Pros and Cons

Previously: After writing their Pros/Cons lists, Castle left Kate to mull it all over alone. He invites everyone over to the loft, making sure she knows about it. But he didn't specifically invite her because he wants her to make the next move. (Smart people can act stupid, too.) Kate calls Madi to see if they can go out on the town, but Madi tells her Castle loves her & asks why Kate's not on top of or underneath Castle at that moment, and asks why she's not going to the movie party.

3

It had been 40 minutes. She wasn't going to call. Great job, brainiac. Rick was staring into his fridge, trying to decide what to serve, but he had no idea of what he was looking at. He just knew his phone still wasn't ringing. Maybe she knows she's always welcome here. Maybe she'll just come. God, this was such a bad idea. But pressuring her right now would be bad, especially after everything I wrote. She'll make the next move when she decides she's ready.

xox

Kate decided to ignore the on top of/ under him part of Madi's question and just answer her question about the movie night. "I don't know. See, that's the thing. He invited all our friends, but not me. So either he expects me to throw myself at him, or he's upset that I didn't let him finish his head game and doesn't want me there."

"Yeah, that's it. He leaves that note that opens him up to having his heart squashed, but then he doesn't want to invite you to snuggle in front of a movie a few minutes later. Makes perfect sense. Just call him. Go over there. Take an overnight bag. Call me in the morning with details."

Kate was grinning and decided to switch gears. "Speaking of overnight… tell me about your hot date."

She got the details about Madi's new guy and let her go.

The boys saw her finally coming out of the ladies' room with a smile, slipping her pone back into her jacket pocket. It had been 20 minutes since they saw her sneak in there with her phone to her ear.

"Guess she and Castle worked out whatever was bugging them." Ryan nudged his partner.

"Good. It would be weird for us to have our chicas there, and him to be alone instead of trying to invade Beckett's personal space."

Esposito texted Lanie. "all's good in the caskettverse. going to castles for movie night"

Lanie saw her phone beep, read it and smiled. But she had two more bodies after this one and wanted to finish in time to actually make it to the movie. So she didn't respond, just like she didn't respond to his earlier texts about trouble in the Caskettverse. She'd get a break, soon, she hoped, and would be able to talk to Kate herself. 'Caskettverse'… ha. Served them right for dubbing her and her man 'Esplanie.'

When she was finally done with the body, she scrubbed her hands and started thinking about tonight. She started by sending a text to Castle, knowing he'd turn down her offer: "excited about tonight. glad kates coming. can we bring something?"

She got his reply and pulled the next body onto the table.

xox

Castle had finally managed to write a grocery list when his phone beeped. His hopes soared thinking it might be from her, were dashed when he saw Lanie's name on the screen, and soared again when he read her text. So Kate hadn't called him, but she'd told Lanie she was coming.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know what she was thinking or feeling until that text from Lanie. He hadn't even had the courage to read her list. So he gingerly perched on a barstool, as though he needed to be ready to escape, and pulled the crumpled paper from his pocket.

He read, "Great smile. Great dad. Always has my back. Learned how I like my coffee just by watching. Loyal. Kind. Generous. Tender. Best friend. Good to his mom. Would give me anything I wanted. Would never hurt me on purpose. He's adorable. So strong. So smart. Fiercely protective. Hates to see me upset. Not pretentious. Takes care of me. Makes me feel safe. Makes me have fun."

Wow. So that's what she thinks of me? A huge grin spread across his face. Bam! said the lady!

Being male, he didn't disagree with anything on her list.

He did a happy dance around his kitchen then went about the rest of his preparations with a broad smile.

xox

Kate simply went back to her paperwork after getting off the phone with Madi. She was distracted for the rest of the day thinking about her list of Pros and his list of Cons and Madi telling her to basically go jump his bones. The ridiculousness of that idea. She didn't even notice that she was smiling, and a couple of times during the day, she even played with her hair.

But the further into the day it got, the more ridiculous it seemed. He had left. He didn't try to talk to her about it. What if he'd read her list and thought it was silly. Or lame.

He still hadn't called. By now, Lanie had surely offered to bring something, and he would have asked about Kate, and Lanie wouldn't have an answer because of the bodies stacked up, unless Esposito had told her about her going out with Madi…. Either way, he would know by now that nobody expected her to be there.

And he still didn't call. She was getting a little ticked.

Why'd he always have to be so dang passive? Would it really be so hard for him to pick up the phone and say, "Hey. Are you coming over tonight? I'd really like you to." That was how normal dates happened. Why couldn't they be normal?

She finished her paperwork and grabbed her keys. "See ya later, guys."

xox

By the time Beckett got home, she'd totally lost that giddy feeling she'd gotten from Madi's advice. She didn't want to go bar-hopping or anything, but she wasn't going to just fall into Castle's arms just because he'd played a game that he'd planned his answers to, caught her by surprise, and messed with her head and her heart. That's not how things work around here. He needs to man up and call. Ask me out like a normal person.

She stripped off her work clothes and briefly considered going out to dance by herself. She wouldn't stay alone for long. She wouldn't bring a strange guy home, of course, but she could dance with a few. But she thought of that sweet, terrifying, wonderful list in her jacket pocket and grabbed a pair of old, soft jeans and a tee shirt for a night of TV.

And he still didn't call. Lanie didn't even call.

She wondered what he had said to her friend that stopped her from calling. And she couldn't call Lanie to ask, because she knew she'd end up being the one receiving the third degree.

This is stupid. Hmm, I thought that too many times today.

She poured a glass of tea and grabbed the pack of strawberries and Ziploc of deli-sliced turkey from her fridge and began flipping through channels. She finally settled on some show she really didn't care about but was interesting enough to distract her from where she was not.

xox

Castle finished spreading the array of snacks along the kitchen island. He made sure to get all of Kate's favorite comfort foods - just another way to show how much he pays attention to the little things about her. Looking it all over, with the list she had written running through his mind and keeping a smile on his face, he was satisfied that she'd notice and finally (hopefully) be ready for the next step.

xox

The party was getting started at the loft. Ryan was being flirty with Jenny just to make her squirm. She still felt like an outsider in this group, so his PDA was embarrassing. But she really appreciated how they always included her, trying to make her feel like she was part of the family. Esposito was hanging on Lanie, whispering things in her ear that made her slap him then give him a saucy look. Castle watched it all with plenty of witty running commentary.

But he was beginning to get nervous. She isn't here yet. Could she have changed her mind? Could she have gotten in an accident on the way? Maybe I should just call and check on her.

"Hey, Castle! Can Jenny get a tour of the loft?"

Everyone else had been there before, but he'd never offered a tour of the whole place, so all four guests followed him room to room. Castle's bedroom had a view, so they walked through it to the windows instead of just looking in from the doorway. The girls took a peek at the fabulous master bath, ooh'd and aah'd, then followed the boys out.

But something caught Lanie's eye as she passed his dresser. A half-sheet of paper with Kate's handwriting poking out from under a book. She really couldn't help herself. She quickly moved the book and read the list in about 6 seconds flat. Bug-eyed, she quietly replaced the book and pulled out her phone, walking into the hall.

x

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A/N: Now that they've got themselves in a perfect mess, how about some resolution tomorrow? And fluff. I know you want it.

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