Disclaimer: All these characters belong to ABC and Mr. Marlowe

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Still wearing her dress from the wedding, Kate simply fixed the buttons on her coat and stepped out of the elevator. She considered going home first, getting changed, but she was almost certain she had a change of clothes tucked away somewhere in her locker- well, at least she hoped.

Making her way along the worn, wooden floors of the precinct, Kate rounded the corner and headed for her desk, just as Ryan and Esposito strode in unison out of the interrogation room.

"Ooh, you look nice," Esposito smiled. "Date night?"

Kate paused, briefly brushed her fingertips over her lipstick covered lips. "Ah, sort of," she attempted to dismiss.

Coming to a halt, Esposito narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean 'sort of'?" he quizzed.

"Yeah, you either had a date or you didn't…" Ryan further shrugged.

Kate considered them for a moment, before she moved to sit down at her desk. "Ah, yes. Yes, I had a date."

"So, how did it go?" Ryan questioned.

"Great," Kate responded, her head down as she shuffled through a few loose papers.

She could feel them hovering as they turned to each other, undoubtedly picking up on something. "Ah, I'm just going to grab my jacket," Ryan deliberately informed, before he made his way to his own desk, leaving Esposito with Beckett.

"Everything okay?" the Hispanic detective questioned as he took a few steps closer to her. His voice was softer, evidently laced with concern. "You did tell us to call if we found anything."

Letting out a deep breath, Kate lifted her head. "No, you're right. It's fine," she attempted to reassure as she clasped her hands together, keen to change the conversation. "So, what have you got?"

"Clive Spaulding," he continued after a moment, keeping a watchful eye on her. "His plates ran a match to the ones on the traffic cam footage of our crime scene. Now, he has a rock solid alibi so he's not our guy, but turns out he let someone borrow his car that weekend and we got ourselves a name. Daniel Schwartz. His brother-in-law."

"Okay, great," Kate nodded with a smile. "Good work, guys."

Focusing her attention back to her desk, Kate further pushed her chair in, before moving to open a case file in front of her.

"Ah, Kate?" Espo began, his forehead slightly creased. "Are we gonna go pick him up?"

Kate paused. "Yes. Right." Letting out a sigh, she ran her fingers across her creased forehead. "Ah, actually can I meet you guys downstairs? I've just got to sort something out first."

"Sure thing," Esposito nodded with slight hesitation, before moving to gather Ryan.

Watching them leave for the elevator, Kate briefly dropped her head in her hands and let out a deep exhale, before straightening up with a new sense of resolve.

She stood, made her way around her desk and straight to her Captain's office, where she knocked on the open door.

"Detective Beckett." Searching through a cabinet, Montgomery briefly turned to her. "What can I do for you?"

Decisively walking into the small room, Kate came to a stop. "Captain, I can't do this anymore." Keeping her features stern and focused, she continued. "I'm done."

Montgomery rotated his body to face her, a file in his hands. "Done with what?" he asked.

Kate let out a breath and kept her eyes focused on his. "Being in a relationship with Castle," she forced out. "Going on… pretending like this."

She swallowed, pushing down any hesitation that was lingering and threatening to surface.

Because this is what she wanted.

Montgomery's eyes remained on hers, almost assessing her, before the older man replied. "Okay, fine. You want to stop being Rick Castle's girlfriend, you're done," he casually shrugged.

Kate simply stood there as Montgomery returned his attention back to the filing cabinet, completely unfazed.

"Wait? What?" Kate questioned, scraping a hand through her hair in confusion.

He was meant to argue this with her. At least enter into some kind of a debate. Not that she should be questioning it. After all, this was it. This is what she had decided was for the best. But she couldn't ignore the sudden twinge of indecision as the words actually left his mouth.

"I…what about Paula…the deal?"

"Come on, Kate. No one has a hold over the NYPD like that, no matter how famous their employers are," he chuckled, closing the cabinet and moving to stand in front of his desk. "You ought to know that."

"But Sir, I thought-"

"The only reason why I agreed to the arrangement in the first place was to get you out of the precinct for a bit," he reflected honestly. "You practically lived here. Every time I'd turn around, there you were, either with your nose deep in some case file or asleep on the break room couch. I figured that at least if you were going off on these dates it would give you something else to focus on. I never actually intended to let it go this far."

Montgomery relaxed, slightly leaning back on his desk as he considered her. "I could have stopped this thing weeks ago, Kate. Any time I wanted to. The only reason why I let it continue for so long, was because I saw how good he was for you."

Kate remained silent, slightly turning her head away as she paced a few steps, struggling to contain the part of her that subconsciously was aware of the truth imbedded in his words.

"Kate, you're the best I've ever trained, maybe even the best I've ever seen. But you weren't having any fun before he came along."

