A/N: As many of us fans are trying to make sense of the start of season 8, this speculation fic popped into my head. I hope it makes some sense to you, too.

Updated thanks to my beta, Kireteiru.

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC television. No infringement is intended.

Transcriptions from seriesmonitor dot com slash castle slash transcripts slash index dot html

Spoilers for 5x16 Hunt, 5x24 Watershed, 6x22 Veritas, 7x23 Hollander's Woods, 8x02 XX

Kate Beckett thought it was silly at first. But after all they had been through, she was glad this wonderful, creative man had suggested it. She pulled out her burner phone and started to text Castle.

She typed: "Zombie Veritas 2".

A short time later he texted back.

"ACK"

Now the clock started and she needed to get moving.

Lying in bed with her head on Castle's chest, sated, after the very private, very vigorous celebration of Rick's and Alexis's safe return from Paris after Alexis's abduction, Beckett said, "Rick. Babe. I mean it, don't do anything like that again without me."

"Kate."

"No, Rick."

Craning his neck to look her in the eye, Castle said, "Kate, I cannot blanket say that I will never do that again. But, if there is a next time, we'll talk and plan before I go off and do something. Okay?"

"Okay."

"But you need to do the same. I don't want you to go off at Bracken without discussing it with me."

"Babe."

"Kate, please."

"Okay."

Rick pondered for a moment, then said, "Beckett, we probably need a code word or phrase to indicate we need to meet."

"Does this have to do with the shadowy people you dealt with in Paris?"

"No, not totally. But I think it would be a good idea. Like a time that we need to talk quickly or about something serious. We should have a code phrase and a default location."

"Why?"

"Don't you remember that con man case? I wanted to know if the con man was CIA?"

Sitting up and looking Castle straight in the eye, Beckett answered, "Yeah."

Matching Beckett, Castle sat up and leaned against the headboard, "We had a code phrase. 'Thai food is pleasing to the tongue.' And Agent Gray came to help me."

"Yeah, and I won a dollar off of you," Beckett teased.

"Beckett, please pull up the sheet while we're talking."

"Why?"

"Because you're naked and I can't think straight when you're displaying yourself like this. This is serious."

"Okay," Kate says as she covers her chest with a blanket. "I'll humor you."

"Yeah we need a code phrase or two."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I already have one with mother and Alexis. I made those after that dirty bomb case."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. We need one for if we are in danger but we are being overheard. Like when on the original series Star Trek, Captain Kirk said 'Condition Green' to Scotty. That code phrase told Scotty that the away team was in danger but ordered not to do any rescue. Or that chess move in the prison episode."

"We are not using a Star Trek chess move to signal each other," Beckett said sourly, rolling her eyes.

"Okay. How about 'zombie'? That would be a signal. Like if you say, 'Green' with 'Zombie' that means you're in trouble but you are being overheard."

"Castle," Beckett giggled. "Zombie?"

"Zombies are so cool. Plus, how often will you use 'zombie' in a sentence? Probably never. It's a key sign. Sorta like a baseball sign that is a trigger. The coach wiping the right leg being a trigger for the next sign like a steal sign."

"Okay, 'zombie.'"

"How about this. We set a location of those swings where we had that talk a couple of years ago, where you sat in the rain getting soaked. We say 'zombie festival' to indicate we need to meet there."

"Zombie festival?"

"Yeah. That's an indication we need to drop whatever we're doing and meet at those swings. No argument. We set a time to meet from the time it's acknowledged. So if you text me 'zombie festival 45' when I respond 'ACK' that means that I'll be there in 45 minutes. Or if I can't, if I'm too far away, I'll put a different number in there like 'ACK 2' meaning it will take me 2 hours to get there. If we speak, we'll just say 'acknowledged'."

"Aren't you making it overcomplicated?"

"Well, maybe a little. But we only use it if it's pretty important. Life changing. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And one more."

"One more?"

"Yeah, one more. If there is a case that is very dangerous, life or death possibly, like that dirty bomb case, and we could be followed and it's important we're not followed, we have another phrase."

"And why would we do that?"

