A/N: I said I would try and get another chapter up, so here it is. It's a bit on the short side, but it's all I could write after I finished packing. So little time, so much to do. *Sigh* Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.


Kate smiled at Rick, aware of the hushed atmosphere behind her. After a minute of him just staring at her, she prompted, "Well, Castle are you going to sit there staring all day or are you going to sign my book?"

"Right," he replied, seeming to jolt out of some kind of reverie. His fingers fumbled with his pen as he turned his attention back down to the pages in front of him. Whilst he wrote, he smirked to himself at his own brilliance and made sure to keep the words shielded from Kate so she wouldn't see. "What's the case then?"

"Business tycoon shot in his hotel room," Kate answered, keeping her voice low enough that the crowd of people behind her wouldn't overhear. "Looks like a possible robbery."

"So not as exciting as the things I was imagining in my head-"

"-I'll bet," Kate murmured.

"Any hot leads?"

"Castle, the body's only just dropped," she reminded him. She'd yet to even notify the next of kin.

"And?" At the look Kate shot him, he continued, "You've got to have some ideas."

"Maybe I do," she conceded. "But right now you've got a book signing to concentrate on and I've got a case to solve." She took the book from him, kissed his cheek and began walking away from the table. "See you later, Castle!"

"Come on!" he called after her. "You know I'll never be able to focus on anything but the case now!"

A couple of people in the audience tittered, some at Castle's shout; others at Kate's disregard of it. Whilst they looked on, Castle shot them a sheepish grin and did his best to keep his encounters with the fans exciting for them. He had to hand it to Kate, since he had the minimal amount of information about her case, he didn't really have a lot to speculate on, and soon grew bored of not being able to find out more, since Paula was keeping a watchful eye on him and had confiscated his phone after he sent Beckett a pleading text that of course went unanswered.


She hadn't been able to resist leaving him without answers, just as she hadn't been able to resist dropping by and getting a book signed even though she could have had him do it in private – it wasn't like he hadn't offered. Still, it had become something of a tradition for them, since that day after her shooting. Reminiscing about the look on his face as he realised she wasn't going to indulge his desire to run theories with her, she almost walked straight into Detective Karpowski as she came out of the elevator.

"Sorry, Roselyn!"

"Detective Beckett," Karpowski nodded, seeming perhaps just as distracted as Kate was.

Letting her get on the elevator, Kate pushed aside the thoughts of Rick and refocused her mind on the case, nodding politely at a uniform as she made her way to her desk. She dropped her bag before nudging it underneath her desk with her toes.

"Where are we with Bayfield's financials?" she asked Esposito and Ryan, joining them at the murder board.

"Have them right here," Ryan replied, holding up a few sheets of paper. "Everything seems normal. Or as normal as financials can be for a business tycoon."

Beckett took the documents from him and leafed through herself, just to check.

"We called the next of kin – his wife just arrived," Espo said, nodding towards the interview room where the blinds were open and a teary-eyed woman could be seen perching unsteadily on the edge of one of the chairs, a crumpled tissue clamped in one hand.

Beckett nodded, handed the financial records back to Ryan and surveyed the murder board for what they knew, thinking back to the crime scene.

"Ryan, have someone from robbery take a look at all this." Something about the case just didn't add up. She couldn't help feeling that it was odd that Bayfield's financials were so squeaky-clean. "Espo, head down to see Lanie, see what's come up from the autopsy. I'm going to go talk to Mrs Bayfield."

Beckett let herself into the interview room as quietly as possible and sat opposite the victim's wife. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Mrs Bayfield. I just have a few routine questions to ask you." At her nod, Kate asked, "Did your husband have any enemies or receive any threats?"

Mrs Bayfield nodded. "Greg was a powerful man; he had a lot of business opponents."

"Would any of them have wanted to kill him?"

"Greg was in the middle of closing a lucrative deal with Apple. His former partner, Robert Houndslow was in talks with the company too though."

"Thank you, Mrs Bayfield."


When his hand was feeling cramped from writing (he really had to stop using his laptop for so much), Rick finally set his pen down and couldn't have been more grateful to see the shop empty of customers and the staff getting ready to close.

"Paula?" he asked. He didn't even have to say anything more before she handed his iPhone back and told him to head on home.

As he hailed a cab on the street, he dialled Kate. He was still waiting for her to pick up as he ducked inside the yellow car and gave the driver the address to his loft.

"Beckett," she answered, having obviously not checked the caller ID first.

"Hey, it's me," he replied. "Paula just released me."

She chuckled quietly. "I'm still at the precinct, but I'll be home in half an hour." Rick looked at his watch then, and seeing that it was already approaching half six decided that he would order takeout for them. Cooking was going to be too much effort. Before he could even make the suggestion, Kate asked, "Want me to pick some Thai on the way home?"

"Sure," he replied. "So, still not cracked the case?"

