Fic prompt:
after 4x05, Kate thinks Castle is on a date with Serena.
She goes somewhere she thinks he won't be, and is surprised when he joins her at the bar.

Whiskey.

Neat.

And keep 'em coming.

She nursed her third, mindful of the situation she was in. Drowning the pain in smooth, spiced golden liquid: that was an awfully familiar scene. She washed away the bitter taste of hypocrisy with another sip and grimaced as her father's voice echoed in her mind: I didn't even realise I had a problem until I hit rock bottom.

With that in mind, she pushed the half-empty glass just a few inches away from her. She knew she'd more than likely reach for it again as soon as the next wave of negativity washed over her, though. Whether it be anger, or frustration, or sadness, or just outright jealousy... it had been relentless thus far.

The worst part was, she completely understood what Castle saw in Serena. She was beautiful, confident, smart. And she went after what she wanted. Serena wouldn't have trekked across town simply so that she didn't have to worry about the microscopic chance she might run into the man she was in love with because he was on a date with someone else. Serena was fun and uncomplicated and sexy. God, she didn't even want to think about they were doing right now. Chances were she was drinking alone in a dive bar in the Bronx for no damn reason: Castle and Serena had probably skipped dinner and drinks in favour of dessert, anyway.

The mental images that accompanied that thought had her reaching for her glass with a groan. She didn't understand why she was torturing herself like this. She wasn't ready, and she couldn't expect Castle to remain celibate while he waited for her. Maybe that was something they could have discussed if she ever actually worked up the gall to ask him to wait for her; instead, they'd had one conversation that had been so heavily reliant on subtext she really wasn't sure if either one of them had walked away with any sort of clarity. The whole situation with Castle was just... messy.

"I'll have what she's having."

The familiar voice startled her. She turned her head to look at him, not completely convinced she wasn't imagining his presence.

"Castle?" He sat on the stool beside her, turned to her and smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"Lanie told me you were here," he said.

Beckett frowned. Had she even told Lanie that she was here?

"She happened to be in the neighbourhood and saw you come in here," he explained. He smiled at the bartender when received his whiskey. "She asked me to check in on you."

She deflated, folded her arms on the bar in front of her and dropped her head onto her forearms. Of course she knew he didn't have some sixth sense that told him where she was, and that she needed him. Still, the confirmation was disappointing.

"Didn't mean to ruin your date," she mumbled incoherently into her arms.

"What date?"

She sat upright and rolled her shoulders. "With Serena Kaye."

She didn't mean to say the woman's name with such bitterness. Serena was... lovely. Beckett may not have agreed with ever life choice the woman had made but Serena had never been anything but polite to her. Courteous, forgiving. She didn't deserve to be treated the way Beckett had treated her.

"I didn't go on a date with Serena," Castle said, sounding somewhat confused.

Beckett looked him in the eye. "You didn't?"

He shook his head and she narrowed her eyes; she didn't understand.

"Why not? I-" She swallowed. "I thought you liked her."

Castle's eyes dropped to the drink in her hand, then back up to meet her eyes. "Is that why you're here?"

She dropped her gaze to the golden liquid in her glass, scared he could see the truth in her eyes if she let him look for too long.

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't really your scene, Beckett," he stated as he looked around them.

The bar wasn't overly crowded but it was the busiest place she had dared to go alone in months. Since her shooting. But the unseen danger that had haunted her for all that time wasn't even on her mind tonight.

Tonight, it was just Castle.

And Serena.

And the date she had, apparently, imagined.

"Thought I'd try somewhere new," she mumbled.

Castle placed his hand on the opposite side of her stool and leaned closer to her, tilting his head to make eye contact again. "How's that going for you?" he asked sarcastically.

A huffed, both amused and frustrated by just how easily he could read her.

"I hate it here."

He smiled as if he had won some prize - which only frustrated her more - but at the same time, his smile filled her with warmth and she couldn't help but smile, too.

"Then, let me take you home," he offered.

His hand shifted from her stool and rested on her lower back, the heat of his palm seared through the fabric of her shirt and she flinched, as if his touch had branded her.

She knew it wasn't what he had meant, yet she couldn't stop the words from slipping from her lips.

"What? Serena didn't pan out so I'm the consolation prize?"

She winced, hearing the words aloud. She couldn't believe that they had actually come from her mouth.

What the hell was she doing?

She lifted her glass, ready to drain the remainder of her drink, but Castle's hand on her wrist stopped her. She turned her head to look at him, his gorgeous blue eyes an unusually dark shade of cerulean.

"Let's get one thing clear, Kate," he said in a low, warning tone that sent a shiver down her spine. "You are not a consolation prize." He took the glass from her hand and placed it back on the bar. "And I never wanted Serena."

"What do you want?" she dared to ask.

Castle shifted even closer, until their faces hovered just inches apart. She could feel his warmth radiating from him. He stared at her, desire in his eyes, until something - a thought, a memory, she wasn't quite sure - doused that fire within him. He blinked and looked away; the tension that crackled between them, gone in an instant.

"I want to know that you are safe and in your bed so that I can actually get some sleep tonight," he answered.

She knew it wasn't a lie, but it was definitely the safe answer.

He slipped off the stool and held his hand out for her.

Accepting that this conversation was over she took his hand and allowed him to lead her out of the bar.

The cab ride to her apartment was long, tense, and all too silent.

When the driver pulled up out front of her building, Castle placed his hand on her knee, effectively stopping her from getting out of the cab.

"Talk tomorrow?" he asked her.

Uncertainty pervaded his tone. It glimmered in his eyes as he studied her face for the answer she was yet to give him.

She nodded, unable to actually verbalise her agreement.

But they both knew that tonight would just be one more thing added to the list of things they never talked about.

It was easier that way.