Hello everyone! It's good to be back to writing Castle fanfiction once again. This one is inspired by Ms. Stana Katic's extraordinary performance in the Polish Brother's indie romance hit, FOR LOVER'S ONLY. If you haven't seen it yet, GO SEE IT NOW! It's on Itunes and it's fantastic!

This is seriously the longest chapter I've ever written, and I've worked REALLY hard on it (without spell check, by the way). Hopefully, it pays off. :D

Now then, on to the first chapter! I hope you enjoy and please review!

It had been three years, and Katherine Beckett was still not over it.

Sighing, she placed her copy of The Master and Margarita on the seat next to her. She looked out of the shotgun window with brief anticipation; it was a week off after eight years of twists and turns that eventually led to the arrest, trail, and conviction of her mother's murderer. The Captain decided to give her a week off in celebration, and Ryan and Esposito were more than happy to take over her case load to give her that week of unwinding. Truthfully, Beckett didn't really want to do such a thing, but with the insistance from Lanie and the others (especially Lanie), she packed her stuff and drived to the Hamptons with her father, who paid for the trip. He wanted more than anything to see her relax, and he had personally paid for both the high-end hotel and the spa treatments that came with it.

"It's going to be great, Kate." Jim Beckett said, going 60 miles an hour on the parkway. "You'll relax, have a little personal time, and then you can go back to work or do whatever you want to do. Your choice."

His daughter had smiled throughout his little monolouge, but what he didn't know was the pit of her stomach was churning with each rev of the engine. She didn't blame him for not knowing, but there was something that her father had seriously overlooked.

Katherine Beckett hated the Hamptons.

Sure, it was a nice place, and yes, there were beaches and an lot of fun things to do, but the Hamptons always stood for something, always had a certain nostalgic quality to it that she couldn't help but frown at the mere mention of such a place. Her father and friends had been adamant of her going, but what they didn't realize was that she would be spending the day thinking of Him and what this place had done to their relationship.

She could not afford to fall in love with His shadow. It would ruin everything.

And yet, He was the only one that she wanted to be with.

Once again, the man had forced her into an emotional tailspin with just the mere mention of his name.

Richard Cast-

The honk of her father's horn made her snap out of her thoughts, and she was thankful for it. She looked out just in time to see the beautiful view of the ocean from the road her father had turned on sometime while she was lost in thought. Her father continued down the road slowly - they knew there was going to be traffic so close to the beach - and Jim managed to sneak a peek at the beach.

"Wow, really nice." He said simply. He looked at his daughter and smiled. Kate smiled back; she had to admit that the beach was extraordinary, although crowded. With the addition of Into the Blue by Sara Jackson-Holman on her IPod, Katherine Beckett actually was enjoying the start of her (forced) trip.

It took another hour to get to the hotel, but once Kate caught sight of it she couldn't help but be excited. The five-star palace was one of the best around, praised by reviewers in hotel guides and major newspapers alike.

"How did you afford this, Dad?" Kate asked, closing the car door.

"You kidding? I was saving up for this for the past eight years!" He exclaimed, grabbing Kate's luggage out from the back of the car. Two men from the hotel helped him by putting the luggage on the cart, giving him a ticket to claim the cart at baggage check, and then whisked it all away until the Becketts called for it upstairs in the room.

And wow, what a room it was. Kate had to gasp at the beautfiul view of the ocean that proudly displayed itself in the windows of her suite. The room itself was as breathtaking as the view, with a chandeliere in the main room that branched out to two connected rooms on each side of the entering Becketts. The room reminded her a lot of the room she shared with a certain writer, only a bit classier-

She stopped herself before she could think anymore. She turned to her father. "Thanks, Dad; it's fantastic!"

He shrugged. "You deserve it, kiddo." he went to the door. "I'll be getting out of your way now."

"Already?" Beckett asked. "Stay for a bit; maybe we can get some lunch?"

Jim shook his head. "I've got stuff to do tonight, Katie. One of us still has to work this week." He winked, and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Kate. But I'll be back to pick you up at the end of the week." He went for the door, but his daughter's voice stopped him.

"Dad!" She said, rushing to him. He turned around just in time to be enveloped into a hug. "Thank you."

He hugged back. "I should be thanking you. You caught him. And now Johanna can rest." He pulled away from his daughter. "So thank you, Kate. I'll see you next week, okay?"

Kate nodded, and Jim left the room, closing the door behind him.

Beckett looked around her surroundings with a keen eye - it was then that she saw a piece of paper on a tray with a lone white rose. She smelled the rose and then picked up the note. It read:

Dear Ms. Beckett,

We are pleased to have the honor of your company for the coming week. You have schedueled the following appointments at our spa, located on the first floor to the right of the check-in desk:

2 Spa treatments, redeemable at any time throughout your stay.

Thank you so much for staying with us. If you need any assitance, do not hesitate to either visit the front desk orby calling extention 288 on your hotel room phone.

Sincerly,

Nathan Yves

Manager, Katic Suites (Hamptons)

She folded the paper and smiled. So not only did her father decide to give her an all-expense paid trip to the Hamptons, but he also managed to swing two complimentary spa treatments. Go Dad. She thought, biting her lip slightly as she looked at the bedroom and spotted the Katic Suites bathrobe, along with the to tickets to the spa. She walked over. A little spa treatment to start off the week couldn't hurt, right?

Richard Castle, in the meantime, was positivley glowing during another sort of treatment. Oh yes, he and his wife, Gina Cowell, were at it again. Alexis sighed as she turned up the music in her room, knowing just what was going on in the other room and trying her hardest to not think about it in detail. Her father had changed throughout the three years since he married - well, re-married - her step-mother; he was more reckless than anything, always taking risks that both Alexis and his mother (Alexis' grandmother) Martha Rogers would rather he avoid.

