So I know that I said that patience would result in fluff, but I never anticipated another long break in writing. My work life has taken over my personal life and as a result no non-academic writing has gotten done. I'll try better in the future. I miss writing for fun.

Here is a brief synopsis to catch everyone up:

Castle and Beckett were caught dating by Gates and given an ultimatum… the job or their romantic relationship. Kate, afraid to lose everything, wants to go back to being partners. She's afraid to lose him completely, so she chooses what she believes carries less risk.

A string of murders have taken place, all couples that were married at the same hotel and honeymooning on the same cruise ship. There is another newlywed couple getting ready to set sail and a team is needed to go undercover and protect them/figure out what is going on.

While on board, Castle and Beckett are forced into close quarters,* pretending* to be in love. He speaks of his feelings for her during dinner with the couple they are protecting. It sets Beckett off and she tries to seduce him with sex to shut him up about his feelings. It backfires and they fight, he leaves the room and spends the night elsewhere on the ship. She tries to talk with him about it the following morning, but is interrupted by a phone call…


Her heels clacked harshly against the upper deck of the grand ship. What the hell is it with the interruptions? Kate Beckett thought bitterly to herself as she followed the staff member to take the unexpected call. It was certainly a curse that seemed to follow her relationship with Castle. No matter the circumstances, they always seemed to be interrupted at the worst possible times.

"Beckett." She answered the phone sharply, unsure of why anyone would risk blowing their 'lovers on vacation' cover to the staff by calling her on the boat. As it was, her true identity was a need to know basis. The fewer people who needed to know, the better. There was little they could do about Castle, he was simply too recognizable. Still, she was usually able to do as she pleased with little recognition and these types of calls jeopardized her ability to do that.

"Hey Kate, I'm sorry to bother you, but you're going to want to take my call." Lanie's voice sounded from the other end of the line.

"What's up Lanie?" Her voice became considerably less short.

"You're on speaker." Came the voice of Victoria Gates.

"Good morning sir." Kate added, now that she knew her boss was in on the conversation. "What's going on?"

"Well," Lanie began to explain, "We recovered one of the bodies and got a finger print. It is a match for a member of the kitchen staff."

"Great. What's the name? We'll pull him in for questioning." She wasn't sure where they would do it, but knew that they would have little problem securing a room for the purpose somewhere on the ship.

"Detective, " Gates interjected, "The print matched a cook who happened to be off duty this time around, he lives in the city and we were able to pull him in for questioning." The older woman explained, "Things certainly have gotten more interesting, detective."

Kate sighed and took in the information. Indeed, things had gotten more interesting.


She approached the boys, who were finishing up their breakfast while Castle remained immersed in whatever newspaper article he was reading. She suspected that he was using the paper as an excuse to avoid eye contact the knowledge made her sick to her stomach.

"Let's head back to the room and discuss things." She instructed them before walking away, not waiting for them to catch up to her. She knew they would soon enough and now that they had a plan, everything was going to change anyhow.

Kate had been informed that the cook confessed to being involved in the disappearance of the newlywed couples, but adamantly denied being the mastermind. He also implicated the involvement of a waiter on the ship, one that was currently working.

"So, " Kate began once they had joined her in the cabin. "We have a confession, sort of." She took a deep breath and began to clarify,

"Fredrick Georges, a chef who alternates in the main dining hall has confessed to being involved. We found his prints on one of the bodies and he happened to be in the city this trip. They brought him in for questioning, but he still won't give details to implicate that he committed a murder."

Three pairs of eyebrows raised with surprise, listening intently to the details.

"Fredrick Georges has indicated to Gates that he had a partner in crime." Kate opened a folder that held the contents faxed to her by the NYPD.

" Thomas Anee," she began as she passed his photo. "He's a kitchen staff member who is currently serving on this ship, and is said by Georges to have done most of the dirty work. He's got several priors, some for assault and battery, so there is a history of violence on this one." She explained.

"So what's our next move?" Ryan asked as he passed the photo to his partner.

