Seventeen:

The alarm on his iphone sounds as Rick reaches over to his nightstand to silence it. It was 7:30 and he had a very busy day ahead. He staggered from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. Taking care of business first, he flushes then turns to the sink to brush his teeth. A shave and a quick shower follows. Carefully he looks over the bathroom to make sure he returned all of his toiletries to his shaving kit before taking it into the bedroom. He roots through his suitcase looking for an appropriate outfit to wear today. He finds a blue pinstriped shirt and navy dress slacks. This combined with the silk blazer should be appropriate wear for todays agenda. He searches the room for anything that hasn't already been put back into his suitcase. Rick glances at his watch and sees that it's nearly 8:15. He calls down to the concierge to have someone pick up his luggage as he will be checking out today.

He grabs his laptop bag and leaves the room grabbing the pass key from the holder before exiting. Mindy is waiting in the lobby sitting near the elevators. Castle sees her first and calls out. Mindy looks up and smiles as Rick walks to her. "Good morning Mindy, I trust that you slept well?" Castle inquires.

"Very well, and you?"

"Actually, I slept very well." He replies surprising himself.

"Would you like to get some breakfast?" Mindy asks.

"Yes, I think I could handle breakfast, especially a good cup of coffee." Castle replies.

"Well I can't guarantee how good it is here, but I'll bet it will be strong."

"That sounds fine to me, let's eat." Castle rubs his hands together and smiles. "Lead on Miss Mindy." Mindy stands up and Rick is surprised by her height again. He follows her to the restaurant where the breakfast buffet is served. They eat and make small talk discussing the agenda for the day. Castle glances at his watch and comments "What time do we need to check out?"

"Don't worry Rick, it's been taken care of. The driver will pickup your luggage. Would you like to walk to your book signing?" Mindy inquires.

"How far away is it?"

"About 500 meters from here." Mindy replies.

"In that case, I think I can handle that." Rick smiles and rises to his feet extending his hand to Mindy. She rises and takes his hand while reaching for her bag. "Let's go."

They exit the hotel. It's a pleasant late October morning. You can almost see the sun peeking through the haze that seems to be a permanent part of the Beijing sky. They walk past the Hard Rock Cafe towards the Kempinski center, a shopping and dining complex that is part of the hotel. The Kempinski Center was a 6 story department store that sold everything from live fish in the basement to the finest jewelry on the 5th floor. The book center was on the 6th floor and the store had setup a display at all of the entrances announcing Rick's appearance there today. It was an enlarged photo taken from one of his earlier Nikki Heat book covers, but it wasn't that bad.

They took the escalators to the top floor and followed the signs to where the book signing would be. Mindy had made arrangements beforehand and there was fresh coffee, pastries, and bottled water waiting for them. As they approached the area, a line had already started to form of fans. Rick smiled looking at the crowd thinking to himself how humbling it was to be recognized for his work so far from his home.

The book signing went well. Rick was his usual charming self trying to take time to personalize each autograph he signed. Thankfully, Mindy sat beside him and was able to interpret for him when it was necessary. She spoke Mandarin fluently. After nearly 2 ½ hours, Mindy looked at her watch and told Rick that it was time to go. She gestured to one of the store employees and relayed the same information to them. The employee motioned to another that was responsible for keeping the people in an orderly line and closed off the entrance with a burgundy velvet rope. Rick finished with the remaining fans and thanked the store personnel that had been there to assist.

Mindy looked at her watch again and then turned to face Castle. "I've made arrangements for lunch. There's a reporter from the English language newspaper that would like to meet with you." She states.

"Sounds like fun. Let's get on with it." Castle replies.

They grab their bags and ride the escalators down to the lower level. There are restaurants catering to virtually every type of cuisine. Mindy had chosen a German micro brewery for their lunch. It was very popular with the Europeans and Americans that lived there. Waiting for them at the table was a fairly young man. Dressed in jeans and a tee shirt he was typing ferociously on his laptop, lost in whatever he was doing at the time. Mindy cleared her throat as loudly as she could trying to get him to break free from whatever had so entirely captured his attention. Rick looked and smiled. He knew the young man was in the 'zone'. He knew exactly what it felt like when you are so caught up in trying to capture your thoughts that the whole world fades into the background. He missed that feeling. Mindy clears her throat again, this time rapping on the table at the same time as if knocking on a door.

