Serenity Chez Castle

by adcgordon

What might happen when a Season 3'ish Castle decides he wants Beckett to dress up as one of his fave characters from a sci-fi television series? It just might lead to their romance starting a little earlier than the show allowed. Written for Castle Fic Promoter's (@CFPromoter) Castle Halloween Bash 2023!

Hi Friendly Casketteers! I don't often get into Fanfic challenges because of time constrictions but when I saw CFPromoter's prompt for Castle Halloween Bash 2023 a couple of ideas sparked in my head and I somehow got this one onto virtual paper!

After writing, I'm not sure that it fits the bill for the prompt, other than being somewhat Halloween themed. I'm not good at supernatural or horror…but I still hope you might enjoy this one. ?

So, what might happen when a Season 3'ish Castle decides he wants Beckett to dress up as one of his fave characters from a sci-fi television series? It just might lead to their romance starting a little earlier than the show allowed.

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Serenity Chez Castle

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Richard Castle had an idea but he wasn't sure if it was one of his better ones. What the hell, why not. He went to the back of his closet and pulled out the dry cleaning bag that held one of his all-time favorite Halloween costumes.

His daughter chastised him every time he put it on, but this year something Kate Beckett had said to him, out of the blue, had him thinking about the deep red shirt, the brown coat, the suspenders and boots.

"Malcolm Reynolds…now that's a ruggedly handsome character, Castle," Beckett had said.

Castle smiled to himself as he unzipped the bag and began pulling out the various hangers that held his costume…the very one that made him resemble that ruggedly handsome character from the short-lived Firefly series.

Had Alexis told Detective Beckett that he, Rick, enjoyed that series? Beckett apparently enjoyed short-lived sci-fi television series. What was that other one she had mentioned when the topic had come up at the precinct…Nebula 9?

He realized the turn of their conversation. "God, who would like that series? Star Trek wanna-be… Lacking a ruggedly handsome character that's for sure."

Beckett had been the one to change tunes toward the Joss Whedon series that got off the ground but somehow didn't survive after just 14 episodes. That's when she had commented about the star of the show, Captain Malcolm Reynolds, and apparently the fact that she found him ruggedly handsome.

Castle ran his fingers over the suspenders on the costume. If she liked Mal, he could give her Mal. But, could he somehow plant the seed in her mind to potentially dress up as the good captain's would-be love interest, Inara Serra?

He closed his eyes for a moment and pictured that character in an almost Egyptian type get-up…a sarong, jewels on her hands, wrists and even a crown-like headpiece…sandals on her feet and smooth, olive skinned bare legs…

Against his better judgment - well let's face it, after thinking about Kate Beckett in that Inara costume, better judgment didn't exist - he picked up his phone and texted the one person who might stand a chance of suggesting the idea to the detective.

"What's Beckett's costume for Halloween?" Rick typed in the text and hit send before he even attempted an introduction.

"How would I know?" Medical examiner Lanie Parish shook her head at the message, unsure what to expect from the writer who was obviously infatuated with her good friend.

"Since my annual party is just a couple of weeks away, I figured the two of you might be shopping for costumes together," Castle supplied.

"It is 2pm on a Thursday afternoon, Castle. I'm getting ready to cut open a dead body and Beckett is probably out chasing down a suspect. Does it sound like either of us are even thinking about your little party?"

Castle cringed slightly, "What?! Is Beckett on a case without me?"

With that her phone rang and he began talking as soon as she answered, "Why wouldn't she call me if she's on a case?"

"Castle, I do not know if she's on a case. I was just trying to make a point that she and I are at work. Unlike some people who don't know what a regular job is like," Lanie snarked.

"I know what a regular job is like. I've been coming into the precinct for like three years now. That's like a typical job, right?" Castle asked honestly.

Lanie rolled her eyes and shook her head as she looked down at the dead body on the table in front of her. "That's about as normal as you'll ever get, I'm guessing," she reacted honestly. "Now Castle, why are you asking me about Beckett's costume?"

"I, um," Rick hesitated. Speaking his idea instead of texting it made things a little more real in his mind. That reality made him realize that he was on the verge of showing his hand to one of Kate's best friends.

He liked her. The detective fascinated him in more than one way. She also frustrated him. He found her sexy as hell and wanted to know everything about her. As he had told his mother, following Detective Kate Beckett wasn't just about writing books anymore. It was a way to be closer to her. And he wanted more of that.

Did others realize that?

"Castle!?" Lanie broke his thoughts.

"She mentioned a show that she used to like. I was gonna…I mean…I've got a costume for one of that show's characters and I wondered if she might want to dress up as another…character…from that show." He rushed through the explanation knowing that Lanie hadn't been in on the discussion; he was likely making no sense at all; but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted Captain Reynolds and Inara Serra to be together at this year's Halloween gathering at Chez Castle.

"But I know if I mention it to her, she won't go for it," he finished his thought, finally.

Lanie became aware of the nerves in his voice. She was curious about his idea but even more than that, she was curious about the potentially budding relationship between her friend, Kate, and this newer friend that had been burrowing his way into Kate's life for the past few years.

"You like her, don't you?" Lanie came right out and asked. She didn't know if Castle would take this opportunity to confess his true feelings. But he started this little chat and as someone who had Kate's best interests at heart, she didn't have a problem asking.

"Well sure I do," Castle didn't overthink her question.

"No, Castle, you like her, don't you," Lanie stated instead of asking.

Again Rick was quiet on the other end of the line. "Why does this feel like an elementary school question?" He wondered.

"Do you want her to pass you a note in the bullpen that says 'check yes or no'?" Lanie joked slightly.

"More like I wanna pass one to her," Castle said quietly.

"What kind of costume are we talking about here, Castle? Cause if it's a stripper, I'm out. I won't even suggest it." Lanie was straight and to the point. Castle liked that about her, no beating around the bush…too much.

"Can I send you a couple of pictures?" He offered innocently.

Lanie rolled her eyes again, wondering if she should get involved in this plan or not. "I guess," she conceded. "But Castle, you need to know something, if you haven't figured it out already."

"What's that?" Rick asked curiously.

"You hurt my girl, you die," she stated firmly, making Castle shiver.

But he also smiled to himself. "Understood. Thanks Lanie!"

SerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastle

"What are you wearing to Castle's Halloween party?" Lanie took her glass of wine from the waiter with a sweet smile, a quick swirl and then a long sip.

Kate left her glass on the table and offered the same young man a soft "Thank You" before creasing her eyebrows and looking toward her friend.

"Who says I'm even going to Castle's Halloween party?" She kept the sarcastic look on her face as she reached for one of the breadsticks from the basket in the middle of the table.

"You've gone the past two years, why would this one be any different? Besides, I thought we might coordinate outfits and really drive him nuts," Lanie smiled and cocked her eyebrows in her friend's direction.

"You wanna drive Castle nuts?" Kate shook her head and her look shifted from sarcastic to questioning. "Since when?"

Lanie's eyes squinted slightly at Kate and shook her head. "I just think it's about time you let him know you want to move forward instead of staying on this merry-go-round."

"Huh?" Kate lifted her glass and didn't dare to expand on that question.

"Katherine Houghton Beckett, you're driving the man batty, Halloween or no Halloween. You've got him wrapped around your little finger. He's at your beck and call and you take advantage of that. Don't try to deny it. You go into work hoping there's a murder every day just so you can call him. God help those poor victims but every death means you get to spend time with your favorite writer," Lanie raised her eyebrows pointedly and tipped her wine glass toward Kate.

"I have to call him, Lanie. You know that. Mayor's orders," Kate huffed making Lanie sink a little more deeply into her chair and cross her free hand across her chest.

"There's another excuse," Lanie stated.

"Lanie," Kate whined slightly. They had had similar conversations before but Lanie had never been so blunt.

"Come on, Kate, yeah, this started as the mayor letting him tag along to create this Nikki Heat character. But don't we both know it's about more than the books now? Damn, girl, you two finish each other's sentences. You could let him get shot on 90 percent of your cases when he pulls some stupid stunt, but you rush in to protect him and then tell me how desperate you are to make sure he's okay," Lanie went on.

"I wouldn't say desperate," Kate interjected, "Who knows what the mayor would do to me if I let him get shot and killed. And, he has a daughter to consider. I can't have a fatherless Alexis. She'd never forgive me and it would be on my conscience the rest of my life."

"Because Alexis will be in your life for many years to come," Lanie added.

"No," Kate shook her head, "That's not what I meant."

"She already looks up to you, you know," Lanie shifted away from the Castle-centered interrogation, slightly.

"I know," Kate shrugged one shoulder. "She's a good kid, smart, determined. Can't believe she belongs to Castle and the deep fried twinkie."

Lanie choked slightly on her wine and looked at Kate with a 'where did that come from' question in her eyes.

"That's what Castle called his ex wife, Meredith, you know, Alexis's mom?" She explained. Then she rolled her eyes. "Apparently whenever she comes to town they have ex sex," Lanie watched Kate take in a shallow breath. "Castle said Meredith is like a deep fried twinkie…something you like to enjoy every now and then, but not something that you want in your life every day."

Lanie's facial expression eased with understanding but she could read Beckett's body language. The idea of Castle having sex with someone else, even his daughter's mother, didn't sit well with her.

"Have you met her?" Lanie dared to ask.

