It was one of her favorite clubs in the city, and Victoria Gates and her husband had been coming for years. It made perfect sense to them that they would spend their 20th anniversary there. She always enjoyed the atmosphere, and Chandra was always welcoming. On that evening she and John were enjoying a few drinks and the pleasure of one another's company. His law firm had been swamped lately and her job never ended; afterall, criminals never slept. Between the two of them, it was rare to find any time together.

From the darkness of their table she watched the couples dance. It was refreshing to watch the young couples, so committed and so lost in each other. As the song shifted to an Etta James classic, Gates smiled to herself. She took a sip of her vodka tonic and set it back onto the table, looking towards the stage once again. She gasped in surprise when she saw none other than Richard Castle take the dance floor.

It wasn't the fact that Castle was there that he had a date that shocked the captain, but the reality that the woman currently in his arms was her best detective. She watched them move together as if they were the only people in the world. They held to one another as if their lives depended on it, hands caressing and lips grazing.

She felt a bit voyeuristic watching them in such an intimate moment, but they were in public. It seemed to be a fact that was lost on the partners. It wasn't that they were being crude, but it also didn't take a rocket scientist to see how hot and heavy the two were. There was no denying what was unfolding on that dance floor.

In the past months she'd had her suspicions. However, they'd remained professional and gave her no indication that there was anything inappropriate going on between them. Afterall, the NYPD had very strict policies about partners being involved romantically. Those rules most definitely applied to Beckett, and given that she brought her shadow into the field, they applied to him as well. It was simply too dangerous, and Victoria Gates had lost some damn good people due to violations of that policy.

Gates looked around for a moment, determining if they were truly alone. She didn't know who else she would have expected to see afterall. She supposed that she was looking for some source of information that would counter the evidence in front of her. Perhaps they're here working undercover? She rolled her eyes at the thought, knowing that any undercover assignment they would be working would have been authorized by her.

No, the man and woman currently kissing passionately on the dance floor were not acting. She had to put a stop to it before someone else recognized them. This was just the kind of public scandal that the NYPD did not need. She neared the couple and waited for them to notice they had company. However, they remained oblivious to her.

She cleared her throat next, but it still didn't deter them. She heard him speak, "God Kate, I love you." She swallowed uncomfortably and cleared her throat again, a little louder. They continued to move in tandem.

"Beckett." She called. Still no response, they were simply too caught up in the moment.

"Take me home, Rick. Make love to me." She heard her plead with him.

Enough, she thought to herself. "DETECTIVE BECKETT!"

They pulled apart abruptly, shock washing over the pair of them as they registered that they had an audience. Gates didn't know what else to say at the moment. She needed time to process it.

Truth be told, she didn't object to them as a couple. Not only did she consider it none of her business, but she thought that they complemented one another well enough to actually last. Still, their current situation and their working relationship was not conducive to their obvious romantic involvement.

Her personal opinion didn't matter where they were concerned, there was a reason why personnel policies existed and it was plain to see that these two were wrapped up in each other too much to be rational about much of anything. This was dangerous and something had to change. Sometimes she hated her job.

"I want to see the both of you in my office first thing." With that, she turned and left them on the dance floor.

They sat on Kate's couch in silence. Castle replayed the scene again and again in his head. If only he hadn't insisted on taking her out. There was a reason that they didn't go out, and this was it. For six months they'd managed to keep things on the down low. They'd been sure to be nothing but professional at work, and to keep their romantic relationship separate.

It wasn't easy to do either, and both were fairly certain that their families suspected something. Still, his mom or daughter did know, they kept their observations to themselves. Neither partner had any desire to press his family, so it remained a non-issue.

Now it was over, and of all the people to discover them, Gates. He couldn't imagine things having gotten any worse. Even if it had been a reporter, they could have claimed that the photos were doctored and that it wasn't actually Kate with him. There was no denying this though, and now it was over.

"Kate, what are we going to do?" He asked, afraid of what she might do. He knew that Beckett wasn't one to be ok with loss of control, and now that their carefully fabricated secret was out, it seemed that all control was lost.

"I don't know, Castle." She replied with a whisper, the sadness evident in her tone.

"What do you think that Gates will do?" He pressed.

"Worst case scenario, you're gone and I'm in some seriously hot water." She answered.

"How serious?" He couldn't help but ask, afraid of the repercussions that their relationship might have on her career.

Kate didn't answer him, but gave him a foreboding look. She didn't want to speculate what was going to happen. "Castle I think I'm going to go to bed, perhaps you should go."

He swallowed his objection. Tonight wasn't the night to press her, and he knew that she was feeling vulnerable enough already. He simply nodded to her, planting a tender kiss on her forehead before pulling away. He grabbed his keys and his coat and made his way for the door.

"Regardless of what happens Kate, I'll never regret this. I love you."

She offered him a small smile and nodded. "I'll see you in the morning, Rick."

