Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and support. I know I start every chapter saying something along these lines, but it's true. This story is my homage to Castle the series and all that it and its characters mean to me, and I wasn't sure of the reaction I'd get when I started it, since I had never written a Castle fic before, but all of you continue to encourage and inspire me with your reviews and follows and favorites. I thank you all, including the guests to whom I cannot personally reply, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story, as I have it all planned out. It's just a matter of getting it written and edited, and then posting a chapter once a week, which I will continue to do even with the upcoming holidays. Thank you again, and here is the next chapter.


"Jordan Shaw?" Rick repeated when Kate told him about the voicemail she had listened to after leaving Gates' office at 1PP.

"Yeah. How did she even get my cell number?" Kate wondered.

"She's in the FBI," Rick reminded her. "She could tap your phone if she wanted."

"I doubt that's why she called me," Kate said dryly. "But I don't have any idea why she did call me."

"So you're gonna meet her tomorrow?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Kate said. "I have to find out what she wants."

"Maybe she wants to offer you a job," Rick suggested.

"If that's why she called, I'm turning her down," Kate replied.

"Just like that?" Rick asked.

"Are you disappointed you won't get to play with more FBI gadgets?" Kate teased.

"No," Rick said earnestly. "Wherever you want to go, Kate, whatever you want to do, I'm on board."

"I know you are, and I know that you know I meant it in May, Rick. No more guns, no more bodies, no more psychos, no more danger," Kate said. Then she pulled her shield from her waist and laid it on the kitchen island. They sat side by side looking down at it. "This was the only thing I was going to regret giving up," she said.

"Gates made sure you don't have to," Rick said. "No one deserves this honor more than you, Kate." He smiled proudly. "I have a lot of great memories of you with your badge...including the best one of all."

Kate had been about to make a joke about how she thought Rick's great memories would be of her handcuffs, but the palpable sincerity in his eyes stopped her. "You have a best memory of me with my badge?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said seriously. They looked at each other intently. "The first time I ever saw you, you were holding that badge. I had just made an ass of myself, not surprisingly, by asking where you wanted it, since I thought you were a fan wanting me to sign something." They each cracked a smile at the memory before Rick grew serious again, and Kate mirrored his seriousness. "But when I turned around, I was looking at you, holding up that badge, looking at me and saying, 'Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place earlier tonight.' I knew in that instant you weren't gonna be like any other woman I'd ever known. If I'd been smarter, I would have realized that the first time I looked at you, I was looking at my future."

"You did, in a way," Kate pointed out. "You called the Mayor and arranged to follow me around."

"I still remember the look on your face when Montgomery told you, and then when you turned around and saw me standing there in his doorway," Rick reflected. "You were not happy then."

"Well, that was me being stupid," Kate replied. At her husband's surprise, she amended, "Maybe 'stupid' is too strong a word. I was being short-sighted. If I'd been smarter, if I had looked at the bigger picture, I would have realized on that first case that you were the one who would re-teach me all the things I forgot after my mom died: how to have fun, how to laugh, how to dream...and you've also taught me that I am capable of loving someone more deeply and more unconditionally than I ever thought I was, because you're that someone.

"The truth is, Castle, I got used to having you around all the time pretty fast. And when you weren't around, even when we were dancing around each other, not sure of where we were going or what was going to happen with us or when, and even when things were awkward or tense because of other people or misunderstandings, I missed you. I missed you more than any words could have ever said. And now I never have to miss you again." She smiled softly at him.

Rick rested his hand on top of Kate's. "I could have written the Nikki Heat books without ever stepping foot in the 12th," he said. "I did research for the Derrick Storm novels, but I never followed anybody around the way I followed you. I could have written Nikki the same way. But I didn't want to, because I didn't know that first night that we'd end up where we are, but I knew I wanted to see you again...and again and again. Your job was the one way I could think of to do that, so I made the call to the Mayor and got myself assigned to be your shadow. The books had something to do with it at first, and I think they turned out a lot better than the Storm books, precisely because I had access to actual police procedures, and I watched you and Ryan and Espo and Lanie and Perlmutter and Montgomery and Gates and LT and everybody all those years.

"But it was always you, Kate. You were always the reason. I'd been waiting for you without knowing I was waiting for you, and when you walked into my life, I couldn't just let you walk out again after we solved the case."

"I was waiting for you too, without knowing. And then I made you wait for me. Thank God you never gave up on me," she said.

"Thank God you never gave up on me," Rick replied.

"You cannot leave behind-" Kate began.

"-what is always at your side," Rick finished with her.

