Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Prompt #22: Motivation - She knew exactly how to light a fire under his lazy butt.

Words: 433

The 12th was quiet that night. Everyone had gone home save for two people. One had her dark head bent over a pen and papers, while the other sat in his customary chair and fooled around on his phone.

"I'm boooooooored."

Beckett rolled her eyes at the pouting sigh next to her desk. "You're being childish."

"But I'm boooooooored," was his reply. "When are you gonna be done?"

She pointed to her pile of forms. "When this is done."

"Is there any way to make it go away faster?"

"Yeah." When he looked up hopefully, Beckett added, "Help me do paperwork."

He gave her an affronted look of shock. "That just sounds even more boring!"

I don't have time for this crap, she thought wearily. After a long double homicide, all Beckett wanted was to run a hot bubble bath, sip some good red wine, and curl up in bed for a good solid block of sleep. A wish that would go unfulfilled tonight unless she managed to get an extra set of hands to help her power through the tower of paper on her desk. And with Castle pestering her, it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Drumming her pen against the tabletop, she cast her mind around to think of a way to trick Castle to leave her in peace. It couldn't be too hard. After all, he was a child in essence. In the style of Mary Poppins, she just had to make a game of it.

"Here's a thought," she said. "How about you go looking for my copy of Heat Rises? I left it somewhere in the precinct and I can't remember where."

His scandalized look nearly made her laugh. "You lost it? Here? Beckett, that thing is worth its weight in gold! How can you lose it?"

"Are you going to help me find it or not?"

Castle had to consider it for a second before nodding. "Alright then. Where did you last leave it?"

Making a big deal of thinking about it, Beckett rattled off a set of locations all over the precinct, from the coroner's office to the front lobby and everywhere in between. Armed with that list, Castle went off in search of the ficticiously lost book with single-minded determination.

Beckett grinned to herself as she returned to her paperwork. Such an easy mark, even to this day.

As if Beckett would lose her copy of any of Castle's books. Lol.

Review please!