"Hello? Earth to Brian." Mindy quizzes, her lips forming a slight smile.

Startled, Brian's head pops up from the laptop. Embarrassed, he stumbles up from his chair to meet his guests. "Brian, I'd like for you to meet Richard Castle. Rick, I'd like for you to meet Brian McFadden. He's a reporter for the Times." Mindy calmly states.

Rick extends his hand and smiles. "It's a pleasure to meet you Brian."

The next hour was spent in pleasant conversation amongst the three. Mindy had known Brian for a couple of years through mutual friends at Black Pawn. Brian asked type of questions that could easily have been answered by reading one of the bios provided by his publisher to the media. Everything was light and cheerful until Brian asked "So, it's true that Nikki Heat is based upon a real person?"

The warm smile that Castle wore suddenly faded. "Yes, she was inspired by someone that I used to work with."

"I get the feeling that the two of you were very close?" Brian stated calmly.

Castle stared off into the restaurant. "Yes, but that was a long time ago. She moved on. New job. New life."

Sensing the tension, Mindy attempts to lighten the mood. "Brian, you'll just have to wait until Rick's next book to find out what happens." She feigns a chuckle and a smile. Glancing at her watch she says "Would you look at the time. We've got a flight to Shanghai in 90 minutes." She reaches into her purse and grabs her phone calling her driver. Looking back to Rick she tells him "The driver will meet us out front in 5 minutes. We're 20 minutes from the airport if traffic holds."

Rick looks back to Mindy and Brian. "Well, I guess that's our cue." Rick rises up from the table and extends his hand to Brian. "It's been a pleasure to meet you Brian. I'll have Mindy send you an advance copy of my next novel."

Brian stands and shakes Castle's hand. "I'm so glad we got a chance to meet Mr. Castle. I'll let Mindy know when my story will be in the paper. We only publish our English version twice a week, but it is distributed throughout Asia."

Rick smiles. "I look forward to reading it."

Mindy smiles at Brian and takes Castle by the arm as they leave the restaurant. They make their way out of the shopping center to the main entrance, their car and driver waiting for them. Rick opens the passenger door and gestures for Mindy to enter. They get in and the driver speeds off. They sat for several minutes in silence before Rick speaks. "Thank you." his voice slightly above a whisper.

"For what?" Mindy inquires.

"For keeping Brian from asking questions that I don't know how to answer."

"You're welcome." She replies. And with that, the rest of the drive to the airport was spent with both of them focused on the phones sending texts and reading their email in silence.

The flight to Shanghai took a little over an hour. Rick and Mindy both had aisle seats and sat across from each other. The new Airbus plane was very nice and the conversation between Rick and Mindy consisted of stories by her regarding how much domestic air travel had improved in the 10 years she had been there. Rick was attentive and enjoyed listening to her stories. Upon arrival, they made their way to baggage claim. Rick placed their bags on one of the airport carts and followed Mindy to the exit. As they walked out of the airport, Mindy gestured towards one of the benches. "Sit here while I bring my car around."

"You actually drive here?" Rick asked incredulously.

"You'll see." Mindy turns away heading off to the parking complex. Rick pulls his phone from his pocket and starts to check his emails and texts to see if there were any messages from 'her'. It's not like he expected anything really, but he could hope. As disappointed as he was, he always thought that maybe 'she' would come to her senses and realize that not only did she give up her home, friends and him for a job, she gave up her core beliefs. She gave up on what made her great. 'Why couldn't she see that?' he thought to himself.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there lost in his thoughts when he heard someone shouting his name. Startled, he looked up to see Mindy waving at him while standing in front of her gunmetal grey BMW M6. This wasn't the type of car he expected to see, especially in a place like this. Black Pawn must pay their employees better than he thought they did. He pushes the cart to the rear of the car and she opens the trunk. He quickly loads their luggage into the trunk and gets into the car. Mindy slides in, starts the car and jumps into the melee that driving in China is. It's one thing to ride in the back seat of a luxury sedan and another riding in the passenger seat where the action is 'up close and personnel'. Mindy drove as if nothing was going on, making small talk while weaving in and out of traffic narrowly missing several cars, trucks and motorcycles along the way. Sensing his fear, Mindy reaches across the console and takes Rick hand gently squeezing it. "Relax, Castle. I'll try to get you to your hotel in one piece."

