Chapter 67

Castle sat at a bar, a drink in front of him. He thought deeply and sipped gradually. The first drink he'd downed in two gulps. This one he kept company with, while he gave himself time to think out the previous hour or so. How quickly bad it had spiraled.

How he had known the door to the rooftop would still be unlocked, after all these years, was because he sometimes found himself there when he needed space alone. A recluse that was no longer. Not after tonight. Some things never changed but his feelings for Kyra certainly had. It had been a long time since he'd even thought about her. He shouldn't have suggested they meet on the rooftop, the place where they had spent so much time during their first summer together. Kyra had been in her final year of high school. He would meet her on the rooftop after she got out of class, bag of food in one hand and the notebook he found earlier in the other. Together, Kyra would pretend to study and he would try to write.

They'd had a hard time keeping their hands off each other that first summer.

But tonight on the roof, Castle had found Kyra upset. Greg had told her about Sophie coming into his room in the night, that he and Sophie had once been involved before he met Kyra.

She'd been cold when Castle had wrapped her in his arms. Mistake number one. At the time it had reinforced him that he really didn't have feeling for Kyra anymore. That didn't stop him getting himself into a predicament.

If Kyra hadn't confessed that she missed him. If Kyra hadn't have move in closer. If he had maintained control, perhaps the kiss wouldn't have occurred. Problem was, it had. But on this occasion, no one had caught them. He had pulled back, had retracted his arms and parted from Kyra. Done as fast as if he'd put his hand on a hot frypan. He'd apologized. She'd apologized. It plummeted to awkward in a second. Castle had turned and walked away, had vacated the rooftop as quickly as he could. Panicked, he'd escaped the building and hadn't stopped until he was seated on a stool inside the first bar he'd located.

His heart still pounded hard and fast. He was worried, guilt ridden, ashamed. Not a few months back he'd chastised Kate when that detective come ex-boyfriend had kissed her. What an ass he'd been. He took a sip of his whisky. It burned his throat. Again, he wiped his mouth, wishing he could wash his face.

He flipped his phone over and woke the screen. Kate hadn't called or texted, but it was getting late. She might have gone to bed. There was the photo of her kissing his cheek, his smile at the camera showing a content man. A happy guy with his best friend and lover.

His phone lit up with an incoming call. It was home. He took the call and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Daddy? Where are you? Its late and you're not with Beckett."

"No. I'm on my way. You called her?" He was surprised Alexis had contacted Beckett.

"Texted. You weren't answering my texts and I was getting worried."

"Sorry. I'm okay." He tipped the rest of his drink down the hatch then stood up. "Be home in ten minutes, Alexis." He hung up, left cash and walked out the bar.

"I gotta tell you Beckett, that writer boy of yours," Detective Balaz said, tapping the photograph that she glanced at, "He is like, stealth." The woman described her dark curls bouncing around her face.

"Stealth?"

"Yeah, you know," Balaz nodded, "He suddenly appeared on the roof. No one saw him enter and no one saw him leave. He appeared and then disappeared. We were like what the fuck. Where did he come from?"

Beckett's eyebrow rose with curiosity. She wouldn't describe Castle moving with stealth that's for sure. He was generally noisy and clumsy. "Odd. Well it's what he did and perhaps found out that is of my concern."

"Well, here's the photos. The conversation was Kyra seeking support about her fiancé but nothing. He got nothing but this." Detective Balaz handed over a bunch of 8 x 10 inch photos of Castle and Kyra.

Kate flipped through them. It was when she saw a photo of Castle kissing Kyra that she sat up and placed the photos on the desk, "Thank you Detective Balaz. You better get home and have some sleep."

"Thank you, Detective." The woman, shorter than Beckett, a little solid, gathered her stuff and left.

