/KB and RC talk while digging for the treasure

They had been digging for a few hours now. It wasn't up two rows and across six, it was down two rows, or so they hoped. Kate was getting tired and seemed distracted, Castle didn't push. He had learned by now that Kate shared when she wanted to.

"So, $30 Million. What would you do with it?"

"Return it Castle, it's not ours"

His heart skipped a little when she said 'ours'. He tried to hide it and moved on.

"Come on Detective, if you had $30 Million what would you do with it?"

Kate paused. "Money holds little interest to me, I want enough to be comfortable and the rest I'd donate."

"How noble of you" Rick replied.

"I trusted him, he trained me. How could he do this?"

Castle stopped digging, Kate had stopped when his questioning started.

"Kate, I'm so so..."

"Please don't say you're sorry." she cut him off, " You mean well, but it doesn't help."

He wasn't sure what to say. Gathering his thoughts he started unsure where he was going, knowing it was important he got it right.

"Kate, you have me at a loss for words. I don't know how anyone could betray you like that. So, I'm going to say I'm sorry because I am. You trusted Royce and it's kind of like the carpet has been pulled from under you." He winced inside at the obviousness of his proclamation, determined that if she let him speak again he would do better. He waited for Kate to speak first.

"He taught me everything I know. I learned the good and the bad from him, I saw every aspect of this job when he was my TO. I don't know what to do now. How can I trust anything he said to me?"

"You learned under his guidance, he taught you but he didn't make you. You are extraordinary Kate. Nothing will ever change that. You are the best detective in this city not because you learned from a TO but because you are driven by your past without letting it define you." he paused to let that sink in.

" One day you will find the people who paid to have Coonan murder your mother and I intend to be there when you do. But Kate, Royce didn't teach you to do that. He taught you how to be an officer, to follow the rules, to catch the bad guys. You push back against the norm, you find the real killer instead of the one that fits a profile. You count on the story and the evidence where others would be satisfied with only having one or the other. You are more than the person Royce left behind. And it is his loss."

Kate had shed a tear, he pretended not to notice but when another rolled down her cheek he wiped it away.

"Kate I'm sorry he did what he did, but don't hold yourself accountable. He made his own decisions."

After a minute or two, Kate looked up from the spot she had been staring at while he had been talking.

"Thank you, Rick."

They both paused staring at one another. A smile emerged on Kates' face and he reached across and embraced Kate, holding her tight to somehow hold her pieces together. To hold her together as the strong detective he knew her to be. He loved seeing this side of her, this vulnerable part of her he sometimes forgets she has. He longs for these moments of honesty between them, as does Kate. They go through so much on the job that she realized Castle had become her new partner in all ways, replacing the hole left when Royce left. Kate found herself surprised by this thought but it felt right, to have a partner to rely on.

Soon after, they found the treasure. But to both of them the night meant more than $30 million, it became a moment of importance in their story, their partnership. The bond they had grew stronger without effort. They shared a hug and left the cemetery happier than others who passed through those gates. Kate feeling a little bit better about the situation she had been immersed in just a few hours earlier. And Castle hoping that he had helped in some way, already planning on bringing a large cup of coffee for her in the morning.