Back to Where We Have Never Been

A/N: As always, you all rock. Here is chapter 12. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

"See them over there?" Castle leaned over to whisper in her ear, his finger pointing discreetly to a couple in the middle of the wooden floor. Kate bit her lip and nodded, a hand coming up to cover her smile as she glanced over at the couple. They had been doing this for the better part of an hour.

The silence, the tension, had been palpable when they had first arrived, a couple of flashing blubs going off in their face as they had walked into the event. Castle stated for anyone who asked, that they were only good friends. He had nodded at her; let her know that he wasn't trying to make her into anything she wasn't. He wasn't trying to insinuate that she was his, or cause any doubt with Mark. They were friends out for the evening. She was engaged. The press knew that.

He had huffed, after a stilted dinner of forced small talk and polite smiles at the couples around them, and scooted his chair a couple of inches towards her, pointing a finger at a man sitting slouched in a chair a couple of tables down. His bow tie was crooked and his gut folded over the undone top button of his pants as he patted at the sheen of sweat covering his forehead. Despite his seemingly young age, his hairline was already receding and it looked like he hadn't had a haircut or shaved, in weeks, but not in the good, ruggedly handsome way. More like in the sleazy, want to go home and take a burning hot shower kind of way.

"See him?" Castle stated softly, leaning towards her. "He won his fortune in a start up internet business. Porn: the weird kinky kind. He still lives in his parent's basement, despite his mass fortunes, because his mother makes the best mac and cheese he has ever tasted and she irons his socks. He feels an obligation to give back because of the racy nature of his work, but he rarely actually leaves his basement cubbyhole so he doesn't actually know how to act in public."

Kate glanced back at him, catching the glint in his eye, before looking over at the other man who put his hand up to his face to cover a burp. She scrunched her nose before biting down on her lip.

Was he being serious right now? Did he actually know that about this man?

Castle swiveled his eyes to look at her for a second before touching her elbow to draw her attention and pointing to a tall, thin couple standing regally across the room. The man had dark hair and a beak-like nose that was emphasized by his small beady eyes, which were a couple millimeters too close together. The woman had blonde hair so light and skin so fair that they blended together, the peach tone of the dress doing nothing for her lack of coloring.

"And them? He calls out for his mommy in bed and she likes it."

Kate snorted in an attempt to suppress her laughter and turned to look at him. That twinkle in his eyes. He was making up stories about them. He pointed at another woman, leaning closer to her ear as he talked, making her laugh.

She let out a small smile. He was trying to cheer her up, get her out of her head. She had been lost there for the better part of the evening. She had tried to come out of it, truly, be in the moment instead of being lost somewhere between Russia and New York. Greenland. She had been stuck in Greenland. She sighed, mixing it with a laugh as she shook her head slightly, working her worries from her brain for a second.

It was working. It had been working for the last hour.

She glanced at the couple on the dance floor he had pointed too and then looked back towards him, raising a single eyebrow. He hadn't said anything about them yet; he was looking at her, chin propped in hand, eye brows raised. He was waiting.

What was he waiting for?

Oh… it was her turn.

"Um…" she paused and glanced back at him. Her finger traced around the top of her sweating water glass. This was harder than it looked. She looked back at the couple: the way the man's eyes dodged around and how the woman was staring over his shoulder at something, someone… Kate followed her line of sight to the first man they had been talking about: the alleged pornographer. Kate grimaced. Why would she be looking at him? Here goes, nothing, she mused. It was time to think like Castle.

"He's a CIA operative waiting to meet his contact, but what he doesn't know is that she's a sleeper agent working with Porny over there, who is really a high powered foreign operative, to infiltrate U.S. high security and bring the country to it's knees."

She bit down on her lip once again and turned back to look at Castle who was silent, staring at her with his jaw hanging open, "CIA, really? Hardcore. Beckett, I think you are the perfect woman."

Kate let out a startled laugh as he looked at her in pride, preening slightly. Apparently, she had passed the first test in his little game. Now, onto round two. She looked around silently debating her options before pointing at a blonde woman who was walking purposefully across the room, wearing a gold dress that almost blended perfectly into her skin. Her face was pursed, closed. She looked like a complete bitch. Perfect.

"What about her?" She asked quietly, her finger flickering up discretely towards the woman.

Castle shifted as he followed her line of sight, his posture stiffening as he straightened in his chair and leaned away from her. His hands went up to fix his tie. Kate watched as the woman continued to walk towards them and Castle pushed himself out of his chair.

"Oh, I don't need to make up any stories about her. I already know she's the devil," Castle stated evenly.

Kate glanced back at him, startled, and hastily got to her feet as the woman made eye contact and stopped in front of them.

"Richard," she stated, her voice a mix of venom and honey. "Glad to see you made it. I know how you get when you get writer's block; all depressed. Walking around for days at a time in sweats, Alexis having to remind you to eat and shower. Tell me, how is the new novel coming? Get past sentence one, yet?"

The woman stood in front of them, arms crossed over her chest as she glared up at him. Kate shifted slightly, an inch wider gap forming between her and Castle as his fist clenched at his side.

Who was this woman?

"Gina," Castle ground out, as if he had heard her silent question. "Always a pleasure to see you. Are you hear for a reason or did you just get hungry and need some blood to suck?"

