A/N: So i got this idea while writing the birthday scene of the last chapter of Mostly Memories. Kate wakes up nursing a heavy hang over, and something is off. This will not be fluff, it takes place mid season 4, after episode 10 (cuffed). Rated M for future material. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Beckett feels herself wake up but her eye lids refuse to open for a moment. She forces them open a crack and the bright light of the room she is in locks them closed again. She turns over to lay on her back and bring her hand up to her eyes to rub them. Her arm feels abnormally heavy. Once her hand it up to her face, she realizes that her head feels like it's about three times its normal size and still wants to grow. She rubs her eyes slowly to get the flakes out so she can stand to keep them open this time. Opening her eyes, she isn't staring at her ceiling. Come to think of it, this isn't her bed. Much to her bodies own objections, she lifts her self up and supports herself with her arms behind her back, and lets her head fall forward for a minute, before finding the little strength she has to lift it up to survey her surroundings.

This definitely is not her own apartment. She yawns rather strongly, and it isn't until now that she tastes the awful taste that is in her abnormally dry mouth. It almost tastes like sweat, mixed with vodka. She looks at the nightstand to her right and the first thing her eyes land upon is a half full glass of water, she grabs it immediately and starts drinking, leaving the last swig in her mouth to get the moister back. Setting the glass back down, the time is 11 AM.

She groans and puts her head in the cradle of her hands.

"Morning, sweetie." Came a voice she recognized right away, as right away as she could help, as Lanie.

"Lanie?" She asked, and lifted her head up.

The M.E. sauntered into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Where am I?" Kate asked, scratching her head, her hair feels unkempt and tangled.

"Back at my place. How do you feel?" Lanie put the back of her hand to Kate's forehead.

"Like I got hit my a train. What happened last night?" Kate asked, falling back against the pillows.

"I'm not sure. Javier called me about midnight last night and asked me to come pick you up. Something about not wanting to just send you off in a cab alone." Lanie answered, dropping two tablets into a new glass of water and holding out to Kate. "Here, drink this."

"Where did you pick me up?" Kate downed the glass, wishing the effects of the tablets would kick in right away, and not in a half an hour when she had forgotten she at taken them.

"The Old Haunt. Remember? Castle asked you out for a drink after you got off since you didn't have to come in today."

Some memory came prickling in. It was a slow day, at the precinct yesterday. Finishing her paperwork around three o'clock, she stuck around until five, then Castle showed up, and offered to pay for a round or two at the bar. She remembers Esposito and Ryan agreeing, and she decided to go out of pressure, what the hell, she was off tomorrow. She remembers getting to the bar, and starting to drink, but can't remember much after about an hour of getting to the bar.

"I would have brought you back to your place, but I didn't want to leave you alone, considering... what day it was yesterday." Lanie was speaking softly now, almost as if hiding something.

"Why? What day was it?"

"It was February 4th."

February 4th. No wonder she went out drinking, and apparently got so plastered she couldn't get herself home. Her mother's birthday has almost as bad as the anniversary of her actual death. It was suppose to be a day to celebrate life, but instead it just reminded her that there wasn't a life to celebrate, she was gone.

"Uh, do you mind if I take a shower? I feel like I smell." Kate asked, after a long minute of collecting the rest of her thoughts.

"Sure thing, honey. The clothes you came in are in there by the sink. And before you ask, you got dressed all by yourself." Lanie got up and sauntered back out. Kate swung her legs off to the side, and got up, too quickly. She wobbled quite a bit, she must still be a little drunk. Getting her footing, and as much balance as she could muster, she made her way to Lanie's bathroom, bracing herself on the door jam leading to it. Making her way over to the sink, she turned on the water, cupped her hands and ran some down her face, hoping it would wake her up a little bit. She braced herself on the edged of the sink, and looked at herself in the mirror.

