Disclaimer: Yeah right. I don't own Castle.

A/N: [If anyone does review: please, no spoilers.] Wow, finisheitt his chapter, it was a struggle! For what it's worth, the last chapter has been written (but not the penultimate one...) ;-) Very interesting that the 'Demming' chapter is the least read, very interesting indeed... Apparently he's even less popular than 'Vaughn' ;-)

The rest of the evening had gone spectacularly well, they remained glued to each others sides throughout the night. As soon as they had left the podium Rick had removed his jacket to drape around her shoulders, and she had pulled it tight about herself, not just to cover her now rather conspicuously marked chest, but also to be wrapped up in the warm of him.

Rick had even insisted the track down Vaughn to thank him for attending their big night, he had given them a begrudging congratulations. Kate supposed gloating was appropriate now and then; and this was probably one of those times. Even being near Vaughn still made her a little queasy given their history, but with Rick's arm around her waist that was bearable.

The only disappointment for Kate was mild at best, he escorted her home and then declined her invitation to join her for coffee or a night cap. He insisted instead that they go on a special date, for her this time, and he'd make all the arrangement personally. She felt a touch of let down, but he spent some time consoling her against her apartment door before bidding her goodnight for the evening. Now she had another date to look forward to, just the two of them this time.

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"Beckett! My office. Now!"

Beckett had a sneaking suspicion she knew what Gates was upset about as she entered her homocide bull-pen the next morning, it didn't take a trained detective to figure it out. The suspicion was confirmed when a copy of the NY Post was laying on the captains desk, flipped open to Page 6.

"Normally Beckett, I wouldn't care what you got up to in your off duty hours. Provided those activities don't cast a poor light of the NYPD."

"Sir..."

"Not interested in your explanation Beckett, don't let it happen again. That it was Mr Castle is however, problematic, since he is involved in your work here."

"Sir, he's not my partner, Detective Irons is."

"Was Beckett, he turned in retirement paperwork last night, fortunately before this... Sharpie incident. As did detective Neals. They are going to open a bait shop in Florida or something, it doesn't matter. It creates a problem for me, losing two senior detective on different teams. Until I saw this...," at which point Gate slams her hand down on the photo, "I had every intention of pushing you into one of those spots. What would the press think of that? 'Nikki Heat promoted after Sharpie-Gate incident'. It couldn't have come at a worse time."

Beckett's mind had temporarily panicked; so close, so close to being a team leader again. She felt none of the tension she expected though, no regret at all; last night had been worth whatever consequences she had to face. Things had certainly gone a little beyond the supportive night she'd had in mind, and the morning shower still hadn't entirely removed the signature; but she had needed the push as much as Rick, and she did not begrudge herself that.

"Get out Beckett. Let me try and fix this mess."

As Beckett stood to leave, Gates once again slammed her hand down on her desk in another very uncharacteristic show of anger, "Beckett, no, sit!"

Beckett thought it best not to point out she was not a dog in reaction to that, so instead she just took the seat as instructed.

"I am irritated Beckett, exasperated at you. I expected better public behavior from you. However, I am not going to let PR dictate my personnel decisions. Irons and Neals leave at the end of the week, at that point I'll be making you senior detective of a group, yes you'll be jumping line but that's my problem to deal with, not yours. You'll have your choice of two of the remaining detectives form the combin.."

Beckett interrupted quickly, "Ryan and Esposito sir."

"That's great Beckett, but perhaps you should consult them about it before making unilateral decisions impacting their careers?"

"Yes sir, I will."

"Get back to me by the end of the day with your choices, and Beckett, with their responses."

"Thank you sir. Thanks for the opportunity again."

"Dismissed Beckett, go deal with this. Now."

Beckett stood briskly, energized, and started to exit Gates' office; ready to leave and talk to her former teammates.

"Oh, and Beckett? Tell Mr Castle not to come in to the precinct."