Gina smirked and turned to look at Kate, giving her a once over, her voice still directed at the writer. "So, you found yourself a date for tonight. Who knows, maybe she will put out and help you over that proverbial hump."

Castle stiffened, taking a step forward his fist still clenched. Kate's jaw dropped open, the world around her going white and spinning a little bit as she felt the anger rise in her.

Who the hell was this woman?

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Kate heard her own voice ask.

"Gina Cowell," Castle stated through gritted teeth. "My blood sucking publisher and my blood sucking ex-wife."

Gina's chin jutted up slightly. "Number two. Ex-wife number two. I wouldn't get my hopes up, sweetheart, he doesn't have the best track record."

It was Kate's turn to clench her fists, as the woman looked her up and down. "And you are?"

"Dr. Kate Beckett, PhD," Kate replied, a steel in her voice matching the shrewdness in the woman's. Two could play this game.

Castle audibly gulped as the two women continued to stare at each other, silently sizing each other up.

"So," he started, taking half a step closer to them, his hand reaching out to grab Kate's. "As fun as this has been, and trust me, Gina, it's always a pleasure to be castrated by you, but I promised Kate a dance so we should be going."

They had taken a couple of steps towards the dance floor when Gina's voice sounded again. "We have to talk eventually, Richard. Your latest novel was due weeks ago."

"Don't worry about the novel, Gina. I found my inspiration. You'll have the first chapters on your desk within the week," he called back over his shoulder, Kate's hand still grasped firmly in his.

She couldn't help the small smile that glanced over her lips. I found my inspiration.

She didn't even bother to look back at the woman as they stepped onto the dance floor and Castle pulled her up to him, one hand resting on her waist as the other continued to grasp hers tightly.

"Sorry about that," he mumbled into her ear. "Sometimes I think she's the one Dracula turned away."

Kate swallowed a laugh. "So, you two were married?"

"Yep," Castle replied as they continued to rock back and forth on the dance floor, his body still held a couple of inches away from hers. "Six long years."

Kate pulled back her head slightly. "Really? How did you not kill each other?"

Castle let out a slight shrug. "The sex was good."

Kate lifted her hand from his shoulder and he let out a slight shriek as she twisted his ear with her fingers.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, his hand leaving her waist temporarily to rub the now red lobe. "What was that for?"

She glared at him, her side cold from the suddenly missing contact. "For being a punk."

"I was not being a punk," Castle defended petulantly. "I was being honest. The sex really was very good."

Kate's hand came up and Castle ducked his head to the side, avoiding her fingers as they came for his ear again.

"You're the punk," he grumbled.

"No, I'm spunky, remember?"

Castle rested his hand on her side and shifted his body an inch closer to hers, their feet falling back into rhythm as he led her around the dance floor. "Yeah, I remember."

She laughed as she stared past him, out the window of the town car to look at the passing bus, the ad on the side the same one she had seen on her way into the city from Newark.

"Richard Castle's latest novel on shelves now!"

His chest puffed out in pseudo pride.

"That's right," he boasted, brushing a thumb against his nose. "I'm the man. I have my own bus."

Kate let out something close to a giggle and immediately clamped a hand down over her mouth, her eyes wide as he turned to look at her.

"Did you just giggle?" He asked, his mouth hanging slightly open in astonishment of the sound.

"No…" she defended through the spaces in between her fingers. He could hear the smile in her voice. It was a good sound to hear. A happy sound.

You can make her happy. The voice in the back of his mind sounded. He shook his head slightly. No, he couldn't. It wasn't his place. She wasn't just another one of his 'conquests'; she was a real woman, a woman who already had someone to make her happy.

"Hey," her voice cut through his thoughts and only then did he notice that they had stopped outside of a tall brick building. "You want to come up? My mom keeps saying she wants to meet you. See if you're really, and I quote, 'as ruggedly handsome in person'. I told her you weren't but she wants to see for herself. It would make her day to meet you."

Castle couldn't help but laugh at the compliment and insult rolled into one. He nodded his head slightly. Truth be told, he couldn't wait to meet her either: the elder Beckett woman, the mother responsible for the amazing creature in front of him. "Sure."

Kate smiled softly as he opened the door and got out, reaching a hand back in for her to take.

"Such a gentleman," she teased gently as her stiletto landed firmly on the ground. He couldn't help but laugh.

"Just don't tell. You'll blow my cover."

Castle stopped and turned to look at her when she failed to reply. Her eyes were glued to something over his shoulder, her lips slightly parted as she continued to stare, her hand frozen limply in his.

He dropped her hand, and it fell to her side as he turned to see what had caught her attention. His eyes landed on a man standing next to the doors of the building, duffle bag hanging off of his shoulder, his hands shoved into the pockets of his khakis. He had dark brown hair, perfectly styled, and an olive tint to his skin. He looked foreign, Greek maybe with the slight curve to his nose. Black-framed glasses covered his eyes. A dark blue polo and a pair of Sperry's finished off his outfit. The man's eyes flickered to him before settling back on Kate.

Castle turned back to look at her. She hadn't moved. Clutch in one hand held at her stomach and her other hand stiff at her side. He could feel his stomach start to sink as she continued to stare at the man and both men stared back at her. There was only one person that this could be.

He felt his eyes flutter close as her voice sounded— confirming his suspicions, pushing all of the air out of his lungs.

"Mark?"