After Rita departed, Kate was left in a quandary. The thing with Castle was what she thought she wanted, but did she have the commitment to sustain it. She had walked out on them allegedly to protect him and his family, but recent events had her questioning her motivation. As Rita pointed out, she had been complicit in a planned hit. She was feeling no revulsion or remorse. Her recent forays into the spy world had been satisfying, but hardly fitting for a life with Castle and his family.

These were ruinous thoughts. When Cole Maddox had left her on that rooftop, she had made her choice. Her relationship with Castle was paramount, and she needed to put right what she so arrogantly put asunder. In short order she needed to inform Castle that LOKSAT was no more. While that sounded simple enough, she knew the actual task would be daunting. At first he would be wildly overjoyed, but then the interrogation would begin. He was all about the story, and in this case, there could be no truthful story.

On the Castle front, the best plan was to keep it as simple as possible, and that meant invoking his father as the bearer of the good news. Technically, that was actually true. From her own interrogation experience, she knew the more concise the alibi the better. From that standpoint, the best answer was to say that the news came out of the blue because both knew Jackson loved the element of surprise. From there, she could just fain ignorance. How was she to know where he found out about her investigation or LOKSAT? He simply told her and disappeared - nothing remarkable about that.

That week her usual meeting with Vikram went off as scheduled. Work stuff and the usual security sweep were done in minutes, and both then offered updates on their efforts to unwind their investigative efforts. She had begun by taking small loads of written records on her bike to various outer borough shred shops, and Vikram reported erasing large portions of his web footprint. At the end of the meeting, Vikram remarked about how glad he was about their change of heart. From her prospective that part of her plan was moving just as she hoped.

During the next weekend, she finally decided to invite Castle to the crater for a takeout meal and the big reveal. It offered many advantages. There would be no interruptions, and the thick walls would provide some degree of privacy if they needed to vent. It also allowed them space to walk around which she found particularly helpful in stressful situations like with Dr. Burke. She called the following Monday, and they settled on meeting that Thursday night.

That evening a nervous Castle arrived early with two bottles of her favorite red, and after a quick tour, a buzzer announced that their food had arrived. While she spread the containers on the table, he poured generous portions of the wine waiting for her to say whatever was on her mind. Kate saw no point in delaying the inevitable and said, "There is something you need to know. LOKSAT is dead, and I want to come home if you will have me."

A huge smile immediately broke out on Rick's face, and then the questions followed. "How, when, where? Did you have anything to do with? Did you do it?"

"No, I didn't do it, much as I would have liked to. I don't know much of the details. I was told by of all people - your father. He came to me last Saturday out of the blue just like he always does."

"He has a persistent habit of appearing when you least expect it. Do you believe him?"

"Yeah, I do. We know Rita helped us when we had our little run in with his henchmen. Perhaps the threat to his family got him to keep tabs on the guy. We both know he has access to all sorts of spy chatter, and perhaps that's how he heard of his demise."

Castle was digesting all this when suddenly his whole demeanor changed, and she knew something about the story wasn't washing. Rick looked puzzled and asked, "He came to you last Saturday - just like that, right?"

"Yeah, what can I say – he always was a man of mystery?"

"Kate, why are you lying to me? Rita came to see me. My father was DEAD last Saturday. What fucking game are you up to? God, does it ever stop with you? You don't trust us to jointly fix our problems, and now you don't trust me about the end of the most important thing in your life. Kate, I love you, but don't trust you. Our always was a chance to be something great, and you just keep reverting back to the hunter you really are. This isn't a wall. It is who you are, and you obviously like it. God knows why."

Kate was shocked and without considering the context said, "Castle, I just got the day wrong – no big deal. Stop digging and let's enjoy our life together."

"Kate, you are a trained detective. You don't make mistakes about important stuff like this, and now you are compounding the original lie with a new one. Our always has no chance against your love of the hunt. I need to leave. I guess you started this separation, and I might well have to finish it."

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She knew she was caught and had no backup plan. After a few moment of silence, he walked out, and Kate was left on the sofa whimpering. Castle had painted a dark picture of who she had become, and she knew he wasn't wrong.