Obligatory quotes: "Men, and women of action and adventure... Under the radar... Above the law... Oh man, this is gonna be so much fun!" – Morgan Grimes in "Chuck vs. the Cliffhanger", 4.24.

"I'll be your backup. Besides, going rogue is kind of my specialty." – Richard Castle in Castle, "To Love and Die in LA", 3.22.

Summary: 4th story in the This Never Happened series. Some time has passed since the two days Beckett wished never happened, but the confusing suspects keep coming. Castle/Chuck xover.

Timeline: This three chapter story is set shortly before "Chuck vs. the Zoom", 5.01, and after Castle, "Eye of the Beholder", 4.05. The first chapter is very Castle-centric and can be read as a Romance/littleAngst Caskett one-shot. The crossover is more prevalent in the other two chapters.

Series: This series has alternated between Castle/Stargate and Castle/Chuck crossovers. The Stargate crossovers don't have to be read to understand this story. While this story can be read stand alone, it wouldn't hurt to read I Wish This Never Happened. Despite this story being Castle/Chuck, it is completely unrelated to Castle vs the Law of Averages.

Quick summary of the first three stories: Last spring between murders, tragic deaths, and near fatal shootings, Beckett and Castle had a couple of very memorable days. It started with a murder and a young (as in early 20s) retired Air Force Colonel. It continued with a second colonel, this one beautiful and blonde, coming to his rescue. It ended the next day with martial law being declared in several blocks of Manhattan. The case involved the President, a shadowy organization called Homeworld security, high tech weapons and power sources, invisible sheds, a hunt for a mutant squirrel, and possibly clones.

In between, Kate and Rick fell into a series of non-dates. Coming back from one of these non-dates, they arrested a man, Lester Patel, who they witnessed beating another to death. As it turns out, the victim, Jeffrey Barnes, only had couch lock and made a full recovery. A second misunderstanding almost led to a kidnapping charge, but that was cleared up by the two men's co-workers from the Buy More. These coworkers somehow were involved with the CIA and happened to be in New York, shutting down a gun and drug smuggling operation. Castle and Beckett only talked to these agents on the phone, but were given enough assurances to let Patel and Barnes free. Considering the far more profound case which bookended this one and considering the multiple non-dates over the two days, their brief arrest of the little Canadian Hinjew and his phone-a-friend benefactors were largely forgotten.

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

Disclaimer 2: Self-beta'd. 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.

Published: 12 Dec 2011

Chapter 1 - I Never Meant for This to Happen

Kate Beckett fell backwards onto her bed and groaned. She wondered in frustration exactly how she ended up here.

The convenient excuse was it was all Madison's fault. Yes. That worked. She stopped by the station this afternoon to invite Kate to the opening for her new restaurant at some fancy hotel. Kate thought it sounded like fun, but she would be going alone. Madison said that was perfect. She immediately walked over to Rick and asked him to go with Kate. It was probably the most embarrassed Kate had been since Madison talked about little Castle babies in the interrogation room a year and a half ago. It was the kind of embarrassment only a long-time friend can cause.

Maddie was lucky there were so many witnesses at the precinct. Otherwise, Kate might have pulled out her service weapon and shot her so-called 'friend' dead. Or maybe she would have just wounded her. Come to think of it, most of the people at the precinct would cover for her once she explained how it was justified. Captain Gates was the only reason Kate's high school friend was still breathing.

It lieu of justified homicide, Kate was going to have to find another way to get even. But that was a problem for another time. None of this musing helped with her immediate problem. What was she supposed to wear?

She wanted to look good for Castle, but not too good. This was not a date. A couple of her dresses had low cut fronts that would show her bullet wound. She didn't want to spend the night with sympathetic looks from her dinner companion who was checking out her chest. Those dresses would only be safe after they started sleeping together. Wait. If they started… No. When they… Ahh! Nevermind.

