A/N- I'm posting this chapter slightly ahead of schedule but I'm assuming there will be plenty of post-ep fics after Monday to keep everyone busy :)

Thank you to everyone that is reading this story. I'm blown away and you don't know how much it means to me! (Special shout out to J&J my constant cheerleaders)

Jo- you're the best. Thank you for not giving up on me.

Disclaimer- Castle (and the two lines of borrowed dialogue) are not mine, but all the mistakes are.

The More Things Change…

…the more they stay the same. Kate Beckett is bored with life, but when a serial killer starts dedicating murders to her- someone enters the scene to aid with the investigation and her life may never be the same. Season 2- AU Caskett meeting.

Chapter 12

Taking the elevator up to the homicide floor the next day, Kate jumped, startled as her phone notified her of a text message.

'My office. NOW'

Montgomery wasn't usually the one to send her direct messages, so she cringed at the meaning behind the words. The doors opened and she made a bee-line to his office.

"Captain?" Kate asked, knocking on the door frame to his office.

"Detective, come in. Close the door please." After shutting the door, she walked over and sat down in the chair. Her eyes fixed on the multiple newspapers on his desk. Shit.

"What's this about?" Her voice wasn't as confident as she wanted it to sound. She knew what this was, but she didn't know how bad it was yet.

"A sergeant from robbery called these little gems to my attention today. Imagine my surprise when I open up the paper to find my lead detective's picture plastered all over the gossip pages."

"Sir—"

"Making out with Richard Castle!" he hissed

"Captain. I'm sure it's not what it looks like," she stated, not sure how she could deny the photographic proof. Montgomery handed her the folded pages. Two huge images of her and Castle in a heated embrace stared back at her. One picture actually showed the kiss while the other was right before their lips met. Staring at the paper, she knew she should be embarrassed and angry, but she was momentarily in awe of the pictures. They both looked happy and in lo—

No! This picture was in a newspaper for the world to see. This wasn't good.

"Beckett, what you do on your own time is your own business. I've never known you to be irresponsible mixing work and personal issues, and I don't expect that to be an issue now."

"No sir."

"He seems good for you, Beckett. You seem to be having fun, but if this effects any of your work…"

"It won't. There's nothing to worry about."

"There better not be," he stated, before changing his tone. "Now how are things coming with the Wilder case?"

"We've got a couple leads and we've got the time of death window narrowed," she said.

"When robbery brought the newspaper up, they wanted to make sure we didn't need any help for the theft component of the case."

"That's a minor part of the case. I think we can do it without a consult from robbery."

"Okay. Sergeant McClain said he knew that Detective Demming would be willing to assist if needed."

"Sir, no offense to Sergeant McClain, but my team can manage just fine without Robbery's help. If we're done here, I'd like to get back to my investigation," Kate insisted.

"Yes, yes. We're done. Just remember what I said Beckett. This doesn't affect your work."

"It won't, Sir. Thank you." She held tight onto the newspaper as she walked out of the Captain's office, but when she entered the bullpen all eyes were staring in her direction. Anger and embarrassment flared onto her cheeks, but she refused to acknowledge the looks. Flinging the drawer to her desk open, she shoved the newspapers inside and slammed it shut. Esposito and Ryan walked in her direction; both obviously ready to crack a joke until they saw her glare up at them.

"Don't even start."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Espo said with a smirk.

"I'm not in the mood guys."

"You're not in the mood? So Castle wasn't there for you this morning?"

"Ryan!" she hissed at his question.

"I wasn't where?" Castle asked, walking up to sit next to her desk, apparently catching the tail end of Ryan's question.

"Just asking if you took care of Beckett this morning. She seems a little cranky," Ryan laughed as Espo gave him a high-five.

"So glad that everyone can be adults about this," she called over to the boys as they walked back to their desks.

"Beckett?" Castle looked over at her with a confused look on his face.

"I take it that you didn't see the newspaper this morning?"

"No, I had a call from Paula, but I didn't listen to the voicemail. Just came straight here to bring you this," he said, smiling as he handed her the mug of coffee.

"Perhaps you should've listened to her message," she whispered in his direction.

"Everyone is looking at us," Castle replied. How had he just noticed this? Wasn't he supposed to be good at observing the situation? Instead he was sitting here stating the obvious.

"Yes, Castle. Everyone is staring at us, and perhaps you should fire your publicist."

"They published the pictures?" he concluded.

"Yep."

"How bad?"

"The pictures themselves aren't bad—"

"We look good?"

"Castle, that's not the point. I've already been called into Montgomery's office," she hissed.

"Kate, I'm sorry. How mad is he?"

"He's not exactly mad, but he said if it affected my work you'd be gone."

"Why would it affect anything, Beckett?"

