Thank you for your reviews. Here is the next chapter and I must share that I enjoyed writing the chapters after this, once I was back on the in between stuff (fluff?). I'm struggling with time to write the past few weeks as in the process of changing of jobs. I'm hoping to post a couple of chapters this weekend as a lot of this is now written – just had to join the dots.

Chapter 37

Esposito and Ryan stood at the side of the red carpet as security, and watched the guests arrive. Paparazzi were present, calling guest's names and snapping photos. Esposito held the sketch, checking it periodically to ensure he remembered.

Esposito said, "Man, these guys look guilty of tax evasion, not home invasion."

Ryan who kept a vigil on the guests that walked the carpet, replied, "Yeah, well...appearances can be deceiving." Another town car arrived coming to a stop at the curb. The rear door was opened. Ryan was expecting Castle and Beckett anytime.

Castle appeared from the black vehicle, buttoned his tuxedo as he took in the busy surroundings, then turned about reaching back inside the car. At the end of his arm, Kate appeared as she stepped out the town car with Rick's assistance. Ryan noticed that Rick kept a hold of Kate's hand while he waited for her to smooth her dress.

Ryan said to Esposito, "Look at that Javier, Rick's in a tuxedo and Kate's in a stunning gown. She really fits in."

"She looks fine."

"She does," Ryan replied, thinking they appeared very comfortable with each other, "Hey, do you reckon-"

"Castle and Beckett?" Espo queried, his expression clearly telling Ryan he was dreaming. "There's no way she would date him." He quietly stated then turned and smiled at the pair. "No way." He repeated.

"I'll win this bet." Ryan replied.

Looped around Castle's arm, the partners stepped into a spectacle of flashbulbs and cameramen calling Castle's name. It was a fairy-tale moment that excited Beckett, and reminded her of the business trip to Los Angeles. Castle took it all in his stride, obviously accustomed to being in the limelight, to the pageantry.

When they passed Ryan and Esposito, acknowledging them, Ryan said, "Nice dress, Kate."

Esposito added loud enough for Kate to hear, "Yeah, what there is of it."

Beckett, who behaved as a real princess, snapped back into cop mode and shot back, "I'd let you borrow it, Esposito, but you stretched out the last one."

Ryan chuckled, watching his superior officer and the writer enter the party. "Man, I wish we were going in there."

"Too upper class for me, Dude."

"No man, for the food. You see those trays going past."

"Well there will be plenty later. None of these women will eat in their frocks."

"Frocks?"

"What?" Esposito asked.

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Evening dresses."

Beckett stopped the moment they entered the hall, temporarily overwhelmed by the magnitude of the event, the flamboyance of the guests, the quality of the gowns. She was sure she recognized a few people, celebrities.

With a pull on his hand from Kate's arm, Rick turned about casting his eyes over her face. He stepped

"What's up?"

She looked at his eyes, "Just the amount of indulgence."

"Not like the book launches, huh?"

She shook her head, "You are part of this world."

"No, not really, you know my world, c'mon. We have a job to do."

With a light squeeze of her hand, Castle turned about. They gradually weaved their way through the large group of high-society world guests. Constantly people nodded at Rick and they were stopped several times by other quests. Kate noticed women smiled at him and glared at her. She held his hand tighter. To Kate it was necessary that women in this group know Castle was taken and that she was the one who had possession. The hall was full of beautiful women in expensive dresses, with extraordinary jewelry. Kate felt she fitted in. Felt she was out of depths. Being taller than most of the women present, she knew she stood out. Castle lead her towards the mayor not letting go of hand once.

He let her go of her hand for the first time, when he reached the individual he had made a bee line to. He gave a friendly slap on the shoulder of a black man and loudly greeted, "Big cheese!"

The mayor turned about grinned, and exclaimed, "Ricky! Ricky! Hey! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be at this shindig? I would've given you a ride." The two men shook hands.

"Oh, last minute thing." Castle answered, "Listen, Mr Mayor, I'd like to present to you, Detective Kate Beckett. Kate Beckett, you know the Mayor." He smiled at Kate.

"So, this is Detective Beckett?" the Mayor inquired quite keen to meet her. He turned to completely face Kate giving her his full attention.

