A/N: I have lots of ideas and so I'm starting another story. I know this is the third I have going now, but Trained to Kill and Wedding Speeches are both very nearly finished so I wanted to start this one now. If you're reading either of them, don't worry, they'll be finished next week!

So these will be set at random moments throughout the seasons, some between episodes maybe some in the middle of episodes. Feel free to let me know any times you'd like to see a conversation from! Also, other female characters may join in other chapters - Alexis and Jenny most likely, but I expect most will be Kate and Lanie.


Timing: after 'A Death in the Family', before 'Deep in Death'.

PS: I am aware that Lanie didn't know what Castle had found at this point, but I'm sure we can forget that for this chapter ;) thank you to missy52061 for pointing it out!

"He did it, Lanie," was all Kate said as the door to Lanie's apartment swung open.

"Did what? Made a move? About ti-"

"No, he didn't make a move," she interrupted, walking into Lanie's place and sinking onto her couch.

"Well what did he do then?" Lanie asked. She was confused, her best friend had shown up unannounced at her apartment, no explanation as to why she was here and not making much sense.

"The one thing I asked him not to do - he looked into my mothers case."

"That son of a bitch!" Lanie exclaimed, "god Kate, I'm so sorry, I never thought he'd do that, not when you made it clear that you didn't want him too."

"Me either. But he did," she collapsed her head into her hands, "why couldn't he just leave it alone? I told him how hard it was for me back then, does he want me to go back down that rabbit hole?"

"Here, drink this," Lanie said, handing her a tumbler with a shot of whisky. Kate downed it in one and put the glass down on the coffee table in front of her. "Did he say why he did it?"

"Told me he'd found something. I mean who the fuck does he think he is! I specifically asked him to drop it but when the hell does Richard fucking Castle ever listen to anything I say? God Lanie, the man is infuriating! He just doesn't stop, coming in and poking his nose into my mothers case with his hot shot forensic pathologist," she let out a deep breath before continuing, "how the hell does he even know the best forensic pathologist in the city anyway? Jesus, the man has contacts everywhere. I bet he even has an inside scoop on the freaking CIA." She stopped, suddenly realising Lanie hadn't said anything in a few minutes. Not that Kate had given her much chance to talk.

"Oh sweetie," Lanie soothed. Secretly, she thought feelings ran much deeper than Kate would admit, but now wasn't really the time to pry information out of her about that. "Did he tell you what he'd found?"

"Lanie! You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am honey, you know I am! But the Richard Castle I know wouldn't have opened up those wounds if he didn't think it was worth it."

Kate sighed, Lanie was right. It can't have been easy for him, bringing that up, especially when he knew how much she'd hate him for it. Like she had told him - "you touch my mothers case and you and I are done." He'd given up their working relationship for this, that can't have been a decision he'd made lightly.

"My moms murder wasn't random," she blurted out and Lanie almost dropped the glass she was holding.

Setting it down on the table before she could do some damage, she asked, "how did he find that out?" Lanie herself had looked over the autopsy files from Kate's moms murder and had found nothing. As far as she could tell, everything had been done properly by the ME at the time and the murder had been an act of random gang violence.

"His 'friend'" she held her fingers up to act as quotation marks for that part, "said something about the wounds being too practiced, apparently it was the work of a proffessional, probably a hired hit. Someone had my mom killed, Lanie," she whispered, tears threatening to spill over her eyes.

"Oh Kate, come here," Lanie said, pulling her friend into a tight hug, "it'll be okay, I promise." She was in shock herself at what Castle had uncovered. "Right, you're staying here tonight. Nope, no complaints," she added as Kate tried to refuse. "You're angry and upset and you have a gun and as much as Castle has pissed you off, I wouldn't be your best friend if I didn't stop you from killing him and plot a way to make his life a living hell instead."

"Thanks Lanie," she gave her a tearful smile, "you're the best."

"I know," Lanie said simply. "Now, what do you want for dinner? Chinese? Pizza? Thai? My treat."

"Uh, Chinese sounds good?"

"Great, you order and I'll grab you some comfier clothes to wear."


An hour later and Kate and Lanie we're sat on the couch in swears with their Chinese take out and a bottle of red Lanie had found in a cupboard.

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah, I am a bit," Kate smiled, "thanks Lanie, this is exactly what I needed."

"No problem, what are best friends for?!" She took a deep breath before speaking again, "Castle was just trying to help, you know," she said quietly and waited for Beckett to bite her head off.

"I know," she replied to a surprised Lanie. "Oh don't look at me like that," she laughed, "I know he was just trying to help, that's all Castle ever does." The man seemed to have some insatiable need to please as many people as possible.

"So what're you gonna do?" She asked.

"I don't know. He knows how much he risked by telling me what he'd found but then I guess I'd be even more angry if he'd looked at he case and never said anything. But I'm still so angry that he went there in the first place, why couldn't he just leave it when I asked him too?!"

"Because he's crazy about you," Lanie said simply.

"Oh shut up," Kate scoffed, "he's not crazy about me, he can have any woman he wants, they fall all over him."

"Yeah, and you don't. You're right, he could have any woman he wants but he wants you."

Kate eyed her skeptically.

"And don't even think about denying that you want him too."

"I do not!"

"Oh please, you're mad about him."

Whatever you say, Lanie, whatever you say." Kate rolled her eyes, she was not mad about Castle, she wasn't. "I think I'm just gonna have a break from him. I'm sure he's got enough research now to keep him going, I doubt he needs to come back anyway."

Lanie just smirked and said, "mmhmm, whatever you say."


A/N: so, thoughts? As I said, if there's any times you wish there had been a conversation with them, I'm open to suggestions! Next might be after 2x01, about why Kate took Rick back. But yeah, reviews make me happy :)

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