Castle hesitates when the elevator doors opens, but he steps onto the homicide floor before the doors can close on him. A cautious glance at Beckett's desk tells him she's not in. Her computer's off, and there's no tell-tale cup of coffee, so he figures he's safe, for now.
"Castle!" The Captain's booming voice catches him by surprise and he whirls around; Montgomery is coming out of his office, a smile on his face.
"Roy!" At a loss for what else to do, Castle beams at Montgomery, hoping his presence here without Beckett won't be questioned. Montgomery, though, just gives him a wave and heads toward interrogation. Castle lets out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, and relaxes a little.
He's not out of the woods yet. He spots the boys at their desks; they both sit up straight when they hear Montgomery call out to him and Esposito stands up, nodding at Ryan who follows his colleague's action. The two men crowd around Castle, and he's pleased to see there's no animosity on either of their faces. Huh. This might just be easier than he thought.
"Castle." Ryan speaks up before Esposito can. "What's going on with Beckett?"
Castle shrugs. He's going to have to play this cool. Beckett obviously hasn't told them what he did, and he's not going to either. Not yet, that's for sure. "I don't know. Last I knew, she'd gone to see Will in hospital. Why?" It's low, he knows, to bring Beckett's ex-boyfriend into this, lump the blame onto the other man for whatever is going on with Beckett, but he's going to fix this. He is.
Esposito fixes Castle with a piercing stare but Castle meets his eyes and the shorter man shrugs and looks away, glancing over at Beckett's empty desk. "She was pretty quiet yesterday, man," Esposito tells Castle, and Ryan nods in agreement.
"And you weren't here- we thought you might have done something," Ryan adds.
Castle throws his hands into the air in pretense of innocence. "Hey, no. No. I didn't do anything." The lies seem to work, and he sees the tension ease off Esposito's face.
He winces, though, as Esposito turns to Ryan with a glare. "Sorenson."
"Sorenson," Ryan nods, before turning back to Castle. "But- what happened with Sorenson. I mean- last we heard she was visiting him at his sick bed- what went wrong?"
"Pretty obvious, isn't it?" Esposito shakes his head at his partner. "He made a move- Beckett must have turned him down."
Ryan nods, as if it all makes sense, and Castle finds himself nodding along, barely able to keep pace with the turns this conversation is taking. Not only do the boys not realize he's to blame for a difficult Beckett yesterday, they're happy to point the finger at Sorenson.
Castle's not thrilled that the other man is taking the blame, of course, but he needs the file, and that means getting in and out of here with as little fuss as possible. He promises himself that he'll clear the air later. His plan isn't as fleshed out as it might be; in fact, he's written short stories with more direction than this, but deep down, he's hoping that if he can bring more evidence to light he might be able to change Beckett's mind.
And his best case scenario is that he solves the whole damn thing before Beckett even knows he's investigating. He sighs. Even his more arrogant side isn't quite able to believe that he'll able to manage it without getting Kate involved.
Esposito's desk phone rings and he steps aside to take it, leaving Castle staring uncomfortably at Ryan. That had all gone better than he'd thought, and for a moment he considers chancing it and asking Ryan to let him into Archives, but then Esposito's grabbing his jacket and nodding at Ryan. "Body drop uptown," he nods at the two of them. In one swift movement Ryan reaches for his own jacket and cell phone.
"You in?" he asks Castle, and Castle shakes his head.
"No- I, uh- I just came by to…" he trails off when he realizes the two detectives are already walking to the elevator; they're not listening and he waves half-heartedly at them, watching them go.
Castle stands at Beckett's desk. He traces a fingertip across one of the elephants before absently reaching a hand out and resting it on the back of his seat. He leans against it awkwardly as he considers his next step. At least she hasn't gotten rid of the chair yet. Just as he's wondering how long his luck will hold; how long he'll be able to stand awkwardly like this in the precinct before someone gets wind of the fact he's not welcome here anymore, he sees Karpowski trudging from interrogation toward the break room.
He smiles in relief at catching another break, and hot-foots it across the bullpen to beat her to the coffee machine. By the time she's eased herself into the room, he's already twisted the portafilter into the machine. "Can I make you one?" he asks innocently, pulling two cups down, and Karpowski glances at him, perhaps registering his presence for the first time.
