Author's Note: Thought it was time to slip into Kate's mind for a while. Lemme know what you think! x

X X X

It was a nice house with a nice garden. A beautiful garden, in fact, with a large tree in one corner, ample grass and a big patio, perfect for barbeques in the summer months. Yet…

'Six bedrooms? That seems a bit excessive.'

Her husband frowned. 'You think?'

'We only need one master bedroom and one guest room. The only other rooms we need are for any future kids. So, we don't need four more bedrooms. Three more, maybe.' They had to be realistic, especially Rick who had a penchant for getting more than ahead of himself. They weren't a young couple. She was closer to forty than she was thirty and was more than aware that she perhaps didn't have as long a baby window as other newlyweds had. That, and she didn't want more than three kids. The thought of one child scared her as much as it excited her.

'You never know. You could be America's next Octomom.'

'Joke about that again and I'm getting my tubes tied.'

'Quads?'

'Still getting them tied.'

'Triplets? Twins?'

'Still absolutely terrifying,' she said. That got her thinking. 'Do twins run in your family?'

He shook his head. 'Not to my knowledge. Which, admittedly, isn't saying that much as I can't speak for my father's side of the Hunt-Rogers family tree. There could be octuplets running in his side, for all I know.' His smirk was erased quickly by the stern look she shot him. 'Kidding, but I really don't know. What about your family?'

'Not in my immediate family at least.'

'There's always a first. You are an overachiever after all.'

They were getting sidelined, again. This was only the fourth property they had viewed in the past hour. She nudged him gently in the ribs. 'Six bedrooms is too much. Five, at the most.'

'Noted,' Rick said, tapping the back arrow in his browser. 'Five bedrooms max, an office...would madam also like a walk-in wardrobe? 'Cause madam certainly needs a walk-in wardrobe.'

Their budget was extremely accommodating and could definitely stretch to a sizeable walk-in wardrobe, a couple of offices and, easily, ten medium sized bedrooms. Yet just because they could, it didn't mean that they had to. There was a difference between want and need…and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't need one. 'Yes. But, again. Nothing too excessive.'

'And, again. Noted.'

He kept scrolling whilst she grabbed her phone that started to buzz on the nightstand. 'Beck—Kate.'

It was Esposito. 'What?'

'Old habits,' she replied. In her defense, it was her first official day of being unemployed. 'They're hard to kick.'

'Well, I hate to be an enabler but if you could swing by the precinct this afternoon, that'd be great.'

It hadn't even been twenty-four full hours yet. 'You guys missing me already?

'We are. Believe me, we are. But there's also an old case file from a few months back that Nash found that's missing your signature. He can't file it until you've signed it and he's not the patient type.'

She had a poor idea of this man she was yet to meet. 'Right, okay.'

'If you don't wanna or can't make it to the 12th, I can always stop off at your place-'

'No!' The word came out loud, taking both herself, her husband and, no doubt, her friend at the other end of the line, by surprise. God, Kate. 'I'll come by this afternoon.' Esposito didn't know about their living arrangements and he didn't have to know. It was temporary, after all.

'Alright, perfect. Oh, and leave your husband at home. The last time we brought up Castle's name…well, let's just say, I don't think Nash is a fan.'

Her idea of this man was now very, very poor.

X X X

Temporary Captain Alec Nash was the first person to greet her when she made the all too familiar walk into the bullpen and he greeted her with a handshake and a warm smile. 'Kate Beckett. It is so lovely to finally get to meet you.' There was also a tinge of surprise in his tone, which surprised her even further. 'An honor, truly.'

'Thank you…sir. I've heard a lot about you.' Nothing, of which, made any darn sense. She scanned the bullpen for Esposito. His desk was empty.

'And I, about you. Your name is very highly talked about at 1PP. Everyone, including myself, is extremely saddened by news of your resignation but I fully support your decision. I'm so sorry about what happened to yourself and Mr. Castle.'

Kate smiled through her confusion. 'Thank you.'