Letting out a breath, Kate turned back to him, barely moving her head to form a subtle nod.

"You sure that ending things is what you want?"

Kate dropped her gaze and shook her head. Lifting her eyes once again, she let out a helpless sigh. "I'm not really sure of anything anymore."

Loosening his tie from around his neck, Rick returned home, slowly stepping into his silent loft.

"So, how did it go?"

Startled, Rick turned to find Alexis curled up on the couch, her tired eyes meeting his. "Jeez, you scared me," he exclaimed, a hand positioned over his beating heart. "What are you still doing up?"

"Well, you went on a date, so it's my job to make sure you got home safely," she said with a yawn, slightly straightening up from her position.

"Uh, I think that's my job," he replied, moving towards her as he shrugged his jacket off his shoulders. "Maybe it's about time I set you a bed curfew."

Alexis rubbed her fisted hands over her eyes. "Please, I had to set you a bed curfew, remember?"

"Oh, speaking of which, any chance we could maybe-"

"No."

"Worth a try," he dramatically sighed. Turning back to look at her softly, Rick outstretched his hand. "Come on, it's late. Let's get you to bed," he said.

Gathering her blanket, Rick helped the young red-head up from the couch, before steering her towards the staircase.

"So, how was it?" Alexis questioned as she slowly ascended the first steps.

"Well," Rick exhaled, following his daughter, "the ceremony was nice, and it was great to catch up with some of the guys I haven't seen in a while-"

"And Kate?"

"She was good too..."

Positioned on the middle of the staircase, Alexis halted her movements, spinning around to face her father on the step below. "You didn't tell her, did you?" she questioned, her eyes slightly narrowed.

Castle lightly curved his lips, going for the act innocent on all accounts approach. "Tell her what?"

Alexis let out a frustrated sigh. "That just the thought of not seeing her after your book launch sends a million daggers piercing through your heart, paralyzing you with pain that plagues your body and shoots through to the endless depths of your soul, leaving you merciless to-"

"Okay, just a tad bit overdramatic don't you think?"

"Says the member of the family who is actually paid to sensationalize everything..."

Castle considered her for a moment. "Okay, you make a strong case," he conceded, before noticing her waiting expression.

He let out a heavy sigh. "We might have had a moment or two."

"But?"

"But... it's complicated," he responded, placing his hands on her shoulders and spinning her around to guide her up the last few steps. "Anyway, you're a teenage girl. Shouldn't you be cringing and blocking your ears when it comes to hearing about your dad's love life?"

"I'm a rebel. Besides, it's not my fault he's so hopeless at it."

"Oh, thank you," Rick began as they slowly made their way into her bedroom. "Next time maybe try to be a bit more honest," he added sarcastically. "Now, if I remember correctly you have a test tomorrow, so you my dear, need to get to sleep."

Slipping into bed, Alexis placed a soft kiss on her father's cheek.

"Goodnight Dad."

Rick remained, pulling up her covers and tucking her in, before he began to move towards her door. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah, pumpkin?"

"Just- you only have one date left. Don't forget that," she sighed, her fatigue washing over her. "You can't waste any more time with her."

Castle remained, his finger poised over the light switched as his daughter rolled over on a deep exhale.

She was right. He knew that. He always knew that. But now with their deadline imperially looming, he was more aware of that now than ever.

"I know. Goodnight, sweetie," he softly responded, flicking off the switch.

Raising her hand, Kate knocked on the wooden apartment door, before taking a slight step back.

After talking to Montgomery, Kate left with the boys, and once they had brought their suspect back to the precinct and charged him with murder, she drove straight here.

She only had to wait a few moments before the door apprehensively opened and a pajama clad Lanie stood in front of her.

"Kate?"

"Hey, Lanie," Kate timidly smiled. "I know it's late, but- can we talk?"

Lanie narrowed her eyes. "This isn't a talk about a body, is it?" she spoke, sounding more like a statement then a question.

Kate simply looked at her, no idea what to say, before Lanie offered an understanding nod. "Come on in."

With her feet tucked under her, Kate sat on the medical examiner's couch as she gazed into the deep red liquid that filled the wine glass in her palms.

"Okay, so Montgomery thinks Castle's good for you," Lanie began, cutting through the silence. "And what, you don't agree with him?"

"Lanie..."

"Kate, he's not the only one," her friend admitted, sitting a few spaces down the couch from her. "I've noticed it, the boys have noticed it, hell, practically the whole precinct has noticed it," she stated as Kate refused to meet her eye. "Honey, despite your little act, a blind man could see how happy Castle makes you."

Only then did Kate meet her stare.

So maybe it was true. She knew it. Despite how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. Not that it made it any easier.

