Author's Note: And now Montgomery gets to have his say.

The Best-Laid Plans

Chapter 20

The next morning, Kate was hard pressed not to grin like an idiot when Castle walked into the bullpen, with two coffees as usual. She succeeded in controlling her expression but couldn't do anything at all about the way her silly heart seemed to do backflips in her chest at the sight of him.

He greeted the uniforms he passed with his usual good cheer and exchanged hellos with the boys but somehow she knew that all the while his awareness, his attention, was really focused on her and once he'd greeted the boys, his eyes also focused on her.

And this time, she really could not help but return his smile.

"Good morning, Beckett. Your coffee delivery, as usual."

Her fingers brushed over his as she accepted her cup of coffee. "Morning, Castle. And thanks."

"How was your work-out this morning?"

"Fine." She narrowed her eyes at him at his excessively bland tone, contradicted by the smirk tugging on his lips. "How is Alexis feeling about her first day of finals?"

The mention of Alexis had his smirk clearing, as she'd known it would. "Okay, I think. She worries too much considering her track record." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "I don't know how I got a child who takes her grades so seriously but she always has."

"As opposed to being a champion slacker like you?" she teased.

He gave a fake gasp. "It's like you already know me! How'd you know I was a slacker in high school?"

"Wild guess," she told him dryly. "Knowing you, I'd bet you were the kid who always sat in the back, put in the minimal amount of effort necessary to do just well enough and then slacked off." He was too smart not to have done reasonably well and she was sure he would have always done well in English classes and probably history as well, with his memory and penchant for story-telling.

"Ooh, a challenge, I like it." He leaned forward, putting on an expression of exaggerated thought as he studied her. "I bet you were always as much of an overachiever as Alexis is now, putting in 110% of effort in all your classes."

She allowed herself a smirk. "Wrong. I wasn't always that much of an overachiever."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do I feel like you're pranking me?"

"Your overly suspicious mind," she retorted. "I really wasn't an overachiever for most of my school years, did well enough without needing to try that hard up until high school," she clarified. "It drove my parents crazy. They told me high school was different, would be harder and I'd need to actually try but I didn't listen. I tried to coast when I started high school too but my first grades that semester were a wake-up call because until then, I'd never done that badly."

"Let me guess," he interjected. "That pissed you off because you knew you could have done better than that."

"Guess you do know me, Castle," she teased. "You're right. It did annoy me." Her lips twisted into a wry, reminiscent smile. "For once, my mom didn't even try to say, 'I told you so,' but just asked what I'd learned, and after that, I did try my best. I had to prove that I was smarter than those first bad grades."

The mention of her mom had made his expression soften. "Your mom must have known she didn't need to say anything more than that."

She managed a somewhat wobbly smile. "Yeah, my mom was good at that."

He slid his hand over to cover hers where it rested on her desk and she allowed it, her thumb briefly curling around his finger, before she slowly retracted her hand. They were, after all, in the middle of the bullpen. And fortunately, no one appeared to have noticed the telltale caress.

Although it did remind her that their relationship was going to come out in the bullpen too, probably sooner rather than later. So much for that bet going around, she thought with an inward grimace, and then made a small outward face as something else occurred to her.

"What?"

"It just occurred to me that I'd better talk to Captain Montgomery about us."

He straightened up. "You want to tell him now?"

His voice, quiet as it was in a bid for privacy, rose a little.

She raised her eyebrows at this reaction. "Can you think of a better time?"

"Well, later. After I've had time to put on my vest?" he suggested half-facetiously.

"Montgomery's a cop. If he wanted to get rid of you, a vest wouldn't be able to stop him," she told him dryly.

He made a face at her. "Your concern for my safety is overwhelming."

She huffed a soft laugh. "That's because you're being ridiculous. The Captain's your friend too."

"For now," he muttered and she only shook her head a little as she stood up. It wasn't as if the Captain would try to interfere in their personal relationship; he needed to know about it for obvious reasons but as long as it didn't affect her work, he wouldn't care.

The Captain was sitting at his desk, frowning at his computer screen, when she knocked on his door. "Sir, may I have a word?"

