336. Chapter 336

After Nikki Heat

Episode 3.11

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: If I claimed to own Castle, it would be someone impersonating me. Rating: K Time: See above.

Kate Beckett was surprised to see Castle in the bullpen. There had been no body drop, and things had been so slow that she was reviewing cold cases.

"What brings you in today, Castle?" She asked as he put her coffee down in front of her as well as a bear claw with cherry icing.

"Can't I just drop by the precinct?"

Kate slowly shook her head. "You know I know your tells. Now why are you here?"

He frowned. "Am I really that easy?"

She smiled at him. "I've worked with you for quite a while, I've seen you in some pretty rough, stressful situations, and I am a trained detective."

"And a very, very good one."

"Tell me, then. What do you want?"

Castle took a deep breath. "Will you go to lunch with me today? At Le Cirque. It's on me. Please?"

"Castle, are you asking me out on a date?" Things aren't going well with Josh, mainly because of my unresolved feelings for Castle. If he's asking me out, that will complicate things enormously. And I don't need my life to be any more complicated than it already is.

Castle shook his head repeatedly. "No! This is strictly business."

"Business? What kind of business?"

"Heat Wave is being released today."

Kate frowned. "And instead of an invitation to the premiere, I get lunch?" I was invited to the book launch party, and that was a disaster. I was going to turn down any further invitations, but to not be invited to the premiere of Heat Wave is…disappointing, to say the least. Why doesn't he want me there?

"There is no premiere. The studio decided to release Heat Wave directly to DVD."

"That's bad, isn't it?" Now Kate was confused. And upset. Why is it released straight to DVD? Heat Wave is the best thing Castle's ever written for my money. Why doesn't the studio like it?

"There were script problems, problems with the casting, financial problems. The studio thought it'd be best to cut their losses." Castle brightened a bit. "Maybe it'll be one of those underground hits, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Kate wasn't sure that hordes of fans dressed like her was something she wanted to see. "So why the invitation to lunch? Do you want me to sign a DVD in hopes you can sell it on E-Bay?"

"Natalie Rhodes called and invited me to lunch. She didn't exactly invite me. She demanded I come and have lunch with her."

"Why?" Now Kate was very curious.

"I have no idea." Castle admitted.

"You want me along for protection from Natalie Rhodes." Kate smiled at the thought.

"No! Of course not!" Castle took the full force of Kate's glare. "Okay. Yes. Protect me. Please! Please! Please!"

"Okay. But I can pay my own way. Okay?"

Castle nodded and, at lunch time, they were on their way.

They arrived by cab at le Cirque. As soon as Castle got out of the cab, Natalie Rhodes leapt out of a limo, ran to Rick and hugged him fiercely. She had on a very short skirt and a low cut blouse. Her nipples poked through the thin material of her blouse. As she kissed Rick, he saw camera flashes. Paparazzi were calling to them to turn towards them.

Rick grabbed Kate and pulled her close to him. "And I brought the real Nikki Heat with me!" Rick called to the photographers. Kate was about to pull away from Rick when she saw Natalie give her a perfect Kate Beckett glare. She leaned into Rick and smiled at the cameras.

Once inside and seated, Rick asked about the photographers.

"You know the paparazzi, Rick. They're always around." Natalie said.

Rick nodded but would have bet anything that she had called them.

Meanwhile Kate was looking at the menu in shock. I don't spend this much on lunch in a month. In fact, I could almost eat for a month on what lunch costs here.

She noticed that the waitress was waiting for her to order. She quickly found the cheapest item on the menu. "I'll just have the lunch salad. Ranch dressing, please."

Natalie interrupted. "Oh, Kate! You have to have the Dover sole, with the caviar." She turned to the waitress. "Kate will have Dover sole. Oh, and we'll all have the Alba white truffle dessert. And we need to see the wine list." She smiled at Kate. "You should live a little, Kate, after all, Rick's paying."

Kate was about to confess that she had insisted that she pay her own way, when Rick spoke. "That's right, Beckett. I've made a lot of money from the book. If it wasn't for you, there'd be no Nikki Heat. It's the very least I can do." Please? He mouthed.

Kate just nodded.

Before the wine arrived, Natalie moved her chair nearer to Rick and put her hand on his thigh. "Rick, we need to talk, babe. Really."

Rick moved his chair nearer to Kate, which brought another very good glare from Natalie. Kate idly wondered if her glares had the same effect as hers did. Castle, reached over and took Kate's hand. Natalie's glare intensified.

She's very good at that glare. Kate thought. In response, she covered his hand with her other hand.

Natalie decided to just say what was on her mind. "You know that Bill Waters was brought in by the studio board of directors, right? They've had problems with things other than Heat Wave. He's there to clean house."

Castle nodded. "Sure. I do keep up, you know."

Natalie leaned over to Rick, displaying her boobs. Kate was worried they'd fall out of her blouse. From the look on Natalie's face, she was afraid they wouldn't. She went on. "Waters loved Heat Wave. He absolutely loved the book. He's really angry at everyone involved for screwing the picture up so badly. He really wants to make more Nikki Heat movies and turn the movies into a franchise. You know, like Rocky, or Rambo, or Resident Evil. He's really into your books, Rick."

