Happy birthday, Beckett!

[thebestseller]

WHO: Castle thebestseller, Beckett 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.

Comments

[themuse]

"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."

[allthezpms]

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."

[themuse]

"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?"

[allthezpms]

"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."

[themuse]

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."

[allthezpms]

"... 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."

[themuse]

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."

[allthezpms]

"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."

[themuse]

Kate raised an eyebrow but nodded in agreement. "I don't... exactly know a lot about saving the galaxy, but I guess it's probably pretty exhausting." She thought about mentioning that she had saved New York City that one time, but it seemed like too much gloating for her taste. "I can definitely sympathize with the getting a chance to sleep concept, though."