She brushed a hand through his hair and smiled at him radiantly before leaning in to kiss him. After they kissed, Rick said, "So, are we getting an oak-and-glass case for you to display this?"

"I'll have to think about that," Kate said. "For now, I'll put it in its original case."

"Seriously, Kate, if you want a display case for it, just say the word. I-"

"-know a guy," she finished. "Like I said, I'll have to think about it."

"What about dinner?" Rick asked.

"That, I don't have to think about," Kate replied as she palmed her shield from the kitchen island. She got off her stool and headed to their bedroom to put her shield away. "Spaghetti."

"And garlic bread?" Rick called.

"Of course!" Kate called back. She pulled the velvet case out of the bottom dresser drawer, opened it, looked at her shield, and then carefully placed it in its case, looking at it in the case for a long moment before closing the case, returning it to the drawer, and closing the drawer.

Then she returned to the kitchen and pulled salad fixings out of the fridge while Rick cooked the pasta and simmered the sauce.


When Kate arrived at the designated Starbucks the next morning, she spotted Jordan Shaw already seated at a table with her coffee and a muffin. Jordan raised a hand in greeting, and Kate gave a quick wave back before stepping up to order her own coffee. Then she joined Jordan at the table where she was already seated.

"It's great to see you again, Kate," Jordan said as they shook hands. "And congratulations."

"On what?" Kate asked as she took a sip of her coffee.

Jordan looked at her, amused. "On marrying Castle!" Jordan exclaimed. "I knew the first time I saw you two together that you'd end up together. And I don't think I'm remiss in saying that being married to him obviously agrees with you."

Kate ducked her head for a moment. "Am I that obvious?" she asked.

"Only to someone who knows the importance and wonder of having a husband who's there for you no matter what, and no matter how dangerous or crazy things get," Jordan replied seriously. "And then there's that." She nodded at Kate's wedding ring. "I saw your engagement announcement in the Times, but I never did see a wedding announcement. When was the big day?"

"It'll be two years on November 10," Kate replied.

"Good for both of you," Jordan said. She took a sip of her own coffee before setting the cup aside. "Now, as to why I called you, I'm sure you're curious. I asked to be the one to give you the news."

"What news?" Kate asked. "And yes, I was surprised to hear from you."

"The FBI is presenting you with a commendation," Jordan replied.

Kate was gobsmacked. "A commendation?" she repeated blankly. "For what?"

Jordan looked at Kate sympathetically. "I know about everything that happened in May, Kate. I'm so sorry you and Castle had to go through that, and this in no way makes up for any of it, I know. I'm also sure you're sick of hearing about this, but I'll do my best to promise that the commendation award ceremony will be the last you have to hear that word."

And in that instant, Kate knew. "LokSat," she said grimly.

"Yes," Jordan replied. "If I thought you'd take it, I'd be offering you my job right now-"

"Your job?" Kate interrupted, surprised.

"I'm retiring," Jordan said. "My daughter's going to be a junior in high school this fall. There are a lot of important things coming up that I want to be there for these next two years, and I've got my twenty in, so I'm just counting down the days. Your commendation ceremony will be my last professional appearance."

"I'm retiring too," Kate replied. "I'm on terminal leave right now, in fact."

"So we'll have to do it within the next...how much time do we have?" Jordan asked.

"Enough," Kate said vaguely. "I still need to clean my personal stuff out of my office at the 12th Precinct, too."

"We can do it there, if you want," Jordan said. "Deputy Chief Gates was very accommodating when I spoke to her about this."

"That sounds like a plan," Kate agreed. "Why am I getting a commendation for LokSat, though?"

"They were a major international criminal organization, and you singlehandedly brought them down," Jordan said. "Like I said, if I thought you'd take it, I'd be offering you my job in a second, but I get the feeling that's not what you want."

"Not anymore," Kate agreed. "You're right." She looked down at the tabletop before looking up to meet Jordan's gaze again. "It was just too close in May, Jordan. And I didn't go after LokSat singlehandedly."

Understanding lit Jordan's face. "Of course you didn't. Castle was right there with you."

"He was," Kate said firmly, fiercely as she looked up to meet Jordan's gaze. "We have things we want to do, and we've had enough of the psychos and the guns and..."

"All of it," Jordan replied simply. "Well, I told them at the New York office and at Quantico that I was sure you wouldn't take my job. They'll be annoyed I was right, but that's nothing new." She smiled wryly. Jordan reached for her phone and pulled up the calendar. "How does two weeks from today sound?"

"That's okay with me," Kate said. "You'll want to run it by Gates, though, I'm guessing."

