AN: Yay I finally got to some Casketty episodes! I honestly could have written this entire episode from Kate's perspective, but I thought that would probably be a little bit excessive.

Instead I focused on Kate finding Castle in the ballroom with Kyra, and the subsequent elevator scene. I hope you guys like it. I was going to do the scene at the end, but my imagination liked this one better.

Please review, they're like giant lollipops and I'm a five-year old.

Kate walked into the ballroom hoping it was empty. It wasn't. Not only was the wedding cake sitting smack dab in the middle of the room, but beyond it were Kyra and Castle, obviously having a moment. Her immediate thought well, after a few expletives, was Lanie's words earlier. She had intimated that this, Kyra and Castle, was supposed to make her feel something. In that moment she had written it off, she knew how Lanie liked to tease her, but now?

She couldn't get Kyra's words to stop playing on a loop. "He only dedicates his books to people he really cares about." But that didn't mean anything, did it? Truth be told she had wondered when she'd first read the dedication, but hadn't she been immediately proven otherwise?

Kate watched the couple for a few seconds; she couldn't help herself, and she tried to examine her emotions as she did so. It was so very clear that they had loved each other once. And if Castle's saying she was the one that got away was any indication, it was likely that he still had some sort of feelings for her. But did that knowledge affect Kate?

She didn't feel any different than she did when she woke up that morning, and she certainly didn't feel jealous. But she couldn't deny that there had been a significant knot in her stomach all day.

When she heard Kyra say Castle might have been a sign about her wedding, Kate knew she had to stop the conversation. Not only did she definitely not want to hear anything more along those lines, but also she knew Kyra would eventually regret where this conversation was bound to end up.

"Castle?" He turned and Kyra leaned around him to look at her. It could have been comical, but it wasn't; the moment was too sincere for comedy.

"We're on our way; I thought you might need a ride." Kate looked away from them as she spoke, giving Kyra a moment to adjust to the abrupt atmospheric change in the room. Part of her felt bad for the other woman, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly why. Maybe it was just sympathy because the one day that was supposed to be perfect for Kyra, had gone so terribly wrong; maybe it was something else entirely, she didn't know.

"I should go upstairs," Kyra said, flattening any tension that had been building. Kate decided that she liked her. There was just something about her with which Kate identified. "They'll be looking for me." She nodded to Kate and left without looking back at Castle. Kate watched her go for a few seconds, but then turned her gaze to him.

He was standing there, staring after Kyra and holding a plateful of cake. He looked gobsmacked and sad. She felt the know in her stomach coil a little tighter and wondered how badly he was going to screw all of this up.

He finally turned to her and she held his eyes. It was only a few seconds though before Castle looked away guiltily and then lifted the plate in his hand.

"Cake?" He was trying to play off the situation, but she could see the pain behind the façade. There was a story behind Kyra Blaine, and Kate was determined to uncover it.

"No thank you," she said, smiling a little mischievously as she turned to leave.

The elevator was still at the eighth floor and Kate could almost feel Castle sweating. She knew the feeling; it was exactly how she'd felt when he'd used this tactic to get her to talk about Will.

"We met in college," Castle finally admitted and it was all she could do not to smile. "We were together nearly three years."

"I didn't ask." Kate stated, knowing the response it would elicit from him.

"Yes, you were not asking very loudly." This time she couldn't help the smile that quirked at the edges of her mouth. But then a realization hit her.

"She's different from your ex-wives." She hadn't really meant to say it out loud, but for some reason the thought made the knot in her stomach loosen a bit. She stared up at the numbers ticking down by the doors, no longer caring if she was smiling.

"What do you mean?" Castle asked, and she had to think for a moment how to put it into words. She finally figured out why she had identified with her so much, why she liked her.

"She's real. I didn't think you went for real." The slight smile slipped off her face as she tried to decide what that meant to her, if anything. Could she really be comparing herself to Castle's exes? After a second she looked over at him; he seemed to be sad again. She had to know.

"Tough break up?" She asked just as the elevator arrived at the lobby. Castle seemed to search for a reply, but when he saw the doors opening, he almost smiled, silently sighing in relief.

"It was a long time ago." He said before stepping out. Kate watched him go, her curiosity mixing with genuine sympathy. She'd never seen him like this; what exactly had happened?