Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it, we don't actually have it in Australia.

"Detective Beckett I assume? Nice to meet you, my name is Joe Brunswick, apparently I am your new partner." He stood up and held out his hand to her, she shook his hand, being too stunned to think to stop herself.

She clenched her jaw and frowned at him. "Are you the one responsible for this?" She asked, pointing to the box sitting on the floor.

He smiled at her and nodded. "Yes, the Captain said that doing a helpful deed would be a good way to start a partnership, then she suggested I clean up your old partner's things so that you wouldn't have to do it."

She just managed to stop herself from glaring at him as she swiftly moved around him, grabbed the box, put it on her desk and started unpacking everything and putting it back where it belonged. When she was done she tossed the box away and sat down in her seat, running a hand through her hair with frustration. Detective Brunswick looked very confused, but he shrugged it off, probably thinking he had packed up the wrong stuff, maybe all of that was hers and her old partner's stuff was already gone. Then he sat down. Beckett looked over at him and stood up, placing her hands on her desk and putting her weight on them to stop herself from doing something stupid with them.

"Detective Brunswick, while I appreciate your good intentions, I would like to make one thing very clear. I already have a partner, so you are free to go back to wherever you came from." She cast her eyes away from him, he wasn't the real problem after all so he didn't deserve her glare; it was Gates.

Brunswick smirked at her and crossed his legs...still sitting in Castle's chair. "Captain Gates said that you were having a little trouble accepting the fact that your old partner was gone and assured me that no matter what you said, I am your partner and I am not going anywhere."

Now he deserved her glare. She cast her narrowed eyes in his direction, but he didn't even flinch. He did, however, look her up and down when she removed her jacket and sat back down in her seat. She felt dirty and wanted to go home and take another shower. He obviously saw something he liked.

"Where is your desk?" She asked him.

"I haven't been assigned one yet, so the Captain told me to just hang around yours until I do."

"Fine. But if you want to stay on my good side, you will go and find your own chair, that chair isn't just for anyone."

He raised an eye brow curiously at her, but she hardened her glare and he left the seat to go and find another one.

Beckett watched him until he was out of sight and then she threw her head back and sighed angrily. If it wasn't for the fact that she would lose her job, she would go right in there and give the Captain a piece of her mind. This was unbelievable, she had seen the file that more than proved that Castle had a right to be here and yet she had still assigned her a new partner anyway. Well, he wasn't going to be sticking around for long, if she couldn't convince him to leave, she was sure that Castle would have a plan or two that would work.

While her new 'partner' was absent, she whipped out her phone and hit speed dial #2. She waited impatiently for the ringing to stop and for his warm voice to be heard.

"Detective Beckett, are you missing me already?" He asked with that little bit of a tease in his voice.

"Castle, we have a problem..."

"...and then he just brushed me off, like I didn't have a clue what I was saying." She had explained the whole situation to him and he was almost speechless the whole way through.

"At his age, shouldn't he have a partner already?" Castle asked.

"You would think so, wouldn't you, I mean it is all so wrong. He is an experienced detective, so he should be partnered up with a buddy of his or training a rookie, not being partnered up with me."

"Meaning, he shouldn't be partnering up with one of the best detectives in New York City who already has the best novelist in New York City as a partner?"

She rolled her eyes even though he couldn't see her. "Yes, that is exactly what I meant, Castle, it's like you read my mind."

"If I could actually read your mind, do you think I would be walking around in circles in the shops trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight?"

"Are you actually walking in circles, Castle?"

"More like in squares, or zigzags, this store is like a maze."

Kate chuckled.

"Ah! Now that is what I have been looking for, it took me so long to find it."

"Find what?"

"That adorable sound you make when you laugh."

She blushed. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you saying that I don't laugh enough?"

"If you laughed every single day, it still wouldn't be enough. It is such a cute sound, it should be recorded on CD and sold throughout the world."

"Ok, now you're just being cheesy."

"Indeed I am, any preferences in this particular section?"

"What?"

"I am standing in the cheese aisle, is there anything you would like me to buy?"

