Chapter 108

Between the Precinct and a meeting with a suspect, Castle and Beckett found themselves in the spacious living room of a large two-bedroom apartment in Tribeca. It was bare, no furniture. Nothing. Timber floorboards throughout, industrial style with exposed pipes, painted brick walls, a little rough but the rooms were large, the ceilings high. The kitchen was newly renovated with a kitchen island. A narrow set of steps lead to a small courtyard on the roof. There was a wood heater in the living room if Beckett wanted good heating during the winter, central heating and one helluva bookshelf. A narrow set of stairs near the kitchen lead to a small landing on the roof with enough room to set up a couple of chairs and table.

Holding the keys tightly, Beckett could easily imagine the type of furniture she would fill the rooms with. Unaware of what Castle did, she hurried to the master bedroom, anxious to see it. She wanted the room to be large, to be bright and not have the intrusion of neighbour's windows. She stopped in the doorway. The room was expansive and had the same windows as the main room. Plenty of space for a bed and furnishings. The air was stale because the home had been shut up for so long, but lived in, it would be warm. A smile spread across her face as she progressed to the bathroom that was recently renovated with white subway tiles, a large claw foot bath, separate shower and marble vanity counters. Overhead was a sky window, frosted glass. Ticked all the boxes. It was updated yet classic. She loved it. There was plenty of storage in the en-suite and the bedroom had a decent sized walk-in closet.

Castle found her in the closet sizing up the hanging space. He leaned against the door frame.

"Arr," he declared, "Plenty of shelving for your extensive boot and stiletto collection."

She laughed. "Trust you to notice."

He wandered off as he spoke. "Well, I won't be tripping over them on my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Wow, Beckett, the bathroom is awesome."

"I know," she called back.

"How did you find this place, again?"

"Lanie." She opened a large cupboard door to find shelving for clothes, more storage. She closed it and walked out of the walk-in.

"Lanie?" He prompted when she didn't elaborate.

"A doctor friend of hers moved to the west coast to work at a hospital for about six months. She's met a guy and has decided to stay there."

"Lucky for you."

"And she's willing to sell under market because she's paying the mortgage on it, tenant moved out, and if I buy there's no agent so she's a little negotiable."

"It's nice, Kate." He came from the bathroom, walked over the room to one of the windows and peered out. "It's walking distance to my place, not far from your old apartment." He looked to his left, down the street. "Nice view of the street. No neighbours looking in." He turned back into the room, "I checked all the faucets, the flooring. It's a solid place. Second bedroom is a good size and has its own bathroom."

"Mm." She glanced about the room, saw the sunshine coming through the large windows. "Me too. It's nice here, Castle."

"Agree."

They met in the middle of the empty bedroom facing each other. Beckett was full of emotions. She instinctively understood she'd finally found her new home, but it was married with immense guilt because she had a home with him if she chose it. They still hadn't finished their talk from this morning.

Their fingers linked. Her hands were cold. Her body trembled, and she knew he would be feeling all that.

"You like it," he stated interrupting her thoughts, then swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing. He too was anxious. This was a sliding door moment.

She gave a nod. "I do. Good area, we could have it for Martha or Alexis in the future."

"Yes. We certainly could. For the right price it's a good investment, Kate. You've got a sale price on it?"

"Yes."

"And how long do you have to think about it?"

"Tomorrow. She's on shift this afternoon till morning, and will wake up about three pm Pacific time."

"About six for us." Castle looked about again then made his way back to the living room.

"I can send her a text." Beckett watched him go. By the manner of his gait, she knew he wasn't happy with where this was going.

"Castle?" She called, disliking the hesitation in her tone, not to mention the way he was continuously distancing himself of late.

"Let's go, Beckett."

He waited for her at the front door. He looked serious, but he forced a smile as she approached. She stopped before him.

"After you." He held out his arm for her to pass. They were silent during the trip out of the building. At the steps leading to the sidewalk, he turned to face her.

"Beckett, I'm gonna cut loose here, and head home. I need to do a few things."

Beckett stared at his chest, unable to look him in the eyes. This was something he didn't do unless he was pissed off. "Okay," she replied without touching him or raising her eyeline to meet his. "I'll go see this guy."

