I've had this idea running around in my head for a long time now. I finally decided that I should write it out before I went crazy. And it's two in the morning so if I missed anything when I was proofreading then I'm sorry, I tried.
Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. I'm just some random, overtired 15 year old girl.
Walking through the doors of the morgue she spotted Lanie finishing up the last remnants of paperwork before the weekend kicked in. The dark-haired M.E. glanced at her and waved a hand in her direction, a sure sign that she'd only be a minute, before rifling through her desk for something.
"Didn't I tell you to invite Castle?" She didn't have to see Lanie's face to know that she had one eyebrow raised, an unspoken challenge in her eyes.
"He had a date." She practically spat the words out. As soon as she let the words pass her lips her eyes widened at the jealously that laced them. She cursed internally; Lanie was not going to miss that.
"Do I detect some jealousy?" Her best friend stood up and crossed the room until she came to sit on one of the examination tables, motioning for Kate to do the same. Plopping herself on the table across from Lanie, legs swinging freely, she prepared herself for an interrogation.
"No, Lanie. I'm not jealous of whatever ditzy socialite Rick's decided to go out with tonight." Her face was a mask, indifference flawlessly painted over her actual emotions. The need to scream and just punch something. The desire to claw off the face of whatever bimbo he was dining with tonight. The urge to crawl under her bed and never come back out. Maybe jealously wasn't that far off.
"Oh, it's Rick now?" Damn her, damn Lanie for being amused by this.
"We're close friends. Hell, we're partners." She sighed exasperatedly when her friend's expression didn't change.
"Don't you just want to strut into that restaurant and kiss him senseless right in front of her? Don't you want to mark your territory?" God, yes. Oh, how she wanted to do that. But she couldn't. That wasn't her place.
"He's not mine to mark, Lanie." She grimaced as if she didn't like the taste the words left in her mouth, a combination of sadness and regret.
"To hell with that, he'd be yours in a heartbeat. All you have to do is pull your head out of your ass and tell him what you actually want. And as for marking your territory, you already do that." Lanie leaned over and pulled a jumbo bag of Twizzlers out of a drawer and she knew to get settled in for the ride. They had a major girl talk session coming up.
"I do not!" She denied, accepting the bag and tearing a few Twizzlers from the pack before tossing it back to her dark-haired friend.
"Oh, Kate, just stop denying it. Remember how you told me about that time Amanda came to the loft while you were there?" Amanda was Rick's most recent ex, she'd lasted pretty long actually.
"That's not th–"
"Yes, honey. Yes, it is."
"Hurry up, Lex!" She turned away from the stairs and made her way into his office, smiling at how focused he seemed. His hair was ruffled, a sure sign that he'd woken up in the middle of the night when inspiration struck. Chuckling at the Donald Duck pajama pants she crossed the room and leant down so her mouth was almost touching his ear. "Rook. Oh, Rook." She whispered seductively before pulling back slightly.
His eyes widened and he spun his chair until he was face to face with her, the surprised look on his face enough to make her burst out laughing. His lips pursed and he narrowed his eyes at her.
"Cruel woman, you had me thinking I was going insane." That just made her laugh even harder, leaning against the bookshelves to keep her balance. "Oh, hardy har har. It's hilarious." He deadpanned before chuckling lightly. After a few moments of just watching her, he sprang up from his chair, tackling her to the ground as his fingers found her abdomen, dancing along the thin t-shirt she was wearing.
"Rick, stop!" She shrieked, clutching her sides. She attempted to glare at him through her laughs but failed miserably, she was sure it looked much more amusing than intimidating.
"Make me." He smirked at her before doubling his efforts, having her rolling back and forth on the ground, practically howling. But the smirk instantly disappeared when she rolled them so she was on top, pinning his arms over his head with one hand while another went to work on his stomach, torturing him just as he'd tortured her.
