A/N: Thank you for your kind words, reviews and for taking the time to read, the end is in sight :) and here's hoping everyone has a restful, fun weekend. X

Castle has never hated the sight of himself quite as much as he does now. The smug smile and fake twinkle in his eye shining back from all the publicity shots that adorn the walls and for a moment he sees what she must.

The act.

He's not sure how to go about what comes next, how to get beyond the anger and the hurt and the look of wounded pride that is mirrored back and forth when their eyes meet. This is usually where he starts to screw things up. All he knows is that right now he doesn't want to screw this up, doesn't want to look at her and not be able to meet her eyes.

Castle reaches for Beckett's hand and touches at the back of her knuckles, skims the silken skin of her fingers with the tips of his own, wanting more than anything to tug her to him when she looks up in shock.

They need to get the hell out of the stupid fucking book launch and go somewhere alone. They need to sit and talk. He'd really love the chance to explain, to -maybe - tell her how he feels. To kiss the pert curve of her mouth again in a setting a little more conducive to letting him do something about that fucking sinful moan she gives up when he moves his tongue just so.

"Look, Beckett -" He starts, not entirely sure she's going to be on the same page but willing to risk it anyway and -

"Detective Beckett?"

Shit.

"Rick, there you are."

Fucking great.

Castle groans and spins on the spot, wanting to fend off Paula before she sinks her teeth into the situation and makes it worse. He feels his back collide with Beckett's and they take up opposing positions, almost defending each other from the coming onslaught.

He likes that, finds it somewhat poetic given the turn of events this evening.

Paula comes in fast and takes his hand, pulls him towards her her fingers pinching and her nails digging into his skin. "Oh, Rick." Paula leers, a smirk on her lips and her voice sinister, sickly sweet, "When I said to sleep with her and get her out of your system, I assumed you'd wait until after the party."

"What?"

He feels the sudden loss of the woman at his back, the air quivering all around him as Beckett spins and faces the both Paula and himself. The atmosphere shudders under the force of her gaze and Beckett's eyes cut to Castle, razor sharp and vicious.

"Keep your voice down." Castle hisses, his eyes darting over Paula's head into the surrounding crowds, searching for press. After all the sneaking around the last thing he wants is for his loud mouth agent to blab.

Castle locks his fingers around her elbow and pushes her back away from Beckett as the detective stares her down with a murderous look in her eyes. A volatile looking rage that he tasted not that long ago and now turned on him again, with less chance of a happy outcome.

If it could, steam would be pouring from her fucking ears and her gaze alone would probably paralyze him.

He turns desperate to explain, that it wasn't like that, it's not what she thinks or how it sounds or any fucking thing at all that would make her face face look the way it does right this second, but before he can utter a word Montgomery is talking.

The sound of the older man's voice cutting through the silence startles Castle and when he locks eyes with the Captain he sees a harsh judgement waiting for him.

"Detective Beckett? A moment?"

Beckett flinches and covers her body's response quickly, but Castle finds himself attuned to it, to her pained reaction and to her sudden need to get away.

"Yes." She bites out and under the mans hard and penetrating gaze Castle finds himself feeling ashamed. His eyes flit to Becketts again but she won't look at him, her focus instead trained on his agent and burning through with intensity and venom.

Her name is on the tip of his tongue but before he can speak she does instead.

"Yes, Sir." Beckett snaps, stalking off away from them all and forcing her Captain to follow her. She doesn't look back. Not once.

He watches long after she's out of sight, ridiculous logic telling him that she's hurt but if she turns back and looks at him he stands a chance, a slim, thin as fuck chance, to explain and apologize.

He clings to that hope until she disappears from sight, dropping a hand to the ridge of his brow to rub at his eyes before spinning back around to Paula.

Anger, annoyance and hurt apparently the recurring themes for the evening.

"Was that really necessary?" He bites out viciously, part of him desperate to have it out with her while the rest of him is already out the door and following Kate.

"Rick, surely she knows the score?" Paula's eyes flick in the general the direction that Beckett took off in before she turns back to him with a smile, "Now you're free to move on. Open to a better deal, a more lucrative deal."

Castle stares at her in disbelief, bile rising up, sudden and almost as disgusting as her suggestion.

She scoffs at the look on his face, "Don't tell me you'd turn down your dream franchise for Nikki Heat?" She spits out the name like it has a bad taste, as if it's beneath her.

Castle turns back towards the woman slowly, anger rising just as fast as the unspoken realization, and in all honesty, would he turn down the chance to write that certain British spy for the Nikki on the page? He's not so sure.

But for the beautiful, imaginative, scary, sexy as hell detective that he's only just figured out he's in love with?

Fuck yes, he would!