This is a quick thought (well, a quick thought for me – I get paid by the word, same as Dickens) that I just wanted to scribble down. I heard from the teaser for the final episode of Season II that Beckett remarks that (apparently) Castle invites her to his "place in The Hamptons" for a weekend . . . I thought that this might make a fun scenario. I'm not sure what the real Castle writers were hinting at (let's face it – the teasers are usually not even close to what the episode actually contains), but I thought I'd play with the keyboard for a little while and see what turned up.

I challenge everyone else to do their own little scenario: gotta do it quickly before the final episode of Season II airs and we get yet another Castle/Beckett cliff hanger. Here goes mine.

Oh, yes, this will be at least a 2 or 3 parter. Part 1 is as far as I've gotten so far. It gets a little (but not much) spicier in Parts 2 and 3, but I wanted to lay the groundwork of Demming being made less and less a part of Kate's future. (Obviously, this is Team Castle; my other story is too dark so I wanted something lighter, and I have one vision that I will need to include in Part 2 that puts a grin on my face.)

And, one more thing. I LET CASTLE DRIVE! tee hee. Usual disclaimer; just borrowing the characters from ABC

Reviews appreciated.

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The smell of the freshly brewed coffee gently awoke Beckett from her restful sleep. She had kept all of the windows of the guest room she was sleeping in open through the night, and while the cold salty night air had caused her to snuggle deep underneath the down comforter throughout the evening, she awoke fully refreshed in the soft queen-sized bed after only six hours of sleep. Her slumber had been uninterrupted by traffic, street bums sorting through the trash, or arguing neighbors. Beckett had slept better than she had in years, and despite the still present chill in the early morning air, she smelled the aroma of the coffee and decided that it was finally time to push back the covers and rise out of that wonderfully protective bed, quickly adding a sweater over the large T-shirt and sweat pants that she had worn to sleep.

Due to delays at both the precinct (just a few more pieces of paperwork to fill out, sign, duplicate and file) and later at Castle's loft (Martha had decided to join them last minute, and although Rick rather begrudgingly welcomed his mother's company, that woman took forever to pack; and, of course, they couldn't leave Alexis alone, as much as she might have welcomed the privacy, so she also had to pack). As a result of the delays, the party of four hadn't arrived at the front security gate of the walled complex at the eastern end of Long Island until shortly after midnight. As they approached the entry gate by the guard house, Castle had greeted the uniformed armed guard by name.

"Good evening, Andrews."

The man smiled warmly at Castle and at his family as he peered into the vehicle. "Good evening, Mr. Castle. Ms. Martha. Ms. Alexis. It's been too long. For my security patrols, how long will you be in residence? It's too early in the season for the heavy partying, so I'm guessing just a weekend of writing?" Then he saw Beckett. "Or perhaps an extended weekend?" While there was a momentary look of puzzlement followed by a slight grin across Andrews' face, he retained his professional neutrality. Mr. Castle was usually partial to well-endowed blondes; a brunette was a change of pace for him. And, when he had a blonde as his companion, his mother and daughter were not usually accompanying him. "Ma'am," he added, directly addressing Beckett, "welcome." She returned the acknowledgement with a slight nod, aware that she was being closely scrutinized. Castle picked up on the cue. "Andrews, this is Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. She is being rewarded with a weekend away from the Big City to spend a few days with my family at the cottage."

Andrews quickly made the connection that Castle had only hinted at. "This is Nikki Heat? My honor, Detective. Enjoy your stay. We'll do everything we can to make sure it remains private and quiet." As he again addressed Castle; there was no doubt in Beckett's mind that the cottage's proprietor, Richard Castle, was the power player in so far as Security was concerned. "It has indeed been very quiet, Mr. Castle. Only a few owners are present at this time, and no tourists. It should remain quiet. Please let me know if I may be of any further use. To anyone," he added, for Beckett's benefit, and raised the gate to allow the car entry. The driver immediately turned left and headed down a wide unlined residential street.

"We're almost there, just a few houses more," Castle told Beckett, actually rather unhappy that Andrews had identified his extra guest. Soon, Castle reached up to press a button on the car's sun visor. Ahead on the right, Beckett noted that a large iron gate was starting to part, and Rick steered the car onto the grounds behind the gate which closed behind them. As the car continued down the long driveway, the headlights illuminated the blacktop, revealing manicured landscaping to both sides of the driveway. Beckett realized that either the landscaping purposely blocked the view of any surrounding houses, providing total privacy for the occupants, or they were driving through either what would pass as a small estate or a municipal park.

The driveway ended at a circular car park in front of their destination. Immediately after the engine on the car was cut, the lights by the front door activated, revealing a massive two story cedar shake building with a large covered porch that wrapped around the entire outside of the structure.