Rick feigns a smile and replies "I certainly hope so. Maybe I should keep my eyes closed." The remainder of the drive into town was filled with smalltalk regarding the itinerary for the next day. Two book signings were planned at different locations. One was a bookstore and the other was part of a large department store. The plan was to fly to Hong Kong the following afternoon for similar events there. Rick was all too familiar with the routine – city after city with no time to take in the sights. Mindy is continuing to discuss details of the book tour, but Rick has zoned out again staring out into traffic expressionless.

By the time they reached the hotel it was completely dark out. The colorful lights everywhere were something to see. Mindy pulls up to the entrance and releases the trunk lock. Within seconds, one of the bellhops was pulling at the luggage before Mindy realized that her bags were there too. She jumps from the car and pulls her bag away from the bellhop saying something to him in Mandarin. He nods and she points to Castle's other bag which he removes from the car. Castle has gotten out of the car while this was happening and was watching the whole exchange between the two. Mindy walks around the car and extends her hand to Rick. "Well Castle, everything has been arranged. Just tell the front desk who you are and they'll take you to your room. I'll see you at 8:00 am."

"Wait, you mean you're not staying for dinner?" Castle inquires, feigning a pout while taking he hand in his.

Mindy smiles "I figured that you'd be tired of me by now. Besides, I need to get to my office before I go to bed to take a video conference with New York. Can I get a raincheck on the dinner? Maybe tomorrow?"

"How could I refuse such an attractive woman an offer of dinner?" He flashes a genuine smile this time and releases her hand. 'Was he flirting with her?' he thought to himself.

Mindy's face starts to redden at the comment. 'Was Rick flirting with her?' she thought to herself. "Well, we'll consider it a date then." She says with a toothy grin. "G'night Castle." she turns and walks to her car.

"Until tomorrow Mindy."

X-X-X

Halfway around the world, Kate Beckett puts the finishing touches on her makeup as she prepares for her first night out with anyone in nearly six months. She decided to wear the same black formal dress that she had worn when she went to her last embassy dinner. She has to smile as she remembered how appreciative her date, Inspector Hunt looked at her and how surprised Castle and the boys were.

The boys. Ryan and Esposito had become more than just co-workers over the years. They became surrogate brothers. Espo was the annoying older brother and Kevin the younger with her in the middle. She missed that feeling of family. Kate is interrupted from her thoughts by a knock on her door. Glancing at her iPhone she sees that it is time.

Erik Vaughn was standing there smiling wearing a very expensive tux and looking very handsome. Taking one long appreciative look at her he smiled. He complimented her on her appearance and she his as he extends his arm for her to take. They walk to the limo making small talk which continues through the ride to the party.

They made their way through the party occasionally stopping for Vaughn to talk to the many people that he seemed to know. It was apparent that Erik was in his natural element, rubbing elbows with the rich and powerful. Kate had never felt as out of place in her life.

She wasn't prepared when they stood face to face with senator William Bracken. Vaughn smiled and extended his hand. "Bill, I'm so glad to see you."

Bracken gave a smile that reminded Kate of a serpent before he attacked his prey. "Erik, it's good to see you too." As he shakes the billionaire's hand.

"Where are my manners? Senator William Bracken, I'd like you to meet Special Agent Katherine Beckett.."

Bracken extends his hand for Kate to shake. "We're old friends Erik. Agent Beckett here saved my life when she worked for the NYPD. Remember that bombing case?"

"Wow! You know she saved my life too. I was nearly shot to death, but Kate here got me to move just in time by letting me kiss her."

Bracken could only reply with a lecherous grin. He thought that Mr Castle and the detective were in a serious relationship at the time. Maybe he was wrong. He wondered what else he could be wrong about as far as Kate Beckett was concerned. He then saw the embarrassed look on Beckett's face at Vaughn's confession. "Oh, really? I'd love to hear more."

Seeing the look on Kate's face, Erik decides to change the subject. "So how are things going with your campaign?" Vaughn turns to face Kate smiling. "You may not know it, but you're standing with the man that will be our next President."

"We'll see Erik. It's too early to tell right now." Bracken interrupts.

"You're being too modest senator. Your a hero and I'm willing to support you with all of my resources."