She sat at her desk first thing in the morning, feeling positively nauseous with anxiety. Gates' office was still dark, which wasn't surprising. Her Captain was highly punctual, showing up at 8am every morning, and it was still only 7:30. It was still too early. That hadn't stopped Kate from showing up at the break of dawn. Afterall, she hadn't slept at all the night before and couldn't stand another moment of pacing her apartment.

Her thoughts were racing as she considered what her options would be now. She thought about their relationship, how new it was and was struck again by all the insecurities and misgivings she had about dating him. I knew this was a bad idea, but I couldn't control myself, she berated herself.

Kate knew deep down that all the changes between she and Castle were inevitable. They'd always been moving in this direction. Still, now that they were there, and they'd been found out in the worst possible way, Kate felt like her world was spinning out of control. The worst part was that she knew they stood to lose everything.

She was startled from her thoughts by the coffee cup being firmly set down in front of her. It was far too early for him to be here, but judging from the exhaustion on his face, she figured he hadn't slept either. She smiled at him, grateful for the coffee and for his presence.

She looked down at her coffee, feeling suddenly unsure of herself as she felt his penetrating gaze upon her. Kate knew he wanted answers and she had none to offer, and the tension that was rising between them was making her uncomfortable.

"Kate." He whispered.

She looked up at him, willing him to just be quiet and not push her, but he continued. "Kate, promise me that no matter what happens, we'll stay in this together."

She didn't know what he meant by that. There were many definitions of the word together. "Castle, I can't-". He cut her off,

"Kate, all I am asking is that when we make a decision that impacts us, in whatever capacity, that we do it together." She inhaled deeply, nodding her consent.

"Ok." She promised.

Gates arrived, and after settling in and grabbing herself a cup of coffee, she called Kate into her office. Castle began to follow, but was cut off.

"I want to talk to Beckett, Mr. Castle. Alone." He did not like the sound of that. The last thing he wanted was for Gates to get to Kate before he'd even had the option to speak up. Kate looked to him apologetically, silently urging him to keep quiet and not make matters worse. He nodded to her, taking his seat beside her desk and taking a sip from his coffee cup.

He watched her follow her boss and close the door behind her, trying to suppress the feeling of panic that built within him as he thought about what was going to transpire in that office.

Beckett sat in Gates' office, her boss silent for a few moments as she flipped through a case file in front of her.

"Evans and Messner." Gates finally spoke.

"Excuse me, sir?" Kate questioned.

"Evans and Messner, detective. Have you ever heard of them?" The older woman questioned.

"I'm sorry sir, but no."

"It was before your time, Beckett. Karen Evans and Stephen Messner were partners while I was working over in the 15th. They were in a romantic relationship, but insisted that it wouldn't interfere with their professional judgment." Gates began to explain. "It was kept a secret, but the other members of their team knew about it."

Kate took a breath, understanding where this was all going. She had little choice but to listen to Gates as she continued to speak, "One day, during a routine investigation, Evans let a suspect get the drop on her. She was taken hostage, and Messner, so upset that his partner was in danger, was completely unable to follow protocol." Gates stood and paced her office.

"Had he been objective, he would have adhered to his basic training and known to call for backup, to take stalk of his surroundings, and to not try to negotiate until a professional was called in. However, because he wasn't rational, he tried to reason with the suspect. Things escalated fast, and because Messner didn't take note of his surroundings, he wound up tripping a wire and triggering an explosion. It turns out that the room was rigged to explode and the partners walked directly into a trap. They'd been too distracted to notice the red flags."

She turned back to Kate and lowered her voice, "both partners were killed, along with the suspect and a room full of civilians."

"Sir, I don't think-" she couldn't finish her sentence though, as Gates cut in.

"I know you don't think you would ever let something like that happen, but neither did they. The point is that these policies exist for a reason, and you're simply too valuable to take those types of chances. You carry a large responsibility, for the people you serve, for your team. There is no room for the kinds of mistakes that happen when you're involved with your partner." Gates came back to be seated, her voice softening.

"Look, you're great at what you do, and even I can't deny that Mr. Castle offers a substantial contribution to our clearance rates. I'm keeping this in mind, Kate." She explained.

Beckett was taken aback by the use of her first name, and wasn't sure she was comfortable with where things were going. She continued to listen anyway.

"Because you two make an effective team, I'm willing to offer you a choice. End things now, no more romantic involvement and I will allow you to continue working together." Kate rose her eyebrow at her boss, frankly shocked that there was going to be any option in the matter.

"If you can't do that, then he's gone from my precinct. I can't afford to have you compromised. So, you can have the relationship, or the partnership. I'm sorry, but you can't have both. I urge you to think long and hard about it, Beckett. Take the day and have your decision for me tomorrow." Kate nodded, standing.

As she reached Gates' door, her boss stopped her, "Oh, and Beckett, if you should decide to keep going as you are now. If you decide to remain in a romantic relationship and work together, and I find out about it…He'll be out of here before you know it, and you will be working local campus security for the rest of your career." She leveled Kate with a glare and pointed her finger at her for effect,

"do I make myself clear, detective?"

"Crystal, sir." Kate spoke bluntly, allowing her boss' door to slam shut behind her.