Kate glanced around the bullpen. No one from her team was on shift yet. She passed through the photographs paying particular attention to the exposures capturing the seconds Kyra and Rick had kissed. She counted 16 sequential photos. The final four showed Rick walking away. Kyra remained. He looked angry. The 16 photos were extracted from the collection that would be put on the Police file, and she slipped them into a beige file. She didn't want the team, anyone questioning why he had met Kyra. She knew why had gone to the rooftop but she hadn't expected the kiss, especially after Will had kissed her. She didn't know what to think, how to react to Rick kissing Kyra. Numbness. She only tried to rationalize why he'd done it. What was his excuse? His arms had been around her and he had lowered himself to accommodate Kyra's lack of height.

Kate suddenly became very conscious she needed to be alone to process. Her emotions were taking control.

She got up, pushed out the chair and hurried to the ladies' room. Alone, she stood in the middle of the cool, tiled room and hugged herself, unsure about her little world she had been incredibly fond of lately. The bubble had just suffered a burst.

Castle had kissed Kyra.

Her throat constricted. She blinked away tears that welled up. This hurt.

She wiped beneath her eyes. Slowly she circled taking small steps, unaware her body trembled. Emotions dominated her thoughts. It was overwhelming to see images of Castle being intimate with another woman now she was with him. They had agreed to be exclusive. That had been compromised. She lowered her body to a crouch, hands covered her face. She cried, letting go.

When a woman's voice sounded outside the doorway moments later, Kate silenced, stifled her cries. Her eyes shot to the door. A deep breath was drawn. She stood up and retreated to a cubicle. She dropped the lid and sat on the toilet, dropping her head to her hands.

A handful of toilet paper was snatched from the roll to blow her nose. She dabbed her eyes dry, careful to not smear make up. There was mascara on the paper anyway. She had a shuddery sigh. Deep down, she really cared about Castle, more than she'd anticipated, more than she was willing to admit even to herself. This pain she suffered had come unexpectedly and she accepted to herself she didn't like it that he had kissed another woman. The reaction had occurred suddenly and drastically, rushed at her like a firestorm. Now there was a raised awareness of those feelings, that his actions had the power to threaten the stability of those emotions. Having seen photos of him kissing another woman was agonizing and something she didn't want to see again. She was also spooked by her response, that someone else mattered that much to her.

Out of the cubicle, secure that she had the room to herself, she went to the basins. She shuddered at the sight of her reflection. Large teary eyes stared back at her. She cried a little.

"C'mon Kate. Let him tell his side of the story." It was whispered. "Learn from the past." She wiped her eyes. "Get it together."

With that she straightened up, cleared her throat, and walked out of the bathroom to return to her desk.

Castle arrived at the Precinct a little later than he normally would. He hadn't slept well, but once he had finally fallen asleep about 5.00 am, he'd slept late. His daughter had left for school and his mother was thankfully gone, wherever. He ate breakfast at home, procrastinated about a heap of shit that worried him while he cleaned the kitchen, then folded and put away laundry. No longer with an alternative activity, he decided to bite the bullet and make his way to the Precinct. He needed to see Kate. He also needed to talk to her about last night, and he wanted back on the case. It was his duty to be on the case as her partner.

He delivered Beckett the usual coffee, and placed it on her desk where he always left it. She provided a space for two coffee cups, a place with convenient access for both. He'd noticed that a while back. Thought it was cute of her. Maybe expectant, but cute none the less. A space right beside her row of elephants. His gifts of coffees held status beside the elephants even. It gave him minor comfort that morning as his nerves were heightened, no, shot to hell, about how she Becket was going to react. She looked tired this morning and had barely acknowledged his presence or the coffee.

Beckett knew. She knew already. His heart hurt.

"What did I tell you?"

Castle felt his heart rate spiral upwards, "What?"

"Did I or did I not make myself clear?" Her tone was stern, but not too angry.

Castle swallowed, nodded, said, "Yes." She was going to chew him out in front of her colleagues.

"Do you know how much it annoys me knowing what you're doing? Touching things that shouldn't be touched. Yanking on things that shouldn't be yanked."

Castle's eyes widened in horror. He was also confused. "No, no." He hotly objected. "Nobody yanked on anything."

Beckett looked up as she pushed against her desk. The chair rolled backwards over the floor boards. "Really? Then how do you explain this?"

