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

OOOOOOOOO

"Are they in place?"

She pulled her phone out of one of her inner pockets. "Up and recording," she confirmed reading the waiting message. "I'm going to head in. Give me a couple of minutes."

"What do you want me to do while I wait? I'll look stupid just standing here."

She looked over at him and smiled.

"I formally give you permission to use your phone. If that doesn't work for you, you can fix your hair."

OOOOOOOOO

35.

From the tapes and Ryan and Esposito's reports, she knew not to expect much. Considering it's clientele it could have been worse though. On the few stints she had made with Vice there had definitely been worse. As far as she could tell everyone was dressed, no one was fighting yet, she could actually hear enough of the music to make an educated guess as to what it was and she figured she had a whole two hours before she was smoked out.

She made for the bar with her helmet in hand. By the time she was half way there, she was aware she was being watched. She didn't bother to look over to the far corner and antagonize them but just listened as the group got quieter. She wondered if they realized how painfully obvious their attention was, or the way the attempted to mask it by resuming their conversations in louder voices was just as pointless.

The man on the bar was…sturdy. Obviously not one for customer service, he merely waited until she ordered.

"Two lights," she murmured.

His distaste showed clearly on his face.

"Might still have a long way to go tonight," she offered and he gave her If you say so shrug, moving off and allowing her to turn back to the room.

There were a few patrons at the end of the bar and once the bar keep had put the two bottles behind her he wandered back down there to resume his easy conversation. From studying surveillance she knew the room was long with the bar in the middle of the room against the wall. There were booths in both the front and the back with the pool tables and darts. There were tables and a few booths between her and the door but the group took up all the booths in the darker back half of the room, which was fine. They had already decided they would stay close to the exit. A couple of the pool tables were in use but she didn't have time to more than let her eyes drift over the crowd. She saw Stevens watching the game but didn't dare to take a closer look while she was still under scrutiny.

She hadn't counted on that level of attention, figuring riders weren't an anomaly in this particular bar. She took both bottles in one hand and her helmet in the other and made for the booth closest to the bar on the other end of the room from the group of denim and leather-clad patrons. It was clean enough and allowed for both an easy escape if needed as well as access to the bar. Seeing the way the group was content to quietly watch her, she figured her best bet of getting anything out of them was when they went to the bar to order in smaller groups.

But she wasn't going to be able to do this by herself. Where was Castle?

She set the bottles down on the pitted surface and clenched her fist, trying to warm them after the chill of the beer but didn't sit down. A couple of the booths had gotten quieter, suspicious, probably waiting to see who she was waiting on. She fought against the urge to text him and ask him what was taking him so long.

Beckett had almost lost the battle of wills and reached for her phone when he came in. He had opened jacket to the night air and finger combed his hair back to give it some shape. Metro sexual.

But that was where his femininity ended. In the dim lighting of the bar, his two days worth of stubble looked a lot darker. The light also played with the lines of his face, throwing the crease between his brows into prominence. He looked bigger and darker as he moved deliberately towards her. The man sure how to make an entrance.

There wasn't a hint of his bubbling energy anywhere in him. He had obviously taken a minute to ground himself. She imagined a very spirited mental pep-talk.

He kept coming and even though she half expected him to stop just outside her personal space, she wasn't uncomfortable when he wrapped an arm possessively around her shoulders.

"Seats and drinks?" he asked.

"Mmm Hmm."

"Thanks," he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and moved them forward so she could slide into the booth first.

Looks like Lanie had managed to temporarily reset her barriers. She knew it wouldn't last, but with the last day and a half still fresh in mind and suffering slightly from their separation, she allowed her tolerance to reach new levels. Most people could only get within four feet without tripping some alarm. Castle had spent almost four years, right from day one inside them- much to her initial ire. So it was she established a set of lines just for Castle. Usually she was fine until he got closer than a foot, but right now she was thinking space was no longer relevant. She was perfectly content to be tucked in against him. It was what he did now he was there that was going to start raising alarms. They had been here a minute and he had already kissed her.

She got the feeling she was in for quite the ordeal.

She slid into the booth, thankful for the thick leather as the seats were covered in the thin linoleum designed to withstand spills. It did that well enough but it also made it difficult to gauge just how dirty it was. She had barely settled when he sat down and shuffled smoothly until he was pressed firmly along her side.

Though physically comfortable, she didn't like being in the corner, leaving him exposed, but she knew they were in keeping with the face they were trying to present.

He could have sat on the other side of the booth. He was cutting off a lot of her visual.

"Strong sense of smell," he offered his explanation. "And I'd say that when someone lost control of their stomach last night the booth over, it wasn't cleaned up so well."

"I hope it was just last night," she muttered, reaching for one of the brown bottles.

He reached for his and raised it to hers. "Cheers to that."

She took a small swallow but held on to the bottle. The condensation collecting in large droplets on the side of the bottle made her hands feel cleaner though she knew she wouldn't be able to hold on to it for too long. She had a low tolerance level for cold now. Castle brought his free arm and placed it around her shoulders again, encouraging her to lean into his side. So she did. It was such an easy decision she was a little taken aback. Though the gesture was hardly platonic, her nerves didn't go into overdrive and her heart rate stayed steady. Her only physical reaction was the relaxation of her shoulder muscles and a gentle warmth in her chest. She realized she had missed being in his personal space and having him in hers.

"Nice place."

"Hmmm," she noncommittally, leaning back into the shelter of his shoulder but placing her hand on the knee closest to her.

He paused mid-swallow to raise his eyebrows at her. The way she was curled into him she had to look up a little to meet his eyes, but she hoped he could read the order for him to go with it. She began running her fingers over the knee in set squares, hoping the feeling would make it through the thick pants.

…