Season 7- post Castle/ Beckett Breakup
"Dr. Perlmutter?"
Victoria Gates tried to hide the surprise in her voice at seeing the seasoned ME exit the stairwell to the homicide department.
Having traded his medical gown with a freshly pressed suit and tie, a pink carnation tucked into the breast pocket of his dress jacket, he looked almost unrecognizable.
"Captain Gates.", came the swift reply, followed by a stealthy gaze toward the bullpen, "How are you tonight?"
Tonight was putting it nicely, after a deadly B&E had consumed much of her evening. The son of one of New York's city council members being shot to death by a security guard after a failed attempt to steal diamonds had the brass worked up- understandably so.
Gates had stayed on longer to ensure that due process was followed to keep her department far away from any of the dirty laundry this incident would unleash once it hit the press in the morning.
Now, at midnight, her highest priority had been to go home and be with her husband for a precious few hours, before returning to the high stakes poker game that tomorrow was promising to be.
Judging by the few weary faces left in the bullpen, she was in good company.
Checking the display of her cell phone for the third time in the last minute or so, she clenched her jaws at the lack of a response to the text she had sent him a while ago, seeing what his plans were for their late dinner. Part of her wondered if he'd gone to bed already, knowing that it would be a long night, leaving her with a fridge full of stale leftovers or frozen microwave dinners.
"Tired. What can I do for you Dr. Perlmutter?"
Running a nervous hand across his receding hairline, the ME blushed for a second, before nudging his chin to a spot behind her.
"I was actually here to see if Detective Beckett needed any help tonight? Clearly, it was a difficult day and she must be exhausted. Perhaps some good food and my wonderful company might raise her spirits."
Sighing at Perlmutter's tenacious advances, regardless of how futile they were, Gates stepped off to the side, the balls of her feet tingling in pain from spending too much time standing in high heels.
"I think Mister Castle is currently raising her spirits."
Part of her felt bad seeing the disappointment in his eyes, knowing that he had made no qualms about his fondness of a certain detective- and his disdain for a certain writer. Then again, the chance of anything romantic ever developing between Beckett and Perlmutter were as slim as a snowball's chance in hell.
"Oh.", the ME huffed, pursing his lips to a tight line, "I thought they had broken up. That's…unfortunate."
Feeling her aching body rapidly decrease her level of patience, Gates nodded, feigning understanding, then patted Perlmutter on the shoulder.
"My mother used to say that there're always other fish in the sea."
"That sea shrinks to a tiny pond the moment somebody asks me what I do for a living…", the ME sighed, unable to hide the frustration in his voice, "And here I wanted to change the world…make a difference. Little did I know that loneliness would be such a high price to pay."
Growing increasingly agitated at a lack of response from her husband, she looked back up from her cellphone in time to see Perlmutter's head drop with the sadness of a boy who didn't have a prom date.
And apparently, she didn't have a dinner date either. As much as she loathed the idea, her growling stomach had finally won.
"Being that you got dressed up, are you still planning on going out to eat, Dr. Perlmutter? Would you care if I joined you for a professional dinner? Because I am starving, and I have a bad feeling my husband is already in bed."
As though her words had lifted the weight of the world off his shoulders, the ME's eyes lit up and he smiled broadly.
"I would…be honored to have you as my date, Captain Gates."
"Don't ever refer to me as your date, Dr. Perlmutter. I am a married woman.", she corrected sternly and followed his lead back to the waiting elevator.
"How about companion?"
"How about business associate?"
"Business Associate it is, Captain Gates.", Perlmutter said with a cheeky grin and pushed the elevator button in newfound glee.
"And if you tell any of your friends about this…"
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that at all…", the ME replied and gestured for her to enter the cart, "I have no friends. And the people I hang out with are all dead."