A/N: It's Beckett vs. Gates. Still don't own them.

By the time her name was called, Kate was frustrated and angry. Those feelings were shocked out of her when she heard the 'and Castle'. Despite her wishes, some of her alarm made it to her face and she couldn't help looking towards Rick and he seemed to be just as concerned. Why were they being called in together? They'd been careful to never appear as a couple in front of anyone who they didn't implicitly trust. She may have co-hosted Rick's poker parties but it had never gotten so much as a raised eyebrow and they'd never done anything to imply more than friendship. If the Chief of Detectives had any suspicions, he'd never done anything to indicate them to her. In fact, he'd given her a chance to enhance her résumé just days ago. What the hell was going on?

She forced all that down and went with her partner and tried to remain calm as Gates took her time looking at a couple of files. She did her best to ignore it completely, not wanting to give Gates any satisfaction in making her nervous. If Gates wanted a cool relationship, she could do that. In fact, she could do frigid pretty well; she was almost looking forward to it. She tried to push any anxiety about questions regarding her old captain out of her mind.

Abruptly, she looked at Kate and sternly said, "I trust you have turned everything you know about the case to the task force."

"Yes, … Sir." She caught herself barely in time, she'd almost said ma'am instead of sir.

"The text you received from Detective Esposito that night, what did it mean to you?"

"We knew that Raglan and McCallister were involved somehow and we were trying to find out more about them. We'd heard that they'd used to run with a third cop and it wasn't until that night that we found out that it was Montgomery."

"He was your captain, why weren't you already aware of this?"

"I'd never asked him specifically about it. He did tell us a little about them but I had no idea he might know more."

"He was aware of your investigation?"

"Of course, Sir." She really didn't like where this was going but she focused on not giving that fact away. She could see from the periphery of her vision that Rick was stoic and she had to do the same no matter how she felt.

"His call to you was only to come to the hangar and it was about the case, nothing else?"

"Yes, Sir."

Gates gave Kate a measuring look and then changed tacks. "I am very disappointed with the way this investigation went but it appears that is mostly the fault of someone who is dead. I'm not interested in going after innocent people or anyone's pensions; I just want to get to the truth."

"I'm sure his widow will appreciate that, Sir."

Off to the side she could see Rick's eyes widen as Gates narrowed her eyes at her. She certainly attracted a lot of attention with her remark but she couldn't bring herself to regret it at this moment. From the look on Gates' face though, that might change. Seconds went by as Gates stared at Beckett but then she abruptly focused on Rick. "And you, Mr. Castle. What did Captain Montgomery tell you about this case?"

"Are you referring to the call he made to me earlier the day he died?"

"Yes, that and any other conversations you had with him."

"He told me he was on to something but didn't give me details. I put everything in my statement that I gave that night."

"Why did he call you to tell you only that?"

"Even though I'm not a real police officer, both he and Beckett have treated me like her partner. He wanted to make sure I was aware of the situation."

She gave him a skeptical look and after a pause she continued. "The call seemed to last longer than the short conversation you documented. Do you care to clarify your statement, Mr. Castle?"

"I included everything relevant to the investigation, Captain."

"I'll be the judge of that. I want to know everything and I mean right this moment."

Kate saw him flash a rather apologetic look at her and she carefully suppressed all reaction. What was he about to do?

"He was concerned about Beckett's history with this case. He wanted to make sure that I knew how important it was to keep her from doing anything reckless. If anything else came up he'd make sure that I was as aware of it as Beckett."

Gates was giving him an intrigued look. "He was concerned about her following procedure?"

"No, he never brought that up. He was concerned about her well being."

She gave Kate a speculative look and murmured, "Seems like almost the same thing to me."

Fantastic. What a great first impression she was making with her new captain. She concentrated on not showing her anger, it wouldn't help now.

"On the other hand, the chief of detectives thinks highly of you, Detective. I can see for myself that your team has the highest closure rate not only in the precinct but in all of the NYPD. You were doing well on your own but your closure rate has improved since Mr. Castle started tagging along. You're also the youngest woman to make detective in all of the NYPD."

She had her answer for the first part ready but the last sentence threw her a bit. "Mr. Castle has been an asset to the team, Captain. As for me being the youngest, I didn't realize that anyone kept track of that."

"I held the previous record, Detective. I'm trying to say that I am impressed."

She sure didn't look or sound impressed but Kate wasn't about to argue with her. "Thank you, Sir."

"Despite all of that, I will not stand for anyone freelancing or disregarding procedure. Do I make myself clear, Detective?"

Kate had absolutely no doubt she meant that. "Yes, Sir."

Gate's glower transferred to Rick and she continued, "The same applies to you, Mr. Castle."

"Understood, Captain Gates."

"Detective, you were also acting Captain as I understand it. Is there anything you need to inform me about?"

"I haven't gotten any updates since my last report yesterday. If you've seen that, you are up to date."

"Very good, thank you."

She looked down at something on her desk as if done and simply said, "Dismissed."

They exchanged quick glances and took advantage of their opportunity to depart. Kate avoided looking at him again as she wanted to calm down before speaking to him. She sat and immediately focused on the paperwork she'd been working on when they were interrupted. She could tell Castle was fidgeting a little but she ignored it.

She was anxious about putting her team in Gates' crosshairs although it did appear they were not in imminent danger. Gates might suspect something but she apparently had no proof. She was still a little torn about how to feel about Roy but he'd been a good mentor and boss and she had given him honest, albeit impromptu forgiveness. She knew Evelyn and his kids too, how could she have let his legacy be dragged through the mud? On the other hand, didn't she owe even more loyalty to her team? She glanced towards Rick but looked back at her papers before he could meet her eyes. She was still angry about what had happened in Gates' office and she was mad at Gates, herself and Rick.

She knew she was making him worry but her thoughts and feelings were all over the place and she honestly didn't know what to do right now. Even though this shift seemed endless now, it would eventually end and she'd have to know what to say to him then. She realized she was still staring at the same page and gave up. She focused on working through her feelings hoping she would eventually know what to do.

Finally it was time to go and the departures were sudden and eerily quiet compared to normal days. Kate wanted some immediate privacy with Rick so she deliberately dawdled and Esposito and Ryan seemed to realize that and said their goodbyes quietly and left.