I sat at my desk, staring at the paperwork before me. I knew it was important, but my mind could not comprehend the words written on the page. My mind was definitely elsewhere. I stared at the currently empty chair next to me, and memories of Castle came flooding back. The man who had, annoyingly for the most part, accompanied me on murder cases around New York City. The man who'd made me laugh, made me cry, and made me yell in frustration. He was egocentric, and arrogant, and charismatic… and far too difficult to ignore. I'd given up a long time ago. Once before, he'd broken my heart. He left New York for The Hamptons, and effectively left me behind. I couldn't pretend that I wasn't hurt – we all were. Ryan and Esposito were horrified at losing their 'man-friend', and the Captain was worrying about us solving cases. For all of his annoying traits, Castle was fantastic at solving murders, probably because he was able to think outside the box, unlike many people here at the NYPD. He was the only one willing to speak up with a genuinely stupid idea, not minding if he metaphorically fell flat on his face. I've lost count of how many times Castle declared that a person was murdered because they were undercover with the CIA. When Castle was around, our grim jobs became more fun. I was suddenly struck with horror at the thought that I may have ruined all that.

I reflected on the week's events…I trusted Castle completely, even after everything he's done to me. When I was contacted about information relating to my mother's murder, only one person came to mind. I trusted Castle completely, even after everything he's done to me. He could be my protection if anything went wrong, which of course, it did. The man with the information was shot dead before he could disclose much, and things kind of snowballed from there. In short, Ryan and Esposito were kidnapped and tortured in a building that was guarded. I knew I had to get past the guard and get to Esposito and Ryan. Stupidly, I asked Castle for a diversion suggestion - me acting drunk and Rick acting like a perfect gentleman seemed like a good idea at the time, but when the guard came over, I started to panic. I didn't want to risk my friend's lives by flat out shooting him, but I was lost for ideas. I murmured to Castle that he wasn't buying our little charade, and immediately moved my hand to the holster at my waist.

The next moment was the one that had been replaying in my head for three days now. Castle grabbed my hand, and moved it away from my waist, and kissed me. Not lightly either. It was passionate, and it also gave me a chance to trick the guard and knock him out from behind. My mind clouded when he was so close to me, and I lost my judgement. I even, admittedly, went weak at the knees. That's not what is meant to happen.

We saved the boys, caught the bad guy and all was well. Except for the fact that I now can't get Castle and that stupid kiss out of my head. His lips were soft, and tasted a little like candy. He was warm, and strong, and he made me feel… like I hadn't felt in a long time. And that was just a kiss, so who knows what he could do to me if our…relationship became something more.

I was interrupted from my blissful and slightly confusing daydream by the elevator door opening. Within seconds, the once empty seat next to my desk was now filled, by none other than the man of the hour himself, Castle. He placed a large coffee on my desk with a smile.

"Good Morning!" He cried with an unusual enthusiasm given how early it was.

"Why are you so happy?" I asked incredulously, kind of hoping that he would mention something about the incident between us a few days earlier.

"Sorry I haven't been in for a few days, I've been writing."

"Oh, and hear I was thinking you were avoiding me!" I teased. Trying to hide the disappointment that I had no reason to feel, I stumbled on. "It's fine, Castle. We haven't been up to much anyway."

"Oh… well that's… good." Castle stammered a little.

"Are you ok, Castle? You seem a little distracted."

"Honestly, Beckett, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kate, I'm fine."

"Wow, it's been a while since you've called me Kate!" I laughed, the nervousness in my voice becoming more apparent as our little conversation continued.

"A better question would probably be, are you ok?" He seemed genuinely concerned, his animated and admittedly quite gorgeous faced was poised in an obviously curious way.

"Me? I'm fine, just fine! No problems with me at all." I talked fast, silently cursing myself for acting like a lovesick teenager.

My phone rang, which made for a welcome distraction from the very confusing thoughts in my head.

"Beckett."

"…"

"I'll be there in 15." I turned to Castle.

"We've got a case."

"YES!" He leapt from his chair and ran to the elevator.

Barely an hour later we arrived back at the precinct.

"Murder to confession from our first suspect in less than an hour – remind me to check with Montgomery if we broke a record" I laughed, as we returned to our usual positions at my desk.

"Yeah, you do that" Castle said absentmindedly.

I stayed silent, not really sure where to take the conversation.

"Beckett?" He whispered, staring at the floor.

"Yes, Castle?"

"I was wondering… if you would consider… um…"

"Spit it out!" I laughed. Why was he acting so weird?

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" He finished and resumed staring at the floor.

I nearly choked on the air I was breathing. I pondered for a moment, but realised that there was no point in denying myself some fun.

"Sure Castle, I'd love to have dinner with you."

"Really? Great! How's tonight? Come to my house, I'll cook for you." He grinned sheepishly. "Or, you know, we could go out. Whatever you'd like."

"Your house sounds great. What time?"

"How about 8?"

"Perfect." I couldn't help myself, I was excited. "I'll see you then."