Castle put the car in park and then walked around the car, opening the doors for the ladies. "Alexis, Sweetheart, wake up, we're here. Mother, I'll take in your bag for you." He walked to the other side of the car and opened the door for the lady he was nervously trying to impress for the next forty-eight hours. "Beckett . . ." He let the sentence unfinished as he noted the expression on Kate's face as he helped her out of the car. She was still occupied in trying to take in all of the details of the now-illuminated exterior. "Let's get settled quickly, ladies. I just want to directly turn in and go to sleep; tomorrow will be a big day of relaxation, followed by a late brunch, and then a nap. At least, that is my plan. You are free to do what you wish. Alexis, are you awake? It's time to go to sleep. . . and, don't say anything, I know how odd that sounds."

He turned his attention back to Beckett. "Are you okay?" Beckett nodded absently, unaware that she was holding her breath as she realized that what Castle had referred to as "a cottage" back at the police station was actually a mansion. With the façade now fully lit, she was slowly shaking her head.

"Impressive, Castle," was all that she could manage to speak. "Impressive."

Castle smiled. The score now clearly stood at: Castle-1, Demming-0. He was pleased. He was also pleased that Martha and Alexis had made quick bee lines onto the front porch and into the cottage and had left him alone with Beckett standing in the driveway. He watched her face as she began to count the number of windows, of which no two appeared to be the same size.

"There are fifty-five," he prompted her.

"What?"

"Fifty-five. Windows. I don't clean them, but I did design fifty-five different windows."

"You designed?" Beckett looked at him. "Architecture? Another talent, Castle?"

He laughed. "No, just another manner of procrastination during a bout of writer's block." He saw her fold her arms and draw them into her body. She was not dressed for the sharp breeze that was rising off of Long Island Sound. "Come on, Beckett, its getting cold, that kind of cold that goes down right into your bones at night here by the water. Let's get you inside and tucked in."

If she heard the double-entendre, she ignored it.

She looked around, but could only see the large lawn and the front of the buildbg. "Where is the water?"

He laughed. "At the back door. Beckett, you can't tell at night, especially when it is cloudy with only a sliver of a moon, but this is beach property. The Sound is just on the other side of the cottage. About one hundred feet of beach. You can set foot on it tomorrow. Usually, you'll hear the waves at high tide, but we've apparently arrived at low tide." He smiled at her. "I didn't check the tide schedule before we left Manhattan. Regardless, you'll see it all tomorrow when the sun is actually up. For now, let's get you inside."

He picked up her bag with one hand and offered his other arm for her to take his elbow as he escorted her to the front door. "Martha is presently in the kitchen making a large pot of tea, which she always does upon arrival. If you are chilly, and I see that you are, I suggest you take a mug of tea up to your room and slip on it until you get into bed and warm it up; there's no heat on the second floor after April."

He paused and lowered his voice to a soft, sexy baritone. He was determined that he would remain on good behavior for the remainder of "Remember, Detective, that you are my guest for the weekend. Make yourself at home and just relax. Can you do that? Can I trust you to do that?"

Beckett forced her attention away from the facade of the mansion/cottage and discovered that his face was very close to hers. She looked into his very blue eyes. "I can certainly try," she honestly replied, putting her arm through his, and allowing him to lead the way to the front porch.

Castle allowed himself to drop her arm as she stepped into the entry way. In as far as Castle's Tribecca loft was decorated in minimalist modern, the "cottage" was decorated in eclectic comfortable: overly stuffed sofas, quilts draped over side chairs, a large picnic table with benches served as the informal dining room, and everywhere there were small reading areas outlined by bookcases filled with books and inividual reading lamps. Beckett also noted that the great room contained no less than three fireplaces.

Alexis brought Kate a large mug of steaming hot tea, which she gladly accepted. "We used to fight over who got to sit closest to the fireplace, so Dad installed an additional two; end of the fights."

Beckett realized that she had no desire to try to figure out which ex-wife of Castle had necessitated the need for three fireplaces in the same rooim, so she let it drop.

Castle had now brought in all of the luggage and placed it inside of the front door. "Okay, grab you bags, ladies. I'm exhausted, so I'm going upstairs." He was holding Kate's weekender. "Kate, I'll show you where your room is. . ."

Martha shook her head. "Richard, you are exhausted. Just take her bag upstairs for her. I'll take care of Kate, you get some rest. And, we'll all see each other tomorrow morning."

He thought about it and nodded his head. "Well, then, I'll see everyone tomorrow morning. Goodnight, everyone."

"Goodnight, Dad, I'm following you up," responded Alexis, taking her bag up the stairs.

Martha turned to Kate Beckett. "Well, shall we?"

Yeah, I know, I'm really heavy on the exposition. Fun stuff coming up in Chapter 2. This is kind of light, and Rick's butt takes center stage in the next installment. Cute, not smutty. (Payback for the fact that, IMHO, Nathan has a great butt. So there.)