The skirt of the black dress she wore undercover to the club was too short for a dinner with just a friend. A couple of her other dresses had the same problem. The go-go and flapper dresses were out. So was the beautiful silver sequin dress. It was too formal and had the same problem as the violet silk one- no back.

That left the green one. She was saving it for Kevin and Jenny's wedding in a few months. She guessed she could wear it again, as long as she stayed off Page Six tonight. It was a restaurant opening, but there wasn't a red carpet or anything. Tonight was more about the food critics than the celebrity appearances. Castle was the only "famous" person invited, and he wasn't a big enough draw at a simple restaurant opening to rate a photographer.

The emerald green dress with black trim fell safely below the knee and had high necklines in both front and back. It was safe.

Decision made, Kate looked at her dad's watch sitting on her dresser. She had just enough time for her hair. She was going to wear it up, with a few strategic strands hanging down in front. With the dress's high neck line, there was no need to hide all of her neck. And she fully expected a lot of nervous hair twirling tonight.

Rick arrived at her door a couple minutes early (of course). She had let him win that argument earlier in the day, giving up on the idea of meeting him at the restaurant. She let him win so he would stop making loud, suggestive comments about meeting her at a hotel. It wasn't that big of deal, except by driving herself, she would have had an excuse not to drink too much at dinner. She was nervous enough about what might happen without adding a lot of alcohol into the mix. Using his car service really wasn't helping with Kate's plan to keep this evening as another safe non-date. At least he had enough sense not to bring flowers.

With Rick waiting just inside her door, she went to get her small purse with her badge and phone and her gun. Her shooter had still not been found, so she always carried a gun when she left her home, even off duty. Rick understood the reasons, so he didn't even make a suggestive comment about where she would be hiding it.

On the way to the restaurant, they talked about the day's case. They had booked the suspect around two. Rick left early so he could see Alexis for a couple hours before she went out with friends on Friday night. He was curious about what the ADA had said about prosecution's chances. They didn't have a confession, but the case was solid. There was a chance the ADA would have to call Rick to the stand on this one. With Rick's flair for storytelling, that was something he always loved, but this ADA didn't. She preferred more reserved witnesses.

Fortunately, their work gave them a safe topic of conversation and safely steered them from anything about how this all felt like a real date.

When they arrived at the hotel, Rick helped her out of the town car. After she stood, his left hand immediately went to her lower back. The shiver that went up Kate's spine reinforced that a dress with no back would have been a really bad idea. Skin to skin contact would have ended her right then and there as a puddle on the sidewalk.

Rick gently guided her to Madison's new restaurant inside: Minerva's. Italian food. With a reservation placed by the restaurant manager, they were seated immediately. One of the reasons Maddie had been spared earlier today was because this non-date setup was technically only strike one. (The interrogation room embarrassment was balanced out by Kate actually interrogating her as a murder suspect.) However, their table tucked in a quiet corner that could easily be described as the most romantic spot in entire restaurant. The lighting was dim. The greens that scaled the false trellis were beautiful. The volume of the live background music was quiet and not overbearing. The small booth put them on adjacent sides of a table where their knees might lightly touch.

Strike two, Maddie.

Rick perused the wine list with a single instruction from Kate. It had to be a bottle that regular people could afford. She trusted him to know the good but reasonably priced stuff. He usually put that kind where Martha would easily find it so she wouldn't hunt for the good stuff.

Kate had been on a dozen or so non-dates with Castle last spring. She even was tricked into inviting Castle to a movie in what later could only be called a date according to most reasonable definitions. She thought she was simply introducing a friend to a classic movie. Thirty minutes in, she noticed him mouthing lines and realized he had conned her. She didn't call him on it though. It was better if he thought that she thought it was just another non-date. That non-date distinction and his respect for her relationship with Josh (sometimes more respect than she had for it), were probably the only things that prevented a good night kiss that evening. Or a good night make out session.

Then LA happened. Then what almost happened in LA, almost happened.

