A/N: Short chapter I know, but I needed a set up. I don't know if there is gunna be anymore smut (collective sigh of despair :D) but I will try.
She had spent the night in his bed again. He wouldn't let her go and she didn't want to go. After an afternoon filled with laser tag (Rick didn't stand a chance with Alexis and Kate ganging up on him) and a wonderful dinner that they all helped cook, Kate was too content and sleepy to get up and leave his apartment.
They had gone to her place before work so she could change and dress appropriately, because turning up in a dress shirt and boxers that belonged to her partner was probably not the best dress attire for work as an NYPD Detective, though not before a very heated make-out session and another very heated and satisfying round in the shower. They both made sure not to leave any more marks, it was hard enough to hide the large one on her neck.
'You ready, Rick?' Kate asked anxiously. The plan was set. They had talked about it the evening before and come to an agreement. Everything was in place and they knew what they had to do. This was payback for all the comments and the pool and for Esplanie, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable with it; Rick wasn't either. But they had planned this together and they knew nothing they were about to say – well, yell – to each other was true.
They just needed to get through this with straight faces.
'No,' he told her before bringing her close and kissing her one last time. She gave into it. It was the strength she needed to get through the awful things she was about to say to him. She groaned in protest as he started to move away from her, so he closed the distance one more and kissed her lightly again.
'I love you.' He told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She smiled, amazed at how much her cheeks didn't hurt because that smile hadn't really left her face all weekend. 'I love you, too.'
'Ok, let's do it.'
The elevator pinged and that was their cue.
Kate marched quickly into the bullpen, stamping her heels enough to let the boys know not to mess with her. She was glad to see that Lanie had gotten her message and was there waiting for her.
'Beckett – Kate, please! Just let me explain!'
'No, Castle! I don't want to hear it! We're done! I can't take this anymore.'
'What's going on?' Lanie asked; her forehead crinkled with confusion as she looked between the pair.
'Oh, I'll tell you what's going on.' Kate huffed and threw her back on her desk next to where Lanie was sitting. 'He gives me the flu and as soon as he's better, he's out with some blonde bimbo!'
'Kate, please, it wasn't like that!'
'The hell it was, Rick!' she yelled back at him. They were inches from each other and she could feel his breath on her skin, reminding her of the weekend they had spent together. Get a grip, Kate!
'I thought you actually cared, Rick. I was obviously wrong. You said you wanted to wait for me, you offered! I thought maybe you had changed, but no; you're still the playboy just trying to get into every woman's pants. So go! Go back to the bimbo.'
'You know what?' he asked rhetorically. It was a cold tone, one she had only heard in her apartment after their massive fight; before she was shot. The look in his eye told her it was hard to conjure it up again, but he was doing a damned good job, because she got the same cold, sick feeling in her stomach now like she had back then.
'I'm done.' He said, holding up his hands in surrender. 'I'm sick of following you around and being treated like shit, Kate! I'm always there for you, and still you push me away, kicking and screaming. You won't let me explain and that's fine. You know me better than to think you'd be another conquest, Kate, but I should have realised that once you got a thought in that stubborn head of yours, it doesn't leave. So yes, now I'm done waiting for you.'
Rick turned on his heel without another word and took the stairs so he wasn't waiting with the precincts eyes on him.
Kate waited a full minute after he left, trying to look as shocked as possible, before huffing and grabbing her bag.
'I need to go.' She said quietly. All the eyes were now on her and she could hear whispers around her as she stood and waited for the elevator. She picked up 'pool' and 'jealous' and 'cheated' among other things. Maybe they should help Martha out with her acting school?
When she entered the elevator and turned, Kate saw Esposito, Ryan and Lanie huddled together looking shocked. Until her gaze found Gates; leaning against her doorframe, arms crossed across her body.
Crap! Kate thought. Oh, God!
And then she didn't care.
Gates be damned; Kate was happy for the first time in a very long time, so screw her. Their relationship had not interfered with the outcome of their cases, now that sex was involved, it wasn't going to change.
Reaching into her pocket as her phone buzzed, Kate smiled defiantly and didn't care what her boss thought.
I love you. I'm around the corner. Meet you at the Old Haunt – R
Looking back up as the doors closed, Kate noticed Gates' lip quirk. Was that a smile?
Victoria Gates just stood in the doorway of her office. She said nothing. Gates had just finished watching Beckett and Castle have it out in the middle of the bullpen. Beckett's team and Parish stood there with mouths agape like goldfish while Gates simply smirked.
'They're over?' Lanie asked the boys. 'What the hell is going on?'
Gates knew, though.
She knew Beckett and Castle fought, but they did it in private. She knew they had fought over the Mayor's case, but not once was it done in front of her team with raised voices.
Victoria may have been Internal Affairs for most of her career, but her daddy taught her well; she wasn't dumb. That row in the middle of the precinct was a ruse. Their relationship had shifted, and it wasn't apart like they hoped everyone would think. With the whispers around drowning out the office, they had done their job well.
As the doors closed on a Beckett with determination in her eyes and a small smile on her lips, Victoria allowed herself to return it as she was stared down by the detective. A small indication that she knew what was going on.
As much as she didn't like Richard Castle in her house, Beckett worked better with him there, and Gates wasn't going to get in the way of their happiness – Kate's happiness. She had already suffered in her short life, more than most people, and she deserved this.
So no, Gates wasn't going to break up their partnership as long as it didn't interfere with their work.
Maybe it was time to get in on that pool she wasn't supposed to know about...
'Alright, people. Show's over. Get back to work!'
A/N: I like Gates. I like her being a hard arse, and I know she has a soft spot for Kate and her team.
I don't know how I'm going to survive the cold winter without Castle (Enjoy the summer Northern Hemisphereians). Reruns will have to do :(