A/N: Alright, I hope I got this right. Not sure if I did, I'm new at this. I thought about how to write these scenes like a million times. Thanks for your comments.

***Castle isn't mine

Beckett strode into the precinct a little later than her norm the following morning due to her late night with Lanie. Since they left the club earlier than expected, the two ended up going to Lanie's for more wine and some detailed girl talk about Lanie and Esposito's new affair. Lost in her thoughts, she failed to notice Castle was already waiting patiently by her desk, sipping a coffee.

"Good morning Detective," Castle smiled.

"Castle," Kate answered, surprised, "you're here early."

"Figured you would need your coffee as soon as possible after last night."

Kate bit her lip trying to hide her smile. He could be so sweet sometimes.

"What happened last night?" Esposito but in. No one had noticed him approaching Beckett's desk.

"Uh, girl's night, with Lanie." Kate forced out, trying to sound like Castle's coffee kindness hadn't just made her want to hug him.

Esposito gave them a weird, disbelieving look before realization washed over his face when he remembered Lanie telling him last night at dinner that her and Kate were going out.

"Right, so you want to hear what we did after you took a vacation yesterday?" Esposito jested.

"Of course Espo, get on with it." Kate waved her hand, symbolizing just so as she grabbed her coffee off her desk and took a large sip.

"Well, first, Gates told us to go scout out the vic's apartment. He's got a nice place in Soho, definitely makin' some money. Nothing seemed amiss. There were no clues as to anything weird that might have happened to him. No signs of a struggle either so my guess is that it's not where he was knocked out. We did find a bunch of legal papers that looked like they had something to do with his divorce. A legal expert was not available yesterday, so he is looking at them now."

"Okay, so we still haven't found the scene of the crime. Did you guys look into his company?"

"Yep," answered Ryan, joining in the conversation, "but we couldn't find any more detail than what Ms. Flanders provided us with. The only thing we know is that the company has been slowly losing money and downsizing as a result. There is a rumor that they are considering partnering with E&G to stay afloat."

"Maybe that's what the disagreement is about, whether to partner with E&G or not? That provides motive for Alec's business partner." Castle added.

"We need to talk to him," Beckett responded turning to look at Castle.

"Well before you run off, there's more. We also ran financials and telephone records. Nothing popped on financials, except that he was paying a boatload for his divorce lawyer, which means there must have been something more at stake than legally becoming unwed."

"Dammit, I was going to tell you guys to check out his marriage documents and financials yesterday because Paige's story didn't sound right to me, but I must have forgotten in everything that happened."

"Beckett, its fine," Castle assuaged, "I forgot too."

"Ugh. When I heard Paige's reason as to why the process was taking so long it sounded off. She said they were haggling because of difference in income, since Alec made way more than her, but I don't think that is a good reason for a 2 month long divorce."

"I agree, we'll look into that. Maybe those legal papers we found in Alec's loft will tell us something." said Ryan, "One last thing though, phone records. Nothing unusual. Coinciding with Lanie's t.o.d, his phone didn't receive or make any calls after 8 PM on Monday. We think the killer broke it because it doesn't even go to voicemail when called like a turned off phone would."

"Okay, good work boys. I think Castle and I will head down to talk with Alec's business partner, while you guys look into the marriage mess."

"Sounds good boss."

"Oh and Beckett," Esposito spoke up, "I've been thinking about this a lot since the uh, Lockwood incident, and I was wondering, how the hell did you and Castle get past the guards?" He finished his question with a slight glimmer in his eye as he faced both Beckett and Castle whose faces had completely blanched.

"Yeah I mean, without just shooting him from a distance, how did you get close enough to knock him unconscious?" Ryan added.

Both boys looked expectantly at their two colleagues. Beckett was at a loss, she had no clue what to say. She was praying that Castle's imagination would kick in and he would somehow cover both their asses.

"Simple, we acted like drunk people." Castle said. Well, that was half true. It was the original plan. Kate let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Alright," Espo nodded along, "I could see that working," he said pretending to believe them. "You would think that you guys kissed or something, the way your two faces turned ghostly, geesh." Espo laughed.

