This story happens shortly after the Murder in the Morgue. The family dynamic is changing as they always do as we grow together.

A LOVE FANTASY

In the beginning…

There were two people who could not have been more different than these two.

One was a player. Always being on the prowl for another 'fun' time. Not caring who the fun was with. Not caring where they went. Not caring who knew or what others thought about it. Never planning on letting anyone close. There had been several close that caused pain. So never getting hurt again.

The other was a hard-nosed. By the book focused individual. This one wanted to find the solution to crimes that left a trail of dead bodies and broken emotions from one side of town to the other. Never letting the opposite sex close enough to get near the heart. She had been hurt and was never going to let anyone that close again.

Neither had any plans on finding someone to change their life. Let alone the other person.

But it did happen

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett!

Opposites but 'The Force' brought them to the same place at the same time and changed both of their lives.

For him, a crime scene with a woman murdered like he did in his books. A police officer who absolutely took his breath away.

For her a man who was a little more fun to be around. Made her smile, between the moments she wanted to shoot him, but even those comments were done in jest.

Or were they?

One day the earth stopped spinning. The stars rose higher in the sky than ever before. The grass was greener and the air fresher….

He stops typing and leans back in the very uncomfortable chair in the poorly lit desk and looks around. It is the same dull hotel room it was an hour ago. It has not improved at all. Glancing back down to the computer screen he sees the horrible writing that his life has dropped down to.

'Q WHAT KIND OF TRASH IS THIS?' He asks himself

When he is not with Kate, he cannot seem to get inspired to write.

Nothing his mind brings up is even close to the inspiration that Kate Beckett brought out in him. This is not what she pulled from his mind and heart. Being away from her leaves him empty when the inspiration that was brought out in him, after all the years of marriage, is not nearby.

He stands up from the desk where he is trying to write and walks over to the window. He looks out to the beautiful ocean front view he has. Part of him wants to go out and sit by the pool or take a walk on the beach. But alone it is not the same.

/\/\/

His thoughts are interrupted by the insistent ringing of his cell phone. He looks over to the night stand to see the smiling face of the woman in question.

He swipes the screen to answer "Hey beautiful…I wish you were here"

He can sense a soft tone in her voice "me too, babe. How's the book signing going?"

"Too long. Way too long"

"Are you writing again?"

"Uh…No…I mean yes…" he looks over at the laptop with a lot of junk on the screen "

"You have been trying to do that fairy tale thing again? Haven't you?"

"Um…I never can seem to get inspired when you are so far away"

"I miss you" is her still soft words.

"Not as much as I miss you"

"Oh, Mr. Castle I assure you that I miss you more"

"Just what do you think you can do to prove it?"

"Open the door"

"What?"

"Open the door"

He looks in the direction of the entry to the hotel room. He stands and walks briskly and swings the door open.

There she stands. In all her radiance. As beautiful as she has always been. Wanting to play with her a little, he teases softly

"Beckett? Whatever do you want?"

He barely gets the words out when she leaps across the threshold, closing the door with her foot. "Let me show you what I want"

/\/\/\/\

A short time later the two of them are lying in the bed, their clothes are strewn from the door, all the way between there and the bedroom with the final items dropped at the foot of the bed.

To say they are satisfied would be an understatement. They are, both, very satisfied.

He turns toward the woman he loves and his best inspiration. Her image never looks any more beautiful than when he is away from home, when he is on book tours, to see her. Even the shortest, are much too long.

For some reason, this one was even worse and she seemed to know the cure he needed. And man, she is good at delivering the treatment.

She rolls over toward him and snuggles into his embrace "I missed you"

"Not as much as I missed you"

"Sorry, Mr. Castle, I believe I proved I missed you more, by flying half way across the country for this"

"New York to Miami is NOT half way across the country"

She gently pokes him in the chest "don't mess with my story"

He kisses her head "I love you"

"Back at ya" she responds "

The couple never leave the bed again until the morning sun begins to bleed through the windows. He feels her beginning to turn and stretch as she begins to waken.

"Morning babe" she softly starts the day.

"You sleep well?"

"Always, when you are next to me"

He just looks across to his wife and thinks 'How has she kept the love alive all these years?' but he answers his own question thinking about her coming here like last night.

"Want to go the buffet and get some breakfast?"

"Let me get dressed and we can go down there. I just a little fruit and a bagel"

"You want me to go down and bring you something back?"

"No. I want to spend more alone time with my husband"

Her remark causes him to think about the fact they are both out of New York WITHOUT the children. "Uh, Kate. Where are the kids?"

She is putting a little eye shadow on as she calmly answers. "I thought we could give them the chance to show us responsible they could be alone."

He chokes "Jimmy is a teenager…" Castle is remembering how he was as a teenager, and chasing every girl close-by " And! Alicia is full into puberty. Both have raging hormones and they will look at this as a chance to do things…"

"Castle" Kate puts her arms around Rick's neck to calm him down. "There is no way I would let a boy too much like his father and a girl too much like her mother to be home alone…in New York… "

The worry on his face drops a little "Where are they?"

