Hey, all. You know, I don't honestly remember where or when this came to me—I guess I just got fed up with all of the fics I was reading painting Josh as a bad guy? I mean, I don't think Beckett would have dated a bad person—one outburst while his girlfriend is fighting for her life doesn't make him some kind of demon, after all.

Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything associated with it. All rights to Castle and affiliated characters belong to Beacon Pictures and the ABC.

Summary: He knew he shouldn't. She was married to another man. "Well, there was this one woman." He began anyway. "She was a cop; but she got hurt and left the city. I never heard from her again." Future!fic.

Rating: K

Genre: Friendship/Romance

Pairings: Caskett

Glitter

The surgery had been a complete success. Doctor Joshua Davidson had closed up his patient—an elderly man who had bled so profusely that they'd almost lost him—and had officially gone off shift. He had changed back into his street clothing and was headed down to the main entrance to meet the nurse he was taking out to lunch before heading home. He was in a good mood; successful surgeries often put a certain sprig in his step that lasted for at least a few hours.

He wasn't really paying attention as he followed the familiar path to the front desk, mentally running through the menu of the café they were going to eat at, when he rounded the corner and saw her.

She was sitting in one of the hard plastic chairs that lined the hall, a book open in her hands as she waited for her turn. There were other women, and a few men—mostly younger than her—dotted here and there throughout the hallway, chatting with each other. But she remained silent, not even attempting to interact with them. He couldn't see the title of the book from his vantage point, but he was familiar enough with her favourite author's covers to recognise the first Nikki Heat novel when he saw it—even from the back and on an angle.

He approached cautiously; he hadn't seen her in years, since a few days after she'd looked at him from her hospital bed in a ward across the city, barely able to swallow on her own, and told him that they were done. He'd been hurt, then, but convinced that it was her trauma speaking. He'd gone to see her a few hours before she'd been discharged into her father's care, and had been sure she would tell him that she hadn't meant it—that she'd been speaking out of her hurt, and would like for him to come and see her when he got the time off.

But she hadn't. She had thanked him for saving her life, even when she knew he had broken the rules to do so, and had wished him all the best. Stunned, heart in his throat, he had implored her to call if she needed anything, and then later had watched from the window in the cardiology break room as her father had wheeled her out of the hospital and into the parking lot. He hadn't heard from her since.

He stopped a few feet from her, eyes on her face. Her hair was longer, now—curled and lighter than he remembered it. He cleared his throat. "Hi, Kate."

She gave a start and looked up, no doubt recognising his voice; her eyes were wide, her mouth set into a small 'o' of surprise. She blinked at him for a moment, before closing her book, leaving her right thumb in between the pages to keep her place. "Hi, Josh." Her voice was clear, no trace of the hesitation he knew she'd heard in his. "I didn't know you were working in the city again."

He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall, between two windows. He had fifteen minutes before he had to be out front; he had time. "Yeah, I just got back from South Africa three weeks ago."

"South Africa?" Her eyes lit up in interest. "It's beautiful there."

"You've been?" He asked, sitting down on one of the chairs, leaving one between them. He didn't give her any of the specifics of his time there—spent giving medical care to those who couldn't afford it. Whatever she'd done there, it was clear she'd enjoyed her stay; he didn't want to ruin that with his horror stories.

"Mm," she hummed. "Rick and I went for our first anniversary, a few years ago." She lifted her left hand to brush a curl behind her right ear, affording him a view of the set of white gold wedding and engagement rings on her fourth finger. The diamonds set in them—larger in the engagement ring, but the wedding ring no less beautiful for it—caught the sunlight filtering in and glittered at him.

"Rick Castle?" He wasn't surprised. There'd been rumours of the two of them since before he'd ever met her; he'd half expected her to dump him for Castle throughout their relationship.

"Yeah." Her voice was wary, now. She knew he hadn't liked her close relationship with the man, even if he hadn't ever said as much. "We started seeing each other maybe ten months after you and I broke up." She answered his unasked question.

He let out a whoosh of air; a perfectly respectable time between serious relationships. "I'm happy for you—really." He said honestly, hoping to rid her face of the small, worried frown that marred her features. "Is this your first?" He gestured toward her rounded abdomen, a small, but obvious baby bump giving her away even more than sitting in the maternity ward outside the offices used for prenatal care.

Her smile was back, slightly dazed as she rested her left had over the swell of her stomach. "Yeah." He could hear her happiness in her voice. "We're calling her Rebecca."

"It's a good name." He offered. He had a cousin called Rebecca—he wondered if she remembered. Probably not.

"It was Castle's idea." She laughed fondly. "Since Alexis got her mother's surname as a middle, he wanted my kid to have part of my name too. Becky and Beckett."

"Is he here?" He asked, looking around, wondering if her husband had maybe gone for coffee while they waited.

She shook her head. "He should be touching down in London in…" she checked her phone. "About three hours."

"You're pregnant and he went overseas?" He blurted out in surprise. Of all the reactions he'd expected of Richard Castle, who, according to Kate herself, had often badgered her when he knew she needed someone, that had been the last thing he'd expected.

"He didn't want to." She laughed. "We fought about it; he hasn't missed an appointment before, but he's been pushing this trip back for months since we found out I was pregnant." The smile on her face was indulgent as she shook her head. "It's been about the only thing his ex-wife and I have ever agreed on; it took her, me, and his agent to get him on that plane this morning. He'll be back in a week."

Josh snorted. "I gotta say, I have to take his side on that one."

She grinned. "Well, there's a first time for everything."

He huffed a laugh. "If my wife was pregnant with her first kid, she'd have to force me out the door. No way I'd get on a plane."

Her eyes dropped to his left hand—still, after all this time, bare of any rings. But then, as a doctor, she knew he'd have to take off any jewellery at work, so she still asked. "Are you married?"

He shook his head. "No."

She looked back up to his face. "Any serious candidates?" She asked, curiously.

He shouldn't. He knew he shouldn't. She was married to another man and carrying his baby. And he, himself, was over it, now. "Well, there was this one woman." He began anyway, seeing her eyes light up in interest. He remembered that she loved a good story—it was part of what she enjoyed most about working with Castle, she'd told him. "A few years ago, now. She was a cop; but she got hurt and left the city. I never heard from her again."

Her eyes had lowered; he could see the frown on her face even as she turned away from him. "Josh." Her tone was soft, but laced with warning.

"It was years ago, I know." He waved it off, his voice dismissive. "I'm over it, now. Really, I am." He insisted at her doubtful look. "I just—those first few months, I wondered a lot, you know? If you were okay."

"I wasn't." She shrugged. "But I am, now. More than, actually."

"That's good." He glanced back at the clock. He had about three minutes to be downstairs. "Well, I have to go. Lunch date." He didn't feel bad about being honest about his plans with her, the way he would around any other ex. She was happy, and that took a load off his chest. He supposed seeing her happy and living her life had given him some form of closure after the years of thinking back and not knowing. He was glad she was out of whatever rut he'd known she was in when they were together—afraid of committing fully, of love and family.

"It was good to see you again." She smiled brightly as he stood.

"I'll see you around." He nodded to her. "Bye, Kate."

"Bye."

He only looked back once, as he was about to turn the corner for the stairs. Her book was open again, her hair falling down to cover her face from his view. As he watched, she absently pushed it back behind her ear, the diamonds glittering in the light again.

He shook his head and continued on his way, the bounce in his step now for a completely different reason.