Hi guys… next chapter is ready to go… I wanted to break it into pieces so PLEASE be patient with me, and I'll try not to disappoint you :)

All night the puppy had been a hassle; it had whined, chewed pieces of her rare and sentimental furniture and urinated all over her loungeroom rug. It reminded her of someone… a nine year old on a sugar-rush mixed with a stubborn, cocky criminal. She had already picked a name for him that seemed to fit his personality.

Malcolm Reynolds!

Beckett hadn't slept too well having had attended to the K-9 for the last 12 hours. She was tired. Irritated. She wanted to throw Castle through a 10 story window, just to see if he could fly, because he had been insane enough to give her the damn dog in the first place. Instead, she called a dog kennel, asking if they provided "doggy daycare" the man on the other end gave her a number to call, and by the time she left for work she had managed to find a place that took animals during a 9 to 5 work day. Beckett took Malcolm to the kennel and negotiated a time to drop off and collect the dog on her way to and from work.

She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet, she couldn't keep him, her hours were long, and her patience was thin. She just needed time to sort through the possibilities for re-homing him. In the meantime, it was her responsibility to make sure it was safe and sheltered while she was busy catching criminals.

Once Beckett had a moment for personal conversation, she raised the subject with Castle.

"How was your first night with the beautiful four-legged beauty?" he asked.

"Horrible!" she snapped. "Why did you buy me the damn dog anyway, Castle?"

"Think of it as an early wedding gift?" he shrugged. Beckett frowned. "For you and Demming…"

She held herself well; she'd forgotten to tell him that she and Demming had been history for some time.

"In that case, where do I return to sender?"

"Why would you do that?" he asked.

"There is no wedding!"

"There could be…"

"No."

"Later on-"

"NO, Castle!" she barked.

"How do you know, you might feel-"

"We're not together!" she blurted. For an intelligent writer, he wasn't all that smart at times.

Castle stood stunned for a moment, and a look of relief washed over his face… that was relief, wasn't it? "Since when?"

"Does it matter," she answered.

"No. I'm sorry…"

"Thanks."

"Was it a joint decision?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes. "It's none of your business!"

He was hurt. It stung, like a quick paper cut, she could see the pained expression on his face, and just as quickly it became poker. "Just curious… so did you pick a name for the dog?"

"Yeah, Malcolm, after that annoying Captain from that stupid cowboy Western sci-fi series. What was it called?"

"Firefly!" his eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite TV show.

"Yeah that's the one… stupid show."

"I LOVED that show… that guy was so totally awesome."

She rolled her eyes, pretending that show truly bothered her. "Meh, the guy wasn't bad eye candy."

"Yeah…" he seemed to be pleased with that. His face dropped and he turned serious. "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it personal?"

"Not for you," he said.

Beckett waited.

"I- I think I did something stupid…"

You know me… CLIFF-HANGER! I love them SO much. :)

Review if you want more….