Beckett kicked her legs back and forth, legs that dangled a few inches from the floor.

"Huh?" Confused he stared, his brain panicked.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Beckett said, "I've told you a million times not to mess with my chair."

"Right. No, I'm sorry. And it- it won't happen again." He sat, his conscience weighing on him in an overwhelming capacity. The chair. Fucking chair was her issue and he hadn't touched it. Someone else had messed with it in their absence. She had messed with him in this instance. But he would accept the blame.

He sat there, watched her adjust the chair back to its normal height. It took a bit of fiddling, which gave him time to weigh up his options. He had enough time to appreciate how attractive she was in a white top, her hair straightened. A decision made he said, "I saw her last night."

She glanced up to his eyes, "I know. You called me." Seemingly finished messing about with the chair, she moved closer to the table and focused on him.

Castle gave a nod, "Something happened."

Beckett pulled open a drawer, got out a file and slipped out surveillance photos of the rooftop rendezvous. She handed them to Rick who scanned each of them.

He glared at her.

She glared at him.

"You had me under surveillance too?" He was surprised, angered, and disappointed.

Beckett stared right back and calmly replied, "Not you. Kyra. I said her family was under surveillance."

His brow furrowed. "Why would you have Kyra under surveillance? To follow here there?" He asked glancing around them to see who was nearby. His nerves felt somewhat prickled by the knowledge Kate had seen where he had been the night before. Potentially they were on the brim of a fight. Telling her would have been preferable.

"She's a murder suspect." Beckett replied matter of fact.

"Oh, no, no, Beckett. See, Sophie's murder was an isolated crime of passion. Watching Kyra after the fact would be a waste of police resources, which we both know you would not do."

Beckett inhaled, unsure whether he was taking a stab in the dark. She replied, "I had to make sure that you didn't do anything stupid, which you did." She nervously fiddled with the edge of the file.

Castle sat back in the chair staring her down. He rubbed his face, "We just kissed, Kate. That's all that happened."

Beckett swallowed, "That's all that happened for now."

Esposito walked up to the desk, "Hey, the financial-" He stopped when he saw Beckett and Castle facing off. "Everything okay?

Beckett replied, "Yes."

Castle replied, "No."

"Okaaaaay." Esposito glanced between his boss and the writer then opted to continue, "Financials came in on our groom. No red flags. He actually lives a pretty modest life for someone with a trust fund."

Beckett looked away from Rick.

Rick saw her avoid him. He felt ill, but as they had already crossed this bridge once in their relationship, he needed to tread carefully, particularly because this time it was his fault.

She asked Esposito, "Anything back from the lab?"

Esposito said, "Nothing useful. Greg's hair and fiber samples came back negative. Other than the earring, there's no physical evidence tying him to the murder."

Ryan who also was within hearing range said, "So, I retraced Sophie's steps leading up to the wedding. She checked into the Beaumont on Friday, but she flew into the city on Thursday morning."

Beckett was suddenly inquisitive, "What was she doing all day Thursday?"

"Don't know."

"Well, go find out, Espo." Kate encouraged and waved him off. After Esposito was out of hearing zone, she leaned back in her chair, hands up to her chin. Attention returned to Rick who quietly waited obviously worried, "Castle?"

"Beckett?" He cast his eyes over the photographs then discarded them on the desk, "I'm sorry. Will you please destroy them."

"Of course," she whispered. "Everyone thinks we're single."

"We're not." He hissed back. "I went to console her."

She looked at him with a deep breath, collected the photographs and put them away in the file. "Yes, that that's why I'm not going through the fall out again."

"Again?"

Beckett glanced about to ensure no one heard them. "What happened after Will kissed me." Her expression and tone was calm.

"Kate?" Rick studied her face, watched the file get put away. He was clearly confused by Kate's reaction. "I think we need to talk about this later."

"Nothing to talk about, Rick." She stood up with two coffee mugs in her hand, "I'll go make coffees."