He waved her in, his expression easing into a small smile. "Of course. I'm grateful to anyone who'll give me a break from looking at these damn spreadsheets of stats from One PP. What is it, Beckett?"

She sat in the chair before Montgomery's desk, clasping her hands together to keep from fidgeting. She really did not like having to talk about her personal life and with her boss, it was even worse. "Yes, well, I… thought you should know that Castle and I have decided… that is, we're in a relationship now, a personal one." She inwardly writhed. Smooth, Kate.

Montgomery steepled his fingers together, regarding her soberly. "I see." He paused and then after an excruciatingly long moment, went on, "Am I to take it you're telling me this so I can organize a transfer so Castle shadows another detective?"

Wait, what? She jerked a little, tamping down a flare of alarm. "I–no–is that necessary, sir?" She hadn't thought–had never expected that Montgomery would suggest that. She was the inspiration for Nikki Heat, not any other cop, and she didn't want to face working without Castle there beside her, supplying her with coffee and smiles and comfort.

Oh god, was she going to have to choose between having Castle in her work life or having him in her personal life outside of work? For a moment, she could almost panic. She didn't want to choose, didn't know how she would choose. She'd just… gotten so used to having Castle around every day, with his jokes and his outlandish theories and his insights, helping her, making her day, her job, so much… better. But then how could she give up their personal relationship–his kisses, the way he held her, the way he touched her? She already knew all too well that trying to ignore or somehow hope that the lust sizzling between her and Castle would somehow weaken was futile. She would never be able to resist him. She didn't want to resist him anymore. But she suddenly knew, realized, that if it did come down to a choice, as much as she liked working with Castle, she wanted him in her life, the rest of her life, more. She hadn't even really had him in the rest of her life, not like that, not to go home with him or have him come home with her, but somehow, she knew she wanted it, wanted it more than she wanted just to work with him.

"You know as well as I do the NYPD's rules against fraternization between partners."

"I know, sir, but–"

"And Castle is your partner at work, isn't he?"

"Yes, sir."

"You aren't suggesting I make an exception just for you, are you?"

She managed not to visibly wince. "Of course not, sir. I wouldn't do that. I just… I thought, well, Castle isn't a cop so I didn't think the regulations would apply to him. And he's proven to be helpful so our case closure rate has gone up and it would be a shame to do anything to change that. I think having him around somehow helps make us–me, Esposito, and Ryan–better cops, sir," she finished hurriedly, trying to sound calm, making a reasoned case.

The Captain eyed her. She tried and failed to read his expression. She made a mental note not to play poker against the Captain again if she could help it because his poker face was formidable. "So that's what you think, is it, Detective?"

Kate steeled herself, trying not to wonder if his use of her title wasn't a bad sign. "Yes, sir."

There was another pause. "That's interesting," Montgomery finally responded, consideringly. He studied her for a moment. "Because I seem to recall being told that he was an unwelcome distraction who got in the way and interfered with proper police work."

She twitched at the vaguely familiar words, managing not to gape or glare, although she couldn't help the heat she felt rushing into her cheeks. He just–why, the sneaky–he'd been baiting her! "I–Captain!"

Her (evil) Captain finally gave in and smirked like a cat who got the cream–except, no, that wasn't right either, didn't do justice to the level of smugness and the–oh fine–power of it so it was more like a… a shark who just caught a nice, tasty seal. "Don't give me that look, Beckett. If I'm going to bend the rules a little for you and Castle, which I will since Castle isn't a cop so the regs don't technically apply to him, you can't expect me not to get some fun out of it too. Especially considering the hard time you gave me last spring when Castle first started shadowing you."

He was still her boss, she reminded herself, and yes, fine, a friend (albeit, an irritating one at the moment). "I suppose it just took a while for Castle to prove himself." And maybe, grow up a little, she thought, remembering the way he'd apologized after looking into her mom's case, the way he'd said he would do whatever she wanted, including nothing, during the Jack Coonan case. Just as it had taken her a while to see behind the jackass playboy facade that Castle projected, learn to trust him.

