a/n: Season 1, no real spoilers.

All for you, PL.

"I can't believe you would keep this from me."

Kate freezes, spoon still in her coffee, as she turns to find Richard Castle standing a little too close, as always, leaning on the break room counter beside her.

She should be used to the non sequiturs by now, but he still surprises her sometimes.

"What are you talking about?"

Did she just miss half a conversation?

"Something this important, something this fundamental -" he shakes his head despondently. "I thought our relationship was based on honesty, Beckett. Trust."

"Our relationship is based on the fact that you refuse to go away."

That makes him grin for a moment, although he quickly schools his face back into the melodramatic mask. Oh, for crying out loud.

"That's not important right now. What is important is the thing I just learned about you." He crowds in close, trapping her against the counter, and she catches her breath as he takes her hand, clasping it warmly in his, looking her in the eye.

"How could you not tell me you were born on the sacred Wookiee feast of Life Day?"

She thinks this on a daily basis, but right now, Kate is fairly sure Richard Castle has suddenly and completely lost his mind.

"You - what?"

"Life Day. November 17th."

Life Day?

"Please let go of my hand."

He obliges, and she grabs her coffee, but he's still staring at her with an intensely puppydog look, and she hates - hates - the fact that it makes her melt.

Not that she'll ever tell him that.

She stalks out of the room, heading for her desk, and sure enough, he follows. "Have you never seen the Star Wars Holiday Special?"

"The what?"

Castle drops into his chair beside her desk, clutching at his heart. "It's like you're trying to kill me, here."

"Castle." She sighs. Clearly, she is going to get nothing done until she lets him get this out of his system. "Fight off the heart attack and explain."

"The Star Wars Holiday Special," he tells her with surprising earnestness, "is the single thing in the world that George Lucas wishes he could undo. Not Jar Jar Binks. Not Howard the Duck. It's not just a movie. It's an experience."

"What do you mean about - Life Day, you said?"

"November 17th. Your birthday." Either Ryan or Esposito must have spilled. She makes a mental note to a.) find out which one, and b.) injure them greatly. "It aired November 17th, 1978. So that's when we celebrate the Wookiees' most special holiday."

"Who is 'we?'"

Castle beams at her. He knows he's got her. She has the sinking feeling he's had her figured out from day one.

He doesn't know about Nebula 9, does he? Not even the boys know about that. She's probably safe for now.

"It's everyone. All of us. All -" he waves a hand vaguely - "connected throughout this vast, endless universe, looking for freedom and harmony and -"

"Thanks." She raises a hand. "Got it. Can we get back to work, please?"

The rest of the day passes normally. As normally as days with Richard Castle ever do, anyway.

He's on his way to the elevator, and she's just finishing up one last email, when he pauses, turning back to her. "Have a good night."

"Uh - you too."

She wrinkles her nose - that felt weird, though she can't place it - but he's off down the hallway already.

At home, Kate's just changed clothes and settled down with leftover Thai and a glass of wine when there's a knock at the door.

The delivery kid hands her a thin padded envelope, shrugging his skinny shoulders when she asks what it is. But in lieu of a return address, the sender just wrote I'm nice men.

Kate rolls her eyes. Three guesses.

Inside, she finds a jewel case with a DVD+R. It's unmarked, and for a moment she considers tossing it. Maybe arresting him for distributing pirated media.

He would probably enjoy that.

But she can't help her own morbid curiosity, and frankly, it's not like he's here, is he?

Against her better judgment, Kate puts the disc in her DVD player and presses Play.

It's more than two hours later, and she's getting ready for bed when her phone buzzes.

She picks it up to find a text from Castle.

Stir, whip, stir, whip, whip, whip, stir.

She huffs and taps out a reply. I hate you.

His response comes seconds later.

You're welcome.

END

"If I had time and a hammer, I'd track down every bootleg copy and smash it."

- George Lucas, re: The Star Wars Holiday Special