Beckett nervously smiled, "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Oh, please. Call me Bob," he replied then said, "Rick, she's even prettier than you said."

Castle smiled his face full of fondness, "Mmm-hmm. She's gorgeous, huh?"

Beckett widened her eyes at Castle. Another group hailed the Mayor.

"Excuse me a minute, Rick, Kate."

Castle said, "Of course."

As they moved on, Beckett turned to Castle and said, "You talked about me to Bob?"

Castle shrugged it off, "Well, we play cards together. Well, that, and you are the subject of my next book, so yeah, I guess we talked about you."

Beckett smiled, "Ah."

"Can I get you a drink?"

Beckett anxiously replied, "Yeah, Vodka. Lots of vodka. But I'm on duty, so water."

Castle chuckled about the water but nodded, "Yeah. Vodka."

As Castle headed for the bar, Beckett scanned the room, taking in all the opulent jewelry. She absently touched Martha's expensive necklace. Even though she kept her mind on the job it didn't stop her from feeling somewhat intimidated by all the beautiful ladies wearing their fine jewelry and dresses. Castle was right at home in this environment but she felt like she was in over her head.

Castle arrived at the bar, leaned against it and searched for a bar tender. With a couple of waves, He caught the attention of a barman, who approached wiping his hands on a tea towel.

"Hey, what can I get you?" The younger man asked.

"Could I get two very stiff vodka martinis? Don't shake them, just swirl them around a bit." Castle requested.

The bartender nodded, "Coming right up."

Rick glanced about him, mainly in search of any suspicious behavior amongst the guests, but also to check on Beckett who was simply stunning in the dress he had gifted her. Until he'd left her side it hadn't occurred to him that if he thought she looked breathtaking, there were quite a few single men attending this event would try and pick her up, get her number, or ask her out. He was so consumed with studying the men within Beckett's orbit, that the failed to notice a woman who sidled up to him. The bar was crowded bar and he would normally notice a pretty woman especially one paying him attention, but she brought his focus to herself. "Richard?"

"Yes?" He looked at the woman who was stunning.

She smiled and held out her hand. "Hi, Rachel Maddox. We spoke on the phone."

Castle immediately knew who she was, and smiled, leaning in, "Oh, yes. Great to meet you, and thank you very much for getting me the tickets."

"Thanks for the signed first edition for the auction," she replied.

A man poked his face into their space which caused Rick to step back a little, just as he was about to ask Rachel something but the stranger said, "I had my eye on it, but it's probably too rich for my blood."

Rachel who also moved aside a little, rested her hand to the man's upper arm, "Oh! My boyfriend, Paul Reynolds. He is a huge fan," she told the writer.

Castle smiled, shook Paul's hand, "Oh, always nice to meet a fan."

Back across the room, Beckett had noticed Rachel and Castle talking, their heads too close together but were probably struggling to hear each other over the noise of others talking and the live music. She felt the presence of someone close, looked about and saw a brunette woman, almost as tall as she was, and quite attractive who clearly wanted to talk.

"Don't sweat it." The woman said, touching Kate's upper arm, and gazing towards Castle. Kate followed her cue. "That's just Rachel, Anne's Head of Development. She's only after his money - so to speak."

Kate sensed that the woman who spoke to her was the kind of girl that made a new best friend every time she got on a plane or attended a yoga class. She extended her hand and Kate shook it, smiling.

"Oh, I'm Ruthie."

Beckett immediately replied, "Um, Beck-" She quickly got flustered, corrected herself, "I'm Kate. Nice to meet you. Do you work for the charity?"

"No. No. But I am on the circuit. You know, breast cancer, land mines. Oh, you know what the best one is? Um, uh, that project what do you call it - the one with the lips? There are a lot of, uh, plastic surgeons there. Fish in a barrel."

Beckett's eyes widened, "Really?"

"Mm. Oh! Not that you need any help from me." She offered her eye line once again shifting in the direction of Castle who held two martini glasses and seemed to have escaped the woman, "I see you've got a big one on the line. Settle in, Katie. I hear he's a fighter."