"She's waiting for my call," Jordan replied. Just then, the door to Starbucks opened, and Jordan grinned when she saw who it was. She glanced at her watch as Kate heard familiar footsteps approaching their table. "Twenty minutes. That's ten more than I thought you'd last, Castle. I admire your restraint. It's nice to see you again, and congratulations on everything."

"Thank you, Jordan. It's nice to see you again too," Rick replied.

"I thought you had a meeting with Adam?" Kate asked.

"I'll just go and call Deputy Chief Gates, if you two will excuse me," Jordan said as she stood up and stepped away from the table.

"I'm on my way," Rick replied. "But I was walking by outside and I happened to see you and Jordan sitting in here, so I came in to say hello."

"And to find out what Jordan wanted," Kate said knowingly.

"What did she want?" Rick asked, not denying his curiosity.

"Well, she said she was going to offer me her job if she thought I'd take it, but she didn't think I would, and she's right about that," Kate replied. "Turns out she's retiring too. So the main reason she called is because I'm getting an FBI commendation for bringing down LokSat."

He hadn't been expecting that piece of news any more than Kate had, and so he was just as gobsmacked as she had been. Seeing the look on his face, Kate said, "Yeah. That's about how I feel about it."

They were both silent for a beat, then Rick said, "I'm really proud of you for getting a commendation from the FBI."

"But you're just as sick of thinking about and hearing about LokSat as I am," Kate said.

"Well...yeah," he agreed. "But you definitely earned it, Kate."

"You were right there with me. You should be getting a commendation too," Kate said.

"We both know that's not how it works," Rick said gently.

"Well, this once, I think they should make an exception," Kate said stubbornly.

Rick went for teasing to try and lighten the mood. "Miss Protocol and Procedure wants to give a civilian an FBI commendation?" he asked, splaying one hand across his chest, a smirk playing on his mouth. "Captain Beckett, I'm flattered."

"That's 'Mrs.' Protocol and Procedure," Kate corrected him. She flashed a quick smile at him. "And I know what you're trying to do, but I'm serious, Rick."

"So am I," he said. "Is it working at least a little bit?"

"A little bit," Kate agreed, lightly bumping her knee against his under the table. "Promise me something?"

"Anything," Rick said seriously.

"After this commendation ceremony, you and I will never utter the word 'LokSat' again for the rest of our lives," Kate said just as seriously.

"I promise," Rick replied, taking Kate's hand and quickly squeezing it to seal his promise.

Jordan returned to the table then. "It's all set," she announced. "Two weeks from today at 10 AM at the 12th Precinct. They're requiring dress uniforms for all NYPD personnel, and I get to be the one to give you the commendation."

"Thank you, Jordan," Kate said.

"Thank you," Rick echoed.

"It isn't that I don't think you deserve a commendation too, Castle," Jordan said apologetically, "but you're a civilian, so..." She trailed off.

"Kate and I were just talking about that," Rick said. "I appreciate the thought, Jordan, but the only commendation I want is Best Husband Ever, from Kate."

"You've got it," Kate said as she and Rick looked at each other.

Jordan looked at the couple with a smile, but was interrupted when her phone rang then. "I have to take this," she said after glancing at the screen. "So please excuse me, and I'll see you both in two weeks."

Rick and Kate said goodbye to Jordan, and she stepped away to take her phone call. When they were alone, Rick said, "So, I'm the Best Husband Ever?"

"For me, you are," Kate replied.

"Do I get a certificate of commendation?" he asked.

"Meet me at home later, and I'll come up with something much better than that," she told him.

"You're on," he said, leaning in for a quick kiss.


And so it was that two weeks later, Kate was standing in their bedroom in her bra and underwear, staring at her dress uniform laid out on the bed and trying not to spiral into a full-blown panic attack.

Rick emerged from the bathroom bare-chested and in his black suit pants, having just finished shaving. He saw Kate standing beside their bed, hugging herself, and staring at her dress uniform. "Kate?" he asked softly, not wanting to startle her.

"It's stupid, I'm being stupid, it's not even the same uniform," she rambled. "But it's still reminding me of Montgomery's funeral and I..." She shook her head as if to clear it. "I'm being stupid."

Rick quietly stole up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Nobody gets to call my wife 'stupid,' especially my wife," he said.

"It's a PTSD double whammy," Kate said. "I'm being reminded of Montgomery's funeral and of LokSat and what they did to us." Her breathing was becoming erratic.

