First off, I apologize for the confusion in the last chapter of when the story jumped ahead in time. I should have marked that a little better. I tried to remedy that problem in this chapter.

Second, I did not get these characters for my birthday. However, my Indianapolis Colts won the AFC championship and earned a trip to the Super Bowl on my birthday, so that's a decent alternative.

Castle approached the crowd gathered around the crime scene tape and started to weave his way through the throng. He pulled up short when he heard someone call his name, and he turned in the direction of the sound and saw a young, blonde woman approaching him.

"Richard Castle!" she said as she reached him.

"Yes," Castle confirmed.

"Oh my god! I'm such a huge fan," she gushed as she placed her hand on his arm. "I have every single one of your books."

Castle offered her a polite smile. "Thank you."

"My name's Denise," she continued.

"Thank you, Denise," he repeated. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed inside the building."

Her grip on his arm tightened as he tried to turn away from her. Castle saw Ryan and Esposito exit the building in his peripheral vision as he turned his attention back to the woman clinging to his arm. "Oh this is great! You're doing research for your next Nikki Heat novel, aren't you? Is that why you're here? Someone has been murdered and you're here to help the police solve the crime?"

"I'm sorry, Denise," Castle stated as he took her hand in his and forcibly removed it from his arm. "I'm not at liberty to discuss police business."

Castle turned away from her to duck under the crime scene tape just as Kate joined Ryan and Esposito on the sidewalk. He saw Kate look in his direction just before he found his arms suddenly full of the young woman beside him as she launched herself at him. Before he could even react, her arms were around his neck and she pulled his head down to hers to plant a kiss on him.

Castle's hands immediately went to the woman's shoulders as he forced her away from him. Ryan and Esposito were suddenly at his side, helping him disengage her grip on him even as they pulled him into the relative safety of the crime scene tape.

A quick hand signal from Esposito had one of the uniformed officers escorting Denise away from the building even as she shouted out her phone number. "You okay there, Castle?"

"I'm good. Thanks, guys."

"Are all of your fans this crazy?" Ryan asked.

"Believe it or not, most of them are relatively normal," Castle replied.

He nodded towards Kate. "So what do we have?"

"If you ask me, I'd have to say you're probably going to have a lot of explaining to do," Esposito offered as they headed in her direction.

Kate chose that precise moment to look up at them and Castle swore under his breath at the look in her eyes. Ryan clapped him on the shoulder. "Good luck, man."

The two detectives headed back into the building and left him to face Kate on his own. Knowing that it was pointless to bring up the subject of Denise while at the crime scene, Castle chose instead to explain his tardiness. "I'm sorry I'm late. There was an accident on 23rd that had traffic backed up for a mile. What do we have?"

"Rosie Templeton, forty years old, divorced mother of three, real estate agent," she replied with an icy stare. "Found hanging from the ceiling fan in her bedroom by the babysitter."

"Suicide?" he asked as he followed her back into the building and onto the elevator.

"Doesn't look like it," she replied. "There are signs of forced entry on the doorway and Lanie says there are two separate ligature marks on the neck."

"Strangled first and then strung up so it would look like suicide?" he asked. "Robbery?"

"Not that we can tell," she replied as they stepped off the elevator on the fifth floor. "Ryan and Esposito are talking to her neighbors to see if anybody saw or heard anything."

"What about the kids?" Castle asked as they entered the apartment.

"With child services at the moment," Kate replied. "They're trying to contact the boys' father to inform him of the situation before they tell them what happened."

"How old are they?" he asked.

"The oldest is fourteen and a set of ten-year old twins."

"Is the father involved in their lives?" Castle asked.

"We're still working on that information," Kate replied as they reached the master bedroom.

Lanie looked up from the body. "I'd say time of death was between midnight and six a.m. but I'll be able to narrow that down more once I get her back to the morgue."

"Thanks, Lanie," Kate replied.

"Nice of you to join us, Castle," Lanie added with a grin.

"Traffic jam," Castle replied.

He saw Kate roll her eyes before she turned her attention to one of the uniformed officers in the room. Lanie lifted her eyebrow in question and Castle shrugged. "A misguided fan on the other side of the tape," he stage whispered.

