Disclaimer: I own nothing but the thoughts in my head and the laptop in which I type them on. Castle is not mine, nor will it ever be. *sigh*

AN: Hi everyone, it's been ages since I've written anything but after the season premiere my muse kicked in. most of you know that I'm not a huge fan of dialogue but I hope you will read this any way. It's sort of an inside look to how Castle dealt with coming back and his thoughts on it all and his hopes for the future. This is not betaed so all mistakes are mine. I do read over it quite a few times and as an English teacher to be, it's usually pretty grammatically correct.

*Spoilers for 3x01*

Internal Processing

Maybe not calling all summer wasn't a good idea after all. Beckett hated him, Ryan and Esposito hated him and even the Captain did too. Castle had to fix it somehow; but why did it take a conversation with his daughter about the exact same thing for him to realise his mistake? Then it dawned on him, it was his status as a 'mere male' in the world and it took a woman to pretty much point it out to him. Alexis; what would he do without her? And his mother? Why did it seem like the women in his life were ganging up on him? Then there was the matter of Gina. He was only going out with her as a knee-jerk reaction to Beckett being with Demming, and then only to find out that they broke up. Yep, he should have called. It would have made the summer a whole lot more bearable. Sure, Gina had her fine points, and by points he meant 'fine assets'. Dear God, he was shallow. So there he was, making a bet with Beckett to try and get back into her good graces after pretty much making her feel worthless the whole three months he was away. He saw the hurt in her eyes when she was interrogating him; he saw the jealousy. Why didn't he notice it before? He vowed to make it better. He wasn't going to stand there and see her miserable. Coffee, he'd start with coffee. She loved the stuff, it was their thing. Coffee made the universe spin. Ah, the universe, he was actually glad that Beckett didn't smack him when he made that comment. He was sure he had it coming; the ear pull was enough pain though. He just never knew what she would pull on him next.

Castle couldn't figure Beckett out. What wasn't she telling him? He knew she must have some pretty wild past if that club didn't phase her one iota. More spice for Nikki Heat. Perhaps the next book could be called 'Burning Heat'. Naked girl on the front with fire surrounding her; exactly what the publishing company ordered. The more he gets to know Beckett, the more layers he unravels, and she must have more than most because Castle seems to be finding out more the longer he is with her. What he finds the most fascinating is how fast she can process information. She is the only person ever to keep up with his train of though. Kudos to Beckett.

Counterfeiting, whodathunkit? It always amazes him that the extent people go for greed. Sure, he has money and fame, but greed it the farthest thing from his mind. As a crime writer it is his job to understand the criminal mind and what possesses them to do the heinous things that they do, but even so, it still baffles him. Greed, love and betrayal are the three main things people kill for. Richard Castle has been betrayed, he has been in love and has been the victim of greed and all surrounding three different women. Perhaps an observing eye will help him out with his latest predicament. He is back together with his money-grabbing ex-wife/publisher but is only with her to make another woman jealous, a woman whom his feelings for run deeper than they ever have before. So why cause hurt to someone he cares about. Sure, she hurt him once, but not after the countless times she has forgiven him for upsetting her. Maybe when it's all over and they both see how stupid they have been will they realise what they've got in each other. They're like a pair of mismatched socks, they're different but it doesn't matter because they're comfortable.

She gave him her gun, that's got to mean something, right? They saved each others lives. Was she just returning the favour? By Chinese law they're indebted to one another for life. Just the way he likes it, it means he has even more of a reason to stick around. Castle likes working along side Beckett and the boys. It gives him a sense of worth and accomplishment. He feels as if he is doing something productive and rewarding. It's a challenge for him and he relishes in it daily. He knows Beckett loves her job and is amazingly good at it. This is why he is ecstatic when he wins the bet and gets to work with them all again. Maybe they did need the summer to figure out what they both wanted from each other. If the universe wants them to have a happy ending, then it will happen. He has decided to let it flow and let the universe do the walking and the planning. All in due time he figures. 'Que Sera, Sera. What will be, will be.'

So they part ways for the first time since the last time, three months ago, with a promise, "See you tomorrow, Detective."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Castle."

He could only smile at the prospects that the coming year will hold.

I hope you all enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think. I'm always up for a good TV debate about what the season will hold for us so feel free to drop me a line and I will get back to you in a timely manner. I'm thinking about writing another oneshot from Beckett's point of view if you're interested.