"Are you guys seven years old or something?" They turned at the sound of Alexis' voice. It sounded a little too much like a mother reprimanding her kids for either of their liking, but the smile on the teenager's face was definitely an amused one.
"Yeah, let me grab my coat and we can head out. Your father here just had to be taught a lesson first." She got up and made her way over to the door before turning around to find him sitting on the floor, smiling at her from his position by the desk. "Don't mess with me, Rick Castle." She picked her coat up off of the back of one of the stools in the kitchen and waited for the Castle clan to emerge. Just as she was about to go get them she heard the doorbell ring and her brow furrowed. He wasn't expecting company. He wouldn't have been holed up in his office with pajamas on if he were expecting someone.
"Can you get that, Kate?" She heard him ask from the office, probably completely engrossed in the world of Nikki Heat.
"Sure," she called back before unlocking the door and pulling it open. "Oh, hi Amanda." She masterfully covered the surprise on her face before the blonde could notice. Amanda wasn't so quick.
"Oh, hey. Umm, is Richard here?" She held back the slight snicker at Amanda calling him Richard. It was so overly formal. It was so not Rick.
"Yeah, he's writing." She moved out of the way, an unspoken invitation for Amanda to come in. "Rick, Amanda's here! Lex, let's go!" Both Castles poked their heads out of the office.
"Coming, Kate." The redhead made grabbed her purse and – armed with her father's platinum card – linked an arm with hers. "Ready?" The teen's eyes were full of excitement and she couldn't help but grin.
"You bet." At the look of complete confusion on the newest addition's face she explained. "Lex needs a prom dress so I'm taking her out for lunch and some shopping. We'll be back by dinner, Rick." Ignoring the look of complete bewilderment on Amanda's face she grabbed her purse and lightly ran her fingers across his abdomen. "And remember what you learned today, I always come out on top." Opening the door, she linked her arm with the redhead's and laughed when she saw him shaking his head amusedly.
"Girl," Lanie practically shrieked at her, "you told him you always come out on top right in front of his girlfriend! If that's not marking your territory I don't know what is." The medical examiner was squeezing her Twizzler so tightly she was sure it was going to disintegrate.
"It was a joke!" She shot back, leaning forward as if that would prove her point.
"Not to Amanda." Lanie laughed, shaking her head at the look of confusion that crossed her face. "God, I can't even imagine the fight that comment alone started. Not to mention the fact that you practically flaunted the fact that you were taking Alexis prom dress shopping right in front of the woman."
"How was I flaunting it? I was explaining where we were going." Lanie just sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Can we please just go out and talk about something else?" She pleaded, standing up and making her way toward the doors.
"Yes, we can go out. No, we can't talk about something else. The elevator ride was silent, the only sounds being her slight fidgeting as she picked at the edge of her shirt.
"How can you not see it?" They stepped outside and the sticky summer air surrounded them. She could tell her friend didn't expect an answer. It was like Lanie was talking about her, not to her. She answered anyway, taking an opportunity she could get to defend herself.
"There's nothing to see, Lanie." Hailing a cab, she slammed the door after they'd piled in as if it would let out all of her frustration.
"Bullshit, I've seen you in action." Turning to face her, Lanie raised an eyebrow and she could tell she was enjoying the look of shock on her face.
"What?" She sent a glare towards the medical examiner before addressing the driver. "Excuse me, can you turn on the air conditioner?" She asked, waving her hand in front of her face in a vain attempt to cool herself down.
"Sorry, miss, the air conditioner blew out yesterday." He had a heavy Irish accent and she could tell he'd be handsome if he weren't so sweaty.
"Packing Heat launch party. Two very flirty fans. Ring any bells?" Suddenly she was grateful for the blisteringly hot stale air, she could attribute her sudden blush to simply being overheated.
