14th arrest | voice | i know you know i know so what's the point in being slow

[thiswallinside]

Private | Off Network
Slept at the office again, though not entirely due to needing to finish up work. I can't avoid him forever, really. I guess it just made up for the stretch of not being cursed, like make up hours. I thought it was supposed to relieve tensi At least it's done and behind me, now. I have more important things to worry about anyway.


Public | Flagged a Police Message;
This is just a reminder to everyone of the reinstated protection service offered by the police department. Officers will be available for safety escorts through the City for all residents requiring assistance in order to attempt to prevent and lower the violent crime rate. Please use this number if you'd like to request an escort at no charge. We strongly advocate that citizens take advantage of the system, especially those that find themselves with little to no defense of their own.


Police Filter | Unhackable;
I'd like to welcome a few new members to the force: Rebecca Locke, Kurogane, Derek Morgan, Lee Adama, and Vicki Nelson. Our Special Assault department is beefed up a little now, and we'll have more hands on the Forensics deck as well. Ms. Nelson will be serving on as a consultant, but she's experienced in paranormal activity as well as basic police work. Please make use of the fresh eyes, everyone, make them feel welcome.

[She pauses, a little longer than she means to. Addressing their collective public failure smarts every time she has to, but it's important that she start doing her actual job and administrating. Which means boring paperwork and rules. At least Beckett likes the rules part.]

Because of the Saxon fiasco, we're going to have some changes in protocol as far as arrests and treatment of suspects go. Everyone is expected to read the document amending current policy, located on the shared drive. If you have problems getting the file, send an email to Tech, they'll make sure you get it. [filesend: MEMO_POLICY_20100425.pdf]


Private to Castle | Unhackable;
I think we need to talk.


Public | No flags
[Kate laughs a little before speaking.] Must be Richard Castle curse day or something.


[ooc; Regarding the escort service, players are encouraged to NPC using the service if you'd like but consider it an opportunity for some easy CR and threading and have your character comment to the linked thread to request an escort. Police: feel free to assume policy regards training and different kinds of weapons, as long as they aren't extremely godmodey plz? Stick to tazers, newer kevlar that blocks whatever, etc. Same with protocol changes, handwave/assume the details so long as they aren't ridiculous. Any questions, please IM/PM me! And as always, anything that will affect other characters/players needs to go through a MOD first, thank you!

eta; agh, also tags later FOOD NOW. :3]

Comments

Re: Private | unhackable

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

It depends on whether you want wine with your spaghetti and garlic bread or not.

Private | unhackable → Action

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

[Oh my God she should not have to even think about this.] All right, I'll get it. You're paying me back.

[It's another few minutes before Kate leaves the office, but after that she's quick to stop and pick up a bottle of red for the dinner; any time spent trying to decide what to buy will only result in her finding a way to back out on the date. Engagement. Meeting. She's just going to a meeting, that's all it is.

Collectively, about 30 minutes after she hangs up on Castle, she's knocking on his door (she refuses to use the key, not when coming to a 'meeting') still dressed in work clothes, badge and gun on her hip. Kate does not want to feel comfortable. She wants to be tense, rigid. Professional.]

Re: Private | unhackable → Action

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

Castle opens the door. The apartment is empty and he's not pushing things. It looks normal, no candles, no music, no flowers. There are wine glasses setting out and everything smells great. Castle can actually cook really well.

"Kate, glad you could make it. Come on in."

See he's even being polite and not making her use her key.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

She can't help but give him a sideways look; she wasn't sure what she expected, but they'd always danced around before. Kate liked the comfort that came with never having to pony up and allowed them to flirt without consequence.

"Thanks." As soon as she says it, she's kicking herself. Thanks? Kate holds out the bottle and smiles awkwardly. "Smells good, Rick. Research cooking to learn how to kill someone with a souffle?"

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

Castle takes the bottle from her, uncorks it and pours them both a glass. He's glad they've gotten off on the 'Rick and Kate' foot. It's no secret to anyone, even Kate that he's waiting her out for more than this flirt & dance they do.

"Actually, yes," Castle smirks. "Derrick Storm had a serial killer who was also a chef." He hands her one of the glasses. "Also, when Meredith left I had to learn how to cook. I couldn't raise Alexis entirely on pizza and Chinese take out."

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

She shrugs out of her coat, hanging it up near the door before moving further into the apartment towards the smell of food. The holster stays in place around her button down, however, a twisted sort of security blanket.

"I shouldn't be surprised about that. I guess a chef would be knowledgeable about how to chop up a body." She doesn't sit, won't until he does, so she hovers. "That's a better reason than research, at least. Is she here, by the way? How's she been?"

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"She is out at the coffee shop right now," Castle answers as he chops up some onions. "She's doing alright. She's encountered some curses lately but she's come through them fairly unscathed. She's starting to settle in here, make some friends and the like."

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

"I want to say that's good, but I don't know if I can be convinced that anything here is good." Kate grabs the garlic and another knife to help chop. It feels good to do something that isn't another failed attempt at motivating her officers. "I guess as long as she's happy sometimes. That's all we can hope for here."

