This is pretty much a perfect imagining of what went down after Beckett's sacking. Her inability to open up, even now, is just so her. And Castle's pushing and insisting...,I realy loved this. It is, after all, my favourite kind of Castle fic - filling in the blanks; and you do it so well. :)

Perfect babies. :) so glad I'm finally catching up! Great job, you two!

I only just got round to reading this because I hadn't finished Deadly Heat when you published it. I really like it, the confusion of what happens now - something that everyone experiences so often - is tangible.

Very honest portrayal of what Kate likely went through. Between the flash drive and the tip it did seem like it could have been self-sabotage, maybe not overtly, but she needed an out and maybe quitting would have seemed like it had been a mistake from the beginning. No matter the reason it still hurts to get let go.

And to top it all off, Pi was on the couch.

Since I missed S6E04, I dunno how Kate's return to the NYPD was handled exactly (though I know she and Castle were back in form dealing with Morgan Grimes trying to be Kyle Reese, i.e. Josh Gomez's supposed future time anthropologist) but I think you two nailed Kate's motivations for squealing to the news about the case to keep Svetlana safe!

Being an agent for the AG's office was definitely starting to seem like she was being asked to be same kind of "pragmatic' as Bracken was about getting the mob kidnappings closed down and ordering Johanna Beckett killed. Which Kate just can't do after January 1999...not to the extent necessary for work she was doing for the AG's office. FBI? That would have been better but less resource access, so Kate's learned the axiom about being careful what she wishes came true...

All in all, a fantastic little BTS look at Kate and Rick dealing with the direct aftermath of Kate's dismissal from government service. Even Kate's continued struggles with being metaphorically restrained by Rick's desires to be there for his fiancee...until she cracks and basically begs for it. Though we know Castle doesn't do it for that result ;P

This is so Kate Beckett; trying to change the system from within. She knew calling in that tip would have serious repercussions but felt an obligation to save Sveltlana. Castle is so there for her no matter what she decides. You write a great story & I always enjoy reading them.

Perfect, as usual.

i havent read the books yet sooo i cant read this :-( but i will save it

Great story! Loved it!

Great story. Thanks for providing the story between the episodes.

Awww, I love it! Awesome story, so sweet at the end:)

great story, i love it. Thank you writing :)

This was an excellent partition between episodes 3 and 4.

You both had everything unfold for Kate's firing well and I really liked how McCord was here. I don't think she wanted to lose Beckett but was forced to. Kinda like Rick when Kate took the job.

Most of the story was pretty much Kate wrapping things up in DC with Rick before settling back in NY.

Probably my favourite part was how Kate talked to Rick about her decision of giving the media the information she did and also how he figured into that choice. I liked how you had Rick figure it out and how he understood it. Also, it was good that you showed Kate realizing that her job wasn't totally what she expected and that she didn't like how they did business in DC. That was Kate's main reason for the leak.

The ending was sweet with Kate now being able to wear the engagement ring on her finger.

Excellent job.

Thanks for the missing scene, which I would really have loved seeing - how she comes to term with the fact she was fired and how they talk it out together.

I really think part of her wanted to get fired when she leaked the tip, at least subconsciously, because she isn't the kind of person to embrace the grey areas, so living with it was bound to take its toll and it wasn't worth the sacrifices she and Castle were making. But having her trying to right the wrongs in their backs and hoping to get her way works too, since she tried that before and it worked.

Loved the parallel between this case and Castle's poisoning, how guilty she feels for not drawing a line then, and how she's kinda making up for it now.

Anyway, thank you for this fic, you two, and lovely to discover your writing, beautyofsorrow.

This version is very good. I like it.