She watched from her spot at the bar, swirling her martini absentmindedly, as Rick talked with two very happy fans. Twins, why'd they have to be twins? It would've been bad enough if they'd just been gorgeous but no, they had to be gorgeous Brazilian twins. They had to be every man's fantasy. Damn them. Damn him. Damn everyone. Why was she even thinking like this? She didn't like Rick that way. They were only friends.
Okay, bullshit. She liked him. But she wasn't supposed to. She wasn't supposed to fall for her best friend. Too bad she'd done just that. And now he was over by the book display flirting with those two women who's names were probably Angel and Destiny.
She closed her eyes and ran her fingers over the crisp cover of the newest addition to the Nikki Heat series, Packing Heat. She read it months ago, he'd made sure she'd gotten an advanced copy. But he never included the dedication in those copies. She hadn't seen those words until tonight. She sighed as she pictured them sitting innocently on the page so unaware of the meaning they carried. Oblivious to how they made her heartbeat quicken and the last of her pitiful defenses fall for a moment.
Always.
It's short and it's sweet and just perfect. It's everything rolled into one, the promise of a future and the recollection of a past. Always. The word implied so much. And she found that those implications didn't scare her as much as they used to. In fact, part of her welcomed them. She could picture forever with him. She could picture the always she was desperately hoping he was referring to. Even if she wasn't supposed to hope for it, let alone picture it.
Because that broke the rules, that was strictly off limits in the guidelines that had come with having Rick as a partner. And those were there for a reason, and those two busty reasons had practically thrown a bucket of ice water over her as soon as she'd seen them approaching him. But he wrote about her, he based an entire series on her. Hell, that dedication was meant for her.
Nobody else knew what that dedication meant. The fact that he'd put it in a book that millions would read and yet she was the only one who would understand it felt inexplicably intimate. It was oddly thrilling, like a secret love affair hidden from the world. And maybe that's what it was. Maybe that was what it was meant to be all along and she just hadn't known it. Neither of them had.
She knocked back the martini, draining the glass. Telling Lanie, who she hadn't been paying attention to anyway, that she was going to congratulate their very own novelist on his party she made her way over to him.
"Hey, Rick." She smiled as she reached him, she wasn't sure if it was a conscious effort or not when she stood much closer than necessary.
"Hey there, Kate. Ladies, this is Detective Kate Beckett. Though many people know her as the inspiration for Nikki Heat." Usually she hated it when he all but flaunted her, especially for his fans. But she was getting some sort of perverted glee out of watching the twin's expressions fall.
"Hi, I'm Mariana." One of the women held her hand out, her handshake was flimsy at best. "And this is my sister, Lara." The other one offered a small smile and a wave.
"Nice to meet you both." She smiled at them and wondered what their real cup sizes had been. She turned to Rick, offering up a genuine smile. "This is quite the party, a lot of press attention. Congratulations."
"You're admitting that I'm popular? Finally." He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes.
"I take it back." She swatted his chest playfully and laced her arm through his naturally, as if she did it all the time.
"Too late, Detective. Whatever will you do with my over-inflated ego now?" He smirked and looked back at Mariana and Lara. "Too bad I didn't tape that compliment, huh?" They nodded, looking much less interested than they had before.
"No worries, I'll just let Martha know you're in need of some extra grounding tomorrow." He groaned, completely familiar with his mother's version of keeping him grounded. Finding every bad review out there for his book and blowing it completely out of proportion. She giggled at the expression on his face and leaned into his side a little more, noticing that the twins seemed to be getting ready to leave.
She took a small sip of her beer before setting it back down on the counter and taking a deep breath. She'd all but forgotten about that by now. She should've known that Lanie would be the kind of person to not only watch her every move but eavesdrop on the conversation too. She really should've seen that one coming. Lanie won that round.
"So?" She couldn't deny that had been about driving the twins away, it was beyond even her capabilities. And even if she tried, Lanie would know. She always seemed to. So she just saved her energy.