"Oh, hey Castle," she says, smiling in his direction. "Please." She sinks onto the sofa and he smiles at her sympathetically.
"Tough case?" he asks, and she nods. Her hair is escaping its lose bun and he can see the frustration in her eyes.
"You know it," she agrees, and he nods back. "If my guy would just give it up I could go home," she tells Castle. "Uniforms picked him up at two this morning- I've been here since three."
Castle glances at his watch. It's past midday already, and he knows how these things work; she'll be able to toss the guy into holding, but the case won't really be over until she gets a confession. In her own way, he thinks Karpowski is as determined as Beckett and he doesn't think she'll voluntarily go home until she can put it to rest.
"What are you doing here without Beckett?" Karpowski asks him, and he's ready with something that's not even an outright lie, just a patchy statement lazy with half-truth.
"She's on call today," he says honestly. "And I just needed to pick something up. But- uh- actually- I kind of forgot that Beckett wasn't going to be here."
He offers a small smile, and the tired detective smiles back up at him as he hands her a latte before turning back to the machine to make one for himself. He hopes he got it right; this is what he makes for Beckett, but he actually has no idea what anyone else around here prefers.
Castle plunges on; if this doesn't work he's not sure of his next move, but as Karpowski sips her coffee he sees the tension fall away from her face, so he takes his chance. "Actually- since she's not here- there was actually a case I needed to look at in Archives. Do you think you could help me out?"
She nods. "Sure. Let me finish my coffee first, okay, and I can take you down there. You got the case file number and everything?"
"Uh- yeah." Castle nods, glancing through the window into the bullpen. As long as the boys don't make a reappearance before he and Karpowski down their lattes, he's home free.
"Got them?" Karpowski waiting by the door, watching as he shuffles through the boxes.
"Yeah," Castle grunts, as he reaches for the top shelf to pull the last one down. He's thumbing through a box from May 1999 and Karpowski steps closer and leans against the shelving, picking up the other two cases.
"Diane Cavanaugh and Scott Murray. Who are they?"
Castle shakes his head. "I don't know," he says truthfully. "I'm doing some research and I was told these cases would be useful."
"Mmm," Karpowski hums noncommittally, and he can tell she doesn't really care; she's just making small talk. In fact, when he glances at her, he can tell that she's itching to get back upstairs and into interrogation. The coffee has done its trick and the bone tiredness has lifted from her features.
"A-ha!" Castle exclaims, pulling Jennifer Stewart's file from the last box, and Karpowski reaches over and takes it from him, neatly stacking it on top of the other two cases, while Castle stretches up and replaces the box onto the shelf.
Karpowski hands him the files and he smiles at her gratefully. "Thanks," he tells her, and she gives him a half smile back, ushering him out of the door and locking it behind them.
They step into the elevator together wordlessly, and when it stops to let Castle off at street level she waves at him, and continues on, back up to the Homicide Floor.
"Thanks," he says again.
"Don't mention it," she tells him, and he smiles and nods. He won't mention it, that's for sure. He just hopes she won't either.
After the quiet of her apartment, the thrum of the bar is a relief, and Beckett feels the tension leave her body as she melts into the crowd. She closes her eyes briefly to appreciate the steady beat coming from the DJ opposite the bar before opening them again to look around for Lanie. She's running late, and she's sure Lanie is waiting for her.
Kate wrinkles her nose. No calls out to a crime scene has meant she's spent the entire day in solitude and she'd reluctantly shoved the box with her Mom's file under her bed sometime in the afternoon. She's done with the case. She is, she tells herself, and she pushes the thought away when she sees Lanie waving to her from across the room.
"Hey, Girl." Lanie looks Kate up and down appraisingly, and she blushes. What better way to get the day out of her system than by dressing to impress? So, her dress is both short and low cut; she figures she can use the confidence boost, and maybe she'll get a couple of drinks out of showing this much leg.
"Hey, Lanie." Kate leans in to squeeze her friend's arm with a wry smile.
"Girl, what's going on with you?" Beckett ducks her head and avoided Lanie's eyes. Typical Lanie, starting in with the hard questions.
She shrugs. "I don't know what you mean. There's nothing going on with me."
"Uh-huh." Lanie fixes Beckett with a look that lets the detective know that she hasn't fooled her friend for a second, but she lets it go and takes her by the hand, leading her to the bar. "What are you buying?"