"Yeah," Kate said, "That same time she visited. She pulled Alexis out of school to take her shopping and the two of them stopped in at the precinct to see Richard," Kate mimicked the way Meredith had said Castle's first name.

"Richard?" Lanie rolled the name around on her lips. "I thought only Martha called him that."

"Apparently it's supposed to concoct a more refined version of him," Kate laughed at the thought and then bit her lip lightly.

"Which one's the real man?" Lanie wondered, again reading her friend's thoughts.

Kate blinked out of her thoughts and thought for a moment about that question.

"If you get to know him a little better I'd bet you'd find that he's more down to earth than refined or deep fried twinkie." Lanie described with sentiment in her voice. "What's wrong with giving him a chance, Kate?"

Kate sat back in her seat, "Give him what kind of chance? The only chance he's asked about - well, he didn't even ask - was shadowing me for his books."

Lanie smiled and shook her head. "For a brilliant detective, are you really this clueless?"

"Lanie," there was the whine again.

"Kate, he likes you. You like him. This is me you're talking to so again I say, don't try to deny it. Give him a chance."

The two friends stared at each other for a moment and Lanie was thrilled that she didn't hear an immediate rebuttal.

Kate leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. "I don't want to like him, Lanie. With my job, my history, I just…having a relationship with anyone probably isn't a good idea."

Lanie took a deep breath. "You got a problem then, girlfriend."

"Why?" Kate asked quickly. "What d'ya mean?"

"Well I'm over here thinkin' maybe you and Writer Boy can hook up and have some fun and he can loosen you up a little bit…before there's any mention of a relationship. You're over there already trying to talk yourself out of a relationship which tells me you've either thought about it already or dreamed about it at the least."

Kate picked up her glass and held it to her lips, "Or both…" she admitted, making Lanie turn her head to make sure she understood the words directly.

"So you aren't oblivious to your feelings, or his?" Lanie asked just to be sure.

"No, not oblivious to them…completely…but they scare the hell out of me. How am I supposed to do my job if I'm emotionally involved with him and he's pulling some stupid stunt that nearly gets him killed?"

Lanie laughed at her friend. "One step at a time, Sweetheart. Go on a date with the man… or at least go to his Halloween party and wear a costume that lets him know you're interested."

"I'm not dressing like a prostitute to get his attention," Kate sighed.

Lanie grinned. "That won't be an issue." She pulled out her phone and opened her gallery where she had saved various pictures that Castle had sent to her. "Apparently Castle's costume is this…" she opened a picture of the Firefly captain with shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and muscular forearms crossed across his chest. The maroon shirt accentuated the blue in his eyes and his perfectly coiffed sandy blond hair fit his rounded face.

Beckett thought about the conversation at the precinct. She had thrown Captain Malcolm Reynolds at Castle as a ruggedly handsome example. Kate could imagine Castle in this costume already and the thought made her blush.

"From that look on your face I'm guessing you have an idea about a costume that would attract this character?" Lanie suggested.

"I thought you wanted the two of us to dress similarly," Kate remembered how Lanie had started this conversation.

Lanie swished her head back and forth. "I didn't think you'd admit to actually liking the man. But, since you have…I think you can go into this with eyes wide open."

Lanie swiped her finger to move to the next picture. Inara Serra in a shimmering gown, the neckline was a deep 'v' showing a touch of her unassuming bosom. The wrap of the gown was like a sash, leaving one shoulder bare and covering just the upper portion of her other arm. She wore a bracelet on her bare arm that wrapped like a thin snake from her elbow upward, covering her bicep. A single ring sat on her thumb to decorate that hand along with clear coated fingernails with tiny colored stones on each tip.

The character's makeup was quite heavy, dark eyeliner looked almost like an Egyptian pharaoh; eyelashes coated with mascara and a deep pink eyeshadow colored her upper eyelids. Her lips were outlined making them look even more plump, with a shimmering lip gloss.

Kate's first thought was that Inara's lips looked kissable. Good lord, where did that idea come from?!

"I can't pull that off," Kate said immediately after taking some long moments studying the picture.

"I'm gonna tell you something and I just want you to roll with it. Don't overthink it, don't question me, just go with it, alright?" Lanie began and waited for Kate to agree.

It took another several moments, a motherly glare from Lanie and a concession from Beckett but the detective finally agreed to hear Lanie out. That thought alone made her nervous.

"First off," Lanie started reassuringly, "you, of all women, can pull off this look. You've got the skin tone, and your eyes…Girl, just believe me, you got this."

"But where am I gonna get a dress…a costume…" Kate tried to argue until Lanie again put her hand in the air.

"Castle's gonna get it for you," she put it as simply as she could.

"No," Kate shook her head. "Wait, have you talked to him about this?"

"That's beside the point," Lanie rushed to avoid answering her question directly. "Kate, listen to me," Lanie pushed forward. "He's probably already ordered it. At least this time you'll be expecting a 'bibbidy, bobbity, boo' box to show up at your door. All you gotta do is agree to wear it to the Halloween party and see where things go from there. He'll have a house full of people, he'll be drawn to you, of course, but he's a socialite, he's not gonna drag you to his bedroom and ravish you…till after his other guests have left."

Kate blushed at that idea. "I don't know, Lanie." Kate put a thumbnail against her lips and began chewing on it with her nerves.

After a few minutes of thought, a slight break to give their waiter their orders and after somewhat quickly downing the rest of her first glass of wine, Kate had another thought. "Inara has other outfits that she wears on the show. Lots of gowns or flowing dresses, she's always dressed to the hilt. I'll just find something else similar. He knows the show, he'll know who I am without me having to get all made up like this." She pointed back toward Lanie's phone.

"Mmm-hmmm," Lanie again offered that skeptical look.

"What?" Kate wondered.

"I don't think I ever said character names. You know this show. What is it, some futuristic sci-fi thing with a hotshot space cowboy and his wife who is some runaway princess?" She had vowed not to look up anything about these costumes for fear of what Castle was asking Beckett to be.

"You nailed the space cowboy part of things, that's Captain Malcolm Reynolds…but she's not his wife," Kate explained.

"Alright," Lanie really didn't want to know more but knew she was likely to hear it.

"Inara is a certified companion," Kate began.

"What, like she's assigned to accompany him or something?" Lanie inquired.

"Not exactly," Kate hesitated, "She's pretty much a glorified prostitute but she picks who she wants to be with…no pimp involved…" she let her voice trail off as Lanie snorted.

"So you are gonna go to his party dressed as a prostitute," she stated and Kate simply looked away and laughed.

"Their relationship is…complicated," Kate added, making both of the women laugh together.

SerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastle

Two torturous weeks. There were 14 days between Lanie's intervention and Castle's Halloween party which he began referring to as "Serenity at Chez Castle".

No one at the precinct had any clue what he was talking about, except Beckett, of course. She immediately caught on to the reference to Firefly's ship name…Serenity.

Within those two weeks their detective team caught and solved four murders. And with each one of those, Kate Beckett had contacted Richard Castle and attempted to keep things purely work related, sort of.

The first case, two days after Kate's lunch with Lanie, she had hesitated to dial his number. God it was totally like middle school with her wondering if Lanie had talked to Castle and what she might have told him. As his phone rang she almost hung up when the thought crossed her mind that Lanie may have told him that Kate wanted him to ravish her in his bedroom during the party.

Oh God, if she told him that…I can't be near him…I can't have him looking at me…hell, I can't have him thinking I'm that desperate…I'm NOT that desperate…Damn him and these thoughts!

"Hey Castle, murder at West 18th and 8th, outside The Joyce Theater. Wanna come with or are you busy making party plans?" She tried to quip. Damn it, why did I bring up the party?

"Are you offering to pick me up on the way, Detective? If so I'm in. I ordered your costume today, by the way. We can discuss your makeup preferences on the drive over. So yeah, I guess I have been working on party plans." Castle smiled as he spoke to her.

He was still a little shocked that she had agreed to this. The only response he had received from Lanie was positive but still a bit cryptic. "You find this costume, she'll wear it."

The picture Lanie sent back was one of the pics he had first sent to her. He had to admit it was his favorite, but never in his wildest dreams did he think Kate Beckett would wear it - especially not for him. But apparently Lanie had worked some magic.

And, he thought to himself, Look at my life…my dreams come true.

Of course what he wouldn't admit to anyone at this point was the round of nerves that followed his self confidence. Would his work relationship with Detective Beckett translate into anything more outside of work? Did she want it to? Did he want it to?

He had spent years avoiding serious relationships. He had been hurt by Meredith, hurt by Gina. The scars from those marriages certainly made him thrice shy.

Why am I even thinking about marriage?! Geez, I just want a date with the woman. Okay, maybe I want more but it's not like I'm gonna drag her to my bedroom and ravish her during the party…am I? Might depend on how good she looks in that costume…

He glanced back at the Inara picture that was saved on his phone and was easily able to put Beckett's face in Inara's place. He sucked in a breath. If she was messing with him their current relationship would be over.

"Sephora? Ulta? Where do you prefer to get your makeup?" He had asked as soon as he sat down in her car.

"Beckett don't mess with me on this one, please," Castle gave her a peek at his hand with his slightly pleading words.

That was the last the party or costume was mentioned until the case was solved.

