02 Mar 2011

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Chapter 7 – Castle's Law

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Fine. We'll table that for now." Morgan thought for a few seconds. "I know!" He almost bounced from his chair. "Tell me about the first time you two kissed."

Lanie groaned in frustration. "Sorry, they haven't done that, yet. A good old fashioned kiss is just what they need to wake them up." She turned to give a disapproving look at the pair, but was surprised at what she saw. The detective and the writer were both quietly looking at their feet. "You have got to me kidding me! Girl! How long have to been holding out on me?"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Beckett and Castle remained still, refusing to look at Lanie, their 'therapist', or each other.

Meanwhile, Morgan sported a huge grin. His session had gotten completely out of his control, which was fine with him. A few unplanned utterances in the heat of passion were exactly what this would-be couple needed. Maybe he could make a game of it.

His deep thoughts were broken by an excited medical examiner, "I got it. You kissed right in front of the bomb! Was it before it was going explode or after you defused it?"

Beckett broke her silence with a scold, "Lanie! We're not supposed to talk about that!"

"Don't worry about it. We already know." The police and writer looked at Chuck. "We got stuck doing surveillance on some Syrian ships coming to port. It was really boring. I could have told them it was a waste of time, but some homeland security agent, Fallon I think, was convinced the Syrians were planning a multi-city attack. Thanks for proving him wrong and saving the day, by the way."

"You are very welcome." Castle beamed. "That guy was wrong about virtually everything."

"I have the same problem with NSA researchers and CIA scientists. I just wish our date had not been interrupted for it. It was supposed to make up for our interrupted Valentine's Day celebration."

Casey growled, "I thought I said you were never to talk about that again."

Castle smiled, "Now I got to know. What happened on Valentine's Day?"

Casey glared, but Chuck responded anyway. "Let's just say Casey walked in on his daughter and Morgan participating in some indescribable activities and leave it at that."

"Stop dodging the subject." Lanie interrupted. "I want to know about this kiss!"

Castle sighed before responding, "We only clasped hands before ripping out the wires, and we briefly hugged afterwards."

"Then when did you kiss?"

It was Beckett turn to sigh. Feigning casual, she answered, "We kissed a few weeks ago as a diversion when we were rescuing Ryan and your boyfriend."

Chuck piped up. "Oooo, a cover kiss. The good old days. They're not as good as a kiss in front of a bomb, a thank-you-for-saving-my-life kiss, or a proposal kiss. But they can still be great. I especially liked the I-have-a-national-security-issue-and-I-need-to-speak-to-you-privately kiss and the I-really-want-you-to-kiss-her-like-the-mission-is-on-the-line kiss." Chuck smiled at Sarah who held at mischievous grin before giving him a brief 'non-cover' kiss.

Lanie ignored the byplay and refocused on her friends. "So if this was just a diversion, why haven't I heard about it before?"

"I didn't want you to make a big deal about it. Like you are doing right now."

"Not a big deal. Girl! It is a big deal!"

"Lanie," Castle interjected, "It was nice, but we were more concerned about saving Ryan and Esposito at the time than focusing on the kiss. So could you please let it go?"

Beckett looked at Castle for the first time since the kiss had been mentioned. Just 'nice'? What happened to 'Amazing?' Wait! Why did she care what Castle thought of the kiss? She had spent several weeks trying not to figure out what she herself thought of that amaz-of that kiss.

Beckett's musings were interrupted with a spotlight through the window. They had been saved from this therapy torture!

"That's my ride." Casey returned the clean guns to the two officers and grabbed the bag holding the devices. "Save a seat for me on the plane." Casey left the room and was heard heading up the stairs to the roof. He couldn't get away from the lady feelings fast enough.

"Beckett, you know what this reminds me of? The Spy Ventures client. Mysterious calls from important people. Agents disappearing into the night. We just needed a story about Afghanistan and fire ants." Castle joked, earning a small smile from his partner, relieved this embarrassing situation was almost over.

Chuck grinned, "Just be glad you brought up Afghanistan after Casey was gone. We really didn't need any of his goat stories. However, even those are not quite as bad as his inside-the-walls stories. Hmmm. I better talk to Casey first, but maybe you could hook us up with someone at your publishing house, not your ex of course, to see about getting his stories down on paper."

"Maybe. Let me know. Should we clean up all of this?" Castle asked as he stood.

"Don't bother." Chuck said. "NSA will take over this building in a few days. The cleaning crew was to ensure bullet holes and broken lamps would not be seen by any maid service that might show up between now and then. However, smelly take-out containers would be expected."

