Warning : This end can be upsetting if you're Caskett. It was for me, writing it, a bit. It's okay if you don't read it, just go to next chapter. But I really do hope you do read this one. (Think of it as a dream sequence or something that bad from TV shows I won't name because I like them just a little anyway.)

Also, I added a note at the end of chapter 13 to explain a bit.

He swallowed hard but hold her gaze : "What are you saying ?"

"I'm saying we're over, Rick. I'm saying this isn't working anymore." She got up and went to the kitchen to put distance between them. But he followed her, getting rid of his tie and unbuttoning his shirt on the way. He needed to breath.

"You're breaking up with me ?", he asked in disbelief. "It gets a bit hard and you run ?"

She gave him an humorless chuckle. "You wrote it. Nikki quits. Sure beat getting killed."

"Wait... You're blaming me for this ?" he screamed, frustrated. "For weeks, you give me the cold shoulder. You refused to let me back in the precinct giving my supposed recklessness as an excuse..."

"'Supposed' recklessness ? You nearly got killed. Worse, you nearly got Ryan killed !", she yelled back.

He shook his head violently. His voice came back to a normal level, trying to calm them both. "That's not true."

It didn't work. "Oh, but it is ! What you have said to Jenny and the twins, hu ? Sorry, guys, Daddy got shot trying to save Uncle Rick? Who wants ice cream ?", she mocked, still shouting.

He was hurt, she could see it in her eyes but she didn't care. "You're being unfair, Kate", he said. "This had nothing to do with us. You're just too scared to really tell me what's going on."

Once again, she laugh humorlessly.

He stepped closer to her. She tensed.

"When is the last time we made love ? When is the last time we kissed ?" He asked, anger boiling beneath the apparent cool tone.

"Well, you're the one who stopped trying", she accused.

He didn't deny it. "And maybe you're the one who never started trying."

"What is that supposed to mean ?"

"It means that maybe I'm tired of being the one chasing you and being rejected. Maybe I'm tired of being hurt because you go to sleep in the guest room every night. Maybe I want you to try to mend this, instead of always having to be the one to reach out to you. Maybe I want the Kate that kissed me in this kitchen during poker night back." He was giving her an opening. His stance mirrored the one all those nights ago, close to her, one hand on the counter. But she was too angry to see.

"Oh, I'm sorry I don't miss sex as much as you do, Castle ! Maybe you should talk to Meredith about that."

She walked away from him, heading towards the bedroom, while he stood there, stunned.

When she came back, a bag in her hand, he was still there.

"I'm going to my dad's. I'll be back next week for my things, when you're on the book tour."

"You really didn't understand what I was saying, did you ?"

"Goodnight, Castle."

She left quietly.

"Goodnight... Beckett...", he whispered to the empty room, swallowing back the tears.

On the second week of his book tour, Castle arrived at LAX with Paula. They were waiting for their luggage and Paula was getting busy with her phone. Castle stood there, waiting. He had been awfully quiet and Paula feared the worst.

"You don't call Kate to say we made it to LA ?", she asked.

"No", he answered curtly.

"Rick. What's wrong ?"

"We broke up, that's all."

"Fuc..us !", she cried out.

He shushed her. "Can we please not talk about this ?", he hissed through gritted teeth. He spotted their bags and abandoned her to fetch them.

That night, Castle tried to enjoy his book party. LA's were always the wildest. He took malicious pleasure in signing as many chests as possible. One fan was particularly bold with him. The blond bimbo was nothing like Kate. He was going to let her down easy when she thrusts her boobs under his nose and he changed his mind. He smiled as he signed her chest and winked at her. A little later, he made sure she saw him head to the bathroom. He didn't wait long. He was barely in the luxurious restroom of the Palm Springs hotel, when she pushed him into a stall, closing the door forcefully. As she went down on him, he tried to push Katherine Beckett out of his mind.

Fifteen minutes after, he was walking out the door, smirking. He took his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on as he strutted in the crowded party room. The playboy was back.

Surprisingly, Beckett had managed to find a new apartment in less than ten days. It creeped her a little, but working homicide had its perks. Like knowing when a flat would become available. At least, the murder hadn't occurred there and she wasn't the one who had worked on it. It was now saturday and the gang had agreed to help her move, even if they were still a bit shocked by the break up. She hadn't offered any explanation, not knowing what to way. "It just didn't work out" was her new catch phrase. She also became very good at dodging Castle's calls and ignoring the flowers that kept coming. She figured it would stop and it did.

Beckett and the gang arrived early on a saturday for the move. Castle was still on his book tour and she was surprised to see Martha sitting at the kitchen counter, reading the paper.

