Hello! Inspiration hit me again while watching YouTube videos of Castle, and while watching some moments between Castle and Beckett in the season 2 finale, I decided to make my own version of what could've happened in the finale.

ENJOY!

"Sometimes, you just gotta do things off the grid." Castle spoke as he occasionally flickered his gaze over to his favorite detective next to him. "Speaking of off the grid; I was serious about this weekend."

Beckett turned her gaze to meet his. "You're seriously asking me to your place in the hamptons?" She looked at his eyes to see any hint of lust or defient nature in it, and seeing none, she began to let her gaurd down a little bit.

"I promise. No funny stuff. Just a...friendly getaway. It'll be fun." Castle bit his lip slightly on the inside waiting on her answer.

"Yea." She looked over at Castle and the idea of what she said sent her walls back up. "No. You know, some of us have to work for a living."

"On Memorial day?"

Damn him.

"Hey...Demming."

"Hey...Castle."

Both men greeted each other with an obvious tint of awkwardness, though Castle managed to maintain the smile on his face, though it faded quite rapidly as Beckett turned away from him to face the other detective.

"So, you know that little place in Asbury I told you about, the one around the corner from our beach house?"

At the same time that Beckett lowered her head slightly as she knew Castle had heard that she had been lying to him, Castle lowered his as well, not being able to hide the hurt and rejection he felt that his best friend had lied to him. But he had to remind himself that Demming had won her affection over him and that he had to respect that because he made her happy.

Not noticing Beckett's slight change in demeanor, Demming continued. "Well they just had a reservation open up on friday. We leave early enough, we can probably make it." Kate nodded her head distantly and zoned back in, looking into Demming's eyes and seeing a different shade of blue than she was used to seeing on a certain writer.

"Yea, uhm, let me check into it?"

"Yea, great. I'll see you later." Demming walked away and Beckett bowed her head slightly to the ground, not wanting to turn around to see whatever reaction Castle might've had.

Not hearing a reply or a comment from her conversation, Beckett turned around, only to be greeted by a vacant desk and chair, where Castle would normally be perched. Sucking in a breath, the detective looked around for him, not seeing any sign of the tall writer anywhere in the bull pen. She sat down in her chair and spun around with a dejected look on her face, wondering where Castle had gone. Probably Alexis texted him, she thought as she rummaged around on her desk, looking for the current file, when she spotted a new envelope with her name scrawled on it in familiar handwriting.

Beckett raised her head, looked around the empty bullpen and then back down at the envelope, opening it curiously, knowing that the messy, yet legible handwriting was Castle's.

Detective Beckett,

Beach House, Huh? Thought you were working this weekend?

Well anyway, I understand, you want your private life to be private, just like any other person. But, you aren't just another person to me and if you didn't want to come to the Hamptons with Alexis and I, I would've appreciated you just telling me that instead of making up a faux excuse.

Anyway, I think I should get to the point in saying that since the book is almost finished and it's deadline coming up, I think it would be a good time for us to take a break. God knows you're getting tired of me following you along. I really need to get some work done anyway, and with everyone gone, I figured, why not just stay up in the Hamptons?

Not just for the weekend though. I thought it would be nice to get away from the city for a while. Most likely for the summer, at least. I thought this could be our last case.

Well with that said, I'll bid you a farewell Detective, and I appreciate you putting up with me. I know how hard and exhausting it may have been. Now, your writer monkey can have a home away from yours. I'll be out of your hair before you know it.

Thanks and Goodbye.
-Richard A. Rodgers.

Beckett raised her head as she read the farewell as simualtaneously, Esposito and Ryan walked up urgently, holding a case file in her hands. She knew her face showed her feelings as if they were on her sleeve, but she couldn't wipe off the emotions as quickly as usual.

"So uh-" Ryan spoke first, stopping as he saw the emotions flash through his colleagues eyes.

"Everything okay?" Esposito butted in, his brotherly instincts rising as he saw the devastated look on Beckett's face.