Beckett froze solid, "Sir?"

Gates gestured her out of he office, with a few final words, "What did you expect after that performance last night?"

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Beckett walked over to her desk and slumped down into the chair. What had happened? One minute she had lost the opportunity to have her old job back, but regretted none of it because the why had brought her closer to Rick; then next she had the job at the expense of losing so much of her time with Rick.

She needed to talk to him, she really needed to see him; but she had to talk to him before he came into the precinct today. She grabbed her phone and headed into the break room to find some privacy, hitting speed dial #1 on the way.

"Good morning Kate, sleep well?"

"Castle," this was important, related to the precinct, she had to try to depersonalize it somehow, to not make it about them, "Gates saw photos of last night. She doesn't want you to come in to the precinct." There, it was out.

"Well I can't say I'm surprised Kate."

"What?" She was a little shocked, he was taking it so well, when she was almost terrified of the thought of them becoming more distant again.

"It'll probably all blow over in a few days Kate, and well, if it doesn't, we'll manage somehow."

"I thought you'd be upset Rick, you were worried about this, trouble at work; you worried about it last night."

"Kate, I was worried you would get into trouble at work, not that it would cause any problems for us. I don't love you because of the work Kate."

She'd been struck absolutely speechless, so Rick continued, "Did you get into trouble Kate?"

Kate resumed speaking, hesitantly, "No, well yes, but not much; I'm being promoted Rick; senior detective at the end of the week, back leading a team again."

"That's great Kate, that's why you came back to the NYPD isn't it?" At that point there was an audible beep, apparently from Rick's phone, "Sorry, Alexis is calling now. I'll talk to you later ok? I'll have some lunch sent over for you - make sure you eat Kate."

He hung up as she remained silent. She sat for a while staring at her phone, still a little stunned by the events of the day so far. Kate felt that yes, today she had been granted a large part of what she came back to New York and the NYPD to rebuild, but it wasn't the promotion.

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It took Kate a few minutes to gather her thoughts and refocus on what else she was supposed to be doing: recruiting Ryan and Esposito back to team Beckett. She stuck her head out of the break room, and saw both of them working away on paperwork at their desks.

"Guys! Ryan, Espo,can I have a word?" She gestured for them to come into the break room and started making herself a fresh coffee and they wrapped up the documents they were working on.

"Yo Beckett, what do you need?" Esposito had definitely warmed back up to her over the last month, they had shared the occasional drink, sometimes just the boys and her after a late shift, sometimes including Castle in the mix. They had all spent some time together at the book signing last night, and the feeling of togetherness there was unmistakable to her: they all belonged together. She had missed that camaraderie, and it was time in her mind to finally put all the pieces back together again.

"I assume you know by now that Irons and Neals are leaving? Official retirement at the end of the week?"

Ryan was first to respond, "Sure Beckett, Neals told us last week." Interesting, Neals had told them, Irons had told her nothing, but then they'd only been working together about a month.

"Well, I don't know how to say this any other way. Gates has offered me one of the senior detective spots, the opportunity to lead a team again, and the opportunity to offer two slots in the team. To you guys, I want you to work with me again. I want to work with you again."

Ryan glanced at Espo before speaking up, "Look Beckett, we made a great team before, but I don't know; we got why you took the job, more prestige, national cases, but when you left if felt like we weren't good enough, you wanted better."

Beckett wasn't shocked, but she'd talked it out with Espo already, or so she thought, "Guys, it wasn't like that."

Espo broke before she could continue, "Beckett, we get it, you and me, we talked. We just aren't sure it's the best idea, working on the same floor, the same squad, ok. On the same team though, you sure that's good idea? You trust us to have your back?"

"Woah! It was never about that guys! I've always, always trusted you to watch my back. Maybe I didn't, no I definitely didn't handle leaving years ago like I should. Maybe I haven't handled this as well as I could. I want to work with you. Gates gave me options, before she even finished speaking I asked for you guys. You are my first any only choices here."

