Chapters post as I write them. I write them as time permits :) Enjoy

Disclaimer: I don't own them.


"The Craines" Ryan whispered into Castle's ear as they made their way to dinner, "Just married at the Wingate." He nodded as he stepped next to Beckett, the four of them entering the elevator to ride up to the formal dining room.

"Robert Craine is a medical doctor who just finished his residency at Manhattan Hospital." Ryan continued to fill the partners in on the information he'd been given. .

"Melanie, his wife, is an elementary school teacher. She works in the upper West Side." He finished.

"They seem like a sweet couple, and are very happy to finally have tied the knot." Esposito added.

Castle smiled, recalling the excitement he'd felt after getting married. Unfortunately for him, it was always short lived. He looked at the stunning woman standing beside him currently and sighed. He was sure that it wouldn't be doomed this time, she was the one, and he knew that they would make it last. If only she'd give me the chance to show her.

"You two better get into character fairly quickly, I'm not sold that you're as madly in love as you're supposed to be." Esposito stated flatly, having picked up on the tension that currently existed between the partners.

"What about the two of you?" Kate shot back, "fresh from a civil ceremony or what?"

"For a true bromance, I imagine you'd stand closer." Castle quipped.

"Oh, don't you worry about it." Ryan stated with a mild arrogance. "We got this." He placed his hand on Esposito's shoulder, earning himself a shove and a glare.

"Dude, the elevator isn't opened yet." Javi shot, stepping away from his partner.

Beckett smirked at the antics of her boys, but the smile was quickly wiped from her face when the elevator doors opened and she could feel the large warm palm of her partner burning a hole into her lower back.


Robert and Melanie were indeed sweet, and incredibly excited about the notion of having dinner with the famous author Richard Castle.

"We had no idea you two were a couple." Melanie stated excitedly once she saw Castle. She was pleasant to Kate during the drill, but it didn't click that she was the inspiration for Nikki Heat until she saw her with the writer.

"Don't worry" Robert stated, "We'll keep it on the down low that you're here. Besides, they're pretty clear in letting people know that celebrities aren't to be disturbed while sailing." Castle smiled politely while Kate couldn't resist rolling her eyes.

"His celebrity doesn't come up that much." She deadpanned, earning herself a glare.

He put his arm around her and planted an open-mouthed kiss on her neck, causing her to tense up immediately. Any further quip she may have had was promptly silenced by his movement. He couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

"So, how did the two of you become a couple?" Melanie asked, highly intrigued to learn the real story of their relationship.

"I wore her down." Castle smiled as he stated. "She resisted at first, but the heart wants what the heart wants, right hun?" He figured that sticking with the truth would keep them out of trouble. It was less to remember.

Kate simply stared at him blankly, clearly trying to mask her discomfort with how personal he was being while working the case. They could work undercover without dredging up so much discomfort. Or at least Kate thought they could.

"Yeah, but how did it finally happen?" Ryan added with a smirk on his face, clearly having fun with their predicament. "I've been reading your books for years and am dying to know how you made the incredible Nikki Heat fall in love with you."

Ryan and Esposito were glad that Kate had gotten the brunt of the media attention from Nikki Heat, as nobody seemed any the wiser regarding the true identity of the boys.

"Well…" Castle began, ready to tell their story, when Kate interjected.

"He asked me to dinner about a year ago, and I finally said yes. The rest is history." She wanted to keep their private lives private, and was highly aware that Ryan and Esposito were listening very intently. The lie prompted Castle to remove his arm from around her shoulder, masking the movement as an attempt to straighten his napkin out.

"Well, you make an adorable couple." Melanie offered.

"So," Kate began, eager to shift the conversation" congratulations on your marriage," She motioned to their matching set of rings, "tell me about your wedding."

It prompted exactly what Beckett hoped for, information about their case. They went into great detail about the Wingate Hotel. They spoke of the story of their wedding. They discussed flowers, music, people involved and the romance of it all. They were eager to share, pulling out their phones to show pictures. They smiled through the conversation, gathering what detail they could.