Rick gently turned her around so she was facing him. "Take a couple of slow, deep breaths," he coached. As Kate did that, he continued, "We can call and cancel this. I'm sure everyone would understand."

"Then they win!" Kate exclaimed frantically, the calm she had just started to regain evaporating into thin air. "We've fought too long and too hard for them to win, dammit!" She raked her hands through her hair, which she hadn't put up yet. She stared at Rick. "It's been two months. I should be handling this better, shouldn't I?"

"There's no timetable for this," Rick said. He hated seeing Kate like this, but he understood her feelings all too well. He'd had a couple of flashbacks to Montgomery's funeral himself when Kate had laid out her dress uniform before taking her shower. He had lingered in his own shower, working like hell to get himself under control, and he was grateful that he had succeeded, because Kate really needed him now.

"I can't do this now!" she insisted. "I can't fall apart! We have to be there in 45 minutes, Rick!"

In that moment, Rick got an idea, and he prayed his idea wouldn't make things worse. "I have an idea," he said. He released Kate and went over to her jewelry box.

"What?" Kate asked, wondering what he was up to.

Rick opened the jewelry box and carefully moved a few items around until he found the small box he was looking for. Removing it from the jewelry box, he crossed the room until he was standing in front of Kate again.

"Today is your last real day as a police officer," he said. He opened the box and held it out to Kate, and her breath caught when she realized what was inside the box.

"I know that you took this off the day you arrested Bracken and you haven't worn it since," he continued. "But you wore this every day for years, to remind yourself of why you became a police officer in the first place, and what and whom you were fighting for." Seeing the permission he sought in Kate's eyes, he carefully removed Johanna Beckett's ring on its chain from the small box and held it up. "You don't have to wear this today if you don't want to, but your mother was there with you when you began your career with the NYPD. It would be fitting if she was there for the end of that career too. When you started out, this ring symbolized the life you lost. Now it symbolizes the justice you got for your mom, and all that you accomplished on the job, Kate: all the people you helped, all the victims you got justice for, all the good that you did, all the bad guys that you made sure didn't get away with what they did."

Kate looked at her mother's ring on its chain, there in the palm of Rick's hand. "It did all start with my mom," she reflected. "It would be fitting to end my time with the NYPD with some sort of tribute to her." She took the ring from him and slipped the chain over her head.

"We can burn that uniform in the fireplace when we get home, if you want to," Rick added.

"In August?" Kate asked, giving him a raised-eyebrow look.

"We have central air," he pointed out.

"No. I don't need to burn the uniform," Kate said. "And I didn't do it by myself. I had you...and Ryan and Espo and Lanie and Montgomery and Gates...Karpowski and Velasquez and Hastings...everyone at the 12th."

"Save something for your farewell speech," he said, squeezing her shoulder.

Just then, Alexis called, "Dad, Kate, are you guys ready yet?"

"A few more minutes, pumpkin!" Rick called back. "Wait for us in the living room, please!"

"Okay. Gram's on her way, but Jim's meeting us at the 12th with everyone else," Alexis called back.

"Thank you, Alexis," Kate called.

"You're welcome," Alexis replied.

Before Rick could step away to grab a shirt, Kate stopped him with one hand on his arm. "Thanks for talking me down," she said.

"Always," he replied. They kissed quickly, then dressed even more quickly. They heard Alexis and Martha speaking in the living room. When they emerged from the bedroom, Kate was resplendent in her NYPD Captain's dress uniform, complete with white gloves, her badge and ribbons on her chest, the captain's bars on the collars of her uniform shirt gleaming. Rick was in a black suit and a cerulean blue button-down, no tie, just behind and to the right of her, his hand at the small of her back.

"You guys look great," Alexis greeted them.

Martha knew better, though. "Is everything all right?" she asked, concerned.

Kate and Rick exchanged a look. "It will be," Kate said. She reached back for Rick's hand, and he stepped forward. "Let's go," she said as she threaded her fingers through his and they left the loft.

When they arrived at the 12th, the elevator ride up was silent. When the elevator doors opened, Kate stepped off first, with Rick right behind her, and Alexis and Martha behind him.

She was greeted by a sea of dress uniforms grinning at her and applauding for her. She spotted her dad beaming proudly in a suit and tie, standing with Lanie and Alan, who had come straight from his own work to be here. Ryan and Esposito were standing by their desks, both with big grins on their faces. When they saw her, Ryan's grin grew wider, and Esposito raised his hands above his head as he continued applauding. She walked down toward her office, where Jordan Shaw and Deputy Chief Gates were standing just outside the closed door, both of them smiling and applauding as well, Gates in her own dress uniform, and Jordan in a smart skirted suit of navy blue with a white blouse.

