A/N: Firstly, I am so, so sorry for not updating for ages. My only excuse is that I put a bit more focus on a Harry Potter story that only had a few chapters left and I started doing my first archaeological excavation which required me getting up at 7am and working from 9am to half 5 and not getting home till 6 for two weeks, leaving me seriously tired with stiff hands. Anyway, enough excuses and more chapter!


The morgue was always cold but when Kate entered it that morning, she couldn't help thinking the air was perhaps a bit chillier than usual. It wasn't a place she particularly liked, filled with stainless steel and the unmistakable stench of death. It was such a miserable place, that you could almost feel the decay clinging to your skin, following you out of the room. Usually, Kate could brush aside the icy atmosphere, and instead focus on Lanie, her bright and bubbly best friend; today though the atmosphere was as unfriendly as she expected Lanie to be and she just couldn't stop thinking about just how stony her friend would be with her.

"Well-"

"-Lanie," Kate interrupted, trying to head her off before she could build up into an inferno of a rant, "before you say anything, it's not that we didn't want to tell you. We hadn't told anyone, you know since Alexis isn't here. I know you're probably mad that I didn't tell you-"

"-You think I'm mad?" Lanie asked, looking at Kate incredulously.

"You're not?"

Lanie tutted at the wariness in Kate's tone. "No, I'm not. I thought you might be though," she admitted. "Ever since I saw that magazine cover this morning, I've been preparing myself for you to come storming down here. I even managed to sneak in a bottle of wine since I thought you might need it."

"Why does everyone think I'm going to be mad about this?"

One of Lanie's eyebrows quirked upwards, humour twisting her lips into a smirk. "Girl, seriously?"

"What?"

"This is you we're talking about, you know, the patron saint of privacy."

"I'm not that secretive, I'm just independent…" Kate muttered introspectively.

Rather than trying to convince intractable Kate any different, Lanie continued, "I just thought that since you hadn't told us, you wouldn't appreciate the world knowing."

"I don't appreciate it," Kate remarked. "But what can I do? It's not the first time I've been in the papers and I doubt it'll be the last. Castle's drafting a statement."

"I'm sure it'll all calm down soon. Next week, they'll have forgotten all about you and Castle and it'll be some other unlucky, apparently news-worthy person on all the covers." A beat of silence passed comfortably between the two best friends before Lanie apparently snapped out of her thoughts and grabbed Kate's hand with a large smile across her face. "Guess you'd better show me this ring. Knowing Castle, it's sure to be one heck of a rock." After glancing at Kate's ringless finger, Lanie actually turned the detective's hand upside down in search of the missing engagement ring.

At her look of confusion, Kate explained, "I don't want anything bad to happen to it," and pulled the chain out from under her shirt once more.

Lanie gasped at the ring Beckett showed her. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing she had pictured Castle trying to slip onto Kate's finger – it was much too simple and understated for that – but she couldn't help thinking that it was exactly the kind of thing Kate would let him give her. The band itself wasn't quite silver; it had a more burnished finish, which combined with the gold setting for the row of small diamonds (and Lanie was sure they were real) seemed to fit perfectly with Kate's personality.

"Kate, it's gorgeous."

"I know," she murmured, smiling fondly as she remembered Rick sliding it onto her finger for the first time.

Handing the chain back to Kate, Lanie asked, "So, when's the big day?"

Kate shrugged. She was still getting used to the fact that she was engaged. She and Castle handed even discussed when they might like to actually hold the wedding ceremony. There were so many things they hadn't thought about. One thing she was certain about was her bridal party. "Since I'm here and you know, I guess I should ask. Be my Maid of Honour?"


Rick turned back around to face Paula, only to have her shove him in the chest and send him stumbling backwards.

"Talk and walk, Rick. The fans are waiting."

"Right," he replied, taking a couple more steps backwards. "So, Kate's okayed a statement."

"Marvellous," Paula said, sounding impatient as ever. "I'll release the usual then?"

Rick nodded. "We would like everyone to respect our privacy at this time. You know the drill," he told his agent. "And if you could tell your sources that Kate is as off limits as Alexis is, that would be great-"

"-Does the detective know that you're asking me this?"

Rick shook his head. He hadn't told Kate that he was going to request the media leave her alone, but he didn't think she'd mind. He was sure that if another paparazzo took a picture of her as she left his loft for work running on just three hours of sleep, she'd probably end up arresting him.

"Not a great start for a marriage, Rick," Paula warned.

"I know what I'm doing," he said, too confident for her words to have much effect on him. Pleased to have arranged their statement so quickly, taking Paula's quick typing on her tablet as evidence that she was already notifying the appropriate people, Rick spun back around and took his seat at the table prepared for the signing. All around him were copies of Deadly Heat, and he could even see a few cardboard cut-outs of himself through the large group of fans clapping appreciatively at his appearance.