She rolled her eyes and suppressed a chuckle so as to not start that conversation again. Then she bit her lower lip and smirked. "Why don't you just surprise me, Rick." She said in a deep sultry voice. She smiled when she heard him swallow.

She found that he was speechless after that as his very creative and wild mind took him to all sorts of dirty little corners thinking about all the ways he could surprise her, and judging by the speed of his breath, he had started thinking about all the ways she could surprise him. She was about to say something else when she noticed that Brunswick was on his way over, apparently it had taken him a lot longer to find a spare seat than either of them had thought.

"I gotta go now, Castle, I have a new partner to get rid of."

"Ok, I'll see you tonight, at 7:30, and make sure to wear something really nice."

"What do you think I'm going to wear? Sweatpants and a hoodie?"

"You know, even if you did, you would still be sexy as hell."

"Alright, save it for tonight, I'll see you at 7:30. Good bye, Rick."

"Until tonight, Kate."

She ended the call and licked her lips, thinking of Castle's cooking and what he might be planning to cook for dinner tonight; all the while remembering the taste of his lips and tongue. The wide excited smile on her face vanished the moment she realised that Brunswick was watching her; it seemed he had caught the end of the conversation. He had got himself a chair and was sitting on the other side of her desk.

"Sounds like you have quite a night planned, who is Rick?" He asked, a playful smile playing on his lips.

She scowled at him and he stopped smiling. So he wasn't as cocky as he seemed. "Rick is none of your business, and neither is my social life."

He sighed. "You aren't a very friendly person, are you?"

She glared. "I just don't take very kindly to people who try to replace my partner, and by 'my partner' I don't mean you." She added when she saw a lame comeback on its way.

"He isn't coming back, Kate, he walked out on you, why do you even want him to come back?"

She slammed her hands down on her desk, standing up and leaning in close so that he could clearly see the anger in her eyes. "You don't know anything about what happened, and neither does the Captain. There is no one else like him and he is coming back, I promise you, just as soon as I figure out how to get rid of you. Oh, and by the way. It's. Beckett." She said her name heavily, making it clear that he did not have the right to be calling her Kate in the workplace.

She sat back down and pulled out a file for a case that was closed days ago, but she was going to pretend she still had paperwork to do so as to avoid a conversation with Brunswick. But after about an hour, she couldn't stand it anymore, he was just sitting there, staring at her, making bored noises every few minutes and it was driving her insane. She snapped the file shut, left her desk and stormed into the break room. She found Ryan and Esposito already there and she shut the door before Brunswick decided to follow her.

"Wow, girl, you really need to cool down, I mean I know the guy is annoying but you look like you're ready to strangle somebody." Esposito joked.

Beckett was about to throw a scowl his way when she realised he was right, she had no doubt that she was going to get this angry with Brunswick, but this quickly? She rolled her eyes, suddenly realising that she hadn't had her morning coffee yet...because Castle wasn't there. She had been getting her own coffee every day since Castle had left, but she hadn't had a chance to think about it yet today. It was almost 10 o'clock and there was no caffeine running through her system. She quickly set to work making herself a cup of coffee and took the time to be grateful for the espresso machine that Castle had bought for Homicide. She was never going to take him for granted ever again. She then started chugging down the hot liquid.

"Easy there, Beckett, you don't want to burn yourself." Ryan commented.

She swallowed the coffee and sucked in a breath of cool air. "Maybe I do."

"Come on, he can't be all that bad, maybe you should just ask to work alone." Esposito suggested.

Beckett was about to comment on that when she realised that they had no idea what had happened with Castle. "Um, guys, sorry I didn't get the chance to mention this before, but Castle and I patched things up and he is ready to come back at any time."

Both of them coughed, both having been stupid enough to take a sip of coffee while she told them something big. "You serious? He is really coming back?" Ryan asked.

"I told you so." Esposito said, sending a look that said just as much at his partner. Ryan grumbled, taking his wallet out of his pocket and handing over a 20. Beckett rolled her eyes.

