A/N: I have been working on this little piece of fluff for a while, afraid to bare it to the world. It had been my sweet piece and I didn't want it shot down. But thanks to the kind words from readers of All My Secrets, here is Tribute. There will be at least two chapters of pure sugar-rush coming your way!

EDIT: A kind reader and reviewer alerted me to an important slip-up which has been altered. Thank you, Kie Santiago!

Disclaimer: The real boss of the Twelfth is Andrew Marlowe, not I.

It was snowing lightly. The day had been quiet in the precinct due to the chill that had settled over New York City, keeping people inside and giving Kate Beckett plenty of time to think about what was going to happen tonight.

She was standing in her apartment that was filled with the sounds of a piano concerto, wrapped in a towel and contemplating the dress hanging on her closet door. The dress code for the night was cocktail at her insistence, so the dress was a simple sleeveless knee-length one. The navy blue fabric was soft as she stepped into it. Because she was alone, Kate allowed herself a moment to spin, watching the full skirt flare out, then settle back against her legs. After a moment, she put on her only jewelry: her father's watch, which clashed with the semi-formality of the event, and the long chain that held her mother's sapphire ring.

After carefully applying her make-up and pinning her curls up out of her face while leaving the rest hanging down her back, Kate slipped on black heels, grabbed the handbag that held her phone, badge, and back-up sidearm, and pulled on her red wool coat and cream scarf before locking the apartment behind her. She had thought about driving herself to the party, but decided against it in case anything came up in that she wouldn't be able to drive herself back home.

It was a miracle that she was able to hail a cab right outside of her building. She was quiet during the ride, ignoring the vibrating of her cell phone in her handbag. The clock on the taxi dashboard had her full attention. The red numbers, 5:39, kept counting up. It was 6:04 when Kate paid the driver.

She stood outside the building, looking at it in much the same way as she had looked at the dress back in her apartment. It looked like any other of the high-class buildings that dotted the Upper West Side. The dark grey marble was accented by silver, the address chiseled into the stone near the doorway.

"Beckett?"

She turned and a smile crept onto her face. He looked far too handsome in the dark blue suit, the top button of the crisp white shirt undone. His hair was a little messy, like he had just gotten out of the shower before getting dressed and heading uptown to the building.

"Hey, Castle." She waited until he reached her side until gesturing up at the building's façade. "I was just admiring the exterior. I mean, wow."

"It's nothing. Really. Want to see the inside?" he asked as he held his arm out for her.

She smiled a little, then looped her arm through his. "Lead the way."

The lobby was of lighter marble than the exterior. A long bar ran along the left side of the room, two uniformed bartenders setting up for the night. On the ground, there was a winding dark green carpet that snaked from the doorway to the ballroom. Every few feet, there was a free-standing candelabra that lent a soft glow to the walkway. Between the lights, large white pots held a symphony of flowers in every color imaginable.

Kate stopped short, her mouth falling open slowly as her arm dropped from Castle's elbow.

"What is it?" Castle was looking around, wondering what had obviously bothered her so much. He stood silently as she started walking along the twisting green path.

She couldn't seem to make her voice work. The simplicity of the lobby design, the feeling of the outdoors being brought inside. Everything was perfect. Halfway to the ballroom, she turned, a smile ghosting her lips. "Castle…"

He stepped forward, his head tilted in confusion. "Is something wrong? Because I can get that fixed before people start showing up," he stammered, pulling his phone from his pocket and scrolling through contacts to find the florist or the building owner. When she didn't speak for a few seconds, he stopped and looked up.

She was just standing there, blinking back the tears that were fighting to escape. She wiped a stray one away before answering. "Nothing. There's nothing wrong, Castle. Come on, I want to see the other room." Kate walked toward the ballroom, knowing that he would follow her.

The ballroom was a garden. Low grass hedges ran along the edge of the room, flowers planted amongst the blades. More blooms, in the same large, polished pots as those in the lobby, were placed around the tables. Overhead, balls of flowers hung from the ceiling amid lanterns. There was a dance floor of light-colored wood in the middle of the room, a big band group setting up in a corner.

Kate turned to try and express her admiration of the room only to find that she was alone. She set her coat and bag on the nearest table, wandering between tables and looking at the ceiling. The simplicity spoke loudly. She couldn't remember mentioning her mother's favorite season to Castle, but he had nailed it. Johanna Beckett had loved spring – the symbolic meaning of rebirth behind it and the explosion of colors in the normally grayscale city. Kate still remembered picnics in Central Park in early spring, the two of them braiding dandelions into crowns and teasingly placing them on her father's head.

As if he were reading her thoughts, suddenly, something dropped onto her head. She reached up to investigate it, but someone grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Don't ruin it!"

Castle stepped out from behind her and released her wrist. "Flower crowns. Took Alexis, Mother, and I forever to finish enough of them for the guests."

She quirked a brow, fighting the urge to either cross her arms or reach up to grab the crown anyway. "I don't get to know what type of flowers they are?"

"Oh, a whole bunch. All different colors." He stood back, looking her over from her new flower crown to the four-inch heels. "Beautiful."

"Thanks, Castle." She glanced at her watch, the hands ticking to 6:18. With a little nod, she smiled back at him. "Any other surprises tonight?"