To the side of the table, a burly security guard nodded at the first person in line, a man in his mid-twenties who handed Rick a hard-back copy of Deadly Heat the instant he was within reach.

"Hi," Rick greeted, stretching his lips into the usual charming smile he employed for fans and pictures. He flipped the cover open, ignoring the picture of himself on the book jacket. It was a new one taken this year (since Paula and the people at Black Pawn had been complaining that his previous author's photo was too outdated and he still looked like a twenty five year old in it) but he'd had so many done that they all seemed to look the same. Beckett assured him that he looked sexy in it, and as long as she thought so that was all that mattered. "What's the name?"

"Paul," the man replied, holding out a hand for Rick to shake. "I'm such a big fan. I read all of the Derrick Storm novels. Unholy Storm is my favourite. It was a really great book."

Rick grinned, always taking pleasure from people singing his praises. It didn't happen too often. "Thank you," he said, picking up his fountain pen and quickly writing across the first page, 'Paul, hope you enjoy this one as much as Unholy Storm' and signing his name at the bottom.

"Congratulations on your engagement by the way," Paul said as he received his newly signed book.

"Thanks."


"You don't want Madison, or someone from college?"

Kate shook her head. "You're my best friend, Lanie. There's no-one else I'd rather have."

"You mean no-one else more suited to the job," Lanie corrected, resulting in a customary 'Beckett-eye-roll'. "Kate, all I can promise is that you're going to have the best bachelorette party New York has ever seen."

"Thanks, I'm sure you'll be great." The words were barely out of her mouth when Lanie's phone began ringing. As the on-call Medical Examiner, it looked like her presence was being demanded at a crime scene. "See you there," Kate mouthed to Lanie, who nodded and continued listening to her own phone call.

Just as she expected, her pocket began trilling. Sending Lanie a look, Kate pulled the phone out and answered, "Beckett."

The voice on the other end of the line gave her brief details about her next case as Lanie waved goodbye and left for the crime scene.

"Uh huh. Got it," she replied, fishing her notebook out of her other trouser pocket to note down the address dictated to her. The morgue doors swung closed behind Kate masking the sound of her phone alerting her to a text message. She still felt the vibrations in her hand though and quickly read through the text as she walked.


Fifteen people later, Castle was still being congratulated on his and Kate's engagement, despite it technically only being a rumour in a magazine. Still, the picture of him on one knee holding out a ring spoke a thousand words, he thought. At least it kept the signing fresh, he supposed. Normally he was stuck dodging questions about what he was writing next or what happened in the book or why he ended one of his book series, or even worse: requests for his cell phone number.

"I'm afraid I'm too busy to read and help edit manuscripts," Rick told the guy standing in front of him. "My advice is to edit and rewrite your manuscript until you feel happy with it and then start sending submissions to literary agents. If one of them likes it, or feels there's a market for it, then they'll get you an editor and set up the publishing process for you – it's a lot easier. Crime's the in genre – just give it a shot."

After handing back his book and wishing him good luck, Rick turned his attention to the young man standing behind him. It was obvious just from looking at him that 'man' wasn't exactly the right descriptor. He was an odd-looking guy, Rick thought. He didn't have many fans under the age of twenty, and those that he did tended to be girls who were after his money and fame. Aside from his age, Rick found it strange that he didn't seem to be happy or pleased to see him; rather looking and sounding moody the entire five minutes he was allotted to get his book signed.

"So, er, where's the cop?" the teenager finally asked, craning his neck to search behind Rick's table.

"You mean Kate?"

"The hot cop you based the book on." Rick forced himself not to react in spite of his correct suspicion that the teenager wasn't a fan of him but rather Kate.

"Since she's a cop, she's at work," Rick answered, trying to keep a level head despite the boys attitude beginning to grate on him. "Thanks for coming," he said, signalling to the security guard to move the guy along and allow the woman waiting in line behind him up to the table.

"Hi, sorry for the wait."

"Not to worry," the woman replied. "I'm sure you'll be here long after I've gone home." With those few simple words, Rick found his smile coming back.

"Yeah, these events do tend to take all day," he agreed, taking her book.

"I bet it makes you miss that lovely fiancée of yours."

Rick smiled and nodded. "Sorry, I haven't asked your name yet."

"Jane."

"Hi Jane, thanks for coming today." Signing the book, he found himself deviating from the usual words he wrote.

To Jane, the kindest, most patient fan I've come across,

Thank you for the brightening the day

Look out for a mention in Packing Heat (and don't breathe a word to my agent or publisher about this title or I'll be castrated!)

The urge to add a smiley at the end of that sentence was almost overwhelming, but Castle resisted and instead continued writing one last sentence before finishing with his signature.