The second case took them to a penthouse suite to a pyramid scheme that went murderously wrong.

"We have a dozen pumpkins being delivered to the loft this weekend," Castle commented as he again climbed into the passenger seat. "Alexis and I have been battling to see who can carve the most intricate patterns. When she was little it wasn't hard to beat her, but now that she's older she's become more skilled, taken some art classes and she's tough to beat," he shook his head.

"Do the two of you decide on a theme or is it just random carving?" Kate asked with genuine interest.

"Well it takes planning, little bit of pattern making, different tools for those intricate cuts. And skill. Did I mention the artistic skill?" Castle looked in her direction as Kate snickered at him.

"What, you don't believe me? You come over and try your hand! Mother used to laugh at me as well but you won't see her attempting anything but your basic Jack," Castle gave Kate a serious look.

"Jack?" Kate had to ask.

"Jack-o-lantern," Castle answered quickly. "You know, the typical triangle eyes, triangle nose, row of triangular teeth for a mouth." He took a breath and then added, "Or she drinks Jack and coke while Alexis and I carve. That's still your basic Jack, right?"

Kate had to laugh. That sounded more like the Martha Rodgers she knew. Then she paused. Had Castle really invited her over to take part in a family type of event? Carving pumpkins sounded like fun but she didn't want to intrude. She stayed quiet, not even answering Castle's silly question.

"You…" Castle seemed to read her mind, "...wouldn't want to come carve pumpkins with us, would you?" he asked nervously.

"Wh-what?" Kate stumbled slightly. "No, no, I know you were joking. That's something you do with your family. I'd just end up getting in the way or drinking with Martha," she laughed.

Castle adjusted in his seat and looked at her as they pulled up to the crime scene. "What if I need moral support? I fully expect Alexis to beat me this year. I may need some comforting when I see her creation and you know, my mother isn't really the comforting parental type."

Kate smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Alexis probably wouldn't appreciate the non-family intrusion."

"What? No, she wouldn't mind, I'm sure!" Castle was trying to wrap his mind around this idea that Kate Beckett might actually be interested in spending time with him - and his family - outside of work. He took another beat and then tried again, "If Alexis is okay with it…would you join us?"

Kate put the car in park and turned off the engine, "I don't know, Castle."

"C'mon, it'll be fun, I promise. I'm providing the tools and the pumpkins. Even if we have to scrap a couple cause you mess up," he loved the look she shot at him for that little dig. "All you have to do is bring your own pattern. Whatever you want to carve - even if it's just a basic Jack. What d'ya say?"

The two of them watched Javi and Ryan pull up beside them and climb out of their car. "Let me think about it," Kate offered, still very unsure about the invitation. "But…" she looked Castle in the eyes, "only if Alexis is okay with it. And if I'm not working a case, of course," she added quickly.

Castle smiled at her. "I'll ask her tonight."

Rick's chat with his 17 year old daughter had been almost as fun as Kate's chat with Lanie that evening on the phone. Although, while Lanie poked fun at her friend, the teenager had a very adult chat with her father.

"You care about her, Dad. That's not hard to see. Is that why you want to invite her over?" Alexis had asked with barely a smile on her face.

"She won't be here unless you're okay with this," Castle explained and his daughter nodded. "You haven't had a problem with Kate in the past. I thought you liked her?" Castle seemed a little nervous now as Alexis looked down at her hands.

"I don't have a problem with Detective… Kate," Alexis responded.

"Then what's up?" Rick wondered and then went quiet to wait for his daughter to put her thoughts together.

"You've had other girlfriends since Gina, right?" Alexis asked and watched her father roll his eyes and nod his head.

"I guess you could call them that, yes," he spoke honestly.

"But none of them really meant anything to you, did they? They were more like random hookups," Alexis continued making Rick duck his head with a little bit of shame for his previous actions. His daughter wasn't supposed to realize the truth about his outings or his dates.

Alexis forged on, "I can't say I'm…okay…with that idea, but you never brought any of them home so I'm pretty much in the dark about those…relationships," she hesitated to say the word. "But Kate's different." The redhead stopped at that and looked at her father.

"Does it bother you that she's got a dangerous job?" Rick wasn't seeing the full picture exactly.

"A little, but more so because you're tagging along with her now, so you get put in those dangerous situations as well. I sure don't like the idea of losing you!" Alexis emphasized.

Rick sucked in a breath and got ready to say something but Alexis moved past that issue. "She's different, Dad. You care about her. We can all see it. She seems to care about you and it's changing you…which isn't bad, you seem to be growing up a little bit. I just don't want you to change too much, you know."

"Alexis, I-"

"I guess I just wanna know how serious this is. Does she make you happy? I like Kate and it's nice to have a level headed female around. I just wanna know if she's the one for you. Is she the RIGHT one for you?" She stopped abruptly and Rick finally saw a little twinge of his LITTLE girl inside.

He smiled at his daughter, reached out and put a hand on hers. "I don't have those answers yet, Alexis," he shook his head slowly but continued smiling. "I haven't even been on a date with her. I annoy her, get on her nerves and she tends to yell at me like I'm a little boy. But I also THINK she appreciates the help I give her and she knows that work-wise I'm on her side. I don't have to be there, it's not my job, but I like being there because of her."

Alexis nodded, turned her hand over in his and waited to hear what else her father was going to say.

Rick stood up a little straighter. "I invited her to come carve pumpkins with us." He expounded on the beginning of their conversation.

"Dad!" Alexis creased her eyebrows.

"But… she said she won't even consider it unless it's okay with you. Give her a little credit, she doesn't want to be here if you don't want her to be." Rick mentioned, but was willing to force the issue in this case.

"Really?" Alexis wondered if her father was telling the truth.

Rick pulled his phone from his back pocket and handed it to her, "Call her, text her and ask. Even better, you call and invite her. I know you've been out with her at least once in the past and asked her advice. Give her a chance Alexis, please."

Alexis handed Rick's phone back to him and pulled out her own phone. "You really do like her?"

Rick thought for a moment and spoke directly to his daughter's heart when his face softened, he nodded at her and added a simple, "Yeah, I do."

Kate had been slightly surprised to get a call from Alexis Castle, but the girl's number was saved to her phone and she didn't hesitate to answer. The invitation from the teenager seemed genuine and it let her know that Castle had followed through on his promise to ask Alexis. At that point, she couldn't say 'no'.

The following Sunday Kate was more than surprised after spending hours with the Castle crew. She had walked into the loft to plastic covering the kitchen floor and counter space; another layer of plastic spread well into the living room and a slew of pumpkins and various tools she suspected were for carving.

"Geez Castle, this looks like a crime scene! Minus…the blood of course," Kate thought about her words but they seemed to be acceptable as he led her farther into their home.

"Oh, give dad about 15 minutes and the blood will start pouring as well," Alexis smiled and laughed at her dad's quick 'Hey, I resemble that remark!'.

Everyone chuckled but Alexis quickly added, "Bandaids are in Dad's bathroom, we have plenty of gauze and I learned how to make a tourniquet in our first aid class at school. So if you cut deep enough I can cut off your blood circulation!"

Kate looked between the girl and the father with a little worry until Martha chimed in. "No worries, Darlings, I have 911 on speed dial. If that happens, one of us should be sober enough to call."

Kate noted that one of the pumpkins was already hollowed out and contained a votive candle to help set the mood. She smiled to herself. Triangular shaped eyes, nose and teeth. That must be Basic Jack.

After that the afternoon had rolled along. She had been surprised to join in on a bit of the Castle bashing that Alexis and Martha started. She threw in some of his less-than-stellar moments from cases they had worked and she was on the receiving end when Castle shared a few not-so-stellar moments that he had witnessed from Kate. She accepted them somewhat gracefully and promptly blamed Castle for each one of them.

It really was a fun afternoon that ended with all pumpkins carved and ready for the party.

The highlight, that only took Castle three tries - leaving two wasted pumpkins - was his Firefly masterpiece, Serenity, the ship, thus adding to his growing theme of Serenity at Chez Castle.

After cleanup and then enjoying a bowl of pumpkin soup with the family, Kate took her glass of wine and went back to the row of pumpkins now sitting on the stairs. Martha and Alexis were putting away dishes and utensils so Rick followed her to admire their handiwork.

"These really are pretty amazing," Kate commented as she felt him behind her.

"I told you, we go all out - meaning we take our carving seriously, we don't hire it out," he smiled and admired her as Kate looked at the different creations.

"Why the sudden interest in Firefly?" Kate wondered as she bent down to get a closer look at his contest-winning entry.

"Oh, I wouldn't call it sudden," Castle thought. "I'd call it more of a renewed interest. I've been a fan of that one for a while now. Still can't believe they only gave it one season."

"It did get a movie to try and wrap things up a little better," Beckett commented and stood back up to face Rick.

"Yeah, that was alright, but still left a lot to the imagination," he added.

"Like whether or not Mal and Inara ever really got together?" Beckett raised a curious eyebrow.

"More like whether Mal ever got his revenge on the Alliance…" Castle looked away as though that was the part of the show that intrigued him most.

"Ooo, you know there are apparently comic books that are a spinoff of sorts," Kate added and then noted Castle's knowing smile. "You have them, don't you."

Castle's smile grew a little wider. "Would you like to peruse my line of Firefly memorabilia, Detective?"

