Kate Beckett couldn't remember the last time she strode into the Twelfth Precinct with such purpose, such singular focus. The elevator doors pinged open, she stepped through the threshold, and made a beeline for the office of Captain Victoria Gates.

She ignored the curious glares from uniformed officers, and she brushed past Ryan and Esposito's desks without acknowledging the confusion on their faces. Normally, Kate would knock, but she pushed through the captain's door, slamming it shut behind her. Though her face was steely, her hazel eyes full of anger and hurt, Kate took a tiny measure of joy in seeing Gates flinch.

Gates closed her eyes with a sigh, removing her glasses to compose herself. "Detective." Gates stood. "I thought I gave you the day off."

"Sit." Gates blinked at Kate's tone. "Sir."

Slowly, Victoria let herself sink back into her chair. Her confusion was brief, until she remembered the conversation she had with Richard Castle the day prior. Gates pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. Of course Detective Beckett would come in here demanding answers.

"Detective—"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kate stepped toward the captain's desk, her teeth gritted. "Don't you think you at least owe me the professional courtesy of telling me they were throwing out my partner?"

Kate started pacing back and forth, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. She shook her head and cursed under her breath, occasionally shooting an angry glare the captain's way. She understood this wasn't Victoria's decision, but the fact that she wasn't informed – the fact that she didn't find out until she coaxed it out of her husband late the previous night because she knew there was something wrong with him…

"I was going to tell you, Detective."

"When?!" Tears brimmed in Kate's eyes, but she bit them back. Right now, she was more angry than anything. "And I don't give a damn what the DA or the mayor say, sir. My husband is part of this team!"

Gates sat up, empathy on her face. It wasn't something those in the Twelfth had seen a lot of, but more so in recent years. It turned out that in some instances, Iron Gates wasn't so hard after all. "Kate, I know how important he is to you—"

"It's not just me, sir!" Kate shook her head, pointing out the door. "Castle's not just my partner. He's a member of this family. He…" She bit her lip and shook her head. "He's as much a part of this precinct as anyone who has a badge."

"I don't disagree." Gates shook her head. "But my hands are tied on this, Detective. And we can't have a civilian, no matter who it is, inserting themselves into an organized crime syndicate. I don't even like it when our cops do it."

Kate shrugged. "So…we're just gonna ignore the fact that because of Castle's work, we solved the case and caught the killer?"

"The DA and the mayor don't see it that way."

"Well, no offense, sir, but the DA and the mayor are clueless!" The anger was threatening to rise to a boil, and though Kate knew, logically, that taking it out on Gates wasn't the right thing to do, she couldn't help herself. And judging by the look on the captain's face, she understood that, too.

Kate sat on the sofa across from Gates' desk, running her fingers through her hair. Gates frowned at the wedding ring on her left hand. This wasn't just Kate's partner; this was her soulmate, her husband, the one person in the world who made her more than she would've been otherwise.

"I know Mr. Castle and I have had our differences over the years." Gates sighed. "But he has proven, time and time again, to be a tremendous asset to the NYPD, and I would be remiss if I didn't also credit him for being such a positive influence on you."

Kate looked up at Victoria with a frown. "So why kick him out?"

"Because I had no choice." Gates shrugged. "I fought to keep him, Detective. But once the DA threatened to remove my captainship…"

Understanding replaced the anger in Kate's eyes. She shook her head and stared out through the blinds again. This wasn't the first time this precinct had functioned without him – though in other instances, it was because he either left on his own or she kicked him out. She never truly believed any of those instances were permanent.

Well…maybe when she went after Maddox, but even that worked itself out.

But this…this was official. Higher up. If Captain Gates didn't have the pull to reverse the decision, then Kate certainly couldn't do it. As much as she liked the thought of marching into the DA's office or up to the mayor to give them a piece of her mind, she knew no good would come of it.

Hell, it might just make things worse.

"I'm sorry, Detective."

Kate stood and shook her head, grabbing the door to Gates' office and pulling it open. She turned one last time to look at her boss, taking in a deep breath to steel herself. Truth be told, Kate felt somewhat responsible; she'd asked Castle not to do this, but she wasn't vehement enough – and while the crime was solved…

"I know, sir." Kate swallowed. "If you don't mind, I'm taking tomorrow, too."

Kate left without another word, closing the door behind her and once again brushing past Ryan and Esposito's desks without so much as acknowledging them. There was only one person she wanted to see right now, and thanks to some bureaucratic assholes who didn't understand how things worked, there was only one place she could do that.

Home.