Montgomery snorted a little. "Yes, that's for sure." He sobered. "He does put on a good show of being something of a clown but he's a decent man."

She met his eyes as it occurred to her that Montgomery was not just willing to allow her relationship with Castle but actively supported it. "I know that, sir." And she, like Montgomery, was cop enough to understand that calling Castle a decent man was–bland as the phrase might seem to anyone else–was actually high praise, meant that Montgomery too trusted Castle.

Montgomery nodded. "Good. And if you'll allow me, as your friend, Kate, I have to say, it took you long enough."

"Sir?"

He waved a hand, relaxing back into his chair. "Don't 'sir' me. I've been expecting this to happen for months now."

She managed not to gape. "You have?"

"This might surprise you but Castle hasn't been subtle about his interest in you," Montgomery noted dryly. "And it's been clear to me in the last couple months that you've gotten to like having him around. Why do you think I've let him hang around all this time?"

This time, she couldn't help but stare. "The Mayor insisted, didn't he?"

Montgomery gave her a look. "I wouldn't fling it in the Mayor's face but when it comes down to it, this is my house, Beckett. I call the shots here. If you had seriously sat down and told me at any point that you couldn't work with Castle any more, he would have been gone the next day. And the Mayor wouldn't get into an argument with One PP over a consultant, even for a personal friend like Castle–especially for a personal friend," he amended.

Put like that, she could see it was true. One PP–and most police captains–tended to guard their territory jealously, would not welcome any high-handed interference. It occurred to her, belatedly, to be glad that she hadn't realized that because if she had, she really might have tried harder to get Castle kicked out for good, especially after he'd looked into her mom's case, never knowing what she would have lost if she'd succeeded. "I hadn't thought of it like that."

Montgomery slanted a small smile at her. "That's because you're trained to follow my orders and you generally do. And you're right that Castle has made your case closure rate go up. If he hadn't, I'd have had to step in but he did and I could see that, aside from that, he also made things more fun and you weren't having any fun before."

Which was true but… "It's the nature of the job, sir."

"Yes, I know it is." He straightened, sobering. "But if I've learned anything over my years of doing this job, it's that we can't–we shouldn't–allow the job to swallow up our whole lives. Your whole life has been all about the job for years and, I admit, it's gotten you this far, made you the cop you are, the best I've ever trained–but Kate, take it from me, you shouldn't let the job take over your whole life. You'll burn out and that wouldn't help anyone, least of all you."

"I think I understand, sir." She had used to think that Montgomery was the great cop he was in spite of his famously-happy marriage and home life (unusual among career cops) but now, it occurred to her that Montgomery might be a great cop because of his happy marriage and home life. That having that balance, having his family to go home to, was the foundation that allowed Montgomery to be what he was, do what he did, and to keep on doing it for long enough to become Captain, a highly-respected and decorated captain, at that. (She'd been around long enough to know that not all captains were created equal, as it were; there was an unspoken hierarchy even among captains for which were respected, which were listened to by the higher ranks, and Captain Montgomery was in that unofficial top tier.)

"Good." Montgomery nodded and gave her a small smile. "Just remember, there's to be no unprofessional behavior in the precinct."

"Of course not, sir."

"Now get back to work and Beckett, have Castle step in here for a moment, will you?"

Oh lord, now what did he have planned? She eyed him rather suspiciously but obviously had no choice. "Of course, sir."

She left Montgomery's office and Castle immediately turned to study her face. She allowed her hand to brush against his shoulder in a motion that she hoped would pass as accidental before she sat down in her chair. She had no hope of keeping this relationship a secret from the boys or the rest of the bullpen for long but she didn't want to advertise it either.

"Everything okay? What did he say?"

"Everything's fine," she assured him. "He just warned against any unprofessional behavior in the precinct." There would be time later to tell him about the minor coronary the Captain's teasing had induced later.

"Oh, okay," he nodded. "You don't look relaxed though."

She managed a small smile. "It's nothing, I promise. The Captain did say he wants to talk to you too, though."

His eyes flared a little. "Now?"

