Disclaimer : Castle is owned by others not me.
Castle sits in the offices of the now defunct Richard Castle Investigations and stares at the laptop screen in front of him. Tomorrow is Kate's first day back at work after the ordeal with Nieman and Tyson and is therefore his first day back after being banned from the 12th precinct.
Both he and Kate have had a relaxing week recovering from Nieman and Tyson's attack, which also included a couple of visits to Dr Burke for both of them. However neither of them are the type of people that like staying still for too long and so they are both ready to get back to work and their partnership. He has come to his PI office ostensibly to start packing it up while Kate and Alexis are out doing some step- mother/daughter bonding over some retail therapy. While he has packed some of his knick-knacks into the boxes that are now strewn around the office he has paused to open some old research. Research that he doesn't want Kate to see just yet. Not until he is sure.
The file he has open on the computer in front of him is one that he first opened a year after he started shadowing Kate. Back then he had really started to appreciate his position as Kate's partner and had looked into how to make it a more formal arrangement. Not only was he appreciating the material he had gathered for Nikki Heat and his growing attraction for his muse but he was also really getting into the thrill of solving murders and the satisfaction at getting justice for victims and their families. That and he really wanted his own badge to flash at people when out interviewing people or arresting someone.
Ok so that last reason was a bit frivolous but that was where he was back then. Now, after over six years solving murders at Kate's side, he has far more serious reasons to revisit this file. As Kate can attest he is a master of research and so he had been very thorough in gathering the contents of the file. He'll have to do some more research to update things but that shouldn't take long as he can't imagine things will have changed too much.
Back then all the options he came up with and recorded in this file, that might have led to that more formal arrangement as Kate's partner, involved a lot of time, work and expending of favours. At the time he wasn't in a place to make that sort of commitment. Now he is as committed as a man can be to be both Kate's husband and work partner so hopefully the information here will help to cement their working partnership.
His recent banishment from the 12th had hurt him if for no other reason than it made him break his vow. His vow to Kate when they got married, to be partners in crime, for the time of their lives and for as long as they both live. Their recent ordeal with that twisted pair of serial killers now galvanizing him into doing whatever he can to try and ensure that he is never removed as Kate's partner against his will, again. Plus he hates breaking his word.
Looking at the options he had researched in the file he discounts some immediately as the goal is to remain in New York as Kate's partner. While some training is required in virtually all the options, with a few of the them, the federal ones in particular, extended periods of training are required and in some cases will be outside of New York. Also, with some of the options there is no guarantee that he would end up as Kate's partner and not end up at some field office half way across the country.
So he is looking for an option where he can stay in New York both for any training involved and which ideally could still be performed while working at the 12th. An option that will hopefully also minimize any chance of him being removed from the 12th. He studies the option in the file that he first thought of when he first contemplated his current course of action.
It's not perfect and there will be a lot of effort involved just getting to the start let alone ensuring that at the end the result is what he wants and will complement his wife's work. He will have to call in a lot of favours and charm and persuade a lot of people to make this work. He will also have to tell Kate.
He's not going to make the same mistake that both of them have made all too many times before and keep this from his wife. If for no other reason that he will need her help and support to make this work. Looking around his PI office he is reminded of how Kate reacted upon finding out about his new career as a gumshoe. It could have gone better. At the time he had not told her partly because he had truly meant it as a surprise but if he's honest with himself another reason he kept the PI idea from her was because he thought she might talk him out of it.
In the end she had supported him and his new endeavour even going as far as consoling and encouraging him when doubts started to cloud his conviction that he was doing the right thing. So telling Kate and involving her in his plan are an important step but not the first one. She does have her own part to play if he is going to pull this off so telling her is essential. But before he wastes Kate's time he needs to sound out some people to find out if what he has in mind is even possible. Then he will tell Kate and with her behind him he is sure to get it done.
Her husband is up to something and when your husband is Richard Castle then that could mean anything. It's been a week since Kate Beckett has had him back as her partner and she couldn't be happier. Secretly she'd loved that Mars simulator case because not only did it appeal to the sci-fi geek in both of them it also brought out that usual exuberance and excitement in her adorable husband. It reminded her of all the fun he had brought into her serious and stressful job. But even during that case she could tell he was up to something. That he was holding something back and she wanted to know what it was.
Tonight she is standing in the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in an elegant, flowing red silk dress from her favourite designer in SoHo waiting at the bar for her husband. Waiting to start their game.
Not soon after their relationship became common knowledge to the general public they came up with their "event" game. She has never been truly comfortable and also a little bored attending all the various charity balls, fundraisers and other swanky events that her rich writer husband is invited to. Most of them anyway.
Anything related to his writing and especially that fictional journal of their life together, Nikki Heat, then she is more than happy to accompany him and lend her support. Plus she doesn't mind dressing up from time to time in a beautiful dress with perfect hair and make-up and the look that results on Castle's face when he sees her so turned out. Her work removing murderers from New York's streets allowed her to avoid a lot of the events but for other times when she couldn't avoid attending, she and Castle played their game.
