Okay…so that last chapter? Wow, so many great reviews and good points! Thank you. Also, very amusing how divided we are when it comes to who we sympathize with in this story.

I hope you all like this chapter. It will forever live in infamy as the chapter that didn't want to happen, but after a TOO MANY rewrites, it has finally worked out as intended. There were so many places to go…and only one destination would really work. Ended up much longer than I intended, but I have a feeling you'll be okay with that.

Chapter 33 – When it all goes kaput

Uniforms called in an abandoned car dented along the side, and after discovering it belonged to their vic's sister, Castle spun a theory about road rage—and though farfetched, they had nothing else to go on, so Ryan and Esposito dug up video from traffic cameras in the hours preceding their victim's death and as luck would have it, they found it. They were able to identify the vehicle that rammed the old escort into a light post.

The driver didn't know the kid had been murdered, and was very eager to turn on his passenger in favor of reduced charges of assault and destruction of private property. He told Beckett and Castle his friend was mad because the kid stiffed him. When they blocked the victim's car, his friend got out and chased him through the park. They brought the suspect in for questioning, letting him see the driver, and he confessed within five minutes.

Earlier in the day, they also got a confession out of Stagstad after offering proof that they'd caught him in a lie. The Hamelin family was relieved to learn that their son's killer was finally apprehended. Between these, the cold case they'd closed a day earlier and the Dansk case they closed last Friday, they'd had a very successful week, even if it had been relatively awful.

"Detectives," the Captain said, walking up to Beckett's desk where Kate prepared the case files for filing, while Ryan and Esposito and Castle were packing up the two murder boards. "Four cases. Very impressive, Beckett."

"Thank you, Sir. We've got to credit Castle with this last one, and the boys lucked out with the Stagstad lead."

"It was great work all around. Don't think I don't know how much time you spent here afterhours."

Kate nodded, feeling guilty for accepting his praise. She wished she could credit all the nights she'd spent here this week with forward momentum on these cases, but the truth was she had been preoccupied. Her boyfriend was avoiding her. She'd called him, texted him and gone to his apartment. She'd been to the hospital Tuesday night, Wednesday after leaving Castle's and twice last night, and she'd seen neither tail nor hide of him. Who knew so many surgeries took place at night? Kate always thought these things, especially the type surgeries Josh did would be more along the lines of scheduled procedures.

In that time, she'd received two voicemails, each indicating something along the lines of "I know you're mad, but I'm going to make it up to you" and a few text messages reminding her "I luv u, babe." So, even though she'd packed up a box of what few things he had around her apartment, she hadn't been able to give it back to him yet. And she still didn't have her damn key!

Now, Josh was going to be here soon because she'd already arranged to have drinks with him. She was okay with that—better to do it in a public place, but she didn't need to provoke Josh with Castle's presence or further chafe Castle with Josh's.

Kate hadn't paid attention to the conversation going on around her until the Captain's voice called her back again. "Your weekend is well-deserved. Enjoy it!"

"We plan to, Captain." Ryan said. "We're actually heading down to the Old Haunt to celebrate. Care to join us?"

"Thanks, but I promised the wife dinner tonight. I'll see you Monday."

"Bye, Captain," they all called.

"Hey Boss?" Esposito asks turning to Beckett, "How come Castle gets credit, and we 'get lucky'?"

"You know, Baby," Lanie says, walking up to them from the break room, "most men wouldn't complain about getting lucky."

"I sure wouldn't," Castle mooned.

"Bro—"

"What? I didn't mean Lanie!"

"What's wrong with Lanie?" Lanie asked folding her arms over her chest, and shifting her head in challenge.

Kate looked up her from her chair, to watch Castle sputtering. "Wha—what? Nothing! But you're Javi's."

"That's right, Chica. All mine. Don't you forget it."

"Are you kidding me? Ownership?"

"I was thinking more man code," Castle said.

"Man code, my ass," Lanie said while the three fist-bumped. "Are you guys ready to go yet?"

"Count me out, guys," Castle said. "I'm not up for it tonight."

"You feeling okay, Castle?" Lanie asked, her concern evident. He looked pale.

Castle didn't respond. Truthfully, he felt like shit, but he didn't want them to know that. He'd been feeling like crap all week, but it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Still, that szechuan chicken he'd had earlier hadn't set well. He just wanted to go home and go to bed.

