AN: As always, thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I do hope you enjoy this chapter. This chapter here is dedicated to my friend JJ (even though he's in another AN in a future chapter). Without him telling me that this story was great after I finished writing it, you wouldn't be reading this. Even though there are a few of you out there that still don't like this story, he reminds me that it's great and that's the review I truly take to heart. Enjoy :)

He's tempted to call her, to tell her just to stay home and stop looking into this case, but that would make Beckett more curious. Even though they only dated for a little bit, he knew her pretty well. Demming didn't want something to happen to her. Even though he was working with her enemy, he was doing this to protect her. First he was doing it for the money and he figured how hard could it be to keep an eye on her. Now, he was doing this to make sure that she was safe, even if she had dumped him. Lockwood was out there and he was looking for Kate. Bracken told him not to kill her, but he knew that it was going to be changed, especially since she was starting to dig around again. Castle had just left the precinct with a file and when he went to go check, he saw that it was a file that was close to her mother's murder. He had no choice but to call Bracken. If he didn't call, Bracken would have found out and he would have him killed. As soon as he hung up the phone, he regretted calling. So that's why he was outside her apartment now, waiting in his own personal car, to make sure that Lockwood wasn't going to show up. He knew Kate would send a security detail home, so he made sure to keep hidden.

The door opened and he saw the gun in her hand. He should have known that Montgomery had called her. He walked into her apartment, with the file in hand. Before he could even sit down, she was talking.

"Castle, there's something I need you to do."

"Name it."

"Go home."

"Forget it. Fear does not exist in this dojo "

She should have known he wasn't going to make this easy. "Look, I signed up for this when I put that badge on, you didn't. It's not your fight."

"The hell it isn't. I don't hang around you just to annoy you. I don't ride up to murder scenes in the middle of the night to satisfy some morbid curiosity. If that's all this was, I would have quit a long time ago."

"Well then why do you keep coming back, Rick?" They looked at each other for a few seconds. She knew why he came back and he was telling her with his eyes why. It was because he wanted to be with her and she wanted to be with him too, but she couldn't risk it. Not again. She had Josh and things were...okay with them. She was perfectly fine with being single. It wasn't like she needed a man, but she wasn't going to dump another man to see if she could have a relationship with Castle.

"Look, I may not have a badge...unless you count the chocolate one Alexis gave me for my birthday, but I'll tell you this...like it or not I'm your plucky side kick."

"Plucky side kick always gets killed."

"Partner then." He sat down on the sofa and opened the file.

She couldn't help the soft smile that graced her face. She really didn't want him involved in this, but it was good to know that someone had her back. "Okay. What did you find?" She made her way over to him and sat down next to him. They looked through the file and saw what Castle had found. It's settled that they have to see what Joe Pulgatti knows. They get up from the sofa and are about to head out the door, but Kate stops him.

"Rick," He turns around to face her. "Thank you." He smiled at her before they made their way out the door.

Demming saw them leaving and cursed. "Fuck. God damn it, Beckett, stay at your apartment!" He starts his car and makes sure he has a good distance between them. He knows that Beckett is trained and doesn't want her to suspect anything. He hasn't called Bracken yet, just because he doesn't know where they're going. For all he knows, they could be going to Remy's...the likely hood of that though is low.

As Kate was driving, she kept looking at her rear view mirror. "Castle, you have your seat belt on right?"

"Yea."

"And you trust me?"

"Always."

"Good,...hold on tight," with that she made a sharp turn down a small side street and stepped on the gas.

"Woah, Beckett, what are you doing?"

"We're being followed, Castle. Did you see anyone following you on your way to my apartment?"

"No, I don't think so."

She saw the car back in her rear view mirror. "Damn it. Hang on, Castle." She made another sharp turn and another one right after that, moving in between cars hoping to loose the person following them. "Can you make out anyone in the car?"

Castle looked back. "They're too far away. I'd say slow down, but..." With that Kate speed up and ran through a red light. Castle closed his eyes as he saw what she was doing. "As cool as this car chase is, is it safe yet to open my eyes?"

She looked back at her mirror and saw that the car following her was stopped. She took another sharp turn and then a few more turns, just to be on the safe side. "I think we're good."

"Do you think it was Lockwood?"

"I'm not sure, but I wasn't going to take the chance to find out."

Everything that had happened after their car ride seemed to happen so fast. It seemed like just a few seconds ago her and Castle were at the diner this morning and now, they were in the car, sitting in front of a building where Ryan and Esposito were at...at least she hoped. There was someone guarding it and she wasn't sure how they were going to get passed him. When she interrogated McCallister earlier, he told her that she woke the dragon, but she didn't think that this was the dragon. She didn't think Lockwood was the dragon either. No, it was someone else and she wasn't sure who that someone was. She was going to find out though.

"I'm open to dumb ideas here."

"Good, cause I've got one." He told her his plan and she wasn't sure if acting like they were two intoxicated lovers was going to work, but she told him that she was open for dumb ideas.

She got out of the car and walked over to him, giggling in his arms and pretending as she couldn't stand without leaning on him. As they walked closer to him, the man standing guard walked towards them. Her heart started to race a bit, since it didn't look like he was buying their little act. "He's not buying it, Castle." She kept giggling and as she went for her gun, he stopped her. She was surprised, especially when she felt his hands cupping the side of her face. And then, it happened. He leaned in and kissed her. This was not how she wanted their first kiss to be like, especially since she wasn't really able to kiss him back with being caught off guard.

He broke their kiss and before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned back in and kissed him again. This wasn't like the kiss he placed on her lips though. No, she made this one more passionate. This is how she wanted their first kiss to be like...minus the whole saving Esposito and Ryan from an assassin and using the kiss as a way to distract someone keeping watch. She let a small moan escape her and let her arms wrap tighter around his neck, bringing him closer to her. God, she could kiss him like this for hours if she could.

When she heard the small chuckle that escaped the guard, that's when she got back to reality. She opened her eyes and quickly knocked him out with her gun to the back of his head. She stood their for a bit, trying to catch her breath.

"That was amazing." She slowly looked back at him. "The way you knocked him out...I mean..."

They were both silent for a bit, both knowing that his was talking about their kiss. She wasn't going to lie, it was amazing. She wasn't going to tell him that though. Not when she was still with Josh and that kiss was to just make sure neither they or Ryan and Esposito were killed. "Let's go," she said still a bit breathless.

He watched them from the car as they approached the building. "Becket, what are you doing? You know better than this." If he wasn't here without the NYPD knowing, he would have called for back up for her. He saw them walking like they had too much to drink and shook his head. "This must be Castle's plan." He saw her going for her gun and he went to grab his, but he then saw Castle stop her. "Castle, what are you..." He then saw him lean in and kiss her. He let a small chuckle escape his lips.

"Yea, that's definitely Castle's plan." He then saw Kate go in for another kiss and shook his head. "The only way you let yourself kiss him, huh, Beckett."

He took out his phone and sent a message to Josh. "Watching your girlfriend and her work boyfriend is like that couple on T.V that you know have the hots for each other...especially when you see them makeout." He was going to send it, but then he heard the sound of Kate knocking the guard out.

"That's gotta hurt." He canceled his text and called up Bracken instead.

"You better have good news for me Demming."

"They just knocked out the man that Lockwood had standing guard."

"Well, this is about to get interesting. Keep me informed." With that, he hung up the phone.

As soon as he hung up the phone, he heard the gunshots. He wasn't sure where they were coming from, but he was going to call this in (anonymously of course). He knew Beckett didn't and if the gunshots were from Lockwood, well Beckett or the others might not have a chance to.