Disclaimer: Don't own it

I don't read any fanfiction myself, so please if this story ventures too close to anyone else's let me know and I will remove it.

The rest of the day passed all too quickly for Castle. He was getting everything prepared for that night. It was going to take a lot of work to find out where Kate was off to and if he got caught there would be hell to pay.

For Kate however, the hours dragged by. After she was finished packing she spent most of the time pacing and wringing her hands like wet towels.

Seven o'clock finally came and Beckett's heart sank into her stomach when Castle knocked on the door. She didn't want to go. There was a good chance if she didn't play her cards right she may not make it out of this one alive. The only comfort she had was being able to say goodbye on her terms. She composed herself and opened the door with a smile. "Hey,"

"Hi." He stepped through the door still seeming content.

"Um, just let me get my things. I'll be back in a minute." She turned and headed for her room.

He nodded and waited until she was safely in the other room before diving for her handbag. He wasted no time in finding her wallet and lifting her credit card along with her badge. As soon as he had her number, the badge went in his pocket and he set everything back the way it was and just in time, because a second later she stepped back into the room with her bags in hand. He smiled calmly and took the bags from her. "Ready?"

She looked at him skeptically, the slight but sudden emotional change throwing her off. However, this was Castle and she knew even the slightest things could change his mood.

"I've decided something." He started as they made their way to his car.

She stopped dead. "You're not coming with me, Castle."

He chuckled. "No, you're a big girl and you need to see your family. I'm sure you'll be ok without backup, this one time." He turned and winked playfully at her as he opened the car door to put her things in.

She relaxed and started walking again.

"I've decided that while you're away, I'm going to take your advice."

"You are?" She sounded shocked. He was actually going to listen for a change.

"Yes. I'm going to spend some father daughter time with Alexis. It's her last summer home before she goes to college and I want to spend as much time with her as I can."

She smiled and climbed into the car as he got in the other side. "That's really sweet, Castle. I'm sure you two will have a great weekend. And I'm glad you'll be keeping yourself out of trouble while I'm gone."

"Now, I don't know if I'd go that far."

She laughed as they began to drive.

He wished more than anything; he could have made that drive take thirty hours instead of thirty minutes. At one point he seriously considered kidnapping her, but was pretty sure she'd arrest him if he tried. Finally he had to resolve himself to just saying goodbye. He waited with her in the airport until her flight was called to board.

They both took deep breaths, feeling very awkward with each other.

"Well," she started. "have a nice week, Castle." She extended her hand. "And try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

The wink she gave him was adorable. He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled her into a tight embrace, encasing her in his arms.

Her eyes widened at the sudden pull, but she wasn't really surprised. She hid a smile and her pink face in his shoulder as she grasped him back.

Finally he released her. "Have a good time. See you in a week."

"See you in a week."

They just stood there, unmoving, hardly breathing. She knew if anything went wrong on this mission she'd probably never see him again. He knew she may never forgive him for what he was about to do. Neither one wanted to move first. Their eyes were locked.

Kate's heart pounded. If there was a chance she was never going to see him again, she wanted to tell him how much she loved him. But if she did and something did happen it would only make the pain that much worse.

Castle's chest felt like someone was putting a hundred pounds of pressure on it. He reached up, to tangle his fingers in her hair, determined not to let her get away from him like she had done so many times in the past, but just as he touched her, her flight was called again, shaking them both back to cold reality.

She bit her lip and dropped her head shaking it slightly. Sighing she said, "Goodbye, Castle." took her carry-on and walked away to board the plane.

He stood, disappointment filling him for a moment. Then he suddenly remembered what he had to do. He waved goodbye to her as she stepped through the gate and then darted for the nearest attendant's desk. Castle's heart raced knowing just how much trouble he could get in for impersonating an officer, but while his insides were a wreck, his outside was cool and collected. He walked up to the attendants at the desk calmly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary, making sure to pick the youngest looking girl to speak to. "Hello, Mam," he spoke softly so as not to startle her.

The young lady looked up from her computer with a smile. "How may I help you sir?"

"I'm detective, Rick Roberts, NYPD." He held Kate's badge up momentarily. "We're tracking a suspect in a string of recent robberies and there is reason to believe they are on board one of these planes." He slid two pieces of paper over the desk to her. "That is the suspects credit card number and a warrant for the release of information I'm about to ask you for. I need you run the credit number and tell me what flights the suspect may be taking?" Normally he could have just asked Ryan or Esposito to track Kate's card, but everyone at the precinct was determined to keep him in the dark about where Kate was really going. Drastic measures had to be taken.

"One moment please sir." The young girl went to work on her computer, her fingers flying over the keys. "Here you are, sir." She paused a moment holding her finger on the screen to keep her place. "It seems there are two flights scheduled for this particular credit card. One has just left from here to Miami, Florida. The other is scheduled to leave right from Miami to Las Vegas"

He pressed his lips together and nodded. "There's just one more thing I need."

She looked up attentively.

"I need to be on the next flight out to Las Vegas."

A few more taps on the computer and she had found his open flight.

Smiling he paid for the ticket and took it from her. "Thank you very much for your assistance, Mam."

"Of course." She smiled.

Castle walked away, adrenalin pumping. It was a good thing he already had his bags in the car, because his flight left in thirty minutes. Now the only question on his mind was why the hell Kate was going to Vegas and what was she keeping from him?

~Las Vegas~

After three and a half hours of waiting after he landed, her flight finally came in. He knew exactly where she'd enter. Person after person walked into the lobby, but no Kate. He was starting to worry that she had actually evaded him, but just then someone else stepped into the room. If his jaw hadn't been attached it would have been lying on the floor. It was Beckett, the one he had dreams about, but not the one he knew. She was in black leather from her head to her feet. He forgot how to breathe as he gazed at her. Knee high, four inch heels graced her slender legs. The tight black skirt hugged her luxurious curves. The laces of her black and red corset made an easy path for the eyes from her waist to her chest. A simple black choker accented her neck and her normally auburn hair was now deep red. Her sweet lips could have been stained with blood and her eyes… His thoughts were abruptly stopped when he realized she was staring directly at him.

It was a good thing looks couldn't kill, because if they could he'd be dead and she'd be guilty of murder. She walked to him calmly and stood right in front of him. "With me, now." That was all she said. Her voice was calm and even, but the fury behind it was obvious and it scared him. He'd seen her angry, but never like this. She was absolutely livid. He followed her obediently out of the airport and into a cab. She wouldn't look at him and they didn't speak a word until they arrived at her hotel.

Castle gave a slight quiver at the sight of the place. He was pretty sure roaches probably rented those rooms more than humans did, but he didn't dare argue with her. They stepped into the room and she calmly shut the door and locked it. That's when he knew just how much trouble he was actually in.