It was 6:13 PM on a Saturday evening as the Amtrak train was just pulling out of the Philadelphia's 30th Street Station on its slow journey north to Princeton and finally New York City. Kate Beckett was in the window seat facing forward trying to fight off the urge to zone out for the remainder of the trip. It had been just about eleven months since that fateful day she had decided to leave Castle and destroy the real nemesis of her life, the dragon known as LOKSAT. The idea of letting her guard down in public was a simple pleasure she could not afford for so long that she kept finding her trigger hand gravitating towards her oversized purse where her private piece was always at the ready. That was unnecessary now, but it would take some time for those old habits to die away. For those who kept up on such things, the vacation was no surprise given all that had transpired in both her professional and personal life.

Her learning curve upon accepting the appointment as captain of the twelfth precinct was much steeper than she anticipated, and that experience had led to a new appreciation for all the fine work Iron Gates had done before her. Gates was an excellent organizer who seemed to have an uncanny knack of knowing what 1PP wanted often before they could verbalize it themselves. That skill set her apart from most of the her counterparts, and it was just a matter of time before the right opening came along for her to demonstrate those skills on a broader stage. From Kate's perspective, Gate's place at 1PP was a godsend. Kate was grateful that Gates considered her a protégé and often provided a neutral sounding board when controversial decisions needed to be made.

While the issues at the precinct were always on her mind, the other big distraction was the total chaos in her relationship with Castle. Her rash decision to walk out was stupid, naïve, and arrogant on so many levels. She had hoped that her abrupt departure would result in the least emotional baggage for them both. Like ripping a bandage off, she thought the initial intense pain would dissipate with time. That was not to be.

Almost immediately, Castle swung into action with a bizarre plan that required him to interact with her as much as possible at work just like he had done early on in their partnership. Using his inside friendships at the precinct and his new PI business, he created ever more outlandish reasons to be in her line of sight during working hours. At first all the staff accommodated his wild excuses, but soon many were losing patience and respect for a man they used to think of as one of their own. Kate, unfortunately, had a front row seat to watch as the warm friendly greetings turned into ridicule for this wonderful man.

Finally when Ryan, Espo, and LT had joined the rest, she had had enough and brought Castle into her office. The conversation was short and not at all pleasant. With her command face fully screwed on, she made it clear that the separation she had instituted meant exactly that, and he was no longer welcome in the bullpen unless someone at the precinct invited him. There were to be no exceptions, and if he tried any further stunts, she would ban him from the entire precinct. When she finished, it was like all the light had gone out in those beautiful blue eyes she so much enjoyed. He offered no rebuttal and left abruptly without any farewell to the staff.

After leaving the loft, her first plan was to temporarily crash in her office and commandeer any empty storage closet for her few belongings. What she didn't realize was that there were no empty closets just waiting to be filled up. That meant she had to work with the cleaning service personnel, and of course, they wanted a credible explanation which promptly found its way on to the ever present rumor mill. In addition, trying to hide living out of your office from a group of trained detectives was probably hopeless from the start. Karpowski, Espo, Ryan, LT, and Lanie all picked up on the new sleeping arrangements almost immediately. Each tried to broach the elephant in the room, and all were rebuffed with the same vague assurances about an explanation down the road. News of these cold encounters spread throughout the precinct, and most opted to avoid any unnecessary interaction with their new captain.

Luckily, her friend Maddie had called for a girl's lunch, and Kate just unloaded on her about the split from Castle, her estrangement from her work colleagues, and finally her untenable living situation. Maddie knew the first two would require a face-to-face meeting, but the third was something she could help with right away. Within three days of the call, Kate was previewing a third floor furnished place near the precinct that was owned by a friend of a friend who was willing to consider a month-to-month lease for an indefinite period. The place was clean, but the furnishings would make Castle blush. The bed and the tub, the two most important features for her, were a poor substitute for what she left behind, but she saw that as a plus. Every night coming home to this would be another painful reminder of what she had lost and what she hoped to recover once LOKSAT was finally vanquished.

As the train left Princeton, heading for its final destination, she could definitely understand how all of her acquaintances including Castle had thought nothing of her suddenly announced ten day vacation to visit both Washington DC and Williamsburg, Virginia. Yes, that part of the LOCKSAT elimination plan had worked exactly as intended, but it was also so brilliantly devious that she shuddered at the righteous symmetry of it all.