"Look around," she said. His eyes darted around to see the smirks and stares of Kate's colleagues. "Castle, I'm the laughing stock of the precinct."

"Can I see the paper? What does it say?" Oh God. She had been so zoned in on the pictures that she hadn't even paid attention to the headline or article that was attached. Pulling the drawer back open, her heart sank when she finally read the headline staring up at her.

'Sexy Detective's Walk of Shame'

'Castle's Muse for the Page and the Bedroom'

"Castle's latest flavor of the week just so happens to be none other than Detective Kate Beckett, whom the writer is following around for his latest novel. Apparently Mr. Castle is finding inspiration in the bedroom as well. Word on the street says that the Detective was seen wearing last night's dress while leaving the writer's home in the early morning hours," she read to Castle in a hushed tone.

The words from the blurb were getting caught in her throat. She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life but she was trying her best not to freak out in the middle of the homicide floor.

"Kate—"

"People need to stop looking at us," she continued to whisper. Her eyes had remained downcast since Castle sat down next to her, but she could feel the stares of the other cops burning into her skin.

"There's nothing to see here," Castle announced to the onlookers, which in turn caused her to try and crawl into herself. What the hell was he doing?

"Castle!" she hissed. "Not helping!" She hid her head in her hands as a couple more people whistled and laughed as they walked by the pair. Sure, these people were her co-workers, but the precinct was already such a gossip mill, and now they had real live page six gossip sitting in the middle of the floor on public display. This was too much for her. "I've got to get out of here."

Continuing to avoid the glares from around the room, she hurried toward the elevator with Castle hot on her heels.

"Beckett."

"Please Castle. No talking right now," she snapped over her shoulder. She could swear she heard someone behind them say 'Going to have a quickie, Beckett?' but she couldn't bring herself to try and find the source of the statement. As the elevator doors closed with her and Castle inside, she could hear Montgomery yell at the floor to get back to work. It was a little late for that.

Kate practically sprinted out of the building, trying to get as much distance from herself and the ridicule of the rest of the precinct as she could. By the time Castle caught up, she was bent over, leaning against a building halfway down the block.

"Kate. I just wanted to help."

"Please," she gasped, nearly hyperventilating. "I know you mean well. I know this isn't your fault."

"Tell me what I can do. Tell me how I can fix this. I want to fix this for you."

"Castle, I don't know how you can fix this. I'm not ashamed of what happened between us. I don't regret it, but it's so violating to have it broadcast in the news. How do you deal with this?"

"I'm used to it. It comes with the territory of being known. I don't like the lack of privacy, but Paula usually spins it to be beneficial for sales."

"I'm a cop. I try to avoid getting my name in the papers. It doesn't help if I try and do an undercover assignment; I don't want people to recognize me."

"We really do have very different lives," he said.

"You're just now realizing this?" she snapped.

"No, of course not. I just sometimes forget until moments like this smack me in the face," he admitted, reaching out to touch her arm, but he stopped before actually making contact. She could tell he was scared to show any sort of affection toward her in public.

"This is awful."

"You can say that again. Maybe we should get out of the street. I don't want there to be another idiot with a camera to make this worse."

"Good point," she said with a nod, pulling herself off of the ground. They were heading to her car when Castle's cell phone rang.

"It's Paula."

"Well answer it," she said, rolling her eyes. She would've thought that dealing with his publicist would've been an obvious solution.

"Hey Paula. Yeah, I saw. I thought you had it handled. I see. Is that what she said? I don't think that's necessary. Uh huh. I'll think about it. I'll let you know. Bye." Only hearing one side of the conversation left her confused and feeling a little guilty. She tried to tune it out, but knowing that she could have a fix to the issue; her curiosity got the best of her.

They were standing next to her car by the time he started talking again. "She wants me to go to the Hamptons."

"What? Why?" she asked in shock.

"She said she tried everything to get them to prevent the story from running, but now that it's out there—she's been contacted by a couple other gossip rags. Apparently this is quite the story," he explained.

"But there isn't anything to tell."

"No, but if anyone sees us together they'll probably just make up a headline to go with another picture. Make something scandalous out of something completely innocent."

"So, she wants you to leave?"

"No, she doesn't care about the headlines. She thinks it will be great for sales, but she knows I want to keep you out of the press. So my publisher actually suggested that I go to the Hamptons to finish the book."

"The Hamptons," Kate repeated, leaning against her cruiser. "For how long?"

"The summer or until things cool down. She suggested I try to leave today. Next week will be crazy with all the holiday traffic."

"Today?" she asked in disbelief. Silence fell between them, but then realized it was the perfect plan. Castle would be away from the city; away from the people following her around. "You should. It's for the best."

"Beckett." His voice was full of concern and his expression looked hurt.