Morgan offered a hand, which Beckett stared at a second before realizing she should shake it. "I'm sorry we didn't have time to fully resolve your issue." Castle also shook Morgan's hand despite himself. "If I'm back in New York, I'll call you to schedule another session. Until then, I recommend whiskey, mint ice cream, guitar hero, and If You Leave from Pretty in Pink."

"I know it sounds crazy, but it works," Chuck added as Sarah lightly chuckled.

"One last question… The writer in me needs to understand the full story. Why did you return to the scene of the crime, so to speak? You could have been in and out with both devices before anyone else showed up."

"We thought there was only one device. After we left I took a closer look, and the serial number did not match my... intel."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." With fortuitous timing, Esposito stirred. Castle offered to help Lanie move him to the car. "Well, it's been fascinating. It's just too bad all of the cool cases I've worked on lately are classified."

"That's how all of our missions are," Chuck nodded in understanding.

The three New Yorkers moved to leave with the groggy fourth in tow, but Sarah held up Beckett. "Go ahead. I think Agent Walker wants a last word. I'll just be a minute."

After receiving a pointed look from Chuck, Morgan left to warm up the other Vic.

With Castle and Lanie downstairs, Chuck started first. "We're sorry about all of the drama tonight. We also know Morgan can be a bit... much. He means well. I figured an evening of his antics would break the tension from our earlier misunderstanding. Please don't let anything he said get to you."

"I won't," Beckett responded, a little too quickly. It was already getting to her.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something else." Chuck took a breath. "You are not the only one wearing your father's watch." Beckett froze as Chuck lifted his wrist to show the detective. "He was assassinated right in front of me less than a year ago." Chuck paused, giving her time to process. "His killer and all of the other people responsible are all in prison, but I know some of the people responsible for your mother's death are not." Seeing the confusion in her eyes, he explained, "I, uh... I looked over the case files while you were checking out our smash and grab video." He shrugged, "I'm a flash, I mean fast, reader. I wasn't able to figure out who is ultimately behind it all, but if you send me any new leads you have, I think I could help."

Beckett's barely contained shock was replaced with skepticism when she took the offered card for 'Buy More Nerd Herd Supervisor, Charles Bartowski.'

"Half the bad guys know my cover anyway, and you're one of the good guys. That's a private email so it won't set off any national security flags. I wouldn't do a background search on me, though. That would set off all sorts of flags." Chuck turned up one side of mouth in a sympathetic grin, before leaving the women alone in the room.

Sarah tentatively brushed Beckett's arm in comfort. "I know the offer might seem ridiculous, but Chuck really wants to help. He's all about family, and he really could help if you let him. Chuck's an outside-of-the-box thinker, kind of like your partner. He also has a very unique—ability—which he's been able to use to find people who were in hiding from the CIA for over ten and close to twenty years. When he was flashing through your mother's case file, he made the Raglan connection before even getting to your most recent case." Beckett looked up from the card to Sarah in surprise. "Just consider it, if you get any new leads."

Beckett nodded her head slightly and placed the card in her pocket.

"One more thing," Sarah added. "I can tell you're not ready, but don't wait too long with him."

Beckett looked down at her shoes uncomfortably, knowing exactly who 'him' was.

Sarah hesitated before continuing awkwardly, "I'm not very good at this, and I'm a lot less... well 'Morgan' than Morgan is. You're a lot like me. We're both closed off and scared to take the next step. I loved my guy for almost three years before I told him. It cost us several months apart, almost cost me my life, and worst of all, I almost lost him. I had to fight through Company regulations, professional expectations, and my own personal walls built long before I joined the CIA. I know you have your own battle to fight that might take some time, but trust me. Being completely in love with your best friend is worth it."

Beckett didn't move. She knew Josh was safer for her. But was he better for her? Right now, she had both of them in her life: a safe boyfriend and Castle, whatever he was. The important question was would Castle wait around forever? He bolted once before to the Hamptons. Maybe he didn't feel that way about her. Right. Who was she kidding? One thing she knew for certain, she needed Castle in her life in some way, shape, or form. He was one of the best friends, if not the best friend, she had. She couldn't lose him, as Sarah said she had almost lost Chuck.

They almost died last week. She had actually resigned to the fact they were going to die not once, but twice. Only Josh's serendipitous return to New York had saved them the first time. Actually, that one could also be credited to Castle's insightful daughter. Her team really deserved most of the credit, much more than Josh. There was no argument that Castle's directions and his desperate action had saved them the second time. After the freezer, she told Castle that Josh and she now had a chance. But what about her and Castle? Did they have a chance? Should she discard Josh with Demming and finish taking that chance?

Beckett looked up and saw the spy was long gone. Shaking her head to clear it, she hurried out to her car.