He winked, looping his arm through hers again. "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

They walked out to the lobby to start greeting guests. There was a wide assortment. The crew from the precinct was mingling with their boss's bosses. Jim Beckett was talking to the mayor, stirring a glass of iced tea, as talked with his free hand. Lanie had found Alexis and the two of them were snapping photos of everyone, including themselves in a very Myspace-ish manner.

Kate had stuck with water, a lemon thrown in to make it appear to be a cocktail. She had tried to mingle, to socialize with the people that signed her paychecks, celebrities, and the people she saw every day in the precinct. But she couldn't. Another glance at her watch told her it was 6:56. Setting the tumbler on the nearest table, she found her coat and scarf and pulled them on. Castle was arguing about sports with the Police Commissioner and the District Attorney until she tapped him lightly on the upper arm. Excusing himself, he let her lead him to a corner.

"I'll be back. There's something that Dad and I need to do before we can celebrate, okay?" When he nodded, she could see the skepticism in his eyes. "I promise I'll be back. Forty-five minutes tops." She handed her flower crown to him.

After gathering Jim Beckett away from the mayor with a smile and an apology, they went out to get in her dad's car. She drove, letting him sit in the passenger seat and look at the snow gently falling from the sky. She made a quick stop at a florist that was open late before pulling through the wrought iron gates of the cemetery.

For a few minutes, the two of them just sat in the warm car. Then, Jim made the first move: he opened the door and, pulling his collar up around his neck, set out toward the polished rose granite headstone. Kate gathered up to bouquet of daffodils and followed him. The snow stopped when they reached Johanna Beckett's headstone. Kate had to smile, looking up at the dark sky, mentally thanking her mother. Her watch said it was 7:26. Close enough, she thought, as she looked over at her father.

"Hey, Jo," her father started, running his hand along the top of the granite. "Big night for you tonight. Your daughter's shadow is brilliant. There's a fundraiser tonight, for you, to help students that want to work for the people normally ignored in the legal system. What you did." He managed to get through the entire statement before the tears started. "Even when you're gone, you're helping people, Jo."

He kissed the tips of his fingers, pressing them to her name. "I love you, Johanna." He turned, squeezing Kate's shoulder. "I'll be in the car. You two can talk."

Once her father started back to the still-running car, Kate stepped forward, fingering the hem of her coat. "Hi, Mom. You stopped it from snowing." She wiped a tear away. "The fundraiser is beautiful. It's like spring inside, flowers everywhere. You'd love it. God, I wished you were here to see it. Castle outdid himself. Mom, it was like he was reading my mind. He knew about spring, about the flower crowns from our picnics." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I'll come back next week and tell you about it. Promise." She leaned down, placing the daffodils at the base of the stone. Kate ran her hand over the face of the granite, letting her fingertips fall into the engravings as she straightened. "I love you, Mom. Miss you more every single day."

She walked slowly back to the car, sliding into the front seat. Her father's hand covered hers on the steering wheel. "She'd be so proud of you, Katie." She nodded, biting her lower lip.

"I know, Dad." She shifted the car into 'drive' and started back toward the fundraiser reception.

The party had started when they parked the car in the closest garage. Dinner was just being served as Kate and her father sat at one of the tables. As she took a sip of the water in her glass, Castle placed his fingertips on her wrist.

"You okay, Kate?"

She smiled, genuinely, and nodded. "Better than fine. Mom stopped it from snowing." She didn't see his confused expression as she buttered a roll and broke off a piece to eat. He dropped her flower crown back onto her head, catching her gaze when she looked up at him.

Their table was similar to the head table at a wedding. She and her dad were there, along with Castle, the mayor, and the dean of her mother's law school. After dinner and a few minutes of small talk, the dean, a tall, slender man with kind brown eyes, stood up and did the typical knife-to-glass to get the room's attention.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight. I know Johanna would appreciate all of you making the time. The University of New York School of Law is proud to add the Johanna Beckett Memorial Scholarship to its list of aid for future students, those that plan on helping the voiceless in this city's legal system. And I think that Johanna's daughter has a few words as well?" he let his voice go up at the end, indicating the question as he looked down at her.

She stood up, brushing a hand over her skirt as she looked at her father. "It has been twelve years. Twelve years tonight since that evening when we found out Mom was gone. In the years after she passed the bar exam, she dedicated herself to the people in the criminal justice system that were ignored. The ones that couldn't find representation that knew what they were doing, lawyers that wanted to hear their stories and took the idea of 'innocent until proven guilty' to heart. Mom was special in that sense.

"Anyway, this came up in a case a few months back. What would I do with a winning lottery ticket? I had thought about it, though I would never admit it, but my partner's idea totally smashed mine. This scholarship means more to me, to my dad, than I think even Castle knows. And trust me; he is incredibly adept at reading minds." She waited until the laughter died down, smiling down at Castle. "Mom may be gone, but she is certainly not forgotten. And thanks to everyone here, her memory will live on after even we are gone. Thank you."

She sat back down, the shaking of her hands barely perceptible. She finally allowed herself to motion to a wandering waitress for a glass of vodka.

Castle leaned in, whispering directly into her ear. "Katherine Beckett, you truly are extraordinary."

A/N: Honestly, reading and writing fanfiction has kept me semi-sane through this hiatus. The reviews make it so much more rewarding, knowing that people are enjoying these little drabbles. Please take the time and review, even if it's just a few words - they all make me smile like a fool. Plus, they may urge me to get the next chapter up and that one is way more fluffy than this one was!