AN: Guess who brought her laptop with her on vacation?! That's right, I'll be posting a bit while here in Chicago. I might not update every day, but you won't have to wait a week for a new update. Thank you for the reviews/follows/favorites. I know we're all upset about Stana and Tamala, but don't you all worry. This fic is finished and I will make sure to post the finished product. I will also continue to write (when I get some inspiration) for the Castle verse. ABC might have made a bad move, but I won't let these characters just vanish. Especially when Stana/Kate has done so much for me. I hope my fellow writers and readers feel the same way. I do want to make a note that when it comes to Kate doing some digging in this chapter, I'm not 100% if that information can be seen this way. However, since this is fiction, I figured I could get away with it. Anyways, enjoy! :)

It was Valentine's Day and she knew that she shouldn't be doing this, since her and Josh did have plans, but Castle needed this. His old friend had just been arrested for murder and they hadn't really spent that much time together since the night she brought him home with his bad hand. She wasn't avoiding him and he wasn't avoiding her. They worked together and he had came over to her apartment the other night, telling her that he was setting up a scholarship fund in honor of her mother, but other than that that's all they saw of each other. So maybe she needed this too. Plus, things with Josh weren't great. Ever since that night she got home from Castle's they were distant. He told her that he was most likely going to Haiti, which she wasn't sure to believe after the last time. She still didn't know where he was during that time, but she was going to find out.

Right now though, she was ordering a beer with Castle.

"So, where's doctor motorcycle boy taking you tonight?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know. Wouldn't be surprised if he canceled our plans."

"He still hasn't told you where he really was?"

She shook her head. "No, but I haven't asked."

"But you want to find out."

"Of course. I want to know if he's cheating on me or what he's doing that he can't tell me."

"The offer to punch him is still on the table."

She smiled. "Easy, Chuck Norris. I don't want you to hurt your hand again."

"Does he know you're out with me now?"

"No," she took a sip of her beer. "He probably thinks I'm still at work. I told him I'd call him once the case was solved and the paperwork was finished with."

"Ah, so you took me out to drink to avoid paperwork," he teased.

"No, I took you out to drink so I could get you drunk enough in order for you to do it, " she teased him back.

"I do not approve of this plan."

"I wasn't asking for your input," she smiled before she took another sip of her beer.

"It's Valentine's Day and she's out with him?! She's supposed to be getting ready to go out to dinner with me."

"Well from the nachos they just ordered I don't think she's going to want to be doing that."

"How'd you know they were here anyways?"

"I was in the same elevator as Ryan and Esposito. Overheard them talking that Beckett and Castle had gone out for a drink and how long it was going to take for them to admit that they wanted to be more than friends. That's when I called you and told you I was going to take you out to the bar for a drink. Did she say anything to you about the other night she spent with Castle?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, guess you're not the only one with a secret now."

"At least I'm not sleeping around."

"Oh, yea, cause working for the guy that killed her mother is a lot better," he chuckled.

"Hey, you are too."

"I'm not her boyfriend anymore though. She's going to hate me, but she might kill you."

"Lets go. There's nothing to report to Bracken with here."

Kate wasn't keeping track of time. She was having too much fun with Castle. They had a few beers and ended up ordering another tray of nachos, just because it was so good. She had heard him say something about her having to get to dinner, but she brushed it off and told him that she could stay longer. They had played a few rounds of darts, which Kate had won, and before she knew it, it was midnight.

Castle wasn't as tipsy as Kate was, so he helped her off of the stool and out of the bar. She giggled as she walked. "You know, Castle, this reminds me of your dumb idea."

He laughed. "Yea, well, it worked."

"No, that plan didn't work." She stopped and leaned in to kiss him before he could pull back, if he wanted to that is. She didn't kiss him passionately, but it was more than just a friendly kiss. She smiled as she pulled away. "Take me home, Castle."

They got into the cab and she rested her head against his shoulder. He thought that she had fallen asleep, but when he looked down at her, he saw that her eyes were open and blinked every few seconds. She was just silent. He didn't mind the silence, since he wasn't sure what to talk about. She had just kissed him and while it was a great kiss, he wasn't sure what it meant. She was a bit drunk, so she might not have meant it. When the surprise wore off and he was able to return her kiss.