"Do I detect a wedding in your future?" Robert asked Castle pointedly.

"Well…" He said, grasping Kate's hand, "If I can finally convince her to let go and trust me. If she would believe that I'm her one and done, and that some things are worth fighting for…I'd head to the alter right now." He stared at her meaningfully, putting Kate on the spot.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, momentarily forgetting that they were on a case, forgetting that they were undercover and that the boys were watching. She leaned into him and placed a kiss to his lips, parting hers slightly and tasting him. Both of their hearts seemed to synchronize, time seemed to stop as they once again connected.

When she pulled back there was a strong ache within her and she knew that he wasn't speaking from anywhere but his heart. Richard Castle was making it clear that he was still hers for the taking, and every cell of her body urged her to do just that.

It took everything in Kate's power to not run from the table, she took a long sip of her wine in order to try gaining control of her emotions. Re-filling her glass, she managed to gain some semblance of normalcy. Kate longed for someone to change the subject and Melanie helped her out.

"So how did the two of you meet?" The young woman directed her attention to the boys, clearly showing her comfort and acceptance of their lifestyle choice.

Grateful for the shift of subject matter, both Castle and Beckett turned to look at the boys, eager to hear their story.

"Yes." Kate added coyly, "I'm very interested to know how you two fell in love. So spill." She let out the breath she'd been holding. She hated how he'd disarmed her so quickly, hated how he struck her core so easily. With another deep breath, Kate reached once again for her wine glass.


Ryan was embarrassingly detailed with his account of their love story, with a nearly Shakespearean drama to their romance. The star-crossed Latino fell for the handsome Irishman immediately, and there was no averting destiny.

Espositio looked like he wanted to punch something, but was wordless during most of the conversation.

"You must be the strong, silent type." Castle quipped at one point to mess with the detective, earning him a look that seemed polite on the surface, but spoke volumes of threat to those who knew him well. It spoke, "I'm a veteran who can kill you in your sleep."

It didn't deter Castle, who went on " when you meet the one, you just know". He spoke meaningfully. Kate remained ominously quiet.


By the time they got back to their room Kate was slightly tipsy, although not too far gone for good judgment, she figured. She reasoned that she wasn't too intoxicated to do her job. The alcohol just took the edge off a bit and helped her to deal with her close proximity to Castle.

Their dinner had set her on edge. He had done such a great job convincing the world how perfect they were for one another that she had trouble remembering her reasons why they weren't. The confusion she now felt, and the line he'd crossed only served to piss her off.

They were quiet once they returned to the privacy of their own room, the tension once again high. Sleeping arrangements weren't discussed and Kate didn't feel like speaking. With the alcohol running through her blood she was feeling hot and bothered. Hot, bothered and pissed off, she tried to unzip her dress.

She stilled when she felt his hands on her once again, unzipping the back of the garment. Instead of holding it against her body, Kate let it fall. She could hear his gasp of surprise at her, but he remained still and quiet. He was close enough for her to feel his breath, hot and moist against the back of her neck. Still feeling the effects of her irritation and confusion, Kate simply unhooked her bra and slipped out of her panties, never speaking.

The silence was broken suddenly with his grunt of surprise when she turned suddenly on him, shoving him against the wall and pressing her body against his. She ripped at the front of his button up shirt as she pillaged his mouth with her tongue.

Neurons in his brain were rapidly misfiring as his body responded to the feel of hers, hot, ready and naked. He was finally moved to motion when he felt her hand cup him firmly. She made no attempt to disguise what she wanted from him in that moment.

"Kate," he mumbled against her mouth, his hands grasping her hips. He held her with desperation, caught between trying to keep her close and back her up.

"Kate, what are you doing?" He questioned her.

"What do you think I'm doing?" She shot back at him, reaching her hand into his pants to grab and stroke him expertly.

"I know what you're doing, Kate. My question is why?" He pleaded with her to stop before he lost the ability to think. It was taking everything he had to not push her onto the bed and bury himself inside her, again and again until they were both mindless with ecstasy.