"What was that about, Beckett?" Castle's voice broke her contemplation. In the dim glow of the overhead dome light, she saw that twinkle in his eyes that had been missing since before the terrorist threat last week. It made her smile. He always made her smile.

"All sorts of top secret stuff, Castle. Need to know only," Beckett joked. She put the car in gear and drove away.

Castle scoffed, "Fine. We called Ryan while we were waiting. Between the various dispatch calls and calls from the captain, he had driven back and forth several times before finally returning home for the night. The captain said since nothing officially happened tonight, we don't have to go into the station. So, after we drop these two," Castle pointed over his shoulder at the cuddling Lanie and the groggy, but conscious Esposito, "where do you want to go? I'm too pumped to go home yet. I can't believe we finally had a case with the CIA! And they were like real people. Really strange and kind of bad-ass, but real nonetheless. So where to next?"

Stopped at a light, Beckett smiled and twirled her hair in her fingers before returning them to the wheel. "I'm game for whatever you are." She wasn't certain what Castle wanted. Hell, she wasn't even sure what she wanted. She was sure that whatever it was, be it partnership, friendship, or something more, she wanted it with him. She couldn't lose him in her life. If that meant following his lead instead of pushing back, so be it. If he could be right about the CIA, then maybe he could be right about them, too. The light turned green, and it was time to go.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Somewhere above the Rockies

Chuck replaced Casey in the copilot's seat as he hit the head. Sarah smiled at him from the pilot's chair. While Chuck could fly in an emergency, he really didn't want to maintain the concentration he would need for a multi-hour, cross-country flash.

"How much longer, Papa Smurf?"

"Papa Smurf?" Sarah raised her eyebrows.

"Sorry, bad analogy. Wrong gender, age, hair color, height, and species. Your eyes are the most beautiful blue. Maybe I should have said 'How much longer Smurfette?' so I would have had everything but height and species right. Morgan hates it when I adjust the quotes."

Sarah laughed softly, shaking her head. "It'll be a couple more hours. I really hope Ellie and Devon keep their breakfast short." Chuck gave her a look. "It's not that I'm trying to avoid Clara. But by the time we land and get home, we'll get maybe three hours of sleep. Not ideal for babysitting."

"No problem. We're spies. And I have it on good authority that you can do anything."

"Good authority?"

"Mine. Remember? Rooftop? Helicopter? Longshore? Pita girl?"

"Ugh. I try to block out most of that night. One of the worst."

"Not for me. You were there. Any night with you is immediately disqualified from the 'worst list'."

"Sometimes I think you might be too sweet." Sarah squeezed Chuck's hand before returning it to the controls.

"So about this night... What do you think their chances are?"

"Castle and Beckett?"

"Of course. Is it wrong that I wished that Josh was a missing Ring agent, just because it would have helped their chances? Too bad. From what I flashed on his hospital personnel records, replace his motorcycle with an exercise bike and replace the leather with spandex, and you'd have Captain Awesome."

"Not all of us female kick ass crime fighters go for awesome. Some of us have higher standards."

Chuck released a full grin. "I guess that's fair. I'd have you know my bar is so high, you're the only one who can cross it. Back to our NYPD alter egos, do you really think they have a shot? Have I actually turned you into a hopeless romantic?"

"Hopeless? Give me a break, Chuck. With how they care about each other, how closely they work together, and the regular life and death situations they are in, it's inevitable. Don't you think it's obvious?"

"I completely agree. To paraphrase Castle, law of averages demands that it'll eventually happen."

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Castle's Law: Follow around your muse long enough and you'll eventually get together, no matter how much she says you annoy her.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

BIG A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize to those of you who got the giggles in inappropriate places. Thank you for all of the flattering reviews and for just stopping by to read.

There is now two 1-shot sequels: "Caskett vs Dr Morgan" and "Beckett vs the Linchpin"

With chapter 2, I listed this story as a cross-over. Almost nobody saw it. Since then, I alternated it between Castle and Chuck categories. I'm sorry if that confused, bugged, or offended anyone. It did increase interest and the number of positive responses. I've now relisted this as a cross-over for archiving purposes.

I know most Castle fics are about getting Caskett together as quickly as possible. Instead I tried to be compatible with the current plot line of both shows. (Until the next episode, which always inevitably makes my stories AU in some obscure way.) Blame my lack of full Casketty goodness on my frustration from both the reappearance of Josh after the freezer and my expectation of now having to wait for quite a while. I still had to hint at 'something.' I couldn't help myself.

Somehow I missed Richard Castle/Castle under the Buy More puns. That's probably a good thing.

Shout-outs and story ideas:

1) BDaddyDL is planning a Castle/Chuck crossover! Keep an eye out for it. I am.