She had missed Castle terribly over the summer. When she returned, she told him she had needed to stay away from the case for a while. The truth was she also needed to stay away from him. After almost dying in the cemetery… After hearing those wonderful words…

She wasn't ready. She needed to be ready before they started anything. If they started before she was ready, the hopes she had for their relationship would be ruined. Someday her mom's case would come back. She'd put on blinders and ruin any relationship they had. It was inevitable. It was a booby trapped bomb waiting to go off. She did not want it ruined with Rick, but that would truly destroy her. They could survive the bomb as partners. They wouldn't survive it as lovers.

So the best thing to do was to stall.

Her story about the wall around her heart was true. Who doesn't have a wall around their hearts? People choose who they let past that wall and when they share parts of it with others. It's part of being human.

The big lie wasn't about forgetting what had happened at the cemetery. It wasn't that she remembered those wonderful words. Those words gave her something for which to fight. Those words saved her life. Pretending she didn't remember was a little lie. Her therapist even knew about that one.

The big lie was Rick was already behind her wall. He fought his way through her defenses and tunneled through her walls a long time ago. His books gave him a special key before they even met. Every day he showed up, more and more of him got in through a secret passage only he knew about. Eventually the wall closed up behind him. Now there was no chance of him getting out. When she was frustrated, she regularly threw him in a closet, but he was still trapped behind the wall with her. They would only have a healthy and lasting relationship if they could tear down her wall together… from the inside.

Solving her mother's case would be the best way to force that wall to crumble. Until then, she was going to try to build the strongest friendship possible with Castle to serve as a stable base for their future she hoped they'd have together. She only hoped he did not get impatient and either rush her or give up on her.

Most of the time, Kate wasn't worried about the fallout from her little and big lies. Believing the big lie was entirely his fault. For a writer who regularly calls her extraordinary, he should know better than to fall for the wall cliché. The little lie would be quickly forgiven when she repeated the wonderful words, followed by "too." She knew at that point he would be too shocked to care.

This fall, Rick and she had fallen back into their great partnership. They had solved a few cases and had fun doing so. Between them, it was different. She couldn't put her finger on exactly how it was different. It wasn't worse than before. Just different. He wasn't annoying her as much. She didn't know if it was because of how he was behaving or if she had just grown used to it. She wasn't harassing him as much. That was probably because she felt a little guilty about how she treated him over the summer and didn't want to punish him more. He seemed to have forgiven her for that, fortunately. So now, she was just enjoying being with her partner again. They were comfortable.

They had even gone on a couple of non-dates as friends. Kate figured if she was the one asking, if it was nothing fancy, and if she had a reasonable excuse, she could maintain control. Buying a burger or a beer as a "reimbursement" for helping solve a case was perfectly safe. Everything was going so well.

When Kate came up with this plan, she didn't expect it to last this long. She was determined to solve the case once and for all. She wasn't expecting a captain who lets snipers get away with shooting detectives at a police funeral. She really wasn't expecting Rick's impassioned plea for her to back off of the case for a while.

While his reasoning was sound, she wondered if he would be saying that if he knew her plans for him. For them. Waiting on the case meant postponing them.

The waiter interrupted her introspection by filling her wine glass. Kate blushed slightly at the small smile Rick was aiming her direction. She had been caught daydreaming about the possibility of them. She just hoped he didn't know it.

Rick ordered the fried zucchini as an appetizer. Kate was pleased he knew what she liked.

Back in the present, Kate lowered her black wrap from over her shoulders and carefully folded it on top of her small handbag in the corner. She looked back up at Rick, and this time she was the one who caught him with the bulging eyes. While her dress had the high necklines, it was also sleeveless.

Kate rolled her lips inward to hide her smile, thrilled she could so easily get this kind of reaction out of him.

On the job she was still in charge, but she had been going easier on him by putting up with more of his antics. To be honest, it wasn't that hard. She was enjoying being his partner too much to harass him. Instead she was flirting just enough to hint that she wanted him as more than just a partner.

Some people might think she was being cruel by leading him on, especially knowing how he felt. Kate figured he had earned the right to ogle her a little. She was simply prompting him when it was ok to do so.