Kate fought the urge to run away at the mention of 'hero' in regards to William Bracken. In reality, Bracken was the opposite, a coward that hid behind others as they did his dirty work.

Bracken simply smiled and replied. "I'm humbled that you think of me that way. The real heroes are people like you creating new technologies for a better world.. Maybe we can discuss this in more detail another time? I'd really like to hear your ideas.."

"Sounds great. Have your secretary contact mine and we'll see if we can work something out.." Vaughn replies. He turns to Kate and says "Let's go mingle with the others. I'm sure the senator has plenty of others to meet."

Kate can only feign a smile as Bracken extends his hand to her. "It was a pleasure to see you again Ms Beckett. I look forward to our next meeting.."

She can only nod as she offers a weak hand shake and quickly turns away. In the corner of her eye she sees two men in what appears to be a heated debate. The one man she recognizes immediately as William Fitzpatrick, the Attorney General. The other man looks vaguely familiar. He turns to look her directly in the eye, his steely blue eyes seeming to pierce her. She quickly lowered her head and walked away arm in arm with Vaughn.

Richard Hunter was arguing with AG Fitzpatrick about several things, one of them what to do about Erik Vaughn. The AG had his own plan for dealing with the billionaire who was suspected of selling restricted technologies to countries deemed rogue nations by the current administration. Hunter was keenly aware of the CIA's botched attempt on Vaughn's life several months ago. First a failed poisoning then a missed sniper shot. After two failed attempts, the AG decided to pull back and wait a little while. Hunter wasn't sure of the reason why and really didn't care. If the President would have given him the job, it would have been done.

Hunter wanted assurances from Fitzpatrick that he would keep the CIA and Interpol agents away from everyone involved with the exchange planned in Bucharest two nights from now. Hunter would take care of the guilty parties and he wanted no collateral damage if possible. The AG agreed to pull the CIA agents, but wasn't sure how much influence he had with Interpol. Hunter assured him that he would take care of Interpol and any other government agency that may be involved. This was not his first rodeo.

Their conversation was nearly over as Vaughn and his date appeared before the pair. Extending his hand, Erik greets the AG. "Mr Fitzpatrick, it's a pleasure seeing you again."

Fitzpatrick extends his hand to shake Erik's. "Mr Vaughn, what brings you here.. And who's the lovely lady on your arm?"

Vaughn offers a sheepish smile. "Where are my manners. Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Katherine Beckett. Kate's a special agent working for you.."

"Oh really?" The AG replies as he gives her hand a gentle shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Beckett." She offers a small smile as he turns to the man beside him. "Ms Beckett, Mr Vaughn, I'd like you to meet Richard Hunter. Alex is an old friend of mine.."

Hunter extends his hand to shake with both Erik and Kate. "The pleasure's all mine Ms Beckett." He offers her a lopsided smile that shook her at how much it reminded her of Castle. "Didn't you use to be with the NYPD?"

Kate offers a sad smile. "Yes, I left the NYPD about five months ago."

"How do you like working out of the AG's office?" Fitzpatrick inquires.

"It's great. Challenging and rewarding." Kate replies a little too quickly. The AG smiles while Hunter appears to be puzzled.

"I would have thought that being a homicide detective with the NYPD would have been more rewarding than catching tax cheats and corrupt politicians." Hunter comments wanting to see what type of reaction she has. "I saw you and Mr Vaughn talking to senator Bracken. Are you old friends?"

All of Kate's senses went on high alert at Hunter's comment and subsequent question. Before she could respond Vaughn answered for her. "Kate saved the senator's life last year. I'm an old friend of Bill's."

Hunter's eyebrows arched hearing Vaughn speak while looking at Kate to gauge her reaction. "Yes, I remember reading about that.. I can only imagine that the senator feels that he owes you something for saving his life.."

"I was just doing my job." Kate replies.

"But still it could come in handy having someone with hopes of the oval office owing you.." Hunter comments almost to himself.

"That's how Washington works." Fitzpatrick counters. "You know as well as anyone Alex."

Hunter looks at his watch and grimaces. "I've got a plane waiting for me and an eight hour flight. I'll talk to you when I get back in DC." He looks at the AG and nods. Turning back to face the couple he extends his hand again. "Mr Vaughn, Ms Beckett, it's a pleasure to meet you both." After a brief handshake, he turns and walks away into the crowd.