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Chapter 29 – Sugar & Spice

After the lovebirds left promising to have fun, Kate and Rick turned to look at each other, smiling. Castle realized he still had his arm around her shoulders. He hadn't reached out to her intentionally, and was surprised she hadn't balked at the gesture, even returned it. Not wanting to draw attention to their present position Castle dropped his arm and turned toward the kitchen.

Castle smiled at her, but not teasingly. "Come on, Detective. I'll make you dinner." Noticing Martha still with the video camera, he winked at her. "Mother, you staying?"

"No, Dear," she said, setting the camera down. "I'm off. Don't wait up!" She pulled Kate into a light hug. "See you soon, Darling."

Kate trailed Rick into the kitchen. "What are you making? I'll help."

"I have water boiling for pasta."

Kate looked at all the ingredients on the counter. "You're making your salsa."

"And guac."

"I love your salsa."

"Not too spicy?" Rick looked at her questioningly. He liked it hotter than most of his guests.

"Sometimes." Kate admitted.

"Can't handle the heat, Detective."

"I like to taste my food. Burning off the taste buds doesn't help with that. Anyway, it's the cilantro that makes it." Rick smiled at her.

"Yeah, my favorite part, too."

"What can I help with?"

"Don't really need any help. Go relax."

Kate watched Rick. "Can't. I could make the salsa."

"You're just trying to get my recipe."

"You won't share?"

"The salsa. Not the recipe."

"Why not?"

"How would I entice you to poker night?"

Kate made a face at him.

"Really, Beckett. Go sit down. I've got it."

"Garlic bread?"

Rick sighed, realizing she wasn't going to give up. "Freezer."

Kate brushed past Rick to dig in the freezer for the package of garlic bread. She turned to the cupboard for a cookie sheet.

"What's Martha doing tonight?" she asked.

"Most of the time I'd say 'I don't want to know'," Rick answered, stirring the pasta sauce. "But tonight? Rehearsal. After? I don't want to know."

Kate reached past Rick to turn on the oven. She noticed an empty jar on the counter.

"Richard Castle, are you—one of my favorite new chefs and food snob extraordinaire—using canned, mass-made pasta?" She turned to face Rick, unaware how close she was standing to him until her right breast bushed his arm when she turned. She was so hyperaware of him she hoped he wouldn't notice the way her nipples were suddenly more pronounced under her tee.

"Why, yes, Detective, I am!"

"I'm shocked!" Kate answered with mock astonishment.

"Trust me. I was, too. I picked this up when I was in the Hamptons…just wanted something quick. But this stuff tastes so good, I don't even have to doctor it up. Expensive, but totally worth it!"

Kate was about to ask him what it was, when Rick turned to her with a spoon. He blew on it absentmindedly, and held it to her. Kate leaned forward, mouth slightly open. Rick watched her in fascination. How could something so simple as the parting of her lips be so utterly sexy? Kate felt Rick still and stopped moving herself. She looked up to him and noticed him staring at her lips. She unconsciously bit the inside of her lip and saw his eyes darken even more. She fought to keep her eyes from dropping, but when his lips twitched it sent her eyes downward.

For only the span of a moment, Kate closed her eyes, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. Instead of thinking of all the reasons not to kiss him, she was thinking again of what it was like having his lips on hers, his hand on her lower back pulling her closer. Another in her hair. She opened her eyes again. Rick's lips were pressed tightly together. Her eyes shifted quickly to Rick's. Where hers were now filled with want, his were frosted with detachment. She wasn't his to kiss.

Rick lowered the spoon a little in defeat, spurring Kate into action. She dipped her finger into the spoon's basin and popped it into her mouth. Rick averted his eyes. She knew she had to get out of there, give them some space.

"You're right, Castle. It is really good," she said turning away. "I'm going to…set the table." But she left the kitchen altogether, in the direction of the bathroom.

Rick spooned the pasta into the sauce. Kate and thoughts of her had become so pervasive in his life that he didn't know how to separate himself from her. He didn't really want to, but he was so, so afraid of pushing her away. Even now, she had escaped to the bathroom. He counted himself lucky that she was already committed to meeting Lanie and Jenny here later, or she'd have probably found some excuse that she needed to leave. He struggled with himself. He'd never tested his willpower to such an extent before, and he was genuinely worried it would fail him. Especially when she looked at him as if she wanted him, too. He knew what lust looked like, but this was something more.

Kate came back, interrupting his thoughts. She turned to the cupboard to pull out plates, but he handed her two already laden with pasta and garlic bread. She looked at him, questioningly.

