thoughtformed | Happy birthday, Beckett!

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Happy birthday, Beckett!

WHO: Castle

themuse, and you!
WHAT: It's Beckett's birthday, so Castle feels like she needs a little fun and decides to throw a party for her. The fact that she doesn't know about it is just a bonus.
WHEN: Backdated slightly to November 17th
WHERE: The conference room at the precinct
WARNINGS: Everyone on the island is invited, so please, feel free to show up and mingle. There won't be any alcohol, as it's at the police station, unless someone brings it, but then you might get arrested for disorderly conduct, oh, my...

Keeping secrets was one of Castle's skills, he thought. And keeping them from Beckett was a nearly impossible task, so when he was able to actually do it, he felt quite proud of himself.

It was sheer luck that he managed to smuggle an entire party into the precinct under her nose, however- but then again, it wasn't much, because he knew she wouldn't want much, and the part where he was even throwing her a surprise party could be delicate to begin with. But there was cake- two cakes, in fact, a handsome red velvet and a chocolate cake Castle had baked himself- some sandwiches and other assorted snacks, and coffee, and hot chocolate, and balloons and presents.

It wasn't the grand party he felt like she deserved, but he hoped she would, at least, enjoy herself.

Now he had to hope people showed up.

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"True. But even the least adult of us is probably more mature than most of my students."

He sighed, setting his plate down and crossing his arms.

"I sometimes wonder how the other teachers have managed to function for very long when we keep getting interrupted. I mean, how are you supposed to grade your students when 'cats ate my homework' is a perfectly valid excuse some months? It's not like I dislike the idea of teaching, either, I just... don't feel all that suited to the job a lot of the time. I don't know what else I could do with all these fictional degrees I have, though."

Kate pursed her lips, thinking that one over.

"Well, I guess I'm not really in any different position. I mean, I'm investigating a string of murders right now that happened during the crime wave and... I don't even know how to profile that. Is it someone who came here a killer and was just looking for the opportunity to take it? Or did the island make them that way? And when we do get him, how do we decide how to punish them based on that?"

These are all thoughts that she's entertained - she was used to some moral ambiguity back home, especially in the cases of people doing the wrong things for the right reasons. But here, it seemed even more complex. "But the best I can figure it that, island messing with our heads or not, there's still some level of responsibility that has to be taken in regards to our actions. And those of us who have the job of reinforcing that responsibility just have to do our best." She smiled. "I'm sure you're doing just fine, Rodney."

Rodney was quiet for a moment after that, picking up a sandwich speared with a toothpick and peeling it apart layer by layer, eating each one in turn.

"I don't know why, but when I first got here, for some reason it never occurred to me that there'd still be crime. I learned the truth pretty fast, but still... I guess supposedly once-fictional people will still be people. Even if they are incredibly difficult."

He gave a half-smile back.

"I try. I confess I've never really been fond of kids, my niece excepted, and even then I didn't meet her til she was four. But somehow they're worming their way into my cold, cynical heart."

Kate watched him pick apart his sandwich like a kindergartener and found it hugely ironic that he seemed to carry such a disdain for children. She smiled knowingly and nodded her head.

"Well, I can certainly see why it was such a struggle for you." Biting her bottom lip, she narrowed her eyes. "Can't say I know many kids. Well, Castle has a daughter but she's... more of the adult, really. I guess I always figured I'd like them, though."

"Oh, I wish more of the kids I taught were mature like that," said Rodney wistfully. "Or at least that I had more actual humans alongside the trolls. Normal kids would have been bad enough, but trying to explain physics to them just goes completely over their heads."

Kate nodded and leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Castle has one of those trolls as a roommate. And I... don't get it. What are they exactly? And why do they... You know... Type like that? It kind of pisses me off, actually." She didn't mention that Eridan was a special kind of pisses-her-off; she still hadn't spoken to him since the Dark Hour fiasco.

"You know, those are all good questions," Rodney replied, frowning. "Truth is, I'm not really sure. The typing thing is unique to their species, and it seems to take them an effort to just type normally, from what I gather. ... They're not like anything I've ever seen, and I've seen some weird things in my day."

"I've met some weird people in my day but that... That's a whole other level of weird." She wrinkles her nose. "And a couple of them could an attitude adjustment."

"Tell me about it," Rodney grumbled. "They all act like it's some grand injustice that they have to go to school and be taught by HUMANS. ... Of course, in a way that's not too different from normal kids, but at least they're the same species as me."

"I was good at school but there were some days..." She laughed and shook her head. For the most part she had been a very dedicated student, but even Kate Beckett had her moments. "Anyway, I wonder what these kids are gonna do once they graduate. Have any of your students ever been here long enough to have to grow up and get a job?"

"I only got here in March myself, so I haven't seen many, but a few of them have gone on to college," Rodney replied. "... The rest disappeared." After an awkward pause, he went on, "But even if they choose not to go to college, it's not like we're lacking in places for them to work, at least."