"Agent Gray said they always had a phrase for losing a tail or a 'life or death' situation. So I think we should have one, too. Also, it means lose the phones so they can't track us. But meet at the same place."

"Whatever."

"How about 'Zombie Veritas'? Would that work for you?"

"Zombie Veritas?"

"Yeah. Because it's serious, deadly serious. You will swear on your mother's grave that it's 'life or death' vital that we meet at the swings."

"Castle, you're skating on thin ice here. Bringing up swearing on my mother's grave," Beckett says fuming.

"Kate," said Castle, holding her hands and looking into her eyes with a very somber look on his face. "That's why I bring it up. Because it has to be that serious."

Beckett drops her burner phone into the trash because now, since she has texted him on it, the burner is tied to Castle's normal (and traceable) phone. And then she starts her trek.

She thinks about the times that they used the code phrases that once seemed so silly to her when he first suggested them, and now were so vital.

She hails a cab to take her to her first stop on the quest for losing any person tailing her. Sitting in the cab, she remembers clearly the first time she used one of the code phrases with him.

A girl had been found at an SRO dead in the rooftop water tank. Beckett had finally caught the suspect and had him in interrogation. She exited the room while Ryan and Esposito walked up to her.

As she handed Esposito the file and walked past them, she said, "He's prepared to give a statement implicating his brother in both murders, as well as the accident. Would you guys mind taking it?"

"Yo, Kate."

She stopped.

"Yeah."

"What's up?"

Ryan added, "Yeah, what's going on?"

Kate sighed and looked down, answering, "Look, there's something that I have to tell you guys, but there's someone else that I have to tell first." Beckett turned and left the pair. They were worried but trying not to show it.

Kate walked over to the elevator and hit the down button to call it. She pulled out her phone to call Castle, and he answered after the first ring.

"Castle."

"It's me," Beckett replied, "We need to talk."

"Yeah we do," Castle answered coldly.

She had received the offer of the D.C. job with the AG office. Castle was so angry about her going off to interview without him - he thought it would be the end of their relationship. But, in order to show that she still wanted a relationship, she still wanted it to work, she decided to use one of the phrases.

"Zombie Festival?"

"Acknowledged," Castle answered. She could hear his smirk. "Give me 90 minutes."

"Okay."

Kate looks at the ring on her left hand. The wedding ring he had placed there not even a year ago, after he had proposed at the swings, shortly after she used the phrase 'zombie festival'. And the importance of using the code phrase to him proposing. How it meant that she still needed him and wanted him.

She sits in the cab as it makes its way uptown to Central Park. Once there, she hands the cabbie two twenties, saying, "Keep it."

She gets out, looks around, and then makes her way across the street to the Museum of Natural History. Walking against the traffic, she sees an empty cab approach and flags it down. Getting in, she says, "42nd and 7th Avenue."

As she settles into the back of the cab, she thinks about the second time she used the phrase. It had been just recently.

Beckett left the meeting at 1PP and pulled out her phone to call Castle. Meanwhile, Castle was typing away on his laptop, working on the next 'Nikki Heat' chapter to get Gina off his back. He smiled as he looked at his phone ringing with the lovely visage of his wife. He answered her on the first ring.

"Castle."

"Zombie Festival 1?"

Quickly getting up from his desk and reaching for his coat, he said, "Acknowledged. Zombie Festival 1."

An hour later, Castle was sitting with Beckett on their swings. She explained the real meaning of the "performance review" meeting - that it was a test, a trial run.

"State senator?" asked Castle.

Beckett nodded and said, "And they say it's just the start. Apparently the party has had their eye on me for a while now. They think that people are looking for someone like me."

"And what do you think?"

"I don't know, Castle. I'm a cop. I'm not a politician," Kate said, then paused. "Did I even tell you I was in Model U.N. when I was a kid?"

Castle shook his head but gave Beckett a look to continue.

"My mom was one of the chaperones, and after watching me she said, 'You know, Katie, you can grow up and be anything you want.' I just wanted to be her. I just wanted to make a difference."

"And you have," Castle responded. "Question now is, can you make a bigger difference?"

