Sideways Steps

A 'Back to Where We Have Never Been' Companion Piece

A series of one-shots.

Happy Birthday AC. This is for you. Thank you for being the best Fic 'pimp' and helping to get Back to Where off the ground.

1. Laser Tag (expanded from chapter 9 of Back to Where)

Kate peered curiously over his shoulder and into the closet as something in the corner caught her attention.

"What's that?" She asked as she pointed past him.

Castle looked back at her, over his shoulder, shock etched on his features. "You don't know what that is?"

Kate shook her head slowly. "No, should I?"

Castle reached into the closet and pulled out two vests and two large plastic guns. "This, my dear Beckett, is the making of the best afternoon ever: Top of the Line Laser Tag. You wanna play?"

Kate leveled him with a look. "Castle, I'm thirty-one, I'm way too old to be playing laser tag."

"Nonsense. Come on, Becks, you know you want to."

Kate shook her head again and took a step back, biting her lower lip. "Don't call me Becks."

"I know that look, Kate, you want to but you don't think you should. Come on, Beckett. Live a little. You just came here after joy riding on your motorcycle. What's wrong, afraid you're gonna lose?" Castle challenged, matching her step by step as she backed into the living room.

Kate let out a soft growl from the back of her throat. He just had to go and challenge her.

"Fine," she snapped, reaching out to grab one of the vests. "But loser has to buy the winner lunch."

"Deal," he smiled down at her.

"Deal."

Kate was strapping the vest to her body, securing it around her middle, the gun dangling at her side, when the apartment plunged into total darkness, only the sound of a laser gun powering up behind her, warning her that she needed to move.

Now.

Her heart was pounding as she dove behind the couch in a desperate attempt for cover. She had never shot a gun before, laser or otherwise. How was this going to work? Just point and shoot? Should she take the time to aim properly or should she just spray out an array of laser beams and hope for the best? Should she stay hidden or should she move?

A floorboard creaked to her left and her head whipped around. Without thinking she lifted up and pulled the trigger. Her shot went wide but Castle was forced to dive for cover giving Kate enough time to push off of the ground and bolt for the office, as she let out a high pitched shriek turned laugh.

This was… She couldn't help but smile as she gasped for breath, crouched behind Castle's desk, her flashing vest hidden for the moment. This was fun.

She was having fun.

Castle pressed his back against the wall as he prepared himself to round the corner into his office. She was cornered in there. There was only one door, unless she went into the bedroom and then she would still be trapped. In his bedroom. Castle gulped. Nope, he was not allowed to think like that about Kate… and him… and his bed. Her hands working up under his shirt as he kissed her neck, his lips moving lower and lower until…

He could feel the flush creep up his neck as a few beads of sweat formed on his brow. He brought up a hand to swipe at them.

No.

She was engaged. He was not allowed to think like that.

Focus.

He had to focus on the game. He was not going to lose at his own game in his own home. There was a shuffle from inside the office followed by a whispered curse.

Castle smirked. She knew she was trapped.

"You can surrender now, Kate, save yourself the humiliation of defeat," Castle called laughing at the growl that answered him.

"Surrender is worse than defeat. Never give up, never surrender!"

"Galaxy Quest? Really, Professor Beckett? I would expect something more profound from you."

«Как это для глубоких?» Kate growled in response as she sped past him out the door and vaulted over the couch falling into a crouch behind it before Castle even recovered his senses, his mouth gaping open.

"Was that Russian? Did you just curse at me in Russian?"

"Yes!" Kate called back over the couch.

"That's hot!" Castle called back, quickly ducking as Kate popped back up to shoot at him again.

He laughed as he ran across the living room, taking cover behind the piano.

"You're lucky, I'm a bad shot," Kate huffed. "Or else you would be dead by now."

"Don't worry, Ashley," Alexis placated as the pair made their way down the hall from the elevator to the front door of the loft. "My father promised he would be on his best behavior. Plus, this time he is going to be cooking and not my gram. Everything should be just fine."

Ashley nodded his head reluctantly. "You sure they won't mind us dropping by like this? I mean, I'm sure Professor Beckett has better things to do than to have meeting with soon-to-be students."

Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "She's pretty cool. Plus, you aren't here as an incoming freshman, you are here as my boyfriend and she is a friend of my dad. Now…"

Alexis's sentence died on her lips, her key paused in the lock as she heard a shriek followed by a crash come from the other side of the door.

"What the…" she started as she scrambled to open the door. The two stumbled into the dimly lit apartment to see the top of her father's head poking out from behind the couch and Kate running towards the kitchen, spinning herself around the island. A lamp was on the floor, shattered into a dozen pieces.

"Dad? What's going on?"

Castle stood up, grinning widely at his daughter. His vest glowed and died as Kate took the opportunity to hit him with a kill shot.

"Ha! You owe me lunch." She yelled victoriously before turning to look at the two teenagers. "Hi Alexis. You must be Ashley."

Alexis reached back to hit the light switch as Ashley looked between the adults in unmasked shock.

"Um, hi, Professor Beckett?" Ashley stuttered out as she made her way and met him with an outstretched hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Kate smiled back at him, her vest glowing and blinking, gun hanging at her side in one hand. Castle grumbled about her cheating as he came up behind her.

"Hey, sweetie," he said, turning towards his daughter. "We're headed out to lunch. You two want to come?"

Alexis looked back at him, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times. "No, thank you, we just ate."

Castle nodded back at her and made quick work of his vest, grabbing the one that Kate was holding out to him as he made his way over to the closet.

"Okay, well you kids have fun. We'll be back in time for me to start dinner for tonight." He called as he followed Kate out into the hall.

Alexis turned to Ashley as the door click shut behind them, leaving the two teenagers alone in the dark apartment, the lamp still lying in pieces on the floor. Her brow was furrowed as she opened her mouth to say something, but found that words failed her as Ashley nodded back.

"Well," he started. "That's not what I expected."

Alexis shook her head and made her way into the apartment, flipping on a light switch as she went.