"Be careful," he said then turned and continued down the steps. He turned right towards his home and didn't turn around.

Beckett remained where she was, waited for him to turn around and wave her goodbye but he didn't do it and was soon blending in with other pedestrians.

She pulled out her phone and dialled a number as she commenced her walk back to the car.

* *. *

"Hello?"

"Jim. It's Rick."

"Rick. Hello."

"Yes, you knew that."

"Yes. Your number is in my phone."

"Oh." He grimaced at his own stupidity at being surprised. Didn't everyone save numbers to phones nowadays? "You good?" He asked while he walked, deciding quickly to move on with the conversation.

"Yes, I am, Rick. How are you?" Jim sounded a little amused by his call.

"Great, thanks."

He breathed in, out. "Can we talk? Face to face?"

"Um. When?" Jim calmly asked. "Is Katie okay?"

"She's fine. I was just with her. She's good."

"Did you see the apartment?"

"Yes."

"I see. Well, as it happens, I have about a half hour now. Could you be downstairs in a quarter hour? There's a coffee shop…"

"I know the place. Yes, I'll be there. Thank you." Castle hung up, pocketed his phone and redirected himself to cross the street. He had to cut across a couple of blocks and make his way along a few more to get to Jim's workplace. It would take him about 10 minutes to reach his destination.

He was there and seated when he saw Jim enter the café in search of him. He already had the coffees on the table. Jim always ordered the same. Straight black with two sugars. Sweet tooth like his daughter, except Kate loved cream in her coffee and mostly had vanilla instead of the sugar. He stood up as Jim approached and shook his hand.

Seated they took a moment to take each other in, then Rick leaned forward.

"I would like to be doing this another day, another time and in a very different situation," Rick began then paused, taking in the older man who seemed by his expression to already know why he had called the meeting. "And I don't want to waste your time."

"Never. Does Katie know you're here?" He calmly asked but his tone hinted to Castle he was suspicious.

"No. She's working. I left her after we inspected an apartment."

"How was it?"

Rick sat back, trying to calm down. He was unusually anxious. "She should go ahead with the transaction."

"But?" Jim paused and looked over Castle. "Somethings not sitting right with you."

"No." Rick lightly tapped the table-top. He knew better than to share too much because Beckett would go nuts but it was fair that Jim understand where he was coming from. "You could say there's a bit going on between us. I'm not going to lie about that. There are things that are causing quite a strain on us and other things are as normal. But," Rick dismissively shrugged his right shoulder. "Keeps it interesting." He smiled nervously.

Jim smiled in response, leaned forward, "You're unusually nervous."

"Indeed. Very. Because I need to ask you something."

"Okay. Should I be worried?"

Castle smirked, scratched the back of his head, "Well, you might become so, depending on the expectations you have for your daughter's future."

"Would you be worried?"

"Knowing me?" Rick inquired, his smile nothing short of cheeky, "Yes, Sir. I would be worried."

A chuckle came from Jim. "Shoot me with it, Rick."

Castle's smile fell away. He inhaled deeply, sat up straighter, and for a moment he gazed around the café at all the other patrons feeling very nervous. He forced himself to gather his thoughts, then he focussed on Mr Beckett and with a deep strong voice he said, "I come seeking your consent to ask for Kate's hand in marriage."

The older man sobered, looked over Rick which caused him to feel it more. "Thank you for respecting tradition."

"Of course." Castle breathed out, suddenly feeling worse than anxious. Jim hadn't said yes, or no, yet. He waited like a thousand years while Jim fiddled with the napkin.

"I consent, Rick. I'm a very happy father because you wish to marry my daughter," Jim said.

Rick felt elated.

"But," Jim continued.

Rick felt deflated.

"Now is not the right time for Kate," Jim said, rubbed his jaw while he thought about what to say. "She's not ready." He paused, then added. "You will scare her to death."

Rick's confidence crumbled at the edges. "Really?"

"Look, currently she's like a deer in the headlights."