He heard Beckett sigh loudly at the other end. Even the sound of her spinning on her chair to look at the murder board was audible.

"No. This one's tough. Could sure use one of those wild theories of yours right about now."

"I'll have one ready for you at home, don't worry."

"You don't have one now?" He could almost see one of her eyebrows riding up in doubt. Richard Castle always had a ridiculous story to solve her mystery for her.

He yawned, "Give me a minute."

"Castle, don't you go falling asleep on me."

"I'm not. I'm awake." He was too tired to realise that he still sounded sleepy. As the cab driver pulled up outside his building, he handed the man a bundle of dollars and headed inside, still talking to Kate on the phone. "So Bayfield's former partner was a dead-end?"

"Yep, alibied out."

"Hmm, well he could have just hired someone."

There was a pause before Kate said, "Really? You're not going to suggest werewolves or spirits or aliens got him?"

"Kate, he was shot, not beamed up." Castle grinned as he pictured his fiancée rolling her eyes at him. "Anyway, I'm still working on my theory. You'd better prepare for your mind to be blown when you get home."

"Okay, I'll see you at home then," she replied. "I love you."

"Love you."

Castle twisted his key in the lock and flung it down on the side as he shut his front door behind him. His only stop before the couch was in the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine, pop the cork and pour a generous amount into one of his crystal glasses.

When Kate walked in that evening, she found the glass sitting untouched on the coffee table and Castle sprawled out asleep on his front on the sofa. Smiling at his open mouth and the hand tucked up under his face, one of his legs sticking over the edge of the sofa and the other pulled up impossibly high, she set down the bag of Thai food.

"Rick," she coaxed, crouching in front of his head and pulling her fingers through his hair. "Your neck will be aching if you sleep like that."

He mumbled something at the sound of her voice, still sleeping with his head twisted to the side.

"Come on, up you get." Kate tried a different tactic, tickling the sensitive skin on the underside of his outstretched arm.

Castle woke with a start, almost kicking his full glass of wine.

"Kate!" he exclaimed.

"Thought you had some theory that was going to blow my mind?"

"After dinner," he yawned, stretching before sitting up and giving Kate some room to sit down.

Kate ducked her head and hid her grin, knowing Castle still hadn't found the answer to her case. Plonking herself in the space beside him, she unzipped her boots and threw them down on the floor. Castle had already helped himself to a box of Pad Kee Mao, and was picking at it with his chopsticks.

"So, how was the signing?"

"Okay, couple of people were asking after you-"

"-Oh, really?" Kate smirked, wondering how it would be possible for people not to talk about her after she had dropped by.

"Yeah," Castle replied, still chewing food and not noticing the humoured lilt in Kate's voice. "This one jack-ass was only there to see you." Twisting to look at Kate, watching the elegant and practised way she lifted her Pad Khing on chopsticks and turned her soft gaze on him, he could only say, "He definitely had the right idea…"

Kate rolled her eyes but pulled her feet up onto the couch and leaned into Castle's side regardless. Her man-child could be ridiculous, but he was her man-child.

They lapsed into silence again, enjoying each other's company after the day apart. Before coming back to the Loft, Kate had slid her ring back onto her finger where it belonged, and she now found herself looking at it.

"We should probably start planning an engagement party," she said suddenly.

Castle coughed, choking on the piece of chicken he had been chewing. "What? You want to plan an engagement party? Shouldn't that be my line?"

"Well, it's just everyone knows now so we only need to wait till Alexis gets back and that's only a week and a half away, so we should probably plan it now and send out invitations."

"Right," he agreed. "I was already thinking about a surprise welcome home party for Alexis. Everyone would already be there, so we could just announce it then?"

"As long as you don't think Alexis would mind us stealing her thunder, sure."

"I'm sure she won't." Rick smiled at Kate; let her get back to eating and winding down after her day at work. "How about a fancy dress party?"

"How would you get Alexis to dress up without ruining the surprise?"

Castle thought for a moment. "With difficulty," he admitted. "So no fancy dress… How about-"

"Don't say an ABC party, Castle," Kate warned, knowing his mind was going to the gutter after the words 'no fancy dress'.

He stared at her. "We could have an anything but clothes party later."

Her lips curled. "Really? You want me to wear a trash bag?"

"No clothes, Beckett, no clothes."

"Castle, focus!"

"Oh! I've got it! A cops and robbers party! Everyone gets handcuffed together!"

"This is a party for Alexis, Castle; not you," she reminded him.

"But it's for us too!"

"Why don't we just have a normal party at the house in the Hamptons?"

"Yeah, I guess that could work," Castle replied, sounding disappointed.

"Don't worry, Castle, I have a whole other kind of party for tonight that I know you'll like."

Before Kate knew what was going on, her Thai food was back on the coffee table, she was lying on the couch and Castle was hovering over her.

"Oh yeah?"


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! And remember, I'm going on holiday tomorrow so there'll be no updates till I get back. Thanks for reading!