"Well, we've got a unique opportunity here because our cook also implicated that both of them were actually hired to do the job."

"Hired?" Castle spoke up with interest as he took the file from Esposito, who had finished glancing at it.

"Evidently, Georges is adamant that he was paid for his involvement. We were able to verify transactions of ten thousand dollars to his account, each surrounding the disappearance of a couple."

"Paid for by who?" Ryan questioned.

"Alice Reed and Miller Moss." Beckett explained, providing photographs of the individuals in question.

"The owners of the Wingate Hotel?" Castle asked incredulously. Beckett nodded affirmatively.

"Evidently, they are not big fans of couples who have it all." She added.

"So what is our next move?" Esposito interjected.

"Gates wants us to try to get a confession out of Thomas Anee, she wants us to get him to implicate the Wingate owners while we're still at sea. If their stories match up then we've got a case against them. It shouldn't be too difficult, considering we've got his partner in crime, as well as his financials."

"What about Robert and Melanie Craine?" Ryan questioned, "Are they a target?" He was clearly concerned for the newlywed couple they had dined with the night before.

"Well, evidently not. They don't have enough money or clout to be considered potential victims, or at least that is our understanding." She explained before adding, "but we're not taking chances. We've got to get our suspect secured for questioning and we've got to do it before we dock for our first excursion."


Ryan and Esposito high-fived one another as they walked out of the small room later that day. The small door was now guarded by security. Their concern was very low, however, as Thomas Anee was now in cuffs, having confessed and confirmed the story of their other suspect.

"Nothing like wrapping up a case, nice and clean." Esposito stated confidently, sweeping his hands together as if wiping them of their case.

"Yep," Beckett noted happily, "tomorrow, when we dock in Key West we'll fly him back to the city." The State is already building a bigger case against the owners of the Wingate Hotel."

They made their way up to dinner, resolute to enjoy their last night on the ship and safe in the knowledge that nobody was under direct threat. Kate was determined to sit down with Castle and clear the air once and for all. As they sat at the table, Castle cleared his throat.

"Hey , Beckett." He began, "Since we're done I thought that I would just get another room. There isn't a need to keep up pretenses if we've got our guy. I spoke with the captain and they are completely willing to grant us this small favor for our help." His words slapped her across the face. He carried a short tone and an expression that was reminiscent of the previous year, back when he was working with Slaughter. It was a tone that she never wanted to hear again.

"Yeah, they are giving me my own room too!" Ryan happily added, yelping at the elbow Esposito landed to his side before noting the forlorn look on Beckett's face.

She said little, just nodding. "Good."

Truth be told, Kate didn't know what to feel. A part of her was relieved that they wouldn't have to share another night together, but an even bigger part felt pain. It simply felt wrong to be away from him. You did this, she thought bitterly to herself. He's gone now and it's your fault. You made the choice, so live with it. Unable to manage her emotions much longer, Kate stood quickly,

"I am feeling a little tired. I think I'll retire for the evening." She turned to leave, but paused again.

"Castle, your stuff?" She asked him, desperate for some time alone although she knew it would do no good.

"Already moved." He answered shortly.

She simply nodded, unable to control her tears as she quickly turned from them and walked away.


The next evening, after a long day of travel back to the city, Kate Beckett was ready to crash. Castle had long since gone home, getting as much space from her as possible, as soon as possible. Kate found it ironic that she'd chosen their partnership in order to lessen the risk of losing him altogether; and as it turned out, her choice may have pushed him out of her life for good.

The detective was ready to crawl into a hole and lick her wounds, which were arguably self-inflicted when she'd chosen the job over Castle. She blamed nobody but herself, but it didn't change things. She needed time alone to process, pull herself together and move on. She doubted she ever truly would.

Kate was getting ready to do just that when she heard Gates calling her name.

"Detective Beckett." She didn't like the tone in her boss' voice. It hinted of more work to come, and in this case, more work was the last thing she needed.

"Yes, Sir." She spoke.