"I've been asking him that since lunch, but he doesn't have a fever."

"You checked?" Esposito asked.

"Ooh, how'd she check, Castle?" Ryan asked.

"And you think I'm the nine-year old?"

"Technically, I call them 'the boys,' too. Can you guys take that to records?" Beckett asked, nodding to the brown file box. She walked off toward the Captain's office to deposit some files in his inbox. Lanie followed, wanting a status check on Kate's plans for the night.

"I got it." Castle called, but before he could go, Ryan stopped hm.

"Seriously, man, you've got to come out with us tonight. You're half the reason we're not working all weekend."

"Sorry, Gentlemen. I have to go see Alexis off."

"So, go and meet us down there," Esposito said.

Castle wavered. It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with his friends. Plus, he knew Beckett had other plans. He could manage for a bit, right? "All right, fine. I'll meet you there." Castle went off to the records room, taking a shortcut through the break room.

Esposito returned from wheeling the second whiteboard into the conference room only to find Beckett sitting at her desk with another file open and Lanie sitting in Castle's chair. "Come on, Boss. Pack it up. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah. Time to kick off the weekend. Jenny's gonna meet us there."

"I think Kate's got other plans," Lanie said, nodding to the elevator where Dr. Motorcycle Boy was stepping off, holding a vase of long-stemmed red roses. She knew Kate had other plans, and from the looks of things, Josh wasn't at all clued in, even though from Lanie's perspective, he should be. What did he expect was going to happen after attacking Writer Monkey?

Josh looked over at them through the glass partition, and seemed hesitant about approaching with all of them standing there. Lanie said something to the boys about helping her helping her load the dishwasher, and ushered them into the break room.

Kate turned, just as Josh decided to sulk up to her desk.

"I, uh, here." Josh moved the vase toward Kate so quickly, water sloshed from the top. When she didn't reach for it, he set it on the edge of her desk. Shit. She's really going to make me work for it. Why can't she just be happy that she has a boyfriend who actually cares enough to fight for her?

Kate stood up. "You know that's not what I want," she said sternly with one hand on her hip and the other held out in from of her.

"Look, I know you're upset," Josh said. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have reacted that way. But come on, Kate—don't you think it was a little bit justified?"

Kate didn't say anything. She just continued giving him a hard, frosty look while holding out her hand. Josh relented and started digging into his pocket for his keys. He fiddled with them while trying to figure out how to broach the topic.

"I was thinking maybe I could keep it, and give you this one instead," Josh said, holding up a new, shiny key that she knew was for his apartment.

"My key, Josh." Josh stared at her for a moment longer before finally relenting and twisting the key off his key chain.

"Are you going to give it back to him?"

"Yes. It's his. He's my partner. It makes sense for him to have a key to my place. I can guarantee you that Ryan and Esposito have keys to each others' places. Ryan might even have the key to Lanie's place."

"Why can Castle have a key and I can't?"

"I just told you. He's my partner."

"And I'm your boyfriend. Come on, Kate. We've been together for nearly eight months."

"And nearly half that time you've been out of the country. I'm sorry if I'm not as comfortable in this relationship as you are."

"You know? I told you I loved you. I thought it might help you settle in, but instead you still pull away from me. You do it all the time. It's not just about the key. I put my arm around you and you lean forward. I say sweet things to you, you brush it off."

Kate ignored most of what Josh said and keyed in on his unintentional phrasing. "I don't like being lied to Josh."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't ask you to say it. You're not supposed to say it if you don't mean it—or use it to try to coerce someone else into saying it. Plus, at my apartment. You said you had to use the bathroom, then you'd go. Instead, you're still hanging around hours later. That's why you don't have a key. What the hell we're you doing there anyway? And then you pick a fight with my partner?"

"I do mean it, but that's not what this is about, is it? It always comes back to Castle."

"No, it's not about Castle. It's about trust."

"So, I'm okay to sleep with, but not trustworthy enough to be left alone in your apartment?" Kate glanced around, there were still a few people hanging around the bullpen. This fight needed to happen, and as much as she might like to drag him into the interrogation room and have it out on her own turf, she didn't want her personal business on display.

Kate intentionally lowered her voice. "Josh, I'm not doing this. Not here. Not now."