"Thought we'd eat in the living room. I want to play with the TV." He said with a boyish grin. Still, she could tell it wasn't without effort that he tried to pull them back into their normal routine.

"Boys and their toys," Kate muttered, rolling her eyes, making her own effort.

They ate dinner in a semi-companionable silence. When they were through, Kate insisted on taking care of their dishes and cleaning up. While Castle was finishing up his salsa and setting up a few things for poker, she grabbed a book from his collection and sunk into the cushions.

Forty minutes later, Castle stood looking down at her, curious at how out of place the dark eye shadow looked against her creamy skin when her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful and unfettered. Her eyelids contrasted with the rest of her relaxed pose—even her casual attire and soft curls. The way she was laying, she'd have to redo her hair when she woke up. As he draped the throw over her, Rick hoped she wouldn't be mad at him for not waking her up.

Kate awoke to quiet voices. She stretched a little and felt the blanket that was draped over her skid over her breasts. She didn't remember grabbing a blanket, but then again, she didn't remember stretching out on Castle's excessively plush couch or falling asleep. She certainly hadn't set her book on the coffee table. She looked behind her to see Jenny, Ryan and Lanie and Castle sitting at the poker table behind her. She put her hand to her hair and grumbled internally.

"God, Rick," she groaned. "What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up?" Kate didn't like the idea of waking up in front of her friends, especially Ryan and Esposito—with bed head, no less—after falling asleep on Castle's couch. It was grounds for harassment. Actually, Kate thought, it'll be Lanie.

Rick got up and moved closer to Beckett. "Just after nine. You were sleeping; figured you needed it. Besides, Madison and Todd aren't even here yet." He smiled apologetically.

"When did you guys get here?"

"Just a little bit ago," Jenny answered, standing up. She glanced to Ryan and pulled him to his feet.

"Before everyone else gets here..." Ryan said, "We, uh, wanted to ask..." He stood with Jenny in front of him, looking nervous.

"You're like family to Kevin, and, I feel like, to me, too, even though I really haven't known you all that long. And I know you all have his back, and, well, we don't see how we could let the most important day of our lives go by without..."

"You know, Javi's my best man," Ryan continued, "but we'd like you guys to stand up with us, too. It'll be a big wedding party if you say yes, but, like she said, you're family…and really we spend more time with you guys—and like you better—than most of our blood relatives. It just wouldn't be the same without you."

Lanie, Rick and Kate were all smiling at the couple, but they still seemed nervous.

Jenny sped forward, not giving them a chance to answer. "So, I guess, really we're not asking. You don't have a choice. But I promise," she smiled, "No hideous bridesmaids' dresses."

"That's great! I can totally rock the frock. I've got great legs!" Castle turned to Lanie and Kate. "You girls are gonna be so jealous!"

Kate laughed and hugged Jenny. "Please, please make him wear a hideous dress. Me? I want something classy."

"Yeah, no tents, no neon yellow and I'm in," Lanie added, also hugging Jenny. "You know what this means?" she asked looking at the girls. "Shopping!"

"Why do I have no doubt you've actually worn a dress and heels?" Ryan asked, shaking Castle's hand.

"Because you know me," Rick answered, leaning in to kiss Jenny's cheek. "I'm honored," he said. "And, I think it's safe to say the answer would have been yes from all of us, you know, if it had been a question."

"Really?" Ryan asked. "'Cause I had to threaten Esposito into a penguin suit and I know Beckett's complained about being a bridesmaid before."

"Hey! That's only—well mostly—because they wanted an extra body. It's different when you actually care about the people getting married and you know they're not headed straight for divorce court."

"That sounds like a lie," Jenny said pointedly.

"I'm telling you, Ryan," Esposito said, reentering the room. "She should be the detective. You're gonna have to step it up or I'm making Jenny my new partner."

"Like she'd wanna work with you," Lanie kidded.

"Que buena, Chica," Esposito sidled up next to Lanie and wrapped his arms around her. "You know you like working with me."

Lanie turned in his arms to kiss him. "Can´t say I mind having a live one in my morgue every now and then."

The rest of the group groaned.

Kate started for the stairs. "I'm gonna go get ready."

"I'll come with you," Lanie said. "Jenny, you coming?"

"Think I'm going to use the bathroom. Rick?"

Castle directed her to the half bath back behind the floating stairs as Lanie and Kate made their way up to Alexis' room.

"You're not fooling me. I know you just wanted to see the rest of the loft."

"So?"

Kate pointed on the way up. "Guest bedroom, extra bath. Martha's room. And this is Lex's. They share a joint bathroom."