They each paused, considering options, before Ryan spoke softly again, "Ok, I think we know we can do this, maybe it'll be a little nerve wracking at first; but hey if Castle can provide some relief that could break the tension right?"

Beckett remained silent, hoping that everything would blow over, and everything else would work out.

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The week flew past, Beckett stuck in the precinct completing a backlog of paperwork, all of which had to be finished before Irons official retired at the end of the shift Friday. She only saw Castle once during the week, a dinner a Remy's where they each expressed a desire for Friday to come a little sooner. He'd walked her home afterwards, kissed her goodnight, more than once; she'd returned the sentiment.

Gates had given Beckett and her prospective new team the weekend off, they would be required to return to on-call activities first thing Monday morning. She and Rick had agreed that'd he stay away from the precinct for the week, he'd lie low, see if the whole mess blew over.

To Kate that weekend off felt like fate had granted her a massive favor, her date with Rick was set for Friday night, a later dinner after the shift had ended, no chance of running late since it was all paperwork for the dissolving team at this point. Friday night dinner, then Saturday and Sunday work free, she was already dreaming of the possibilities.

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At the end of the shift on Friday Beckett practically flew out of the precinct, she had two hours until Rick was picking her up, times to shower, dress, change her mind, dress again and repeat a few times. In the end Kate was quite happy: only two changes required, the only problem was that left her done, dressed and ready over half an hour early. Leaving her plenty of time for pacing, second guessing wardrobe choices, and worrying about how the night would go.

Rick wasn't doing much better, and his writers mind was starting to go wild, without having the luxury of paperwork boredom to distract him he'd been flip flopping shirt colors for four hours; creating mental scenarios for why each color was perfect or terrible, or both. He though he might have gone crazy again, something about the thought of seeing Kate in a few hours seemed to have pushed him over the edge into crazyville. Blue, he finally decided. Definitely purple. Definitely. Definitely. Now he sounded like Rainman. Fabulous.

Richard Castle had gone insane, so Kate told him when he picked her up in a horse drawn carriage. A horse a carriage! She was not a tourist, and what's more she hissed at him, they smell. Not a great start to evening, he thought, but she looked really good from what he could see around the coat. Of course, he knew she looked good anyway, so he wasn't really learning anything new.

"Where are we going Castle?"

Castle? Clearly she's irritated at him, more than a little bit, damage control time, "You look absolutely beautiful tonight Kate! Ravishing!"

"Ok, nice try Rick, just the carriage was a little bit too much ok? You didn't answer though, evaded."

"I wanted it to be a surprise, but I suppose you'll see it coming anyway. We're going to Q."

"As in Maddie's new place? That Q?"

"Yes, I asked, she's put a special menu together for us tonight. She asked for a theme. I told her aphrodisiacs."

Kate's jaw dropped, "Tell me you are joking Rick. Tell me now!"

"Wait and see Kate, we're almost there."

He had decided to pull out all the stops tonight, and admitted to himself that maybe, just maybe he'd gone a little overboard. Rick honestly hasn't meant to say those words earlier in the week, he'd expected to save them for a special occasion; but they'd been a part of him so long now, even when buried deep in anger, that they'd simply slipped out when he was distracted but other worries. Once out in the open though, and he knew Kate had reacted to them, well now it was time to back them with action. He believed the precinct issue would work itself out, turn into a simple short-term PR squall rather than a long-term problem, and well, if Gates did try and make a big issue for it, he still had strings to pull. Favors to call from freinds, such as the Mayor, who had seemed genuinely happy for him after the events of the night.

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They finally arrived, Rick helped her down from the carriage, hands in her hips instead of simply offering his hand as he had when helping her board.

The restaurant was relatively small, but beautifully appointed. Their reservation, under Becks, was ready to go. When finally seated they were relaxed, sipping cocktails, only one she insisted, and eager to begin the gastronomic experience Maddie had promised.

