A/N: Well y'all wanted me to get rid of Josh, so here goes... This one is a bit more angsty than the other chapters, but it had to happen. Can we all say "Bye bye Motorcycle boy!"? Haha, if only it would happen on the show...

Kate sat on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest, as she focused on taking deep, calming breaths. Kate Beckett had never let fear control any aspect of her life, and she sure as hell wasn't going to start now. Half the contents of her closet had been pushed out into her bedroom, to make just enough space for her to sit inside, the door closet, lights out.

Ever since that last encounter with Castle in a closet about a month ago, the thought of small spaces made her nervous. So Kate was sitting in her own closet, getting rid of her newly acquired- highly irritating- phobia.

Kate was currently attempting to slow her quick, ragged breathing, but the small dark space reminded her of another small, dark space and her heart only beat faster in consequence. Maybe Castle had the right idea with this fear of small spaces; this was definitely freaking her out, the way her belongings seemed to be drawing closer and closer as she simply sat there and watched. But she'd never let fear run her life- ever. So she was just going to stay in that closet until the fear was stamped out. But, oh, how she longed to reach out for that door and push it open just a little bit. There just didn't seem to be enough air for her to breathe anymore.

Can you suffocate in a closet? Kate suddenly wondered and sighed in frustration when she found one more thing to worry about. Her hand was halfway to the door now when she jerked her hand back and wrapped it around her knees instead.

"Kate?" A man's voice suddenly began calling out. "Where are you? I got a long lunch and stopped by to say hi, maybe have lunch with you." His voice drew closer and closer to her location but she didn't move. If Josh didn't find her, he'd go away and she wouldn't have to have the awkward conversation that was sure to follow, wherein she explained why she was sitting on the floor, locked in her closet. "Where are you, Kate? I know you're home," he added, as if reassuring himself.

She was silent and she could now hear his footsteps moving about her room. And only three seconds later, the closet door opened and Josh stared down at her in shock. "What are you doing in the closet?" he asked, confused and surprised.

Kate didn't reply, but looked up at him with big, sad eyes and Josh finally noticed the nervousness and the way her breath was coming fast and uneven.

Josh sat down next to her, inside the closet and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think I'm claustrophobic," she said quietly.

"Baby, then why are you in the closet?" Josh put an arm around her shoulders and tried to nudge her closer so he could help her up and out of the small space. "Let's get you out of here."

"No," Kate said quickly, leaning against his arm and preventing him from pulling on her anymore. "I refuse to be claustrophobic!" Even as a child, Kate had refused to let fear control her- she never even had a nightlight for heaven's sake!- so there was no way, as an adult, that she'd let small spaces get to her either.

Josh frowned, but settled on the floor beside her, his arm around her shoulders still. "When did this start? You haven't always been claustrophobic, have you? I'm sure I would have noticed..." He trailed off, thinking, probably trying to recall her past behavior, analyze and coming up empty. Until he remembered one particular memory. And since Kate didn't answer any of his questions, Josh laughed bitterly and said, "Let me guess. It started a month ago."

Kate finally looked up at him, her eyes so... sad and maybe even guilty that Josh shook his head, knowing he was right without her having to say so.

But Kate still didn't respond and he prompted yet again, "Tell me what happened in that closet, Kate. You've been acting strange ever since and you refuse to tell me what happened."

Kate looked away from him, staring down at her knees. "Nothing happened," she insisted weakly, for perhaps the hundredth time.

"Right, you say that, but then I find you sitting in your closet. Did he hurt you?" Josh asked, knowing he didn't even need to specify who "he" was. It was the Great White "he" who ruined everything, Josh reflected.

"Of course not," Kate said simply. She didn't even argue the point; they both knew how ridiculous that idea was.

Josh hesitated now. He wanted to ask, but he was terrified of her answer; did he really even want to know? But as he contemplated, he found he had to know. With a deep breath, he finally asked, "Did you have sex with him?"

"No!" she gasped, turning her head quickly to gape at him. "No, I would never do that to you," she insisted.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. He pulled her closer to his chest, pressing his cheek to the top of her head. "You've just been acting so... guilty. I had to consider the idea."

Kate hung her head so low, her nose almost touched her knees. "I didn't have sex with him. I didn't even kiss him. I just... held him. While he tried to stave off a panic attack."

"So he's claustrophobic too?"

"Yeah."

"And you're in love with him," Josh concluded.

Well, that was quite a leap to make...

"No," she insisted, shaking her head for emphasis.