Lanie winced and nodded her head in Kate's direction. "And she saw?"

Castle nodded even as his eyes glanced at the body of their victim. "What's that on her wrist, Lanie?"

"It looks like adhesive," Lanie replied. "I'll take a sample and get it to the lab for analysis."

Kate rejoined them then. "The babysitter, Alicia, confirmed that the boys spent the night at their aunt's house last night. Apparently, Alicia has a key because she comes here straight from school so she's here when the boys get home. She stays with them until Rosie gets home from work, which is around six most nights. When she got here today, she found Rosie and called 911."

"Was it a common occurrence for the kids to stay at their aunt's during the school week?" Castle asked.

"Alicia said that Rosie had an early morning meeting with a client today and she didn't want to disrupt the boys schedule on a school day so she made arrangements with her sister for them to stay with her."

"Any idea who the client was?" Castle asked.

"According to her date book, his name was Charles Lyons," Kate replied. "And please don't suggest that we should talk to him, Castle. I do know how to do my job."

Castle held up his hands in surrender. "I would never say anything to the contrary, Detective Beckett."

Lanie bit back a chuckle as she watched the two of them. She could only imagine what Kate had witnessed outside, but whatever it was, her friend was definitely not cutting him any slack this afternoon.

"Detective Beckett," one of the crime scene technicians said as he entered the room. "I found something in the bathroom that I think you're going to want to see."

Beckett stepped out of the room and Castle watched her go. He had no sooner turned his attention back to Lanie when he heard Beckett's voice. "You coming, Castle?"

Castle merely shrugged his shoulders at Lanie's muted laughter and hurried out after Beckett.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(3 days later)

Castle paid the cab driver and hurried out of the vehicle. Against his better judgment, he'd followed Kate home from the precinct. He'd done his best to give her space, but it had been three days of the cold shoulder and her absolute refusal to listen to any attempt he'd made to explain what she'd witnessed outside their crime scene and apologize. It was already after ten and while he knew the smart thing to do would be to leave her alone and let her get some sleep, the fact that she had been more closed off with him this week than she had since the time he'd gone behind her back to investigate her mother's murder had finally gotten under his skin.

Kate turned to glare at him as he approached her outside her apartment building. "Go home, Castle."

"I want to explain," he replied as he followed her inside.

"And I don't want to hear it," she replied as she headed for the stairs. She knew she was overreacting, but she didn't care. Seeing that bimbo draped all over him while she'd been worried about what had held him up from the crime scene had infuriated her.

He followed her anyway, his irritation with her growing with every step. "I think the least you could do is to let me explain what you saw."

"I don't need an explanation," she threw over her shoulder. "I know exactly what I saw. Another Richard Castle groupie draped all over you, only this one apparently wanted more than just an autograph."

He finally caught up to her when she reached her apartment door. As she fumbled with the lock, he took her elbow and turned her around to face him. "What do I have to do to convince you that there isn't another woman on this planet who even comes close to comparing to you, Kate?" he asked, his voice rising in spite of his attempt to keep his anger in check.

"I don't know, Castle," she spat out, her jealousy easily venting in her anger at him. "Maybe you should try kissing a few more of them while I'm watching. I'm sure that would do the trick."

He shook his head in exasperation and then quickly closed what little distance remained between them as he pressed the full length of his body against hers. Before she had a chance to react, he lowered his mouth to hers and claimed her in a searing kiss. He held nothing back, wanting only to convince her with his body what his words were failing to convey.

His lips slanted over hers, his tongue begging entry into her mouth as his hands tangled in her hair. Her resistance lasted a mere heartbeat before she opened her mouth beneath his. Their tongues dueled and teeth clashed as they attempted to devour each other.

His hands moved to her ass to pull her fully against his hardening erection and he swallowed her groan as she shifted her hips against his and raised her hands to his shoulders, holding on tightly as the maelstrom of emotions threatened to pull them both under.

