"You know… it's just a hickey. We don't really have to cover it."
"Yes. We do."
Castle rolled his eyes, still amused, and held still while Beckett went to work on him with makeup in hand. They'd had a large breakfast – mainly because they'd both skipped dinner the night before in favor of sleeping – and then Castle had shooed her off to take a shower while he filled the sink with water and did the dishes. He did wait until he heard the shower stop before rinsing the dishes, though, and he had them dried by the time she came out dressed and ready for her day. Then she'd sat him down and shaved him so he could look as good as he was feeling – much to his relief. And then, while he was still seated in the chair, she'd brought out her makeup to cover up the hickey.
"No one is going to notice it."
She gave him a look that he was very used to.
"It's a hickey, Castle, and they're all detectives. They're going to notice."
And that had been the end of that discussion. She had him tilt his head up and went to work on trying to cover her handy work with the closest color she could find. While she had him sitting still and feeling good she brought up the dreams from the night before.
"Last night you were talking a lot in your sleep," she told him. "Several times you mentioned Bridget telling you about a gift. Do you remember that?"
He hadn't before, but it was always a possibility that the nightmares might have triggered his memory a little. He frowned – the usual expression when he was thinking about a puzzle – and his cheerful demeanor lessened a little.
"I remember her telling me that if she told me Jeremy would kill her." His eyes met hers, and they were a little bleak. "I guess that happened, huh?"
Bridget was dead, after all.
"She kept you locked in a closet, Rick, don't forget."
"Yeah."
"Do you know what she meant by 'the gift'?" Beckett asked him, changing back to the original topic.
He didn't, and she could tell from his expression that he wished he could tell her otherwise.
"I don't know," Castle admitted. "I think it was something small and valuable, but I don't remember what she told me it was – or if she even did."
"She stole it, though?"
"Yes."
"Did you get the sense that Jeremy had stolen it? Or was it something of his?"
"I don't know."
"Did she tell you where it was?"
"Yes."
Beckett was surprised. She'd only asked the question because it was the next in the logical succession.
"Where is it?"
He shook his head.
"I don't remember."
She smiled, telling him that it was okay. It was. She'd gotten more information out of him – even though it had cost him a rough night and her a little lost sleep. There was no telling how much more they might be able to trigger.
"Maybe if we can show you this gift, it'll jog your memory a little."
"I'll do anything you want," he told her.
Which was all she could ever ask for, right? Beckett took his chin in her hand and leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss against his lips. His bleak expression turned to surprise immediately.
"What was that for?" he asked, smiling despite himself.
"Letting me cover up the hickey."
She'd done it because she knew it would make him smile, but he didn't need to know that.
"If you want, you can give me another one and cover it up, too," he offered.
She chuckled and put away her makeup.
"Don't press your luck, Castle."
Still smiling, he shrugged.
"So what are we going to do?" he asked her. "What's the plan?"
"The first thing I want to do is have your doctor check you out and see how you're healing."
"You're going to let him come here?"
"No. Not a chance. We'll have him come to the precinct. If you think he will, that is?"
"He will."
"Good. I want to see if anyone's learned anything new and that's where we need to be." She looked him over. "Are you ready?"
"Yes."
OOOOOOOOOOO
They left the safehouse and Beckett drove them back to the precinct. On the way she gave Castle her phone to call Gerald Cutter and arrange for him to meet them there at his convenience. Castle had to leave a message – he'd figured he was going to have to since it was a little earlier than doctor's hours – but he was still sure that they'd hear from the doctor long before it normally would have taken. He ended the call and noticed that Beckett was looking into the rearview mirror a little more often than normal.
"What's up?" he asked.
"I think I picked up a tail."
Castle looked behind them.
"What? Where?"
"Don't look." She frowned, looking into the mirror again. Then she took a right turn and drove for a while longer. Then took another right and watched for the sedan she was sure she'd seen. After a moment she frowned. "I don't see them…"
"Are you sure it was someone following us?" Castle asked.
"No. Not completely." But her gut was telling her that it had been.
"When did you notice them? At the safehouse?"
"No. It was a while after we left."
She would have noticed that immediately. Beckett picked up her phone, but there was no sense in calling someone to come help her look. If it was a tail, they were gone. Or they were going to end up following her and Castle to the precinct – a place crawling with cops. No one would be foolish enough to try something there. She'd have to wait and try to pick them up again later. Then she could set a trap to find out who it was.
"What are you going to do?" Castle asked, looking back again. He couldn't help it.
Beckett shook her head.
"Nothing we can do. Not right now, anyway."