The big date!
When 5pm on a Friday afternoon comes and you don't have an active case requiring your attention, you run. You leave the precinct as fast as you can and you don't look back until Monday morning rolls around. Because in New York City, crime doesn't stop so that detectives can enjoy their off time. Murder doesn't accomodate for your plans.
It was barely a quarter past when Kate arrived at the ME's office, urgently seeking out her best friend. She poked her head into the morgue, the several small offices, and the lab - but Lanie wasn't anywhere to be found.
"The staff lockers are through to your left." Perlmutter muttered, not bothering to look up from the paperwork he was filling out.
"Thanks, Perlmutter." She walked past him and to the left, into the small locker room. Lanie was collecting her bag from one of the lockers, having finished her shift.
Beckett approached her, tapping her shoulder once she was within reach. The ME near jumped out of her skin.
"Don't do that!" She said, swatting Kate's shoulder playfully. "For Christmas, I'm buying you a bell collar... like a cat!"
The two shared a laugh. "Can I walk you out?" Kate motioned her hand back toward the door she had entered through.
Lanie looked at her, suspiciously. "What do you want?"
"Nothing! Can't a girl just want to see her friend?" Lanie gave Kate her best 'not buying it' look, so Kate continued, looking outside of the room to make sure no one would hear. "I need your help. I need a dress... for a date. Something that is just... wow. And I don't do wow. You do wow."
"Don't play, you can do wow. You just need to stop overthinking it." Lanie headed out of the room, Kate following closely behind. They both waved to Perlmutter - who was surprisingly pleasant, smiling and waving back.
Once they were out of the building and in the privacy of the parking garage, Lanie continued on with the conversation.
"So who are we trying to impress?" She tossed her handbag onto the back seat of her car, closing the door and turning back to face Kate.
Kate hesitated before answering. "Castle."
She didn't think Lanie would disapprove... but over the years she had sat through many venting sessions - and even tears, on occasion - relating to the writer's antics in and out of the precinct. She was relieved when Lanie smiled.
"You know you could wear a janitor's uniform and he would still be infatuated, right?" She laughed, but Kate just shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Oh my god... you're nervous! Like, really nervous." Realisation dawned on her.
"Why is that so surprising?" Kate asked, confused.
"Let me see... you've been working together for, what? Three years now?" Kate nodded her confirmation and Lanie continued. "You see the man every day. You consider him a good friend, yeah? Possibly your best friend? Other best friend!"
"Well, yeah, I guess."
"And, most importantly," Lanie paused for dramatic effect, "you've been sleeping together for years now!"
Kate's jaw went slack momentarily before she regained her composure. "For years?" She asked defensively.
"My intel comes from you, girl. You told me you slept with him after your first case!"
"That's one time." She changed up her stance, growing more defensive. She wasn't sure why - her friend wasn't throwing out unfounded accusations... just stating facts.
"You're telling me - and expecting me to believe - that you slept with that man once... just once... and never went back for more. Never, in the three years you've been working together, did you give in to the obvious sexual tension."
Kate fully intended on sticking with her plan of denial, but memories of the nights spent with him crept through and she couldn't hold back the smirk. She turned her face to the side, bringing her hand up to scratch at the side of her nose - a failed attempt to hide said smirk from her friends eagle eyes.
"I rest my case." Lanie said smugly.
"Are you going to help me or not?" Her voice was calmer now, almost playful.
"Yes, I'll help. But you're stressing for absolutely no reason at all."
"Lanie... this isn't him inviting me over for dinner because he wants to hook up. This is a date. A date date. He made it very clear that this was different. I don't know what that means." She bit on her lower lip and nervously toyed with her nail beds. If Castle could see her now - the way his unexpected invitation had thrown her entire day off course - she would never hear the end of it.
"Did you ask him what it means?"
"No." Kate sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I really like what we've already got, you know?"
"But you said yes to the date?"
"Of course I said yes." Saying yes was an involuntary response, but it felt right.
"So... you want more than what you've already got."
She paused for a long moment. "Not if it's going to blow up in our faces."
Lanie shook her head. "You're going to give yourself an ulcer with all this unnecessary worrying. Get in." She pointed in the direction of the passenger seat before climbing in behind the wheel. She started the car, waiting for Kate to get inside and buckle up.
"Thank you." She smiled as they drove away.
They pulled up outside a small boutique off Bronx River Ave. The building front was covered in an array of graffiti tags and street art.
"Don't be fooled by the storefront. This is my go to place for..." she turned to Kate with a smile and wide eyes. "Wow!" She accentuated the words with extravagant hand gestures.
Kate laughed. "I know better than to judge a book by its cover."
They walked into the boutique and Kate was surprised by the variety available in such a small store. At a glance, she could see they catered for many different tastes. A vibrant dress of many colours caught her eye, and she thought to herself that it was something Martha would appreciate.
The walls were lined with stock, impressively sorted in a colour gradient - starting with whites, lights, pastels. Her eyes drifted across the wall, rounding the store until she spied the darker end of the gradient on the opposite wall - midnight blues, navy, greys and eventually black. Lanie pointed in that direction.
