In A Heart Beat (a Castle Fan Fiction)

Chapter 2: Ready or Not

"Hey Lanie. What do you got?" Kate asked as she walked into to the ME's autopsy room.

"Remember when 911 in a text used to get you here a lot faster?" Lanie remarked sarcastically, "And when I would call, you'd pick up? I miss those day."

"What was the 911 about?" Castle said in place of his girlfriend.

Lanie then looked at him with slim eyes and a pursed lip. "Uh-uh. No. You do not get to talk. You men and your idiotic behaviors. Why in the hell can't you all just shut your freaking faces up for ten damn minutes while, for once in your life, everything was going well?" Castle and Beckett gave each other a look. "See. That, right there. You two are all lovey dovey and it's so cute and you are both so happy. So why the hell do you have to go blabbing your mouth to Ryan, who blabbed to Esposito, who is now begging me to tell you not to go back to the precinct because when Ryan told Espo your little announcement, Gates over heard it."

"What!?!" Castle yelled.

Beckett was lost, concerned and felt slightly ignored and out of the loop, "Ummmm... what's going on?"

"Mhm. See. Now how you going to handle this Castle? 'Cause you know as well as I do that this is going to kill her," Lanie vaguely explained.

"What is going to kill me? What did Gates hear? What announcement?" Kate just wanted answers. That's all. Just answers.

"And this is where I leave it to him." Lanie said, and started for the door. "I'll be back to let you know about the 911 on the vic in five."

When Lanie was out of the room and in the hall, Kate turned to the writer. "Castle?"

"Beckett... I may have told Ryan something about us, and he may have gone to tell Espo, and from what I can tell, Gates over heard. And by us, I mean us us." Castle gave his guilty please-don't-kill-me face to Kate. Beckett looked down a moment, then back at his face.

"Alright, well, we knew this was going to happen eventually. I mean, I'm going to kill the boys, but you can't help that they are total idiots." Kate said. She was handling this surprisingly well. Richard still gave a guilty look to the floor, but this one seemed morose as well. He knew what this meant as well as she did. Castle was getting kicked off the team. Kate took him by the hand and tried to meet his eyes down low saying, "Hey. Castle, it will be fine, alright? It's not like either one of us is dead or anything." He met her eyes, and followed them as she stood up, "Look, I know you love this job, and I love having you with me at the office, but sometimes, things happen. For no good reason, things happen, and we just have to remember that we still have each other. And that's all that matters, right?"

He looked at her, listening to every word, but needing to hear something else. "Kate?"

"Yes Rick?" she replied with a small smile.

"Tell me you need me," he said in slight desperation, wanting her to need him and having a slightly wounded heart.

"I do," she said, bringing him into a hug. For half a minute, they just stayed there in each other's arms, warmly knowing that this wasn't the end, it was a new beginning. They pulled away, and Kate motioned for Lanie to come back in.

"So what was the 911 on the body?" Castle asked, quickly changing the subject. Lanie pulled the white clothe away from the body. Castle and Beckett looked at each other, and back down to the body.

"Mhm," Lanie began, "Next time I call a 911, be here faster or answer the damn phone."

Kate looked stunned by the body, "But this is not even close to his MO."

"What can I say? The dead are inconsistent," Lanie distastefully teased.

"Or this is an apprentice of his?" Kate thought aloud.