"Alexis took both of them to the Hamptons for the week."

Feeling better, they both get dressed and leave the room walking to the elevator lobby. As they get into the cab. Just as the doors begin in to close is when something she said hits him. He looks over to Kate "What did you mean when you said she is too much like her mother? Is there something her mother did that I should be worried about her doing?"

Kate looks off into the distance with the glow of an imp in her eyes "No"

When the elevator doors open on the first floor, the conversation has gone up several notches.

"Did you do drugs?"

"NO"

"Did you run down the street naked?"

"NO"

"Did you hang out with gangs?"

"NO"

"Did you go out with the entire football team?"

Once more she dead pan answers "NO"

"Then what did you do that I need to worry that Alicia will do?"

She stops in the middle of the corridor and puts her arms around his neck "As much fun as I am having torturing you…you really need to relax and let's have some breakfast"

They have arrived at the breakfast area of the hotel and as he begins to select from sausage, bacon, ham, and biscuits, Kate steps up behind him. "I got what I want" she then looks around "I am going to get us a table" she points toward an empty table "over there"

"OK" I am getting an omelet and I will be there"

Kate has taken a place at a table at the edge of the eating area waiting for her husband. He is not too far behind with a plate full of food.

"How can you eat all that?" she has a laugh in her voice. He has been the foodie ever since they have known each other'

"I need to rebuild my carbs after what we did last night"

She gives him a sweet smile

"And this morning…"

She chuckles "True"

After a few bites "So when are we going home?"

"Leaving after lunch. We need to be back in the city for the closing on that next apartment building. When are you leaving?" he asks

"Just after lunch."

"Will you be there waiting for me?"

"Nope. On the plane with you"

He smiles at her. "Can I ask a question?"

She looks at Rick, who seems to want to ask something very important.

"Do we have a little more time to kill before we check out?"

"Mr. Castle, are you trying to burn off those extra carbs?" She points at his now empty plate.

Neither delays in arising and heading back to the elevator.

By the noon check out time, Kate and Rick are in route to the airport "When is the closing on the apartment building?" She asks her husband

"The closing is tomorrow, but the final inspection is this afternoon and I would like to be there and see everything for myself. Before we commit that much money to this building."

"You still like this one as a good investment?"

"Oh, yeah. You know how well we did buying your old building…and the one next door was a steal that has had great returns. We are building a future for our children."

She knows he is right.

/\/\/\/\/\

When they leave the baggage area, the car service was waiting to take them back to the loft. They sit quietly in the back seat with her head on his shoulder. He looks over to her, kisses her hair "Weren't we supposed to be bored of each other by this point in our marriage?"

She looks up at hm with those hazel eyes he cannot resist "You wish I had not come down?"

"Quite the opposite. After two failed marriages I thought that love was not going to happen for me, then you came into my life and nothing has been boring since"

"You thought love was off the table for you?"

He nods his head in the affirmative

With a low sultry voice "Then we need to try that table when we get home"

He smiles "Did you go buy a large life insurance policy on me recently?"

"No. Why?"

"I am thinking you are going to torture me to death"

She gives hm a soft chuckle as he whispers softly "Never boring"

/\/\/\/\/\/\

After unpacking and getting the dirty clothes ready for the cleaners, the two are on the way to check out the new building.

Upon their arrival the meet the independent inspector in the lobby.

"Mr. Castle…Mrs. Castle…" he holds his hand out "I am Scott Kirby from the inspection service. Are you ready to start?"

"No small talk for you? Huh?" Rick remarks

"I have one more building to do today and it is already 2:00 o'clock"

"Let's start" Castle remarks as he points furthur into the lobby.

"I like to begin on the roof and then work my way down to the basement"

"Fine." Kate responds. The elevator is over there" she points across the lobby past the security desk.

They exit the elevator on the top floor and walk the last set of stairs to the roof. As they move from corner to corner, Scott makes notes and takes a few pictures.

"What does it look like?" Castle asks

"Nothing serious so far…let's stop next in the penthouse. I understand no one is living there"

Kate answers the question "That is correct. The moved out the first of the month"

The three enter the penthouse door and begin to look around. The apartment still has furniture.

"I thought no one was living here?"

"They were to be out the beginning of the month "Rick is walking around into the kitchen where he finds dishes on the counter and an old dried out coffee pot. "I Will try to contact them later to find out what is happening."

The three walk to the bedroom, where the bed is unmade and clothes are strewn across the floor.

"Let me check the bathroom "Kate says as she walks into the un suite.

She stops mid step and raises her arm "Babe call the police and wait outside"

"What is it?" Rick asks as he obviously cannot hold off.

He is shocked to see a man's body in the hot tub with only the ends of his arms out of the water, tied to ropes connected to the ceiling and a woman lying on the floor, obviously deceased.

"What is it?" Scott says as he looks around Rick and Kate. After he sees the situation in the room "I believe the building is going to fail this inspection