Once again, Josh misinterpreted what her lowered voice meant. He thought she was softening. Josh placed one hand on her upper arm and caressed her face with the other. "You know, I am a trustworthy guy. I keep people's confidences all the time…when they're scared about dying, scared about leaving their loved ones behind. You can trust me. I thought, when you told me about your mom, that you were starting to. And I want that, Babe. I really do. I'll do whatever it takes to earn your trust." He leaned in to kiss her.

"Josh, I—" Kate's head turned at the movement she caught over Josh's shoulder causing his wet kiss to land on her cheek. As he pulled her into a hug, Kate watched Castle walk behind them, never looking in their direction. He paused at the elevator momentarily—just long enough to realize it was in use and then made for the stairs. "I'm at work," Kate said shrugging out of her boyfriend's embrace.

Figuring all was well between Kate and the boyfriend they didn't really know and hadn't had a chance to size up, Ryan and Esposito made their way to Kate's desk. Lanie scooted behind them to take up residence in Kate's chair.

"Hey boys," Josh said.

Kate saw Esposito bristle and Ryan's eyes narrow at the diminutive that only their girls and occasionally Castle—because he was one of them—were allowed to use.

"Josh, you remember Detectives Ryan and Esposito." Ryan held out his hand to shake Josh's, but Esposito just nodded toward the man.

"So, we're just heading out to The Old Haunt to celebrate. Closed four cases this week. You coming with us?"

"Sounds great to me."

"Josh, really you don't want to go."

"Come on. You want me to get to know your friends, right?"

"No, it's just—"

"Come on, Babe. We were going out for drinks anyway. Better with friends, right?" And I really need to score some points here. He whispered in her ear, "We'll still have time to be alone later."

"Come on, Beckett," Esposito said. "Give us a chance to get to know your boy here." His meaning and intentions were not lost on Beckett.

Kate turned to Lanie, silently begging assistance.

"Josh is leaving tomorrow, guys. Heading to…where you going this time, Josh?"

"Zimbabwe."

"So maybe they want some time alone tonight?"

"They'll have time, Chica. Couple hours, couple drinks. Besides…we need to know this guy's up to snuff—worth waiting for while he's off doctoring the world."

"Beckett wouldn't let us run a background check on you," Ryan told Josh. Kate fought a smile at their good cop, bad cop routine.

"Ran a red light once. Bar fight in college. Couple parking tickets. Not much to know."

"Bar fight, huh?" Lanie asked.

Lanie stood up and leaned over to her friend. "Kate," she whispered, "You know, maybe it's not such a bad idea, you coming with us…especially if he has violent tendencies. I know I'd feel better about it."

Kate considered her friend's logic. She didn't really want to drag this out and she didn't see them doing this over dinner. But, alcohol could complicate things and at least she'd have the boys there if things did get out of hand. And she was sure Castle wouldn't mind if she used his office—that would offer the measure of privacy she wouldn't get anywhere else.

Kate turned to Josh. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. When have I ever been able to celebrate a closed case with you? Maybe you all can tell me about it?"

"Ah, no. That's not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"No shop talk at The Old Haunt," Ryan supplied. "Especially when my girl's there."

"Like we could twist her," Esposito teased.

"Still. It's a work-free weekend. Now let's get out of here before a body drops."

"I brought the bike, so…you wanna ride with me?" Josh winked at Kate.

"Thanks, but I'm gonna catch some girl time with Lanie."

"Hey, we'll see you there," Esposito said, kissing Lanie's cheek. "We should get going or Castle's going to beat us there." He and Ryan headed for the elevator.

"Castle's going?" Kate asked almost more to herself, eyes widening at this unexpected news. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!

"Of course," Josh said, clenching his jaw. "You couldn't have told me?"

"I thought he was staying home?" Lanie called, obviously for Kate's benefit so Josh would know it was news to them.

"We talked him into coming," Ryan called over his shoulder.

"Great," Josh muttered.

"We can go somewhere else," Kate said quietly.

"No. It'll be okay." He needed these people to like him more than Castle. He was a likable guy. Shouldn't be too hard to win them over. "They're already expecting us. Besides, it'll give me a chance to make amends."

"No, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Come on. I'll be civil." They'll see what a Jackass he is. Encroaching on my girl. I mean, come on. I'm a doctor. I save lives. He's a playboy writer. Master of Macabre, my ass.

