As Castle continued to try to open the door, or convince a certain coniving ME to let them out, Kate took in the room they were now trapped in. There was two chairs, a small couch, two side tables, and a TV on the opposite wall. She studied each, looking for cameras or bugs. She had a feeling this was about her admission from the night before and getting her and Castle together, and if that was the case, they would want to watch. Suddenly the TV flicked on with a burst of static, making them both jump. Once they had both turned to look, it smoothed out to show a live video of a grinning Lanie.
"Lanie what the hell is going on?!" Kate asked, eyes narrowed. She went to stand but began to loose her balance. Castle was by her side in an instant, an arm at her elbw to steady her. She gave him a quick smile of thanks before turning to glare at her friend. Lanie's look at turned to a "are you kidding me?" look and annoyed arm cross.
"Girl, you are a detective and deffinately not stupid", she said, making Kate glare and Castle give a soft chuckle. The two stared it out for a long minute before Kate glanced away, mind coming to a definate conclusion on what this was all about. Now Lanie smiled again. "Now that that is settled, here is how this is going to go. Myself and a group of people have made a little video for you two. Since you both are so far in denial, we decided to present you our evidence. the door will stay locked until the video is over. No there is no cameras or audio equipment watching you two. complete privacy. Have fun!" Lanie ended with a bright smile and innocent look before cutting it off, ignoring Castle as he shouted out questions at the now blank screen. Kate could only shake her head and put it in her hands. Great, just great. They were going to have to sit through some kind of long embarrasing video that was trying to convince them to get together. And she could take a guess why Lanie assured them of the privacy. She groaned at the thought. Beside her she heard Castle finally give up and rub a hand over his face. She also noticed how his hand never let her elbow go.
"Think you could pick the lock?" She asked him hopefully. He thought about it for a second and shrugged.
"But what would Lanie do if we did?" He asked. She shuddered at the thought. No doubt she would resort to handcuffing them togeher or something just as drastic.
"Lets just get this over with", she finally groaned. He nodded with a look that was half dredding half something she couldnt identify. He helped her over to the couch and took a seat beside her, doing his best to leave space between them, but it was just too small. She gave him a reassuring smile before picking up the remote left on the side table and pressed play. The TV lept to life, a picture of Lanie and Esposito coming up. Both sat side by side, smiles in place.
"Yo Beckett! Castle! whats up?" He said, receiveing a smack on the arm from Lanie. He looked at her, expression sobering.
"Im not going to say much since Kate already knows my veiw on the two of you, but i will say this. Castle, Kate, you like each other. Stop with the denial and just jump each other already. its not about the bet or even about how annoyed we are with watching your little dance, but you make each other happy. Dont deny it. Kate, think about last night. I saw the sparkle in your eye. One i havent seen since i first met you. He makes you happy. And Castle, you already told her how you feel, and we all know that hasnt changed. So get on with it!" Kate blushed as Castle looked over at her, eyes wide with a hopeful look in them.
"Beckett, listen to me, just this once. Trust me on this", Espo said, a look coming onto his face she had only seen when he had helped her with her PTSD," We are your family. We have stuck by your side from the beginning. We have watched as time and again you both have denied how you felt, and hurt each other doing it. Its time to stop it, both of you. We are cops, even Castle is on some level, and we of all know that we dont have as much time alive as we would like. We sit by everyday and try to make it better, but we are the ones that see it when its to late. dont let it go until then. Take advantage of it while you can. thats all im going to say. Either way i will satnd by you, both of you, but look after youselves for once", Espositio said, showing a aprt of when very few had seen. Lanie held onto the crook of his elbow, giving him an understanding look. They smiled at each other as the video clicked off. Beckett clicked pause, needing a moment to take it in.
"Have we been that bad?" She finally asked, not looking up. She heard him sigh.
"Maybe we have", he said softly. She looked up at him and found him looking at her with a gaze so full of emotion that it chocked her up. She looked away, taking a deep breath to calm herself before pressing play again.