First of all, a lot of you indicated that you wanted the second half, so here it is! Thanks for all the encouraging comments! I had most of it done up to the ending already, but I couldn't figure out how to finish it all in a non-awkward fashion. It was like pulling teeth but I think it came out pretty well in the end. I hope you all like what came out from hours of brainstorming.

She saw him first.

It was a couple days after the phone call from Gina. Beckett was out getting lunch at her favorite bistro with Lanie and she saw a flash of Castle out of the corner of her eye. At first she blamed it on her recently overactive imagination and she had to do a double-take to make sure, but he was unmistakeably there at their bistro sitting at one of the outdoor tables staring despondently at his bowl of soup, watching it go cold. Any negative feelings she harbored at the moment melted away at the sight of him. Ever since the day she realized she wanted more from him than just friendship, she found herself defenseless at the thought of him. Damn. She did not need this now. She needed to solidify her mental walls, not run up to him and wave a freakin' white flag in his face!

Besides, it wasn't even fall yet. What was he doing back here so soon?

She looked away, fully intent on ignoring him and tried to nudge Lanie in a different direction, claiming she had a change of heart and wanted to get diner food instead. It almost worked too, until Lanie looked in the direction of the bistro and spotted him as well. Lanie elbowed Beckett in the ribs, but Beckett decided to ignore her. Oh is this how this was going to be? Lanie inhaled deeply and just as Beckett made a move to try prevent the impending disaster, Lanie hollered at the top of her lungs.

"Castle! HEY CA...MPRPH!"

Beckett clamped her hand over Lanie's mouth. He didn't even look up, much to Beckett's relief. Lanie on the other hand, was not one to give up so easily. It took a few minutes, but she managed to successfully wrestle away from Beckett and made a mad dash toward his table before trying again.

"Rick Castle, boy, if you ignore me again imma smack you so so hard you'll end up on my table!"

That had just barely grabbed his attention. Castle looked up from his soup in their direction and when recognition of the two women dawned on him, his face quickly rearranged itself into a cheerful smile. He waved frantically and motioned for them to come join him. Beckett shot Lanie her best accusatory glare (which was instantly deflected by a cheerful but insistent smile) and groaned audibly as Lanie grabbed her elbow and half dragged her to his table. She thought she had a whole summer to get Castle out of her system and was so not ready to deal with him yet. Not wanting to be rude, Beckett simply smiled politely as she took a seat next across from him. Lanie followed, pulling an extra chair up next to Beckett and folding her arms, content with observing the pair as they attempted to interact with each other.

"What are you doing here?" Beckett blurted out before she even knew what was coming out of her mouth. That didn't sound very nice. "I mean, it's still in the middle of summer... I figured you'd still be in the Hamptons." Right. Nice save genius.

Castle looked baffled at her accusation. "Gina sent me back." He said simply. He conveniently left out the fact that he'd been openly moping around the mansion the entire time, wondering what Beckett was doing at that moment and whether she was spending time with Demming that night. It nearly drove him crazy. His little episode with Gina before he left for the Hamptons was just a front. A show for Beckett to prove to her that he wasn't completely shattered after she had candidly admitted her progressing relationship with Demming. He wanted her to be comfortable with her decisions and didn't want her to feel awkward on his behalf, so he had asked Gina to pick him up at the precinct. That and his ego couldn't have her knowing that he was pining over her when she was running off to beach houses to be with another man.

"You just left her there?"

"No. Well... technically yes?" Beckett looked at Castle incredulously. "She had some things she wanted to take care of while she was there."

"I thought you were one of those things." She bit out, unable to help herself.

Silence.

Lanie was in the middle of looking back and forth between the pair when her phone buzzed, breaking up the tension that had descended onto the group. She flipped her phone open and poked at a few of the buttons, reading the text message that had recently arrived in her inbox.

"Oh look at that, I got a fresh stiff waiting at the lab just laying there waiting for me. It's like Christmas in July!" Lanie shut her phone and quickly stood up. It would have been comical to watch if Beckett wasn't feeling so emotionally compromised at that moment. She whipped her head around to face Lanie, silently begging with her eyes for her friend to stay. Lanie would have none of it this time. This was an issue that needed to resolve itself immediately.

"Fix this or don't come back." She leaned over and hissed quietly into Beckett's ear, patting Beckett on the shoulder before disappearing down the street.

They sat there awkwardly for a good twenty minutes; him picking at his food, her looking up at the sky. Neither could find the words to start a proper conversation. Finally unable to handle the tension any longer, Castle decided he would be the one to break the ice and attempt to explain his situation to Beckett.

"She was just there to make sure I got my work done."

No reply.

He decided to try a new topic.

"How was your getaway with Demming?"

Castle caught her small grimace, but he chose not to say anything when Beckett kept silent. Trouble in paradise he guessed. He didn't want to push the issue if she was uncomfortable talking about it, but was it wrong of him if he felt a little glimmer of hope?

He was jarred out of his thoughts as another phone made its presence known.

"Beckett." She paused as she listened as details of another grisly murder were loosely described to her. "I'll be right there." Castle perked up at this.

She finally looked back at him. This was her chance to make a run for it and although it went against every detective instinct in her, the fear in her heart commanded her to seize the opportunity.

"I've got to go." Castle looked up quickly as his smile deflated and his posture sagged. He was so sure she was going to ask him along with her trademark 'Are you coming Castle?' Beckett pretended not to notice. "...So, um... I'll see you later Castle."

