Disclaimer: The wording is mine but the characters aren't

OOOOOOOOO

She sighed in relief when her phone went off and she juggled her food and the cuffs as she tried to reach her phone on the coffee table. Being closer, Castle leaned over after switching his slice to the other hand and picked it up and hit the receive button.

"Beckett," he said easily.

"Castle," she hissed leaning over and snatching the phone from him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He just shrugged and went back to eating.

"Beckett," she said into the receiver.

OOOOOOOOO

"Katie, was that Richard Castle?"

"Dad?" Her mouth dropped a little in dismay.

"So he answers your phone now?" She heard the amusement in his voice when she didn't deny Castle's presence.

"No he does not answer my phone."

"It's true," Castle leaned closer to make himself heard. Almost without thinking she shoved lightly at his shoulder.

"So, Dad, what can I do for you?" She better not find out that Lanie or the boys had called him and told him about the situation.

"Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing just fine. What's up with you?" She slouched back into the sofa again after swapping the phone to her manacled hand so she could take a slice into her right. She caught Castle's indignant look and she just smirked at him. Technically the Italian was hers. It was harder than she thought to eat it one-handed. She had to eat it quickly as the cheese slid off as she had no spare hand to catch any that fell. She could feel the cheese burnt the roof her mouth.

"You know," she could almost hear him shrugging, "same old same old. So what is Castle doing at your place?"

She was pretty sure that Castle couldn't hear her father, but she still glanced at him before carefully constructing her answer. "We're having a movie night."

Castle had scooted further away on the couch and didn't look as relaxed as he had before. She was surprised how much that bothered her. Why would Castle be uncomfortable with her father?

On the wing of the question came the answer. The last time they had seen each other and the first time they had met. Probably not the best of memories. Especially if her father had to separate him and Josh. She gave him a small smile to reassure him

"Oh, that sounds nice." Her father waited a beat. "So what are you watching?"

"Well, we haven't started it yet. We're just having some dinner." She glanced over at Castle again and caught the soft look he was giving her. Sometimes it was just so easy with him. She had never had a conversation with her father in front of any of her friends before. Sure Lanie and the boys had met him, but she could never have a conversation over the phone with them just watching her. He caught her eyes and just gave her a small smile and reached for a burrito.

"So I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Nope," she took a mouthful of now cooler pizza.

"So can I talk to him?"

She choked. Not a spit take. A full on, tears in your eyes, red in the face, near Heimlich- me- please, choke. Castle dropped the burrito and began pounding on her back. She fought to breathe between the coughing.

She obviously wasn't capable of talking, so with one hand still rubbing her back, he cradled the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

"Mr. Beckett," he asked. "This is Richard Castle."

"What just happened?" Jim asked with a worried tone.

"I was just going to ask you that. I've got to say I'm impressed, I've never seen anyone get Beckett to choke up."

"Is that what happened?" He let out a shout of a laugh. It made Castle smile to hear it. Especially when he was fighting against the images of the last time he had seen her father.

His helplessness as her father came in more put-together and fierce than Castle could ever be. The tracks of blood that the trolley had left behind. God she had lost so much blood. It was caked on his hands, stiffening them into claws. And there was Lanie in her gloves.

He swallowed and pulled him back to the feel of her jacket under his hand, the warmth and the friction making his palm tingle.

He glanced over at Beckett and saw she was looking at him in mock-betrayal through the tears in her eyes. He just shrugged, continuing to rub circles across her back. She wasn't angry about that day. He had just told her father about her choking. He really needed to get his head back on straight.

He resolved to bring back the light atmosphere of earlier in the day.

"So you're really there for a movie night?"

"By default," Castle shrugged, pushing the phone against his face accidentally.

"And why is that?"

Beckett had recovered and was trying to lean in and hear them. "Should I be avoiding this question?" he asked her, still rubbing circles across her back and reveling in it.