"Lanie, I was fine," Kate spoke after a moment. "I was happy with my life. Going to work, seeing the boys, putting killers behind bars..."

She let out a deep exhale, her hesitation in the spotlight. "But then he came along. And since then, everything that I was so sure of has suddenly been turned on its head," she acknowledged, pushing herself to open up. "And then going to that wedding with him today, I just-"

Sensing her turmoil, Lanie cut in. "Something happened, didn't it?"

Kate swallowed. "Almost. Something almost happened, but then my phone rang, and he pulled back and..."

"You were disappointed."

Kate remained silent, all the anguish and struggle evident on her face. "Yeah," she eventually sighed.

Showing no surprise at her confession, Lanie simply held her gaze. "Okay, so why's that a bad thing?"

"Because, since the beginning I've known that once those books hit the shelves, we were done. I promised myself that I wouldn't let him get to me, and I would keep myself focused on the finish line. But now, I can't focus on anything. And I think about him, Lanie," she admitted, almost forcing the words past her lips. "All the time."

"And that's okay."

"No, it's not," Kate was quick to respond. "I mean, I don't know what this is. I don't even know if it's real. We were forced into this whole thing and our entire relationship is based on a lie. What if I'm just getting caught up in it all? And what about him? What if it's really just a publicity thing for him and that's all it is?"

"Kate, there were no press at that wedding. He didn't have to fake anything for anyone, so if that isn't enough proof that this is real, then I don't know what is. You're afraid, I get it, and when you get scared and unsure you run. But you can't outrun this, especially not the way he makes you feel."

Beckett paused and kept her gaze steady. "I'm not running..."

"Kate, you almost kiss the man and then next on your to-do-list is to go to Montgomery and call it quits," she pointedly highlighted. "You know, it doesn't have to be like this. What you two have, it doesn't have to end if you're just honest with each other."

Kate remained silent, her conflict almost too consuming, before she let out a sigh and combed her fingers through her hair. "He said they're from different worlds."

"What?"

Kate turned to her and released a breath. "Greg. The groom. He was talking to me about his friendship with Castle, and he said that they're from different worlds and so they hardly see each other anymore," she spoke, putting voice to her thoughts. "And then that got me thinking about us, Castle and I..."

She paused, taking the opportunity to gather her thoughts. "He's this world famous author, Lanie, and I'm just this cop- and to even consider the possibility that it could work, beyond any of this...what if I'm just kidding myself? I mean, how could it when we lead such different lives?"

Lanie shifted on the couch, absorbing the concerns she wasn't quite prepared for.

"What about when we aren't forced to see each other anymore. What's going to happen then? This bubble that we're in...it's going to burst, so why take that risk?"

"Kate, you are not Castle and Greg. They were a couple of college buddies who lost touch with each other over the years. It happens."

"Lanie, they were best friends. How do I know this is different?" she further dug, almost searching for reassurance as she gave a lost look.

"You don't," Lanie honestly answered. "But that doesn't mean you hide your heart and don't tell him how you feel. Yeah, he might be the wrong guy and it might not work out, but you can't walk away from him without even trying to give it a shot. Otherwise you will just spend your whole life wondering on the what ifs."

Beckett remained quiet, considering Lanie's advice.

"So, what do you think I should do?"

"Tell him how you feel," she said, before apparently catching on to the apprehension that painted her face. "You just need to go for it and take a leap of faith."

"That sounds like something Castle would say," Kate noted, her voice soft.

"Well he's right."

"Lanie, it's so complicated though."

"Honey, you keep on saying that, but really, there's nothing complicated about it," she said, pausing. Kate could feel her stare as she considered her, before Lanie's face softened.

"You're simply falling in love."

As soon as the words left her friend's mouth, Kate startled, shaking her head and releasing a nervous laugh. "Lanie, I admit that there's…something there. But- love? That's…"

"True?" Lanie pushed, giving her a pointed look.

No. Big. Love was big, and no, she couldn't possibly be falling in- no. "Lanie…"

Kate's mouth remained open, yet silent. She had to make sure she knew. She had to voice all the reasons why she wasn't in love. How she couldn't be in love, but no words complied to leave her mouth.

"Look," Lanie sighed, sensing Kate's struggle. "Whatever you want to label it as, you just need to be honest with him."

Lanie paused and waited for Kate to once again meet her eyes. "Next time you see him, tell him how you feel."

So this chapter is a bit different to anything I've posted before with the obvious missing of any Castle/Beckett scenes, but Beckett really needed a chance to share her apprehension to highlight just how conflicted she really is. As much as we've been building up to moments between our duo, I also feel like we've equally been building up for Kate to finally voice some of her feelings, so I hope no one's too disappointed out there.

Thanks again :)

BareWriter