:::::::::::::::::::::::::: Solace Hotel, NJ :::::::::::::::::::::

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One heavyhearted Richard Castle entered the hotel though the main entrance. His high hopes had sunk much like the sun in that day's sky. The LaCerva lead seemed like another dead end. She was dead. Really really dead. From the interviews he conducted all day he had learned of the funeral with an open caskett. Can't go wrong with an open and honest caskett, right? He was too tired to eat in the restaurant, he would order room service. First, he requested to use the courtesy phone in the lobby. As the phone rang, he looked through his wallet to see if he had enough cash, since he was avoiding any traces of a credit card bill.

"Hello" she answered.

Castle heard background noises. The child was asking her mother for attention. "Jordan, it's me. Am I interrupting?"

"Wait a sec" she covered the phone with her hand, and only muffled sounds of the soft exchange could be heard until she uncovered the mic " – you're right sweetheart! Momma's literally slaying dragons." Her voice hardened "Sorry Rick. So, what d'ya find out?"

Castle relayed all the information he had retrieved. After disappearing for two years, Adriana had resurfaced and committed all the mistakes a person with a 'death sentence' could. She paid the price of her indiscretion.

Minutes later, Castle hung up the phone. Adriana had stayed with a cousin near Chicago. It was worth looking in to. Another day, he thought as he entered the elevator and pressed his floor's button. As he walked towards his room he wondered how Kate's last therapy session went today. I should call her when I get back into the city tomorrow, he decided as he fumbled with his card key and dropped it. As he bent over to pick it up, he noticed beneath the door that the light was on inside his room. Odd, I didn't turn on any lights. Before he knew it, a shadow passed in front of the door and he heard a scuffling noise and a deaf thud inside. He hesitated but decided to open the door and confront his intruder. Castle opened the door swiftly. He saw her there, sitting on the floor with her back leaning up against the bed, holding her badge.

Castle's jaw dropped, "Kate?" How the hell did she find me?

...

Kate's eyes were swollen. It had been a few hours since Agent Fallon had turned Castle's cell back on and traced his location. Soon after that, Esposito had narrowed Castle's probably next move down by cross referencing his location with the copy of LaCerva's file. It wasn't too long until they got a hit for a Mr. Harry Alakazam at the nearby Solace Hotel. Access to the room was a President Grant and a charming smile away. All followed so tightly and fast paced that it was only there, in the solitude of Castle's room and in the company of his travel bag that Kate let herself feel.

She thought of how that day had started. Paul's test had worked, it was only a test, but she figured out what mattered most. The promise of normality. The hope of a new found courage to tell Castle what he meant to her. Kate's eyes remained heavy on her badge as she twirled it in her hands. "You wanna know what I did today?" she laughed nervously as she mocked "You won't believe what I did today..."

Rick stood in the entrance to the room. Kate looked so small, just... sitting... there. He was paralyzed by what her being there meant. She found out about the files.

She continued, raising her eyes and the badge up to him "I gave this up today..." she lowered her eyes, for she couldn't look at him any longer. She stared back at the badge "...for you." in a sad whisper she added "For us."

All Castle could manage was an exhaling "Kate!..."

"Close the door Castle" Her voice was dry.

Castle conceded, turning his back to her and closing his eyes. All of his movements were slow, as he used every millisecond away from the sight of her hurting eyes to regroup, to collect his ideas, his reasons. I had reasons, good reasons!, he reassured himself.

Castle spoke for several minutes straight, covering all the main events of his solo efforts to figure out who was responsible for Johanna's death. Castle concluded, "You're mad now and fine, I get it. But I did what I had to do to protect you Kate. I can not apologize for that."

"Castle, it's my mom!..." she repeated.

Castle moved closely towards her. With honest concern in his voice, he asked "Kate, you've got to ask yourself what's matters the most here? Is it worth it to fight me on this? Do you really want to 'win' this argument?" He stood inches from her "Cause the way I see it, if you 'win', we 'lose'..."

Kate's eyes glazed over. She had listened all throughout Castle's narration, trying so hard to focus on the new details of her mother's case, trying to understand what he meant by 'I wanted to protect you', trying to fight the irrational feelings of betrayal that had settled in her heart hours ago. She finally sat down on the bed and held her head in her hands. She managed to ask "So what did Agent Shaw say would be our next move?"

"Hun?.." Castle was taken back by her question. No fight? No 'Castle, we're over'?

Without looking up, she said with a tired sigh "Rick..., I can't fight you anymore." She ran her fingers through her hair and locked her elbows decisively. "I don't want to fight you anymore. So what's our next move?"

Castle finally noticed the pronoun she used. He made his position clear "Kate, you're not getting involved in this again. We are handling this -"

"The hell you are!" She threw. Resuming sole authority over her mother's case wasn't essential, it had been a tiresome effort but she had learned to accept that she was not alone..., but to not be included would be unbearable. Impossible! "Castle, you can't possibly keep me off this. I am your partner." She rose from the bed and, with her usual exceeding confidence, leaned into him "I know we can win this... together."

Castle felt Kate's insistence from her warm breath. Undoubtedly she would prevail. He recalled, she never backs down, and that's what makes her-... His eyes couldn't hide his excitement for having her back. He looked down into her eyes and confessed in a whisper "I'm so relieved that you know."

"Don't lie to me again, Rick... please!" She inched towards his mouth and placed her hands on his chest "I can't do this anymore if I can't trust you." She lightly brushed her lips upon his.

"- extraordinary!", he concluded with a gasp. His hands reached to grab her waist and pull her near. "Never again..." he softly replied.

Kate stepped back and leaned as far away from his grasp as the distance between him and the bed would allow. She inquired again "Never?" The wrinkle on her forehead was a tell of a worry that still lingered.

She needs reassurance, Castle thought. He grinned mischievously, and shot "Beckett... zip it– " then pointing to her leather jacket "–and unzip that..." Castle decisively pulled Kate by the waist, and wrapped his right hand around her head. He paused to imprint the image of her rendition in his mind, the smell of Kate's skin as she yielded to him. Before diving into her mouth, he exhaled "and focus!"