"Granted. She's not been herself." Castle sobered, sighed, questioning how much he should share because Beckett was such a reserved person, kept to herself. He said, "She's been very restless, distressed during the nights. Dreams terribly."

"Then she is scared, Rick. Her mind is constantly going a hundred miles an hour even if she looks calm. She doesn't want to lose you, doesn't want you hurt or to hurt you, wants to be with you, but …."

When Jim trailed off to silence, Rick's anxiety went up yet again, and he swallowed the rising bile, before he flatly stated. "Alexis is pushing her away."

Jim remained silent, was diplomatic.

Rick waited, fiddled with the teaspoon on the table.

"She has grave concerns that if she stays, it will destroy the relationship you have."

Castle shook his head in denial, "No, it won't and I can't reinforce it in her."

"Rick, she lost her mother in her formal years. She gets stressed, it takes her right back to that time. My coping mechanism in response to her mother's death was not ideal for a 19 year old who needed support from the surviving parent. She not only dealt with the loss of her mother, but I was out of control. She refuses talk about it even if I raise it with her, but it must have been a horrific period in her young life."

"I sometimes see how it affects her. Murders, the families. We are the fathers of intelligent girls." Rick commented, "Daughters without their mothers."

"We are." Jim responded. "Look, now is not the time to ask her, right? She needs to have some space, to date you for longer and when she's ready, she will show you so. She won't say it, but as subtle as it is, you will see it. It's a trait from her mother's side."

"I pursued an extremely independent woman on this occasion. I should know to tread gently."

Jim laughed, then became serious, "She will maintain you at arm's length until she feels secure that she won't lose you. I will give her a nudge along when I can. I've always been the parent who provides the stimulus discussions."

"But I need to let her go to keep her," Rick concluded. "I can't push her."

"That's right. She tells me you are the constant in her life. She has said you motivate her when she needs it. She's yours, she won't take off, but you must give her more time. The apartment is a joint investment. She called me shortly after you did to tell me she's found a place." Jim stopped clearly choked up.

Rick saw the anguish on his face, saw he was clearly upset, and couldn't continue. "What happened?"

"She was upset. She's fighting herself about moving out and she said you were pissed off at her when you both left."

"Pissed is not it, but yes, I was feeling something." He sipped his coffee. "I'm sorry about that."

"Tell her."

"I will."

"Ask her to marry you only when its right, Rick, and you will have my complete support."

Rick nodded. "Deal. I'll wait."

"Thank you." He picked up his coffee. "I have to get back upstairs to the office for a meeting. If she wants to buy the apartment she saw today, between my input, her insurance claim, her loan, and your contribution –"

"She'll almost own it outright." Castle finished and stood up to shake Jim's hand once again. "And it's an investment."

"Yes. Nice to catch up with you alone. Rick."

"Mutual, Sir."

"Take care of my daughter."

"Always." Rick smiled, "Always, Jim. Goodbye."

Castle remained on his feet until Mr Beckett walked through the exit, and then returned to his chair to finish his coffee. Post their meet, he was consumed with a mixture of guilt and foolishness. Guilty for having met with Jim without Kate knowing, and foolish for asking Jim for permission to ask for Kate's hand in marriage during this trying time. However, he also felt he was committed to their relationship no matter how it played out and he now knew he had Jim's blessing to ask the question when the time was right. He called Beckett from his phone to her regular phone. She didn't pick up, so he waited for her to return his call, conscious she might be driving or interviewing the guy she had gone to see.

She called back when he was back at home, at his desk working a half hour later.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hi."

"You speak to the guy?"

"Yep, dead end," she replied. Silence fell between them.

"Castle?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"I want to get the apartment."

"Get it, Honey. It's a good one," he calmly said. He'd heard the hesitation in her tone and he hoped the disappointment he endured of late didn't sound in his voice.

"I will contact the owner," she said. "I'll call you back later."

"Alright." He paused. "I love you, you know."

There was silence in the line for a second or two.

"Me too, a lot," she quietly replied.

He went to say something, but she disconnected the call.