"Writer-Boy's room is downstairs?"

"Do you see any more doors?"

"He have a master bath, too?"

"Yeah."

"You seen it?" Kate's condescending glare answered her question. "This place is huge. Alexis' room is bigger than my master."

"Yeah. Thing about Lex though, is, she doesn't care. Not snooty at all. Rick's done a good job of keeping her grounded—even if he's not always."

"Rick."

"Hmm?"

"Rick. You've called him that twice tonight."

Kate didn't say anything. She just stepped into the bathroom. She'd called him Rick before—even if Lanie hadn't heard it too often. Plus, they were at his house. Still, as she was changing, she reminded herself: Castle. Beckett changed into her dark blue jeans. Lanie and Jenny had opted for dresses. She hoped she wasn't the only one wearing jeans. She shimmied into her top.

It was a white corset style top with a black lace overlay, but where the corset stopped above her breasts, the black lace continued, so her chest and upper back were covered, and the lace ran down the length of her arms. The back was open until the corset came together in a two-inch strip at her lower back. Kate finished the outfit with a couple of bracelets and a studded black leather belt.

Kate opened the door to have Lanie zip her up. Then she turned to the mirror to fix up her hair and touch up her face. Lanie looked around. "Girl's got a lot of makeup."

Kate laughed. "That's Martha's."

Kate packed up her clothes in the bag she brought and sat on Alexis' bed to pull on her boots. She pulled her pant legs down and stood, ready to go. She knew she wouldn't be taking her bag with her, so she plopped it in the guest room for the time being so that it was at least our of Alexis' way.

Castle watched Kate and Lanie walk into the living room. Well, he was aware of Lanie. He watched Kate. Leather and lace. From where he stood at the bar, he could see her bare back and was appreciating her good looks—until Esposito nudged him in the side.

"Hey guys! You made it!" Kate said.

"Hey, Becks! Lookin' good."

Kate laughed, looking at her friend, who was looking good in her own black dress. "Thanks. I didn't realize it was dress night tonight, though. I feel underdressed."

"I believe that would be overdressed, Beckett," Castle said handing Kate a drink. "Would it kill you to show a little leg?"

Lanie laughed. "I think the problem there, Writer-Boy, is that it might kill you."

"Becks, huh?" Ryan asked.

"Unless you are a tall, heel-wearing blonde who graduated with me, you do not get to call me that!"

Beckett looked around at her friends sitting around Castle's living room. He'd made everyone drinks, looked like mojitos and Long Island iced teas. Hers was a Madras—one of the drinks he knew she favored. Lanie asked about Alexis and prom. Before Rick could answer, Kate was gushing, passing her phone around for everyone to see pictures. Her favorite was one of Alexis and Castle, before Ashley got there.

"God, I remember my first prom," Ryan said. "My date was pretty, but nothing like that. I can't believe you let her out of the house, Castle."

"Tell me about it. Mother and Beckett wouldn't even let me threaten him."

Ryan turned to Jenny. "Let's never have girls."

"I'm a girl. You wouldn't want one of sweet little me?" Jenny asked, batting her eyebrows innocently.

"Oh, I'd want a one of you. But I wouldn't want one of me looking at or thinking about or—Holy Mary!—touching one of you."

Everyone but Castle, who tensed beside Kate, laughed at his seriousness—and Kevin's seriousness made Kate realize that, in reality, it wouldn't be too long before the Ryan family would likely grow.

"Well, now you know how her Dad feels," Madison said. "I remember my Dad went nuts when my date showed up for prom. 'Course, he wasn't all that promising a guy and he was right to be worried."

"Senior prom?" Kate asked. Madison nodded. "He was a jerk!"

"How 'bout you, Kate?" Jenny asked. "How was your prom?"

"Which one?" Madison asked. "She went to, what was it, Becks? Six?"

"Yeah."

"Really, Beckett? Six proms?" Castle asked.

"At our school, prom was only for juniors and seniors, but they could invite anyone. Becks was the only freshman at prom our first year of high school."

"That's not true. Erica Powell was there, too."

"That's only four." Castle deduced.

"I went to prom with guys from other schools junior and senior year."

"But were you a good girl?" Esposito asked.

"You'll never know, Esposito."

"Come on, Kate." Lanie backed him up.

"We could just ask Madison." Castle said.

"But Maddie wouldn't want me to retaliate. All I'll say is my dad hated all of my dates."

"Grunge rocker? Was he one of 'em?" Castle asked looking between Kate and Madison.

"You wanna share, Castle? Why don't you tell us about your prom? Long, leggy blonde, right?" Kate's question carried with it the slightest hint of contempt, like she didn't really want to know the answer.