Kate wasn't sure of his underlying meaning so she put off his offer for a later time, with a hesitant chuckle.

The next time she looked at a clock it was nearly 9:00PM and she had spent a quarter of the day with the Castle family. Martha and Alexis had retreated upstairs to their rooms and she and Rick had been left discussing the case of the murdered pyramid schemer.

She noted how comfortable she felt with Rick, his daughter and his mother. All of them made her feel at home and truly welcomed. She didn't recall spending much time with the families of any ex-boyfriends. They all seemed to avoid that option, other than quick introductions.

Maybe she had grown up a little in the area of relationships and what she wanted from one. And maybe there was another side to Richard Castle than the playboy that went out of his way to get under her skin.

The other thing she recalled as she got into her car to head home was the discussion again about her arranged Halloween costume. First, Alexis thought she would be perfect as Inara - so Castle had watched the show with his daughter. Second, Kate had asked if Castle ordered his Captain Reynolds costume at the same time…Alexis supplied that her father had had that costume for years now. And third, a big piece of Kate…much bigger than she wanted to admit…couldn't wait to see him dressed in suspenders and a brown coat.

She just might let him drag her to his bedroom during the party…..

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Murder cases three and four had happened the Tuesday and Wednesday before Friday night's Serenity Chez Castle. On Monday, Rick had brought the hand-delivered invitations to Kate, Javi, Kevin, Captain Montgomery and a few others at the precinct. He also made a special trip to the morgue to deliver Lanie's invite so he could ask her about Kate's costume.

Lanie had given him a side-eyed critical glance and simply said, "It hasn't arrived yet," knowing that would make Castle nervous.

Rick immediately checked his phone for shipment information only to find it was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday. He breathed a little easier and worked to turn on his charm again with the medical examiner.

"Have I said 'thank you' enough for helping me out, Dr. Parish?" he leaned down on a table that didn't contain a cadaver and looked up at the woman in scrubs with his signature puppy dog eyes.

"Uh-uh," Lanie admonished him, "You save those looks for your girl and turn that charm her way. I'm just gonna say I like that you both are nervous about this. I don't know about you, but she deserves someone who knows her and loves her just the way she is."

"Lo- Love? Who said anything…Beckett's in love with me?" Castle stumbled over his words and quickly stood up straighter.

"No, Writer Boy," Lanie said more directly. "I'm just saying, I think you've got a chance with her. You seem to really be interested in her. You're already working through some of those Beckett layers and she hasn't scared you off yet. There's gotta be a reason for that. But if that love word ever does come up between you two…you just remember who was in your corner to get things started."

Castle smiled at her sheepishly. Apparently there were several minds, hearts and sets of eyes that were seeing something between him and Beckett. He didn't want to take that for granted but he also didn't want to move too quickly and scare Kate away - or have her boot him out of her life.

"Inviting her over to carve pumpkins was a nice touch," Lanie added with another little smirk.

Rick gave her a boyish grin of his own, "It was fun. I know she's nervous about Alexis but I've got a good kid. She knows good when she sees it."

"You sure she's your kid?" Lanie asked jokingly and Castle laughed with her.

"She likes you, too, Lanie. Maybe next year she can intern down here with you," he offered.

Lanie looked down at the body in front of her and then back at Castle. "You send her my way. I'm sure we have a lot of things to talk about."

Castle stood silently for a moment wondering what all Lanie might share with his daughter. "On second thought…"

"I'll see you at the party Friday night, Castle," Lanie had finished their conversation. "You just be sure those suspenders are tight enough when Beckett walks in and your jaw drops to the floor." She gave an amused chuckle as Castle smiled to himself, turned around and walked out the door.

He couldn't wait.

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Murder case number three was open and shut. Drug deal gone wrong. Castle declared it boring and left Kate to handle the paperwork alone.

Number four had been a little more interesting. Abusive boyfriend versus protective father… Castle and Beckett both held their breaths with thoughts of Alexis's future and just how far Castle might go to protect her.

The case was straightforward. Girlfriend had called her father when boyfriend came home drunk and unhappy. It was a situation that had been going on for months and dad was finally fed up and just wanted his little girl back home. He went to their shared apartment with gun in hand; meant to threaten boyfriend but when they came face to face and boyfriend challenged him, dad ended the situation once and for all.

Castle was quiet on the ride back to the precinct and Kate realized in that little piece of her brain that somehow meshed with Rick's, that she understood.

"You okay?" She asked quietly and saw from the corner of her eye that he was nodding slowly.

"Alexis is smarter than that. She wouldn't get herself into a relationship like that. But if she does, you've got friends in high places to handle it. You wouldn't have to confront the boyfriend." She tried to sound positive.

"But I would," Castle commented. "I would potentially do exactly what that father did. I've written about it, Kate and I think somewhere inside of me there is that Jekyll and Hyde personality. If someone hurts the people I care about…Alexis, Mother…you… the boys, you know…" he drifted in and out of his list with the realization that he had put her right there with the two women he loved most in his life, then tried to cover it by mentioning his other cop friends. "I could see taking a gun and threatening, even pulling the trigger, to keep…you… safe." He turned his head and looked out the window not really wanting to hear whatever Kate might say to deflect his inclusion of her.

Instead she reached across the console of the car and put her hand on top of his softly. "I can understand that," she offered and then let that hang in the air.

Castle didn't flinch under her touch or overly react to her words. Instead he used his thumb to graze lightly against her index finger where her hand was crossed over his.

Both of them had similar thoughts, although neither would share with the other. Their hands were warm against one another's. And there was just a little bit of anticipation with the idea that someday, maybe, it'd be nice to hold the other's hand and just sit quietly on a drive, together, alone.

When they got back to the precinct Castle didn't stick around for questioning the suspect. He offered no other insight but waited at Kate's desk for her to get things together.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" Kate asked hopefully.

Castle looked at her and offered a little smile. "Miss me already?" he joked lightly.

"No," Beckett took on her normal defensive tactics, "I just thought you might, for once, lend a hand with the paperwork since you feel you had some insight on this case."

Castle grinned at her a little wider. "You want me here even when I'm not helpful. I like that. It's a nice change."

"That is not what I said," Kate shot back as the other two members of their detective team walked up to her desk.

"Oh good, Mom and Dad are arguing again," Kevin Ryan looked at Javier Esposito and then back at Rick and Kate.

Kate glared at him; Rick laughed, enjoying the friendly jab.

"You all won't be going at it at the party, will you?" Kevin asked them both.

Javi laughed out loud and looked at his partner, "Oh, they'll be going at it. Have you heard about this costume that Beckett's gonna wear…for Castle?"

"That is not-" Kate tried to defend herself to little avail.

"What's this now?" Ryan asked while Rick just kept smiling smugly.

"From what Lanie says, we won't likely recognize our detective cohort here," Javi jumped back in.

"I'm gonna kill her," Kate's face took on a paler shade as she worried about what Lanie might have told Esposito. "Please tell me your pillow talk does not include discussions of me in costumes!" She shot back with a bit of pride.

"Oh, girl, that was just our breakfast chatter. You wanna know about our pillow talk…" Javi grinned as Kate rolled her eyes.

"Shut it!" Kate ordered, making all three men laugh.

"That reminds me," Rick pulled out his phone and tapped a couple of times on the touch screen before turning it in Kate's direction. He lowered his voice before saying, "Looks like the package was delivered," he smiled at her with more of a sweet look on his face.

She eased the tension that had built up in her forehead but still didn't smile at him.

"Mmm-hmm," Javi began on a hum and then whispered, "You gonna let him open that package tonight or just carve some more pumpkins?" he jabbed.

The daggers from Beckett's eyes made the military-esque detective back off quickly while Castle added a very quick, "Do NOT ruin this for me!"

"And now the older son is in trouble with Mom and Dad!" Kevin added with a smirk. "Beckett, you wanna go at our suspect alone, or should I join you in there since Castle's leaving?" he turned the conversation back to work immediately.

Javi continued looking at Beckett who simply instructed him, "Drop it and walk away."

He did as he was told, followed by a snickering Kevin who wasn't going to wait around for other parental insight.

"Ignore them, please?" Castle requested as he watched her nearly cringe at the thoughts going through her head. He bent slightly over her desk until she looked up at him. "It's a Halloween party. If you don't want to wear this costume, it's fine, really. You can come dressed in jeans and a t-shirt for all I care. Just be there?"

Kate's tension eased and then she even smiled at him. "Oh, I'll be there," she assured the party host. "Captain Reynolds needs a cool headed companion to keep him out of trouble apparently."

Castle smiled back at her. Or to join him… he thought as he turned and walked away from her desk.

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The next two days had been somewhat tortuous for Kate. Her costume was waiting at her door when she arrived home Wednesday night. She opened it up, hung it up and stared at it for a solid half hour before she opened the smaller box and found various pieces of costume jewelry that Rick had apparently chosen for her to wear as well. A third box was a simple pair of sandals, flats, that would obviously leave her shorter than Castle's stature.

That made sense. Inara was shorter than Malcolm Reynolds. There were several scenes during the series that had the doe-eyed companion looking up at the self-proclaimed captain - leaving viewers to wonder if they would kiss…or more…or not.

Kate felt a little round of nerves. Against her better judgment she picked up her phone and opted not to call Lanie, again. Instead she called Castle who picked up on the second ring.