"I brought-" Rick jumped up and hurried after her, glancing back to the take away coffee he'd just given her. "No, no Beckett. Let me do that. Let me make our coffee." He guessed it was a way for them to get a few minutes of privacy.

With the machine under his control, Castle said, "I'm very sorry, Kate."

She stared at him. "It hurt, Rick."

"I'm sorry."

"I mean last time. The fall out hurt me." She cleared her throat, "Castle, can we not go there again?"

He paused his task, looked over her face, her expression, then nodded, "Okay. But I'm still sorry."

"Okay." She said. "Accepted."

Beckett, fidgeted and breathed deeper, happier now the awkward moment in the past, and hopefully forgotten. More relaxed, she leaned against the counter, "The boys have interviewed the wedding guests, Castle."

"And?"

"It seems everyone has something to add about Sophie. Especially one person who happens to be one of your favorite individuals-"

He smirked, "Oh, that would have to be the delightful, Sheila Blaine?"

"Mm." She smiled, "That's the one. Apparently, Sophie called Sheila after the engagement party to ask her to pay for her flight to New York for the wedding."

Rick chuckled, "There is no bloody way Sheila would have given Sophie money." He shook his head in disbelief then added, "Sheila didn't provide much for Kyra when she was a college student."

"Make your own way kind of mother, huh?"

"Oh yeah. I didn't mind, but Kyra depended on either me or her father for extra money."

"Well what pissed off Sheila the most was she saw Sophie shopping on Friday."

"Okay." He gave a dismissive shrug, "Sophie was shopping. Women window shop."

"Hotel shopping." Kate replied.

His face lit up, "Huh! And we all know hotel shopping is expensive and Sophie had no money."

"Shopping at the hotel store. Sheila was livid because Sophie was telling everybody how broke she was, and somehow, she suddenly had money to burn."

"Well then we need to find out where the money came from, in the event she did spend. I didn't see shopping bags in her room." He turned to her, "Here you go. Enjoy."

She smiled, accepted the mug of hot coffee Rick handed her, and inhaled its scent. He used good coffee beans that smelt delicious. Encouraged by his anticipation, she took a sip, the frothy milk coating her top lip. A nod came. "This is good, Castle."

"Yeah? Creamy enough?"

She took a second sip, then nodded, "Coffee is good too."

He waved his hand near her lip. She licked the froth away, then smiled devilishly. He felt aroused, very aroused. "Don't. Please don't." He pleaded but she looked to his groin anyway.

"Turn you on?" The tone was suggestive, the green eyes expressed to Castle she wanted him, real bad.

"Most certainly does. Works on you too." He answered casting his eyes to her hips. "Most certainly gonna happen tonight."

"In your dreams, Castle." She replied as she walked back to her desk.

He collected his mug and followed, muttering, "Not a dream baby. Gonna happen."

An hour later, the team had confirmed the rumours that Sophie had been financially broke when she had boarded the plane to NYC. Financial records indicated she didn't have money to spend on wedding gifts. Forgetting the gift, between the shoes, the dress, the hotel and the flight, Sophie must have dropped three grand on the weekend, easy. Three grand she didn't have. The question was how had she come across the money?

Further investigation had them establish that Sophie had paid for her flight in cash. When they dug deeper they learned her last three rental payments had been made in cash. Traceless funds.

The case was blown wide open when they obtained video surveillance from a little bridal shop near the hotel. The video showed that Sophie and Greg's Uncle Teddy were together in the store.

Ryan reported that according to the bridal shop owner, when Teddy had paid cash for the dress, Sophie had told him she wasn't sure if she could go through with it.

They only needed to discover why was it so important for Sophie to go to Greg's wedding. So, they sent out a couple of Uniforms to go out and find Greg's Uncle, Ted Murphy. The Unies gave Murphy a ride back to the Precinct to have that chat with the homicide team.

It was to their benefit that Greg Murphy, who turned up at the Precinct to support his uncle, was considerably agitated by the detectives for several reasons. The first was Castle the ex-boyfriend, the second was team had Ted Murphy in interrogation and lastly, Greg was also a suspect. Beckett was determined not to remove Castle from the case because she knew his presence irritated the crap out of the groom. She was also kind of enjoying the testosterone power game going on between the two alpha males.

