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

I have finished writing this, so you've got about a week's worth left.

I'm interested in any ideas for another fic, so feel free to leave a message.

OOOOOOOOO

"Is that in or not?" His whole body leaned to one side, not that it helped his view.

"Not."

"Yeah it is."

They both approached the board. The shaft of his dart was riding so tightly up against the wire, he was surprised that it hadn't bounced off. But it was in the cork, and it was on the right side of the wire.

"Bulls-eye," she sighed. "You're not going to gloat are you? Do a happy dance?"

"So not cool."

OOOOOOOOO

40.

After the scrutiny of the last quarter of an hour, it was almost a relief to retreat back to their booth and their room-temp beer. She allowed herself to settle back into him, not minding the way he kept her hidden from view.

Castle had been really good about the game. He had thrown a good game and had shown remarkable maturity and sportsmanship, though she had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn't have gone the same way of it had been anywhere else. Free from the necessity to manipulate this reality of theirs, she had the feeling a much more playful Richard Castle would have come out to play. She was sure he would have been met by off-duty Kate Beckett too.

Was it possible to miss something you'd never had?

She resolved she was going to have to instigate a rematch one night at the Haunt. She wondered if a couple would help or impede his performance.

"So did you have a second phase in your We come in peace plan?" she asked him.

"After softening them up? Not really. I kind of skipped the phase in the middle. I figured getting them talking wouldn't be too hard after we showed them we weren't interested in invading and melting their brains."

It was sad she was so used to that she didn't even bother to ignore him.

"We probably would have had better luck drawing them into conversation if we stayed closer to them."

"Or no one would want to leave the group - they wouldn't act out on their own. We were too intimidating. Hopefully we'll have a better chance now, but it's going to have to be one on one. I'll head in to the restrooms; maybe you'll have better luck if you're alone for a bit."

"Give me five minutes? They haven't made a drinks run since we've been here so they've got to go soon."

He nodded and she watched his back until it disappeared through the door on the far side of the bar.

Movement caught her eye.

Daniels' girlfriend, Stacy, was standing up. Kate tried for inconspicuous as she watched Stacy take Daniels' wallet and remove a bill. She had to reach across the table to do it and he ignored her hands in his jacket, not letting up his quiet conversation. It looked like Castle's profile had been right. Those two were barely even a couple in name. Considering how broken their relationship appeared, she prepared herself for a scene as Stacy walked away, but still Daniels remained unconcerned.

The way they were avoiding each other wasn't awkward or forced which made it unlikely that Daniels had enlisted her aid if he really was their man.

She must have been too obvious, because when Stacy threw a look over her shoulder and scanned the bar, her eyes found Beckett's easily.

Beckett dropped her eyes but kept her posture as open as she could. She really hoped she hadn't scared Stacy off. This was the opportunity they had been hoping for and with one of the people they needed to talk to.

Darkness flickered at the extreme edge of her vision but she kept her gaze firmly on the bottle cradled in her hands until the mass came to a hovering halt just off her shoulder. Beckett made sure not to rush her sip of beer before turning to face Stacy fully.

"Hey," she acknowledged her visitor.

"Hey," Stacy mimicked, her chin coming forward. Her attempt at composure was forced and not terribly believable when Beckett made a living reading people. It encouraged Beckett though to think she wouldn't take much effort to crack once she got talking. "Just wanted to say you threw a good game. Gotta good arm."

"Thanks." Beckett risked a small smile.

"Really thought you were going to make it for a minute there." Stacy offered a little gingerly.

Beckett nodded slowly. "How much did that cost you?"

A shadow of a smile passed over her lips. "Twenty."

"Huh. Guess that means I owe you a drink," she waved her hand to the opposite side of the booth, trying not to seem too eager or too cold.

"I wouldn't open that offer up to everyone unless you've got some serious money with you."

"Is that so?" She snorted. Looks like the odds had been in her favor. "Rick is going to love that."

"That his name?"

"Dick for short," she smirked.

Stacy laughed, relaxing. "No offense to your man, but the boys just can't keep their eyes of fresh female meat. I'm not the only one who lost out on that game."

"I'll keep that in mind," she offered her hand. "Kate."

"Stacy," the handshake she offered in return was friendly enough. "So where're you guys hauling from?"

"Set out from Ohio this afternoon."

"You made good time. So heading out again then?"

"Nope. Here to catch up with some old buddies," she took another swallow, trying for normal.

Stacy just nodded absently and took a draw from Castle's bottle.

"Making friends again?" his voice soothed her. She didn't bother trying to convince herself she trusted him with the details of the story more than herself.

She craned her neck to look up at him and didn't even have to work the smile.

"Jealousy isn't cute on you. Stacy, Rick." Her hand made the traditional accompanying gestures. "Rick, Stacy."

He nodded at the addition to their booth, his eyes taking in his bottle in her hands.

Stacy followed his eyes, shoulders tense again. "Sorry about that," she muttered, sliding it towards him.

He just shook his head and made his way to the bar.

Stacy let out a shaky breath. "I don't know if he's a gentleman or an asshole."

"Sometimes he's a bit of both."

He returned with three beers and slid back in next to her. He put one in front of Stacy with a nod of invitation then wrapped a heavy arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. She relaxed into his warm weight and let herself enjoy his nose pressed into her hair.

Stacy relaxed again. Apparently she had made her decision.

"Thanks. Kate was just saying she owed me a drink."

"Oh?"

"She lost a bit of change on our little game," Beckett supplied. "Most did from the sounds of it."

"You know I like to be the underdog sometimes," his hand crept up her leg and she gave him a steady look, not caring how much he saw. Hopefully it would goad him into action later when they settled this case. From the sudden expansion of black in his eyes, she was pretty sure he had gotten the message.

"She was doing good until the last round. Thought she was going to pull it off."

"She probably will next time." Castle turned to face their guest fully. "A month ago she couldn't even hit the board," he confessed, drawing Stacy in with his easy charm. "We've been practicing every place we've stopped at in the last month."

Sneak. That wasn't fair.

Perceptive sneak. He shook her hand off his knee as she went in to punish him for that degrading little lie. He wasn't going to let her pull that trick again for a long time, was he?

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, baby," he continued to add insult to injury. "You're doing really great." He dropped a light kiss right on the corner of her downturned mouth.

"You've been on the road a month?"

"Parted from our gang in Arizona," he confirmed. "Had to stop for repairs."

The story was second nature for him, and so believable she found it easy to pick up the thread.

"We're not in any hurry to get back so here we are," she ran her fingers in patterns over his palm. He placed another kiss to her temple.

She became aware of the speculative look Stacy was shooting him and tightened her grip.

The constant touching should have been a clear sign that he wasn't interested, but it only seemed to serve as further encouragement. Stacy was a girl out shopping and she seemed to have taken an interest in her partner.

"So how long are you going to be in the city?"

"Depends if we can find a good place." Castle's answer was quick and smooth. "We still have gas money for the trip back. I was thinking of picking up some work for the rest just in case we can't stay with our friends."

She silently commended her partner's ability to spin a plausible story with no notice. The back story they had worked on with the boys didn't cover the smaller details.

But it was too plausible. Stacy looked far too interested.

Beckett reached her hand up and let her fingers draw on his chest under his jacket. She probably shouldn't, but she let her nails scratch across his more sensitive areas. The sigh he let out blew across her face and she let herself hide if in the crook of his neck. She was tempted to nuzzle her cheek to his, but he was too prickly.

From her vantage point she saw more company incoming and pulled away reluctantly.

Castle flicked an eye out to the room.

"Friends of yours?" He jerked his head at the men approaching.

…