She sat in her chair, head resting against her hand, engrossed in a stack of paperwork.
It's been another long, confusing case and she's burned out. Castle thought. He could tell in the way Beckett blinked; when she closed her eyes, Castle counted the seconds until she opened them again. The most he counted to was twelve.
This could be the closest I'll ever get to watching her sleep.
Beckett paid no attention to Castle who was sittingin his chair on the side of her desk. It was moments like these that Castle took the time to observe her more fully; usually something he did as a writer, but lately observing Detective Kate Beckett was more for his own pleasure than his Nikki Heat novels. He has always admired her; since the day she arrested him for a homicide committed the same way as the murder in his book, Castle saw something in her, a story, a mystery, pure inspiration. He wanted-no needed- to get inside her head, figure her out, to solve this mystery, but there are too many layers to the Beckett onion. No matter, Castle made it his mission to peel back the layers one-by-one and he didn't care how long it took.
Kate tipped her head forward and ran her fingers through her wavy, honey-brown hair with a huff. Castle found that sexy, and wanted to run his own fingers through her hair.
So many things,he thought, so many things about her that just drive me insane.
"Why do you do that?"
Castle forced his eyes away from Beckett's hair and onto her face. Her eyes were delicious pools of coffee that pierced him with a slightly annoyed glare.
"Do what?"
"Stare at me. What? You think I don't notice? I'm a detective; I know when people are watching me. And you, Castle, have the eyes of a hawk." Beckett was fried and just wanted to go home, take a warm bath, and go to sleep. But that couldn't happen until she finished this paper work and having Castle stare at her like she was an animal in a zoo just made this more... stressful.
" I'm just doing my job as a writer."
"Well can you hold off on that cause I need concentration to do my job as a cop."
Castle nodded solemnly. Beckett looked back down at the paper in front of her but was unable to read and fill it out. Frustrated,she racked her fingers through her hair and clamped a fist full of it in her hand. She snuck a quick peek at Castle, who sulked like she just took away his favorite toy. Determined to finish up what work she had left, Beckett took a deep breath and with a small smile, said " Hey Castle, why don't you head home. It's been a long week, the case is over, and I only have a few things to finish up here. You did good, you know, helping me catch the killer."
Castle sat up straight and replied," Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to drive you home."
She gave him a perplexed look. "Why?"
"You're tired, and I don't want you to fall asleep and have an accident. I'd feel more at ease if I just took you home."
Beckett gave him a small smile-a real one this time- and tapped her pen against the edge of the desk. " That's very noble of you Castle and I appreciate the offer but-"
"Oh it's not an offer. I'm driving you home."
Beckett's smile slowly slipped away as she realized how serious he was and knew he wouldn't change his mind.
" Okay," she drawled out uncertainly," Fine with me."
Castle crossed his legs, laced his fingers together, and grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling. "Great."
Beckett studied him a bit longer before returning to her work.
###
Kate felt like she barely made it to her car before she fell asleep in the passenger seat. She gave Castle the keys on the elevator ride down.
Castle fastened his seat belt while waiting for the car to warm up. He couldn't help but glance over at Beckett. She was curled up against the window breathing steadily. Her hair partly covered her face, he could see her eyelids fluttering in sleep, and her nose twitch slightly.
Adorable.
Castle drove her home. He went the longer way to her apartment, figuring if she woke up he could just say there was traffic on the usual route. It wasn't necessary though. She slept so soundly that when Castle finally pulled up to the front of the apartment building he was hesitant to wake her up.
"Beckett?" She stirred but didn't answer him.
"Kate?" he tried again.
" Hmmm... Castle?"
"Just wanted to let you know that we're here."
Kate found the strength to shake off her drowsiness and sat up. When she looked at him she was surprised to see Castle staring intently at her, even more surprised to feel a small tug of... she didn't know. It felt like her heart was trying to pull them closer together if that made any sense. She gazed into his eyes. It didn't matter that it was dark; she was enchanted by his deep blue eyes. She seemed to have the same effect on him. A moment later confusion seeped in her mind and she turned away. Castle stayed quiet giving Beckett a moment to collect her thoughts.
"Um, thank you. Thank you for the ride," Kate finally said. Then something popped into her mind.
"How will you get home?"
" Oh, I'll take a taxi."
"Alright," Kate said in a flat voice.
He gave her the keys and she stuffed them in her pocket. Castle became hurt as Kate opened the car door, seemingly in a rush to get away from him.
"Wait!" Castle exclaimed while grabbing her wrist at the last second. Kate froze and bent to look at him.
"What?"
This is it.
"Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" A smile spread across Kate's face without her meaning to. Castle's heart sped up at the sight of it.
"That would be great." And with that she shut the door and walked off. Castle got out of the car never taking his eyes off of her. her hair swished and blew in the wind and her hips swayed with every step she took in her stiletto black boots.
Kate resisted the urge to turn around, worried that her eyes would find his and some very revealing emotion would emerge onto her face. It wasn't until she made it into the lobby that she realized she was holding her breath. And it wasn't until Kate locked the door once she got inside her apartment that she realized what she felt in her car.
Longing. For Richard Castle.
Okay, pretty boring chapter right? Don't worry I am definitely spicing it up Andrew Marlow style for the rest of these chapters. For those of you who don't know who Andrew Marlow is, he is the writer of the original t.v show Castle and the most brilliant man on God's green earth. I'll put a hmmm... a surprise on their date. Could be good and could be bad. And could be murder. Maw ha ha! Comment and vote if you like! WILL UPDATE SOON!