'Is Mr. Castle here? My wife is a huge fan; an autograph would make her day.'

'He is-.' She paused for a second, spotting Esposito emerging from the breakroom, coffee in hand. '—not. But I can get him to send some books over. What's her name?'

'Elizabeth.'

'He'll be more than happy to send some stuff over,' she smiled again, before excusing herself as she headed in Esposito's direction. 'Why is Nash surprised to see me? Why is Nash nice?' They were well out of earshot but her tone was still hushed. 'What is going on?'

Javier Esposito said nothing but gestured for Kate to follow him and he led her through to Interrogation Room one. He closed the door behind them. 'Sit.'

'Why?'

'I'll explain, I promise. Please.'

She took the same seat she had taken for years but couldn't help but feel that she was the one on the other side of that table, the one under scrutiny. 'There's nothing to sign, is there?'

He shook his head, sat down opposite. 'No.'

'And Nash is a nice guy, isn't he?'

'At times. Other times he's a right jackass.'

The silence after each sentence was heavy. It choked her. 'Why am I here?'

'You're here because you are my friend and I care about you. You've just quit your job and you're moving?'

How did he know all-. Rick. 'I'm moving on with my life, Javi.'

'Are you?' He frowned. 'You've been living in a hotel for the past two weeks, you're looking at fancy houses in another state. This is not moving on. This is running away.'

'You're not my therapist.'

'No but I'm your friend. Burke might care about you, he might only care about the color of your money. Me? I assure you that I care. Running away? That won't fix things. That won't fix you.'

'And lying to me and then cornering me, that will?'

'I wish it was that easy. But we both know that it's not.'

'We're moving to start a family.'

'That family isn't here yet. That family doesn't have to live in another state. And that doesn't mean that you can't live in your apartment right now.'

He had her there. The door to leave never looked so tempting. She didn't have to listen to this, she could leave now but that…that would be running away. Damn it.

'I didn't want to have to do this, Kate but the more I hear about you leaving New York, the more I hate it. This city is your home and you're being kicked out of it. Do you really want to leave?'

'I…'. I can't dispute that. She was born in the city, she had served the city and the city had given her the man she loved. Why am I running? 'I…'. I nearly died in this city. Twice. Yet both times were results of her own stubbornness and her occupation. She had resigned, Mason Wood was dead and she had finally got justice for her mother. New York had never harmed her in any other way. New York was home. 'No.'

Esposito's face remained impassive and he said nothing more about the city. 'Go back to the loft tonight, Kate. You don't have to stay there; you don't have to even stay the night. Just go there and remember – you're safe.'

She took a depth breath as she took onboard his words, words that she was finally beginning to believe. I'm safe.

X X X

I'm safe. I'm safe.

Her new mantra reverberated in her head as she took her first steps in the loft for almost two weeks. Everything was exactly the same as it had been on that day; it was obvious how Rick had lived in the hospital after the shooting, even after he was discharged, himself. Alexis and Martha had also come and gone throughout the weeks but their presence, too, seemed fleeting. Even the stack of magazines on the coffee table were in the exact same order, the dust gathering around them proof of that fact.

Then she saw the spot that she stood in when the bullet ripped through her. The spot on the floor where her knees came crashing down on. The spot where she had thought that this was it, that she was actually going to die this time.

I'm safe. I survived this. I'm about as safe as any other person in this city. I'm safe.

'We can leave if you want,' Rick said. He had kept his distance, hesitant to say anything, scared of the ticking time bomb that the past few weeks had turned her into. Scared, terrified even, yet always there, never leaving her side. He was a damn good guy. 'The hotel room is still indefinitely under our name.' Good guy Richard Castle. Was it possible to love him anymore?

'Let's stay the night here.'

'Are you sure?'

She nodded. 'Yeah…just not in here, though.' The bad memories – that's all they were – were still too fresh in her mind.

'There's always the bedroom.'

The bedroom. Their bedroom. She had nothing but good memories of that room.

He offered her his hand. 'Shall we?'