To clear up some confusion.

I have not abandoned Fighting Forever, but I got this idea the other day and had to write it out. I got some opinions and decided to post it. Please give it a chance? :) (Side note: Turns out Wonton Soup gives the brain a creative boost.)

Disclaimer: As much sadness as it causes me, I do not own Castle or any of its characters or rights. :(

He was gone. Just like that, he was out of her life in an instant. Seeing him walk down the corridor of the precinct with her on his arm had almost made Kate shatter right there. She knew everyone was watching her from the window, but she didn't care. Trying to keep all her emotions in check so they didn't all come crashing down around her, she tilted her head back and took a deep breath.

She didn't know what she was supposed to do now. This whole thing was, after all, her fault. She'd waited too long. It had taken a co-worker spelling it out for her to realize that she needed to tell him how she felt, and she'd waited too long to act on what she'd finally realized.

So now, as she sat perched on the edge of her desk, she felt lost. The most important person in her life had just walked away from her, and she couldn't even be sure he would come back. Esposito had seemed so sure this would be his last case, and Kate didn't want to believe that, but it was possible. And that thought itself was almost too painful to think about.

She wasn't the kind of girl to run after him. She wasn't going to destroy what was obviously a perfectly good relationship between two wealthy, famous people.

So why was her heart screaming for her to run down that same hallway he'd been in seconds ago and kiss him? Why did she have such a strong urge to just let herself go and be with him?

Defeated, she shook her head. She was a strong person; she wasn't going to let this get to her. She sighed and picked up her coat, tucking her chair under her desk and holding her head high.

Kate turned, meeting the stares of her four coworkers full on. Taking careful, steady steps, she pushed the door to the meeting room open and poked her head through.

"Hey guys, I think I'm gonna call it a night. It's been a long day." She said it with a smile, trying to shove all evidence of sad emotion to the back of her mind. She could see it in their eyes; the confusion, the worry, the pity. She knew they had an idea of what had just happened, but she wasn't about to say anything to confirm or deny it.

Lanie stepped forward first. She didn't try to put on a poker face like Kate; her face clearly displayed her worry for her best friend. "Honey, what just happened?"

"Nothing, Lanie. Night." Kate turned for the door, but the other woman caught her hand.

"You know I don't believe that, girl. You need to talk about it?"

Kate chewed on the inside of her lip, trying to keep her emotions hidden and put on a small grin. "I said nothing happened, Lanie." She turned to everyone else, putting a foot out the door. "See you tomorrow."

Her steps sped up as she headed towards the elevators. She never cried at work; it was unprofessional and, to her, it seemed weak. She didn't want the people she saw every day to see her break down. She didn't want them to know what she was feeling on the inside, especially not right now.

The elevator doors opened immediately. Stepping in, she instinctively gravitated to the back. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, her body starting to shake. She didn't want to cry, but the tears trying so desperately to escape the corners of her eyes clearly thought otherwise. The steel doors opened again and she walked out into the lobby of the precinct.

Traffic in New York, no matter what time of day, was always hell. The constant honking of the car horns and the shouts of annoyed drivers usually reminded her of the strange reasons why she loved this city, but today they just annoyed her.

As she shifted her car into park mode to wait, her thoughts trailed back to Castle. He was probably somewhere in this insane jam, with that blonde Stepford woman on his arm, waiting to get to his sunny Hamptons.

Don't do this to yourself, she scolded, sighing. But she couldn't help it. She didn't know what had been going through his mind when he'd left. She didn't know if he would even want to talk to her or think about her ever again. She didn't know if he'd ever call her again, or if they'd ever have another movie night or go out for another drink. Shaking her head, she tried to calm herself down. She was getting too far ahead of herself, and that would just stress her out and cause even more problems.

When she finally got to her apartment, twenty-five minutes later, she put her mail down on the counter and hung her coat up in the closet. Sinking down onto the couch, she laid her head back and closed her eyes.

And she let the tears come freely.

Richard Castle was torn.

What had Kate wanted to say before Gina had appeared? What had been tearing her apart so much? She'd refused his offer of going to the Hamptons so many times, but was it silly to think that maybe she'd wanted to reconsider? The look in her eyes had been painful to see. He hated knowing she was so conflicted, so confused.