"All right, everyone!" Gates shouted, and order was quickly restored. "Thank you. I will now turn things over to Special Agent Jordan Shaw of the FBI, who is here to present Captain Beckett with a commendation."

"Thank you, Deputy Chief Gates," Jordan replied. She stepped forward as all eyes went to her, except Rick's; he only had eyes for Kate, who was focused on Jordan. But right before Jordan began to speak, Kate looked at Rick, and he smiled at her proudly. The corners of her mouth quirked upward in a flash of a smile, and then she returned her attention to Jordan.

Jordan read the text of the formal commendation aloud. The words spoke of Kate's dedication to duty, sense of honor, and devotion to the cause of justice, and thanked her for her immeasurable contributions to ending LokSat.

"You can be proud of the role you played, Captain Beckett," Jordan concluded, looking up from the commendation letter to meet Kate's gaze. "On behalf of the FBI, I congratulate you on a job well done."

Kate shook Jordan's hand as everyone applauded again, and then she accepted the commendation letter from Jordan. "Thank you, Agent Shaw," Kate said. Then she looked out at the crowd massed around the desks. "As I'm sure you all know by now, this is my last official day as a member of the NYPD," she began. "For the past fifteen years, it has been my privilege and my honor to serve as a police officer in the greatest city in the world, and I am proud to have served with all of you here at the 12th as both your fellow detective and your captain."

She looked at Ryan and Espo now. "Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan...you are not just my brothers in arms, you are my brothers, period. No detective ever had a better team."

Her gaze shifted to Lanie next. "Dr. Lanie Parish, you and your colleagues at the M.E.'s office are the best support system we could have. Your work makes it possible for us to do our work, and I can never thank you enough for all that you do." Lanie smiled at Kate, and Kate smiled back.

Kate looked around the room at large. "Every police officer knows that no one makes it in our profession alone. We are a brotherhood and sisterhood from the first day we go out with our training officers to the last day we serve on the force. I would not have become the police officer I did if not for my training officer, the late Mike Royce, my former Captain, the late Roy Montgomery, and my other former Captain, now Deputy Chief, Victoria Gates." Kate turned to look at Gates now. "Royce and Captain Montgomery taught me how to be a good police officer. You, sir, taught me how to be a good Captain. The detectives and officers here at the 12th can tell you if I succeeded on that score better than I could. I hope that I did. And I thank you for what you taught me through your example, as I thank Royce and Captain Montgomery for teaching me what it truly means to wear the badge and work the job."

"I would not be standing here today if not for my family," Kate continued, and her eyes sought and found Rick, Jim, Alexis, and Martha, standing together near the desk she had occupied when she was Detective Beckett. "My parents, Jim and Johanna Beckett, first sparked my interest in the law. My mother was taken from us far too soon, but I have strived to live up to the example she set for me, and to make her proud. Dad, I know these last fifteen years haven't been easy for you, but you supported me through all your fears and worries for me, and through all the close calls. Thank you for that, and just for being my dad." Jim smiled proudly at Kate.

"My stepdaughter Alexis and my mother-in-law Martha..." Kate looked at the two of them standing side by side. "My dad knew what he was getting into when I joined the force, but you didn't sign up for any of this until your father, your son, did. I made a promise to myself long ago that I would do whatever it took to keep him safe so that he could come home to the two of you in one piece every night. When I made that promise to myself, I didn't know that I would become a part of your family. I didn't know that we would come to matter to each other so much. You have supported me through these past eight years, and you trusted me with the most important person in your lives even before he became the most important person in mine. I am so glad and so proud to have you as my family, and I thank you for your support and your trust."

Now, at last, she looked at Rick. "I wouldn't be the person that I am today, or the police officer I have been, if not for everyone I've mentioned. But these past eight years, I have been blessed to have the most remarkable man I have ever known as my partner, and while our partnership started here at the 12th, it will not end here, because he is my partner not just in crime but in life...my husband, Richard Castle." She smiled, and he returned her smile. "Of everything I've learned from everyone I've mentioned, I've learned the most from you, Rick, and I look forward to all of our adventures to come, and to continuing to grow with you and learn from you for the time of our lives."

The look that passed between Kate and Rick in that moment spoke volumes more than any words could have. After a several-seconds pause, Kate looked at the room at large again as she concluded, "Today I leave the 12th Precinct, and the NYPD, but I know that all of you will continue to bring justice to those whose lives have been taken from them, and to bring closure to those they left behind. 'Fidelis ad mortem.' This is the motto of the NYPD, the Latin for 'Faithful Unto Death.' I know that you will all keep the faith with the city of New York, and those it is our job to serve and protect. Thank you."