She was running. Something had happened while he was away, something that changed the way Beckett acted when he asked about Demming. Something important. Something he could tell she wanted to talk about yet avoid at the same time. He had to stop her from running; for both his sanity and hers.

Castle made a split second decision as he caught her moving away. Beckett gasped as she felt a hand unexpectedly snag her wrist. She made a weak attempt to break free but he kept his grip firm. She turned slowly to look down at the puppy eyes he was making at her.

"Can I come with you?"

"You're still on leave."

"I'm not a cop. I don't have leave."

She paused at this, trying to find some kind of snarky remark to throw back at him or something that would get him to go home.

He continued when he noticed her contemplating the situation, "Look, I'll behave. I'll be quiet. I won't say a word! Come on...Pleeeeaaaase?" Not that childish whine again. She knew it meant he wouldn't stop pestering her until he got what he wanted. Good lord she sensed an enormous headache in the making.

"....Fine." She ground out. "But only if you behave." What was she saying? It was Castle. The chance of her getting him to even sit still was slimmer than the possibility of Armageddon.

Castle literally jumped up and bounced in place as he waited for her to start walking. Beckett's mind blanked out before one word came floating to unbidden into her mind. Cute.

Oh no.

That thought seemed to release the floodgate to a sea of taboo thoughts. She was unable to stop what came out next.

"Tom and I are no longer together."

Oh god. She had no idea what had possessed her to say that to him. She turned away quickly, convinced that she had just successfully destroyed the last shred of her pride. Not waiting for his reply, she tried to move further down the street but stopped when felt herself being jerked back. His hand was still wrapped around her wrist and it prevented her from going more than a few steps.

"Um... Castle?"

"Oh... sorry!" No he wasn't and he didn't let go. "Why?" A sudden bout of curiosity overshadowing the thrilling surge of happiness that spread through him when he'd heard Demming's fate.

"Because."

"Why." He tried again.

"It wasn't working out between us." A generic response at best.

This might well be his last chance at getting her to open up and he wasn't going to let it slip by again. He stood up and met her gaze steadily, daring her to say what she was so obviously thinking. Beckett seemed to ignore him as she pulled against his grip. Making her confront the issue proved fruitless so Castle let her drag him down the street. They walked briskly in silence until halfway down the the third block she stopped suddenly causing him to nearly collide into her.

"The heart wants what the heart wants..." was her only explanation. He recognized the line he'd used in one of their previous conversations and somehow, he knew what she meant. Emboldened by her words, he took a flying leap of faith as he slid his hand down from her wrist, grasping her hand and squeezing it lightly.

Beckett's eyes widened at his courage, but she quickly shook her own hand free from his and moved a few feet in front of him. She couldn't go through this again. She had been through the ringer almost since she had met him and it confused the hell out of her. She hated being confused. It meant having to go against the control freak ingrained in her nature and she was very much against that notion.

And yet, something inside her wanted so much to explore what could have been... what might still be. It was virtually unstoppable. The seed had been planted in her heart long before, but it had taken weeks of his absence to mature and had bloomed brilliantly when he took her hand in his. She was torn between appeasing this new craving and shielding herself from further potential emotional damage. Whatever she decided to do, there was something she absolutely had to make sure of before she would even consider making a decision.

"What about Gina?"

"What about Gina?" His eyes sparkled at her question, clearly knowing what she meant. He watch her frown so he sighed and continued with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I bribed her."

"You what?"

"I said I'd let her force me to finish Naked Heat right away if she promised to go with me to the precinct."

She somehow felt herself grow increasingly incensed at his comment. The show at the precinct was fake? She had her heart broken and went through weeks of hell over something that wasn't even real?

"What the hell Castle! What did you think you were doing with that? Were you trying to make me angry? MAYBE make me jealous?" She snarled as she rounded on him menacingly.

He looked bewildered for a moment before holding up his hands in front of him, flinching away from her with eyes squeezed shut "No no no no..." he yelped. "I just... I wanted you to be comfortable. You seemed really off after I found out about you going to the beach house and I thought that if I was with Gina you'd feel better about going. So I just... I wanted... I want you to be happy..." he finished softly.

Any anger that had gathered within her dissolved instantly as it struck her. This was it. This was the moment they had both been waiting for.

"You lied to her." She said, letting a small smile play on her lips, a signal she was no longer angry with him. As a sign of good faith, she reached out tentatively and took his hand with hers.

"That would be your fault." Castle quipped as he finally managed a genuine smile for the first time in days. He raised his head to look at her and suddenly, he was struck with a flash of inspiration. It was the most fantastic idea he'd had in a long time. "You haven't eaten yet right?"

"No, but..."

"Wait here."

"What, Castle... we don't have time..."

The comment fell on deaf ears as he raced into the nearby bakery he'd spotted when he looked up. A few minutes later, he came out holding a paper bag, a delicious aroma wafting out from within. Beckett couldn't tell what he was up to until he held the bag out to her with a grin more idiotic than it was cheeky. It was then she realized that he had gathered all the stolen apples along with those she'd thought she lost when he upset the cart and transformed them into something exponentially sweeter and a thousand times more exquisite.

"Apple pie?"

END

So there it is. I hope you guys liked it! Sorry to those who thought Beckett was seriously going to go to the Hamptons to kick Gina's sorry ass. I never saw her as that big of a threat to Beckett before. Maybe I'll do one where that happens :)