"Yea, fine, Whatcha got?" Beckett looked up, her face now stoic, but she couldn't seem to rid of the increasing sting behind her eyes as she conspicuously pushed the envelope under her other paperwork.

"Castle's last case, huh?" Esposito walked up behind her and leaned against the desk with her. He had watched as Beckett called Castle twice, both times hanging up as she heard the voicemail message instead of the man's voice. She had even stopped by his loft and stood there for about 10 minutes, waiting for someone to open the door, though no one did.

"Mhmm" Answering noncommitmantly, she continued looking at the board, willing the bubbling feelings to subside.

"Ryan and I thought we'd throw a going away party."

"Well, it's not like he's leaving forever." Beckett didn't know if she was reassuring Esposito or herself at that point, but she knew that Castle had contacted Esposito and Ryan at one point, updating them on the leave that he was going to do as he went up to the Hamptons. But, alas, he hadn't bothered to contact her at all.

"You sure about that? Why do you think he's following you around? What, research? Man's got enough research to write 50 books. Whatever the reason is, I'm pretty sure it's not to watch you be with another guy." Esposito clasped his hand gently on Beckett's shoulder as he walked past her, watching as her eyes began to water slightly once again.

Sitting at her desk in the bullpen, Beckett looked around as she heard the quiet clacking of feet.

"Hey." She said, eagerly as she saw the familiar face of her writer again. But her face dropped as she saw only one coffee in his hand. Beckett couldn't help but feel a bit rejected as he didn't bring her a coffee like he always did. Since the second case they were assigned to together, he had brought her a coffee no matter what time of the day it was and no matter where.

"Hey." Her thoughts were momentarily put away as she heard the unusual graveliness of his voice. Getting a good look at his face, she saw that he had slight bags under his eyes and that the hand holding the coffee was shaking slightly as he set it down.

She internally cursed herself for overreacting. Of course he brought her coffee. He just didn't get any of his own. He motioned to her desk to ask if he can have a seat and she immediately said yes, sitting on the desk herself. Concernfully, she looked over him as he began to talk, seeing his tired features and how his knuckles turned white as he clutched onto her desk, lowering himself down onto her desk carefully.

Beckett interupted him as she saw that he shut his eyes closed for a moment to long as he took a pause in his rambling. "Castle, are you okay?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean...Yea. I'm fine," Castle attempted to give her a smile, but it didn't result correctly, looking more like a grimace than a smile. She put her hand on his arm gently.

"Castle, are you okay?" The detective repeated once more.

"Uhm, yea. Actually, I got to go. Alexis is coming home and I have to...go pick her up...Yea. Bye."

Castle staggered as he rose onto his slightly shaking feet. He walked as fast as he could without falling, making his way to the elevator. Only when the elevator doors close, did he allow himself to lean heavily against the elevator wall, slightly gasping for breath as he willed away the urge to throw up.

"Don't get into a drinking contest with her, because she can take you." Lanie said as Beckett walked in with a beer. The first think Beckett noticed, was that Castle wasn't drinking beer at all, but instead, he was drinking water.

"Oh, I don't need a drink to take him." Beckett said with a smirk on her face as she walked up to Castle.

"Oooh, Girl! What's gotten into you?"

"Castle, do you have a second?" Beckett watched as Castle said yes and shakingly stood up.

No other detective in the room seemed to notice that it took longer for the writer to stand up than usual. Nor that he was paler and that there were bags under his eyes. As they made their way outside, she could see a faint sheet of perspiration appear on Castle's hair line, from the short distance from his chair to outside the room.

"Castle, are you okay? And I mean it, don't tell me you are, because I know you're not."

Castle gulped, but kept his face as plain as he could. Tilting his head slightly, he asked, "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."

"Rick. Please." He could see the seriousness in her eyes as she looked into his.

He sighed and in 3 simple words, he managed to shake up her world.

"I have cancer."

Like I said up there, this could be a one-shot or a multi-chapter depending on the response that I get from you guys! So, Let me know in a review :)

Love, Hate, Criticism, or Ideas are all welcomed and encouraged!

Thanks for reading!

-Lona