a.n. Hello there, long time to see. I've been working on this fic for a long time. I thought that I'd wait until it was completely finished, but I've gotten impatient. So here it is. This is AU. It's also mostly a flashback, so you should pay attention to the dates at the top of each chapter/scene break.

Not the most original idea, but one that I've not seen in the Castle fandom before.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

-:::-

Chapter One

March 09, 2009

She never went to the parties. She would occasionally go with him when he did a book signing or a reading, but the parties weren't really something she was interested in attending. This particular one was even less interesting to her.

He'd killed Derrick Storm. She had no interest in celebrating the demise of her favorite character. None whatsoever.

In the end, her wish to not go to his party was taken out of her hands. The murder scene she had walked into that morning was so shocking that she had almost fled the room.

A woman, covered from head to toe in rose petals. Two bullet wounds to her chest. Laid out on a table for all to see.

It was right out of one of his books. She'd have recognized it anywhere.

So, here she was. Heels clicking as she walked into the venue that held the launch party for Storm Falls. Her partners were following in behind her, which made her a bit nervous, but she pushed those thoughts away.

Though, Kate thought, maybe this wasn't going to be all bad. After all, she knew that the person she was here to see wasn't the killer – his alibi was about as solid as it could get. And she'd get to see him. They hadn't gotten to spend nearly enough time together lately, what with his book launch and the seemingly endless number of murders that had crossed her desk lately.

After getting past security, Kate looked around the large room filled with people. It was about as swanky as she had thought it would be. Gina had never been one with good taste, and this was no exception. The colors never matched.

She finally spotted him at the bar, looking bored. Kate couldn't help but smile. He had told her that he would likely be bored without her, but here was proof that he had been telling the truth.

"Come on, Castle," Esposito complained. "What are you waiting for?"

Kate rolled her eyes. Then she smirked and said, "It's going to be confusing if you end up calling us both Castle."

"Whatever, it's your name. Let's go get lover boy and get back to the precinct. You and I both know this is a waste of time."

Kate just nodded and started to push her way through the crowd towards her husband. This was a waste of time, though only professionally. Personally, she was quite happy to see him and always would be.

"Excuse me," she said, trying to keep the laughter out of her voice. It'd be nice to surprise him.

Rick didn't turn around quickly, he just asked, "Was there something you wanted me to sign?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Castle," Kate said with a smirk. "I've always wanted you to sign my chest."

Kate heard the boys sputtering behind her, but she didn't care.

"I'm sorry, miss. I don't sign body parts any longer, just official merchandise or books. My wife wouldn't like…" Finally, he turned from his drink.

Kate's smirk widened. "Good answer, babe."

"Kate! What are you doing here?" Rick reached out and pulled her to him, swiftly pecking her on the lips.

Before he could kiss her more, Kate pulled away – albeit reluctantly.

"I'm here for a case," she said.

"A case?" Rick finally noticed the two other detectives. "What's going on?"

"We'll talk about it at the 12th. It's the best place to do this as it will keep the press out of it."

Rick nodded. "Okay. Let me tell Gina and Mother that I'm leaving."

-:::-

A few minutes later, she and Rick were in the front seats of her cruiser.

"Sorry to crash your party," Kate said as she pulled out into traffic.

"Don't worry about it. It was dull."

"Because there were no chests to sign?" Kate teased.

Rick laughed. "Yours is the only chest I'd ever sign, Mrs. Castle."

"I'll let you do it when we get home."

"Wait. Really?"

"Of course. Could be fun."

"Damn, can this car go any faster?"

Kate laughed again and grabbed for his hand. She intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Is there anything I should know going in?"

"There have been a series of murders that we think you might be able to help with," Kate said cautiously.

Kate could see Rick look interested. "Does that mean I finally get to shadow you?"

"No," Kate said with a laugh. "Never. One of us in danger is enough, thank you very much. No. We should wait until we get to the precinct to give you the details that way your reaction can be recorded."

"Am I as suspect?"

"You'd find that interesting wouldn't you?" Kate asked in exasperation. Rick just smirked at her. Kate rolled her eyes. Her husband was such an idiot sometimes. "Not everything is an opportunity for research, you know?"

Rick scoffed. "Entirely not true."

"Whatever. No, you're not a suspect. You have an airtight alibi for this latest murder, so it couldn't be you."

"Oh? Do tell, what was I doing?"

Kate grinned over at him as she pulled up to a red light. "You were in bed with me."

"Ah, that does sound like the best alibi."

When they got to the precinct, she allowed Esposito to lead the questioning so as to not be accused of bias. Which she was biased, of course. There wasn't a person in the world that she loved more than Richard Castle.

"Castle," Montgomery called out as he walked into the observation room.

Kate turned towards her boss. "Yes, sir?"

"How's he doing in there."

"They've spent more time joking than actually doing what they should be doing. But they're finally dialing in."

"I should have had Ryan do it."

Kate scoffed. "No. He idolizes Rick. They'd still be out in the hallway gibber jabbing."

"Are you going to let him help you go through the fan mail? I know you've done your best to keep him out of the precinct."

"He can help. I'm sure he'll actually jump at the chance."

Montgomery rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you're right."

The interview wrapped up, and Kate met her husband and her partner in the hallway outside of the interrogation room.

"I'm going to call Paula," Rick said, reaching out and giving her arm a squeeze. He pulled out his cell and walked off to make a call. Kate watched him go.

"Stop checking out his ass," Espo said disgustedly.

Kate laughed. "Can't help it. Now, while we wait for the fan mail, we should keep poking at the vic's history and family."

"Ryan is working on financials and phone records, should be here in the morning."

"Alright. I'm going to call it a night then. You can tell Ryan to knock off as well. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, boss," Espo said.

Kate had just grabbed her coat when someone called out, "Castle!"

Kate turned around and found her boss coming out of his office. "Yes, sir?"

"Are you taking off for the night?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I've got some forms for you to sign before you go, however. That way your hubby can come and go from the precinct for the duration of this case. You won't have to sign him in."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. I'm sure this will make him happy."

"What will make me happy?" Rick asked, coming to a stop near her desk.

"The Captain was just saying that you get to help us out on this one," Kate said. She grinned at his happy expression. She knew he had wanted to come shadow her for a case for years. Kate had always said no. She had enough of a problem worrying that one of the douchebags she put away might escape and harm her love without him actually putting himself in danger. And he would put himself in danger. Rick Castle had always been a magnet for trouble.

"That's awesome!" Rick said.

Kate just rolled her eyes and took the paperwork from her boss. She signed the forms and then handed them back.

"Night, Castles," Montgomery said with a smirk. Kate groaned. This case was going to be excruciating. She let her husband help her with her coat and then grabbed him by the belt loop and pulled him towards the elevator.

"Come on, Rick. Let's go home."

Kate grinned as she pressed the elevator call button. Her life was not anything like what she expected it to be. Out of high school, she had wanted to be a lawyer like her parents. She'd had dreams of working her way through law school and getting a job that would help her onto her goal of being the first female Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.

Her entire life changed on a cold, rainy night when Rick Castle came into her life.

a.n.2. And that's the beginning. The next chapter takes us back in time as we learn the entire premise of the story. How did Kate and Rick meet?

The update schedule is going to be drawn out a bit. I want to stay ahead of this one. So the next chapter should be up sometime next week.

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