"No," came Jim's answer before she could signal a desperate 'Yes'. He looked between them. Well, her and the phone.

"I have a daughter, Alexis. You might remember her." Castle said suddenly.

"Kate's told me quite a bit about her," Jim acknowledged.

"Has she now?" Castle waggled his eyebrows.

"She's told me a lot about you too."

"There is so much I could say about that…"

"But she looks like she wants to strangle you?"

"A little."

His candid reply drew an involuntary laugh out of Jim.

"Anyway, I have this policy where I tell her everything and we think it works rather well."

Kate's face suddenly closed and her muscles tensed under his hand. Her eyes were begging him to stop.

"Katie doesn't really talk about work with me," Jim sighed, sounding a little sad.

"I'm guessing she doesn't want you to worry," his voice was gentle as he held her gaze.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine," he assured Jim. But she sure didn't look happy.

"I might not be able to say the same about me this time tomorrow," he added, trying to restore some levity, dropping his hand from her back. "Hey!" He exclaimed as she tried to snatch the phone. "Your daughter is trying to kill me!"

"Castle! Give me my phone!"

"No," he said, stubbornly turning away.

It was a mistake to turn his back. Oldest, dumbest mistake in the book. He hadn't even let the smirk settle fully before he felt the pain flash through his ear and he dropped the phone with an undignified shriek.

She couldn't restrain a quick shout of laughter as she reclaimed her phone with a triumphant smile.

"That was dirty Beckett."

"Kate! What did you do? Wait. I'm not sure I want to know."

She felt herself blush. "Dad!"

"Don't worry, sir. It was my ear," he chimed in, leaning in recklessly close.

Jim let out a laugh and Beckett tried to quash her blush. She was horrified that the two of them had played her so well. But as she listened to her father laugh, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry with them. She hadn't heard her father laugh in a very long time. And she knew she was to blame for that.

"So," he asked when he recovered. "Everything really is okay?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Are you sure we can't tell him?" Castle asked quietly. "It's a pretty good story, you've got to admit."

She looked at him and briefly considered of his relationship with Alexis. Being open with each other and sharing the laughs as well as the hard times was good for both of them. Could she really talk to her father about work? It wasn't a bad case…She considered the serious look on Castle's face. He was really thinking of both her and her father. She wanted it so badly. Which was the precise reason she was so cautious. If she didn't set herself up for disappointment in the first place, she couldn't get hurt. But looking at his sincere face, she was so jealous of what he shared with Alexis that she made a snap decision. She took a deep breath before she lowered her phone and pushed the speaker button.

"You tell it," she said. "You are the famous mystery writer."

"Careful Beckett," he said trying to restrain a grin. "You'll give me a big head."

"Bigger head."

"Play nicely."

Castle stuck out his tongue at her and she slapped his hand, making the cuffs jingle.

"What was that noise?" Jim inquired.

"That was your daughter beating me again."

"Beating you," she scoffed.

"Actually the jingling you heard," he paused and shook the chain again, "would be handcuffs."

"She put you in handcuffs?"

"No," she said quickly before Castle could twist it. Maybe her dad's reaction wasn't what she should have been worried about…

"It was Lanie," he added, taking pity on her.

"Lanie cuffed Castle?" The sheer surprise and confusion in her father's voice had her giggling. Oh man, she thought as Castle watched her. Any dignity she had left was pretty much gone now. She couldn't stop it. It wasn't even a laugh. She had laughed with him before. But this was…it was embarrassing. How was she ever going to be cool and collected. Beckett? Right now, the two of them had broken her down to Kate. And from the look on Castle's face, he liked her.

"Now, that would be a spoiler. If I'm going to be telling this story, it's going to be from the very beginning."

"I guess I had better settle in," Jim said. "You are a novelist after all."

"He'll keep it short," Beckett said regaining her composure.

"Hey, no ganging up on me."

"Just tell the story, Castle."