Stunned

A/N: This is arguably one of, if not my favorite, scene of season two. I love the simplicity of it, but also the boundary line Castle steps beyond. I think it elevates their relationship a little bit and really highlights, to me, how enamored Kate actually (secretly) is with him at this stage. Perhaps not in love, but intrigued at the very least.

So, this is just my little expansion of the scene. I hope you enjoy! Takes place during 2x04.

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"I read it. I thought it was terrific. Especially that sex scene – talk about racy."

The admission from Agent Gray had been replaying in Kate's mind on an infinite loop the entire rest of the day. She remembered how her stomach had clenched and her spine had tingled, how her mouth had run dry, even as she'd turned to Castle and accused, "Wait, there's a sex scene in the book? Between us?"

He hadn't acted coy or defensive. He'd looked her straight in the eye and reminded her it was purely fictional; between their fictional characters, in a fictional version of their world. She'd shoved down her shock and bit out a sarcastic retort, hoping and praying neither of the men could see the sudden intrigue burrowing through her.

Castle hadn't mentioned a sex scene. In all the times he'd discussed snippets of his book, he'd never once mentioned that. She'd only read the first seventy or so pages of the book so far, and she hadn't come across it yet, either.

Kate hadn't known how to process this new information. The fact that he'd envisioned a sex scene, enough to actually write down the words on paper. Of… a fictional version of her, and a fictional version of him… But still. The characters were them.

What had it looked like, inside his head? Had he been a stand-in for Rook, or was he watching it play out, like a director behind the camera? Had he envisioned his own hands skimming across Nikki's skin, or played the part of the puppet master, moving his creations in an innocuous, perhaps even detached way?

Kate didn't know. And she sure as hell wasn't going to ask.

If Castle hadn't been attached to her hip like a lost puppy, she would have dug the book out from her bag and sifted through all the pages - spoilers be damned - until she found the scene. But he was there, and there was no way she'd give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd actually found a way to surprise her, to stun her, to her very core.

So, she'd waited. And waited. And waited. Until she'd almost forgotten about it herself, buried in a mountain of paperwork. But then Castle had finally left, bidding her a polite goodnight.

And all at once, the Siren's song rang out as clear as an afternoon sky. It beckoned her, whispering her name, willing her to pick up the book and satisfy her burning curiosity. The same curiosity that had been niggling in the back of her mind for weeks now, while she'd waited for this damn book to come out.

She wanted to know how Castle saw her. His flirtations were one thing, she'd grown to expect that kind of behavior from him, but this character… she had to assume the lines were incredibly blurred in his mind - where Kate Beckett ended and Nikki Heat began.

Kate picked up the bag, steeling her resolve to finally find out, once and for all, just what in the hell Agent Gray had been talking about.

She walked as calmly as she could to the locker room, cutting around to the right where the privacy stalls were. She tucked her feet beneath her, heart racing, and got comfortable. Feeling the ghost of a smile she couldn't contain on her face, she thumbed through the pages, desperate to find the right words, like they'd be written in bright red ink or something, just wanting her to find them.

"Aha!" Castle exclaimed, and all the air shrieked out of her lungs in surprise.

"Castle, what are you doing here!?" He was supposed to be gone. He'd left! Kate's neck felt like it was being bitten by fire ants, prickling and hot and itchy all of a sudden. How the hell had he found her? She felt like he'd caught her with her hand down her pants.

"I knew you were reading it," he said smugly, peering down at her from the side of the stall.

"I - I was…" She couldn't get her brain to work. Why now? Why couldn't she get her damn brain to work!?

"It's on page 105, by the way."

"What?" Kate croaked, and her heart rose into her throat. She was so mortified she thought she might be sick.

"That sex scene you're looking for. And Agent Gray was right. It's steamy."

Kate's jaw dropped, completely of its own volition. "I wasn't…" God, why couldn't she think of words? Any words would do!

He grinned at her, devilish and triumphant. "See you tomorrow." And then he was gone, whistling and smug and taking all the air out of the room with him.

She was certain this was where she was going to die. She was just going to implode, right here, right now, lit from within from sheer mortification.

She exhaled, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. She replayed it in her mind, wondering why the hell she couldn't have come up with something more convincing to say. To explain why she was sitting here with his book in her lap after she'd just told him she was supposed to be doing paperwork.

But he wouldn't have believed her, no matter what she'd thought of. Because she was here, sitting in the locker room, all alone, with his book in her lap, paperwork forgotten.

Ugh. She couldn't even wait until she got home to satisfy her curiosity.

He was a bastard for following her in here, Kate thought. This was all Castle's fault.

But then it grew quiet. He was gone. And he'd given her the key.

Eyebrows furrowed, Kate thumbed through the paperback. She found page 105, and her eyes skimmed down the text.

"...her tongue finding the depth and sweetness of his open mouth..."

"...landing on top of him…"

"'You have no idea,' she said."

Kate's heart stuttered, and her jaw dropped. He'd said he used some of her lines, and she'd know if she read the book. She bit her lower lip, trying to corral her breathing into something that wouldn't shoot her off into space.

She remembered whispering that line to him several long months ago. He'd been stunned into silence, which Kate had come to realize was unusual for him.

Now look at her. With the same damn line, she herself was too stunned to speak, let alone think.

She couldn't read this here.

She slammed the book closed, shoved it in her bag, and fled the locker room like it was on fire.

Because Kate knew, in the deepest, most secret part of her mind, which role she would play when envisioning this scene.

It wasn't going to be the director.