"Um..." Beckett uncomfortably glanced between Ruthie and Castle, who was also caught up in conversation with a very pretty woman. She was completely uncertain of the subject she was engaged in with Ruthie and kind of bent her wrist in Castle's general direction, "Sorry, Castle?"

Ruthie nodded, "Oh yeah, most of the girls on the register have tried to land him. Rich and handsome. We call him The White Whale."

Beckett, wavered between amusement and nausea. The White Whale. She smiled thinking about them in the bedroom, also unsure about where to go with the conversation because for her she had a completely different reference point to white whale. Instead, she kind of pointed in Rick's general direction. "I've better go, that way." She said and began to walk towards Rick who suddenly dumped the drinks he'd ordered. She touched an unseen earbud in her ear, put her wrist to her mouth and said, "Negative on anyone matching our sketch. How are we doing on vendors and staff?"

Esposito replied via the ear bud, "No red flags yet."

"None here yet."

"Hey, so what's it like in there? Is it a buffet or passed hors d'oeuvres?" Espo asked.

Beckett replied, "Both. But there's no room in this dress for me to eat anything. Hey, have you seen, uh..." she cried out in surprise as she was suddenly grabbed by Castle, who pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Dance," he ordered, stabilizing her body within his embrace.

"Castle, what are you doing?" She had grasped him by the shoulder then relaxed and accepted him as the lead, trusting him.

"Sorry, but this is the only place I knew we could talk and not be overheard."

Beckett frowned, looked at his eyes, casting their way around the hall, "Sure it is."

"I was just talking to the Head of Donor Development over there." Castle twirled Beckett out so she could see Ruthie, then pulled her back in to his arms. "She seems to know an awful lot about me." He stated.

"She's not the only one," Kate replied, "Did you know that they call you the White Whale?"

"The White Whale?" He gave her a confused look.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Not Moby?"

"No," Becket replied, "She's in Donor Development. It's her job to know about you. Besides, she doesn't strike me as a criminal mastermind."

Castle said, "Still, I think we should take a second look. Two, three, dip..." He dipped her right over and both looked in the same direction. But then Rick froze, leaving Kate dipped. What Castle saw that Kate couldn't at her position, was Caine Powell moving through the crowd. Powell cracked up a conversation with Anne Greene.

"Castle?" Beckett growled, "A little help?"

Castle said through gritted teeth, "It's Powell." He snapped back to reality, and with ease, lifted Beckett upright to her feet. She grabbed his shoulder and immediately searched where Rick's vision was directed.

"The jewel thief?" She asked.

Castle walked off the dance floor with a determined stride. Left alone on the dance floor, Beckett quickly became aware that female eyes were on her, that it appeared they had had a tiff and he's had stormed off. Castle snaked through the crowd and Kate hurried after him.

He caught up with Anne Greene and Powell in mid-conspire, and said "I don't believe this. The two of you are in on it?"

Their startled faces had guilt written all over them.

"Don't look at me. It was his idea." Anne replied.

"You really had me going, didn't you, Powell. The wine, the cheese, the Code of Conduct. And here you are, making me look the fool." Castle stated.

Powell who couldn't help but chuckle said, "I just wanted to have a bit of fun, Son."

"Fun? You call what you're doing fun?"

Beckett arrived shouldering Rick, "Castle, what's going on?"

Castle frowned, and said, "They're in on it together. They've all but admitted it."

Anne appeared a little confused, "I'm so sorry. I had no idea it was such a big deal."

"Big d...? Two people are dead!" Rick squawked and immediately saw the confusion deepen on Anne's face. He looked at Powell and saw the same expression.

"Dead? What's he talking about?" Anne asked.

Powell said, "Good lord, Rick. You didn't think...?"

"Then... what were you two whispering about Caine?"

Powell nodded across the way to a stage, where Rachel stood before the crowd.

Rachel cleared her throat into the microphone and waited for the guests to quieten and direct their attention to her, "Thank you all for coming tonight. And now it's time for all of us to open our hearts as we auction off some of the city's finest items for one of the finest causes. To start the bidding, please welcome Martha Rodgers!"

Polite applause filled the hall as Castle's Mother walked onto the stage. He immediately tensed and glanced to Kate, then Powell, "What have you done, Powell?"