Sighing, Beckett continued, "Castle, if you saw the way that they attacked me in that room? And in a campaign, it would only be worse. You, Alexis, my dad, Martha - you would all be fair game."

"We're a tough bunch."

"So you think I could do it?"

"I know you can."

"They said that I aced my captain's exam. I could probably have my own precinct within the year."

"When do you have to decide?"

"Soon."

"Well, whatever you decide, I'll back your play," Castle said, leaning forward and smiling.

"Thank you."

Walking up Times Square in the crowd to lose any possible tail she may have, she proceeds north on Broadway. While she would normally pause to watch the lights, video screens, and the street performers, Beckett knows she is on a limited time schedule. She needs to be at the rendezvous point in less than an hour.

Beckett turns onto 40th street and caught a cab. "5th avenue and 25th street," she said to the cabbie. She hopes that she has at last lost any possible tail, and is in the home stretch.

Sitting back, she ruefully remembers the one and only other time they had used their dire code phrase.

Castle and Beckett were in the break room of the 12th, deciding their next move in the murder of Vulcan Simmonds. It seemed that their only line of attack on Bracken was now thwarted.

Noticing the entrance of several 'suits' on to the floor, Castle asked, "Who are they?"

Beckett answered, "The guy in the front is Captain Donovan. He's Internal Affairs, took over after Gates transferred here. What's he doing here?"

Just then, her phone rang. She looked down at her phone, then answered. "Lanie. Hey."

Tearfully, Lanie spoke, "Kate, we have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

Beckett noticed that it was not just Lanie's tone. She was afraid, scared to the point that she was shaking. Beckett pulled Castle closer so he could hear.

Lanie continued, "I found a bullet in Vulcan's body, lodged in his spine. A .40 caliber. The killer must have missed it."

"How is that a problem?" Beckett asked. "If ballistics gets a match, then …"

"Ballistics did get a match. The bullet came from a pistol that was registered to you."

Beckett was dumbfounded.

"Kate, Vulcan Simmons was killed with your gun."

Beckett lowered the phone from her ear, her eyes wide.

"How could it be from your gun?" Castle asked. "You have your gun."

Quietly, Beckett replied, "That's my backup piece. I have a .40 cal in my safe at home."

Finally it dawned on Castle what was happening. "You're being set up," he said.

Beckett stared at Castle with a "deer in the headlights" look.

Castle said quietly but firmly, "Zombie Veritas 2. Now go!"

"Acknowledged."

The cab stops, and Kate throws the cabbie two twenties and got out of the car. Beckett walks down to the corner and waits for the light to change. Looking around, she feels relieved. It appears anyone tailing her has been lost.

She walks to the park entrance and stops. She slowly looks around again, and then enters the park to get to the swings, the twilight making the shadows longer and harder to discern shapes. The streetlights are starting to come on. Lights all around the park are popping on in a seemingly random manner. Then a group of lights turns on simultaneously.

She sees a large dark figure on the edge of the playground. Hoping it's Castle, she approaches the nearest swing.

"Good timing," Castle says. "I just got here myself."

"Yeah," Beckett responds. "I switched three cabs to get here. I figure we have some time but not much before they locate us."

"Okay. What's up?"

"You know that Locksat is behind it all - Bracken, Simmonds, my mother's murder. They targeted my AG team because of a search I did when I was in DC."

"I know." Castle answers.

"With Hyde dead, the mercenaries are in the wind. They'll target you again to get me."

"I'll be okay."

"No, Castle. No."

"Kate."
"No, Castle, listen to me. They're regrouping now. They'll be after me again in no time. If I'm near you, you'll get killed in the crossfire. I can't live with that taking Alexis's father away or Martha's son."

"But Kate."
"No, my mind is made up. If they went this hard after us after a simple search resulting in a heavily redacted memo, they'll want to try again. We need to separate. We cannot be seen together until we get this cleared up."

"No, Beckett, no."

"Castle, don't make this harder than it already is. We need to separate and it needs to be public. This is the only way to protect you."

"I can protect myself pretty well."
"By being lucky grabbing that pop-up gun and shooting a mercenary?"

"Well-" Castle begins sheepishly.

