Summary: In which... "Oh, Beckett! They cuffed me and dragged me here! It was so horrible! I'm traumatized, hold me."

Disclaimer: The voices say I own Castle... the lawyers say I don't. I've decided to go with the lawyers for now, just because they have suspicious looking documents and are threatening me with arrest.

Dream On.

It all began as a fairly normal night at the 12th. Katherine Beckett had just removed herself from her desk for a moment, to get her normal cup of coffee. She needed it to get her through all of that very normal paperwork she had to do. She walked that normal path to the break room, went through her normal coffee-gathering routine, and walked back that same normal path to find herself back at her normal desk.

She took only a moment to revel in the very abnormal silence. Papers shuffled here and there from the various other detectives that found themselves still working at that hour, and the sound was like music to her ears. Soft, soothing, melodious music, mind you.

Castle had made his way home about an hour and a half ago, citing "movie night with Alexis" as his excuse. Not that she minded. The abnormal silence was very welcome in his absence.

A strange thought struck her then: if the silence was abnormal, and it only occurred when Castle was suspiciously not present, did that mean that Castle was... normal?

She scoffed at the thought. Preposterous, a word he would use. Aw hell no, as Lanie would say. Kate would simply roll her eyes if Castle suggested such a thing.

She shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, turning her attention once again to the paperwork in front of her.

She was broken once again out of her thoughts by a loud crash, a bang, and then a stream of the most predictable – and familiar – pleas the precinct had ever heard.

In walked officers John Tennant and David Ames, bringing the 12th's favorite novelist in tow.

Kate didn't have to look up to know it was him. In fact, she didn't look up at all. She stuck her head lower into her paperwork, rolling her eyes in the comfort of her own little bubble. She fervently hoped that this was all just a dream. The moment would soon pass, she willed. He would go away, and the silence would reappear...

She skillfully dodged that nagging voice in the back of her mind that told her the thought of dreaming of Castle should really alarm her more than it did.

"Guys, guys, guys, hey... can't we all just be friends?" she heard Castle plea. She almost laughed a little at the raised pitch of his voice. "Ow, uh... hey, guys, that kind of hurts a little... Ow. Okay, now that was just uncalled for."

She heard the voice approaching quickly. The heavy feet of the officers were most definitely padding her way. She rolled her eyes and prepared herself, then lifted her head to address the situation and ask the necessary questions.

Her words caught in her through the second she looked up. Fortunately, she was spared the duty of speaking for the moment.

"I believe this," Tennant emphasized, shoving Castle forward a bit, "belongs to you, detective."

She wanted to refute the statement immediately, but couldn't exactly find the words. Then her confusion turned to frustration and disbelief, and she turned now to direct her new-found anger at Castle.

"Castle," she was sure he could all but feel the venom in her voice. "Do you want to tell me why my officers had to drag you in at...," she glanced at her watch, "quarter to midnight, with no shirt–"

"Or shoes," he interrupted.

"–on when you should be at home watching movies with your daughter?"

He paused, shrinking back slightly as he took in her words. Then that shit eating, childish grin began to spread on his face. "Well, you see... it's kind of a funny story, actually... See, I was walking to go get us some ice cream, when–"

"Never mind," she waved him off. She really wasn't in any mood to be hearing about all of his far-fetched and hardly believable excuses. Instead, she favored the not-danced-around version of the truth. So she turned and looked to the two officers behind him. "What are the charges?"

"Disorderly conduct, indecent exposure-"

"Wait, I can explain!"

"-aggravated assault-"

"It was an accident, I swear!"

"-disturbing the peace, and evading arrest. Vehemently evading arrest."

Beckett took it all in before turning back to Castle. He visibly slouched under her intense stare. She raised an eyebrow at him, not saying a word, but tacitly encouraging him to state the case he'd so eagerly wanted to express.

"Well, I, uh...," he stuttered under her intense scrutiny. "It, uh.. It d-doesn't matter anyway, because...," he fumbled for an excuse. She couldn't wait to see what he'd come up with this time. He snapped his fingers suddenly. "They didn't read me my rights!"

Oh boy.

"Ha ha!" he turned then, to do a little bit of an 'I win' dance for the other two cops. It was a little bit awkward with both of his hands cuffed behind his back, but while it was facing her, Kate couldn't help but admire how toned his backside was... "You didn't read me my rights! Ha ha!" Then, in true Castle fasion, he stuck his tongue out and ruined it all.

Kate slammed her hands down on her desk, ordering his attention back to her. As soon as she had it, she gave him a falsely sweet smile. "They only have to read you your rights if they arrest you with the intent to interrogate you."

He didn't skip a beat. "You don't call this an interrogation?"

She kept the false smile as she leaned forward a bit, to match his own forward movement. "Not a formal one."

He seemed to search for the right answer in her eyes for a moment, staring at them intensely while he pondered his thoughts. He seemed to give up all in one swift movement, and decided that he really only had one resort left. "Please?"

The look in his eyes, the childish tone of his voice... all mixed in with his current state of undress factored in to what she decided to say next.

She rolled her eyes. "Let him go, guys. Go home for the night. I'll deal with him on my own."

She shot Castle a nasty look that contained a barley veiled threat, but all she saw was his grin elongating.

She wanted to slap herself. Of course he'd take that last statement to mean something it definitely didn't.

She grabbed her jacket and put her work away, getting ready to head out for the night and take him back home.

He rubbed the raw skin on his wrists where he'd been restrained as the two beat cops took their leave. "Oh, Beckett," he said, feigning hurt, "They cuffed me and dragged me here! It was so horrible! I'm traumatized, hold me."

She rolled her eyes and threw her jacket at him instead of putting it on herself. "In your dreams, Castle."

She instantly regretted the words. She saw him attempting to put the jacket on out of the corner of her eye, but she refused to look at him. She knew without even having to see it that his grin had taken over his entire face now.

"Every night, detective."

As if she hadn't seen that one coming a mile away.

Still, she had to fight to keep the smile off of her face as she stepped through the doors and into the cold night.

Virtual pie goes to anyone who catches my superdupersecret Doctor Who reference in here. Mmmm. Pie.

But don't worry. Virtual cookies to every reviewer as well!

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