"I don't think you're the one Kate's worried about."

"I can handle my own," Josh told Lanie. "I'll meet you there."

Lanie looked at Kate. "For a doctor, he's rather dense, you know."

"I don't think he was speaking as a doctor, Lanie."

"Still, if Castle is there, don't you think we ought to get there before the jealous boyfriend?"

Kate grabbed her purse. "Come on. I'm driving."

In the car, Kate was still contemplating how bad this could go. She hoped there weren't too many people from the 12th there tonight. "Do you think we should text Castle? Tell him not to come?"

"You want to text Castle and tell him not to come to his own bar because your possessive boyfriend is going to be there?"

"Right. Bad idea." Kate thought for a moment. "He's right though, to be upset that Castle has a key. I can't really blame him for feeling a little possessive. You know, like Javi's possessive of you. Their man code. If Castle and I were dating, he'd never be okay with Josh or some other man having a key to my apartment."

"True. But it only works if it's mutual. I wouldn't tell Javi, but you can for damn sure bet that if another woman had her paws on him, the claws would come out."

"I'll bet."

"You're the same you know."

"I've never really been the jealous type, Lanie."

"Yeah. Castle's changed a lot of things for you. You get jealous. You know you do. Hell, do you still have blondie's phone?"

"Shut-up, Lanie."

"I'm just pointing out that it's mutual. I mean Castle hates sharing you, too."

"And you know I'm working on fixing it. This night can't end soon enough."

"Maybe once Writer Boy realizes you're not with Motorcycle Boy anymore, you won't want it to end."

"Lanie! I'm not jumping from one man's bed to another. Come on, you know me better than that."

"I know you both need to pop those rocks before you self-destruct."

"Dramatic much, Lanie?"

"I'm jus' sayin'!"

Lanie slid into the booth before Kate to sit along the far edge next to Jenny. Across from them the boys sat. It felt weird to be here without Castle. The boys must have thought so too, because they pulled up a tall bar stool and parked Josh in it at the end of the table. They all their spots, and they changed them about every now and then, but there wasn't a spot for Josh and they all knew it. The space next to Kate remained empty.

Their present company took the opportunity to grill Josh about his travels, his work hours, his motorcycle, where he went to school, his bar fights. Kate tried to ignore it and stayed out the conversations as much as possible. So long as they weren't talking about her or Josh and her, she was fine with it. Twice she interrupted looking for an opportunity to get Josh alone.

She'd even checked with Brian to see if the office was unlocked. The next time he came with a fresh round, he let her know that he'd unlocked it for her. Josh watched curious at the exchange. "Great. Thanks, Brian."

"No problem."

"Oh, hey, Brian. Bring me the tab for him, okay?" she asked, nodding to Josh.

"Detective Beckett—you know the boss won't let me do that."

"He's not with the twelfth, so it's okay."

"Well, he's obviously a friend of yours, so I don't think the boss would like it if I let you pay."

"He'd like it less if I never came back, so, Bry—would you rather let me pay or tell him I'm not coming back?"

"You drive a hard bargain, Kate."

Kate grinned. "Thanks, Brian. Besides, he's not here. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Or me. I'll bring it by when you're ready. Just let me know."

"Okay. I don't think we'll be here too much longer."

"So, you guys drink here for free, huh?" Josh asked.

"Owner likes us," Esposito said.

"He must. What'd you guys do to deserve that? I don't even get that kind of thanks and I've saved some pretty rich guys from some pretty dead-end aortas." Josh laughed at his own joke. Saving lives always impresses people.

"Where is Castle, anyway?" Ryan asked. "He should be here by now."

"I don't know. I was wondering the same thing. I swear he was sick all day, but he wouldn't fess up."

"He hasn't texted you?" Jenny asked.

"No, I checked." Kate wondered if Castle was ignoring her texts. She'd let him know she was worried. Asked him to call.

"Maybe you should call Alexis or Martha? See if he's okay?" Lanie suggested.

"Come on, Babe. I'm sure he's fine. I don't know why you're worried about him."

"He's my partner, Josh. He said he was going to be here and he's not. Castle's not like that." Kate was already texting Alexis to see if she'd heard from her dad.

"I don't know why you keep calling him that. He's not even a cop. He's gonna get you hurt, maybe even killed."