Also, considering what she also felt, it was just as cruel to herself. A large part of her was ready to dive in now. That part wanted to grab his black tie near the collar of his tailored, charcoal button-down and pull his lips to hers, making a very public display in this restaurant. She was forcing herself to wait so they could have a chance to last-so they could both enjoy the type of relationship she hoped they would have.

It would devastate her, but she wasn't going to stop him from seeing somebody else. She was determined not to act like a domineering girlfriend. Despite the scare with Serena, it seemed to be working. In fact, she didn't know of him seeing anyone since Gina. He seemed to be waiting for her. That thought made her smile.

She knew she was walking a very fine line. She wanted to keep him interested. She wanted to give him hope. But she needed him to be patient. She needed him to believe they were worth waiting for. All without being cruel.

In the past few weeks, she realized her issues were not the only ones they would be facing. Rick had dropped a few comments about domineering wives and the horror of marriage. At first, she thought it was an act to tease and scare Kevin. Recently, she was starting to think there was some truth to it, that his past marriages hurt him more than he let on. If so, it was a large obstacle they would fight through together, just like her mom's case.

Another concern was Kate had not heard from Alexis since the shooting. She fully expected to hear from her about Stanford, considering Kate started school there, but that never happened. Something was going on with Rick's daughter. Maybe it was the rejection from Stanford. (Since when did that accept applications for January admissions?) Maybe she was worried that her father would be hurt or killed helping on the job. (He might, but not if she could prevent it.) Maybe she thought Kate was playing with his feelings. (In a way, she was, but in their best interests.) Alexis was so important to Rick, Kate was going to have to find a way to win back her trust, whatever the problem was.

Also, occasionally she felt like Rick was hiding something. She knew it was a little hypocritical, but her own secrets were intended to help them both as a couple in the long run. His were something different. So far it was just an instinct, with no foundation. She was already too emotionally invested for something like this to stop them. She hoped he trusted her enough to let her know before it was too late.

In the meantime, Kate and Rick could continue to develop their friendship. When Kate had told him she wanted a certain type of relationship, that was part of it. Rick might already be her best friend, but that was only because she didn't have really close friends. In fact, all of her friends were work friends. She only hung out with Javi and Kevin as teammates and a sort of family. Lanie and she were close friends in spurts, but she was spending all of her time with Javier lately. Kate felt bad about ignoring Lanie this summer as well. It's just that Kate hasn't always been comfortable sharing everything with her.

Rick was so far inside her walls, he could get her to reveal anything. While the process was sometimes painful, she always felt better afterwards. He gave her what she needed. And she was finding out she could hang out with him away from work as friends a lot easier than she could with her cop friends.

The danger was falling into the 'friend zone.' If she could occasionally keep his eyes bulging out either by sticking out her chest in a flirtatious manner, by talking about modeling without a stitch, or by showing a little skin, then mission accomplished.

Unconsciously, Rick raised a finger and grazed her bare upper arm, immediately catching her attention. Oh crap, goosebumps.

"I like how this dress brings out the green in your eyes, Kate."

Double crap. He had been calling her Kate more, and normally she didn't mind. She kind of liked it. But normally he wasn't looking at her like that. And then there was that bare skin contact she was worried about.

"Don't get me wrong. I love the softness of your browns, but the flash of green adds a layer of mystery."

He said 'love'. Triple crap.

There was two ways to handle this. Old Kate would have used an angry glare, but that wasn't really fair. Instead, Kate dipped her head slightly and shot Rick a lustful look, batting her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. This shocked Rick so much that he pulled back his hand as if it had touched a hot stove. Kate laughed and gave him an honest smile. That helped Rick relax, and she was rewarded with his returning grin.

He knew his mouth had run ahead of him. But the look in his eyes let Kate know he understood what she wanted. He was taking the possibility of them seriously, and he wanted to do it right, like she did. He wouldn't rush her.