Josh laughed humorlessly. "For being one of the smartest women I know, you can be really dense sometimes," he said, trying to sound as affectionate as he could to take away some of the sting of basically calling her stupid.

They sat in silence for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts. Kate's heart was still beating frantically- this whole situation was unbearable. The small closet space and the pain she knew she was causing Josh wore on her, twisting her stomach in painful knots. She was trying to think of ways to fix the situation, but nothing seemed plausible.

Josh meanwhile was just holding her. He was breathing in the familiar scent of her hair, absorbing the warmth of her body. He knew that this would be the last time he'd have to chance- the extreme luck- to hold her, so he was delaying the inevitable and not speaking, just holding her close. He wanted to kiss her, he wanted to touch her, but somehow he didn't feel like he had the right to. She didn't belong to him anymore. Did she ever? He wondered. Kate was so independent, no one could own her... except maybe one man and she fought him so hard, her own mind misdirected her fear from Castle to small spaces.

Josh wondered if she even realized that? Kate wasn't afraid of closets or small spaces. Nothing so... trivial, so mundane, could really scare her. Kate was afraid of what Richard Castle could be for her. He'd be the greatest love she'd ever know, maybe, but he'd also be the end of her independence. Castle would claim a part of her life- her soul- and own her like no other man could and that terrified her.

Josh saw all these things suddenly but knew better than to try to explain them to her. Kate would only argue and deny and really, Josh didn't want her to see it yet. He wanted Kate to at least pretend to grieve for their relationship and not just jump into bed with another man- especially the one he was losing her to.

Sighing, Josh and finally pressed a kiss to her hair. "We're over, aren't we?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Kate shook her head but they both knew it wasn't a denial. She turned and put her arms around his neck, holding him close for a moment. But she didn't cry. She was sad, she was in pain, and she didn't want it to end, but she knew it was right. She couldn't hold on to someone who didn't belong to her and Josh had just been a distraction, a fling. He'd never been hers, just something to fill her time and the hole left in her life when... well, when Castle had left last summer.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

Josh squeezed her tight. "I love you, Kate." And then he pulled away. Kate kissed his mouth and he savored it for only a moment before he pulled away again, stood up and walked out of her house and out of her life.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rick lay on the floor, his feet propped up against the wall, one crossed over the other, even though he knew his shoes were probably going to leave scuff marks. He stretched his arms up, breathing deeply as he folded them under his head, just relaxing.

He was closed in the closet, sitting in the small dark space, smiling. Memories of Kate filled his mind and the fear he used to feel was completely obliterated by the sunshine Kate brought to his life. The problem now was that lately, closets seemed to turn him on a little...

"Dad?"

Rick's smile grew. "In here, pumpkin!" he called back. He idly thought about how most people would try to hide the fact that they were just hangin' out in a closet, but he knew Alexis would understand the import of the situation. "I'm in the closet!" he called again, laughter in his voice.

"Daddy!" he heard her call in alarm and then there was the sound of little, running feet. The closet door was thrown open and Alexis observed in shock, her father calmly lying on the floor of the closet... smiling? "Dad, what's going... why are you... you're not freaking out?"

For as long as Alexis could remember, her father had avoided letting himself get closed into little spaces, but here he was... grinning like a fool... shut up in his second, smaller closet.

So Alexis grinned also, entered the small space and closed the door behind her. She sat on the floor beside her father's head and stuttered, "How... what... you..."

Rick laughed. He lowered his arms and shifted so his head was now propped on his daughter's leg. "I don't know why I ever thought small spaces were scary," he began conversationally. "This isn't so bad."

"The nanny..." Alexis said hesitantly. She didn't want to remind him; he seemed to be doing so well. "When you were five..."

Rick's smile shrank and he recalled the dark memories for only a moment. But then he thought of Kate and her sunshine and he smiled again. "Detective Beckett helped me get over my fear."

"Ohh..." she drawled knowingly. "Detective Beckett helped you get over your fear."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing," she said quickly and then grinned. "What'd she do, grope you in a closet?"

That guess was so spot on and he was so surprised by her accurate- explicit- guess that Rick choked and then laughed. "No!" he retorted.

But Alexis was smarter than that. She knew... something had happened between her father and the pretty detective the last time they'd been trapped in a closet together. But honestly, she didn't care and she preferred not to know exactly what had happened, so she accepted her dad's denial and simply laughed along with him. It was so good to see him in a closet, the fear completely gone. Alexis figured she owed a lot to Kate Beckett for helping her dad get over his fear.