She had to smile faintly at his deer-in-the-headlights look. "He also said that it took us long enough so I don't think you need to worry."

His lips curved slightly. "Good to know." He stood up and turned to head into the Captain's office.

She sternly turned back to her computer, not allowing herself to stare after Castle. Anyway, there was no point because she already knew that once a person was seated in Montgomery's office, they weren't visible from her desk so she wouldn't be able to watch, not to say spy, on them without lurking conspicuously outside of Montgomery's office.

Oh, wait. It occurred to her that now she'd told Montgomery, she had better tell Lanie too because if Lanie found out second-hand, Lanie would never let her hear the end of it. Her lips twisted a little in resignation as she sent Lanie a quick text asking if her friend was free to meet up for dinner after work that night.

She and Lanie had just finalized plans to meet for dinner at a restaurant not far from the morgue which they had been to before when Castle emerged and her eyes immediately flew to study his expression. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but she couldn't quite read his expression as it was.

"I see you're still in one piece and unscathed," she observed half-facetiously as he sat down again.

He held his hands out in front of him in mock display. "Look, I've even managed to stop trembling," he joked.

"I take it the Captain threatened you a little?"

He gave her a wry little smile. "I wouldn't call it a threat, more like a statement of fact about what would happen to me if I messed up. And he simply said he wouldn't do a thing to prevent it."

She shot a glance at the boys. "Oh, so the boys would be the ones to come after you."

"Oh, he made it very clear that it wouldn't just be the boys, more like every other cop in Homicide. Talk about suicide by cop."

A huff of breath that would have been a laugh if it had been allowed to grow up escaped her. "Any second thoughts?" she quipped.

"Nah, I don't scare that easily."

"That's only because you have no sense of self-preservation," she returned dryly, trying to quell the silly little flutter in her chest.

He puffed up his chest. "I prefer to call it being courageous."

"There's a fine line between being brave and being reckless and you tend to err on the reckless side. Or was it another partner of mine who decided to provoke a Russian mobster who we already knew was a killer when there were armed cops on call right outside?"

"Okay, so that was possibly not the smartest thing I've ever done but it was one time! And how reckless was it really when I knew you were right outside waiting to save me?" He gave her one of his cajoling smiles.

"One might say that avoiding getting into a situation where I needed to save your life would have been the better part of valor," she drawled, trying with limited success to keep her lips from twitching. Damn it, it was really not fair that those smiles of his could be infectious, disarming her so effectively.

"One might say that but where's the fun in that? Sometimes life requires taking risks."

"Funny, my dad said the exact same thing to me on Sunday."

"I knew I liked your dad."

She had to smile. "Well, you'll be happy to know that both my dad and Captain Montgomery approve of you."

He pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. "That's a relief." He paused and straightened up. "Wait, but have you actually told your dad about us?"

"Considering we've only been an 'us' for less than 24 hours now and I just talked to my dad yesterday, no, I haven't. I'll tell him sometime this week, whenever I next talk to him."

"Oh. Right."

"Don't look like that, Castle. My dad likes you, remember?"

He made a face. "Liking me as your friend is one thing; liking me as a boyfriend is another. I'm the father of a daughter, trust me on that."

She had never expected to tell Castle what her dad had said to her yesterday but there was just enough apprehension in his expression that she had to. "You really don't have to worry. My dad actually told me I should give you a chance."

"He did? He'd only just met me."

"Yes, well, as my dad told you himself, I have been talking about you to my dad for months now. And as he put it, you make me smile so that's all he really needs to know."

A smirk tugged on his lips. "I make you smile, huh?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not when you gloat, you don't."

"Nuh uh, too late now," he sing-songed. "Your dad said it and he has to know you pretty well. I make you smile." He raised his arms in a triumphant gesture. "Victory is mine!"

The man was ridiculous. But he was also–oh yes, fine–kind of adorable. And his ridiculousness did make her smile.

"What just happened? Is Castle celebrating something?" Ryan wandered over, accompanied by Esposito.

She shot Castle a look before pasting on a careless smile. "Castle's being ridiculous, as usual."