"Tell me there's been another murder," he began.

"Actually, no," she said a little quizzically but then realized that was the reason she normally called him.

"Okay, I'm stumped then, why else would Detective Beckett call me, the lowly writer-slash-consultant?" He didn't often demean himself.

"I -" she hesitated, then decided to bite the bullet, "I'm sitting here staring at this costume," she pressed her lips together. "You didn't say you were ordering sandals and jewelry to go with it."

"Didn't I?" Castle answered simply. "The gown without the jewelry just isn't Inara, you know? And if I left the shoe choice to you, you'd be here in six inch stilettos and I can't have an Inara Serra who is taller than Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Not at my Halloween party at least."

Kate laughed at that response, "Of course you can't, Castle. You've put way too much thought into this."

"I admit I have thought about this quite often since you mentioned watching the show. I'm intrigued at the idea of seeing you as Inara. Especially since you actually agreed to this." He smiled into his phone as he closed his laptop on his desk and paid more attention to his caller.

"But like I said this afternoon, you don't have to wear it if it makes you uncomfortable," he added as an afterthought.

"No, no," Kate answered, "I want to wear it. I'm just thinking, this is a lot. Let me pay you back for part of it at least."

Rick hesitated with his typical line of "I'm rich, don't worry about it." His pregnant pause made Kate a little worried until he came back with, "Sure, if you want to. But instead of monetary compensation, why don't you bring a nice bottle of wine to the party? Something you think Inara might enjoy," he suggested.

Kate appreciated the consideration. She was expecting that 'I'm rich' answer…the one she understood but hated…so to even get this option from him was a nice change. "I can do that," she thought about it for another moment and the line stayed quiet.

"Is that all you were calling about?" Rick pushed, hoping this wasn't the end to their conversation.

"Well, yes and no," there had been another reason in the back of her mind but she was hesitant to bring it up.

"Go for it," Rick encouraged, "You've got my full attention."

Kate smiled, she doubted that, but since she had the opportunity… "When you were talking today, on the way back to the precinct, about this case and how it made you feel…"

"Oh, that," Rick tried not to overthink where she was going with her train of thought, "I really don't have violent tendencies. I write about murders, commit them on paper if you will, not in real life."

"No, I totally get that," Kate agreed with a soft little laugh, "but I can also understand what you were saying about protecting Alexis and Martha. They're your family, your whole world, and if they were ever threatened…"

"And I included you in there, too," Rick commented, still unsure of her thought and wishing he could see her face for a little more understanding, "I'm sorry if that bothered you."

"It didn't," Kate quickly assured him. "I just…I'm wondering why you included me. Was it just because I was there and you felt like you needed to? I mean we've been doing this detective/consultant thing for three years now, Castle. You've proven that you look out for me and I look out for you. That's kinda how this police thing goes, you know?"

Castle smiled as he realized she was rambling slightly, not wanting to make more of the awkward situation…but perhaps she was hoping there was more to it?

"I dunno," he started, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable but still somehow convey to her that his feelings were at least beginning to change, "as much as we bicker, I think we've become friends. You know more about me, my private life, than the paparazzi and I think you've opened up to me about things in your life that aren't public knowledge. That makes us pretty good friends, right? And at work, I know I'm not a detective or a cop, but I do think of us like partners. I like thinking of us as partners," he added with some telepathic intent hoping she might understand his meaning. "And if I knew that someone was hurting you…be it a criminal or a boyfriend…I would want to help you," he hurried on and then again listened to silence on the other end as she considered his words.

Kate was trying to put a response together in her mind that wasn't over the top. She agreed with everything he just said and really liked the part about him wanting to help her. "I like thinking of us as partners, too," she opted to say. A little niggling in her gut wanted her to add 'and not just at work' but her brain stopped her from adding that to this conversation.

"Good," Rick said softly.

"Thank you for including me, in your list," she offered, making Rick give a little chuckle.

"You're welcome, although I highly doubt you would need me to come to your rescue. But I would…just so you know," he explained.

Kate smiled. She had no doubt he would - and that was becoming a thought that she appreciated more and more.

"Tomorrow, Castle?" she asked hopefully but he burst her little bubble.

"Oh, no, I can't, unless there's a murder," he answered. "I've got two chapters due to the publishing-powers-that-be on Friday. And if I don't turn them in, then I may miss my own party. Can't have that."

"Uh, no we can't," Beckett added. "If I'm wearing this Inara costume then you'd better be there with those suspenders on, Mister."

"Just the suspenders?" Castle threw back at her, "Detective Beckett, that may not go over well with the other party guests. But we can keep that in mind for after-party events…" he let the thought linger.

"Castle!" she barked at him through the phone and Rick laughed. He didn't rescind his offer and noticed that she didn't necessarily ask him to. That was a hopeful sign.

"See you Friday night?" He wanted to confirm yet again - and would likely do so again tomorrow and early Friday.

Kate looked at the costume hanging in front of her, thought about his suggestive remarks and nibbled on her bottom lip in consideration. "Yeah, Castle, see you Friday night."

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He had no idea what was actually written in the chapters when he uploaded them to Gina at 4:58PM on Friday afternoon. He was pretty sure there would be a lot of hell to pay for chapters that probably included a mixture of grammatical errors and name mixups - such as Nikki Heat/Kate Beckett/Inara Serra.

Rick really had tried to focus on Nikki Heat but when he looked back at his case notes including several quotes from Detective Beckett, his mind immediately went to Beckett in an Inara costume standing in front of him…in his bedroom.

Maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't have ordered the costume for Beckett. Then again, maybe, just maybe, she was an adventurous woman who might be interested in wearing other costumes - for his pleasure - in future rendezvous. Damn, this was not helping his Nikki Heat storyline. But damn, the ideas now going through his mind had him needing a cold shower.

Party time was 7:00PM. Once he confirmed that his chapters had indeed been uploaded and received, he closed the laptop and took a deep breath. He had two hours to finish getting things ready for the 30 something people who would be traipsing through his home.

He started by taking their carved pumpkins and distributing them in various areas of the loft. He, of course, put his Serenity carving on the table just inside the door. He did win the contest, after all. That was the most prominent place to put a Castle award winner.

After that he took Martha's 'Jack' to the bathroom upstairs. It was smaller than the others and offered a little spooky touch to the lavatory. People inevitably ended up using that bathroom, so Martha's handiwork was on display as promised.

His next move was the most difficult. Alexis had an amazing werewolf design that really should be set in the kitchen near all of the snacks and drink options. However, Beckett's 'Chez Castle' carving screamed at him - she had spent 90 minutes carefully creating the design and he had fallen in love with it immediately…because she had created it for him.

Alexis came from her bedroom and saw him pouring over the two pumpkins. "I think you should put Kate's with yours by the door. I mean, you're calling this shindig 'Serenity Chez Castle' so shouldn't the party title be near the Serenity carving?"

Castle looked at his daughter almost mesmerized by her thoughtfulness. "Do you seriously think that?"

Alexis smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I was thinking about that last night. I thought it'd be a good fit, unless of course you don't want Kate's handiwork distracting others from yours. But, you know you're going to have to explain to just about everybody what the Serenity actually is. They'll see a spaceship but how many others have actually watched Firefly, Dad?"

Rick put his hands on his hips and tried to give his daughter an unhappy glare. "You make a good point. Yeah, maybe with Kate's title carving up there, they'll put it together… You sure you don't mind?"

Alexis smiled again. "Nah, go ahead. That just means I get the snack bar to myself," she grinned more widely and Rick happily passed her the werewolf to put in place.

"Did you get your chapters done?" Alexis wondered as she wandered back from the kitchen.

"Yeah," Castle was moving and adjusting the various other jack-o-lanterns. "But, ooo, wait, if Gina shows up at the door tonight, do not let her in. Those chapters are gonna need a lot of editing. I probably put some wrong names in there and she is not gonna be happy. But I met my deadline. That's all that matters to me."

"Dad," Alexis looked at him with a tilted head.

"I was thinking about the party," he tried to use a valid excuse.

"You were thinking about Kate," his daughter supplied and Castle simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I always do. She's my inspiration for Nikki. I kind of have to think about her while I'm writing," he attempted.

"Why don't you just ask her out already?" Alexis asked.

"I thought I did," Rick raised his eyebrows and looked at his daughter. "Our pumpkin carving was fun, wasn't it?"

Alexis put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Of course it was fun. But Dad, if you really want something more with Kate, you'll have to ask her out on a real date. You know, dinner, movie, show, some kind of entertainment?"

"I thought I was entertaining enough," Rick countered, earning another whining 'Dad' from his daughter. "We live through horror flicks every day. We roll up to murder scenes and solve them. I swear it's like watching our own television series," Rick quipped.

"Do you even know what she likes to do in her time off?" Alexis wondered.

Rick stood up straighter and moved his head around in thought. "I - You mean besides looking into her mom's murder case or having wine with Lanie?"

Alexis laughed at him and creased her eyebrows. "Yeah, I mean, you say you know her so well, but what are her hobbies? What does she like to do when she's not the fun-loving, gun-toting detective?"

"She likes to go to the shooting range…" Rick attempted. Alexis just rolled her eyes.

"Perhaps you should ask her," Alexis instructed pointedly.

