Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: The premise is thin, but isn't that the beauty of fanfic? Potshots welcome. Mild spoilers for The Bones on the Blue Line, Tick, Tick, Tick, and Boom!

There were some things he just couldn't wrap his head around and he was a very intelligent guy, if he did say so himself….and he did. But Kate Beckett, no matter how much progress he thought he was making at the mystery that was the woman, always seemed to be just a beyond his grasp of comprehension. Castle found himself thinking about Beckett at the oddest moments. Walking down the street something would catch his eye and he wondered what she would think or while watching a movie, he posited a random theory and wondered what pithy remark she would make in response. He wasn't sure what to make of his constant preoccupation with Beckett, but was grateful that he could always blame his work; after all, she was the inspiration for his latest, bestselling, soon to be on the big screen, character.

Before he could contemplate Beckett further, his iPhone rang. Beckett's semi-scowl stared back at him as he answered the call. She really wasn't fond of having her picture taken. "Castle."

Beckett wasted no time with a greeting. "Get down to the station."

"The station?" Castle was puzzled by her directive. They had closed their most recent case a few hours before and he hadn't heard anything over the scanner.

"Castle, I don't have time for this. Come if you want. Your call." Without waiting for a response, she hung up. He glanced at the phone and wondered why she was shorter than normal with him. He couldn't recall doing anything more annoying than usual. He knew that he sometimes pushed the limits of her patience, but the dynamic seemed to work for them. Shrugging it off, he grabbed his coat and headed to the station.

When he arrived, Ryan nodded in greeting, while Esposito pointed in the direction of the conference room. Neither gave any indication about what was waiting for him. Curious, he walked to the conference room and saw Beckett, Captain Montgomery, and two people he didn't know at all. The man's appearance screamed federal agent of some kind, but he wasn't sure what to make of the woman with him. Castle perfunctorily knocked on the closed door, but didn't bother waiting to be invited in before entering. He couldn't make out the look on Beckett's face but she definitely seemed somewhat amused by the situation. "Hello. Hope I'm not interrupting anything…" He took a seat at the table and gave Beckett a pointed look.

She ignored him and resumed talking. "As I was saying, I'm not sure what exactly we can do for you."

With a half-smile, the fed said, "We just need a little interagency cooperation."

"I don't know that what you're asking for falls in any of our job descriptions. And frankly, I don't know that I can justify the loss of my best detective for such a frivolous endeavor." Montgomery knew how much Beckett hated all of the attention that went with being Castle's inspiration, especially after the Dunn case.

Castle couldn't contain himself anymore. "Frivolous endeavor? Sounds like something right up my alley. Richard Castle, at your service." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Beckett roll her eyes, just as he knew she would. She might be a mystery in some ways, but in others he could read her like an open book. He stuck his hand out. The unidentified fed took it and they shook.

"Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is Dr. Temperance Brennan." Booth nodded to the woman seated beside him.

Before Booth could say anything else, Castle interjected, "Beckett, they're like the federal version of us."

Beckett tried to smother her smile at his enthusiasm. She had known Castle would love this. "Except Dr. Brennan here has three doctorates and is an actual consultant for the FBI instead of just an observer."

Castle dramatically put his hand over his heart and tried his best to look wounded. "That hurts. Really, I'm not sure if I'll ever recover."

Dr. Brennan finally spoke. "I believe, Mr. Castle, that Detective Beckett was merely pulling your foot."

"Leg, Bones, leg." Booth quietly corrected, while Beckett and Castle looked on with amusement.

The look on Captain Montgomery's face seemed to indicate that he was getting annoyed at the lack of progress. Clearing his throat, he waited until he was sure he had their attention. "Now that introductions have been made, I suggest we get back to the matter at hand. The mayor believes that this would be good PR for the department as well as go a long way towards improving cooperation between agencies. I don't agree. Cops and feds rarely play nice in the same sandbox."

"Sir, I'm not exactly sure what you are asking of us." The amused look on Beckett's face was giving way to concern. Montgomery didn't like whatever was going down and she trusted his judgment.

"As Castle said, Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth have a working relationship similar to yours and the powers that be have decided that a profile on the four of you would make for fascinating reading." Montgomery barely managed to conceal his contempt for the idea. While he would readily agree that Castle had proven to be a valuable member of Beckett's team, he really didn't want any more distractions in his precinct.

As the captain finished, Castle watched Beckett closely. Any trace of humor that she had found in the situation had long since vanished. Shooting an apologetic glance at the agent and his partner, Beckett fervently voiced her opposition to the idea as well. "I don't have time for this. Haven't I done my fair share by allowing Castle to shadow me?"

More to himself than anyone in the room, Castle said, "I do more than shadow. I…"

Beckett glared at him, stopping him from saying anything else. She would reassure him later. Right now she just had to get out of this. "We have cases to work. I'm sure you do as well, since you're the 'federal version of us'…"

In his best negotiator's voice, Agent Booth calmly interjected, "We have cases too. But this one is way above either one of our paygrades. The sooner we cooperate, the sooner we get back to our real work."

Beckett considered his words and glanced at Captain Montgomery. The resignation on his face was all she needed to see…there was no hope of reprieve. Once again she was going to have to tolerate the spotlight that being inspiration for Nikki Heat required. "Fine. What exactly does this entail?"

Now that Beckett was on board, Montgomery excused himself. The less he knew about this the better. The four sat at the table-Beckett and Castle on one side, Booth and Brennan on the other.

Castle wanted to know more about the pair and he could see the PR possibilities of the profile, but he wasn't exactly sure what the endgame was. "So what exactly are we supposed to be doing? Who's writing the piece?" He assumed they knew more than had been shared since they had come to New York.

"Mr. Castle…"

"Just Castle works for me." He shot a friendly smile at the beautiful doctor. Booth's eyes narrowed just slightly, but both Castle and Beckett saw it.

Dr. Brennan apparently did not notice. "Castle then. I assume that you are familiar with the work that Booth and I do, since you recognized our names."

Beckett watched as Castle eagerly answered. "Absolutely. You're a world-renowned forensic anthropologist-slash-bestselling author. You and your team assist Agent Booth, who is the inspiration for your character detective Andy Ryan."

Booth quickly ducked his head and covered his smile with a discreetly placed hand. He knew what was coming. "The characters in my books are not based on anyone. While you have clearly gone on the record stating that Detective Beckett is Nikki Heat, I have made no such pronouncements. The characters in my books merely serve as a foil for the science. It's the forensics my readers enjoy."

Something about the way Brennan said "Detective Beckett is Nikki Heat" rubbed Beckett the wrong way, so she allowed herself to make a comment she might otherwise have passed on. "Huh, I think it's things like page 187 in your last book that your readers enjoy." At Brennan's look of indignation, both men tried unsuccessfully to stifle their laughter. Beckett wasn't sure the budding camaraderie between Booth and Castle was a good thing. She wasn't sure what to make of Brennan and wanted Castle firmly on her team. She decided to think about the fact that this was the second time in recent memory that she had contemplated sides and where Castle shook out in that equation later. "Moving on. What exactly are we supposed to do now?" It had been a long day and Beckett was ready to call it a night.

Booth's answer was simple. "Dinner."