She looked awful to say the least. Hair standing up in some places, heavy dark bags under her eyes, left over make-up smugged, skin a little paler than normal. She really needed a shower. She went over to the shower and turned on the water to hot and waited. She went over to her belongings sitting on the counter by the sink and went through them, looking for her phone. Finding it in her pants pocket, she slid it open to check for messages. She had only one, from Castle, reading 'We're done!'. She checked conversation a little in panic.

Beckett: Castle, please come back.

Castle: Have Espo call you a cab.

Beckett: Can't we just talk about this?

Castle: No, there's nothing to talk about anymore.

Beckett: Please don't do this

Castle: We're done!

Her breath caught in her throat, not getting past the lump that had formed. The worst part of all this was not knowing what had happened. She made quick work of the shower she had forgotten about, only wetting her hair and scrubbing herself with a rag Lanie had hanging up. Drying herself quickly, and throwing her clothes on under shifty footing, she made her way back out to Lanie.

"Lanie, what the hell happened last night?" Kate asked, in a slightly panicked voice.

"I told you, Javi called me and asked me to pick you up and I picked you up." Lani said, not drawing her attention away from her laptop.

"Was Castle there when you picked me up?"

"Uh, no. I don't think so. Weird, considering it is his bar." Lanie closed her laptop and got up. "Why, what's up?"

"I got this text message from him, time says it was a little after 11:30." She handed Lanie her phone to look over the small series of messages.

"Hmm, well, don't worry, girl. Chances are, if you were drunk last night, so was he. You need a ride home?" Lanie asked, giving her phone back.

"Uh, no, I'll just call a cab. Thanks though." Kate said, making her way over to Lanie's front door.

"Well, let me know what happens with writer-boy. And let me know if you need me to beat some sense back into him."

"Thanks Lanie, I will." She felt a little less panicked now, after talking to Lanie. She was probably right, if she was drunk enough to not remember what happened, maybe he was too, although it would help to know what did happen to cause this fall out, if that's what this was.

Waving down a cab, and getting back to her apartment took a while, but after about a half an hour, she was at her door. She searched her person for her keys. She couldn't find them. Weird, considering that she had her wallet, and phone, but not her keys. She didn't have the energy to deal with this right now, so she simply reached to the top of her door jam and grabbed the key that was taped there. She unlocked her door, and went to change out of yesterday's clothes, only after turning on her coffee pot to get some black coffee in her system. She went into her bedroom and removed her shirt, and stopped. Where was it? She lost her mother's ring? No, not that, not on her birthday. Panicked once again, she went scrambling for it, lifting up books, looking in her bathroom, even as much as to look in the drain of her kitchen sink, until she heard a knock on her door. She threw back on her button up shirt, not bothering to button more than three buttons, and went to answer the door.

She got to the door and opened it to find no body there. She poked her head out into the hallway and looked left, looked right, nobody. She grabbed the knob on the outside to close the door again, when the chain of her mothers ring hit her thumb. She looked down and sure enough, was her mother's ring, hanging from the door knob. She took it up and placed it safely around her neck. There was only one person who could have had the fore thought to give this back to her. There was only one person who knew how important this ring was to her. Castle.

She went into the hall way once again, only to find it still empty. She needed to find him. She went back inside and grabbed her phone to call him and hit send. It went to voice mail. "Hey Castle. Look, I don't remember what happened last night, but if you could just call me and we could talk it out, it would be a big help. Thanks."

She went to change into some new clothes, and when she returned there was another knock on her door. She went to answer it once more, giving a slight eye roll as she went, hoping that someone would be there this time. She opened the door and a slight feeling of nervousness overtook her.

"Hey Castle, I just called you, actually. You didn't have to come right over." He wasn't looking at her, he was staring at the floor, looking as if having a battle with himself. "Castle, what is it?" He looked up at her, with cold eyes.

"We have something to talk about."

A/N: So yeah, this is going to be a bit angsty. and dramatic. I always love reading angsty fics, its so much less boring than just fluff. Anyway, this is my second attempt at angst, I hope you like it! Let me know by REVIEWING!