In amongst the bickering in interrogation, the detectives learned that Greg wasn't aware his Uncle had bought Sophie's bridesmaid dress. He also didn't know that Ted Murphy had given Sophie fifteen hundred in the last three months.

When Greg mentioned that Ted had helped to write the pre-nup agreement between himself and Kyra, the penny dropped. Greg figured it out. Castle and Beckett followed seconds later.

The detectives detained Ted Murphy for the time it took them to obtain a warrant to search his office. What they found in Murphy's office provided them with enough evidence to close the case. Beckett and Castle didn't muck around when they re-joined Ted Murphy in the interrogation box.

He was impatient, having waited almost two hours for the questioning to begin. Beckett didn't give a hoot how he felt. They'd been run off their feet during that time, had barely had time for a bathroom break. Castle patiently waited for her to get going with the interview aware she needed to get her thoughts into order, and he remained silent until she closed her notebook and looked at Ted Murphy.

Beckett spoke slowly and calmly when she finally made the sound accusations, "Mr Murphy, Greg's grandparents established a trust fund that he was going to receive on his wedding day and named you the executor." She paused, really looked at the elder man opposite her, and she leaned closer. "How am I doing so far?"

She glanced down at her note book then continued, "And for the past five years you've been stealing from that fund to fuel your expensive lifestyle. A house in the Hamptons, a Ferrari. A pair of top-of-the-line breast implants. I'm assuming those aren't for you, though."

"My personal life is none of your business," Murphy replied.

"It is when it leads to a murder. You lost a ton of money in the market."

"Everybody did."

"But not everybody had access to Greg's trust fund." Beckett replied, "When you ran out of your own money, you started using his. Burned through almost the entire two million, and then when he called you to tell you he was getting engaged, you panicked because you didn't have enough equity to put it back."

Castle immediately picked up where Beckett stopped. "You realized the only way to avoid detection was to put a stop to the wedding. But how?" Rick raised his hands in question, "Greg was clearly in love with Kyra," he paused then firmly said, "Kyra was in love with him."

"And then you," Beckett continued, "Met Sophie at the engagement party and you realized that she was the perfect instrument to sabotage Greg's wedding because she was so desperate for money."

"That's ridiculous." Murphy objected.

"The fact that she still carried a torch for Greg made it that much easier to convince her to sneak into Greg's room in the middle of the night," Castle said.

Beckett reached to the floor and picked up a camera she put on the desk. "With this. Sophie's video camera. We found this in your luggage in the hotel. It still has Sophie's fingerprints all over it."

Castle said, "Only she didn't quite get the footage you were hoping for, did she? When Greg refused Sophie's advances she had a change of heart. She ran back to her room where you were there waiting for her."

"What happened, Mr. Murphy?" Beckett inquired, "Did she threaten to expose you? To tell everybody what you asked her to do?"

"You couldn't let that happen." Castle commented, "And then you realized there was another way to sabotage Greg's wedding. Kill a bridesmaid."

"Wow. What a story. And very well told, I might add." Ted Murphy said looking between the pair, "But that's all it is. A story." He dismissively shrugged his shoulders.

"Really?" Beckett asked with a raised eyebrow. "Do you remember how I told you that we went through your luggage?" She produced a small zip lock plastic bag she placed on the table, "We found this tie tack. Platinum, right? Did you know that we found trace evidence of platinum in the wounds in Sophie's back?"

Castle added "You probably didn't even realize you were making them when you were choking her from behind."

Beckett said, "Which is why it never occurred to you to get rid of the one piece of physical evidence that tied you to the crime."

Castle smugly finished the conversation by saying, "We're sorry we kept you waiting." He smiled.

Beckett turned to Rick, "I guess we'll get a uniform in to read him his rights and process him."

"Good idea." Castle stood with Beckett.

She said, "Mr Murphy, you are being placed under arrest. Please wait here and someone will be right with you."