When he felt the cab stop, he got out of it and helped her out as well. She leaned against him as they walked into the elevator. She didn't move until the doors opened and still leaned on him a bit as they walked to her apartment. She unlocked the door and she saw that Josh was sitting on her sofa.

"Josh? It's late..."

"Yea, it is. I was expecting you to have dinner with me 6 hours ago."

"We lost track of time. It's my fault," Castle interfered.

"You're damn right it is! It's Valentine's Day and you should have known that we had plans."

"Josh, it's fine. We were just out at the bar, having a few drinks. Esposito and Ryan were there too," she lied. She just didn't want to deal with him right now.

"No, they weren't."

That took both of them by surprise, but neither of them showed it. "We're you spying on me?"

"No, I called the precinct and Ryan picked up."

"They don't answer my phone, Josh. What were you doing spying on me?"

"I wasn't spying on you! I was wondering where my girlfriend was so that we could spend my last night here before I head to Haiti and I walked by a few places I knew you liked to go."

"I think I better head out...," Castle interrupted.

"No, Castle, you stay. I'm the one that's going to head out." With that, Josh exited her apartment.

Kate watched him leave, but she was still dumbfounded on how he knew where they were. "Castle, we didn't go to a bar that we usually go to."

"I know."

"So how did he know?"

"I don't know, Beckett."

"You probably want to wait a bit before you go out there. Sharing the same elevator with Josh isn't a good idea." He nodded and took her coat from her to hang up. "He's hiding something and not just about why he was spying on me."

"Maybe him spying on you is his secret."

"I don't think so. There's something more there."

"Don't stay up all night dwelling on this, Beckett. You need your rest."

She nodded. "I'm going to go to bed. Lock up when you go."

"Night Beckett."

The next morning, Kate got to work early. She wanted to see if anyone tracked her car or her phone last night. She saw that indeed someone did track her phone...Tom Demming.

"What are you doing trying to find out where I am?" She saw that there was also a few logs on both her car and her phone from him...one of them happening to be the day where she saw that she was being followed. He either was the one following her or he had sent someone to follow her. She wasn't sure what to do with this information. She wasn't sure if she should confront him or not...so she did what she always did when she didn't know what to do.

She went to call Castle. She knew he was on his way over here, but she wanted to tell him to skip the coffee and get here as soon as he could. She didn't have a chance to do that though, since she saw Josh walking in. She closed the screen that she had up, just in case Josh and Demming were working together to spy on her, which is exactly what she thought.

"Well, nice to know that you weren't just ignoring me."

"I should be."

"Kate..."

"No, Josh, there's something you aren't telling me and we need to start being honest with each other."

"You want to start with what you were doing at Castle's the other night when you said you spent the night at the precinct?"

"See, right there. Why do you know that?! I know you didn't come in here looking for me that night."

"I was driving by Castle's place and saw your car outside."

"That's out of your way. What were you doing by there?"

"Picking up an old friend to head to the bar with."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Kate..."

"No, I'm not telling you what to do, but if you go to Haiti...or wherever you're going since I don't know what to believe, we're done. If you stay, we'll try to work things out at one of our apartments and not at my workplace."

He leaned in a bit, but she looked passed him and saw Castle was coming in with two cups of coffee. He looked to where he saw she was looking and saw Castle there. "Of course...Well that's my cue to go."

"Bye."

Josh walked away and Castle took his place. "Everything okay?"

"Yea." She took the cup of coffee. "I need you to look at something." She waited for him to take his seat in his chair before she brought up the window. "Look at this."

He looked and saw that it was her phone and car tracker, from the NYPD. He then looked and saw the last person to log on to track her. "Demming is tracking your phone? And your car?"

"It seems that way."

"Someone clearly isn't over the break up."

"Castle, be serious. Look at the dates."

He did and saw that they were all when Josh either said that he knew where she was or when Lockwood came around. There were a few other days too, but those didn't make sense to him.

"You think him and Josh are spying on you?" She gave him a look that said that's exactly what she was thinking. "Why?"

"I don't know. I'm going to see what Esposito can tell me about Demming's past. See if Josh knew him prior to me dating him. It might just be Demming doing him a favor or..."

"Or it could be whatever this secret Josh is keeping from you."

She nodded. "I'm not sure if I should go down there and confront him or not."

"Don't. Find out what they might be doing, then go." He wanted her safe and even though Demming wasn't someone that he thought to be dangerous, the more they knew the better she would be when she did confront him.