Edited 2012-12-07 01:15 (UTC)

Kate nodded in agreement. "For the fact that we've been kidnapped and held hostage, everyone here certainly has done a very good job integrating themselves into the local culture. I thought it was ridiculous when I got here, but..."

It was hard for her to admit that on some level, she was actually happy on the island. Not that she didn't want to go home. But really, in a way, she could think of worse fates.

"Tell me about it," Rodney agreed. "I thought I was hallucinating from some kind of space parasite and was going to wake up back home at any second. Wouldn't be the first time it's happened to me. But everyone's managed to eke out a normal existence here, and the longer you stay here, the more like home it feels. You know, between turning into pirates and the like."

"Well, yeah, in retrospect I guess the pirate thing wasn't awful..." And then she paused, her head shooting up to look at him with a narrow-eyed gaze. "Sorry, did you say alien parasite?"

"Oh, it was boatloads of fun," Rodney said, his voice thick with sarcasm. "... and a long story, come to think of it. Starting with the part where I lived in another galaxy. Yeah, my life has pretty much been one long science fiction movie, when I look back on it. Ha, ha. Science fiction, since I'm supposed to be a character."

"That's okay," she replied, sympathetically. "I'm still trying to figure out if mine was a drama or a comedy. I don't think whoever was writing it could make up their minds."

She knew enough about science fiction, though, not that she'd ever shared that with anyone. And really, it was all kind of fascinating. "So, what did you do? Spaceships and saving the galaxy from aliens and that kind of thing?"

"Tell me about it. But yes, you've got the right idea- I'm just not used to talking freely about it, since I worked for the U.S. military and had to sign all kinds of non-disclosure security agreements. Of course, I guess it's a moot point here," he admitted thoughtfully. "I lived in another galaxy for quite a while, to tell the truth. Benefitting humankind with science and all that, since I'm an incredibly talented astrophysicist, if I do say so myself. ... and yes, we fought plenty of aliens."

"Wow. That is... Definitely just fiction where I come from. Which probably explains what it's doing here."

She was pretty bowled over by the concept, really. Kate didn't want to accept that they were "fictional" - there wasn't a part of her that believed it, not really, even if it was probably had become the least strange concept she'd encountered on the island - but regardless, if this was a case for parallel realities or something like that, it gave her a tiny thrill to know that out there, somewhere, there were people flying around space, combating evil aliens and saving the galaxy. "What kind of aliens have you met? Uh, I mean, if you're okay talking about it. I promise, I'm not gonna tell anyone."

Rodney smirked at her in return.

"I believe you, but, well, it IS kind of hard for most people to swallow, too, which is why I tend to keep my mouth shut about it. But we met humans, like us, and then there were the Wraith, who evolved from bugs and saw all of us as food. And not just in the 'eat us' way, but in the 'drain our life energy' way. This place is dull by comparison sometimes."

"Wow."

Be still her science-fiction geeky heart. The one that she has kept hidden forever and even Castle hasn't seen. And now, here she is, meeting a real hero of the fictional universes she used to love to watch on television and it fills her with a tiny bit of irrational joy. She managed to keep it reigned in, even if she did manage to have a little bit of a dopey smile on her face.

But to be fair, it had always been fiction for her. For Rodney, it was all very real and dangerous and terrifying. "How do you... fight them? How did you even end up with a job like that in the first place?"

"Because of my brilliance," Rodney replied, with not a small amount of smugness. "My work in the astrophyics field got me noticed by the people who do the secretive men-in-black thing, and suddenly I found myself hired by the American military and preparing to walk through a portal to another galaxy. As to how we fought them... the conventional way. Guns. Smarts. They were a lot stronger than humans, but also had the problem where there were too many of them and not enough food to go around, so they were hungry and thus more manageable."

Kate rolls her eyes. Men and their egos. Even though she would never admit it, Rodney had his moments where he reminded her of Castle. And not always in the best ways. But at the same time, Kate had no doubt he was as much of a genius as he claimed.

"It's kind of surreal, knowing that kind of stuff is out there. I spent all my time at home putting killers behind bars and meanwhile, people are fighting wars in space and on other planets... If this island has done anything, it's made me realize how small I really am."

"... Space does tend to do that to you," Rodney admitted, then shook his head and smirked. "The whole known universe is big enough to even contain my own enormous ego. And now, here I am, after having led such a life of adventure and danger... stuck on an island teaching physics to trolls instead. It's humbled me a little."

She laughs. "At least I get to catch murderers now and again, even here." Kate offers him a smile and shrugs. "Once you get out of here, you'll probably miss the relative peace and quiet."

"Peace and quiet is quite a commodity back home," Rodney agreed. "It seemed like we were always either really busy or nothing was happening. At least life is a tad more predictable here and I can get enough sleep. Fighting for your life and the safety of the galaxy does take a lot out of you."

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themuse - 2013-01-31 03:45 (UTC) - Expand

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