Rick and Kate exited Montgomery's office after their half hour debrief of the case. They were almost done. Captain was happy. Beckett just needed to complete the paper work.

Nearby her desk, Rick paused and turned about to look at Beckett, "Follow me," he ordered but didn't touch her. He then continued to walk ahead and expected that Beckett would agree to stay with him. He was happy to hear her footsteps continued behind him to the stairs he went down. It was at the bottom of the first flight she spoke.

"Where are we going?"

"Outside." He answered without pausing. She followed. At the ground floor, he walked across the foyer and outside. On the sidewalk, she fell in beside him, kept up with his pace. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he wanted a place the cops didn't go, a place they had privacy. It has half a block down he sighted a little coffee shop they never went to, he stopped.

"Here. Go inside, Baby," he said, opened the door and beckoned her inside.

He ordered coffee and a toasted cheese sandwiches, conscious they hadn't had time to eat all day. Beckett chose a table towards the back of the café, well away from the entrance. While they waited for the delivery of their order, they sat in silence and checked emails and messages on their respective phones. Beckett tapped a few replies but stopped when the toasties were left in the middle of the table on a large plate. The smell of the melted cheese was all it took to have pair reach in for a cut. They ate, finding they were hungrier than they'd anticipated.

"With the exception of your toasted sandwiches, Castle, this is delicious." Beckett commented once she was a good way through the meal.

"Thank you, and we are damn hungry. Anything would taste nice right now." Castle said as he grabbed another quarter, "And it's good to see you eating. You've hardly ate all day. You were looking pale in the Captain's office."

She shrugged and with a mouth full of food she replied, "Busy."

Rick pointed at the last quarter and she waved that she didn't want it.

"Like a Labrador, Castle."

He grinned. There was no point in objecting to her comment.

It was only after the coffees were in front on them on the small table that he finally began to speak, the reason why he'd taken her from the Precinct. He looked right at her, wiped his mouth with the napkin provided.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, Kate," he said.

"Castle-" She held up a hand to cease him.

"No. Hear me out." He nervously swallowed, reached for both her hands and held them firmly in his, resting on the table. "I don't want this to sound selfish, but I hardly slept. I was so worried I hurt you … I don't want to be the boyfriend that makes you cry, upsets you with my actions, but today I did that."

"I didn't cry," she barely murmured and her eyes shot to their hands. Stronger, she repeated, "I didn't cry."

"I know you did." He stroked her hands, whispered, "I know you."

For several seconds she processed his words, then she said. "The surveillance team said they didn't see you go in the building or leave it."

"Huh?" Confused, he scanned her face, watched her eyes on their hands. She had a light grasp on his fingers, something he found comfort in. She hadn't pulled away.

"They didn't spot you. They only saw you on the roof. How did you get past them?"

Castle shrugged his shoulders, "I guess my spidey powers." He sighed, not comfortable playing the joker right now. "Look, I have no idea, Kate. But you said you had surveillance on her. Not me. She was there before me, and I kind of, well I got the fuck out of there." He gave her a tilted uneasy smile. "Hit a bar for a drink. No photos of me there?"

She shook her head, "Still-"

"Stop avoiding my apology. Will you please-?"

Kate looked at his eyes, at which time he saw the flash of anger. Then she looked away, out the window, blinking. She swallowed. "Did you do it because of last night?"

"What?" He was confused, then recalled their minor argument when she'd sent him home. "No." He gripped her hands when she went to pull away. He repeated in a hushed tone, "No."

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

"No." It was immediate and he leaned in, "I know who I have feelings for. It just happened, Kate. I have no excuse."

Kate gave a nod of acceptance. "It's the risk of having a secret affair. But I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Okay. But before we put it in the past is there anything you want to say?"

"I have a gun." She said then laughed. "I could shoot you."

Rick grinned, "Good girl. You're threatening me." He glanced around the café, ensured they were safe then he half stood, reaching over the table, "C'mere," he requested, "And damn well kiss me."

She smiled, gave a cry and put her hands to his jaw as she gave him a kiss. He paused, smiled then gave her another. He sat back.

