475. Chapter 475

After Murder Most Fowl

Episode 3.08

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Ah'll be bahk. But I von't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

They turned a corner on the narrow, darkened stairway and there it was. Rick smiled. "See, there is a door. The subway people got it wrong. They didn't brick up the old subway line. Someone left a door here."

"Don't gloat, Castle." Kate said, not letting him see her smile.

"Me? I'm not gloating. I made a suggestion that we should actually come down and look to see if Wilbur really had found a way into an old subway line and you agreed. I think we should both gloat when we get back to the precinct." Castle leaned in and whispered. "I can give you gloating lessons if you need them."

"I imagine you could." Kate said distractedly. She was busy looking at the door, then pulled out a huge ring of keys that the subway supervisor thought might be from a line shut down over forty years ago. The sixteenth key slid into the lock, but would only move slightly. "We'll have to get some workers and tools to open this."

"And make so much noise that if Curtis Wilbur is in there he'll be long gone by the time we get inside? Stand back, Detective Beckett." Castle pulled a small can from his coat pocket.

"What is that?"

"WD 40 oil. I'll spray some in the lock and some on the key and open the door."

Kate snorted. "You know about WD 40?"

"Of course. When I had to assemble Alexis' first big girl bike, I learned two things. One, the value of WD 40 oil and, two, the value of paying someone to assemble those things in the future." Castle worked the key in the lock, gently moving it back and forth until the bolt moved. But the door still didn't open.

"It's been painted a couple of times. And the workers were sloppy. They painted between the door and the door jam. Let me use my knife to cut the paint away." Kate worked on the door and then have it a good shove. Too good a shove, in fact. She fell forward.

Castle grabbed her and his hand slid over her flat, toned stomach. It rested there for a moment before he quickly pulled it away. "Sorry." He muttered. Beautiful. Tough. Smart. Savvy. I'd love to start at her belly and work up and then down and finally…No. I'd better not be thinking that way. If I put a move on her, she'll kick me out of the precinct in a split second. Rick Castle is her partner in solving murders. Nothing else. But…

"Come on, Castle." Beckett led the way with her flashlight and sidearm out. In about a hundred yards they came to an abandoned station. Castle pulled himself up onto the platform.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "He's obviously not there."

"No, but he might have been here. Maybe there's a copy of yesterday's Ledger up there. Or some recent junk food wrappers. Or the Ark of the Covenant."

Kate pulled herself up onto the platform, ignoring the hand Castle offered.

They looked around, but all they found was a faded newspaper that was from the late 60's. "Not even some kind of collectors' edition, you know, like the first Moon landing?"

"No murderer either." Kate replied.

Castle jumped down and held up his hand for Kate, who again ignored it. She jumped, landing on a chunk of concrete and falling. "Dammit!" She said.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm fine." But when she tried to stand up, her leg gave out and Castle had to grab her. She glared at him. "I'm fine. I just need to walk it off." But after a couple of hobbling steps, she fell against the platform.

"You're not fine and you know it." Rick knelt down in front of her.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Checking your ankle."

"You don't need to, I told you…Ouch! Castle!"

"I don't think it's broken. Maybe a strain or a sprain. Alexis had something like this from a soccer game. We'll have to go back."

"No. I can manage." Kate said determinedly.

"Beckett…"

"Just let me lean on you. I can walk."

"Walk, use your flashlight and your gun, if need be? And climb up on the platforms? Maybe run after a killer?"

"Reach down and get my backup piece. We'll look around some more."

By the time they reached the next abandoned station, Kate was sweating from exertion.

"Beckett, we should go back."

"We need to search this platform. Get up and then pull me up."

Castle stared at her, then decided there was no point in arguing. He knew how determined she could be. He jumped up on the platform, then squatted down, grabbed Beckett under the arms and pulled her up. He lost his balance and started falling backwards with her in his arms. He fell with his back up against a concrete pillar, Kate still in his arms.

"Do you mind not groping me?" Kate said.

He immediately dropped his hands to his sides, but she remained leaning against him. "That's your takeaway from this, Beckett? I lured you down into the bowels of the New York subways system so I could grab your arms?"

The pain in Kate's ankle kept her from apologizing at once. What Castle said next upset her.

"Look, we're supposed to be partners of some sort. So don't you think you could act like we're friends now and then?"

Kate was hurt. Some sort of partner? He is my partner. He should know that. And we are friends. I almost went to the Hamptons with him. Almost. Okay, our relationship isn't like any other police partnership I know of, but he is my partner. And my friend. So, I do treat him differently than I treat Ryan or Esposito, but that's because he cares for me. He cares a lot. And not in the way Ryan or Esposito care. I push him away because he does care and I care and, crap, I can't be thinking like this. But we have to talk.

Castle was busy thinking as well. Oh, crap! Why did I do that? She's hurt and she's been toughing it out for over an hour. Of course she's upset. She's so damned independent. She never lets anyone in. Wrong. She let Demming and Doctor Motorcycle Boy in. No! I can't start thinking about that. Kate is my partner, my friend, and for my many sins, she's the woman I love that'll never love me back.

"I'm sorry." They both said together.

Kate spoke first. "I fell and you caught me. You did not grope me. It's just the pain in my ankle. And you are my partner and my friend, okay? I want you as my partner and my friend."

"I'm sorry, too." I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I know we're partners and friends."

Kate nodded. "So, partner and friend, can I just relax like this for a few minutes. My ankle is killing me. And please put your arms back around me so I don't fall."

They stood there for a good fifteen minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Castle thought about how wonderful it felt to hold Kate Beckett in his arms. I wish I could hold her like this all the time. Not just hold her, but stroke her hair and her face, feel her soft lips on mine. Touch her skin, feel the muscles under that skin. Whisper in her ear how I feel about her. Reality suddenly set in for Castle. And then she'd kick my ass out of the precinct because she does not want me in her life, except as a partner.

Kate's body was pressed up against Castle's, so she could take the weight off of her injured ankle she told herself. It would be entirely too easy to let this develop into something with Castle. Except I'm with Josh and he's with Gina. But how does he really feel about her? Or me? And what do I want from Josh? And him from me? Castle broke my heart when he looked into Mom's case. He didn't mean to hurt me, and we caught Coonan. But he did hurt me badly. He broke my heart again when he showed up at the precinct with his ex-wife. Again, he didn't mean to, I had told him I was with Tom. But it still hurt. I can't let him break my heart again. And if I allow myself to…No. I can't and I won't.

She was about to push herself away from Castle when they heard footsteps coming towards them.

As soon as Curtis Wilbur pulled himself onto the platform, he found himself facing two guns.

They cuffed Wilbur, and Castle herded him back to the surface while helping Kate. Once a patrol car took Wilbur to the precinct, Castle drove her to the nearest ER to have her ankle looked at.

The next morning she came in on crutches to find her partner waiting for her with coffee, a grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla.

"Good morning, partner." She said with a smile.

"Good morning to you, partner." He smiled back.