Rick nodded. "This is why you are the smartest member of this family." He stepped toward his daughter, kissed her on the forehead and then went back to moving pumpkins around the loft. The caterers were due anytime now and they still needed to make their signature Castle Concoction party punches.

By the time they were filling the chilled punch bowls with green and blood red beverages, the knock at the door signaled the arrival of their other spooky snack offerings. And once the servers were setting up the serving trays and had their instructions for the evening, it was time for dressing up, donning their costumes.

"You would wear that outfit every year if I let you," Alexis commented before Rick headed into his bedroom.

"I like it," he told her for the umpteenth time.

"This year he has good reason to wear it, Sweetheart," Martha chimed in. "You would know, the second he learned that Beckett even knew what Firefly is, it gave him an excuse to pull those rags out of the mothballs."

"They aren't rags, Mother!" Castle defended.

"I think he's been holding onto that outfit just searching for someone who understands his fascination with the show. You know, I don't recall you ever wearing that getup during your marriages. Could it be that Meredith and Gina were clueless about this side of you, Darling?" Martha continued.

Alexis thought for a minute. "Maybe this is meant to be, you and Beckett, I mean. If she understands this part of you, then maybe you two understand each other better than we think. I mean, we see you as polar opposites, really, but maybe underneath all the arguing, there's this yin yang harmony kind of zen thing going on."

"I'm sure your father would love to make some yin yang zen thing happen between him and Beckett but I fear she may be smarter than that," Martha commented.

"Ew! Grams, that's not what I meant," Alexis reprimanded her grandmother.

Castle laughed at first and then schooled his humor, "Uh, right, Mother, Alexis is right, this has nothing to do with -"

"Oh, come now, Richard," Martha interrupted. "You find the girl fascinating and sexy as hell. Otherwise you wouldn't be asking her to dress in this costume. And there's bound to be some similar interest there or else she wouldn't have agreed to this."

Castle took a breath. All of that was true. His family and apparently numerous others knew the truth of those words as well. Truth be known, he was ready to explore his friendship and partnership with Kate on a new level. And if the signs she had been giving him were as legible as he seemed to think, perhaps she wanted that too.

"How about we let me work on this yin yang thing with Beckett and make sure it's what she wants as well. You know, I could be misreading things completely," he tried to bring his mind back into reality.

Martha smiled and patted him on the cheek, "My Darling, believe me, I've read this book a few times and I'm telling you, you and Katherine are currently in the same book and have several more volumes to write together."

Rick smiled back at her, took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Thanks for the words of encouragement, Mother. Now please, don't scare Beckett away before I have a chance to even ask her out!"

Martha and Alexis laughed at Rick's obvious nervousness. But nothing more was said as they each went to get dressed for the party.

At 7:00 the first party guests arrived, a Frankenstein and Mrs. Frankenstein along with two friends of Alexis's who would rescue her from the adult party after enduring the first hour. Alexis was always welcome to stay but after the past few years of being her father's sidekick she had started inviting her own friends or begging to go to their homes instead.

Yet another reason she was happy that Kate would hopefully become her dad's arm candy for the night - or longer.

Rick and Martha answered the door together for the next 10 minutes or so with smiles and welcoming greetings until a potential suitor for Martha arrived and then Rick was solo.

He was almost ready to just prop the door open until Alexis and friends took pity on him.

"Did she catch a case?" Alexis asked as Rick pulled his phone from his pocket.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. She would've called or texted me at least," he checked the time and his messages. "I'm gonna go ask Javi if he knows. Lanie's not here yet either and I know they're coming together."

"Who's missing?" One of Alexis's girlfriends asked curiously.

"Ooo, is it the detective lady that he's writing about now? The Nikki Heat cop?" the other asked.

"What's your dad supposed to be anyway?" The first friend asked, making Alexis roll her eyes.

"He's a character from an old sci-fi tv show," Alexis explained easily but watched her dad wander over to the two men dressed as G.I. Joe and Ken from the Barbie world.

"Are those two guys from the Toy Story movies?" the first friend asked and Alexis shook her head.

"Yup," she just went along with her friend to keep from explaining Javi and Ryan's costumes as well.

She let her two friends open the door for three more guests including Captain Montgomery who also opted for his Marine uniform, and his wife, who donned Army fatigues.

"I didn't realize this was a military training facility," Friend #2 commented as the Montgomery's came in.

The captain looked at them, smiled and offered a simple, "Happy Halloween, Ladies," before tugging his wife toward Javi, Kevin and Castle.

"Do you know Lanie?" Javi was saying as the Montgomery's walked up to them. "Fashionably late means making an entrance. Give them another 15 minutes, Castle. She's not bailing out on you. Lanie assured me that they would be here. Beckett's makeup just took some extra work, that's all."

"Oh," Castle answered and then addressed their work boss and his wife. Mrs. Montgomery was the one who noted Castle's worried face.

"Hey, Space Cowboy," she caught Rick's attention, "why the worried face? Everything okay?"

"Evelyn, don't tell me you recognize his costume!" Roy Montgomery gave his wife a surprised glance.

"Well I can't put a name to it, but it's from one of those short-lived sci-fi shows, am I right?" she addressed Rick directly.

He smiled at her recognition. "Yes Ma'am, a show called Firefly. It only ran for one season. Some folks say I kinda look like the actor who played Captain Malcolm Reynolds."

"Oh, so you're aspiring to be a captain now?" Roy looked at the writer a little skeptically.

"Only in costume, Sir," Rick answered quickly, letting a little of his nervousness go away for a few seconds.

"He's waitin' on his date to arrive," Javier filled in the blanks and the Montgomery's looked at one another.

"Beckett's your date now?" the Captain asked. "When did this happen?"

Castle threw Esposito a 'what the hell' kind of look and then changed to a more positive face when he spoke again to Roy and Evelyn. "It hasn't happened, Sir, Beckett just agreed to dress as another Firefly character for this party."

Evelyn nodded and put a hand on her husband's arm. "We aren't at the precinct tonight, Roy. Just let your friends enjoy themselves for once."

Roy looked at his wife, "What did I - I just - I need to know the gossip before it gets away from me in my own house," he defended.

"The gossip column is on Page 6 of the paper, Dear. And I don't see any photographer's here tonight." Evelyn tugged on her husband's shirt sleeve and led him toward the drink table.

Castle smiled as he watched the two of them walk away. He looked at the two men in front of him and opted to ask Kevin about his latest find in the dating pool. Their discussion moved into jabs about Kevin not wanting Javi or Castle to meet Jenny…and Kevin agreeing that he didn't need either of them ruining this would-be budding relationship.

The two other men saw the little sparkle in their buddy's eyes. Kevin wasn't lying about the seriousness of this relationship chance. Rick couldn't help but think that his friend's nerves were much attune to similar ones that he was feeling.

That made him look toward the door again. Kate was prompt, on time for everything. So where was she?

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"Are you nervous because of your costume or because we are fashionably late?" Lanie asked as they wandered past the doorman in the Castle's building.

"Miss Beckett?" the older gentleman addressed her before they got too far away.

Kate turned with a slight flourish and looked at the man in uniform. "Hi," she offered nervously.

"Wow, that is you," he gave her a complete look from head to toe. "Great costume," the man said and then stopped before making a comment that could cost him his job. "I'm sure you're heading up to the Castle's for the Halloween party. Enjoy Serenity at Chez Castle."

He then looked at Lanie in her sparkling black dress and zombie-fied makeup. "Morticia Addams?" He questioned and Lanie smiled.

"Thank you," she flipped her hair extensions over her shoulder. "I always thought she should've had more sex appeal. Tonight I'm giving it to her."

The doorman raised his eyebrows, smiled and nodded at both women who headed toward the elevators.

Kate sucked in another deep breath. She had done that at least a hundred times since they left Kate's apartment. Lanie was a little afraid her friend was going to hyperventilate. "Is the costume too tight? We can loosen it up a little," she offered.

Kate shook her head. "No, not too tight," she answered shortly.

"Then would you breathe, please?" Lanie asked as she hit the elevator call button.

"Do I look okay? The makeup's not too much?" Kate asked - something else she had done about 100 times.

Lanie rolled her eyes as the elevator doors opened. "The makeup is too much but it's breathtaking, just like the rest of you. I swear, when Writer Boy lays eyes on you, we probably won't see either of you the rest of the night."

"That's not why I'm doing this Lanie," Kate tried to make it believable.

"Isn't it?" Her friend called her bluff. "Isn't that exactly why you're doing this? So Castle will know that you're interested in him, right? He won't make a move on you because up till now you've made it clear that you aren't interested in him romantically. But now wearing this costume - and last weekend's pumpkin carving extravaganza - are opening the door for a little romance in your life. Believe me Girlfriend, you need it and I guarantee he can provide it."

"Lanie," Kate spoke softly but without the authority she usually put behind it.

"I'm just saying," Lanie looked at her friend seriously, making sure she held eye contact, "he's gonna take one look at you and be stunned. You're beautiful in this outfit. But Girl, he already knows you're beautiful inside and out. And Castle may be a character, but he also knows how to treat a woman and unless I am sorely mistaken, he's looking for a woman who can take care of him as well. The big question is, are you in this to tease him, or attract him?"

