A/N: Reminder - Rated T for a reason. Bad words (Cops swear, it's what they do) and adult subject matter.

THURSDAY, MAY 27TH

(116 days to the incident)

They had successfully wrapped up the case. Both she and Castle had independently come up with the idea that the spy game was just a red herring. The widow and partner had alibied each other in the most absurd way possible, but Castle and Ryan discovered an anomaly in the victim's finances. That had led them to the victim's girlfriend, which in turn led them to her husband. Game. Set. Match.

This win for the team felt different, though. Less fun. Sad, actually. The survivors were all culpable, to one degree or another. Montgomery had said it best. "It's sad that a man died because too many people couldn't be honest with their feelings". That had hit so close to home, especially after the lie she had told Castle last week. She had to make it up to him sometime tomorrow before he took off for the summer.

Normally, when they finished a case, there was a feeling of closure, a warm and fuzzy aura derived from doing a good job. They usually went out for a celebratory drink, but all of her partners had declined this time. Immediately after they turned their murderer over to booking, Castle had abruptly left, pleading a 'million things to do'. The boys had been surly all day, and Ryan split right after Castle, without saying his customary 'good night' to Kate. Esposito was looking something up on the computer, and she could practically see the dark cloud hanging over the Latino detective's head.

She turned towards the murder board and started to disassemble their work. Why was everyone so down tonight? Even Demming was a little pissed off, as she had declined his invitation to sleep over tonight thinking she'd be out with her team celebrating. She was so absorbed in her task and in her thoughts; she didn't hear Esposito approach until he started speaking. "Hey, Beckett" Kate turned to face him, a little startled. He continued, "I'm gonna take-off."

"Okay, Esposito. Good job today. I'll see you tomorrow."

Esposito started to walk away, then turned around after a couple of steps. "Listen, Beckett. Ryan and I thought we'd throw Castle a little surprise going away party tomorrow. It'll just be a couple of beers in the break room to say thanks for the two years, and nice knowin' ya. Around 4:30. We invited Lanie and the Captain to join us." Here Esposito's voice changed, from a matter-of-fact invitation to a tone of derision. "Maybe, if you're not too busy, you could stop by. You know, to say 'nice knowing ya" and 'thanks for the memories'." He spun around to leave.

"ESPOSITO!" Beckett's bark stopped her partner in his tracks. She marched to right in front of him, and stuck her face six inches from his. "What in the HELL is THAT supposed to mean?!"

Esposito didn't flinch. "It means exactly what it sounds like, Beckett. Look! I get it! It's your team, you can do what you want. But we never thought you'd kick our boy Castle to the curb. So, to be honest, I really have no idea if you'd want to say goodbye to him or not. It's hard to tell if you give a shit any more."

Beckett looked around. There were only one or two cops left on the floor, but she didn't need to air her team's dirty laundry in public. "Follow me, Detective." Beckett's tone of voice made it clear it was not a request, as she led Esposito to a small meeting room and shut the door behind them. The walk of thirty feet gave her time to rein in her shredding temper. She turned to face her pissed off partner. "I have no idea where you're coming from, Javier. Of course I want to say goodbye to Castle, he's leaving for three whole months. He's been my shadow for almost two years. As annoying as he was early on, more and more he's become an integral part of our team. It probably sounds condescending, but I'm as proud of him as I am of you and Ryan. He's, we've, come a long way. So I don't know where this 'kick him to the curb' shit is coming from. He's leaving to get some writing done, and once the book is completed, we'll get him back. Right?"

Esposito stared at her while shaking his head. He finally sighed and pointed to a stuffed chair, requesting "Kate, take a seat, please." The use of her first name diffused any residual temper as she lowered herself onto the chair. He sat opposite her, and grimaced. "Did you know that, since the Tisdale case, we've handled ninety-four cases? I looked it up tonight."

Beckett nodded. "That sounds about right."

"With the multiples and serials, that's about 125 bodies. That's not counting the 15 or 20 cases that weren't ours, just peripheral cases we solved when working ours. Now, of those 94 cases, we've closed 89 of them. Of the five remaining, one was taken over by the feds and left open here, one the murderer croaked before he was charged, and one the chicken-shit DA won't prosecute. That's two unsolved out of 94."

Beckett eyes sharpened. "And we're still working those two cases, right?". She knew those two cases backwards and forwards, as did her whole team. She talked to the families weekly.

Esposito agreed. "Yes. We're still working those two cases, out of ninety-four."

Beckett finally smiled. "What do you want me to say? We're the best!"

"Kate, we are so far beyond the best, it's ridiculous. Nobody's EVER come close to this level, or sustained it as long. We're twice as good as the next best team, who do all the Special Victims crap out of the 133rd. We are the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls. We are the two thousand pound gorilla."

"Okay, Javier, I get it, we are the best thing to happen to the NYDP since the invention of handcuffs. What's your point? Why have you guys been so pissed off?"