Him and Ryan smiled and turned away, feeding the birds once they got to a safe distance.

"Lanie was right. They definitely never talked about it."

"I know bro, you see their faces? I wish I'd had a camera."


T&S Solutions was only about 9 blocks from the precinct so Beckett and Castle decided to walk. It was near the end of January so the weather in Manhattan had a bit of a bite. Lucky for them, the sun was shining despite the snow on the ground and the wind chill factor that made it feel a few degrees cooler than it actually was. Beckett was huddled in her coat trying to keep her hands warm as her heels clicked down the sidewalk defiantly. Her pace was quickened for two reasons: she wanted her time alone with Castle to be as short as possible and well it was freezing outside. Not even a block away from the precinct Castle spoke up.

"So, the boys know…"

"Yeah, Lanie does too. She's the one who told me they knew."

"What?"

"Mhm"

"How did they…?"Castle started, entering into his thoughts. She could see his mind going through the different possibilities trying to figure it out. It was like when he was trying to build theory for a case. His eyes would space out while his brow furrowed. He looked adorable. Where did that come from? Kate wondered. She's been catching herself thinking thoughts like that far too often recently.

"I didn't say anything, you didn't say anything. How…?"

"Apparently it is in the guard's witness report," Kate grumbled.

"Oh"

Silence. Castle's mind was at a fork in the road. Either talk about it, or don't. He had been wanting to bring it up since it happened but every time he tried, he lost the courage. Now that it was out in the air, he might as well; what do I have to lose? He thought. Your best friend. Crap.

"Kate?"

Castle stopped walking and looked at the beautiful woman ahead of him. She turned, eyebrow raised, soundlessly asking 'what'. The look in his eyes told her exactly what he was about to discuss. The very subject she wanted to avoid. Quickly averting her eyes, she glanced down the sidewalk behind him. A couple of shops down, a man walked out, with blond hair and blue eyes. He stopped out in front and then turned in Kate's direction.

It was Blondie, from the club.

Kate's eyes widened in realization while her face once again lost a few shades of color. Castle noticed her change in expression and turned around to see what was the matter. Not seeing anything unusual he turned back around with a confused look upon his face.

"What's wrong Kate?"

"Castle, let's go, now." She quickly grabbed his arm just as he heard a man's voice call out 'Kate!'. Kate slid her hand down and grabbed his hand, while her other reached across her body to latch onto his upper arm and her head tipped down to rest on his shoulder. She was pressed into his side as they speed-walked down the sidewalk.

"Kate, not that I mind, but this touching thing is a little different for you. And why are we speed-walking? And who is that guy?"

"Creeper from the club Lanie and I went to last night. He wouldn't leave me alone so Lanie and I finally just had to leave."

"So, you're clinging to me thinking he will go away?"

"Yes, Castle, is he still following?"

"uh, yeah, he's bumping through people trying to catch up."

"Shit"

They still had a ways to go before they reached T&S Solutions and before they would be able to get there, the man would definitely catch up. Maybe he needed a stronger signal to back off? Castle thought. Before Beckett knew what was happening, Castle had steered her over to the wall of the hotel they were passing and flipped her around so her back was pressed against it. They were still holding hands so Castle reached with his other to cradle her cheek and then brushed it back to her neck. Her eyes widened as it clicked in her mind what he was about to do, but she didn't want him to stop.

He leaned in, tilting her head forward to meet his and kissed her like he did just one week ago. His lips moved perfectly against hers as he pressed her back into the wall with the rest of his body. She let go of his hand and wrapped both arms around his neck, running one hand through his hair. This time, there wasn't tongue, but it didn't matter. It was just as passionate as their first fake kiss. They broke apart for air and rested leaving only an inch of space between their lips.

"I didn't think it was possible top our first kiss, but that was somehow even better," Castle murmured.

A crimson blush began to creep up Kate's neck and flow into her cheeks as she fought a smile. Castle stepped back, being the gentleman he is, and offered his arm to continue their walk. Kate wrapped her arm through his and fell into step beside him, glancing over her shoulder to check for Blondie.

He was nowhere in sight.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please Please, pretty please comment! They are my motivation to keep this going.