"So you practically peed a circle around him!" When she didn't respond Lanie just exhaled slowly, running a hand over her face. "How can you not see where this is going?" Oh, she saw exactly where this was heading. And she was desperately trying to stop it from getting there.
"Come on, Lanie. Just leave it alone." Her eyes scanned the bar, looking around for a distraction, anything that would get her friend off of this topic of conversation.
"Nope, don't think so. I still have one more trick up my sleeve." She groaned, what could the M.E. possibly say now? She'd already proven her point. Couldn't Lanie just let her be? Obviously not. Obviously she had to completely drive the point home until it was burned into her brain. "Molly Harik." Oh, shit.
"How do you even know about that?" Her eyes widened, she was not expecting that. She had never told Lanie about the trip the leggy lawyer had made to the precinct. And for good reason.
"Esposito and Ryan said the claws came out."
The murder board was almost full, information pouring off of it in waves. But there was something missing. There was a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit. Something was off. She could feel it; the vibe was almost palpable. And it had nothing to do with the fact that Rick wasn't coming in today. It had no connection to how she'd been getting her own coffee refills all day and already missed laughing at jokes only he could make. No, it had nothing to do with that.
She heard the unmistakable sound of heels clicking on the hardwood floor and spun around in the direction of the sound. Usually it wasn't a big deal. Heels were common for women, especially women in New York City. But heels were not a common occurrence in a precinct filled to the brim with testosterone. Her eyes landed on a slim woman who seemed oddly far from out of place in the midst of the calculated criminals and hardened cops. Molly Harik, a new lawyer from Boston who was prosecuting the killer they'd just caught. She'd come to pick up some evidence yesterday, insisting that she didn't want it going through a middleman. And the woman had taken an interest in Rick.
"Ms. Harik, I thought you had all the evidence." She couldn't stop her interrogation voice from slipping out, though honestly she hadn't really tried. The blonde stopped in front of her, just as tall as her in those heels. It was strangely disconcerting. She frowned, crossing her arms.
"I do, I just came by to talk to Rick." The way Molly said his name, almost cockily, made her jaw clench before she could stop it.
"He's not here today." She saw the lawyer bristle slightly at her cool tone, seemingly preparing for a duel. She did the same.
"Where is he?" She stepped closer to the other woman, straightening her spine as if that would give her more authority.
"He's at home with his daughter, Alexis. She's sick." She could feel the stares of her colleagues boring into her, their curious gazes burning into the back of her head.
"Could you give me his number so I can call him?" The blonde shifted somewhat uncomfortably and she fought back the urge to smirk.
"He doesn't like me giving out his number, sorry. But I'm heading over there tonight. Weekly movie night, you know? I could tell him you stopped by." She offered a small smile that they both knew was fake. The lawyer crossed her arms and gave her a once-over, her gaze scrutinizing.
"Thanks, that'd be nice." Molly reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. "Just give him my card and tell him I'll be waiting for his call." She felt her gaze turn fiery and she wasn't exactly sure why. Don't claw her eyes out. Don't claw her eyes out. It became her mantra.
"Will do." She forced a smile and Molly did the same before turning on her heel and strutting out of the precinct. She turned to find the boys' gazes trained on her, their eyes following her every move. "What?" She shot at them, stuffing the business card into her pocket.
"Nothing." They looked at each other and smirked.
"What do I do, Lanie?" She ran a hand over her face, sighing in defeat. She liked Rick Castle. She freakin' liked Rick Castle. She had completely fallen for the man, a man she'd come to call her partner. She might as well accept it. Strangely, she didn't feel any different than before. It was as if she'd known it all along, as if a part of her had accepted it long ago and the rest of her mind was just catching up.
"Go mark your territory." Lanie smirked and tipped her beer at her before taking a long swig.
So there's one more chapter to this. I'm not sure when it'll be up but it's coming.
Review? Please? I worked so very hard on this. You have no idea, I spent about four hours writing this story non-stop. Please? I'd love a review. I'd love one so very much.