For as long as he has known her Castle has expressed his admiration to her of her talent with languages and accents. He's complemented her many times on how she always gives the correct accent and pronunciation of any foreign names or words they have encountered in their cases. So to make these events more interesting they developed their game utilising her multilingual talent, the acting skills he inherited from his mother and their mutually equal quick minds.
Upon arriving at an event they would start like any other couple attending. Circulating and greeting the other attendees. Making contact with friends and acquaintances and being attentive to any speeches or performances that are part of the program. Once these duties to convention are fulfilled they separate to then rendezvous at a prearranged location at the venue. When they reconnect they are both playing two different people and spend the rest of the night as those people. Flirting, joking, romancing and just having plain fun playing at being different people, usually fictional characters, in the midst of a serious, uptight event of the New York elite.
Who they are depends on the venue. If at a museum then Castle is a certain Doctor Jones and she is Lady Croft, upper class English accent included. If at an art gallery then he is billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne and she is Selina Kyle aka Catwoman with a seductive Eartha Kitt like accent. Tonight, in a five star hotel ballroom, they play their favourite roles. He, in his tailored black tuxedo, is suave secret agent James Bond and she, with her familiar and to Castle brain liquefying Russian accent, is KGB spy Katya Overthetop.
So here she is, at the bar, a flute of champagne in her hand and his vodka martini on the bar by her elbow ready to start the game and yet she has been waiting for ten minutes and he still hasn't joined her. Looking around the room full of people dressed in expensive designer clothes she is looking for her missing playmate. She's never had to wait this long for them to start their game once they decide it's on. If he's taking this long then it can only mean he's up to something and it's got to be related to what's had him so distracted this week. Oh she's going to make him pay tonight for making her wait and keeping her out of the loop about something but knowing him he'll probably enjoy any punishment she might come up with. Well, she'll just have to use their game and her considerable influence over Castle to find out what is going on.
Then she spots him. He is at the head table, head bowed in what looks to be a very serious discussion with his friend the Mayor and her boss, the NYPD Commissioner. Barely a second after her gaze locks on him he must sense her scrutiny because he looks up and gives her a smile. He then returns to his conversation with arguably two of New York's most influential men. Moments later the conversation obviously ends as, with a smile and a nod to both of the other men, Castle rises from where he is crouched between them and heads towards her.
She narrows her eyes at him as he approaches and she sees a slight faltering in his step as he strides closer. He's seen the look and knows that she suspects something and that might not bode well for him tonight. Just before he finally reaches her she see's him put on a brave smile which is only slightly counteracted by the eagerness with which he reaches for his drink to obviously fortify himself with some liquid courage.
After swigging half the martini he turns his attention to her again and says in his very rough approximation of an English accent, "Ms Overthetop, what a pleasure to see you here again."
Kate/Katya pauses for a couple more seconds than necessary to let him sweat before responding in the seductive purr of her Russian accent, "Mr Bond. I thought I was all alone here tonight. You seemed so distracted with your friends that someone might think you have better things to do. That you might have some nefarious scheme up your sleeve, as usual."
Castle/Bond pauses as he struggles with the fact that she is calling him out about what he is doing while still playing their game. The look on his face still has a play-full twinkle in the eye but she can also see that he is thinking on whether or not to tell her what is going on. "My dear Katya, I don't know what you are talking about. Rest assured that if I was working on some scheme that I would tell you as soon as I could and that it would benefit the both of us."
"Oh I know you, James, you always have some scheme going on. If you tell me about it perhaps it will be a chance for some of that East/West co-operation that we do so well together. You know that together there is nothing we can't accomplish," says Kate/Katya still in character as she takes a sip of her champagne and giving him a further opening to tell her what's going on.
Castle/Bond knocks back the rest of his martini before answering, "All right Katya, you are correct that together we can do anything and I was going to let you in on it anyway. I just needed to make sure it was tenable. So, you win. I will let you in on my plan, but tomorrow. For now let us relax and enjoy each others company and the rest of this lovely evening. I promise that I will tell you everything tomorrow and that it will be something that will be good for both of us."
Kate/Katya takes another sip of her champagne, contemplating him over the rim of her glass before responding, "Very well Mr Bond, tomorrow. You are right, let us enjoy the evening. Now, I do have those plans of Spectre's for the building of a secret base at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Do you feel like debriefing me?"
"Oh Katya, you know I love to debrief you."
A/N : Yes I am drawing out what Castle has planned. I had planned revealing what it is in this chapter but I wanted to get a chapter out and this seemed the right place to end it. What he is up to will be revealed in the next chapter. You just have to wait just like Kate. I've had this "event game" idea for Caskett for a while and have waited for the time to introduce it. It just seems like something they would come up with.
Only one episode to go in season seven. Should we read too much in to the fact they are promoting the 7x23 as the last episode of the season and not the show?. I hope so.