Hope to see you at the next release signing.

He passed the book along with a genuine smile and a wave goodbye.

As a perky blonde woman, dressed in what had to be the world's smallest pair of shorts and a leopard print strapless top, approached the table and gave him what was presumably supposed to be a sexy pout and wink, Rick found himself missing his fiancée more than ever. Pulling out his phone, he held his hand up to the security guard, silently asking him to halt the woman, and sent a quick text to Kate.


Kate smiled as she replied to Castle, being succinct as she tried to concentrate on the letters on her iPhone as well as where she was going, narrowly avoiding walking into a rookie cop and a few doorframes.

Caught a case. Will try to pop by on my way back from the scene.

A few minutes later, her phone pinged with his reply.

DETAILS!

Kate smirked, knowing that holding out what little information she had would only make it more entertaining when she finally told him.

Exiting the precinct, she was quick to hop into her Dodge Charger and speed through the traffic to the hotel address she'd jotted down in her notebook. Held up by Castle's texts and a few light traffic jams, Kate arrived just seconds after Esposito and Ryan.

"Vic's up on the twelfth floor," Espo said, coming to her car door as she removed her keys from the ignition and stepped out. "Reception called in shots fired from room 1204 at 0956 hours this morning."

Kate nodded, taking in the information easily as they pushed through the doors into the lobby and walked straight past the reception desk with just a flash of her badge. Lanie glanced up at her as she entered the hotel room, nodding with the briefest smile, before turning her attention back to the body in front of her and calling out the cause of death.

"Multiple GSWs to the chest," Lanie said, "With this kind of wounds I'd say we're definitely looking at some form of handgun, but I'll know more when I get him back to the morgue and extract the bullets. Liver temperature puts time of death between eight and ten; it's possible he was already dead when he was shot." Lanie turned the dead man's face so that Kate and her two back up detectives could see the dark contusion on the back of his head.

Kate surveyed the crime scene, taking stock of the large pool of blood surrounding their victim, the bloody footprints sunken into the shag carpet, the window with a small round hole through it.

"If a handgun caused these injuries, then why is there bullet hole in the window?" she asked, leaving the Medical Examiner and her team of detectives behind to take a closer look. From experience, she knew it was the right kind of size for a sniper's shot.

"Judging from the open safe in the bedroom, the empty spaces on the walls for paintings, I'd say it looks like this was a robbery gone wrong. That hole in the window could be where the gained entry-"

"-A professional job then?"

Esposito nodded an affirmative to Kate's interruption. "Looks that way."

"Targeted?"

"Vic's name was Greg Bayfield," Ryan said, tossing the wallet they'd pulled from the unlocked safe over to Kate.

"The business tycoon?" She only had to glance down at the photo ID inside the leather wallet to answer her own question.

"Ryan, Espos, get a warrant for his financials." The two men nodded, already understanding the wavelength Beckett was running on.

As Espo pulled out his phone and called Judge Markway, Ryan assured Kate that he and Esposito would be thorough checking for fraud, and any association with loan sharks.

"Thanks Ryan," Kate said. Next she directed uniforms to start canvassing people staying on that hotel floor and members of staff involved with the shots fired alert for information, whilst Lanie took the body back to the morgue. After one last survey of the crime scene, she left CSU to finish collecting their samples and taking the photographs for her murder board.

Her phone vibrated with another text.

Don't leave me hanging, woman!

Kate smirked, imagining how it must be killing Castle to not know a single thing about her newest case.

The elevator ride down to the lobby was short, but she'd already decided to swing by the Barnes and Noble store on her way back to the precinct. If anyone asked, she wouldn't admit it; but she found herself missing him.


Rick checked his phone for a text back from Kate for the hundredth time, sighing as he found there was still no response. There was a slight possibility that she hadn't got some of his texts, of course, but he couldn't help feeling she was probably doing it on purpose to make sure he concentrated on his fans and the signing rather than thinking up some amazing theory for who murdered her victim. Of course, now he was just imagining what the case was instead.

He was desperate to work some kind of conspiracy or cover up murder with her. And he had come up with a pretty darn good case in his head, if he said so himself. Perhaps Nikki and Rook could investigate a conspiracy, he mused.

He was so deep in thought, the action of taking a copy of Deadly Heat from the next person in line instinctive, that he didn't even look up at the fan who had just passed him the book. He didn't notice the whispers. In fact, the only thing that made him look up was the tingle down his spine as he felt her eyes raking over him.

"Kate!" he gasped, jerking upright.


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Sorry again for it taking me so long to get it up. I'm going to try to get another in some time this week, but after that there won't be another chapter till after the 20th August since I'll be on holiday without my laptop. If you don't want to miss an update, I'd recommend putting the story on alert. Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!