"I didn't go to prom."

"What? Why not?" Jenny asked.

"It's true. I started dating a girl—Kyra, actually—a few weeks before my prom and asked her, but we got to talking and realized it was the same night as her prom—and she'd already asked a friend to go with her."

"So," the ever insightful Lanie asked, "you had to stand by and watch while someone you cared about went on a date with someone else?"

It wasn't lost on Castle what she was getting at and he felt Kate shift slightly next to him. He didn't want to ruin the whole mood. "They were friends. It was already arranged. Besides, I've been to more than my fair share of extravagant parties and limo rides."

"Well, I guess you've got a point," Jenny said. "If it's any consolation, Kate, my daddy hated my dates, too. But, he should have never let me go to prom. I did the typical prom night thing. Gave it up."

Maddie laughed. "You were so innocent. I had nothing left to give come prom night."

Todd spoke up, "Me, too. Well, I mean, I got it prom night. From two girls."

Rick wasn't handling this conversation well. He was extremely tense, and his right leg was bobbing up and down in agitation. Kate put her hand on his leg to still him, jarring him from all the images he didn't want to conjure about his daughter, but couldn't stop. Conversation swirled around them, while Kate tried to reassure him, without saying anything.

"Mega chingón, Bro." Esposito fist bumped Todd. Lanie smacked him.

"What? And you were an angel prom night? All you girls were, right? The boys were to blame?"

"I didn't say that, but my boyfriend at the time already had a certain, shall we say, "level of expectation"? Didn't mean I was too happy when he tried to take me to a cheap motel before our after-prom party."

"Well, I was an angel. Picked my date up right on time, corsage in hand. Shook her mom's hand. Promised to have her home at a decent hour and followed through."

"So, either she shut you down or you took your cousin." Ryan badgered his partner.

"She turned him down," Lanie confirmed."Big time."

"It was okay. Went to a party and hooked-up my friend's sister. She was home from college. Taught me lots of new tricks."

Lanie turned to find Kate's hand on Castle's leg, the two staring each other down. It wasn't their eye-sex thing; it was something else. Kate heard someone say her name, but didn't look away from Castle. Rick inhaled a sharp breath.

"Rick you need to calm down," she whispered to him. "Alexis is nothing like we were. If she does something wrong, it'll be something like putting her elbows on the table at dinner."

"I'm not worried about her," he hissed. He jumped up and pointed at Todd, Esposito and Ryan. "I'm worried about him and him and Ashley and—"

Kate jumped up beside him before he could finish. "Castle! Office! Now!" She pushed at his shoulders, urging him to his office and shut the door behind them.

"Does she always order him around like that?" Todd asked.

"Yes." Everyone answered in unison.

After a pause, Ryan added, "But he's also the only one she listens to."

"Castle, what the hell is the matter with you? Alexis is a good girl. So perfect. I mean, you have the kind of daughter who stayed home instead of going out with her friends so you could be there when her date picked her up. And you know Ashley's a good kid who cares about her."

Kate was a little riled up, but Castle was by no means relaxed. "Beckett, it's my job to worry about her."

"Worrying about her is one thing, but acting like bad choices are a given is another. If you don't start trusting her, you're going to push her away!"

Castle spun around. "What are you? Projecting? I am her father. I cannot help but worry about every possible scenario. I have to be prepared."

"Prepared? Why? Say she makes a mistake, Castle. Say she gets horribly drunk and comes home pregnant. Are you going to love her any less?" Kate was talking with her hands.

"No, of course not."

"Exactly! You're still going to be there. You're still going to support her and you'll love her no matter what. She needs to know that."

"She knows that, Kate." His voice was low. Did Beckett think he was a bad father? Did Alexis say something to her?

Kate sighed, heaving out the last of her agitation. "She does. Yes. I'm sorry, Rick. That's not what I meant." Kate walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. When she knew he wouldn't look away, she added "Rick, she also knows you are terrified of letting her go. You can't hold her back forever."

Rick sighed in defeat. "What am I supposed to do? I know what you're saying, but she's my baby girl. I can't just throw her to the wolves."

Kate signed along with him, and put her arms around his shoulders. "How about start with tonight? Hmm?" She rubbed his shoulders, trying to get him to relax. "They'll hold hands, they'll dance. They'll kiss—nothing you haven't seen before." Kate pulled him closer, and moved with him the way teenagers dance, with her cheek to his. "It'll be nothing less innocent than this, okay?" she whispered. "You just need to trust that."