"Well obviously you want to Fuck, Castle." She shot at him, "after your little show at dinner tonight."

She pulled back enough for him to see the mix of lust and anger in her eyes, just barely masking the confusion and hurt. "You're my one and done?" She shot at him, "The heart wants what the heart wants?" She yelled again.

"I just figured if you wanted this so badly, I might as well give it to you." She kissed him again fiercely, her tongue demanding entrance into his mouth. "So where do you want to do it? The bed? The shower? It's a pretty small room, Castle." She spoke hotly.

Finally getting a grip on himself, he grabbed her wrists and pushed her off of him.

"Kate stop. Just stop and listen to me. You know I didn't say that to get you into bed. You know me better than that." He shot at her.

"Then why the hell are you doing this Castle?" She shouted at him. "You say you respect my decision? Then you pull a stunt like that? You say those words to me? In front of the boys?"

"That was no stunt, Kate. You know better than that!" He shot back, his voice rising.

"You know I love you, Kate. You know I love you... and you just expect me to back off!" His voice broke, but his anger was ever present.

"I honor your choice because I believe that you'll come to your senses. I stand by your side and do my job, not expecting anything more because I believe that we are right for each other. I believe that you will see that, Kate." He was shouting now, desperation in his voice.

"And you expect me to just take you against a wall like it is meaningless between us? You want a quick FUCK in the Shower?" He was on the verge of tears.

"How callous do you think I am, Kate?"

"Castle, Rick…I…" She began, but found no words.

"You know what, Kate. I love you. I love you, and you know that." He stared her down for a moment before adding,

"Figure out what you need to, but don't you ever, EVER think that what we have can be reduced to a quick Fuck."

With his final words he slammed the door, leaving her standing in the dark of their room, naked, confused and ashamed of herself.


He slept in a sun chair on deck, not able to bring himself to see her. After sunrise he made his way to the dining room, ordering himself an omelet and coffee, sipping on orange juice as he read the paper alone. Several minutes passed before he felt a presence beside him.

He raised his eyes from the paper upon hearing Esposito clear his throat. The look of pity on the detective's face told him that the argument between he and Kate was heard clearly through the thin walls of their stateroom.

"Hey man." Espo spoke as he sat down, ordering himself breakfast. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really." Castle offered, stirring his coffee absent-mindedly.

"How did it happen?" the detective asked softly, pressing Castle for details.

"Which part? How did we get together or how did we break up?" Upon hearing the confirmation of their relationship, Esposito sighed.

"Did you know?" Castle asked.

"I suspected, but we've all suspected for years." He offered, "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

Esposito poured himself a cup of coffee, pausing to add, "It's pretty awesome that you stuck around though."

Castle shrugged, "It just ended. Maybe I was fooling myself to believe that she would come to her senses." He quieted abruptly when he saw Kate and Ryan walking towards them. She looked exhausted and ashamed, but said very little as she sat next to him. Ryan took his seat across from Kate.

She turned her mug upright and poured herself a cup of steaming coffee from the pitcher on her table, mixing cream without a sound.

"I'm going to go hit the buffet." Ryan offered, eager to escape the tension only moments after sitting down.

"I'll join you, bro." Esposito added as he stood, leaving Castle and Beckett alone.

A few moments passed as Kate continued to prepare her coffee, Castle pretending to read the newspaper.

"Where did you sleep?" She asked finally.

"I found a chair on deck." He offered, not looking at her. There was no anger in his voice, only resignation.

She was silent again for a few moments before she started,

"Castle, I'm so sor"…

"Detective Kate Beckett?" a waiter approached her.

"yes?" She answered, curious that someone could identify her so easily.

"You have a phone call, ma'am."

Kate put her coffee cup down and rose from the table. Offering Castle an apologetic squeeze to the shoulder as she once again put her job above their relationship.

He watched her walk away sadly, unsure of how much longer he would have the strength to go on as they were. There was only so much he could take before he knew it would be time to walk away.


AN: For as low as I take them, there will be an equal high. Patience will result in fluff.