AUTHOR'S NOTE: okay so I wrote this months ago and I had beta-related bad luck lol but thx to Nikki who edited this chapter a while back. Yes this is SHORT but chapter 2 is MUCH longer I swear, I just wanna see your reactions to this before I post the next chapter okay? So comments/reviews please and then if you want me to, I will post the next chapter... ENJOY!

Castle & Beckett Fan Fiction

Chapter 1: Sleepless With Regret

They had been working on that case for far too long and it completely wiped her out. She thought that when the case was finally solved she would be able to get some sleep, but even after three straight weeks with very little sleep – and the sleep she did get just made her even more exhausted than she already was – she couldn't get her eyes to stay shut. She couldn't rest; couldn't stop thinking about it. And after what she had done, she wondered if she would ever get any sleep again.

She sat at her desk staring into...well, nothing. She was staring blindly ahead; her elbow on top of the desk as her hand held up her head, simply thinking. Her mind concentrated on one thought alone and pushed everything and anything else away. For the first time in a long time, Detective Kate Beckett felt lost.

How could she have let this happen? She pushed too hard, and she knew it. It was all her fault. If it wasn't for her... there is no way it would have happened, not ever. No other cop would have been so, so... She thought of several words that described stupidity, but she felt that none of them were strong enough; none of them were fit for the horrible actions she had taken. Her mind wandered off as she thought about what she might have done differently, if they would change the outcome and whether or not she should have taken the case in the first place. 'Maybe, maybe if I –' her thoughts were cut short by a man's voice. A tall shadow surrounded her, and before she even thought to turn and face the voice, it spoke again. Her concentration broke, and without turning her head, she recognized the voice's owner immediately. Richard Castle.

"Beckett?" he asked.

She paused a moment and then answered him with a question of her own. "Sorry, what did you say?"

He swept himself around her desk so that he could face her and placed a coffee mug on her desk. She thanked him briefly and he smiled.

"I said." He took a short pause. "That was one heck of a case! A real hard one, but you've got to admit, it was pretty awesome!" As he said this his face formed its usual charming smile.

"Sure," she stated bluntly. As she said this, an expression of shock and disappointment invaded Castle's face.

"'Sure?'" he echoed her response. "That's all you've got to say? Sure?"

"What's wrong with that?" she asked plainly.

"Nothing." He seemed ready to drop the conversation, but then, he continued, "If you're twelve!"

"Well, I'm sorry if my choice of vocabulary disappoints the bestselling author, but that's your problem, not mine!" she answered him irritably, with a touch of sarcasm.

"You could have said something more descriptive or enthusiastic," he started.

She knew exactly what he was getting at; he wanted to have a little play-fight like he always does, but she really wasn't in the mood.

"Something like, 'yeah! It was a cool one' or 'I really didn't expect that; he really had us fooled', maybe even something like 'we totally nailed it!' and given me a high five," he continued, "But sure? Come on Detective, we both know you've got better material than that."

"A simple one," she replied with the intention of stopping him before he could think of anymore 'brilliant responses'. She realized that he would keep this going on forever, unless she found the right way to stop him. She searched her mind for the perfect phrase and then, with a thin smile upon her face, she joked, "well, next time I'll get my editor to review my thoughts before I answer you."

He let out a quiet laugh, grabbed his coat from the chair opposite hers and asked, "Aren't you coming? You need some rest."

"No, you go ahead; there's something I've got to take care of first," she told him as her smile faded.

"Alright then, until tomorrow Detective," he smiled.

"Night Castle."

With Beckett's goodbye, Castle turned and walked away, wondering what had just happened; Beckett clearly wasn't acting her usual self. She's just tired, he reassured himself; everything will be back to normal in the morning.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: haha so what did you think? Worth the read? I'd like you to know that this is my FIRST fic ever! But I have started others, just haven't had time to finish any that's why I haven't posted lol Anyways tell me what you thought of this!