107Title: When you play with fire, you get burned.
Characters/Pairings: The whole team, with some Beckett/Castle goodness that we can't get enough of.
Rating: PG-13 for some mild language and sexual references.
Genre: Humor/Romance
Warnings: Just the banter that we love so much, plus a little romance thrown in there. There is also a Stana and Nathan quote, plus one from Heat Wave... can you spot them?
Spoiler alert: A few from Deep In Death (2x01), The Third Man (2x14), The Mistress Always Spanks Twice (2x16), and also the title of the Nikki Heat sequal.
Summary: After a tough case Castle convinces Kate to spend family night with him. However, the night doesn't end like either one of them expected.
Author's Notes: I'm not much of a writer, but during Castle's painfully long hiatus I read a lot of FanFiction. This idea just came to me and I went with it. I received great reviews so I decided to finish the story. Please review honestly. Any and all feedback is greatly appreicated! Thanks in advance!
Disclamer: If it resembles Castle in any way, I don't own it! Everything belongs to to ABC.
And since all stories have a dedication: Dedicated to the extraordinary people of "Castle" at Raleigh Studios! I wish we get many, many more years of this fablous show! :)
BTW, this story isn't set at a specific time. (ie, beginning of season two, after episode 1x05, etc.) Even though I've included a few details or references from episodes already aired, the story stands alone. Anyway, just wanted to explain that in case as the show progresses, the details of my story don't quite fit.
It was just past 4:30 PM on a Saturday and the team had closed a tough case that took them into the weekend. Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery already left to go home and enjoy the rest of the night. Even though it was a weekend, as usual, Kate sat at her desk finishing up some last minute paperwork. She thought she was alone until she heard footsteps behind her. The Smith case the team just closed caused her to be a little on edge. She reached for her gun and wheeled around only to come face to face with a shocked looking Castle.
"No wonder you don't have a boyfriend, what with you aiming your gun at people all the time."
Hinting his sarcasm she put her gun back in her holster. "Oh, sorry, you scarred me." Slightly shouting, and a little embarrassed by his remark.
"Please Beckett. Me? Really? All the things you've seen on the job and a mystery writer scares you?" His face looked puzzled.
"The job makes me jumpy when I hear people sneak up behind me." She said defending herself.
"I wasn't sneaking, I was only walking." He replied in his playful tone.
"Well whatever you were or weren't doing," giving him the classic Beckett stare "can you do it as you're leaving?" She motioned towards the elevator. "I'm almost finished here, and I'm sure Alexis will be glad when you get home."
With a devilish grin he asked "Trying to get rid of me are you Katie?"
"Call me Katie ever again and I will make sure you do not make it home tonight."
She sent a glare at him that wiped the smirk right off his face. "Whoa, okay fine. You know you're not very much fun."
"I am plenty fun."
"Are not."
"I am."
"Are not."
"Stop it!" This time her voice was stern.
"Are not."
"Castle!" She barked. Picking her coat up and making her way towards the elevator "I am not playing these games with you. I am going home to relax and take a nice hot bath. Night."
The emphasis on hot bath made Castle's eyes light up like the Fourth of July fireworks. "Oh really… would you by any chance like any assistance?" He poked at her, testing the waters, hoping she'd bite.
He had never seen a woman turn around so fast in his life than Katherine Beckett did before him. "Castle, look I've had a rough day. Having you come home with me would take away the relaxing part of my evening... remember? Now for the second and final time, I am going home." She turned on her heel once more, and walked toward the elevator.
She got on the elevator and just as she thought she was in the clear, Castle was right behind her. She cursed under her breath. The doors closed and the elevator began descending.
"Hey, sorry about that, you know… back there." His voice was sincere. She nodded as a way of accepting his apology.
Her forgiveness was short-lived. "However, I would love it if –" he had started but Kate quickly stopped him. "– I don't want to hear it Castle. I am going home to relax. You are not coming back to my apartment with me and doing whatever it is you were about to say."
"You have a dirty mind Katie." She ignored the fact that he had called her Katie, again, and stared straight ahead.
"I was only going to say that I would love it if you would come over to my house tonight." He smiled sweetly as she looked at him. Although, now he realized how that came out.
She picked up on it as well. "Oh, would you now?" She asked. "And how would that be any different then you coming to my apartment?"
He was trying to push her buttons. "Well for starters, my mother and Alexis will be at my place tonight. So if you and I were to take part in any activities that involved water and a bathtub, we'd have to be quiet."
She blushed. "Castle!" Her embarrassment didn't last long when she reached for his nose, grabbed it and twisted.
"Apples, Apples, Apples!" He winced in pain and she released her grip on him.
"You know, I'm going to do your future boyfriend a favour."
She started to raise her hand to his nose again. "Hey, no, wait, stop!" She lowered her hand and glared at him.
"When you get a boyfriend, tell him I need to talk to him."
"And why on Earth would I do that?"
"So I can warn him how much physical pain you will cause him!"
"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that." She said as she rolled her eyes.
"Relax Beckett. Let me finish what I was trying to say, before you injured me."
