A/N: I got into my top choice for graduate school! No more waiting or stressing out over other applications! XD Ahaha, hopefully this means I can resume my weekly updates til this story wraps itself up (pretty soon, actually, so hang on in there!).

Chapter 21

The lights are bright. There are close to probably a hundred reporters congregated before him in this hotel conference room, both sitting and standing in rows upon rows facing the stage he is to take in a few moments. And yet, the thing he couldn't help but inanely focus on is the fact that the lights in the room are bright. It doesn't help either that there's a constellation of flashing red dots in the back of the room from every video camera that's pointed directly at the stage. And the incessant buzzing. Gosh damn, it's not just the electronics; it's the people too. For them, this is just another day, another livelihood gained, but what kind of life is that where their bread is bought by the scandals of another trying to earn his?

"Hey Alex, how are you feeling?"

Turning around from his post behind the door off the side of the stage, Alex was greeted with Gina's concerned face. Throughout this whole ordeal, Gina had been by his side, figuratively more than literally, but he wondered passingly now how all this might have blown over if she was with him literally too. Though she's a little difficult to work with at times, he could tell that she had his best interests at heart. Just looking at how she managed organize this entire press conference from only a day's notice, Alex could tell Gina really looks out for him. He absolutely appreciates all the support she'd given him. Maybe in another life, they could've had a run at things, but in this life, he was satisfied with their professional relationship, immensely grateful that he has a friend like her around.

"Alex?"

Right, she asked him a question. "A little nervous. I'm a little apprehensive of how they're going to respond to my announcements and what kind of questions they might react with."

"Don't worry about that. You don't have to share anything you don't want to and if they ask a question you don't like, you can always turn to me and I'll field it away."

"Thanks, Gina."

"Yea, I know, my golden goose."

Alex smiled in response, but for once he didn't want to make light of the situation. He wanted Gina to know that if he had any other publisher, he may not be walking out of this ordeal so minimally scathed; it's about time he started letting the people around him know how much he recognized and acknowledged their support and encouragement. But before Alex had a chance to say anything further, he saw his daughter walk towards them, pushing his mother ahead in her wheelchair.

"Dad!"

"Kiddo!"

Hugs had never been in short supply in this family and even though his mother was fixed to a chair, that did not stop her from trying to hug her son and give him a little bit more of her strength on this trying day.

"Break a leg out there kiddo," Martha winked, clearly delighting in her clever joke.

"Oh ha ha, Mother."

"Seriously though Dad, good luck. We'll be right in there, sitting in the front row, silently cheering you on."

"I'm proud of you Alexander."

There was such love beaming from their eyes; it was almost tangible. It was empowering to know he was so supported. Hence, with a gusto born more from his desire to be just as strong for his mother and daughter, Alex took a deep breath, hugged his family one last time, then turned to his publisher to asked her to, "Lead the way."

Kate Beckett felt small today, standing with her back against the carpeted wall of a large conference room that must easily be holding a hundred reporters. And that said something because Kate Beckett did not normally feel small, by any account. She was a confident person, raised by two lawyers to always speak her mind, and she was tall. In heels, she could dominate half the men in her division by height alone. So for her to feel small, well, let's just say she was completely out of her element at this very moment, standing in a press conference that she wormed her way into with a badge in one hand and a can-do attitude she didn't feel in the other.

Good thing for Kate, she didn't have to wait too long to wonder when her world would crumble from whatever announcements Alexander Rodgers had to make today. One moment, the room carried easy banter and the next, a charged frenzy swept through the crowd as chairs began to scrape from people standing, video and photo cameras turning on with a clickety click, and flashes went off as the side door by the front stage opened to reveal an attractive and lithe woman approaching the podium front and center. Her eyes focused on the woman only long enough to take in her shoulder length blonde hair, sharp angular facial features, and professional yet sultry business suit, before they immediately drifted to and remained on the man that followed in her wake. Alexander Rodgers, or otherwise known today as, Richard Castle.

Kate briefly registered in her peripheral vision Alexis and Martha who followed behind Alex, taking a seat in the front row next to the stage instead of above with Alex, but her sole attention wasn't bereft of Alex for long. It was hard to imagine anything else capturing her interest right now. It wasn't just that this man standing on the stage before her had the potential to end her career with announcements she had yet to anticipate, she'd forgotten how good he looked and all the feelings that tended to accompany that recognition. He wore a dark navy suit with a sky blue shirt, all tailored to fit his strong form. She loved this color on him, especially since the contrasting hues between the blazer and dress shirt always brought out the brightness in his iridescent ocean eyes. But somehow, as she continued to stare at him, the colors he wore today felt more melancholy than calming and his eyes didn't carry their usual shine. They were clouded over and his muscles looked tightly wound as if he was just holding it together. He did not look comfortable being the center of attention.

She did this to him, didn't she?

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming by on this short notice," began Gina Cowell as she took to the stage and podium, herself natural and at ease. Alex, on the other hand, felt like a stranger in his own skin, standing discomfited behind and to the left of Gina. Honestly, Alex what's wrong with you? You've faced many more people when you stand in front of your lectures to your students or colleagues. But he couldn't shake the discomfort he was feeling. He was used to talking about the lives of other authors, not about the private mechanics of his own. If Gina noticed any of Alex's uneasiness however, she ignored them as she continued on with her introductions.

"Murder. Mystery. The macabre. What is it about a hard-boiled detective, the femme fatale, and the cold steel of a gun that keeps our bedside lamps burning into the wee hours of the morning? However the spell is cast for you to be here right now, today we, Black Pawn, are officially unveiling the master of the form, and announce the launch of Storm Falls to hit your shelves this upcoming season. With his best selling Derrick Storm mystery series, I am proud to introduce to you now, for the first time ever, the master of the macabre, Richard Castle, or more correctly known as, Alexander Rodgers!"

