CHAPTER 2

Castle and Beckett were waiting. They should be there any moment now. Hands in her pockets, Beckett shared a look with Castle. She was looking for support. She found it. He nodded gently. He would be by her side all along. She was not alone.

Kate took a deep breath when Lanie, Esposito and Ryan walked into the morgue. It was late at night, there were not a lot of cops anymore in the building but she had chosen this place to be away from prying eyes and curious ears. It was also a symbol. Morgue. Death. It was the end of what she knew, what she was accustomed to. It was the end of a part of her career.

One word. Yes. It had changed her entire life in a second. She had said Yes to Castle. She had said Yes to the position in Washington. She was taking a personal and professional turn in her life, all at once, hoping they would be compatible.

"Okay, what's this secret meeting for? We're working on a secret plan to overthrown Gates or something?" Esposito joked.

His smile faded when he saw the serious look on Castle's and Beckett's faces and how nervous they were.

"Guys... Thank you for coming," Kate started solemnly but somehow she needed more time to say anything more. Seeing them all in front of her made things even harder for her. But she had to tell them face to face. "Lanie... Kevin... Javier..." she called them by their first name to make them understand that it was important and that she was addressing every one of them personally. "There's... something I need to tell you. Good news and not-so-good news."

They all looked at each other, worried and having no clues as to what this could be about.

"You remember the case we had a couple of weeks ago, involving a drone?" They nodded silently. "Before he left, agent Stack... talked to me about an opening in DC. A job directly under the orders of the Attorney General. And he said I would be a good candidate. I was... curious. So, I went to DC to take an interview," she said giving a quick glance towards Castle, who had his head down remembering her lie and how he had found out about it.

"Wait... You got the job?" Ryan asked.

"You're serious? You're gonna take it?" Esposito asked, without even waiting for Kate's confirmation.

"I already did," she said after a moment. She thought being frank about it would be easier. She did not need to beat about the bush. It was like pulling on a Band-Aid as fast as possible. It hurt less. "I will give my resignation from the NYPD to captain Gates tomorrow. And I start in DC in two weeks," she explained. It was so sudden, Beckett gave them time to internalize it, to understand the repercussion of this choice. "I love you guys so much, you have no idea," she went on with a shaking voice and tears in her eyes. It was hard even though it was her choice, her decision, and she knew it was the right one at this time of her life. "I am so grateful for everything you've done for me. Those years spent by your side were the best. Really. But I need to try something new. It's an opportunity that I know I would have regretted for the rest of my life if I hadn't taken it. Just... Guys, I don't want you to think I'm letting you down-" she started.

"Why would we think that?" Ryan asked. "You don't have to justify yourself. You're right, it's a great opportunity."

"So you're gonna be the big shot that comes to take over our investigation now?" Esposito asked, half-joking.

"I hope not," Kate answered with a tiny smile.

"FBI?" Ryan asked as they still had no details regarding what the position was about.

"Federal Task Force. It's part of the FBI. We don't hear about it often..." Kate explained.

"Why didn't you tell us about it earlier?" Esposito asked, almost offended she had kept them in the dark until the last minute.

The news had a bitter taste when announced at the last minute. Castle was looking at Kate. He knew that feeling all too well. That was what he had wondered. Kate could feel him staring at her but she didn't dare looking back at him. Instead, she kept looking at Esposito, before glancing at Ryan and Lanie.

"There's... a lot of people I didn't talk to about this," she said as they all looked towards Castle. "I was wrong. I'm sorry. The truth is I didn't want to start talking about it in case it led nowhere. I was waiting to have something official..."

That word was even harder to hear. Official. Definitive. Her decision had been made already, and it was definitive. They were happy for her but sadness was inevitable. Not only her friend, leader, colleague was resigning. She was moving to another city.

"You're... moving to Washington," Lanie said with her soft voice.

"Castle, you're going too?" Kevin asked.

Castle had been silent all along. He had not said a word yet. Beckett and Castle shared a glance as they were all looking at them. It was getting worse. They were about to lose two friends at the same?

"We..." he started. "We're not definitive on how to handle this yet. But for now... I'm gonna stay here."

"Wait. You guys are... Don't tell me you've broken up?" Esposito asked, almost holding it against Kate.

"Yeah, it would be a mistake, guys," Ryan added. "Seriously... You should give it a try. After everything that happened for you to get there, you can't give up now. Right?"

"Sweetie?" Lanie said worried, trying to get an answer from Kate.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other again and a faint smile eventually appeared on their faces. Castle gave her a discrete nod. It was time. Time to give them the good news. Kate looked successively at Esposito, Ryan and Lanie.

"Actually... we want to make this work," Castle said as Kate slowly took her hand out of her pocket.

Their jaws dropped at the sight of the ring. Lanie instinctively put her hands on her wide-open mouth while they stayed staring at Kate's right hand and her engagement ring. They all knew Castle and Beckett had something real and they belonged to each other. But they never thought this would come so soon.

Kate gently reached for Castle's hand, for comfort, as she was waiting for their comments.

"That's the good news," Kate said, with a nervous smile.

"Oh my god!" Lanie exclaimed. "Richard Castle, what have you done?!"

"Congratulations guys!" Kevin exclaimed with a huge smile as he got closer to hug them.

He knew the feeling. He knew what it as like to have the woman you loved pronounce this tiny, and yet immensely important word. Yes.

"I'm so happy for you two. I'm sure you're gonna make it work," Lanie said as she hugged Kate. "Congratulations, darling," she whispered in her ear. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you, Lanie," Kate whispered back.

"You're gonna try long-distance?" Esposito asked as he hugged Castle and tapped him on the back.

"For now..." Castle said, looking at Kate. "We'll see how it goes."

They would try. They would find a way eventually. Long-distance would be a big change for them but it was a chance he was willing to take before finding any other lasting solution. It was a new pace that they had to find to be able to keep moving forward together.

To Be Continued...

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