I think I'm going to die. Castle won't be on television for at least 8 weeks, unless the new program gets rescheduled. The last episode I saw was Eye of the beholder. 2 down, 6 to go…

Sorry it took so long. Again.

Chapter 6

Castle walked into the precinct, a tray with for cups of coffee in his hands. He put each cup in front of the right detective.

"Thanks, Castle," Kate said.

Ryan and Esposito stared at him, then at their coffees and then back at him. Esposito spoke up.

"Dude, did you do something stupid?"

"What, can't I just bring you guys coffee? Jeez, I'm just trying to be nice," Castle responded. Then he sat down in his usual chair. The team had taken over a case from another precinct, and they were waiting until Lanie knew more about the victim.

After a few hours, Kate's phone rang.

"Hey, Lanie. Yeah, I'll be right there." She put her phone down. Guys, that was Lanie, said she had something. I'm heading over there now." Castle began to get up. "Alone." He looked disappointed, but sat down again. When she was gone, he turned to Ryan and Esposito and beckoned for them to come closer.

"So, I'm dating this woman, and she's amazing. She's beautiful, smart; she's more than I could ever wish for. And I… I love her. More than anything in the world. Alexis not counted. We haven't been dating for very long, but… do you think it's possible that I already know she's the one?"

Ryan and Esposito were just staring at him. Ryan responded first. "Well, uh… if you really love her…" Esposito glared at him and Ryan stopped speaking.

"Ryan, can you help me look for some file?" He asked.

"Yeah sure."

As soon as they were out of Castle's earshot, Esposito started talking to his partner.

"What the hell? I swear, the last time I checked, he couldn't keep his eyes off Beckett. And now he's sure he met the right woman? This is bad. Damn, Lanie's not going to like this." He shook his head.

"It's not just him. I mean, she gets grumpy whenever he's not around. And the way they look at each other, finish each other's sentences… I was sure they'd end up together. What are we going to do about this?"

Esposito sighed. "I don't know bro. Maybe Lanie knows something. I'll call her after Beckett's back."

They walked back to the bullpen.

Meanwhile, at the morgue…

"Hey, girl," Lanie greeted.

"I'm dating someone." Kate blurted.

Lanie stared at her in shock. "I'm sorry, girl. WHAT?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "You heard me." Then she spoke again, softer now. "I- I really like him, Lane. He's kind, caring, funny… he's more than I could ever wish for. He's so different from Will, Tom and Josh, he… he could be my one-and-done. No, we haven't been dating for that long, but with him I'm Kate, not detective Beckett, and I feel like I can live again. It sounds cheesy, but it's true."

"But… what about Writer Boy?"

Kate glared at her. "What do you have on the victim?"

Lanie wanted to discuss it further, but when she saw Kate's look, she decided to drop the subject.

"Well, I have no clue who he is, but he's in his late 40's to early 50's. He has several stab wounds, but the one through his heart was the one that killed him. From the angle of the stab wounds, I'd say our killer is slightly bigger than the vic."

"And what about the time he was killed?" Kate asked.

"Say 40 to 48 hours ago. Give or take a bit."

"Okay, thanks Lane. Let me know if you find anything else." Then she turned around and walked away.

Lanie yelled after her. "This conversation is not over, girl!"

"Yeah, it is," Kate's voice came from somewhere down the hall.

Lanie shook her head, and turned to the dead body. "You may not see what's going on, but I certainly do."

Back in the precinct

"Guys, we've got a John Doe. Can you check missing person files, Esposito? And Ryan, can you look for cams near the crime scene? Maybe there will be something on it that'll help us," Beckett said.

"Sure, boss," the reply came from Ryan and Esposito.

"Castle, grab your coat. Road trip."

He immediately sprung up and put his coat on. The two male detectives looked after them. When they were gone, Esposito took his phone and called Lanie.

"He's dating someone!"

"She's dating someone!"

"What?" They both said at the same time.

"Okay, chica, you first," Esposito said.

"There ain't much to tell. She just walks in here and says she's dating someone. Apparently he's her one-and-done. What about Writer Boy?"

"Sort of the same story. Tells us to come closer and starts telling about this amazing woman he's dating. What are we gonna do?"

"Force them on a date or so? I've no idea. I don't think we can do much about this." Lanie sounded desperate.

"We'll see. Maybe they'll get over them. Love you."

"Yeah, love you too. Bye."

Esposito hung up. "I'm losing money on them, a lot of it."

"Yeah, me too, me too bro."

I didn't really know where to cut it off. Hope this isn't annoying. I'll try to finish the next chapter soon

-xxx-