Disclaimer! Not mine, just love it. You know the drill. Also, there's no Demming, no mention of Demming...really I'm just pretending he never existed. :]

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Kate Beckett loved her job. She knew that when she stepped foot into the New York Police Department each morning she was sure to make a difference. Not every day held huge wins for the good side, but every day was a step in the right direction. And she was a part of that. And she adored her team. It extended far beyond a working camaraderie…they were her friends. Javier Esposito, Kevin Ryan…even the Captain looked out for her. And she had Lainie Parish, a sharp as knives medical examiner and Kate's best friend of six years. And then there was him. Rick Castle. Famous Crime Novelist. Legendary Womanizer. And now Kate Beckett's Partner. Tall, handsome, and adorably funny when she allowed herself a moment during the day to see him that way. Aggravating, intrusive, and irritating during the moments that she didn't. Still, she had gotten used to having him around, gotten used to the gentle teasing, the sweet and silent looks of support he gave her right before a hard decision had to be made. He was part of what made the precinct so nice to come to every morning and, she had to admit, Amazing Father, Loyal Friend, and More-Than-Adequate Detective would have to be added to his resume.

Actually, the more she got to know him, the harder it was to remember why he had bothered her so much in the first place. Sure, he was totally inappropriate at crime scenes. But honestly, she usually welcomed the break from blood and gore. And sure, it drove her crazy that he pried into her private life. But really, it was nice that he knew her and cared for her as well as he did. And yes. She had initially been infuriated that he hit on her every second of every day. But lately she hadn't really minded. In fact, she had kind of liked it. Lately she liked almost everything that he did. She liked the way he said her name. She liked the way he brought her her favorite coffee every morning, the kind that she knew was three blocks out of his way. She liked the way he was so sweet with Alexis and his mother. And she loved the way she felt proud of him every time he helped her break a case. They made a great team at the precinct and lately she couldn't help thinking that they would make a great team outside of the station, too.

She was lost somewhere in this headspace when a cup of coffee was carelessly dropped onto her desk. She looked up and smiled when Castle plopped giddily down into the chair next to her.

"Gooood morning, detective!"

"Hey, Castle. You're especially chipper this morning." She shuffled some paperwork and continued mindlessly entering the last few names into the computer.

"I am. I am." He paused and waited. "Well? Don't you want to know why?"

She didn't look up. "No."

"Beckett! Come on!"

She smiled and looked at him. "Alright Castle. Spill it."

"Okay, okay. If you're going to twist my arm about it." He pretended not to see her eyes roll and continued, "Mother informed this morning that not only will Chet be taking her out of town for the weekend, he'll be taking her out of town for the, drumroll please…" He again paused and waited. When Kate didn't budge he drummed on her desk himself. "…for the month! Something about a Grecian tour and long walks on the beach…I don't really know. Everything sounded like "blahblahblah" after "…gone for a month.""

Kate couldn't help smiling when she saw him grinning from ear to ear. He kind of looked like a toddler on a sugar high. "Oh, Castle. I know your secret."

He furrowed his brow.

"You're going to miss Martha while she's gone. And you know Alexis will."

He got up and followed her to the break room. "Oh, she'll miss her, sure. But she will be back in a month, after all, and I think we could all use a little breather from the Martha train, which I think is only a track over from the Crazy Train."

Kate handed him a donut and leaned against the counter next to him. "Well I just better not be called in to bust up any wild parties while she's gone. Get it?"

He leaned in just shy of TOO close. "Oh, Kate. You know I'd never throw a party without you."

She could feel herself blushing and was more than a little relieved when Esposito poked his head into the room. "Yo, Beckett. Lainie called with the results from the sample you had her check. She said come down whenever."

Kate, now halfway across the room, smiled and thanked him. "You coming, Castle?"

"Have I ever turned down murder?"

"This isn't really murder so much as boring evidence cataloguing. I had Lainie rerun some stuff that we need to tie up the final loose ends on some old cases." She paused and turned around at her desk, grabbing her purse and coat and waiting to see if he wanted to come with.

"Still, cataloguing old evidence with you is a hell of a lot more fun than arguing with Esposito and Ryan about whether Superman or Batman would win in a fight."

Kate smiled and started walking to the elevator. "Totally. Spiderman could kick both their asses."

"You get hotter everyday, Detective. Everyday."

She smiled and watched the elevators close.

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"Okay. So I need to head back to the precinct. I have, like, three week's worth of paperwork just calling my name. So you can just head home. No point in both of us being bored out of our minds."

They were walking back towards the station after picking up the evidence from Lainie, dodging people carrying shopping bags and briefcases all around them.

"You know I like to watch you, Detective." He paused and looked down at her. "Working that is. For research purposes, of course."

"Whatever. If you want to waste an afternoon, be my guest." She walked through the door he was holding for her.

"An afternoon with you is never wasted, Kate." His hand brushed hers as he passed her to walk to the elevator. She stood still for a moment, not lost on her the fact that he had been calling her "Kate" quite a bit lately. It was disarming. Unsettling. But the butterflies in her stomach were something she was starting to think she could definitely get used to. She walked into the elevator as it opened and stood a little closer to him than she needed to, letting his cologne fill her senses and make her a little dizzy. This was definitely starting to create a problem…