Castle squeezed his arms around her, loving the feel of her against him and the bare skin at her back. He was thinking about how easily he could take this from innocent to not so innocent. "Thanks, Kate."

Kate pulled back, with Castle's arms still at her waist. "Think you can keep from imagining all evil the rest of the night?"

"Think I'm good." The warmth in his belly was going to carry him through the night.

"Good, 'cause we have to go."

They stepped out of the office to hear their friends groaning. "That is so nasty, yo."

"What's nasty?" Castle asked Esposito.

"Jenny."

"Not me. My college roommate."

"What about her?"

"Oh, yeah. You gotta tell them. This is definitely Caskett flavored." Ryan said.

"This I gotta hear," Castle said rubbing his hands together.

"Caskett?" Maddie asked.

"That's their shipper name." Ryan answered.

"Since when do we have a shipper name?" Beckett asked.

"Since the Temptation Lane case."

"And don't think we haven't heard you call us Esplanie." Lanie added.

"You mean Castle."

"Same diff."

"I want a shipper name," Jenny said to Ryan.

"Kinda hard with a hyphenated last name." Ryan explained.

"You used Lanie's first name."

"Castle did it."

"Castle, I want a shipper name. I'm holding my story hostage until I get one."

Castle thought a moment. "Kenny? No. Keviffer? Jenvin? Ooh, I know. Ryenny!"

"Ryenny?" Ryan asked.

Jenny smiled. "Yeah, okay. I can work with that."

"So, genital herpes, glass eye. On with it." Esposito said.

"And quick, so we can go," Lanie added.

"All right. So, my first college roommate had cancer when she was thirteen that caused her to lose her right eye. But she had a glass eye in its place, which she could pop in and out by scrunching her muscles a certain way."

"Okay..." Castle said, following along with anticipation.

"So, we're in college and I've only known her a few weeks. But she likes showing everybody this trick. Apparently, it was a popular trick among her friends in high school, too. But her eye or eye socket or whatever starts irritating her. She's scared her cancer's coming back and she doesn't know anyone around here, so she asks me to go to the doctor with her."

Jenny looks around. Everyone else is smiling or grimacing, already knowing what's coming.

"About a week later, they call her with test results and ask her to come in. She asks me to go with her again and, scared that they're going to tell her that her cancer is back, she insists that I stay in the room with her. The doctor's official diagnosis? Genital herpes of the eye. Turns out she let her date to senior prom screw her in the eye socket."

"That's disgusting!" Kate exclaimed.

"Yeah, kinda gives new meaning to 'screwing your brains out' doesn't it?" Ryan asked.

"And for the record, not Caskett-flavored."

"Speak for yourself. Again, truth is stranger than fiction. No way I'd have come up with something that messed up. But I'm totally using it."

"Castle, if Nikki Heat ends up with a glass eye, I will never speak to you again."

"No, not Nikki…murder victim. Ooh, if she died, could you charge him with murder?"

"Not unless it was malicious intent."

"Oh, but imagine if it were, and Nikki found evi—"

"Castle, we're leaving now. Come on, Ladies, or he'll have us all trying to act something out. Given where his head is, I don't want to be here for that."

Everyone headed for the door, with the men escorting their girls. Kate had her hand on the door knob, ready to go. When everyone else was ready, Kate pulled the door open a bit, only to pause when Lanie, Maddie and Jenny all turned back to their guys for one final kiss. Kate rolled her eyes, not really noticing Castle step toward her. That is, until she felt his warm lips high on her cheekbone, at the corner of her right eye. Kate closed her eyes briefly and her hand went to Castle's hip, like she was accustomed to this holding him there and receiving his kiss.

"Castle!" Kate throttled him with a warning that sounded a little husky to her ear. She hoped it was just her being sensitive to the way she was feeling. But a glance over Castle's shoulder, and she knew at the very least, Lanie had seen her removing her hand from Rick's side.

Rick pulled back and smirked at her. "What? I didn't want you to be left out!"

Kate raised her eyebrows at him and glared at him from beneath her lashes, but she had to fight not to smile at the look on his face.

"Leaving. Now. Have fun boys!"

In the elevator, Kate could feel Lanie's eyes on her, but she studiously avoided eye contact. She wished she'd had more alcohol so she would at least have something to blame her flushed cheeks on.

For the record…the nasty glass eye story there? That's TRUE! Only it was my college roommate's friend from high school. Met her once…and yes, she did pop her eye out. Not all the way to hold it in her hand or anything, but out and held in place with her eyelid stretched over it. Popped it back in with her knuckle. Crazy gross. (And, no she didn't have an active herpes outbreak at the time.)