Everyone applauded for Kate again, she shook hands again with Jordan Shaw, then with Gates, and she heard a piercing whistle that could only have come from Esposito. She began making her way toward Rick and their family, which included their family of friends. As she shook hands and accepted well wishes from Velasquez and then LT, she wondered why Ryan and Esposito went into the break room, especially when they returned a minute later, carrying a large object covered with a sheet as Esposito whistled again and then shouted, "Yo! May I have everyone's attention, please!"

When silence once again reigned, Esposito said, "Nothing against our new Captain, Karpowski, but we couldn't let this occasion go by without getting a farewell gift for you, Beckett."

"Actually, it's for both you and Castle," Ryan said. "Everyone chipped in on this for you."

Rick emerged through the crowd, love and pride shining in his eyes as he looked at Kate. "Everyone? Even Perlmutter?" he asked as he looked at the boys.

"Well, when he found out it was for your going-away present, he was very generous," Ryan said tactfully.

"Hmm, I'll bet," Rick muttered.

"Everyone, we're touched," Kate said.

"So are you gonna open it or what?" Lanie called impatiently.

Kate and Rick each grabbed a corner of the sheet and pulled. The sheet dropped to the floor, revealing a large glass-covered frame. Matted inside the frame were two blue bulletproof vests mounted side by side, the one on the left proclaiming POLICE, the one right next to it saying WRITER.

"Our vests!" Kate exclaimed, surprised but happy to see them again.

"I wondered what had happened to these," Rick said, a delighted grin lighting up his face. "This is great!"

"Well, we had a little help," Esposito admitted.

"Javier and Kevin told me what they were planning to do, and I gave them the name of your frame guy," Alexis admitted, cutting her gaze to her father.

"We just couldn't let you leave without them," Ryan said.

Kate looked from Ryan to Esposito to Lanie to Alexis, then to her dad and Martha. "Thank you," she said.

"I brought the camera," Martha singsonged then, holding the camera up for everyone to see. "Let's get a picture of your team, Katherine, Richard."

Kate looked at Gates. "That includes you, sir," she said. "Will you join us for the picture?"

Gates smiled. "I'd be honored," she replied.

Everyone began to maneuver for the picture, next to Kate's old desk. She wasn't standing next to Rick, but with his back turned to Kate as he talked to Ryan and Espo, Rick thought she was, so when he reached out to pull her against him without looking back, he was shocked to turn around and find himself face to face with Victoria Gates pressed up against him and demanding, "Just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Castle?"

Rick yanked his arm back and stepped away from Gates as if she were a column of fire. "I—I thought you were Beckett, sir," he stammered. "I-" The rest of what he was going to say was drowned out by the laughter: Espo and Ryan were laughing so hard, they were leaning on each other to stay upright, and Kate's eyes were wet with tears, partly from her laughter and partly from all the emotion of the day, with Rick having to talk her down before they came here and the knowledge that this was the true end of her career with the NYPD.

Rick looked helplessly at Kate, but when he saw how she was laughing, he smiled sheepishly, looking very much like a little boy, and in that moment, Kate caught a glimpse of what their future son, if they had a son someday, would look like, which made her heart constrict in her chest with an aching tenderness.

"Only you, bro," Esposito said, having recovered himself for the most part.

Kate stepped up next to Rick. "Well, that should teach you to look before you grab," she said so only he could hear her.

"I'm never gonna live this down, am I?" he asked her.

"Definitely not!" Lanie exclaimed as she left Alan's side to join the picture.

Gates moved to stand next to Lanie, who was standing next to Kate. "You're not going to fight me for him, are you, Kate?" she asked, looking around Lanie to meet Kate's gaze.

"I would if I had to, sir," Kate said seriously as she looked back at Gates.

"Oh no," Gates said, with a firm shake of her head. "He's all yours, Beckett."

Ryan stood next to Castle, still chuckling under his breath, and Esposito was consciously working to turn his smirk into a smile. Lanie had managed to get herself under control, but she was watching Kate and Rick with amusement. "Yes, he is," Kate said looking at Rick with a radiant smile.

"All right, everyone, big smiles now!" Martha exclaimed, lifting the camera to her eye.

Right before Martha snapped the picture, Kate, unnoticed by anyone else, slipped her hand into one of Rick's back pockets and squeezed his butt. Martha was looking at the picture on the camera's screen and she said, "Richard, everyone else is smiling, and you look like you just got pinched! Let's take one more."