Using his body to press her against the door, he slid one hand back to her hair and tilted her head to the side to give him access to her neck. When she offered no opposition, he lowered his mouth to the smooth skin beneath her ear. His teeth grazed against her in gentle nips before he soothed her with the heat of his tongue. When he sucked her earlobe into his mouth, she finally found her voice. "Rick."

His name on her lips in the sexiest voice he'd ever heard caused him to lift his head. Her eyes were closed; her hair was disheveled where he'd had his hands in it; and he could feel the pounding of her heart against his chest. She was, by far, the sexiest woman he'd ever known in his life.

He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against hers as he eased his grip on her. When she opened her eyes, he lifted his head and met her gaze. "There's nobody but you, Kate. Nobody."

Without waiting for a response, he brushed his lips softly against hers once again and then stepped away from her. Kate watched until he reached the stairwell and disappeared from sight before she dropped her head back against the door and let out a sigh. There was no way to deny the truth…she was an idiot.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kate took a deep breath and knocked on Castle's door, not wanting to run the risk of waking Alexis or Martha by ringing the doorbell. After Castle had left her standing in her hallway, it had taken only ten minutes for her to admit that her anger at him was a direct result of her own insecurity and jealousy. It had taken another hour of listening to his phone go directly to voicemail to persuade her that resolving this needed to be done sooner rather than later. She had already wasted three days hiding behind their case.

Kate was surprised when Martha opened the door. "Hello, Kate."

"I'm sorry, Martha," she replied. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Is everything okay, dear?" Martha asked, her concern evident. "Where's Richard?"

"He's not here?" Kate asked in response.

"No," Martha replied. "I thought he was with you."

"He left me over an hour ago," Kate offered as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number again. When it went straight to voicemail, she ended the call and looked back at Martha. "His phone has been going straight to voicemail for the last hour."

"It must have been a doozy of a fight tonight," Martha stated.

Kate raised surprised eyes to see Martha's knowing smile. "More like a misunderstanding blown completely out of proportion," she offered in explanation.

"My guess is that he turned off his phone to give himself time to think," Martha replied.

"Do you have any idea where he would go?" Kate asked.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I have no idea. I'm sure he's fine though," Martha replied as she shook her head. "Would you like a cup of coffee? You're more than welcome to wait for him to get home."

"No," Kate replied softly. "But thank you for the offer."

As Kate opened the door to step back into the hallway, Martha offered her a smile. "Don't worry, dear. He'll come around."

Kate took a deep breath and forced a return smile. "Good night, Martha."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Kate stepped wearily into the elevator at the precinct after spending two hours driving around the city searching for Castle. Her search had been futile and it disturbed her to think that even after almost three months of dating the man, she really didn't know him well enough to have a clue where he would go when he was upset. Her first choice had been his apartment, because she knew how important his family was to him. When that turned out to be a dead end, she was at a loss as to where to go next. If not for the fact that she knew her distrust and accusations had hurt him earlier and he had most likely just wanted some time and space to himself, she would be concerned by her inability to get in touch with him.

Knowing that sleep wouldn't be visiting her any time soon, she'd headed to the station to look over the case notes again. There were times when she did her best detective work while sitting alone in the middle of the empty bullpen. She stepped off of the elevator and made her way to the break room to start a pot of coffee. She pulled up short when she spotted Castle sitting at her desk, his eyes glued to an open file in his hands.

The relief she felt at the realization that he was okay nearly brought tears to her eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around him and lose herself in a hug. However, she knew that she owed him an apology before there was even a chance that would happen, so she took a deep breath to calm her nerves and then changed course to talk to him. "What are you doing here, Castle?"

Without even turning to acknowledge her, Castle got up from her chair and moved to the one designated as his beside her desk. He then pointed to the board. "I think it was the ex-husband."

Kate made her way over to stand in front of him, ignoring his comment on the case. "What are you doing here, Castle?" she repeated.

"Reading the notes from the divorce," he replied without lifting his eyes. "It was a pretty nasty custody battle. The judge granted Rosie full custody of the boys, with their father being allowed visitation rights on every other weekend and one full week a year."