He looked out the window of the car, into the bustling city he loved so much. He'd lived here his whole life, and he wanted to stay for the rest of it. He could hear the angry horns and frustrated shouts of the civilians on the sidewalks; they made him smile in amusement.

Gina was sitting next to him, her fingers busy with her Blackberry. She was always working in some way or another, whether it was hounding him to get his book done or making a deal on the phone with some big name company. Part of him loved that she was so busy, so important, but the other part wished she could just set some time aside for them.

It slightly frustrated him when he realized that the latter was the thing he wanted more.

Gina was a busy, working woman. She could never settle down happily. But Kate…she was different. She was dedicated to her work, but she knew when to quit. She knew how to have fun.

That was why he'd partially fallen in love with her.

He shook his head, trying to get rid of all things Beckett in his mind. Here he was, on his way to his exclusive beach house with a beautiful woman on his arm, and he was thinking about a detective. It didn't make sense.

A detective who just happens to be someone you care about, the voice in his head reminded him.

He sighed in frustration. That voice was right; he could never stop thinking about her. She was his best friend, his partner. She would do anything for him and he would do anything for her.

"You okay?" Gina had stopped typing and was now looking up at him, confused. She must have heard his sigh or seen his conflicted expression.

Smiling, he looked down at her and took her hand. "Yeah," he said, trying to restore some happiness in his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Reminding himself of beautiful summer breezes and warm ocean sand, he pushed all things Kate to the back of his mind, where they would stay for the rest of the summer.

Lanie sighed. She knew Kate had been ready to tell Castle how she felt about him. For her, that took a lot of courage and a hell of a lot of convincing. But if she was finally ready, there was nothing stopping her.

And she had been ready. She was going to tell him she was in love with him—right before that stupid Stepford blonde had shown up.

Lanie could see it in her friend's eyes. The defeat, the annoyance. She'd shaken the woman's hand politely, but there had been tons of frustration behind her eyes. She'd taken deep breaths, followed by an 'I thought you two didn't get along.' She had almost hit her breaking point, right there and then.

Sighing, Lanie picked up her coat and fished her phone out of the pocket. Whether Kate liked it or not, they were about to have a serious girl talk.

You wanna talk about it? The text was sent in a matter of seconds, and making her way over to the elevator, Lanie was worried about the response she would get.

No.

A giggle escaped her. That was so typically Kate.

Don't care. I'm coming over there in a half hour. Pick a movie and pull out some popcorn.

Making her way out to her car, she thought about how her friend would respond to that. The girl was probably curled up on her couch, trying to convince herself to forget about what had happened and just get on with everything else.

Shaking her head, Lanie made her way out into the hellish traffic that was a part of the city she loved.

"Girl, Imma smack you."

Kate and Lanie had been talking for the past hour about everything but what she'd come over to talk about. There was a half-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table in front of them, and a Nicolas Sparks movie had been playing, until Kate had gotten annoyed with it and had shut it off.

Kate sighed. She wasn't an idiot; she knew full well why Lanie was really here. "Look, what do you want to know?"

The smirk was immediately erased from the ME's face. She moved her hand over the other woman's, offering her comfort. Kate moved her hand away.

"I want you to tell me what happened, sweetie. I saw your face after writer boy left; you weren't just upset, you were destroyed. I hate seeing you like that." After a moment's pause, she added, "He broke your heart, didn't he?"

The detective shook her head. "No, Lanie. That wasn't it at all. He just…" She had to stop to take a shaky, deep breath. God, she was more damaged by this than she had thought. "I waited too long. He kept asking me to go with him to the Hamptons, and I kept saying no. But then when he told me he was leaving, I couldn't wait any longer, and I…I broke up with Tom. Told him it wasn't what I was looking for. And when I tried to tell Castle how I really felt about him…she showed up."

Lanie didn't need to ask who 'she' was. The look in her friend's eyes said it all. "Did he know?"

"What?"

"Did Castle know what you were going to say?"

Kate shook her head. "No. I mean, I don't think so. He just seemed confused as to why we were standing there and why I was rambling on about how much fun I've had in the past year and how I'm so glad we're friends."

She was shaking. Saying all this was just rehashing everything for her, and she'd worked hard to try and push it all to the back of her mind. Now it was just flooding her again, threatening to crush her.

Lanie didn't say anything else. She just moved to the other side of the couch, and holding her best friend in her arms, offered as much comfort as she could.

Oh please, please review? It really does mean the world :)