"So Rick, how many best sellers does this make?" Brett Favaro asks looking from the cue card monitor over to Richard Castle, who was sitting on the other side of the desk.

Castle leans a little further into the couch on the stage and crosses his left leg over the top of his right before rubbing the palm of his hand over his mouth. "Gosh, I don't even know anymore Brett. I'm not going to lie, it is always nice to hear that one of my books has made the New York Times Best Sellers List, but I didn't write these past few Nikki Heat books for the list. I mean hell, I didn't even write them for the fans."

"If you don't mind me asking, then who did you write them for?" Brett interrupts Castle as he leans forward to rest his elbows on the desk clearly intrigued by Castle's words.

Laughing, Castle uncrosses his legs and leans forward to rest his own elbows on his knees before taking a quick breath and saying, "I wrote them for me. I wrote the last couple of Nikki Heat books for me and for Nikki. When I started writing Nikki Heat, I had just killed off Derrick Storm, a character that had meant the world to me. I was in a place where I didn't think that I was ever going to be able to write something worth sharing ever again. But that changed when I met some of New York's Finest. At some point, it became less about the books and more about the characters and the people I chose to surround myself with."

There was a brief moment of silence as Castle found Brett Favaro looking at him in awe with his head resting on his left hand and a smile painted on his face. "Wow, I know you are a writer and all Rick, but that was just so poetic." Rick shared a laugh with the Talk Show Host that he had grown to enjoy appearing with over the last ten years.

"Now, since you brought up Derrick Storm, how has your life been different now, writing the Nikki Heat Series compared to when you were writing Derrick?"

"My life is actually completely different. When I was started writing Derrick Storm, I was a young single bachelor with a dream. By the time I killed off Derrick, I had been married twice and had a beautiful daughter. I think I spent most of the time partying everywhere and anywhere with anyone. I did my fair share of partying while I was writing the Nikki Heat series, but I spent the majority of my time shadowing the amazing Detectives of the NYPD and spending time with my daughter."

Once again, interrupting Castle, Brett quickly asked, "You haven't been shadowing the NYPD for close to ten years now correct?"

With a quick nod of the head, Castle replies, "Yes, I can't believe it has already been that long."

"Do you still talk with any of New York's Finest that were so instrumental in inspiring these characters?"

"Actually yeah, I still talk to a two of the Detectives every now and then. In fact, I just saw them the week before last when I returned from the book tour in Europe. It is always good to be able to catch up with them and see where life has taken them." Castle says with a genuine smile on his face while thinking about the boys. "Actually, they still help me occasionally on some of their protocols and a few plot points."

"Speaking of plot points, I am pretty sure that America would cancel me if I didn't ask." Brett joked, getting a laugh from the audience as well as a nervous smile from Castle. Quickly turning to the audience and the cameras, Brett quickly states, "For those who have yet to read the latest Richard Castle novel, Nikki Heat: Dying Heat, major SPOILER ALERT ahead!"

There is a clear silence that overtakes the stage and one can hear a few gasps from the audience before Brett turns back to Castle and starts speaking again. "The on again, off again relationship between the two main characters Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook, is no longer. Why?"

A dead silence fills the studio as the audience waits for Castle to respond. He takes a deep breath before rubbing his hand over his upper lip a few times before responding. "Well uh, Brett, the truth is that even though Nikki and Jameson's relationship was on again, off again, it actually started to become too painful to write."

"Too painful?" Brett jumps in, "Ohh come on Rick, America needs better than that!"

"I'm not lying about the pain it causes me." Castle quickly says defensively, "I used to enjoy writing about their relationship, but now it just reminds me of the relationship that I never got to have. It is a constant reminder of my biggest regrets in life and that no matter how successful I become or how many of my dreams come true, there will always be that one dream that will never come true. So while I do want Nikki and Rook to be happy, it pains me to say that it may never happen."

The second Castle stops speaking, the audience lets out an audible gasp along with Brett. "So you are saying that Nikki and Rook will NEVER get back together?"

"Right now, probable not. Like you said, it's been over ten years since I started writing the Nikki Heat series, and I thought that over time I would come to accept my actions and decisions from the past, but the past couple of months have brought those feelings up again and made me realize that I wasn't over it."

"What happened? America is dying to know what happened and why their favorite crime fighting duo is now just that, a crime fighting duo."

Sighing, Castle shifts a little uncomfortably on the couch not a hundred percent sold on baring his soul for all of America to see. "That's a story I wish I didn't have to tell and one that I'm not sure I can tell."

Brett turns to the audience and puts his arms out while saying, "Oh come on, you guys want to hear the story don't you?" This earns a unanimous echo of yesses from the audience. "You heard them, can't you give us at least a little? We only have a few more minutes left in the show. You can't leave us hanging!"

"There's not much to tell Brett, once upon a time there was a girl. I loved her, and I thought she could have loved me too. But life happens, she didn't feel the same, and we were over before we even started because it all fell apart in a moment. Lord, I wish it wasn't true, but she deserved the perfect family. You know, like the ones the fairytales everyone knows so well are about and when certain events happened, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to give it to her. And it's because I still love her that it hurts so much when I write about Nikki and Rook's relationship."

Shrugging his shoulders, Castle finishes talking and just sits on the couch with his hands folded in his lap and waiting for Brett to wrap up the show. He was trying his best not to break down on camera from the frustration the memories bring him. He plasters a fake smile on his face when he turns to look at the Talk Show Host when he finally starts to speak again.

Looking directly at the camera in the middle of the audience, Brett says, "There you have it folks. Despite many protests from fans, Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are not getting back together. However, you can still read all about their adventures in Richard Castle's latest book Dying Heat now out. You can order your copy online through our website or go down to Barnes and Noble on 33rd street tomorrow at Noon to get a copy signed by Richard Castle himself. Thank You to all of you who joined us tonight and we'll see you again next Friday night where we have special guests Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher where we will talk all about her new Vegas Residency!"

Once the cameras cut, Brett turns to Castle and apologizes, "Hey man, I'm so sorry if I pushed too much about that. I'm already in hot water with my producers because the last couple of shows did not view well. But I appreciate you being here and taking the time to give the audience, and my producers at least a little bit of what they want."

"No worries man, I understand where you were coming from. Don't worry we are still friends and you are definitely still invited to Alexis's Wedding Reception next month." Castle says with a genuine smile on his face as he shakes Brett's hand. "She would kill me if Uncle Brett wasn't there. Hell you were the one to introduce her to her fiancé."

"I appreciate that man. Yours and Alexis's friendship means more to me that this show. I love my job, but I hate always seeming so pushy and invasive on air."

Castle pulls on Brett's hand to pull him into a hug before quickly saying a few parting words and heading off to his dressing room to remove the layers of make-up they plastered on his face before the show started.

"Who can I make it out to?" Castle asks fan after fan the next day as he sits behind a desk of his own and signs copy after copy of Nikki Heat: Dying Heat. His question was always asked with a smile plastered on his face as he counted down the minutes until it was over and he could go home to the peace and quiet of his loft. Every time he asked the question, he was awarded with a different response, with occasionally having to apologize and asking the fan how to spell that.

All of the names were starting to blend together by the time they closed the line to new fans. There were maybe only twenty to twenty-five people left in line for autographs when his questioned was answered not by a name, but by something else.

"Who can I make it out to?" He says picking up another book and opening it to the front cover while he grabbed a new sharpie. He was looking at the inside cover when he heard a voice he thought he would never hear again.

"The one who broke your heart." She says, "You can make it out to the one who broke your heart."

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Brownie points for anyone who can figure out what song inspired this one shot!