Dispatch rang Kate's cell just minutes before her alarm was set to go off. She took down the crime scene address and then called Rick to inform him she would be outside his loft in half an hour.

Twenty-eight minutes later she pulled up outside Rick's building. He ran over to the cruiser and jumped in, then turned towards her with his eyes closed and his lips puckered. Kate shook her head and then smiled and leaned in, giving him a quick good morning kiss.

"Come on, Kate. You can do better than that." Rick whines and leans in closer for a more intimate kiss. "I may not get another kiss until tonight, I need something to tide me over until then."

Kate unfastened her seatbelt and wrapped her arms around Rick's neck. "You've got two minutes, Romeo. Make 'em count."

"Yes, ma'am!" Rick growled as his lips covered hers and his hand moved slowly up her inner thigh. His fingers lightly stroked her denim covered leg as his lips teased hers and when the kisses grew more urgent, he gripped her more firmly.

Kate arched into his touch as his hand drew closer to where she wanted it most. She hissed out his name and broke their kiss when his digits presses against her sweet spot. "Times up..." She panted against his ear. "We need to stop."

Rick pulled his face away from hers and smiled at her. He reluctantly removed his hand from the juncture of her thighs and cupped her passion flooded face. "God, I love you so much."

Kate returned his smile with one of her own, took his hand in hers and brought it to her kiss swollen lips and kissed his palm. "I love you too. Now buckle up, we're running late."

Rick and Kate were the last ones to arrive at the crime scene and although that wasn't anything new, those that were closest to the duo suspected there was finally something going on between them and they never missed an opportunity to haggle them.

"Castle, are you wearing lipstick?" Esposito chuckled as soon as the writer was close enough for everyone to get a good look.

Kate felt her whole body tense up and she cut her eyes over to steal a quick glance at Rick's mouth. Sure enough, there was lipstick on them. Her lipstick.

Rick saw the panic is his partner's eyes and knew that could only mean one thing. He was 'wearing' lipstick, Kate's. His rapier wit kicked in and he pulled the hanky out of his jacket pocket to wipe off his mouth. "That's icing from the Toaster Strudel I just ate."

Lanie winked at Kate and voiced her disbelief of Rick's explanation in one drawn out word. "Rii-iight."

Kate cleared her throat loudly and moved closer to the body. "What do we know, Lanie?"

"ID in his wallet says he's Raymond Burchfield, 40 years old, he lived and worked not too far from here. He died from a single GSW, very close range and straight to the heart. Judging by the size of the entry, I'd say it was a 9 mil. Body's still warm and I'll be able to pinpoint TOD once I get him to the lab." Lanie leaned in closer to Kate once she finished her details. "You gonna tell me how your lipstick found it's way to Castle's lips?"

Kate squinted her eyes at the ME, giving her an evil glare. "Let me know when you retrieve the slug from his chest and get a time of death."

Lanie looked over Kate's shoulder to make sure the boys were all out of earshot and then gave the female Detective a knowing smile. "Leave 'Writer-Boy' behind when I call, 'cause we gonna talk and I don't wanna hear nothin' about no Toaster Strudels."

Kate did a 180 and walked over to her team. "Start questioning people in this building and the gawkers at the tape. Castle and I will go to his residence and place of employment."

Ryan nodded his head as he pulled out his pen and notepad. "Oh wait, I just noticed something and you may want to know about it before you leave." The Irishman elbowed his partner before he continued. "Looks like you have some 'icing' smears on your lips too, Beckett."

Kate felt the blush warm her neck and cheeks and Rick bit back a laugh as he handed her the handkerchief he had used earlier. She snatched the smudged cloth from Rick and punched his shoulder. "See if I ever share my Pop Tart with you ever again, Castle."

"Pop Tart? I thought it was a..."

Kate interrupted her understudy with a growl and pointed her finger towards the crowd of onlookers. "You boys are about two seconds away from a month of desk duty."

Ryan and Esposito knew that look and tone very well. It was Beckett's 'Stop while you're ahead' warning and they headed it. One headed towards the tapeline and the other to the building's entrance, both knowing they had pushed the envelope.

