A/N: Takes place in the time between "Sucker Punch" and "The Third Man."

A belated birthday present for Marissa. Love you, lady!

He shows up a few days later, after Montgomery has given them some time to recuperate from Coonan. He hopes she's a little more at ease, the image of the Beckett who shared a meal with him at the end of the day, who wanted him around when she caught the son of a bitch responsible for murdering her mother.

His smile immediately deflates when he sees her slouched over her desk, her phone cradled between her ear and shoulder, her mouth tight and grim. She's got the end of a pencil pressed against the other cheek. Castle sets her latte down in front of her and she looks up at him, shoots him a tired, but grateful smile. She lifts the cup in thanks and takes a long sip.

"I'm doing my best to figure something out, Sof," she grates out, rolling her eyes. "I don't mind doing it alone, you know." She tosses her pencil onto her desk and leans back in her chair, tossing her wrist over her head. "Yes, I know you mind."

Castle sits down in his chair, immediately intrigued. He catches Esposito's eye, but the detective looks solemn, almost —

Scared?

"Look, I can't help it that Esposito bailed - " she shoots the Hispanic detective a death glare, "but I promise that I'll come up with something, okay?" she says soothingly. "Don't stress. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye."

She slams the phone down with a groan. "Esposito, I swear to God you better sleep with one eye open tonight," she seethes.

Esposito winces. "I'm sorry, Beckett. My abuela will kill me if I don't show up at her 80th birthday party."

"Oh, not if I get to you first."

"Is there a, uh, problem?" Castle interjects gently.

Beckett sighs, tears her laser eyes from Esposito. Castle swears they soften a little on his face, but he supposes they'd do that for anyone who isn't Esposito. "My cousin Sofia is getting married tomorrow. A few hundred people, kind of a big affair."

"Sounds fun."

Beckett stares at him, unblinking. "Yeah, okay. Anyway, Sofia, social butterfly that she is, has nine bridesmaids, including me. But there are only eight groomsmen and she asked me if I'd choose my own escort. I locked Esposito up months ago, but the idiot forgot about his grandmother's birthday until yesterday."

"And because this is a grand affair – "

"Sofia wouldn't exactly be thrilled if I walked down the aisle alone," she finishes for him.

"Well," Castle preens, "I just happen to know a ruggedly-handsome man who's available tomorrow evening." He grins.

"Oh, I already asked Ryan. He's busy."

"I – Ryan?" his voice goes up an octave before he catches the glint in her eye, the smirk on her lips. "Very funny, detective."

She hums. "That's very nice of you to offer, Castle, but I couldn't possibly do that to you."

"But you'd do it to me?" Esposito squeaks out from across the room.

"Keep it up Espo and I'll be phoning your abuela myself," she says, her syrupy sweet voice betraying the threat in her words.

"I'll have you know that I love weddings, Beckett," Castle says, waggling his brows.

"Well, you have been married twice," she throws back with a wry smile.

He winces. "Cheap shot. You're lucky I don't scar easily."

She lifts an eyebrow. "Lucky? I'm not sure that's the word I would've picked."

"Come on, it'll be fun. Promise. I'll be the perfect gentleman."

She narrows her eyes, as if to ponder him. "I'll think about it and get back to you by the end of the day."

He shrugs, leaning back into his chair. He'll take it. "All right, but don't let that Beckett pride get in the way of making cousin Sofia happy."

"Yeah, implying that I'm prideful isn't winning you any favors here, Castle."

"Got it."

They put the conversation to bed then, so he whips out his phone, flipping through new additions to the App store while she finishes a small stack of paperwork. He hopes they get a call about a murder so the day speeds up a little faster.

But by mid-morning, there's been nothing. Though Castle has thoroughly enjoyed being a party to Esposito's anxiety, which seems to abate until Kate throws out another passive-aggressive comment about being left standing at the altar.

He continues to tread lightly, even springs for lunch for everyone. It's not enough to dissuade Beckett's dirty looks, but it's a start and Espo knows it. Castle's begun to lose count of the number of times he's tried to get back in her good graces with a greasy burger or a carton of lo-mein. Damn it if that woman doesn't love food.

Castle's the perfect gentleman all day, keeps his half-baked ideas to a minimum — which is especially hard today because he's always restless without a case — and refreshes her coffee cup when she needs it. She sees right through him – they didn't give her the gold shield for nothing – but he thinks it helps, anyway.

He really wants to do this for her.

Well, for them if he's being honest with himself. He's not sure how much progress he'll be able to make with her, but he'd like to at least keep the softness in her eyes around for awhile.

She kicks him out at 5 o'clock so she can get in a workout on the mats downstairs. He doesn't dare ask her about tomorrow, but she calls out to him once he's halfway to the elevator. "Pick me up at 1 tomorrow, Castle."

He grins and thanks God he's out of eyesight at this point because he's practically beaming. "On the dot," he scrapes out.

She regrets the decision as soon as the words are out of her mouth. It's a precarious situation for them – a wedding. There'll be wine, delicious food, dancing and –

Oh God. What'd she get herself into?

Her cheeks flush just thinking about him showing up at her apartment dressed in a tux. She still has dreams about that night in the red dress…

Fuck. She should call and cancel. Maybe if she called Esposito's grandmother herself and explain the situation. Surely she'd understand the bind she's in. Even sympathize, maybe?

Argh, no. As pissed as she is at Esposito, she's not that selfish. Who knows how many years his abuela has left?

Yeah, she's going to hell.

"Beckett, I'm out. You need anything?"

Her eyes snap to Esposito's. She waves him off. "I'm fine. I'll see you Monday."

"Okay." He hesitates. "Did you – "

"Castle's going with me," she blurts out.

Esposito grins like the Cheshire cat, waggling eyes reminiscent of her favorite writer. "Really?"

Kate rolls her eyes. "Yes, really. Now get out of here."

"Yes, ma'am." He clears his throat. "Right after I tell Ryan," he mumbles under his breath as he races off in search of his partner.

Kate grits her teeth and powers her computer down. She should really go home, have some wine, and wrap her head around the situation. Maybe Lanie's free. She could really use another opinion.

Kate's cell buzzes on her desk. Speaking of Lanie. "Hey," Kate greets her. "I was just – "

"Calling to tell me that Writer Boy's your date for the wedding?"

"You think I can hire a hit man to infiltrate Esposito's grandmother's birthday party?" She pinches the bridge her nose. Forget wine. She needs vodka. Lots and lots of vodka.

"He's just excited. We all are."

Kate grabs her jacket from the back of her chair, slings an arm through it. "Well, don't be. It's just a wedding. We're just friends. He's just a man."

"Have you been repeating that to yourself since you agreed to let him take you?"

Kate scoffs. "No." At least not in those exact words.

"I'll bring the wine." The line clicks dead.

Next part will be posted in the next few days.

xo,

Liv