His head was clearer now… the combination of fresh air and the cool of the ocean breeze had done exactly what he had hoped it would – calmed his churning stomach and racing heart.

He didn't want to rush her – but he had. Unintentionally, of course. He really had thought that this was her way of telling him that she was ready – ready for the next step… ready to accept his love… ready for him. How could he have been so wrong?

As he walked back to his holiday home, he wasn't quite sure what exactly he would be coming home to. He knew his friends had seen at least part of the showdown between Beckett and himself… would they take her side in this? They were fiercely protective of her, after all. The boys, and even Lanie, had warned him to be careful with her… and on more than one occasion. Perhaps they would not even be there – he had been gone for almost an hour now. They could have packed up their belongings and headed home, not wanting to stay in such a tense atmosphere. That was something he could certainly understand.

Approaching his front yard, he noticed that one of the cars was no longer parked alongside his. He wasn't really sure if he was relieved his friends were leaving, or just mad at himself for allowing this weekend – the weekend he has put so much effort into making perfect – had gone awry… so so awry.

He did not expect the welcoming he received as he walked through the front door. Almost as soon as he stepped through the threshold, Lanie had thrown her arms around him in a warm embrace. She must have been waiting for him, or seen him slowly making his way up the beach. Once he shook the initial confusion, he wrapped his arms around her torso, matching her tight grip. This was the most familiar he and the ME had ever allowed themselves to be. They got along well… even enjoyed the occasional banter here and there – but it was all very surface level stuff. Rarely did their interactions go any deeper than that.

"Are you okay?" She asked, pulling away. Ryan and Jenny took a few small steps out of the kitchen, almost as if to announce their presence.

"I'm just sorry that you guys had to witness that." That was all he could say right now. And he truly was sorry that they had been there for this morning's awkward encounter. That was definitely a conversation that should have waited until they were alone… but everything just happened so quickly!

"I know that it's none of our business… so you can definitely tell us to buzz off…" Ryan started cautiously, holding his wife's hand nervously. "But… is this really the end? You won't be… hanging out with us anymore?"

Truth be told, Castle didn't really know what he meant when he said he was done. The obvious being that he was done waiting for Beckett… that he had to move on. But did that mean moving on from the rest of his friends too? There was no way he could continue to spend each day at the precinct while trying to 'get over' the woman he had allowed himself to unrequitedly love so deeply. And deep down he knew that, one day, he would possibly have to say goodbye to her and, therefore, everything that she had brought into his life – the precinct, the 'job' that he had grown to love… and most regrettably, the people who he had grown so close to. Sure, he and the boys had their halo nights… but how long would that last? And Castle had never dared to explore a friendship with Lanie outside of Beckett… so he didn't think that was going to start now.

"I am always just a phone call away… no matter what."

Ryan smiled at Castle's reassurance, although struggling to hide the disappointment.

"Let's try not to worry about that right now." Jenny encouraged, trying to shift the sombre mood. "What do you need from us right now?" she directed the question to Castle.

"What do you mean?" he quizzed her.

"Well… obviously this isn't what you had planned for this weekend." She continued. "So what do you want us to do? We canal head down to the beach, maybe? Or just stay here and watch a movie?"

Castle paused, all eyes on him. He had made the assumption that they would all be heading back to the city. He had assumed that the only decision he would need to make was whether he would stay here and wallow in pity, or head back to the loft and wallow in pity there. Either way, he had expected to be alone.

"Or we can all leave, if you want some space." She finished, trying not to bombard him with her words.

Breaking the silence was the sounds of tires on gravel, a car approaching from the main road. Castle peeped out the window, recognising the car once it came into sight. "They came back?" he muttered, barely audible.

"It'll just be Javi…" Lanie warned, matching his low tone. "He offered Kate a lift into town. I'm pretty sure she was hiring a car to get back home."

He watched Esposito exit his car and head toward the house. He waited, just one second, to see if Beckett would climb out of the passenger side… but she didn't. She was gone.

"Good." His intention was to act cool, calm and collected – but instead, he was stone cold. He shook it off and opened the front door for the approaching detective, flashing a smile.

"I'm thinking beers and xbox!" Esposito offered as he walked in. The quiet drive back from town had given him time to think of how to approach the rest of the weekend. He had decided that if Castle had returned and wasn't kicking them all out, he would offer up the ultimate 'boys' weekend' as a distraction. Lanie and Jenny could join, of course – or they could entertain themselves if they wanted… it's not like Castle's place didn't have plenty of entertainment options available. He figured that if he confidently asserted himself, he could show the others that there was still hope in recovering the weekend. And maybe, just maybe, he they managed to pull Castle out of the inevitable slump he was headed toward, then he would be in the right mindset to work things out with Beckett once they all returned back to the city.

Castle looked at Ryan, who looked at Jenny, who looked at Lanie.

"That sounds good!" She confirmed with a smile. "I'll grab the beers." She headed to the kitchen.

"I'll prepare snacks! We obviously need snacks." Jenny followed, heading off with Lanie.

Castle excitedly led the boys over toward the large TV, turning it on and loading up the Xbox. He pulled out a draw, filled with an expansive collection of games, and allowed Espo and Ryan to dig through, picking out their favourites and narrowing down the final selection. He appreciated what his friends were doing for him – the distraction that they were offering. They were playing their part – and he, too, would play his to help ease their concerns. He wasn't sure how long he could ignore the niggling feeling in the pit of his stomach – but for his friends, he would try.