"I beat my own high score on Words with Friends," Castle spoke up.

Espo snorted. "Is that all? The way you reacted, I thought you might've won the lottery."

Castle shrugged. "Eh, I'm already rich. I don't need to win the lottery. And I'll have you know, I pride myself on my skill at word games."

"I thought you would have realized by now that Castle is melodramatic and overreacts to silly things," she interjected dryly.

Espo gave a crack of laughter. "Fair point."

Ryan eyed Castle rather skeptically. "Is that really all Castle was celebrating?"

She opened her mouth to answer but hesitated since she really didn't like to lie outright to the boys. But before she could decide, Castle stepped in, giving a fake gasp. "Are you questioning my devotion to word games? I thought you knew me by now. I'm a wordsmith; it's what I do!"

Ryan rolled his eyes and grinned. "My mistake. Of course you'd get so excited over something so trivial."

Castle gave Ryan a nod of mock solemnity. "Thank you. Never doubt how seriously I take trivial things."

"Yes, we all know how silly you can be," she interjected dryly. "Don't you two have some actual work to do?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're getting back to it," Espo pretended to grumble at the same time as Ryan muttered, "It's only paperwork, not exactly urgent."

She threw Ryan a look of feigned chiding. "And you guys are still on the clock."

Ryan waved a hand at her in acknowledgement as he and Espo returned to their desks.

Castle turned back to her, quirking his eyebrows slightly.

She managed not to flush. "Thanks for that. I just want to keep all this between us, our families, for a little while."

A smirk tugged on his lips. "So I guess I should cancel the full-page announcement in the Ledger?"

She narrowed her eyes at him in pretended threat. "Good call or we'll be breaking up even before we go on our first real date."

He brightened. "Ooh, speaking of our first date, how does Friday dinner sound?"

She tried to sound composed, rather than thrilled. "Sure, Friday dinner should work, assuming we don't get a case."

"Great! It's Alexis's last day of school so she's going to a sleepover at her friend Paige's house."

She coughed a little, managing not to blush. "Anyway, I was thinking we can just let the boys figure it out on their own." She made a small face. "I had to tell the Captain because of the NYPD regulations prohibiting partners from being romantically involved but beyond that, I don't want to broadcast the news, even if I don't imagine we'll be able to keep it a secret for long."

He frowned a little. "But I'm not a cop."

"Oh, now you remember that you're not actually a cop?" she teased. "Yeah, Montgomery made that point too which is why he's willing to bend the rules a little."

"Oh good."

"Oh, and I'm going to tell Lanie tonight because if I don't tell her and she finds out indirectly, she'll never forgive me."

"I take it that's your way of telling me you have plans for dinner tonight after your shift is over?"

"Yeah, that too. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. Far be it from me to try to get between best friends."

It was hard not to like a man who was so understanding. She moved her hand on her desk until her fingers brushed against his, lingering for a few seconds, before she retreated. "Thanks," was all she said quietly.

His eyes crinkled a little at the corners as his expression softened. "Always."

Their eyes held for a few beats and then she turned back to her computer and the paperwork she really did have to do.

It was a little while before she glanced over at him to see that he was smiling to himself. "What?"

He blinked and transferred his smiling gaze to her. "You called me your partner."

He chose to fixate on that now? Sometimes, she really didn't get the way his mind worked. And yet–she had to fight to hold back a smile at how pleased he apparently was at the thought. As if being her partner was some sort of great honor. "Well, as my partner, what do you say to helping out on my paperwork?" she asked tartly.

He wrinkled his nose. "I might be your partner in name but I'm really only a civilian consultant," he hurriedly clarified.

"Funny, how selective this partnership thing is for you."

He only grinned at her. "I consider it having the best of both worlds. I'm just lucky like that."

She snorted. "Ridiculous is what you are."

He pasted on a saintly smile. "And yet you like me anyway."

She returned her eyes to her computer, sternly biting back a smile. "Oddly enough, I do."

~To be continued…~

A/N 2: Thank you, as always, to all readers and reviewers.