It was late when Beckett arrived home from work that evening. She called out for Castle as she hung her coat and tossed her bag onto the black leather lounge suite where it would remain until tomorrow morning. Castle was watching TV in his office. He called back telling her where he was and pressed the mute button when she entered the room. He was glad to see her aware she was working back to avoid confrontation. He reached out for her right hand as she sunk her body to the couch beside him. She leaned back into the couch and once comfortable, released a huge sigh.

"Hey, Castle," she murmured and gave him a timid smile a squeeze of his fingers.

"You're tired?" He noticed the darkened skin beneath her eyes and the lip stick was long gone.

"Mm. Long day."

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes, thank you. Espo and I went to the burger place he likes."

"Good." He was happy she'd done something with Esposito. They were good friends.

Kate lulled her head back and closed her eyes, bringing his hand against her stomach. "I missed you," she whispered.

"Me too." He turned to face her, "I'm sorry, Kate."

Her eyes opened but she kept her eye line to the ceiling and calmly asked, "Why?"

"Because I left you outside the apartment today. I was peeved about the situation we're in."

She dwelled on his words, scanned his face before she replied, "I know."

"I'm sorry."

"It should be me saying sorry." She looked at his eyes. "I'm sorry too. I've been all weird lately. This is all very complicated."

"Agreed." He looked down at her hand that kept hold of his.

"I saw my Dad earlier," she said.

"And?" Castle swore his heart skipped a beat, but he waited for her to continue. Waited for the bomb to drop.

"And." She sighed heavily and brushed hair from her eyes. "He gave me an absolute fucking rinsing."

Rick swallowed, suddenly worried but refrain from asking with caution. "About?" His actions earlier might have been what pissed off Jim enough to take it out on his daughter.

She dismissively waved her hand in the air, "Just stuff a Dad can call his daughter out on."

"You don't seem too upset."

The right eyebrow went up. "Well, I was."

"Okay. How bad?"

She looked over his face. "He sent his assistant home for the night and closed the door to his office, bad."

"That bad." Castle stated, his mind full of wonder if she had inherited her temper from her father. He always figured it came from her mother for reasons he kind of felt guilty about.

"Mm." She sat up a bit to face him better, her hand staying in his. "Well, the subtext of his delivery I receive plain and clear?"

"Go on," he nervously encouraged. Subtext. His mouth was dry.

She smiled, which surprised Castle, then bit her bottom lip, which had him reach for the glass of water on the coffee table. He gulped down the liquid as she said with resignation and strong articulation, "He wants me domesticated, Castle."

Castle almost choked on the water. He coughed out. "Domesticated?"

Kate reached for a tissue and passed it to him. "Yes. That's the term he used." She laughed as he wiped his face. "My Dad's humour makes you nervous." Her tone was high amused.

"Wow. If I had used the term I would had have risked my life." He returned the glass to the table listening to her laugh. "You two peas in a pod certainly have a similar sense of humour. To me that would have been terrifying." He laughed, too nervously in his opinion, but he noted Kate seemed to believe he thought she was being funny.

"Well, yes. My heart did go into palpitations. And after he'd said what he had to say, I set him straight with what I thought about his version of domestication."

"Which was?"

"That I will be the person who decides when I'm ready and then I told him the apartment we found is ideal for me now and in the future for us."

His eyes instantly widened. "How did that go for him?" He briefly recalled the conversation with Jim of being told he needed to wait for Kate to be ready for marriage and then her father had consequently gone full throttle at her about her future.

"He fell silent. Too silent." She took a moment, studied their joined hands, then looked at him and added, "Clearly disappointed. Like he had something on his mind."
"Maybe. He has much responsibility at work. He reminded me that he would like to enjoy grandchildren before he's too old, that you are good for me and that I should think about it before we go ahead with the purchase because I'm not in my twenties anymore." She studied his face which caused him to hold of any changes to his current neutral expression.

"Has his, umm talk swayed you any?" He cautiously asked having dwelled on her conversation. For once in her life she was sharing. He also waited for the bomb to drop, the statement that Jim had told her they'd met up earlier.

"Not really. So, there goes all his hope of domesticating his only daughter any time soon."

"Oh. We know he wants you off the police force." He commented and took her fingers into his hand to study them. She had long fingers. A little hard to fit rings to because of her knuckles.