"Castle, it's already nine. You should go home and get packed." She wasn't pushing him away, but she needed to encourage him to go to keep him safe.

"I'm not saying goodbye to you like this. I'm not sure this is a good idea." He tried to reach out for her again, but dropped his hand. She could see him clench his hand together in irritation.

"Your publicist and your publisher suggested it. It's obviously a good idea, Castle." She met his eyes and gave him a small smile. His shoulders deflated while he stared down at his feet. Kate could feel his hesitation in the air between them before he took a deep breath.

"Fine. You're probably right, but will you come by later? The parking garage is secure. You can help me load the car and say goodbye."

"Okay. I'll be there."

"Are you sure you don't need me today?" he asked, almost like he was trying anything to stay with her longer.

"I'll manage. I need to get used to you not being here," she teased, though her heart was not into the joke because the truth was glaring behind her words.

"I'll see you tonight, Kate." His eyes scanned the garage before he laid his hand on her arm and gave it a squeeze. She could hear the apology in his tone. He still felt the weight of blame on his shoulders.

As promised, she met him at his loft to say goodbye.

He grabbed her hand as they walked out to the parking garage attached to his building. Kate was surprised when he initially said he was driving up himself, but he said the long drive would provide him time alone with his thoughts. Throwing his bag into the trunk and slamming it shut, he turned back to her with a hesitant look on his face.

"I'm so sorry about all of this, Beckett."

"Castle don't. I promise you this isn't your fault. I promise you I'm not blaming you." The look on his face confirmed her suspicion that he didn't believe a word she said. He was beating himself up for the whole media fiasco. She wanted to tell him everything. Tell him about her dad; tell him about the people who were watching her, but she had promised her mom. She'd promised that she wouldn't bring anyone else into it, that she wouldn't put anyone else at risk. Encouraging Castle to go to the Hamptons seemed like the best way to keep him safe and keep her promise.

"I don't want to go if this will hurt anything between us."

"Hey—no, don't say that. You're still you and I'm still me. The writers on page six—they don't know what they're talking about. But Paula is right about staying out of the public eye together, right now. Hopefully it will help cool things down," she explained, keeping her voice full of conviction.

"This feels like I'm running away. Feels like I'm hiding from you and me. I'm not ashamed of us."

"No—I know, but you're not hiding. You're working on your book. Getting some space."

"I really care about you; more than I should at this point," he said, reaching out to pull her into his arms. Her resolve was starting to crumble. She really didn't want to see him go.

"I care about you too, Castle, but I think you taking a couple weeks? It's for the best. Maybe it doesn't have to be the whole summer?" When the question fell from her lips, she knew it was a bad idea. He needed to stay safe in the Hamptons for a while and now she was already suggesting that the trip didn't need to be so long. He squeezed her tighter and placed a soft kiss into her hair before he pulled back.

"I know you don't want anything between us to be anything more than fun. And I promised not to push, but Kate, you can't deny what we have is so much more than just fun. It feels like something real." She gasped at his words. It did feel like something real, but it really couldn't be. Not yet.

"Castle—"

"Just think about it, okay?"

"Rick—"

"You could come up to the Hamptons for Memorial Day. We can spend the weekend on the beach or by the pool. My mom and Alexis will be there too. It's a great kick off to summer," he said.

"Wow, Caste. You're working really hard to see me in a swimsuit."

"If you are not comfortable in a swimsuit, you can just skinny dip," he replied with a smirk. She lightly smacked his chest and rolled her eyes with a laugh. He continued to smile as he brought his hand to her chin, nudging it up so she was looking into his eyes. "All jokes aside…"

"I'll think about it."

"The weekend or—"

"Both. I'll think about both, Castle." She leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Breaking the contact after a moment, she allowed herself to be wrapped up in his arms again and sighed while resting her head into his chest. "I'll miss you following me around."

"I'm not gone forever. Just a couple weeks, until this all blows over. But for what it's worth, I'll miss you too," he stated, turning to kiss her forehead.

"Promise you'll be safe?" she whispered.

"Kate, it's the Hamptons." He didn't know. He seemed confused by her worry, but she couldn't explain and it was killing her inside. He would be safe in the Hamptons and she'll find the people responsible by herself. She would find them so it will be safe for him to actually be with her. She closed her eyes for a moment to find her center.

"Just promise?"

"I promise. And you'll promise to think about it?" he asked, pulling back from their embrace. He moved to get into the driver's seat of his car, leaving her standing there without the warmth of his body.

"I'll think about it," she promised with a smile. Her smile quickly faded as she watched the man she was falling in love with drive off. Nothing about this was fun.

TBC

Thank you so much for reading this! I would love to know what you think! Thanks again :)