The claps were thunderous. For a group of journalists, they sure knew how to raise the roof, so to speak. Here goes nothing. Stepping forward cautiously, Alex approached the podium and greeted the crowd nervously.

"Hi! To reiterate what Gina said, thank you all for coming today. I'll make this brief since Gina introduced me better than I could have for myself. So simply, hi, I'm Alexander Rodgers and that is the name I go by, not Richard Castle, or Rick Castle, or Derrick Storm, but I will hear you out if you call me Alex."

A joke. It was a lame one, but the reporters graciously laughed along, allowing him to relax a fraction of a smidge.

"I wrote the Derrick Storm series and I plan to keep writing and publish more murder mystery novels under the name of Richard Castle. With the continued support of Black Pawn as my publishers, I am owning up to the Richard Castle name but my given name will now be included in the biography section. My reasons for using a pseudonym are personal and I do not intend to disclose that, but I do apologize for the charade. It was never my intent to deceive, only to share my passion and interests creatively and anonymously. I hope you all understand that I am a private person and my wish is to remain so. I am an author but first and foremost, I am a father and a son; if I find that any of those roles are jeopardized by my position as an author, I will not hesitate to disassociate from what may bring my family grief."

He realized that what he just said could have been construed as a thinly veiled threat, but for better or worse, he meant every bit of it. If there was nothing else the reporters took away from this conference, he needed this one thing to be communicated clearly—his acknowledgement of and continued patronage for the Richard Castle name and the protection of his family. Those were his priorities and now that he has said all he needed to say, they can hit him with whatever questions he's comfortable enough answering.

Turning to give Gina a nod, he stepped back, allowing her to resume her post at the podium while he finally took the seat arranged for him behind a small paneled desk propped with a single unassuming microphone.

Gina started the Q&A and after the first few personal ones were lobbed away, the reporters quickly caught on to the fact that if they wanted any information for their articles, they would have to stick to questions that had nothing to do with, say, for example, whether or not there's a Mrs. Castle to his Richard Castle. For the most part, it was turning out to be not as bad as he had anticipated. Many were willing to stick to questions about Derrick Storm and ask about Storm Falls that was being set for release late this coming fall. Whenever there was a difficult moment, he just had to take a calming breath and look down at his mother and daughter below the stage to gain the burst of energy he needed to carry on. Or, at least until some brilliant reporter decided to start a line of questioning where even the reassuring smiles of his family did little to keep his spirits high.

"Alex, what is your relationship with the NYPD?"

For a moment, Alex panicked, completely unsure of what to say. How did they even catch wind of the fact that he had sort of dated the NYPD detective who led the investigation revealing this entire scandal? Luckily for Alex though, Gina had the wherewithal to interpret the question in a way only someone who didn't know he was romantically involved with a certain detective could.

"Black Pawn is declining to comment on the rumored lawsuit against the NYPD that I am sure you are so subtly alluding to," she replied coolly.

That genius reporter however, refused to accept that answer and persistently decided to pursue his original question. "What do you have to say about the murder investigation then, where Richard Castle was called out a potential murder suspect?"

"We have nothing to say to that because Richard Castle is a fictitious persona, incapable of murder, hence impossible as a suspect."

"But the leading detective for that case, a uh, Detective Kate Beckett? Yeah, Detective Beckett seems to think that Richard Castle has something to do with it. Would you say the NYPD's incompetence to solve their case led to the fishing expedition that ultimately forced you to reveal your hand and give us Alexander Rodgers, if he even is the real Richard Castle."

Oh, he wanted to punch that reporter in the face, dead center where his already squashed nose was holding up a pair of dirty brown-rimmed rectangular glasses. Before Gina could say anything, Alex cut her off by coming to Kate's defense. She may have hurt him but that was between him and her; there was no need for her name or the NYPD's to be dragged through the mud right now.

"Detective Beckett and the rest of the NYPD have been and are doing a spectacular job serving the people of this city. Detective Beckett was simply doing her job when she asked me in for questioning and that's all it was. I assisted with their case and I believe it has now been resolved."

Crap. He's totally talking out of his ass right now. He has no idea if they solved the case or not, or if he had really helped when Kate came to see him last, but he felt the need to say something definitive and declarative to establish that the NYPD were in fact not as incompetent as that idiot reporter was suggesting. It would seem, however, that little contained outburst of his had the opposite effect he intended.

"Mr. Rodgers, can you elaborate on that?" the insufferable reporter continued, eyes gleaming as if he just struck gold. "How can you confirm that their case is resolved and how did you assist in its resolution? What exactly is your relationship with the NYPD?"

At this point, he knew he said way more than he should have. Gina just gave him a look of disbelief because like the reporter, this was the first she'd heard regarding this matter. As far as she had been concerned, with reference to the whole sordid affair, he had heeded her warnings and stayed well removed from that case, as she had advised. But ever the professional, she quickly contained the situation and moved on to final questions before completely shutting down the whole conference.

Alex didn't wait for Gina to dismiss him before jumping out of his seat and making a run for it out the side door he came in through. He didn't bother waiting for his mother and daughter; he just needed to get out. He was so over this conference. And that reporter. Who did he think he was anyways, asking those types of questions? Had he no moral qualms?

Alex made it to the hallway and about ready to round the corner that would take him away from the room that surely took years off his life when the vision before him knocked another couple more years from his timeline. Could today start getting better soon? Please?

There, standing before him, was Kate Beckett, the absolute last person he expected to see right now. What on earth was she doing here?