Beckett smirks, and leans over the bar, raising her voice to order two vodka martinis. She hands over her credit card with the intention of opening a tab, and takes the two martinis in exchange, carrying them away from her body as she follows Lanie, weaving through the crowd.
The two women find a corner that's a little quieter than the rest of the place, and Beckett stares absently at the throng on the dance floor as she sips her drink. She can feel Lanie's eyes on her, and she braces herself for the questions she knows are coming.
Lanie surprises her though. "I spoke to Javi today," she says, and Kate hides a grin. Javi. Yeah. If Lanie thinks she's hiding the fact she has feelings for the Hispanic detective, Kate has news for her.
"Uh-huh," she nods, plucking the olive from the drink and pulling it from the toothpick before popping it into her mouth.
"Mmm-hmm." Lanie fixes Kate with a look that has her sitting back in surprise. "He said Castle came by the precinct today," she tells her friend, an appraising look in her eyes, and Kate startles, swallowing the olive in surprise.
"He-" She shakes her head. No. She's not going to play it cool. She's furious, and she's not going to hide it from Lanie. "I'm done Lanie. I'm done with him- the shadowing, the book, the man. Everything."
"Hey!" Lanie holds a hand up in protest. "Hey, I'm just-" She stops suddenly, narrowing her eyes at Beckett. "So- this… mood is because of Castle? Because Javi told me that Castle said-" She stops again off Kate's look.
Kate shrugs and swallows the rest of her martini down in a smooth motion. Lanie rolls her eyes, a patented move that she's picked up from Kate, and follows suit with a slight shake of her head.
There's an uncomfortable pause, and Beckett finds herself scanning the bar, her eyes darting until they finally meet Lanie's again.
"Did he tell Javi what he'd done? Why I was so upset?" Kate's voice is low, and Lanie has to lean in to hear her.
"I- we kind of thought it had something to do with Will. I mean, last Castle heard, you'd gone to see Will in hospital?"
Kate shakes her head, sighing. "No, last Castle heard, I shut the door in his face. Last night, in fact," she grimaces.
"What?" Confusion is painted all over Lanie's face and Kate almost feels sorry for her. "Why?"
Kate speaks through clenched teeth. "He's been looking into my mother's case," she tells Lanie, and she watches the shock roll over her face.
"Oooh." Lanie exhales heavily her eyes wide. "Girl, we are going to talk about this. But first I'm gonna get us another drink, okay?" She pats Beckett on the hand before making a beeline for the bar, and Kate watches her go, a sad huff of laughter escaping her own lips.
Kate makes her way out of the cab unsteadily. She'd insisted she was fine, and she'd managed to fool Lanie, but she's no longer fooling herself and she weaves across the pavement and into the building. She nods at the doorman who smiles at her and calls the elevator down.
She leans her head against the mirrored interior; she can't see anything but her own reflection and it's disturbing, a disproportionate number of Becketts glaring back at her from every angle.
The elevator doors open with a soft ding and she steps into the dimly lit hallway, marching forward with a determination she's not sure she feels anymore, and she pounds on the heavy door in front of her.
The door swings open slowly almost at once, and she's mortified to see Martha in front of her. The older red head just stands aside and beckons Kate in.
"Martha," she mumbles, and Castle's mother smiles sympathetically at her. She knows, Kate realizes with a grimace and she shrugs past the woman, finding herself standing impotently in the entrance.
Martha leans in to give her a light kiss on her cheek and she stiffens but accepts it. "He's in his office- you can go on in," Martha tells her with a nod of her head toward the study.
The reality of being in the loft has sobered Kate up quickly, and she's left with a dull thud of fear pounding in her chest as she steps through the doorway into Castle's office, watching him flick through papers on his desk.
This already feels less and less like a good idea, but Beckett propels herself forward. Lanie had told her to talk to Castle; but she hadn't exactly said now. In fact, Lanie had suggested taking a week to cool off; she'd gone so far as to insinuate Beckett could benefit from taking a few of her vacation days and getting out of town, before she thought about approaching Castle.
Kate sighs. She's here now, and she raises a hand to knock on the open door.
A/N: Thanks for reading, and thanks for the quick read through, Kylie! x
I thought I'd get them into the same room this chapter, but it got long... soon! x