After ordering their meals (Caesar salad and chicken manicotti for Kate, minestrone and tomato and basil penne with extra meatballs for Rick), they slipped into a more comfortable flow. No invasive questions about their families. They talked about them all of the time anyway. No awkward date questions about favorite places in New York or past relationships. Instead they returned to the topic of work-but not in a workaholic, can't-get-away-from-the-job, way. No griping about paperwork or the Wicked Witch of the West. They simply reminisced about some of their funnier cases and ridiculous suspects. After shootings and near death experiences, remembering the lighter moments was cathartic.

If this were a date-which it absolutely was not-it was turning into a perfect date filled with lots of laughter. She found herself swatting him on the shoulder in a way too flirtatious manner. His wandering hands kept touching her forearm, her wrist, and her elbow. They never lingered long, but every place they touched left a burning heat. She should just grab his hands to keep them still, but hand holding wouldn't be much better as this point.

After a while, Kate's stomach rumbled loudly enough for them both to hear. They were so comfortable with each other, she wasn't embarrassed, and he simply said, "I second that sentiment." A slow kitchen was to be expected on opening night, but their appetizer was long gone (the portion should have been larger), so their soup and salad should have arrived.

They both scanned the room looking for signs of their waiter or their next course. From their vantage point, they could see past the hostess station out to the main lobby. Madison was there, talking to an immaculately groomed older man in a suit with a name tag, presumably the hotel manager. They were soon met by two men in police uniforms.

Beckett grabbed her purse and headed straight for the group. Castle only hesitated to collect her wrap and put it in his coat pocket before rushing to catch up.

Maddie spotted their approach and met them part way. "Kate, I didn't want to interrupt your date. Don't worry about this. As you can see, we've already called the police."

Beckett responded, "It's not a date," a little too harshly. She looked quickly at Castle and saw no flinch from him. He didn't look hurt or resigned, thank goodness. He understood the situation. If anything, he was just as curious about what was going on as she was. Neither of them missed Maddie's eye roll. Kate thought she taught her friend that one in high school.

They joined the two uniforms and the manager, who had moved away from the restaurant entrance to find a little more privacy at the side of the lobby. "What's the situation, Jacobs?" Beckett asked. She recognized Officer Jacobs from the night shift. The other one was a very green looking rookie who, she would guess, had not seen much action.

Jacobs did a double take, his eyes involuntarily scanning her up and down. Beckett noticed Castle stepping closer, protectively. "Detective Beckett! I didn't know they called you."

"The new restaurant is managed by a friend of mine." Beckett looked over to the hotel manager, as she was still waiting for an answer.

"Oh, that explains the… well that explains it," he said awkwardly.

The slender manager, whose name tag said Pierre Thompson, said, "I was telling these officers that one or our housekeeping staff heard a loud bang near where she was working. When she went to investigate, she discovered the door ajar, and…"

"And what?" Castle asked.

"Could you promise to keep this quiet?" the thin man countered. "We don't want to scare the guests."

"No promises. You called us. You need to tell us the problem," Kate firmly answered.

Maddie stepped in to speed it along, "She found a body."

"How long ago?"

"No more than ten minutes," Thompson answered.

Kate turned to the officers, "Jacobs, take your partner…" She looked to the rookie.

"Donald Winston, ma'am,"

"Winston," Kate continued, "and secure the building. No one leaves." The manager looked horrified. "Call for back up and coordinate with hotel security, as I am sure this place has at least half a dozen exits. Keep in mind, however, that hotel security includes possible suspects. Whoever did this is probably gone, but we don't want to later find the primary suspect in the same security footage frame as one of us."

The officers nodded and left to do their jobs.

"Maddie, I know you are busy, but could you make sure the witness is comfortable? We'll have questions for her after the scene has been secured. She can have our food, which should have arrived by now."

"No problem Becks. Thanks again for your help. I'll have them package up a to-go package for you two as well." Madison smiled and walked over to a frightened looking woman from housekeeping who was nervously picking her nails while squirming on one of the lobby's enormous sofas.