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"If she has to be stuck here, I'd rather her settle in and make some friend," Castle says passing over some fresh basil for her to chop when she's done with the garlic. He tosses a bit of rosemary into the sauce then starts on thyme. Not surprisingly they work well together in the kitchen and it's nice to be doing something with her that's not City or work motivated.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

She chops in silence for awhile, one of the things she finds she appreciates most about being comfortable with the people around her. Some people don't understand how nice companionable silence can be. The basil moves smoothly through her hands after the garlic and she pushes it to the side before grabbing another small handful.

Of course her silence this time is slightly motivated by a sudden lack of wanting to talk the talk she'd brought up in the first place. The things she has to say are probably going to ruin it all, so keeping quiet and working with Rick is the best choice for her now.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

Rick is happy to let the silence lie for the moment. He knows they need to talk but he's also aware the talk will make things uncomfortable. He'd like to get started on dinner at first at least. He scoops the basil up and puts it into the sauce along with the thyme he's chopped.

"Alright. Now we just let it simmer. Should be done in a little while. Let's take our wine into the living room," he suggests.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

Kate follows him into the adjacent room, taking a seat at the sofa, stiff with tension and attempting to hide her nervousness. She'd practiced words in her head over and again, and she crosses her legs as calmly as she can before sipping lightly at her glass.

"It smells good so far."

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"Spaghetti is one of the first things I learned how to cook. It was always guaranteed to get Alexis to eat," Castle says as he sits down on the sofa a couple of feet from Kate and takes a sip of his wine.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

"Tried and true, then." She liked reliable, unpredictable. Her job afforded her enough surprise on a daily basis, especially here, that something so simple as having Castle available to cook dinner was a comfort.

And that might be part of her problem.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"I could have tried something more risky but I figured I'd start us off slow then at least you couldn't object to the food," Castle tells her with a grin.

That's sort of what he's intending. He wants her to realize these things.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

"Risky's okay, given the right situation." Another sip, and she smirks back.

"Which doesn't seem to be possible here. Things are..." she trails off, and shakes her head. Just another distraction, an attempt to avoid the real matter at hand. "Sorry, no shop talk, right?"

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

Castle nods his agreement. "Given the right situation. No. No shop talk. Unless you really want to shop talk then I say go for it."

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I'd just rant at you about boring administrative work. Starting to pile up, you know? I'm a detective, I'm used to being in the field. Not sitting behind a desk going through files." She rubs at the bridge of her nose and leans back to get comfortable in the sofa.

She almost goes into everything; how much they're undermanned, the lack of funds, the constant uphill run she's been at since she arrived and was put up for Chief. But if she starts to let it out now, there's no telling if she'll ever stop. "Wine's good."

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"It is good," he says more to stall so he can consider what he's about to offer. It will cut into his writing time but at the same time, anyone who really wants to get his future books can go to the library. Not that he's going to stop writing. Ever.

"Let me help. With the paperwork at least. Consider me your personal assistant."

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

She immediately shakes her head. "Oh, no. Castle, that's...I don't think that's a good idea."

On so many levels. Kate smiles and crosses her legs, a little more comfortably. "You have to be here, to write. And for Alexis." So one of them isn't covered in red tape and bureaucracy forever. Plus, it would just put them closer together in the office and make things even more complicated.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

He'll concede it might not be the best idea for all of reasons she suggests. Possibly some that she doesn't.

"Alright but you need some help, Kate. You work too much and you're tired all the time."

Yes he worries. Sue him.

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

"I'm not really sure who I can trust with some of this, to be honest. A lot of the officers weren't officers where they come from. In some ways it's a good thing, don't get me wrong." She stops herself, back to rubbing the bridge of her nose again. Kate chuckles wryly. "Shop talk."

She bites at her lip for a moment. "What are-- what are we doing here, Castle?" The pause is brief but she forces herself through it and now she can't meet his eyes.

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

Castle considers the question. He knows what she's asking. "Having dinner."

He stops because that's not all their doing and he knows this. "There's something here, Beckett. We both know it. I'm not trying to put a name to it or a time limit or force it to fit in any rules. I'd just like to see where it takes us. Whatever it is."

like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffyoutwice.livejournal.com]

She tosses him a withering look at the first answer, but softens when he continues. Kate's back to biting at her lip again, too.

"Castle, it's not--" she's trying hard not to be harsh and defensive. Everything she wants to say amounts to turning him down, hard. If they were home, she'd have done it already somehow. She knows that much and yet here she's hesitating. "I'm not sure what to say. We're not at home, things here are complicated. I mean-- that curse was just...a curse. Right?"

She's not sure what answer she wants to hear. Yes would make things easier, no would make them complicated. For some reason, Kate was still hoping for no.

Re: like the sun and the moon i will circle you til you bloom

[cuffmeonce.livejournal.com]

"Things are always going to be complicated, Kate. No matter where we are," Castle tells her quietly. He pauses, turning over the possibilities in his head. They're all lying. Except one.

"No. It wasn't just a curse."

Yes might make things easier but who wants to take the easy route? That's no fun.