The first course was oysters. He really had, he really had told Maddie to use an aphrodisiac theme. She was going to kill him. Later. After later. But she was definitely going to kill him. Maybe torture him a little first. Slowly.

Rick excused himself during the third course, just as Maddie approached, he apologized but well, he had to use the little boys room.

"So Becks, what's the story? I thought you two got together years ago?"

"I.. We did, then I took a job on DC a few years back, left, moved on; it was a huge mistake Maddie. One I'm still trying to rebuild from. Tonight is a big night."

"I thought last night was the big night. In saw the photos Becks!"

"Maddie please, that was... not a mistake, I don't regret it, but it wasn't exactly well planned on my part."

"I can't believe you let it happen! Photos too! You still have the hots for him don't you Becks?"

"No Maddie, not the hots, I love him. So much more than just being hot for him."

"Wow Becks, I'm happy for you. Have you told him?"

"No. Not yet. Well, yes, years ago, but not recently, not since we've been back together. I will, I waited so long the first time, I'm not making the same mistake twice."

When Rick rejoined then they all chatted for a few moments before Maddie left, giving Kate a wink as she walked away behind Rick. Dinner progressed, they touched hands occasionally, Kate trying to work up the nerve to verbalize what she wanted, and needed to say.

Only during dessert, when she felt a sense of time ticking away did she finally work up her courage, this would be hard. "Rick, I have something to say. Something I should have said more often before, to you. Something I've never told any boyfriend but you."

Seeing that Kate was getting nervous, Rick reached across the to lightly grasp her hands, a slight squeeze gave her the confidence to continue. "Then you said it the other day, so normally, I don't even know if you realized Rick. You said it so casually, like it was just a foregone conclusion, just so part of who you are that saying it was automatic. I want it to be automatic to me too, if you'll be patient with me I know I'll get there."

She freed one hand to reach for her wine, take a comforting sip, and return it to Rick's grasp; grateful that he had remained silent, waited for her, been patient for more than just that moment, "Rick. I do. I do love you."

Rick slowly withdrew his hands from hers, leaned back, smiling widely at her. Then he lifted one hand into the air; and completely inappropriately for such a fine restaurant, proclaimed loudly, "Check please!"

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Rick's regular town car was waiting for them as they exited the restaurant, not the carriage, and after a quick negotiation, both promptly slid into the back seat, Rick giving simple directions to the driver, "Back to Detective Beckett's apartment please James."

They rode in silence, sitting side by side just enjoying the company; Kate eventually placed her hand lightly on Rick's thigh, but doing nothing more. Rick placed his hand over hers. Touchdown! Wow, Rick thought he might be getting a little too wound up for the back of the car.

There was no offer of a nigh-cap, or coffee this time as they walked up to Kate's apartment. She had honestly been a little torn, Ricks's bed was so soft, the linens so fine; but there was always a chance of an interruption, and she had plans. Two days worth of plans that did not need interrupting. So she had decided on her place, and dropped some heavy hints that she'd make it worth his while; he hadn't taken much convincing.

Getting in the door of her apartment was troublesome, it was apparent she wasn't on a date with Rick, but an octopus. Hands everywhere, more than should be possible. When inside she shoved Rick away rather abruptly, buying her enough time to take her coat off.

They stood watching each other, before Kate slowly beckoned Rick closer, as he approached she turned him so his back was towards her bedroom, so she could control the direction of their movement. Enough time had passed.

Kate slowly started pushing Rick backward in the direction of her bedroom, "Come on Rick, don't make this any harder on you than it needs to be."

Rick was backing up slowly, not in any hurry, not feeling any need to rush, "Why Miss Beckett, whatever do you have in mind? Something innocent? Or not so? You just want to make some little Castle babies don't you?"

She let out a peal of laughter, genuine delight, "Not tonight Rick, but someday I'd love that option."