Kate thought about her friend's impromptu speech. "You don't think he's looking for a hookup, a one night thing and then he'll be gone from my life… work and all?" She asked the fear that kept plaguing her mind.

Lanie smiled at her. "I don't think so. If I'm wrong I will apologize to you for the rest of my life, and I will murder Mister Castle as soon as you tell me to. I've got Javi and Ryan and Captain Montgomery and a precinct full of cops who will cover for me."

"I do want more, with him, I think," Kate admitted as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened.

Lanie looked at her and held her hand out, ushering Kate out of the elevator. "Then let's get this show on the road."

The two of them stood at the door, Kate shifting back and forth in her sandals which she knew would leave her shorter than Castle. She had debated wearing other, strappy heels that would make her eye to eye with him. But she had talked herself out of that. If he was the one pursuing her, at this point in time, she would give him this little, six-inch, advantage.

Who knows, if he likes me in costumes, maybe the next one will be heels…just heels…

She had blushed to herself at that thought and would not share it with Lanie. But she put on the flat sandals with that exact thought going through her mind.

Alexis and friends opened the door and Kate was immediately hit with a reaction from Friend #1, the talkative one.

"Oh…My…God…" the girl's eyes were like saucers on her face. "Are you supposed to be a Greek goddess, or an Egyptian princess? You are so beautiful!" she let her eyes wander up and down Kate's body several times before Alexis was able to interrupt.

"Kate? Ohmygod you look amazing!" Alexis's jaw dropped to the floor which Kate took as a positive sign.

"Alexis, do I look like Inara?" She dared to ask before stepping inside the loft. The question was nearly a whisper and Alexis's stunned reaction had Kate slightly worried even still.

"Wait, what?" Alexis shook herself out of her stupor. "Inara, yes, yes, you do look like Inara! Lanie, did you do her makeup?" Alexis looked toward the woman who was waiting for someone to notice her.

"I did," Lanie answered simply. "I tried to make her up like the picture that your dad sent to me. Hopefully it'll work."

Alexis smiled widely at the medical examiner and then looked again at Kate. "Dad's gonna love you," she said a little more calmly. "The costume really is amazing.'

After hearing a little commotion toward the living room, Kate stepped just inside the door allowing Alexis to close it behind her. They all turned toward the noise and caught sight of Castle, aka Captain Reynolds, pulling his guns from his holsters, spinning them around his fingers and then catching them perfectly to point and potentially shoot at whatever villain was coming his way.

In the middle of the laughter and clapping, he looked up and caught sight of the woman who had just walked in. He immediately recognized Kate Beckett's face, but then he also recognized Inara Serra… wearing a shimmering gown, a deep 'v' neckline showing a touch of her unassuming bosom. The sarong, as it seemed, left one shoulder bare and covered just the upper portion of her other arm. She wore a bracelet on her bare arm that wrapped like a thin snake from her elbow upward, covering her bicep. A single ring sat on her thumb to decorate that hand along with clear coated fingernails with tiny colored stones on each tip.

Castle stared. She was perfect. Lanie had mastered the makeup… heavy, dark eyeliner made her look almost like an Egyptian pharaoh; eyelashes coated with mascara and a deep pink eyeshadow coloring her upper eyelids. His focus then landed on her lips, outlined, making them look even more plump, with a shimmering lip gloss that appeared completely kissable.

Yes, the word crossed his mind, and then it crossed again in the other direction, and after crossing a third time, Captain Malcolm Reynolds knew that he needed to kiss his companion before anyone else had the chance to touch her.

He finally looked up and noticed that Kate was watching him. And when their eyes locked, Alexis and Lanie both realized that the host of tonight's party was going to be worthless to any of them - if by some odd chance they could find him once he actually made it to his would-be date for the evening.

Kate smiled at him nervously and reached down to grasp her costume with fingers on either side silently asking his opinion from across the room. Castle simply nodded. And before either of them could do anything else, Alexis was standing by her father smiling at him.

"Captain Reynolds, you don't want to leave Inara standing inside the door alone, do you? There could be Alliance spies here waiting to whisk her away. I think she needs your protection," Alexis added.

Rick's mouth was bone dry. He assumed he may have just drooled away all of his saliva and still couldn't take his eyes off the woman at the door.

"Captain Reynolds?" Alexis smacked her father's arm.

"I…" he breathed a little shallowly and then looked down into Alexis's face and shook his head. "She's so far out of my league, Alexis…"

His daughter smiled at him, leaned against her father's arm and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "She's wearing that costume for you, Dad. I think maybe she wants to change leagues and she's doing that for you."

Castle looked back up at Kate who was still looking in his direction but had Javier and Kevin heading toward her.

"Alliance at 3:00," Alexis warned. "Time to pick your jaw up off the floor and tighten your suspenders Cap'n," she added.

Rick smiled at his daughter. "Yes Ma'am."

He picked his way carefully through his other guests and easily heard the wolf whistle that Javier Esposito sent through his lips before addressing his fellow detective.

"I'm gonna have to go binge watch this Firefly show," he commented. "They got a character on there that looks this hot?" his eyes moved quickly up and down Kate's body.

"You may wanna set your sights on Morticia Addams, Soldier," Kate tilted her head in Lanie's direction and the look coming from that character was one that hit home with Kate's coworker.

"C'mon now, Lanie," Javier started pleading his case and Lanie snapped her long-nailed fingers at him.

"I'm gonna need a drink, right now," she instructed, "before I even attempt to listen to your b.s."

"You look sexy, Baby," Javi tried again and Lanie placed a finger directly onto his lips to shut him up.

"Drink, now," she said again.

Several people got a good laugh from the shamed soldier being put in his place by a fictitious spooky character. Kevin Ryan followed the two of them with just a slight nudge from Richard Castle who was ready to be by Inara's side.

He stepped toward her but before he could say a word, Kate held out a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne. "It's the nicest I could find on short notice, I hope it's okay," she started. "Sorry it's not chilled."

Rick looked at the bottle of fine champagne and then back at Kate. "I was kidding, you didn't need to bring-"

"Are we going to argue about this?" Kate interrupted causing Castle to laugh.

"No, we aren't, although we're really good at it aren't we?" He noted. "You look…Wow…I can't believe you would do this…for me," he waited for her to deny his statement.

But this time she didn't.

"Thank you," she accepted nervously. "Is it really that good? I mean, is it what you imagined?" She questioned, expecting him to deny it.

But this time he didn't.

"You're the most beautiful Inara Serra ever," he said in a boyish kind of voice.

"You make a handsome Malcolm Reynolds as well," Kate complimented.

The two of them stood there in their own little world for several more minutes before either even attempted to look elsewhere.

"Would you like to come in?" Castle finally invited and Kate easily took the hand he offered. "You're wearing the sandals," Castle noted. "I thought you might opt for heels instead," he shrugged one shoulder.

Kate smiled at him and Castle nearly melted, "I decided maybe it'd be okay to let you have the high ground…but only tonight," she added and raised an eyebrow at him.

Castle smiled widely. "Remind me to take advantage of that," he suggested. He again waited for Kate to either rebut that idea or make a snide remark. But again, she didn't.

The two of them walked through the room like a seasoned couple making the rounds at some kind of charity function where each guest deserved individual attention. Rick introduced Kate and their costumes to each and every person they addressed. They shook hands, Rick kissed a few ladies' hands and Beckett allowed several men to kiss hers.

And, by the time they got to the drink table, both were ready for some of Martha's special recipe punch… a little of the red, a little of the green and a couple of shots of something at least 90 proof.

"Will this stain my lips?" Kate asked after taking a quick sip.

"Lanie can just fix it for you, can't she? I'm still stunned, she did an amazing job." He stared again easily making Kate blush just a little.

"Are you amazed that she did an amazing job, or that she made me look this good?" Kate baited him.

Castle took the opportunity to take Kate's hand in his, lifted it to his lips and placed a lingering, soft kiss against her knuckles. "You need no help looking beautiful. You don't need a costume, you don't need makeup. Lanie did an amazing job making you look like a character that I adore. And, I appreciate you going along with my request. Thank you," he swiped a thumb across her knuckles where he had just kissed them and Kate felt a shiver run down her spine.

"How much of this punch have you drunk already?" She glared at him in curiosity.

"Not a drop," Castle answered honestly but then took a drink from the cup in his hand. He took a deep breath, then a second one. After the third, he looked into Kate's eyes and made a request that had crossed his mind every day for nearly the past three years.

"Kate?" his voice was slightly gruff and just barely loud enough for her to hear over the noise of the party.

She looked at him and leaned in a bit closer wondering what he wanted to say to her. "Can I kiss you?" he again sounded a bit boyish, but the raspiness of his voice made her heartbeat speed up and Kate felt herself becoming a little short of breath.

"What?" She asked him and Castle wondered if he even had the strength to ask her again.

"I'd like to kiss you," his words were slightly drawn out as he tried not to stumble over them but he knew she understood him because of the blush on her cheeks and the dip of her chin in slight embarrassment.

Any other day he would likely retract his request, but not tonight. Tonight he would wait for her answer. He was sure there would be an excuse and a rejection, but he wanted to hear them. If nothing else he wanted to know that she didn't feel the same attraction, before he made a complete fool of himself.

