22. Chapter 22

After Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: This? Oh, just some more Castle I don't own. Rating: K+ Time: See the title.

Kate Beckett thrashed around in her bed, still angry and upset. "How did you get a hickey?" Josh had asked earlier. Kate was about to answer him when she realized she couldn't explain without explaining about a case that never officially existed.

"It's not a hickey. I just got a scratch." She had told him.

"A scratch?" He didn't sound at all convinced.

"It's a puncture wound. You're a doctor, take a look at it."

Josh walked over to her and peered at the side of her neck. "First it's a scratch, and then it's a puncture wound? Which is it?"

"It's not a hickey!" She had said with an edge to her voice.

"I don't see any puncture wound and it doesn't look like a scratch. Where did you get it?"

"On a case.' She had said. "I really can't talk about it."

"Can't or won't?"

Kate smiled at Josh. "Look, you know I'm a cop. I can't talk to you about some cases. In fact, there are a lot of things about cases I can't tell you about. People have a right to privacy, you know."

"But Castle gets to know these things, doesn't he?"

Kate took a deep breath, then released it before speaking. "He's been assigned to the homicide unit by order of the mayor. He's shadowing me for research on his books."

"He's shadowing you all right."

"And that's all he does." She snapped.

"But he gets to write all about what you do in his books." Josh shot back.

"Everything in the books are fiction. Some of the things are based on incidents that actually happened, but the books are fiction. All of them."

"You should know. You have every one of his books and you read them constantly."

"I've told you about the books. I started reading them more than ten years ago after my mom was murdered. And I do not read them constantly. I have a job. I don't have time to read them constantly."

"So, was he shadowing you when he did his research for the sex scenes between Nikki and Rook? Everyone who's ever read it says that you're Nikki and he's Rook."

Kate turned red. "Castle is a man. He's had two wives. He has a daughter. He's dated women. I assume he knows enough about sex to write a sex scene. That said, I have never slept with Castle. We don't make out in my car. He's never touched my boobs, or my butt and he's never had his hand down my pants. In other words, nothing has ever happened between us. Can I make it any clearer to you?"

"But when he calls, you jump up and are out the door as fast as you can go."

"Josh, the same applies to you. When you get a call from the hospital, you're out the door like a shot, because it's a matter of life or death. It's the same with me. And it seems to me there are women in the hospitals, I'm sure some of them are attractive."

"And I don't go to the hospital and see the same female doctor or nurse every day. No woman at the hospital brings me coffee every day. I don't have lunch and dinner with the same person each and every day."

"Josh, I have to eat and Castle's my partner. Naturally we eat together. It means nothing. As for the coffee, it's just something nice he does for me because I've helped him write a best-selling book. It means nothing."

"You seem to spend a lot of time with a guy you can't stand, or claim you can't stand. And now he's your partner?"

"When I first met Castle, there were problems. I was unhappy at having an untrained observer assigned to my team. Castle wouldn't follow instructions, he wasn't serious about anything, he stuck his nose in where it wasn't wanted or needed. He was…"

"Coming on to you?"

"No!" Kate snapped. This would have degenerated into a full blown fight if Josh's phone hadn't rung. One of his patients had had a relapse and Josh was needed at the hospital at once. He was gone in seconds. Kate drank the rest of her wine, then poured another glass and drank that. Then she went to bed, but couldn't sleep.

Damn Castle! He isn't even here and he's causing problems with me and Josh. Damn that man! Kate took a deep breath. No. I can't blame Castle for this. He didn't kill Marie Subarao. He didn't kidnap us. He didn't inject me with anything. In spite of his alien abduction theories, his claim that a shadowy government agency was involved was correct. And he behaved as a perfect gentleman throughout the whole case. In fact, he's been a perfect gentleman with me the whole time. He never has come on to me. Not that he wouldn't sleep with me if I gave him a chance. Or would he? In spite of his playboy image he has been a gentleman. He did invite me to the Hamptons that summer. And face it, I would have slept with him if I had gone. It wasn't his fault that I didn't go. I was pushing him away, just as I always do when someone gets too close to me. If I push a man away long enough, one day I'll look up and he's gone.

Kate sat up in bed. I push Castle away because I care for him. Of course I care for him. He's my partner, the best partner I've ever had. And he's a friend. I mean he does things that irritate me, but that doesn't mean we're not friends. As far as being more than friends, if things were right, if we had no one, and he was leaving to research some other kind of book or something, I'd sleep with him. Why not? I don't want to end up an old lady, wondering why I never had any fun in my life. I'd certainly have an affair with Castle. I'm sure it wouldn't be a one night stand, and maybe we'd still be friends when it was over. And I was wrong about him. The longer I know him, the more I see that. I mean, he'll never be my one and done, he's not the type. I mean I don't think he's the type. I've been wrong about him before…"

Kate suddenly realized what she was thinking. No! I am not going to think of Richard Castle like that. He is not my one and done. What was I thinking of? Castle and me? Together? Absurd. If I have a chance at anything, it's with Josh. I have to get some sleep and try to make up with Josh tomorrow.

Author's note: I had thoughts of being a little harder on DMB in this. In fact, I was thinking that as he walked out the door, I'd have Wile E. Coyote drop an Acme Safe on his head.