"No, Castle. That only works in Derrick Storm books. Not in real life."

"It worked once!"
"You were lucky. Castle, if you don't think about yourself, think about Alexis and Martha. If it's well known that we've separated, the mercenaries will be looking harder for me. And if I'm in relatively plain sight, they don't have to go after Martha or Alexis."

"You'll be killed."

"That may be what happens, and I'm sorry for that. But my priority is you three and my dad safe. I cannot be responsible for your deaths. I WILL NOT BE RESPOSIBLE FOR YOUR DEATH."

"But Beckett, how will we do that? How will I help?"

"You can't. If you start sniffing around you'll get caught and killed. Please don't touch it."

"Beckett, I have resources, I have people. I know a guy."

"Are you sure that these people, these resources aren't part of this? Aren't part of Locksat?"

"No," Castle answers sheepishly.

"Then leave it alone."

"Okay. Okay, but can I support you in some way?"

"Yeah. I'll let you know if I need some cash when the time comes. Cash only, okay?"

"And how will I know that?"

"We'll use a code phrase that will seem consistent with our separation. Ask me something about 'what did I do wrong' and 'how can I fix it' and I'll answer negatively, but if I touch your cheek, that means I need some cash."

"I can do that. Amount? How do I get it to you?"

"$2500. We'll need a dead drop spot. Find a mailbox store and rent a mailbox with two keys. Watch for cameras. Come by the precinct and put the key in my top drawer. We'll also use it to signal there's a message there. I'll put copies of our investigation there, too, but be careful with the information. Lock it away. Also, we probably can't meet at the swings anymore. I'll need you to ID good meeting places without being traced."

"Okay, good meeting places."

"Did you get some burner phones?"

"Yeah. Here's yours with the GPS turned off," Castle says. Holding up a second burner, he continues, "This one's number is the only one programmed in."

"How much is on it?"

"$50, cash of course."

"I'll only use it for texting. We can't risk talking on it."

"Beckett, I want to hear your voice occasionally."

"Castle, as much as I agree, we have to keep our contact at a minimum."

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

"Kate, are you sure about this? Are you sure about putting our lives on hold for this?"

"Positive. I don't think that they'll leave us alone now. We're being forced into this sacrifice."

"Are you sure you're not going down another rabbit hole?"

"No. I'm not sure. But until I find out differently, I think this is the least bad choice we have, okay?"

"Beckett, I'm not happy about this."

"Neither am I, but it's the hand we're dealt. Now, do you know if your loft is bugged?"

"No, I haven't swept it recently."

"Well if Jerry Tyson can put bugs in your loft, this team can do it, too."

"Beckett, I upgraded the security system after that."

"I know, but again, until proven otherwise, we assume that every normal place for us to be is bugged and they're listening in."

"Okay, so what now?" Castle asks.

"We give them a show. We go back to the loft and start the public separation."
"Really?"

"Yes. I hope you have Martha's acting genes. You'll need to act depressed and closed off until this is done. Can you do that? If you don't, any of us - or all of us - could become targets."

Castle nods.

"So we play act that I'm leaving."
"You are leaving. It won't be an act."

"Yes, but only the two of us know why. You can't tell anyone else."

"Not Ryan and Esposito? Mother? Alexis? Lanie?"

"No, none of them. They'll become a target if they know."

"But we'll be putting them through the wringer. You know how much they've got invested in our relationship."

"Yeah. But it's better than them dead. Oh, by the way, at some point soon, you'll need Paula to quietly publicize our trial separation."

"Why?"

"To keep up appearances. If we're separated, that means Alexis and Martha won't know where I am. You won't know where I am. That makes you less of a target."

"But you'll find a safe place to sleep, won't you?"

"I may sleep at the 12th occasionally."

"Beckett…"

"Castle, this is the only way. We have to do this to protect all those we love."

"Okay, I agree to it, but I don't like it at all. Oh, we haven't made a code word for the drop box."

"We'll use another word on my mother's gravestone. Zombie Omnia."

"Okay, Zombie Omnia it is."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this different take on off-camera scenes in the first episodes of season 8.

Thanks for reading!