600. Chapter 600

After Home is Where the Heart Stops

Episode 1.07

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Would your heart stop if I said I own Castle? Rating: K Time: See above

Kate Beckett had a dilemma. When Karl Nadir had been interrogated, he had said very little, as she had expected. But he had said that he would have gotten away clean if the big cop hadn't attacked him. It took Kate a few seconds to figure out that the big cop wasn't a cop at all, but Rick Castle. Little by little she had teased the story out of Nadir. She learned that Castle had slammed the car door into Nadir, knocking him down and luckily knocking Nadir's weapon away. Then he had jumped Nadir. Regrettably, Castle's hand to hand combat skills were quite deficient and Castle had been beaten soundly. Had she been a few seconds late in getting to Nadir, Castle could have been killed. I want Castle out of my life, but not that way. She thought. I do not ever want to tell Alexis or Martha that Castle had suffered anything more than a bruise or two.

And that was her dilemma. Castle, a civilian, had attacked an armed killer with his bare hands and no backup in sight. If one of her team had done that, she would have at least complimented him on his bravery and dedication. It would have gone in the report and on his permanent record. Maybe a commendation would be in order. Castle was a help in solving this case, even if involving Powell was against police policy, and he had gotten me into an event that I could never have gotten into by myself. But what he did was foolhardy for an untrained civilian, but brave. Something I wouldn't have expected of Castle. His ego is massive enough as it is, I do not need to inflate it anymore by congratulating him on his actions. Kate decided that she did not need to tell Castle anything. But as she sat there writing her report, thoughts kept nagging her. If not for Castle, Nadir and his crew could still be out there, doing another job and killing again. If it were anyone else, I'd compliment them for their bravery. Does Castle deserve any less because he annoys me?

She walked over to Ryan's desk. Espo turned around so he could see her. "Did either of you see what happened with Castle and Nadir? Did either of you actually see what happened?"

Both Ryan and Esposito shook their heads. "I was right behind you but I couldn't see a thing. Ryan was behind me." Espo said. "Why?"

"I just want to make sure I get the story straight. For the report." Kate added.

"I don't see how it could gone down any way other than how Nadir told it." Ryan said. "They were on the ground, Nadir was beating on Castle and Nadir's gun was ten feet away from him. I can't see Nadir tossing his gun away to make it a fair fight. What did Castle say?"

Kate shook her head. "Not much. He was busy apologizing for getting out of the car. I sort of assumed that Nadir had pulled him out of the car and they got entangled somehow. But you're right. Nadir's story is the only one that makes sense."

Esposito laughed. "Richard Castle, brawling with some pipehead."

"Creep." Corrected Ryan.

"Slick."

"Mope."

"We call them suspects." Kate said, then walked back to her desk.

Castle came to the precinct the next day, but the body drop they had gotten was simple. A jealous boyfriend shot and killed his girlfriend at her place of work, in front of a dozen witnesses. Castle was about to go home when Kate spoke.

"Why don't I take you to lunch?"

"Where?" Castle asked, wondering what Beckett was up to.

"Remy's."

"The cop place that you told me never to go to? The one you were afraid that someone would see us together and…."

"Yes. That Remy's. "Kate said sharply. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Castle shot to his feet. "Absolutely. Any time. Just say the word."

"Just be quiet." Beckett growled.

Castle was almost giddy with excitement when they walked into Remy's. He didn't mind that Kate insisted that they sit in a booth in the back where no one could see them. As soon as the waitress brought their menus, Castle took out his phone and began taking pictures of it.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked, mystified. "You must have seen a menu before."

"Sure, but never a menu from a cop hangout. What do real cops eat here? What's good? What do you usually have?"

"I eat a lot of things. Sometimes just a salad. Or a cheeseburger and fries and maybe a milkshake. Why?"

"I need to know what Nikki is going to order."

Kate rolled her eyes and concentrated on the menu. After a great deal of agonizing over what to have, Castle decided to order exactly what Kate had ordered: A cheeseburger, fries and a milk shake.

As Castle was finishing the last of his fries, Kate finally spoke. "I need to talk to you."

Castle looked up. "Am I in trouble? I told you, I told Nadir you told me to stay in the car."

Kate had put a lot of thought into what she was going to say next. "Nadir told us that you slammed the car door into him, knocking him down and knocking his gun away. Then you jumped him and he proceeded to beat the crap out of you. Is that what happened?"

Castle nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"You didn't ask?" Castle tried.

"Castle?" Beckett said with a warning in her voice.

"It's embarrassing to get beat up. I never even got a punch in."

"Okay, in the future, I want you to tell me everything that happens on a case. Just as in writing your books, the details are important. So tell me everything, even if it's embarrassing." She smiled. "Especially if it's embarrassing."

He sighed and then nodded. "Okay." He replied glumly.

"And I want to tell you that what you did was very brave, attacking an armed killer like that when you were unarmed and apparently untrained."

Castle smiled hugely. "Thanks. Thanks a lot. That means a lot, coming from you."

Kate didn't smile back. "It was also incredibly stupid. If he hadn't lost his gun, you could have gotten killed, I could have gotten killed, or Ryan and Esposito could have gotten killed. And if we had all gotten shot, Nadir would have gotten away to rob and kill again. So don't do anything like that again. Okay?"

Castle was about to say that if he had just gotten out of the car, Nadir could have killed him, killed Kate and her team and robbed and killed again, but he decided against it. Why start an argument?

"You're not particularly good in a fight, are you? I imagine all of those expensive schools you went to didn't encourage their young gentlemen to fight."

"Actually they did. They just called it sports: Rugby, lacrosse, basketball. But no, I was always a lover, not a fighter."

Kate nodded. "I'll have to see to it that you get some hand to hand combat training."

Castle smiled. The idea of grappling with a sweaty Kate Beckett was appealing on so many levels.

"With Esposito, of course." Kate added, seeing Castle's smile. "He's ex-Special Forces. I'm sure he can teach you a lot. If he doesn't kill you, of course."

At the end of the day, Castle remembered two things. One, Kate Beckett had taken him to lunch at Remy's, and she had called him brave. A good day, all in all.

Author's note: 600 chapters? I can hardly believe it myself.