Summary: "When we get out of here, we should seriously consider joining the circus." – Richard Castle, from Castle, "Cuffed", 4.10. Castle and Beckett put their new skills to good use on a case.

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to? However, if you send me corrections, I'll fix them.

8 Dec 2011

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Kevin Ryan hoped this one could be closed quickly. He didn't have to stay until the end, and he knew Esposito, Beckett and Castle could close it without him, but he didn't want to leave for Florida with an open case hanging over him.

He really should be home with Jenny, packing. Of course by packing, he meant fetching things as she ordered him around. That's the kind of relationship they had, but he really didn't have a problem with it. After fetching everything, it would fall upon him to figure out how to break the laws of the space-time continuum to stuff everything in the suitcases.

Vacation started tomorrow, so he was still on-call today. Jenny was very understanding, like always. She also knew he was needed to be here to referee Esplaine.

So far the bickering couple had not been a problem. Lanie was checking out the body while Esposito was as far away as possible, talking to the warehouse security. The silent treatment was so much more pleasant than when they snipped at each other.

Ryan watched as he saw his back-up arrive. Beckett waited as Castle lifted the crime scene tape for her. That was odd. She normally just charged ahead without him, expecting him to keep up. They both handed off their coffees to a uniform to place to the side, away from the body. Sometimes Ryan wished he had a partner that brought him coffee every morning. Then again, he preferred his happy, stable relationship with Jenny to the coffee and case flirting that Beckett and Castle practiced.

A nearby crate had been pried open, and its contents of hay, coffee grounds, and drugs had spread across the floor. Beckett and Castle approached, single file, navigating a path through the clear spots. Beckett led in her high-heeled boots. Castle followed with his left hand on her shoulder. She supported it with her own left hand. It should have been awkward, but they managed to get past the debris faster than anyone else had so far. Hopefully CSU would finish with photos and would clean up the mess soon.

"What've you got?" Beckett asked as she nodded a hello to Ryan.

Lanie started to list the particulars of the gunshot victim who worked the late shift at the warehouse. The obvious theory was the accidental discovery of the drugs. Ryan had previously heard it all and didn't have anything to add, so he started looking around the crime scene. He titled his head back to see up the wall of crates. Each one was an eight foot cube. They were stacked throughout most of the warehouse, most places three to five crates high.

Still not too far away, he heard Castle say, "If it weren't for the drugs, I'd be thinking this is where the Ark of the Covenant is kept."

Beckett immediately replied, "Isn't that in Nevada?"

"I refuse to acknowledge that movie exists."

"Really? I would've thought you'd like the alien angle."

"Ok, that was cool. But I had a refrigerator idea back for Storm Rising. I had to drop it when I learned Derrick would not survive an eight story drop inside a refrigerator. So don't tell me it could protect against a nuclear blast."

"Well at least he got the girl in the end."

"Yeah, took long enough," Castle pouted. "That should have happened in the first movie, not the fourth."

Ryan bit his lip to avoid laughing. He looked over to Lanie who had her hands on her hips and was shaking her head at the banter.

Hmm… That was the second odd thing today. Normally, Beckett would not be joking around with Castle at the body.

Ryan resumed his search. After a couple of boring minutes he craned his head back and saw it.

"Guys! I got something!" he called.

Beckett and Castle joined him. "What is it?" Beckett asked.

Ryan pointed to the top of the nearby low stack of creates. There it was. Slightly hanging over the edge of the second crate was the handle of a gun. Not really a good hiding place, but the perp must have been in a hurry.

"I'll go see if I can get something like a ladder or a forklift," Ryan offered.

Ryan started to turn when he heard Beckett say, "Don't bother."

Beckett looked at Castle and titled her head towards a single crate which started a staircase up to the target. Castle sighed, turned his back to Beckett, facing the low crate, and squatted slightly. Beckett immediately grabbed both of his hands above his shoulders. She placed one foot on his calf. After a quick three count, she hoisted her knees onto his shoulders and then promptly stood on them. She easily stepped off onto the crate. Without letting go of his left hand, she sat on the crate and leveraged her feet against its raised edge. With their arms crossed and right hands clasped, she pulled as Castle stepped up the side of the crate to the top.

Ryan wished he had a better angle for a picture of how Castle fell on top of Beckett. It would be good blackmail or bulletin board material. But before he could pull out his phone, they had repeated the maneuver, with Beckett once again on Castle's shoulders. He held her legs as she pulled out a pen and an evidence bag to lift and secure the likely murder weapon.

"Nothing else up here. I'm done."

Faster than Ryan could believe, they were standing on solid ground in front of him. Other than the three-count and the 'I'm done', they did the whole thing without a word or hesitation. They even stuck the landing. They were both flushed from the exertion, but that was not why he was smiling at them. He looked down and pointed at their still linked left hands.

"Shut up, Ryan," Beckett said.

"It keeps the cuffs from chafing," Castle said matter-of-factly, as if that really helped. They weren't wearing cuffs.

Beckett rolled her eyes, "You know we've been practicing with handcuffs." That didn't come out right either.

Ryan couldn't help himself, "That tiger case was a week ago. Have you been practicing since?"

Castle joked it off, "Of course. We decided to join the circus after Gates blows a gasket and fires us. It's good to have a back-up plan. It's not like Beckett hasn't been walking all over me for over three years anyway, so this seemed like the logical next step."

Ryan couldn't hold in a choked laugh. The circus is the next step from hand holding and hand cuffs? These two needed a list of instructions.

Just then, Beckett and Castle both seemed to realize they were still holding hands. They quickly released and pulled back their arms simultaneously. Ryan noticed they were still standing even closer than they normally do.

"Well, it's good to know you two have been working on some useful skills." Yes, Ryan did mean to imply the innuendo. Castle just grinned and raised his eyebrows at the implication, looking a little impressed. What surprised them both was Beckett almost seemed to blush slightly.

As much as Ryan was enjoying how this was playing out, it was time to get back to work. Kevin offered to take the gun back to the precinct for processing and run a search on the vic's ID, under the promise that Beckett take over refereeing responsibilities.

When he got home, he'd have to remind Jenny not to say anything to Beckett and Castle at the wedding. They were having enough trouble on their own without her throwing in a grenade. From the looks between Beckett and Castle this morning, it was going to take a little longer, but they were getting there just fine on their own.