Rick looked at Kate, who had the most innocent look on her face. He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I'll get you for that later, Beckett."

"You'd better, Castle," she whispered back. They shared a glance, and then turned to face the camera, flanked by Esposito, Ryan, Lanie, and Gates, as Martha snapped the picture that they would all have framed in their respective homes in a matter of days.

"I have to get going," Jordan said then, after the pictures had been taken. "Congratulations again, Kate...and you too, Castle."

"Thank you, Jordan," Kate said, shaking hands with Jordan again. "Congratulations to you too."

"Thank you," Jordan replied. "And if you should ever decide to return to the field, I know people who would hire you in a second. You have my number."

"I do," Kate said. "But I think any calls I make to you will be purely social, Jordan."

"I'll look forward to them," Jordan said. "I'll be keeping an eye out for future announcements about you and Castle." She extended her hand to Rick then, and they shook hands. "It was nice seeing you again. It's also nice to know I was right about you two ending up together. I'm glad about that."

"So are we," Rick said, making it a point to look at Kate before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her against his side.

Jordan said her goodbyes to Esposito, Ryan, and Lanie, who all remembered her from the case years ago, shook hands with Gates once more, and then took her leave.

"Well," Kate said as the rest of the precinct drifted back to work, most of them heading to the locker room to change into their regular uniforms first, "I don't have much to clean out of my office. We'd better get to it, huh?"

Karpowski approached them then. "I left everything where you had it, Beckett," she said.

"I appreciate that, Karpowski," Kate replied.

Alexis went down to the car to get the empty cardboard box they had brought along. When she returned with it, Alan was saying goodbye to everyone, since he had to get back to work. Lanie walked him to the elevator before returning to stand with the others while Kate and Rick went into the captain's office.

Kate opened the drawer and took out the little man she and her father had made of twigs and stones that had washed up on the Coney Island beach when they escaped there the day of her mother's funeral. She looked at the little man before placing him carefully in the box. "Even on the worst days, there's the possibility for joy," Rick said softly.

"This isn't a worst day," Kate said. "It's..." She paused, considering the right word to use, finally settling on, "...bittersweet, but I'm doing the right thing. I'm doing what I want to do."

Rick picked up Kate's nameplate. At her nod, he placed it carefully in the box. "Maybe we should have brought some newspaper or something for these," she said, gesturing to the framed pictures, one of her and Rick at their wedding, the other of the two of them with Martha and Alexis which had been taken on their first Christmas Eve as a couple, with the giant Christmas tree serving as the backdrop for the photograph.

"I can probably find some around here somewhere," Rick said as he hurried out to ask if there was an old newspaper lying around they could wrap Kate's photographs in.

Kate looked around at the office, reflecting on when it had belonged to Montgomery. After his death, it had become Gates' office. When Gates moved up, it had become Kate's office. And now it would officially be Karpowski's office.

For so long...for too long, really...Kate had lived her whole life inside these walls. Not this office alone, but the 12th Precinct.

And then one day, Rick was there, and he kept coming back, bringing her coffee, pulling her pigtails, and making her fall irretrievably in love with him.

They had saved each other's lives so many times and in so many ways, they had fought and beaten incredible odds together, and they had a bond, a connection, that nothing and no one would ever sever.

As she had said in her speech, their partnership had started here, but it wouldn't end here. It would never end.

Rick returned then, triumphantly holding two handfuls of newspaper. "Got it!" he crowed. Seeing that he had startled Kate out of her thoughts, he said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "I really am. Better than okay."

He walked over to the desk and handed her some of the newspaper. She carefully wrapped the copy of their wedding picture while he wrapped the family photo. "I have to stop by the locker room on our way out. I left some workout clothes in my locker."

Kate packed up the last few things, wrapping her NYPD coffee mug in the last of the newspaper. She laid it in the box, then picked up the box. Rick picked up her uniform cap from the corner of the desk and put it on her head. He ushered Kate out ahead of him. She paused in the doorway and looked back over her shoulder at the office. Rick saw the myriad of emotions play out on her face in rapid-fire succession: sadness, pride, relief, pride, and finally, joy. He was so focused on watching her that he stood frozen in place until he heard her ask, "You comin', Castle?"

He grinned at her and followed her out of the office. The first person they encountered was Karpowski. "It's all yours, Karpowski," Kate said.

Karpowski nodded. "I'll do my best," she vowed.

"I know you will," Kate replied. "Good luck, Captain Karpowski."