"Mr. Thompson. I need you to take me and my partner to the room where the body was found."

The elevator ride was oddly quiet. No elevator music. After a couple of floors, Becket felt the outside of Castle's hand brush up against her own and stay there. His pinky seemed to be slowly curling around hers. Beckett held in a groan. This wasn't time for that-in any way, shape, or form. She snapped him a glare, which he returned with a confused expression. She looked down at their hands and back into his eyes. He realized the problem with surprise, and took a cautious step to the other side of the elevator.

Now at a safe distance, Beckett realized that maybe she was the one who initiated contact and for some reason didn't think of moving her own hand. The misunderstanding was the fault of her own traitorous pinky. This murderous dinner interruption was a Really Good Thing. Her great plan of stalling would have been utterly decimated by the time the "not a date" ended. Maybe Maddie should get one strike back for this interruption. Nah. That would only make sense if she was the one who had actually committed the murder.

Beckett really needed to get a handle on this! Pulling her gun out from the holster under her skirt centered her and helped her focus.

The elevator dinged as it opened on the eighth floor.

"What room?" Beckett asked.

"Room 832, down to the right," the manager pointed down the hall.

"Ok, head back down to the lobby, and give directions to any backup that arrives." Beckett raised her weapon and started down the hallway, Castle a step behind.

"Castle, I can run just fine in these heels, but I'm not sure about this skirt. You're my only backup, so I need you to stay behind me, but with me. I don't have a backup piece for you, but I need you to watch my back. Be ready to do exactly what I say. Can you do that?" They passed room 818.

"Yes."

"Are you focused?" Room 822.

"With a possible murderer roaming the halls, of course. Are you focused?" He sounded serious. He knew she had been distracted for a large part of the evening.

Kate adjusted her grip on her gun. "I am now." Room 826.

Beckett was calm. She trusted him now, more than she ever did before. He had good instinct. Her partner had her back.

They stopped just short of room 832. The door was still ajar. Its flip-over lock bar was extended, preventing the door from shutting completely. Beckett gave a quick scan of both directions of the hall. She whispered, "Remember, no vests. I don't need you walking straight into a shot. Don't be a hero."

"You neither."

Beckett tightened her lips and nodded once. They really should wait for back-up.

"Stay here until I give the all clear."

Castle didn't look happy about that, but gave a short nod in agreement.

Beckett slowly inched the door open, leading with her gun through the growing gap. She was using her shoulder, avoiding the door handle to avoid smearing possible prints. When the door was about a quarter open, she could see the nearby bathroom door was shut and its lights were off. She could also hear someone rummaging deep inside the room. Worried that the door would creak or they would spot her any second, she quickly forced her way through, yelling, "NYPD. Hands in the air!"

The lone man inside quickly leapt to his feet, elbows tucked to his sides, empty hands by his face. The white man was about thirty with brown hair. He was a taller than Castle, and thinner too. He wasn't muscle bound and looked awkward, but he was fit. If it weren't for the dead body at his feet, the open room safe under the desk, his all black outfit, the open air vent above his head, and the gun sitting on the bed, Beckett would never have pegged a guy with that apologetically sheepish smile as a murderer. Instead, there were five clues that clearly pointed to this guy as guilty of murder.

She had Castle call dispatch to relay the all clear to Jacobs. Mr. Thompson would be relieved. Back-up would be arriving in less than ten minutes.

Beckett read the suspect his rights and bound his hands with zip-ties from his own "utility belt." (That's what Castle called it.) For the most part the suspect seemed distracted, as if he was paying attention to something, just not them. Several times he looked like he was just about to say something, before shutting his mouth.

Suddenly he groaned and blurted out, apparently to the room, "Man, she is going to kill me!" He turned to Beckett, and pleaded like only a guilty man could, "This isn't what it looks like. This man was dead when I got here, and I can explain everything."

It would take quite a story to explain away this one. But at least this guy helped Kate out of her near disastrous non-date which was going way too well.

A/N: Next up: "Yeah, right"