"Whoa, man—" Ryan said.

"That's just—"

"Drop it, Josh." At that, Josh got up and walked off to the bathroom.

"Not a member of Castle's fan club, huh?" Jenny asked.

"That's putting it lightly," Kate confirmed.

"He should be thanking Castle if you ask me," Esposito said.

"I thank my lucky stars for Castle and all of you every night," Jenny said, turning slightly serious.

"Bro, this wedding shit's turning your girl into marshmallow fluff."

"What can I say? Alcohol makes me very honest."

"Can't say it has that same effect on me."

"You're gonna cry at my wedding, Javi. Probably more than Kevin."

"No chance."

"You'll be a big bawl baby."

"And if not at hers, definitely at mine," Lanie joked.

"Only if it's not me, Chica."

"Now, who's the sap?" Kate asked.

"Javier Esposito! Don't say shit like that to me if you're not serious."

"Who says I'm not serious?"

"Me and the fact that you're not on one knee with something big and sparkly shining in my eye."

"And I'm not a sap."

"Really, Javi? Because I know of a varsity jacket that says otherwise." Kate teased.

"Hey, Beckett," Esposito said, blushing, but not looking away. "Your boy's back."

Kate looked toward to door, expecting to find Castle. She looked back at Esposito confused.

"Not that one."

Kate narrowed her eyes and sneered half-heartedly at him before looking up to find Josh heading back to their table. She started to get up so she could finally have that talk with him, but her phone buzzed. Castle. Finally!

"Castle says sorry. He fell asleep and he's going back to bed."

Josh climbed up onto his chair. "Probably just didn't want to come hang out at some bar with the guy that about kicked his ass."

Everyone stopped and stared at him, jaws open—except for Kate, who glared at him, fists and jaws clenched. He hadn't had that much to drink! Castle made her boyfriend shine in a new light. Clearly, they needed to be done.

"What? He didn't tell you that, did he? Almost got hit ass handed to him."

"Josh, that's just wrong on so many levels." Kate's phone rang.

Her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she's a beautiful girl

"Alexis. Hey, sweetie."

"Kate. What's wrong?"

"Yo, Boss. Can we school him, or do you want to?"

Kate twirled her hand in motion that clearly gave them the floor. She was seething over Josh's comment, but more concerned about Castle, and she had Alexis on the phone. She left to go find a quieter, more private location.

"A," Esposito began, "Castle doesn't even know you're here."

"B," Ryan continued, "if you got into a scuffle with Castle and you didn't come out all black and blue, it's because Castle has the patience of a saint. Bet he didn't even hit you, did he?"

"'Cuz we've seen that man take down a professional hit man with his bare hands."

"And a body builder," Lanie piped up. She'd listened to Kate rant about Castle's inability to think first.

"Saved Kate's life," Ryan assured.

"More than once," Esposito added.

"C," Jenny joined the fun, "It's not just some bar."

"It's Castle's bar," the other three chorused, challenging him to say another word against their friend.

Kate came back. The tension at the table was different now. Her friends were talking amongst themselves and being cordial enough. They weren't intentionally excluding Josh, but it was clear from his demeanor that he had no desire to talk with any of them.

"Can we go now?" Kate asked. "Or we could go downstairs and talk?"

"What's downstairs?"

"Castle's office."

"Think I'm good here. Just gonna sit right here and finish my beer."

They couldn't talk now. They were each too riled up. He needed to cool down. She needed to cool down. If they didn't, he'd accuse her of not committing or emotional infidelity or being dishonest herself when she was so big on trust. She'd say they were done, and he knew they needed more time. They were so good together when it was just the two of them. He couldn't lose her now, and he wouldn't lose her to Castle. Regardless of what her friends might think, he loved her.

Kate sat down and looked at Josh, who was refusing to look at her. "I'm ready when you are."

Lanie scooted over to Kate and gave her a sympathetic pat on the leg. Kate leaned over. "Lanie, this is a disaster. What do I do?"

Lanie shrugged and made the "beats me" face.

"What did Alexis say? How's Castle?" Jenny asked, uncaring about Josh's feelings on matter.

"She said he seemed fine. Tired, but fine. But he's been off all week."