Rick shook his head as he watched the two men run off with their tails between their legs and when he went to say something to Kate, she wasn't there. She was already halfway back to the car and he could tell by her stride that she was pissed. "Ka... Beckett! Wait up."

Kate started the car and pulled it into gear the instant Rick's butt hit the seat. Rick barely got the door shut before they were pulling away from the curb. He started to apologize but Kate held her hand up in defiance and shook her head. "Zip it, Castle."

Now Rick was the one with his tail between his legs. It really was his fault anyway. He's the one that instigated the make out session before they headed to the crime scene and he's the one that always brags on his attention to detail. If he had noticed the smudges before they exited the cruiser, none of this would have happened.

"This isn't going to work." Kate groaned and slammed her hand against the steering wheel. Rick snapped out of his mental barrage and he felt a pain in his chest he'd never felt before.

"Kate, please don't say that. We can do this... "

Kate pulled the car into an empty spot and looked over at her partner. "Oh, Rick." She whispered when she saw the heartbroken look on his face and knew he had taken what she said the wrong way. "I meant this route isn't going to work."

"So, you're not mad at me?"

Kate smiled at him. "I'm upset with Lanie and the guys, not you."

Rick let out a sigh of relief and reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "You love me."

"And you love me." Kate said with confidence and brought their joined hands to her mouth, and placed a kiss to his knuckles.

Kate waited for an opening and then pulled back out onto the street and merged to the left lane. They took another left at the next light and were finally headed the direction they needed to be and soon arrived at the deceased man's last known residence.

The building was deserted and by the looks of it, it had been that way for quite a while. "Damn," Rick cursed. "This isn't going to be an open and shut case is it?"

"Doesn't appear that way." Kate told him as she pulled out her cell phone, pressed some buttons and rambled off orders as they walked back to the cruiser. "Find out who owns this building and see if they any info about our vic. Castle and I are heading to the factory listed on Raymond's employees ID card and then we'll meet you guys back at the precinct."

She finished her conversation and closed the phone. The ride to the place where they knew the victim had worked was only a few blocks away but they minutes seemed to drag on for an hour. Rick wanted to talk about the Christmas parade but knew that Kate would have brought it up if she was ready to discuss it and so they rode in silence.

It was nearing noon when he duo entered the factory in search of some answers. Rick followed close behind Kate as she walked up to the PA's desk and flashed her badge. They were instantly admitted access to the building and shown the way to the President's office.

Kate knocked on the door and announced herself. The man behind the door granted permission to enter and agreed to answer any questions they had. One hour later and next to nothing to show for their time, the pair exited the factory and headed back to the 12th.

"I hope you guys had better luck than we did." Kate said as she passed the desks of Ryan and Esposito.

Esposito stood and followed Kate as she made her way to the break room. "We did get something from the woman that called 911. She said that the vic was still breathing when she found him and he was repeating 'wasn't me' over and over until he took his last breath."

"If the gunman used a suppressor, this woman may have not heard the shot but since she witnessed the last breaths our vic took, she probably saw the shooter and just doesn't now it." Kate rambled out theories as she made her coffee. "What do we know about Raymond's background?"

"Single since 2000, no kids, same job since he was 18, adopted at birth..."

"Hold up!" The writer shouted. "What if Mr. Burchfield had a twin brother and the twin was the intended victim..." He paced the break room as he worked out the theory in his head. "You said he was adopted, check the birth records it should show if he had a twin."

"Castle you're a genius!" Kate's voice echoed through the break room. "Find out everything you can about the birth parents and adoptive parents of Raymond Burchfield."

Javier was already halfway out the door as his team leader informed him of what she wanted. "I'm on it!"

Rick stared at Kate like he deserved a pat on the back and Kate was fixing to give him one when her cell phone rang. "It's Lanie," She stammered as she looked at the caller ID. "Finish the coffees and I'll be right back."

The writer watched his muse walk through the door and head for the elevator. "Good luck." He offered up, knowing the ME was more interested in interrogating the detective than informing her of case important details.