"Oh, hi Martha. I'm sorry, we..."

"Hey Kiddo !" the woman interrupted, getting up. Sensing the woman uneasiness, she added. "Alexis told me everything. No need to be awkward though. I'm really sorry this happened but I wanted to tell you that, no matter what, if you need anything, you can always call me. And Richard doesn't have to know."

Beckett and Martha had grown close during the two years of her relationship with Castle and she was glad this bond won't be severed just because she had walked away. Beckett took Martha in a hug, surprising them both.

"We're going to start with the boxes in the room", Lanie informed, dragging the others away to give the two women some privacy.

"Thank you", Beckett whispered to Martha after a while. "And I'm sorry for all this."

Martha pulled away. "Never apologize for following your heart. It might be hard to understand for the rest of us but that doesn't mean we shouldn't respect it. Especially Richard. What he did is appalling. And when he comes back, I'm going to tell him just that. He might be hurting but this behavior is despicable."

Beckett looked confused. Martha's eyes widened.

"Well, you're gonna see it sooner or later." The older woman looked saddened and picked up the newspaper and opened it to page 6. There was a mug shot of Castle. A new one.

"Richard Castle heating up in Miami." The title read. Beckett continued : "The best selling author, on a book tour for his latest novel (H)eating up, had been arrested twice this week in Miami for public indecency. On wednesday night, Richard Castle was caught outside a club getting hot and heavy with one of his fan. He was just admonished. But he reiterated that same night, in a car in Miami beach and with a different woman, according to the police who decided to brought him in. The famous author apparently cut a deal with the DA for some community service. While it ends the judicial proceeding, Richard Castle might still be in a difficult position with the police in New York, naming Detective Katherine Beckett of the NYPD, the inspiration for Nikki Heat and his girlfriend of two years. Is this the end of the love story between the novelist and his muse ?"

Beckett sat, shocked and feeling humiliated.

"I'm sorry, Kiddo", Martha offered.

Kate steeled herself before looking up at Martha.

"It's okay."

She got up and went to help the others.

Castle had been home for a whole of two minutes when the door bell rang. He opened the door and was surprised to see two stern looking detective behind it.

"Ryan, Esposito. Hey guys. What are you..." He didn't have time to finish, a newspaper hit him in the face. He caught it as the two men pushed back him to get inside. He looked down at the newspaper in his hands. He came face to face with his mug shot.

"Guys...", he started to explain.

"Save it, Castle !", Esposito started, walking in his face. "Hurt Beckett again like this and we won't be ringing the bell, okay ?"

Castle tried to step back.

"Hey ! She's the one who broke up with me. I didn't" He was interrupted as Esposito's fist collided with his face. Thankfully, Ryan was quick to restrain his partner.

"Javier ! We're going." He pushed him out the still opened door. Holding his bleeding nose, Castle looked at his friends, wondering if they still were, indeed friends.

"She's the one who left me", he explained again, throat constricted, to the exiting Ryan. The young cop turned around. He glared at Castle.

"And you're the one who humiliated her publicly", he said cooly before disappearing.

Three years later, Beckett and Castle ran into each other for the first time since their break up. It was the (H)eating up movie premiere in New York. Nathalie Rhodes had insisted that she came since it was the last movie. Castle was now living in Europe and would likely choose to attend the London premiere like the previous times. So she accepted. She was now regretting it as she watched him walk up to her.

"Beckett", he greeted. "I didn't know you were coming ?"

"Nathalie Rhodes invited me." They stared at each other until Kate introduced the man next to her. "This is Mike, my..."

"Husband, I know. Nice to meet you. I'm Richard Castle." He said politely to the handsome, tall dark-haired man. He reminded him of Josh. Her style, he guessed. Handshakes were exchanged. "This is Tatiana. She might be wife number 5 and she doesn't speak english", he continued about his date, a leggy blond.

Mike gave an uncomfortable chuckle. Beckett glared at Castle, mouth agape, not recognizing the man she once loved.

"So I guess we'll see you at the party. I don't want to miss the movie." And with that, he was gone.

During the movie, she turned around looking for him in the dark theatre. Her eyes finally met his. He wasn't looking at the screen at all, just staring at her. She saw all the sorrow and regret his eyes. He mouthed a word she didn't get. She tried to smile but didn't know how it came out since she was battling back tears. He looked even sadder and made a movement with his hand, telling her to turn around. On the screen Nikki and Rook were kissing.

The end.

Author's note : Please, don't kill me ! This end wrote itself, I swear. I didn't want to. Alternate ending is next.