"Blue. Let's go." She pushed encouragingly, until Kate stood in front of the desired rack. "That dress you wore to the Heat Wave launch... let's just say it was well received."
Kate wondered how her friend could possibly know that... until it registered - Esposito. She rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the burning question - do the boys talk about her? Or had Espo just mentioned his own appreciation of her dress that night? Either way, she felt slightly uncomfortable at the thought of being a point of discussion in any capacity.
Lanie sensed her friends tension and offered up an explanation. "I have a similar dress and Javi asked if we share clothes. Men don't remember dresses... unless they make an impression."
"Well... that's what I'm looking for, right? A dress Castle will remember." She continued to sift through the garments hanging before her.
"Evening, ladies!" The salesperson - who's name tag read 'Erin' - greeted as she walked toward them. "Did you need help with anything today or were you just wanting to have a quick look around first?"
Lanie turned to Erin with a grin. "My friend is in need of a dress for a date tomorrow."
Despite being the end of the day, the woman's façade doesn't falter. She smiles and 'oohs' excitedly for Kate.
"It's some charity gala and I don't have anything nice enough..." she starts to explain.
Lanie turned to her, an expression of shock covering her face. "You didn't tell me it was some big event! No wonder you're freaking out."
"But we're not staying. We're only stopping by, because he already committed, then we're going somewhere else. So do I dress for the gala or do I dress for the somewhere else. Because I don't know what that is... he wouldn't tell me." She lowers her voice, just loud enough for Lanie to hear. "It's at Black Pawn."
Lanie mouths "Gina?" And Kate nods. Yes, of course Gina would be there. Being a Black Pawn event, she had assumed as much but she was grateful that Castle had the foresight to give her a heads up anyway.
Lanie turned back to Erin. "She needs the hottest formal dress you have."
"I have something that might be kind of perfect." Erin said excitedly. "Follow me." The woman lead the way, and they both followed eager to see what she had in mind. She brought them into the small dressing room and motioned for them to sit on the two seater ottoman.
They obliged, taking a seat on the upholstered bench. When Erin returned, she had a deep midnight blue fabric draped across her forearm.
"We just got these in this morning. It also comes in red and black... but I saw you made a beeline for the blues so I figured we'd start with that."
Lanie stood to feel the material. She turned to Kate, who was still seated, and gave her a quick thumbs up. "Stretch knit... oh, I love the lace!"
Erin stepped toward Kate. "Try it on before you make your final judgements. I promise you, once it's on you will fall in love!"
She smiled and took the garment from the woman's arms. "Thank you." She stepped into the small cubicle and pulled the curtain closed behind her.
"Just call out when it's on and I'll give you a hand to lace it up." She heard Erin call through the curtain.
Kate sighed, looking at herself in the full length mirror in front of her. It was the end of a long week, the day had run her down more than she'd care to admit and she really wasn't motivated to try and squeeze herself into a tight dress right now... but she had asked for help, so she would accept the help offered with grace. She peeled away the layers of clothing until she stood in just her underwear. She lifted the pile of fabric and held it against her chest. She did appreciate the detailed lace embellishments. She stepped into the top of the dress, pulling it up over her hips. The material hugged snug against her form and she smoothed it out across her torso, pressing the lace against her chest and flipping the ties over her shoulders, ready to be laced through the back.
"I'm ready." She called. Seconds later, Erin stepped through the curtain and began working behind Kate's back. Once done, she looked over Kate's shoulder and met her eyes in the reflection of the mirror.
"Stunning." She gushed.
Erin stepped out of the cubical and summoned Lanie's attention. Kate stepped out, moments later, and stood in the centre of the room eagerly awaiting her friends opinion.
Lanie took her in - smile on her face, a glisten in her eyes - shaking her head as if she couldn't believe the sight in front of her. The midnight blue material clung to Kate's body until it flared at the knee. The deep V-neck was embellished with lace detail and her toned back was bare, except for the delicate ribbon that crossed between her shoulders and tied at her waist.
"I was thinking we were going to find you a dress that made you feel like a princess but we skipped right past that and damn girl you look like the sexy queen that all the kings want to marry!"
"Lanie..." she covered her face to hide the flush of pink that would undoubtedly be rising to her cheeks right about now.
"Girl don't even try to act modest right now! That dress is it. We aren't leaving without it!" She ordered. "You wanted wow... you got it."
"It's not too much?"
"I think it's perfect. We get a simple smokey eye look happening, let your natural curls shine. You're going to take his breath away."
"I guess we have a winner, then." She turned to the cubical, looking at herself in the mirror once more. She smoothed her hands over the material again and took a deep breath. She hoped Castle would love the dress as much as Lanie did. Although, his appreciation would more than likely be for vastly different reasons. She couldn't wait.
A/N: part II - Castle's reaction the date is currently in progress. But it will be a few days, at least, before I can post (due to, you know.. life). Your patience is appreciated. Thanks.