The conversation turned to plans for Memorial Day weekend. If Kate planned to be in town, Mama Esposito fully expected her to be at their annual barbeque. They called a barbeque and they did grill some things…mostly burgers and hot dogs for the kids, but it was really about the Puerto Rican flavors. The Esposito family made some of the most delicious empanadas and tamales she'd ever tasted. Kate assured them she'd be there.

Josh was taking his sweet time with his beer. When he ordered another, Kate worried. He hadn't said anything in a while. Kate put her hand on his arm to draw his attention. "Hey, I thought we were going to dinner?" she asked quietly.

"I thought you liked spending time here? Speaking of…how come you never told me it was Castle's bar anyway?"

"What difference does it make? You knew who I was with. And I invited you to join us many times." They were speaking quietly, but Kate knew everyone at the table could hear them.

"I didn't know you were down here livin' the high life on your partner's dime. Does he pay you for the ride-alongs, too?" Man, why can't I keep my mouth shut tonight?

Anger careened through Kate's veins. Josh had questioned her faithfulness indirectly only one other time. She's warned him then that if it happened again, they'd be done. Implying that she—or any of them—would use Castle for his money hit at the core some of her biggest fears: that he or others would think she was using him. She always thought it would be the press to imply such if they started dating. Already there'd been articles about Castle "slumming" at the 12th in order to get a hardcore taste of life on the streets. It wasn't a stretch to assume that articles about the gold-digging blood-suckers from the 12th would also appear. It was especially likely where the subject matter was the real-life "Nikki Heat" and her romantic relationship, real or perceived, with Richard Castle.

She worried about that as much as she worried that Castle would ultimately think she was only with him because she owed him. He'd done so much for her. Would he think that? That second insult managed to hit both fears in one.

Drawing on every ounce of control she'd practiced over the years to keep from throttling scumbags, Kate leaned back and said as evenly as possible, "I think you should leave."

Josh got up and went to the bar, presumably for his tab. Kate turned to her friends who had nowhere to go and couldn't avoid being witnesses to all this. "I'm sorry, guys. Not how I thought the night would go."

"Don't worry about it, Beckett. We'd rather be here than worried about you."

"I know…Look, I'm going to check on Castle."

"I thought Alexis said he seemed fine?" Ryan asked.

"She did. But she was distracted with her trip, and it's…I don't know. I'm just going to check on him."

Kate hesitated a moment. She wanted to ask to stay at Lanie's tonight, but if Esposito was going to be there, he'd know. Hell, they'd probably all know anyway. As it was, she couldn't guarantee Ryan and Esposito wouldn't set up shop outside her building tonight anyway, so she may as well just ask. "Lanie, are you going to be at your place tonight?"

Lanie nodded.

"Good. Your guest bed's calling my name. I don't want to have to spend the night wondering if he made a copy of my key. That okay?"

"Shocked you'd admit it, but glad you'll be there."

"I'm stubborn, Espo, not stupid. I'll see you guys later."

Kate made her way to the door. Josh called after her, "Hey, where you going? I thought you wanted to talk?"

Kate opened the door with her backside. "We're done talking," she proclaimed before disappearing up the stairs.

Josh walked back to the table where he'd spent the better part of the evening. He looked around, finally landing on Ryan.

"Tell me the truth. I have to know if she's worth fighting for. Is she sleeping with him?"

"Man—"

"Who the hell—"

"Listen—"

It was Lanie who broke through them all. "Oh, she's worth fighting for. But you don't stand a chance in hell."

"Says you."

"Says the Universe," Ryan retorted.

"Bro, she just broke up with you."

"No she didn't. She just needs to cool down. I was a jerk, but she'll come around." Women did not break up with him.

Jenny was floored. "In what world does a woman say 'we're done talking' and then goes off to see another man not mean 'we're through'?"

She went to see Castle? "My world. We'll work it out. We always do. I'll be gone for a few weeks. It'll give us some time to reflect."

"Boy, you really are dense."

"I'm not dense. It just so happens that I might know Kate better than any of you think I do. I might have messed up this week, let Castle get the best of me, but Kate wants this. She wants us to work. That hasn't changed."

Oh, so dense.

So, don't kill me. There is a master plan...

As always, I appreciate reading your takes! Feel free to be frustrated with the story (a little angst will do that), but try not to lambaste me too much! :o) Trust me, I'm having a hard time not rushing through the storyline to get Kate and Castle in bed.