"Drink your coffee. I'm very sorry."

"Accepted, Castle." This time she reached for his hand and with her right hand she touched his lips, "They're mine to kiss," she said then lowered her hand and smiled at his eyes.

Rick felt his heart swell, and there was pain in his throat. "I want to give you the biggest hug."

"Later." She gave him a flirty look. "Will be a lot more than a hug."

"A lot more." He agreed.

At the Precinct late in the afternoon, Castle sat with Kyra in the meeting room just alongside Beckett's office. He played back Sophie's blackmail tape she made in Greg's hotel. He had told Beckett he wanted Kyra to hear that Greg hadn't been responsible for what Sophie had done. Kyra listened to the tape

"…I'm getting married tomorrow, okay?" Greg said on the recording, "To the woman that I love."

Castle turned off the machined as he said, "Teddy's plan would've worked, too, if it weren't for the one thing he didn't count on." He left the machine on the table.

"What's that?" Kyra asked.

"Greg." He put the machine on the desk, gazed over Kyra's face. She was happier than when he'd last seen her. The murder resolved, she could move one. He put his elbows on the desk then said, "He's a good man, Kyra. He's an honorable man. And he loves you."

She smiled and softly said, "I know, Rick. And I love him, too. But that doesn't mean that I'm not gonna think about you from time to time."

Castle smiled, "Oh, you better."

"Of all the murders, in all the cities, at all the weddings, and you walk into mine." She had stood and made her way around to the side of Rick who remained seated.

"I'm glad I did." Rick replied.

Kyra bent over a little and kissed him on the cheek. Castle smiled, noticed that Beckett watched from her desk.

"Thank you, Rick." Kyra said.

"You're welcome. Be safe."

As Kyra exited, Beckett whipped her attention back to her desk and pretended to look over paperwork. Kyra approached her desk and stopped. Beckett shyly looked up.

"He's all yours," Kyra said.

For several moments, Kate seemed to process the words Kyra had said, then glanced at Rick who was amusing himself. She looked back at Kyra.

"You gave him up." It was said calmly, just observation. "Why?"

"We grew up together." Kyra lightly tapped the desk, "But, he belongs to you, Kate. If you left the country, he would come after you. So, he was never really mine." With that, she left Kate and headed towards the elevator, catching a ride to the ground floor.

Kate stared after Kyra, her thoughts centered around her relationship with Castle and what it did mean to her. Amongst many things, he'd given her a fresh outlook on life, a person to care for.

"Hey." He quietly interrupted as he lowered his frame into his chair. "Ready to go?"

She scanned his face, "Yes." She leaned over the desk her elbow resting on it, her chin resting on her palm, "Castle?"

He too leaned in, mirroring her position which caused her to smile.

"Mmm? I'm listening"

She suddenly felt shy, her cheeks warmed.

"Tell me." He softly urged.

"You apparently belong to me." She laughed. A nervous laugh.

"Of course, I do," he confirmed. "Like you belong to me." He sat up, "Let's go eat. I really want a cheeseburger and you look like you could do with at least one." He stood up and reached for her coat he held out for her. "So, six times a bridesmaid, huh? You wouldn't happen to have any pictures, would you?"

"Thank you. Trust you to remember that." She shrugged herself into the coat then turned about to collect her bag.

"Pictures?" He repeated.

"I might have a few." She shot him a seductive look, then walked ahead towards the elevators. He flicked off the lights to the bullpen for the night.

"Were the dresses hideous?" He asked as they waited for the elevator.

She laughed, "Yeah, two were."

"Mm." Rick responded and held open the door to the elevator for Kate to enter before him. Once they were alone riding the elevator Castle stepped closer to her, "Whose place we going?"

"I have a couple of days off," she hinted.

"My place tonight. See Alexis, sleep with you."

"Sleep in." She cooed.

"Most definitely. Then yours tomorrow."

"Burgers first." Kate reminded. "I'm famished, even with the afternoon snack we had." She walked out the elevator. "Hurry Castle. You owe me burgers."