Instead of answering him, however, Kate reached again for Castle's hand, linked her fingers with his and began walking toward his office. The same office that was attached to his bedroom. Castle suspected she was taking him in the office to let him down easily, outside the sight of his other party guests. And perhaps that's where she'd let him know that dressing up was fun for this party, but that's where their camaraderie would end…at the end of the evening.

He let her guide him and wondered what was going through her mind as they traveled the few yards to a secluded part of the loft.

In the meantime, Kate's thoughts were centered around the idea of Castle ravishing her in his bedroom thanks to her willingness to play the role of Inara for a night.

Although, maybe it's me who'll ravish him.

She only paused momentarily with that sudden thought but then forged ahead toward his inner sanctum. He wanted to kiss her and although she had yet to share her feelings, she wanted that as well.

Castle only began getting a little more suspicious when Kate pulled him through his office and directly into his bedroom, closing the door behind them and locking it.

"Tell me again," Kate requested as they stood between the foot of his bed and his dresser that was filled with pictures of Alexis.

Castle's mouth crooked upward to one side, a cocked smile that let her know he was becoming more confident.

"I want to kiss you," he stated with a little more authority.

"Is it going to mess up my lips?" She asked him honestly.

"If I say 'yes' are you going to say 'no'?" He stepped toward her, closing the already short distance between them.

Kate looked up at him, her doe eyes meeting his blue ones, "Lanie and I didn't bring the makeup bag for her to fix it."

"Well I'm not talking about kissing your cheek," Castle lifted their hands that were still connected, "and I've already kissed the back of your hand."

He proceeded to turn her hand over and placed his lips against the inside of her wrist, placing tiny kisses from her pulse point up to her palm and then along her index finger until he could place the tip of his tongue against the tip of her finger, under one of those decorated nails.

Kate practically groaned. "You can't ravish me here in your bedroom right now, Castle. You've got 30 party guests out there, your mother, your daughter, Lanie and the boys and Captain Montgomery. If I don't come out of this room looking exactly like I did when we walked in here, they'll all know that we've done…something."

Rick laughed and then stopped and looked at her.

"What?" Kate asked sincerely, quietly.

Rick licked his lips and then touched his tongue to the tip of her finger again and enjoyed the sound that emitted from her throat.

"Do you realize that you just said that out loud, all of it, to me? And do you realize that we are standing here in my bedroom?" He watched her, both amused and already slightly aroused.

"Yes," Kate's mind was going in circles but she did realize that words had come from her mouth.

"I don't want to ravish you, Kate Beckett," Castle started to reiterate her words. "Well, scratch that, I do want to ravish you…but it's probably not a good idea with a party going on in the rest of my place."

He smiled down at her and chanced running his thumb along her cheekbone and around to her earlobe where he admired the dangling earrings that she had chosen to wear.

"I just want to kiss you, on your lips, and if it messes up your lipstick, I'm willing to answer any questions that any of our guests might have." Castle took in a gentle breath and let his larger hand rest against the side of her face.

He was happy to see her eyes close and the moment of pleasure she was apparently experiencing.

"So I ask you again," Castle waited for her to open her eyes, "Kate, can I kiss you?"

She smiled sweetly as she looked up at him. Kate pressed her lips together in anticipation and then blushed more deeply, letting him see her shy side. She found herself reaching out to run her fingers and thumbs up and down his suspenders and watching that movement before actually answering him.

"Try not to smear the lip gloss too much," she instructed in lieu of an answer and then added, "and…no tongue, okay? Not this time at least." She again pressed her lips together and looked up into his excited eyes.

"I'm not making any promises," he quirked his eyebrows at her and then bent his head to gently press his lips to hers.

Kate's eyes closed instinctively. The feel of his mouth on hers was better than she had imagined. She felt one of his hands holding her face more firmly than it had moments before. And the hand holding hers now gripped more tightly, as though he didn't want to let go.

She heard a gentle moan and realized it was coming from her. Castle, on the other hand, was silent, simply holding her face against his; his lips moving ever so slightly, trying to abide by her wishes to keep her lip gloss intact.

When he finally did pull back, ever so slightly, he pressed his forehead to hers. "When this party is over I want you to stick around. Don't leave early, okay. If Lanie and Espo decide to take off that's fine. I'll drive you home at two in the morning if I have to. Okay?"

"Mmm-kay," her eyes were still closed and she was still chasing the feel of their lips pressed together.

Castle chuckled easily. He felt her lips pucker and had to place another kiss against them. When he pulled away again, she puckered again. It was a game he was willing to play all night long.

After the third round of puckering and kissing, Kate finally thought about what he had said. "Wait, why am I sticking around after the party? Castle, I don't think I'm quite ready to spend the night with you," she said breathlessly.

"You're thinking about me having my way with you during my party but you aren't ready to spend the night?" He questioned.

She opened her eyes slightly, which required a few extra blinks of her eyelashes thanks to the numerous coats of mascara that Lanie had applied. "I don't sleep with a guy after just one date," she supplied and again Castle smiled suspiciously.

"You think this is a date?" he questioned and Kate nearly pouted because he still hadn't answered her question.

"Why do you want me to stick around after the party?" she asked again, finally getting her eyes to open wide enough to glare at him.

Rick softly swiped his thumb across her bottom lip and then licked the flavor of her lip gloss from his digit in a move that was meant to be at least slightly sexy.

Kate snorted lightly in her still-kiss-induced phase.

"I want to kiss the rest of that lipgloss off your lips, and have you to myself for at least a little while. I'm not talking about sleeping together, although if you are tired after the party you are more than welcome to stay. We can curl up on the couch, you can sleep in the spare bedroom, or we can sleep right here in my bed. Whatever you want. But I would like some time to really kiss you like I want to." He finally explained.

This time Kate giggled like a little girl. "Okay," she agreed easily.

The two of them took a few moments to just stare at each other, realizing that each of them wanted the same thing from the other…to take their friendship to the next level and potentially try this relationship thing. They smiled at each other sillily until they heard sounds on the other side of Rick's bedroom door.

The snickering was a dead giveaway, but then the sound of adult voices made them truly curious.

Rick gave one loud bang on the door under his doorknob and was surprised to hear curse words from not one or two different voices but maybe three to five. The last of which included a "What the hell, Dad?" from his own daughter.

He asked for Kate's permission with just nods of their heads before he actually unlocked and opened the portal to their moment of serenity. "Can we help you?" he asked plainly with arms crossed across his chest.

Kate couldn't help but notice his resemblance to Captain Malcolm Reynolds in that moment. Much like the fine Captain handled his crew members like his children; Rick was ready to handle the people outside his door.

"I told you, there's a party going on out here to keep us occupied," Lanie spoke up. "There is nothin' to see in here that we need to get worked up over. Javi, Ryan, get back out there and get yourselves something more to drink."

Kate smiled at her girlfriend, ever the pro at taking control of various situations. When Lanie looked at Castle she gave him a slightly annoyed glare. "If that eye makeup is smudged at all I will be reapplying makeup to the both of you. You wanna wear eyeliner for the rest of the night, Writer Boy?"

Castle shook his head helplessly and looked down at his daughter who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Katherine Beckett…Inara Serra…whoever the hell you are at this moment, your lips need some work." The Morticia Addams wannabe breezed past Castle and stood in front of her friend. "Alexis, come in here. Do you have that mirror I asked about?"

Rick looked at the two teenagers who were simply staring into his bedroom, watching his daughter and Lanie start tending to the woman he had just kissed.

"Girls, why don't you go get a snack. Like Morticia over there said, nothing to see in here." He smiled and nodded at Alexis's friends who did exactly as they were told.

"You can go do the same thing," Lanie tried to send Castle away as well but he balked at her demand.

"Nope. Not going anywhere without Inara," he stated firmly - and Lanie turned to give him a satisfied smile.

She pulled a tube of lipgloss out of her pocket and began prepping the applicator to touch up Kate's now smudged mouth makeup. Lanie turned to Alexis and asked the girl to plug her ears for one moment.

Alexis knew exactly what Lanie was going to ask Kate, but she didn't need to hear anything the women were saying. Once her fingers were in her ears she heard the mumbling sounds and closely watched Kate's facial expressions.

"You alright?" Lanie asked first and foremost.

Kate smiled at her friend, "Mmm-hmm,"

"Is he as good a kisser as you imagined?"

Kate's smile grew even wider as she again answered simply, "Better."

"You gonna need a ride home when this party is over?" she watched Kate look over at Castle who was listening in on the conversation.

"Nope," Kate answered.

With that she caught Castle's eyes and simply stood there as Lanie filled in the missing color on her lips.

"Happy Halloween," she easily accepted his hand once Lanie and Alexis exited the room to make their absence seem less suspicious.

Castle sighed. For the first time in a long while he felt content. He would have the most beautiful woman at this party beside him for the rest of tonight. He felt…serene.

As they stepped out of his office, hand in hand, ready to tackle any questions that might come from their coworkers and friends, Rick leaned down and kissed Beckett on the cheek sweetly.

"Welcome to Serenity at Chez Castle."

Kate leaned her cheek firmly against his lips. "Happy to finally be here."

SerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastleSerenityAtChezCastle

The End

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So there you have it, a little Caskett Halloween story! Thank you so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed!

As always, your reviews feed my muse, so if you have any words of wisdom or thoughts to share, please send them my way. :)

Happy Halloween everyone!

-adcg