Kate leaned down and took the file from his hands and sat it carefully on her desk. She then placed one finger under his chin and lifted his face to meet her gaze. "Why are you here?"

He met her gaze, but his expression was unreadable as he shrugged his shoulders. "It's what Nikki Heat would have done," he finally offered.

She gave him a small smile. "Yes, but Nikki Heat wouldn't have turned off her cell phone and had the people who care about her worried."

Castle's eyebrows knit together in confusion and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Glancing down at the screen, he shook his head. "I think the battery is shot. It keeps turning itself off."

Kate watched as he powered it back on before he met her gaze again. "I'm sorry. Did my mother or Alexis call you looking for me?"

"No," she replied. "I went to your apartment looking for you when your phone kept going straight to voicemail. Martha told me that you hadn't been home."

His face showed only a brief flash of surprise at her admission before he turned his attention back to his phone. He quickly typed a text message to let his mother know he was at the precinct with Kate and then returned the phone to his pocket.

"I apologize for the inconvenience. I'll get a new battery for it in the morning."

Kate looked down at him and shook her head. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she stepped between his legs and waited until he looked up at her before she spoke. "I'm sorry, Rick. I over-reacted. You were late getting to the crime scene and I had started to get concerned. When I walked outside to see if Ryan or Esposito had seen you yet and saw that woman draped across you, I got jealous. I wanted to scratch her eyes out for having her hands on you, and I wasn't prepared for that rush of emotions. Instead of dealing with my own jealousy, I turned that anger on you. I was wrong and I admit it."

His eyes searched hers for a long minute before he finally offered her a grin. "Jealous, huh?"

"Yes," she admitted as she lifted one hand to the side of his face and let her fingers trail through the hair at his temple. "Crazy, seeing green, thinking up places to hide the body, jealous."

"I'm sorry I let her get close enough to make you jealous," he replied as he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist.

She leaned down and kissed him gently, then stepped back and pulled on his hands. "Come here. I want a hug."

He quickly obliged, pulling her securely into his embrace as he got to his feet. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, he planted a kiss on the top of her hair. "We'll figure this thing out, Kate."

"I know," she agreed. "It just scares me sometimes."

He understood completely. There were times when the depth of his feelings for her scared him too. "Are we good?" he asked.

"We're good," she confirmed as she leaned back to look at him.

He took the opportunity to kiss her, allowing his lips to linger on hers for a long moment before he forced himself to step away from her and retook his seat.

Not willing to lose complete contact, she pulled her own chair over until their knees were brushing. "Okay, convince me it was the ex."

Castle picked up the file from her desk and pointed to the paragraph that had caught his attention. "Rosie's boyfriend stated that he had accepted a position in Florida with his company," he began. "He'd asked Rosie to marry him and go with him. From all we've been able to find, Rosie was planning on doing just that."

"Right," she agreed. "The principal confirmed that she'd asked about getting the boys transcripts as soon as the semester ended."

"Frank Templeton did not make the kind of money that would allow him to remain a part of his children's lives if Rosie took them to Florida," Castle continued. "There was no way he could afford trips to Florida or plane tickets to bring the kids here on a regular basis. However, if Rosie's dead, he gets full custody of the boys."

Beckett took the folder from him and flipped through the pages until she found the page where Ryan had confirmed Frank's alibi for the morning of the murder. "His alibi is his girlfriend."

"She could easily be covering for him," he pointed out.

"I'll have a uniform pick her up first thing in the morning," Kate said with a grin. "Nice work, Castle."

"Why thank you, Detective Beckett," he replied with a smile.

Kate closed the file and returned it to her desk. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home. We've still got time for a couple of hours of sleep."

He leered at her as they made their way to the elevator. "Did you just say 'we', Kate?"

"You know what I meant, Castle," she replied as they stepped inside.

"Does that mean you're not staying?" he asked as he leaned a shoulder against the back wall and looked at her.

She made a show of letting her gaze travel the length of his body before meeting his eyes again. "Not tonight, Castle. There's not enough time for all the things I want to do to you."

He leaned his head back and joined her in her laughter, both of them glad that they were back on track.

You know the drill, folks. I would love to hear from you.