Rick nodded. "And when you say he's angry at everyone who screwed up the movie, I assume that includes you?"

Natalie smiled and then nodded. "He wants Ellie Monroe for Nikki! Can you imagine that?"

Kate saw Natalie's hand snaking towards Castle's thigh and decided to twist the knife. "I remember her. I remember Rick saying that she was perfect for the part. Why, I think they were even seeing each other socially."

Natalie's smile disappeared. Then she decided to change tack. "What about you, Kate? You've seen me work. Not in Heat Wave, but on a real case. What do you think?"

She was conflicted. She didn't like the way Natalie was acting towards Rick, but she had talked Scott Donner out of committing suicide. She knew what she had to say. "Having seen you on a real case, you'd be my pick to play Nikki."

Natalie smiled and sighed, greatly relieved.

"And I recommended Ms. Monroe before I saw you in action." Rick added. "I don't see how Waters could pick anyone but you."

"Would you tell him that?"

Rick and Kate exchanged glances. "Sure." They said in unison.

"That's going in the next movie, too. The way you do that is so cool"

After lunch, Rick took Kate back to the precinct.

"Still no body drop?" She asked Ryan.

"Nothing."

Kate went back to work at her desk. Castle sat in his chair next to her.

"So are you going to give me a copy of the DVD, or do I have to ask you like I did for the book?" She suddenly asked.

"The DVD? Sure, I have a bunch of copies at the loft. I can bring one in for you tomorrow."

"Or you could invite me over to watch it with you. With some popcorn?"

"Tonight? Seven o'clock?"

She nodded. "That would be fine. After all, it's the least you can do."

He nodded. "Absolutely." No, that's not the least I could do for you Kate. The number of things I want to do for you is infinite. But this is probably about all I'll get to do for you, so it'll have to do.

Kate arrived promptly at seven. Castle had been waiting by the front door, afraid she might leave if he wasn't prompt in opening the door.

"Hi." She said, taking off her coat and hanging it up.

"I have the DVD ready to go and the popcorn is warming in the microwave. I'll get it and we'll start. Okay?"

She just nodded.

Both had been thinking about this night ever since they'd agreed to watch the DVD.

Of course she wants to see the DVD. Castle thought. Everybody she knows is going to see the damned thing. It'll be one more thing that DMB will be angry at me for. Of course she's going to want to see how much trouble this is going to cause her. I just hope she won't be too angry. And she isn't going to want to see it at her place where DMB might run across the DVD. She'll want to see it here where no one else will know she's even seen it. I hope DMB won't go all postal. I just want to be able to stay with her as long as possible. I'm pretty sure that's the best I can hope for. God! I love Kate, though.

Kate sat at one end of the couch and Castle sat at the other, with the popcorn between them.

He didn't want me to see it. Kate thought. Of course he didn't. He's moved on. He's with Gina now and he's probably embarrassed to be reminded that he once had a minor flirtation with some cop. I was upset at being called his muse. I thought he meant something else. I thought he meant prospective lover. Or his next one night stand. I was wrong. I was his muse, nothing more. Damn it! I could have been more! I know I could have. If I hadn't been so terrified of letting anyone get past my walls. He was right, though. The heart wants what the heart wants. I just hope he'll stay with me for a little while longer. I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. I am falling in love with him.

The DVD began and the two sat and watched it all the way through to the final credits.

They sat there for a while, unsure of what to say. Finally, Kate spoke. "It left out a lot of the book. The other characters, Roach, Captain Montrose, and Lauren Parry were hardly in it at all. And Margaret Rook wasn't in it at all."

"It's hard to cut a full length novel to fit the screen time needed for a film." Castle said, glad that Kate hadn't commented on anything else.

"But the relationship between Nikki and Rook was the heart of the story." As soon as she said it, Kate realized what a mistake she'd made. Crap! The last thing he wants to hear about and I brought it up. What was I thinking? She tried to think of something to say to make up for her faux pas, but failed.

Naturally that's the part she'd be interested in. How could I have been so stupid? He looked over at her. She was obviously expecting a reply. "I can imagine how much that must bother you, not to mention how Josh must feel about it." He took a deep breath. "I'm still willing to stop shadowing you."

She was shocked. Does he want to get away from me that badly? The first thing he said after the movie was over was that he wants to leave. I can't let that happen. But I have to be careful. If he found out why I really want him around, he'd drop me like that. "Castle, we've talked about this before. You're not just my partner, you're the best partner I've ever had. You know how valuable you've been to me and my team. If you really want to leave, I can't stop you. But I want you as my partner. And more if I thought that was possible.

Castle nodded. "I understand. I'll be happy to be your partner for as long as you'd like."

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Kate's 100% cop. She'll put catching killers above her personal feelings any day. I should be happy about that. I am, actually. As long as I'm around, who knows? Something could happen.

Kate smiled to herself. He said partner. Okay, that's all I really need. If I'm lucky, it could turn into something else.

She stood up. "I should be going. It's late."

He got up, got her coat from the closet and helped her into it. He felt a thrill as his hands skimmed over her shoulders.

Kate felt the same thrill and smiled to herself.

"Tomorrow, Detective?" He asked.

"Tomorrow." She replied.

As they parted, they both had the same thought. We're still together. There's hope.