"Yep." She dropped her gaze to his hand, then continued with a soft voice, " He never approved of my choice, however, he accepts it."

"It was a risky career choice and I know you would make a great lawyer."

"Maybe." Her brow furrowed as she studied his face, and she parted hands with him to put the back of her fingers to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay, Rick? You look awfully pale, Babe."

"That's all he said?" He gently removed her hand from his face.

"Wasn't that enough? I mean he really dressed me down."

He actively nodded, making the decision to dismiss further thoughts about his meeting with Jim Beckett. "No. You're right. That's enough." He knew what he needed to know. When the time was right, he had Jim's consent to ask for Kate's hand in marriage. Just not today. Nor tomorrow. That was good enough. "Sounds like he shot a cannon up your ass."

She smirked, "He did." Silence fell between them for a few seconds. "The sale contract for the apartment will come tomorrow. Dad reluctantly agreed to review it for me before we sign it."

"We?"

"Well," she paused and sunk down in the couch a little, "Look, Castle. If you still want to contribute-"

"I do."

"Ok. Then the apartment goes in both our names."

"In the shares we have contributed?"

"Yes."

"Good. And I will fix my Will with Jim, so that you automatically get my portion in the event something happens to me, right? Would your Dad draft a new Will?"

"Of course. And, he will prepare my Will so should something happen to me, you will get my share."

"Alexis, if both of us?"

Kate nodded. "Yes."

"Are you okay with us jointly owning a property? I mean, we are in a secret relationship."

"Anyone can own property together," she replied. "No one will know."

"True."

"How did you go with the case?" He asked.

Beckett bit her lip, "He's inquisitive."

"Of course. Tell me."

"Rogue archaeologists, Mayan death threats drug dealers claiming to deal in antiquities and missing mummies? The curse on you. There's gotta be a story that makes all of this make sense." She smiled, watch his eyes. Castle stared at her, a serious expression. "What?"

Castle whispered, "Nothing."

Beckett breathed deeper, then softly said, "Castle."

Castle fidgeted, took her hand in his. "If something were to happen to me, I want you to watch out for Alexis. I know it's hard at the moment, but she looks up to you, and if her any boyfriend ever gets frisky, you can shoot him."

Beckett squeezed his hand, "Nothing's gonna happen to you."

"But if it does..."

Beckett sighed, "Okay, but you only got bit on the ass by a dog."

Castle glared at her when she broke into a little laugh. "Yep, dog today, who knows what's on tomorrow."

"C'mon, Babe." She stroked his hair. "Anyway, what's with the if any boyfriend gets frisky? You get frisky with me all the time."

He looked at her like she was off. "Well, look at you."

"Mm. Model material," she teased.

"For sure. Still, I want you to take care of Alexis until she's old enough to run on her own."

"Okay."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

"And would you also go into my closet and get rid of my porn collection before those red heads find it?"

"I will get rid of your porn collection." She remained patient and amused.

"My burner phone, don't forget that and grab that laptop that has our porn on it and take the flash stick out of the safe."

"Castle," she scorned. "You will be fine."

"Well, I don't want them seeing us doing what we're great at."

She laughed. "We are good at that."

"Oh yes. I'm frisky by the way."

"Really. How odd."

"So, no progress with the case?"

"Oh, there was. We hit a home run with the prints from the sarcophagus. One popped that doesn't belong to anyone who works at the museum."

"Really?"

"Mmm. Esposito found our missing CT." She smiled as he perked up with interest.

"Do go on, Detective."

"You remember the address in Medina's calendar?"

"Arr. Yeah. 1127 Avenue of the Americas?"

"Correct. A guy works there at a company called Bio Inc. And here is the best part, Castle, his name is Charles Taylor."

"CT." He smiled. "You bringing him in, in the morning?"

"Esposito and Ryan are going to collect him first thing. No one knows. Espo spoke to the guy two days ago, and he said the guy insisted he'd never met Medina. In Espo's words, he lied right to his face." She smirked.

"Good girl," he murmured. "You've almost closed the case."

"The team did it." She yawned. "Let's go to bed."