2) If someone wants to make another Castle crossover for something other than Chuck, I have some suggested quotes: "A 200 year old bullet can only mean one thing: time traveling killer!" or "We should have a code word so we know which Beckett to kill when her clone army attacks." Let the sci-fi crossovers commence! Sorry, but I'm not doing them. I did write "Clone Army" but it is not a cross-over nor has a sci-fi theme. Let me know if any of you try them, because I'd love to read them. In the mean time, I'm waiting for updates to "Bad Scifi" from T-man626. LittleLizzieZentara also wrote "The Beckett Clones."

3) My impromptu idea for Bridezilla Sarah's extreme wedding based on the end of "Chuck vs. the Bank of Evil": Island wedding on a beach between a cliff and the ocean. Ellie would just stand by the minister, freaking out because she didn't know where anyone is. Zondra comes by land, rappelling down a cliff. Carina comes by sea, driving in on a jet ski. Sarah comes by air, parachuting in. Isla also comes to deliver the cake from Paris and to be Casey's date. Doc in Oz suggested this great addition: With the possibility of Casey (in full tactical gear – mission interrupted) "Dearly beloved *Grunt* must I say this?" About seventeen voices at the same time "YES!" *Grunt*

Check out "Bridezilla vs. the Extreme Wedding"for the story inspired by his review to this one. Personally, my favorite Charah wedding fanfic is "Scenes from a Wedding" by atlee.

4) I changed the title of the last chapter from "Final Advice" which I never liked to "Castle's Law" because of a comment from Doc in Oz. I should have thought it in before because my last chapter of "Sarah vs. the Mystery Agent" is "Morgan's Law" (Who needs Murphy when you have Morgan?). Doc had a creepy corollary to Castle's Law for Jeffrey Barnes. It involves the police, mace, tasers, and way too many disturbing thoughts.

5) Thanks again to all of my reviewers. You know who you are. If not, click the review number and find yourself.

Writing this story, I've had some great conversations with my reviewers. They helped my realized some knowledge gaps might be out there because not all readers are experts on both Chuck and Castle. Honestly, I'm only an "expert" on Chuck.

1) As much as I would like to take credit for "Doctor Morgan", I cannot. Morgan did the retail therapist shtick for Devon and Ellie to help them pick between a washer/dryer and a big screen TV in Season 1's "Chuck vs. the Undercover Lover". He became "Doctor Morgan" for Chuck at the end of the Season 2 premiere, "Chuck vs. the First Date."

2) I have nothing against Marvel, Dark Horse (Star Wars), or Boom! (Farscape). Chuck is a DC Comics guy based on "Chuck vs. the Honeymooners." Morgan found Chuck using surveillance video of him purchasing the latest Justice League.

3) John Casey's was "Lieutenant Alex Coburn" before he faked his death to become a black ops sniper for Uncle Sam.

4) I'm sorry to you Kevin Ryan fans. Ryan went MIA, because I had too many characters in the same scene. I like Ryan, but I figured he would be easy to extract because Jenny had no business at a crime scene, plus she has him whipped. Esposito was shot for similar reasons, plus I just had to have Casey shoot somebody. I had enough trouble making sure the remaining seven weren't bored. The real reason I didn't let Lanie leave in an ambulance with Esposito had nothing to do with keeping their location secure. It was to participate in the Dr. Morgan counseling session.

5) Carina has been asked to be one of Sarah's bridesmaids. Before the first Chuck, she locked up Casey in only his boxers and a T-shirt. She seduced him and repeated the act in Season 1's "Chuck vs. the Wookiee." In season 3, Morgan and Carina hooked up, primarily because he was the first person (not counting Chuck) who said no to her. Season 4's "Chuck vs. the CAT Squad" implies that Casey doesn't know Morgan has gone where every man (except Chuck and Casey) has gone before.

6) For Castle fans wondering about Chuck's weird blinking/head shaking, this was an Intersect flash. Read my previous stories "Chuck vs. the Whole Truth" (Chapters 6 and 12) or "Chuck vs All of the Intersects (Chapter 5) for more details. Then again, doing a Wikipedia search on "Chuck Bartowski" is probably faster and actually watching the pilot episode of Chuck is definitely more fun. Since I wasn't being specific when he flashed, here's a list: hacking the Richard Castle website and Doctors Without Borders records, the Kung Fu/Lethal Weapon 4 moves, shooting and gymnastics skills during the break in, Jordan Shaw's, KB's, Castle's, Lanie's, Esposito's, and Josh's personnel records and Johaanna Beckett's case file. He flashed a lot in this mission, but that's why he seemed like a know it all.

7) Castle's second ex-wife, Gina, really is evil. She helped Volkoff capture Casey in the Buy More during "Chuck vs. the Leftovers", 4.10.