"Kate, if we're so freaking good, why are we saying goodbye to our civilian consultant … and friend … and YOUR partner? Don't kid yourself, he's not leaving because he's behind on his book. The dude is ALWAYS behind on his book. He's leaving 'cause he doesn't feel welcome. If we're so freaking good, why did I have to spend ten minutes today talking Ryan out of requesting a transfer? "

Kate blanched, her head spinning. "Kevin wants off the team? Why?"

"Because our boss has decided, without consulting her partners, to fuck with our team. She's decided she prefers to have her boyfriend in interviews, in her car, and at her desk, at the expense of her partner. She's decided that it's okay to act like a horny high school girl here at the precinct, especially if Castle's around!"

"What are you talking about?"

"What were you and Demming doing in the back corridor this afternoon?"

"You saw that?"

"I didn't have to. I saw Castle's face when he came back from there, right before he walked out. What were you guys doing in Interrogation on Monday at lunch?"

"What the hell, Esposito, are you following us?"

"No. Ryan and Castle were having their lunch in observation, since you'd taken off to eat with Captain America without telling anybody."

At least Beckett looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Espo. This is all really new to me, dating a guy at work and stuff. I had no idea anybody was in there."

Esposito jumped up, his eyes blazing. "BULLSHIT! Demming ASKED ME where Castle was BEFORE you went in there to swap spit." He looked disgusted. "Did you know that for the last three weeks, after Castle stops for your fancy latte, he hits the ATM so he has enough cash for cabs, so he doesn't get stranded again."

"Oh c'mon, Esposito, that happened like once."

He stared at her boss, flabbergasted. "More like once a day. Hell, Demming wasn't even working this last case, and you left Castle high and dry at the crime scene, and again here Tuesday night."

She looked totally confused. "I asked. I thought everybody was already gone."

"Who'd you ask?"

Beckett thought about it, and didn't like the answer, or the conclusions she was coming to.

Esposito was on a roll, and started to pour it on. "If all that's not bad enough, you start locking Castle out of interrogations 'cause he's not a cop? Since when has that mattered? You ridicule his theories as impractical, and dismiss him like a servant to go fetch you two coffee? And now you think he's leaving because he's behind on his writing, and he'll be back after that? Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

Beckett dropped her head in her hands. "Damn. I had no idea I was being such an asshole." She looked up at her partner with troubled eyes. "Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"Tell you what? That Castle was getting hazed by Demming worse than any uppity rookie we've ever seen? That all the jokes at his expense were over the top? At first we thought Castle had screwed up somehow, and you were teaching him a lesson. The last few days, though, it's gotten a lot worse. Your asshole boyfriend wasn't even on this case, and he was still fucking with Castle. In the break room. Out front. So, we figured you wanted a new partner, and were trading down."

"Trading down? For the record, I do not want to replace Castle. With anyone. Demming is only an extra set of eyes and ears. And what's with this trading down shit, Espo? I thought you liked Tom?"

"I have NEVER said I liked the dude. We were involved in a couple of heavy firefights when we were with ESU, so that makes us brothers in arms. Survivors, you know? Outside of work, I've always thought he was kind of a sleaze."

Beckett shook her head. "So, is that why Ryan was thinking about leaving? Because he thought I was replacing Castle with Demming?" She thought about what that switch would be like, and didn't think it would be nearly as effective ... or fun ... or desirable.

Esposito nodded, finally calming down. He resumed his seat. "Yeah, you know how he worships Castle. I'm always giving him grief about being such a fan girl. This crap's been hard for me to watch lately, so it's been twice as bad for Kevin." He leveled an intimidating stare at his boss. "Then, Castle asked Kevin Tuesday if he got stuck working this weekend like you did. Ryan KNEW you were off this weekend. He covered for you, but feels really shitty about it." His stare intensified. "You better hope Castle doesn't find out."

Beckett swallowed. "He already did. Yesterday."

Esposito nodded at her. "You told him? That's good. Wait." He looked at Beckett's stricken expression and asked, "Isn't it? What?"

"Tell me, Javier, was Demming there when Castle asked Ryan about the weekend?"

"Um. I guess. Yeah. It was at the coffee machine. Why?"

"Jesus Christ." She felt sick. "Tom let it slip yesterday that he and I are going to the beach this weekend. Right in front of Rick. I thought it was inadvertent."

Esposito blew up! "Holy Shit, Beckett! You see what he's doing, don't you?" He stood again, pointed, and yelled "Beckett, How could you be so fucking clueless?"

He could see a huge flare of anger in her eyes, but didn't care. He took a deep, calming breath, and continued at about half the volume, his voice tight. "You still think Castle is coming back? Listen. I don't care how you do it. I don't even know if you CAN do it. But you fix this, Beckett. I am not going to lose my partner because you decided to think with your gonads." Esposito spun around and walked out of the room, banging the door closed behind him.

Writing Wrongs: I've always thought Esposito and Beckett had more of brother - sister relationship than boss - subordinate or partners. My brothers and I grew up with five sisters, so trust me ... sometimes you need to yell at a sister. A lot. Repeatedly.