A/N: So this one was hard for me to write for some reason, and I'm not particularly happy with it. But I hope you enjoy it. End scene from the episode when Castle and Beckett decompress over the case. Please review :)
P.S.: Oh my god that promo yesterday!
Lee Wax brushed past her on her way out, visibly angry. Confused, Kate turned to her desk and there was Castle. Sitting in her chair, smirking. At least I'm not the only one he likes to piss off. She thought before giving him a "what the hell" gesture, prompting him to quickly move to his rightful place at the end of her desk. What was his fascination with sitting in her chair lately?
Yes, before it had been cute, him bet over at her desk, pouring over Lee Wax's notes. She'd had to suppress a smile when he didn't even notice her standing there. If she was honest with herself, it looked pretty natural, him sitting at a desk in the precinct. And for a second she had imagined him belonging there, filling out paperwork and going over case files. No, she'd thought, he's not a cop. He never will be so don't even go there. But she had, even if it had only been for a second.
Kate sat down in her chair and tried not to think about it. Instead she focused on the case.
"Susan Mailer's in booking."
"Mm. All these years, trying to do the right thing, trying to make amends. 'Cause of Cynthia's greed, she's gonna end up in jail."
"If you're looking for a happy ending you've come to the wrong place." God, how true was that statement?
"Guess next time I'll just try that massage parlor on 2nd Avenue." Really? Kate gave him a disapproving look, but secretly she was glad to have him there, lightening the mood the way he always did. "Just kidding." She tried not to smile but failed. "Actually who needs a happy ending when you have a story with people pretending to be dead, living under assumed names, plotting fake suicides and murder for revenge?" Kate couldn't help but love the dramatic flair he ended with, something he no doubt learned from his mother.
"You know I'm glad to see that you're entertained, I however have to call Michael Goldman and let him know that his wife was a sociopath." Yeah, that was going to be fun. The phone calls were always difficult, but this was a whole new level. How do you find those words?
"But you also get to call Jared Swanstrom and tell him that he's no longer responsible for Susan Mailer's death. Matter of fact Susan Mailer's still alive."
"Which is why Cynthia is now dead." She appreciated his efforts to make her feel better, but as a matter of principle, she wasn't going to make this easier for herself. Connecting with the victims was too important for her to allow herself any latitude in empathy.
"Wow, you are all about the cloud aren't you?" Oh good grief. Yeah, that was fair. Okay, so maybe it wasn't fair, but it was true. "Never the silver lining. Okay," he said, reaching into his pocket. "This might cheer you up a little bit." He held up a wad of cash. Shit. She was busted. How did he know? "Your winnings."
"My winnings?" She tried to feign ignorance, but it didn't fool him.
"Oh don't play coy with me. You threw your hand." He actually looked kind of upset. Kate floundered a bit but finally just fessed up.
"Okay, I was just trying to be nice. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends."
"Now we're even. So what do you say to a," he pulled out a deck, "little showdown." Great, she thought, this is definitely going to end well. "Head to head, toe to toe, winner take all," he leaned forward. "Mano a mujer."
"Hand to woman?" Well, Spanish certainly wasn't one of his strong suits.
"Whatever it takes." Oh, the innuendo. As if she was going to let that happen. But she leaned closer anyway, her face inches from his, daring him.
"You're on." She was so going to regret this.
"No mercy." Like she would need his mercy.
"I'm gonna make you hurt."
"Oh you're gonna get hurt."
"What are we playing for?"
"Pride. Or clothing." Ha! He wished. But the image forced itself on her before she could reply.
"I think I got a bag of gummy bears." But why did she always have to glance at his mouth? That was the last thing she wanted to do, but her eyes just gravitated there sometimes, unbidden.
"Shuffle?"
"Deal." She took the deck and pulled off the rubber band. This was going to be interesting. "Comfy with Texas Hold 'Em?"
"I'm comfy so long as my cards come from the top of the deck."
"Uh, what d'ya got up your sleeves?"
"Aside from my muscular arms?" Oh jeez. Castle gave her a pointed look and she laughed. Yes, beside from those.
A/N 2: So I write these all on paper in a notebook before I type them up (easier for my creative juices), and since I write pretty big, they take up at leas a full page, and then I bring them here and they just look so much shorter than I realized. Oh, well.