"Join me in my office, won't you?" She nodded, placing her jacket and purse back on her desk before she made her way to Gates' office. When she entered, she was surprised to find mayor Weldon sitting in a chair, smiling broadly at her.

"Good afternoon, detective." He cheerily spoke as he offered her his hand, shaking it firmly.

"Good afternoon sir. It is nice to see you again." She spoke shortly, but politely.

"We've got an interesting opportunity here, detective Beckett." Gates spoke up, slapping a tabloid down on her desk. Kate looked at the paper, gasping as she noticed a photo that she and Castle had taken on the boat for formal night. There they were, smiling while he wrapped his arms around her. Clearly looking the part of a couple in love. It was all posed, of course, but the casual observer would never be able to tell.

"Sir?" Kate asked, not understanding what the photograph had to do with anything. Afterall, her boss knew that they were undercover.

"Detective, we've got two suspects whose stories line up. We've got the owners of this hotel implicated in a total of 6 murders." Mayor Weldon began to explain, "the minute word gets out that they're even suspected, their lawyers will descend, bury the state in paperwork and shred any case we've got against them. We're dependent on the word of two ex-cons, one of which has a violent crime record."

Kate did not like where this was going, but respectfully listened to the mayor.

"Detective Beckett, if we want to get these guys, we've got to catch them in the act."

Gates cleared her throat, "We have worked out a deal with both suspects, they are willing to cooperate with us in exchange for reduced sentences. We have the chance to catch the true people responsible at the Wingate in the act, hiring our lower-level suspects to commit double murder." Kate nodded in understanding.

"We just need a power couple. We need someone who is visible, someone who is wealthy. We need to find a couple who matches the profile of who they victimize." Mayor Weldon spoke meaningfully to Beckett. Obviously he was thinking of someone like Castle, and he tapped his fingers on their picture in the paper to prove it.

"Sir," she raised her objection, "I don't think that this is such a good idea…"

"Why not? Who better to go in than someone who can be protected? He's already a target by virtue of his success. Your pictures are all over the papers. Everyone will be talking about you two, and this is the perfect opportunity. Besides, people have suspected that the two of you were an item for years" the mayor insisted.

Gates looked sympathetically at her best detective, understanding the true nature of the dilemma. After this was over she was going to have a long conversation with the mayor, as well as with the chief of detectives in order to formulate some workable solution to their predicament.

"If you were to do this, you could solidify this case for the state. Six innocent people have already died because of them." Gates implored Beckett.

She sighed in resignation. "What about Castle. I'm not going to volunteer him for something that he didn't-"

"I've already called him." The mayor spoke up, "He understands the need we have, and is willing to do whatever he can to help this city."

Kate nodded, a pit forming in her stomach. "So what do we need to do?"


She opened the door to her apartment and let out an exhausted sigh. She just wanted to put this all behind her, and now here she was, preparing herself to put on an indefinite charade. Tomorrow morning the story would be leaked to the press.

Richard Castle, famous millionaire bachelor and his inspiration, Kate Beckett, are engaged and currently planning their wedding! The couple has been suspected of being romantically linked for years, and now that there is finally proof, things seem to be moving quite fast! Rumor has it that the author and his bride wish the ceremony to be held at the fabulous Wingate Hotel.

He'd texted a simple message shortly after she'd left the precinct. The door is locked, but you should still have a key. The guest room is prepared. Nothing more, nothing less was said and she hurt all over again.

Given the press attention that he got, it was decided that it would seem more realistic if she were living at the loft, afterall, Castle had a history with women and reporters were bound to try and dig up dirt on them both.

She sighed as she threw some of her things into a bag. She paused in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Swallowing back the fresh wave of dread, she grabbed her tooth brush and a few other odds and ends.

She locked her apartment up and made her way to the loft. Just last week this would have been common place, but now she was going under very different circumstances. Kate Beckett knew one thing for sure, this time there was no way her heart would survive. It was already shattered, and it was all her fault.