"I swear, kiddo," Martha said to Alexis once, "sometimes I wonder what got inside that thick head of his that made him re-marry his ex." She shook her head. "They're exes for a reason; don't you forget it."

Alexis Castle never did; she had nothing against Gina, but there was always something that made her think slightly less of the woman. Nothing specific, but if she thought of what could of been...

She stopped herself. She had promised long ago that she wouldn't think of the woman, considering the heartache her father went through.

The sound of her father and Gina came over Taylor Swifts' Mine, making her throw her pencil down in frustration. She very simply couldn't do her homework in a situation like this. Without a second thought, she picked up the phone. Forget homework, she thought; her father would be busy for a while, and she had the GPA of a genius regardless of tonight's assignment. Knowing her father wouldn't care if she bolted for a while, she quickly picked up her phone and dialed a bumber she knew by heart.

"Ashley?"

Ashley and Alexis had been together for more than 4 years; they truly were meant to be. And even despite the long time they've been together, Alexis had lived up to her own expectations; they had not done... "it", and they were still in honest agreement to continue to be abstinent until they got married. Ashley wasn't rushing her into anything, and Alexis was more than grateful. Although sometimes they felt pressured, they both wanted their first time to be special, and because of this, they waited.

Ashley had picked up the phone. "Hey, Alexis, what's up?"

"You wanna go out?" Alexis asked. "For lunch, maybe?"

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked, hearing the concern in her voice. After years of being with her, he knew when she wasn't feeling her best.

"Yeah..." Alexis said, sitting on the foot of her bed. Alexis wished she could just dive into his arms and kiss him, but there would be time for that later. "... it's just that I'd rather listen to the subway instead of..."

Ashley chuckled. "I can hear them over the phone, Alexis. You need to get out of there. I'll grab my keys."

Alexis practically jumped off the bed and went into her room to get ready; a nice lunch and a make-out session in Central Park was more than needed during her parents' escapades. It took fifteen minutes for her to get ready, and by that time Ashley was at the loft's door. She welcomed him in and he kissed her happily. The couple was about to head for the door before Ashley spoke up.

"Wait," Ashley said suddenly. Alexis stopped. "Don't you need to leave a-"

"Note?" Alexis finished, holding up a piece of paper. "Already taken care of. The question is, where to place it so he can see it..."

"Can I suggest next to the wine bottle?" Ashley tried. "That might be the best bet."

"True." Alexis said, placing it where Ashley instructed. Alexis then joined Ashley out the door. "What would I ever do without you?" He only kissed her in response before they headed out for a day of their own adventures.

Castle, upon exiting his bedroom, wouldn't even notice they were gone.

There were more important matters to attend to.

"A book tour? In the Hamptons?" Castle asked.

"Yes, for your new book series, of course." Gina responded, looking through the notes she had on her Blackberry. "I know you're a best-selling author, Ricky, but we still need to advertize."

"I doubt my sales will be hindered because of lack of advertisment, Gina." Castle said, but a glare from the publisict made him change his tune. "But, it's still important. Bring on the book tour!"

"That's what I like to hear." Gina responded, kissing him on the cheek. She got up from the table to watch Castle make pancakes. "You start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Castle practically yelled. "That's... quick."

"Your book comes out in three weeks." Gina responded calmly. "We need to hustle and get this done." She ran an arm down his chest. "Before we can get back to some personal matters..."

"Alright, fine." Castle said. "How long?"

"A week." Gina said. The look on Castle's face was priceless. "Don't worry, I already have your transport and everything; you'll be fine."

Castle just smiled and nodded. "Yeah, sure... great."

An hour later, he had packed his things and put them in the living room. Alexis came back a couple of hours later, and so he told her of where he was going. Alexis was a little shocked, but eventually agreed to tell Martha for him (who, by the way, was currently starring on Broadway and was out of the house more often.).

At 10AM the next day, Castle was already settled in the Hamptons.

He had settled in at the beach house easily, as always. Gina had sent him an email with the rundown of the book tour; luckily, it was only four days of actual advertizing, and three days of just relaxing, which he enjoyed. Better make those three days count, he mused.

Sighing, he placed his laptop down and enjoyed the view of the beach. It was such a beautiful beach; he had always enjoyed the view when he was able to come here with Gina a couple of years ago. Of course, that was entirely different matters...

He shook himself out of his thoughts. No, he wasn't going to come back to that. Not again.

He decided to go for a walk.

He had only just started down the tourist area of the beach when he spotted a green cover with a black cat on it. The Master and Margarita, the title read, By Mikhael Bulagov. He took a mental note to looked up the novel on Wikipedia, but there was some other reason that nagged him to continue watching the young woman as she read her book. Sensing someone staring, she looked up at him.

There it was. Her face. Her hair. Her eyes. It was all there.

Their eyes met as both froze in their tracks.

And the writer saw his muse for the first time in three years.

Side note - It was 7 years of twists for Beckett, yet 3 years since Castle saw her because she started to hunt her mother's killer seriously when Castle opened Johanna's case file way back in the season 1 finale. So, the 4 years Castle has been on plus the 3 that Castle didn't see her equals 7. Also, you may of noticed that words such as "always" and "extraordinary" commonly popped up in the passage. This is to show that Kate Beckett still remembers Castle, and he changed the way she viewed things, and she never really got him out of her head. By using such words so close the the Caskett and Castle fandoms, I (the author) was able to portray just how much Castle meant to Beckett.

Like it? Hate it? WTHeckles? Please review! Thanks again!