"So, if Castle really is coming back, then we need to figure out a way to get rid of your new pal." The Hispanic detective grinned.

Beckett did the same. "So boys, how are we going to solve this case?" She raised an eye brow at them to add that sense of playful cunning.

"Oh no, in order to come up with something like this, we need the master."

Beckett smiled and pulled out her phone to call Castle. He picked up after only two rings. "Calling twice in one day in just as many hours? You must really be missing me."

"Shut up Castle, I'm putting you on speaker phone." So tried to hide her smile from the others.

"Hello?" Castle's voice, slightly manipulated by the phone, spread throughout the room.

"Hey Castle, good to hear you again." Ryan said happily, glad to hear the cheer in his friend's voice again.

"Castle, buddy, it's been too long." Esposito commented.

"Oh, I know, a week is far too long when you don't get to see my ruggedly handsome face isn't it?"

"Ok, Castle, stop playing around, we have work to do." Beckett said when she could see the conversation going off in any number of directions.

"Ooh, are we having a secret meeting here?" She rolled her eyes at his childish excitement.

"We are trying to come up with a plan on how to get rid of Detective Brunswick as Beckett's partner, and get you back in here where you belong." Esposito explained.

"Sounds like fun, I'm a little busy tonight, so how about tomorrow you guys all come over for a good old game of poker? Say around 8 o'clock? Or whatever time you guys get off should you catch a case." Castle offered.

"Sounds good, we'll be around tomorrow then."

"Alright, well I have things to do right now, so bye, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

"See ya."

"Bye Castle."

Beckett ended the call and shared a smile with the boys, this was her team; these were her people. They finished up in the break room and all returned to their respective desks, much to Beckett's reluctance. Brunswick was still sitting there when she walked over with her coffee cup in her hand, she sat down at her desk and placed her cup down. Then she noticed Brunswick reaching over for her coffee cup. She pulled it out of his reach and stared at him like he was crazy.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought you got that coffee for me, you were in there for quite a while so I figured you'd already had your caffeine fix. Plus, you closed the door so I couldn't go in to get my own coffee." While it did make some sense, it was rude to have assumed that.

"Well the door is open now, so go get some."

He didn't move.

"What?" She asked him when she realised he was staring at her.

"You know, you should stop being such a bitch all the time, you are way too hot for that."

She looked at him with disgust, what the hell was wrong with this guy? He had clearly heard that she had a date tonight, so obviously she wasn't available, and yet he still spat out that almost insulting remark. "Let's just be clear about a few things ok? 1) While at work it is strictly Detective Brunswick and Detective Beckett, we are work colleagues so let's just keep it at that, 2) you can keep your comments to yourself because I am not interested at all, 3) don't sit in that chair, don't touch any of my stuff and don't listen in on my personal phone calls." She pointed to Castle's chair and scowled to help make her point.

He smirked at her and she felt gross. "So no dirty talk while at work huh? Then how about I see you after work?"

"You are unbelievable, and no; I'm seeing someone."

"Really? What is he like?"

"That is none of your business, now why don't you shut up before I smack that grin off your face."

He seemed surprised by her threat, and his grin did fall away, but he didn't stop leering at her for the rest of the day. When it came time for her to leave so she could get ready for her date tonight, Beckett grabbed her stuff and flew out the door before Joe had a chance to realise that she had left. She got home as quickly as she could and started getting ready.

With less than an hour to go, she found herself standing in her room going through every piece of clothing she had, trying to decide on what to wear. Well, he had said to wear something really nice, but how nice was really nice? There was a first date and then there was a first date with Richard Castle, which could mean something completely different. She finally settled on a nice pair of slim navy jeans and a low-cut, backless, laced up across the back, figure-fitting, short-sleeved black top that showed just enough but not too much. She admired the top in the mirror and grinned, Castle was going to go crazy when he saw her in this. She slipped into a pair of sexy black heels, let out her brown curls and then headed off to Castle's loft.

Well, Brunswick is certainly going to be a handful isn't he? But enough of that, now it is time for the big first date between Rick and Kate.