.
"Have fun shopping?" Esposito asked.
"See now why can't you say that?" Kate said looking at Rick.
"Because I'm not trying to score points." He mumbled.
Kate rolled her eyes and then stared at them. Her eyes looked at them and then she turned back to Rick.
"Why have you all got changed?" She asked him.
"What?" Rick asked. He should have known she'd catch on. "We haven't."
"Yes you have." Kate said sure of herself. "You were wearing a suit, Esposito was wearing a blue top not a white one and Ryan was wearing a white shirt and not a black one."
"Kate you must be imagining things, we haven't changed." He turned to look at Lanie.
"Well I'm hungry." Lanie said. "Why don't we eat?" She walked into the room with Jenny following behind her.
"What have you been doing?" Kate asked.
"I told you we've been playing poker." Rick said. Remain eye contact he kept telling himself, if you look around then she will know something is wrong.
She watched him, he was starting to become pretty well good at lying. Did he not know she was a trained detective? She watched him a bit more before she bit her lip and sighed.
"Fine." She said. "But whatever is going on I'm going to find out."
"You keep telling me that but you aren't doing a good job are you?"
She eyed him and then looked to Ryan and Esposito. She rolled her eyes at them all.
"Okay well I'm going to get our drinks." He had left them on the counters and he turned to get them thinking he had gotten off the hook.
She watched him as he turned around. Then something caught her eye. "Rick?" She asked.
He turned slowly to look at her. "Yes Kate?"
"Is that paint in your hair?"
His eyes widened and he moved his hands in his hair pulling out what was most certainly paint. Oh great how was he going to explain this one? He thought.