Somewhere in the distance, a rooster crowed. Nearer to home, the tempting smell of freshly-brewed coffee wafted through the air. Rick stretched and yawned. Even though it was only slightly after dawn, he felt more refreshed and energetic than he had in months.

After spending nearly an hour eating a fully cooked breakfast of fried eggs and tomatoes served with biscuits and various types of meat, and reading an actual printed newspaper, he cleaned up the kitchen, took a leisurely shower and dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. Then he strolled down the street, ready to be put to work. On his way, he admired the low-lying buildings and the varieties of architecture he passed, just within the walking distance from the house to the bar.

"Mornin', Rogan, Tildy! What am I doin' today?" he greeted the newly engaged couple.

"You're serving me a beer, that's what you're doin!" came a jovial voice from the doorway.

"Lester!" Rick quickly filled his drink order from memory, and those of the many regulars that followed. He had conversations about their families, animals, businesses, the weather, how this one's baby was doing, and how that one's farm was being ravaged by bugs. He learnt about this being the hottest month on record for fifty years, shoeing horses, and hemming quilts. And that was just throughout the morning.

After a lunch of more sumptuous food and flowing conversation, Rogan took Castle outside. Castle swung his arms around in wide arcs and inhaled deeply.

"Whatsa matter?" Rogan stared at him curiously. "You better not be hurt. Kate'll kill me if I give you back damaged."

"Just enjoying the clean, country air, and the crisp blue sky," Castle sniffed appreciatively.

Rogan twitched his nose. "All I can smell is dirt, beer, and them there smelly flower things that some friend of Tildy's planted."

"Exactly. So, where we going?" Castle followed Rogan.

"To the grocery store. Tildy reckons we need to put "bar snacks' out for the people that come in the bar. Whatever they are," Rogan grunted.

At the grocery store, Castle wandered around aimlessly. "Hello." "Can I help you?" "Are you looking for something?" "Are you lost?" the frequent greetings and offers of help from complete strangers kept a grin on Castle's face all the way to the checkout counter. He was beginning to get a taste of what it was like to be accepted for who he was, not what he was, or what he could do for people.

He snuck a sneaky look over Rogan's shoulder and snickered.

"What?" Rogan picked up the groceries and walked back to the truck.

"Seriously, your name is Rogan Joshua O'Leary?"

"Yeah, so?" Rogan muttered distractedly, fiddling with the radio knob.

"You're not joshing me?" Castle asked with a smirk.

"Nope. Rogan Joshua O'Leary, that's me!" his driver proclaimed proudly.

"Must have given you a few heated moments," Castle observed. I wonder if my Kate knows that," he thought.

Meanwhile, back in New York City, Beckett had dragged herself out of bed, gulped down a pre-prepared bought smoothie for breakfast, rushed through her shower, dressing, and make-up, and spent over in hour in nose-to-tail traffic before arriving at work. On her travels, she barely noticed the teeming mass of people and the skyscrapers, block upon block of steel and glass. Once at work, she found the elevators not working, so she had to climb an unknown number of flights of stairs. By the time she reached her destination she was sweaty and breathless. She stopped to straighten her clothes and get her breath back.

"What have we got on this guy?" she demanded, eager to apprehend the suspected murderer before the Medical Examiner, Lanie Parish, had more bodies to deal with.

"His last known address is a bust," Javier Esposito reported. "Nobody has lived there in months."

Kevin Ryan chipped in with "We are still checking through the list of his most recent contacts, but we haven't found anything of consequence yet."

"Which means you have found something," Kate snapped. "Tell me."

"There's this one woman that keeps on popping up. We're checking facial recognition now," Ryan hastened to add.

Within a few hours, warrant in hand, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito were raiding an apartment of a possible co-conspirator. It was empty.

Back to the drawing board, Kate huffed in disappointment. She straightened her shoulders. "Let's go and – runner!" She sprinted off after the wanted fugitive, dodged a thrown missile of unknown origin, jumped over a pile of rubbish that was dumped in her way, and tackled the fleeing woman.

At the Precinct, Ryan escorted the prisoner to Interrogation Room One while Esposito and Beckett gathered the file and discussed their strategy, which included Beckett downing a burnt and bitter coffee and an unidentifiable item from a vending machine that she had to kick seven times before it coughed up her purchase. As usual, Beckett took the lead in the interview. She slapped a mug-shot onto the table. "How do you know him?" she demanded. "And why were you at his home today?"

There was no answer.

"I asked you a question!" Beckett bellowed. The suspect immediately spilled her guts and the arrest was made. Then came the paper work. As she filled out report after report Kate relived the adrenaline rush of the chase, the satisfaction of breaking the suspect, and the ecstasy of a successful arrest. Then she gathered up her belongings, ordered pizza for dinner, and went home. This time, the journey was a lot quicker because it was so late at night that the streets were practically deserted, by New York City standards. After nibbling a couple of slices of under-cooked and sparsely-topped pizza and throwing the rest away, she fell into bed with a smile on her face, and not one thought of Rick Castle.

And so it continued, day in and day out. Each day was patterned on the one before. Beckett's days were filled with drama and action, investigations and arrests, and the occasional "Heck, I forgot to ring Castle again"s . Castle's days were filled with peace and routine, beer and conversations, and frequent "I couldn't contact Kate today"s.
Until the ninetieth day. On that day Kate received a phone call that immediately changed her life forever. Also on that day, Castle succeeded in making a phone call that would change his life forever. He spoke to the girl he hoped would still be his Kate.