"Thank you, Captain Beckett," Karpowski replied.

Alan was the only one of their family and friends who had left, although Ryan and Esposito had changed out of their dress uniforms, and they were all standing around talking by Ryan and Espo's desks. When Rick and Kate approached the group, Alexis said, "Dad, can I have the Old Haunt for a party?"

"Throwing a rager before the final semester of senior year?" Rick asked.

"Actually, no," Alexis replied. "This party is for you and Kate. We, um, actually started planning it when you were in the hospital."

"The day that you were...shot," Martha said, faltering slightly on the word.

"It's kind of a belated wedding reception," Lanie said, "since we didn't get to be at the first one."

"We didn't really have a wedding reception," Kate mused.

"Which is why we want to give you one now, darlings," Martha said.

Rick looked at Alexis. "Your grandmother has had a hand in the planning?" he asked.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Alexis said. "You know Gram is in her element throwing parties, Dad. Where do you think you got it from?"

"It's going to be closest friends and immediate family only," Martha said. "That includes you, Victoria," she added, addressing Gates.

"Thank you, Martha. May I bring my husband?" Gates asked.

"Of course!" Martha exclaimed.

"When did Mother and Captain...I mean, Deputy Chief Gates get on a first-name basis with each other?" Rick asked Kate.

"I have no idea," Kate replied, just as surprised as he was.

"We finally have a date when everyone can be there," Alexis said, drawing their attention back to the moment. "All you and Kate have to do is show up. We'll take care of the rest."

"We should celebrate," Kate said. "When do you want us there?"

"A week from Saturday at 8:00?" Alexis asked.

"I'll call Brian this afternoon and let him know that you are to have carte blanche next Saturday night, and to post signs that The Old Haunt will be closed for a private party that night," Rick said, referring to the bartender who also managed the place for him.

"Thank you!" Alexis exclaimed, hugging her father, and then Kate. "And wait until you see what we have planned."

"Do we get any hints?" Rick asked eagerly.

"Not a one," Martha said.

Rick pulled a disappointed face that made everyone laugh. "Come on, Dad, you trust us, right?" Alexis said, gesturing to everyone.

"That depends on how many embarrassing stories are told next Saturday night," Rick replied.

"Come on, Castle, would we embarrass you and Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"Me? Yes. Beckett? Nah, you're all smarter than that," Rick replied.

"We trust you," Kate said. "And we're looking forward to the party."

The phone on Ryan's desk rang then. He answered it. "Detective Ryan." He caught Esposito's eye and motioned to Lanie with one hand while wedging the phone between his shoulder and ear and grabbing a pad and pen from his desk to scribble down some information. "Got it. We're on our way," he said.

"Body drop," Lanie said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah," Ryan said, tearing off the sheet of paper he had just written on.

"I'll meet you guys outside," Lanie said. "I'll call you later, Kate. Bye, Castle, Alexis, Martha, Mr. Beckett." Then she headed for the elevator to grab her bag and gloves and wait for Ryan and Esposito outside.

"Hold the elevator!" Ryan called. He pocketed his pen, then said to Beckett and Castle and the others. "Duty calls. We'll talk later."

"Go," Beckett said with a nod.

Esposito buttoned his cuffs and nodded at everyone. "Later," he said. Then he hurried to catch up with Ryan at the elevator.

After Lanie, Ryan, and Esposito had departed, Kate looked at Rick. "You ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready when you are," he replied. He picked up the frame containing their bulletproof vests, which had been leaning against Ryan's desk.

Kate took a long look around the precinct. Her whole life had once been contained within these walls.

Then she looked at Rick, watching her, waiting patiently for her to be ready to go home...and beyond him, her dad, Alexis and Martha were gathered, also waiting.

Her life had once revolved around this building, but that was no longer the case. It hadn't been for years now. Her life now was a vista of endless opportunities. Her life without the NYPD would be whatever she chose to make of it, and the best part was that she had a family to make that life with...a family to add to and grow with. She had gained so much more than she had ever believed she would, and all of it was hers to keep. She was leaving the 12th Precinct, and the NYPD, with no regrets.

"Let's go home," Kate said, carefully shifting the box in her arms.

She and Rick walked side by side to the elevator, their parents and Alexis trailing after them. "We'll take the next elevator," Alexis said, "give you two a minute alone."

Before the doors opened, Kate and Rick looked at each other. Then it was Rick who looked around the room once more. When they got on the elevator and the doors closed, they turned to look at each other, and Rick said with a smile, "So, on to our next adventure."

Kate beamed at him. "I can't wait," she replied.