Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.
Prompt #23: Fight - The day after that, he stopped showing up.
Words: 1,162
The sight of Castle's empty chair beside Beckett's desk was somewhat of a surprise. Javier Esposito lifted an eyebrow at the sight, but continued to his own desk to set down his cargo of coffee and donuts. His eyes drifted to the break room to make sure, but there was no sign of the writer. "Mom and Dad still haven't made up yet?" he asked, handing over a donut to his partner.
Kevin Ryan shook his head. "Nope. Castle never showed up."
"Ouch. That makes four days gone." Esposito tilted his head towards Beckett's desk. "How's she taking it?"
"Took one look and hasn't stopped doing paperwork since she came in."
Together they shot a look at Beckett. She looked immersed in her work, her pen scratching away at a mile a minute. Her free hand reached for her cup of coffee and grasped only air. No Castle meant no fresh cup of coffee. A thought that passed through her eyes as plain as day when she looked at the bare spot on her desk and the four-day-empty seat beside her.
Esposito and Ryan shared a worried look. "She's not taking it well," Ryan pointed out.
"That a fact?" came his partner's sarcastic reply. "I'm wondering what Castle's up to now."
Further conversation was halted when Miranda showed up, reading a file so fast her eyes blurred. "Mom and Dad still not talking?" she asked as she leaned against Ryan's desk, not raising her eyes.
"Yup. Still stubborn about who was in the wrong," Esposito said.
Ever the equalist, the arson detective sighed and said, "Weren't they both wrong this time?"
"Yeah, but neither's going to admit it," Ryan stated. "And Gates isn't about to deal with their crap, so unless they settle it soon, she might just boot Castle out for good."
Shutting her folder, Miranda looked at the partners expectantly. "I'm assuming that we're going to shamelessly interfere with their private affair with the help of Lanie and Alexis and Mrs. Rodgers, right?"
Esposito breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Good, you said it first and not me. If this goes south, we can blame it on you."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm still the new kid, so I was kinda assuming I'd be the fall girl. Now, are you guys in or not?"
Martha glanced into the study and saw her son still sitting at his desk, just as she left him an hour and a half ago. Pasting a smile on her face, she sashayed into the room with her tea. "Darling, please don't tell me that you're still engaging in a staring contest with your computer."
Castle looked at her with a dull glare. "I just lost," he deadpanned. "What is it, Mother?"
"How long are you going to sulk? You know Beckett was just doing her job."
He scowled. "Lemme guess, Lanie called."
"No. It was that charming young detective - what was her name again? - oh yes, Miranda. She wanted to know where you went," Martha said. "Apparently they need your plot-spinning prowess at the precinct."
"No they don't," Castle replied, his gaze returning to his screen. His fingers began tapping keys. "I'm working, and besides, they don't need me there play-acting a hero." He said the last six words in a high-pitched, mocking tone.
The actress crossed her arms. "Now Richard, you are too old to be holding such a childish grudge. Get over it already. Besides, I have it on good authority that you were just as much to blame as Beckett was."
His lips pressed into a thin grimace. "Miranda?"
"She is a very intelligent woman."
Castle sighed heavily, shutting the lid of his laptop with resigned purpose. Martha tried to hide her smug grin. "Now off with you, Richard," she ordered, shooing him towards the door. "Go make up with her."
It was obvious to Alexis when she plopped in the chair beside Detective Beckett's desk that when the brunette woman looked up, she was expecting an entirely different Castle to be sitting there. "Still angry at my dad?" she asked bluntly.
Beckett sighed and returned to her paperwork. "Yes."
"Even though some people are saying it was your fault too?"
"You've been down with Lanie too much."
"Actually, Detective Reynolds was filling us in on why my dad suddenly checked out." Alexis rested her elbow on the desk, setting her chin on her palm. "I knew he was lying when he said Gina wanted him to get to Black Pawn Publishing ASAP. Dad doesn't like going in there if he can avoid it."
The detective's pen scratched angrily across the signature line. "Good. He's actually doing his own work, instead of adding to mine."
Alexis kept her blue eyes on Beckett, that wise youthful gaze searching for the right words. When she did speak, her tone was careful. "I think you know just how close you both got hurt last week, and it was just as much your fault as his. That's why you haven't called him."
Paperwork was abandoned in favor of computer work. Beckett's keyboard suffered a violent onslaught of typing as she tried not to look over at Alexis. Or, more specifically, at those blue Castle eyes.
The elevator door dinged open, and Beckett had to literally force herself to keep typing and not turn around. After the last four days of getting borderline whiplash, the last thing she needed was more disappointment.
Miranda spoke up, sounding very surprised. "Hey Castle! Been a while since you've slunk in here."
"Hey Miranda," was his cheery response.
Alexis hopped up. "Now's your chance," she said to the detective. "See you around. Hey Dad!" This last bit was directed at Castle as he approached Beckett's desk, two coffees in hand. "Gotta go. See you later!"
Joining the group of Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and Miranda just beyond the bullpen, Alexis watched as her father hesitantly walked up to Beckett and handed her a cup. The detective had a frown on her face, but the relief in her eyes matched Castle's. "Good job, Miranda," the redheaded girl said.
"I did nothing but call you and Martha," was the bland reply. "They're miserable without each other, and to be honest, they're more amusing when they're together." That being said, Miranda left the situation the same way she entered - with her nose in the case file.
Lanie grinned. "She had too much fun fixing those two."
Review, please!