"Either way, I'm not –"
"Listen Beckett, its Saturday. Saturday nights in the Castle household is known as family night. Alexis, mother and I always order take-out, rent a movie and play a board game or two – usually Monopoly. Although, you'd have no chance at winning. I haven't lost a game yet." Kate rolled her eyes. "It would probably be a fair match between you and Alexis, though."
This time she interrupted. "What's that supposed to mean!?"
He continued. "Sorry. No offense to you but she's really good. Gives me a run for my money sometimes. If it makes you feel any better, it's not hard to beat mother – after a few glasses of wine a new born baby could beat her. I once convinced her to sell me both Boardwalk and Park Place if I refilled her wine glass." He chuckled "You can totally take her."
"If this is your idea of flattery, you really need to work on it." She said teasing.
"Trust me, if I was trying for flattery – you'd know it." He didn't notice when his statement made her blush.
"But anyway" he continued "The point is that I know this case was a tough one and it wiped you out, it wiped all of us out. And I know you were planning on going home to relax, and I get it if you'd rather just go home, but… " fidgeting a little, he went on "but, I think it'd be fun if you came over and joined us. I was going to ask Ryan and Esposito too but I couldn't find them. You could call Lanie if you want. We could make teams, place bets, and just have a fun night."
He paused for a moment, waiting for her to say something. "You don't have to stay late. You can leave anytime you want. My driver can take you home, if you don't feel like taking your car."
They were both silent for a moment but apprehensively Kate answered. "Castle, I –" The elevator stopped and they heard a ding, indicating they had arrived on the main floor. They both exited and waited for each other to speak up.
She broke the silence and spoke firmly. "Castle, I don't know if it's such a good idea."
"It's not like you have any plans with anyone." Castle piped up. "You can relax after."
A little annoyed she defended herself. "And how would you know about my plans? I could just want to be refreshed before going out on a date, or going to catch a movie with Lanie." Even as she said the words, she knew he seen right through her.
"Well, do you?" The look on his face told her he wasn't buying it.
She sighed. "No I don't. But that's not the point!"
"That is exactly the point. So what do you say?" Looking at her like a lost puppy. "Please, please, please with cherries on top?"
She ignored the comment made by the nine year old Castle that liked to make an appearance every now and again. "I'm really tired and I wouldn't want to intrude or anything." Secretly she wanted nothing more to go over and show him a thing or two about Monopoly. "It's a family thing… and I… I don't think it'd be appropriate right now. Maybe some other time, sorry."
As soon as the words left her mouth she saw a hurt look creep over Castle's face. He spoke up trying to sound like what she had said didn't hurt his feelings. "Um, yeah okay. Some other time sounds great, and I'm holding you to that." He winked at her.
"I know you will. Night, Castle."
"Until tomorrow, detective." With a smile, he turned around and starting walking towards the door.
She stood watching him walk away. The way his shoulders were hunched over told her that she'd hurt him more then he let on. She knew he was upset but she really was tired. At the same time she wanted to go – she loved Martha and Alexis. They were the closest thing to a real family she had.
She figured that there'd be coffee at his house. Countless times coffee had kept her awake until the wee hours in the morning when they were working on a case, so there would be no reason why it wouldn't keep her awake long enough to show Castle how fun she really could be.
"Wait!" Surprising herself, she ran towards him.
When she reached him he spun around so fast that they bumped into each other, causing Kate to lose her balance. Castle reached out his arm and she grabbed on to it to steady herself.
After a moment Castle spoke up. "Now, I know you did not just run after me to feel my strong muscular arm. Or did you?"
She blushed as she forgot she was still holding onto him. She let go, trying to regain her composure.
"No." She chuckled. "I most certainly did not. I… I wanted to tell you that…" Steadying her voice she finally finished "that I can't show up to your house in clothes that I've been wearing for a day and a half."
It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The smile on Castle's face at that moment was priceless. His face lit up and he grinned from ear to ear.
"Alright, down boy."
He tried to tone it down, but it was no use. He was still smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.
She continued. "If I'm going to your house, I need to shower and change first. So I'll meet you at your house around six?"
"It's okay, you don't need to drive. We can take your car back to your apartment. I'll call my driver to come get us while you are getting ready. I can order supper too. That way we can pick it up on the way home."
"Castle, I am not letting you into my apartment, unsupervised, able to roam free while I am in the shower!"
"Think of it this way. I can do research for Nikki Heat." He said with a wicked grin.
She let out a throaty laugh. "There is no way that is happening."
"Okay fine, I'll be good I promise. I'll even sit outside your door if you want me too. You can lock me out and everything."
Reluctantly she agreed. "Fine. Lets go, my car is this way."
"So, what made you change your mind?" He asked curiously as they were walking towards her car.
"Well you were right. I didn't have any plans." Pausing for emphasis, she continued. "But I figure that kicking your ass in Monopoly will be much more fun then sitting at home."
"Careful Katie, if you play with the big boys, you're going to get burned."
She sent him a death stare. "What did I say about Katie?"
"Sorry."
"And by the way, I hope you have a fire extinguisher at your house, Castle. 'Cause if I'm going to get burned, you're going to be ablaze!"