Powell smirked, "Just a little payback, my friend."

Martha who had taken over the microphone like a seasoned speaker, began, "Thank you for that warm welcome. The first item on our list is a signed first edition of Storm Season, written by, well, by my son. There he is." Martha pointed towards her son, and someone shined the spotlight on him. Martha said, "Wave, darling, so everyone one can see you. Oh, isn't he handsome? My still single son, ladies. So, as a special bonus, the winning bidder will also receive an enchanting evening in his company. Alright, ladies, that's the best I can do. The rest is up to you. Do we have an opening bid?"

The crowd loved Martha. So did Beckett. This is the most fun she'd had in a long time, watching as gold diggers and old biddies placed bids for a date with Castle. Powell smirked.

"Twenty-five hundred!" Ruthie called out.

Martha said, "Two thousand five hundred from the beautiful lady in blue. Thank you so much. Do we hear three thousand?" She scanned the crowd for raised hands. "Three thousand?" She repeated, "Girls, don't be shy. We have a gentleman bidder. Oh, and isn't he attractive?" She remarked smiling.

The gentleman a in a perfect tuxedo with a neatly kept dark beard, raised his glass to Castle who immediately clenched his teeth and put his fingers against Kate's lower back.

Martha said, "Oh, my goodness! Aren't we broad-minded?"

A woman shouted out, "Four thousand."

Kate's eyes darted across the room to a brunette woman, a very pretty woman. That's when the jealousy poked at her amusement and took control of her thoughts.

Martha said, "Oh, there we have it. Four thousand. Alright, ladies. The gauntlet is down. And this is the most..."

Powell smugly smiled at the writer, "Now, we're even."

Castle turned to Beckett and hissed, "Look, I have money. Anything you pay, I'll pay you back."

Beckett who was dealing with the new emotions, but maintained a façade of being quite entertained, by the auction, replied, "Oh, not a chance in hell, Castle."

Over Beckett's shoulder, Castle's eyes landed on Paul, Rachel's boyfriend. "Hey, look. There's donor girl's boyfriend."

"So?" Beckett replied not willing to be distracted by his observations.

"So, he's taking pictures."

Beckett said, "So? I would, too, if I had a camera."

"Of the crowd?"

"Huh?" That got Beckett's attention. She saw that all the guests' eyes were directed toward the stage. With the wealthy guests distracted, Paul was able to take pictures, using his phone, without being noticed. She followed Rick through weaving through the crowd.

"Seven thousand." A woman shouted out.

"Seven thousand." Martha repeated, "Going one!"

Kate pulled Rick to a stop and looked over her shoulder at Martha, "Seven thousand?" She whispered, then looked at her boyfriend's eyes, "I don't want you going out with another woman. You're my boyfriend."

"Now!" He ordered, "Please."

"Seven thousand," Martha called out, "Going twice!"

Kate raised a hand and shouted, "Raise it by five hundred."

"Oh perfect! The lovely brunette." She called out, "Going once." Martha waited.

"C'mon." Kate pleaded.

"Going twice. Sold for seven thousand five hundred! Splendid!" Martha beamed, more than happy the detective had won the bid.

As Kate hurriedly followed Rick, she squeezed his hand and squeaked, "You have a debt."

"Thank fucking God it's with you." He shot back over his shoulder.

Kate spoke into a microphone. "We need back up inside, guys."

In a quiet spot, away from the crowd being entertained, Paul and Rachel chatted with an older woman who had a quarter million dollars worth of ice hanging from her neck. Beckett and Castle approached followed closely by Ryan and Esposito.

"Now, it does no good to be coy. I've seen the looks you've been throwing me all night." Paul said to Rachel.

As Castle approached he said, "Shopping, are we?"

Paul looked up, Rachel looked confused. Beckett flashed her NYPD badge.

"Paul Reynolds, you're under arrest on suspicion of theft and conspiracy to commit murder." Beckett said.

Ryan and Esposito move in to cuff him

Esposito said, "Let's go.

Castle turned to Beckett. "Where was the badge?"

Beckett smirked and replied, "Don't ask."

TBC