A/N – Thank you again for following this story and helping make it what it is. I'm truly grateful! I had to laugh… if I had a dollar for every review that said, "This was good, BUT… I really want to see the Kate and Meredith scene!" I'm still in the process of responding to reviews, so if I haven't gotten to yours I apologize... real life has been kicking my tail lately!

So… here's goes nothin'. I'm almost as nervous about this chapter as I was my M-chapter. I've built up to this chapter so much… I hope I did it justice!

Oh! And a big thanks to several reviewers who told me that Alexis could be receiving antibiotics to stave off a secondary infection or be on antivirals. I will likely go back and change it a smidge somehow just to soothe my own anal need for accuracy. :)

Disclaimer: If I had all those dollars, I *might* be able to buy Castle ;)

You can do this. You can do this. She repeated the mantra in her head until the words ran together, one indistinguishable from the next. Youcandothis. Her heart beat in time to her refrain, in time to her steps toward this confrontation that had seemed so long in coming but in reality had only been in the works for approximately eighteen hours. Perhaps it was because the specters of Castle's ex-wives seemed to pop up in her psyche from time to time.

She should have used any such appearance to start a conversation with Castle about his past marriages, the unknown being quite a factor in her insecurities about their future at times. She would talk herself off the proverbial ledge, telling herself that he'd stuck around for four years on the just the hope that there could be something between them. There should be no question in her mind that he was in this for the long haul… or would be if she gave him the slightest nod that she was as well. The problem was that in matters of the heart logic and reason weren't always the loudest voices clamoring for attention. Logically, she knew that Castle was the safest bet she could possibly ask for in choosing someone to keep her heart. But that was exactly what made him the scariest possibility. The part of her that was still wounded, smarting and scarred from all the times that she'd been let down, deserted by the ones she loved practically whimpered at the thought of handing it over to anyone. Though Kate had recently realized that she was in far too deeply to worry about it anymore… he'd been holding it for ages.

She remembered Lanie's hug as they parted ways just outside the café. "Just conjure Katya. You'll be fine!" They both laughed, and Lanie winked in her direction before heading back toward the morgue. Katya was what Lanie had dubbed Kate's alter ego, who generally came out to play on girls' nights out… after many, many drinks. "Katya" was much like her "Beckett" persona at work, but… less professional, less inclined to censor herself. She was the leather-jacket wearing, fearless, take-no-prisoners 'devil' that came to reside on her shoulder.

Head down, hands in pockets in an attempt to stay as warm as possible and provide as small a target against the biting wind as possible, she made her way toward the loft, arguing with herself the entire way.

What are you thinking?! This isn't any of your business. You're as much a guest in that loft as Meredith is!

Are you kidding me?! You were invited to share Castle's home for the week, longer if he had anything to say about it, and you are his current girlfriend.

But it should really be up to Castle to say something to her. She's his ex-wife, the mother of his daughter… I really don't have anything to do with it.

Oh, my ass you don't have anything to do with it! That bitch was in your boyfriend's bedroom dressed in nothing but her underwear, and then tried to go in again the next morning in nothing but a trashy negligee.

That trashy negligee likely cost more than one of your paychecks.

Shut up. Not the point. The point is she needs to be put in her goddamn place. And if Castle hasn't managed to do it by now, then it's time to take matters into your own hands.

Kate shook her head to clear her thoughts. She was starting to feel like a schizophrenic or something. Focus, Kate. You need a game plan. But every time she attempted to plan out in her head what she wanted to say to the other woman, she drew a complete blank. How in the world was she supposed to manage this?

She slowed her steps as she approached the building looming on the corner of Broome and Crosby. The anxiety that she'd been staving off came crushing down, constricting her chest and causing her shoulders to sag. She sucked in a deep breath, attempted to slow her rapid pulse. Come on, Kate. You interrogate murderers, hardened criminals for a living. You cannot let this woman intimidate you.

She walked carefully toward the entrance, hoping that one of the doormen that she knew well would be there and she could put off the inevitable for a few more moments by engaging in some small talk. Kate didn't really do small talk, but she'd be willing to make the sacrifice for a few more minutes of… hell, it wasn't even peace. She was just procrastinating, which was not her usual M.O. Unfortunately, the young man opening the door was a new hire, so she simply smiled and responded politely to his perfunctory greeting. As she strode past him, she wondered whether he was the one who let Meredith talk him into letting her up and giving her a spare key and idly contemplated whether Castle had chatted with his supervisor. Not likely, given how they'd— she'd left things.

She pressed the call button for the elevator, regret filling her as the look on Castle's face before she turned to leave the loft flooded her mind. She was really looking forward to moving past her confrontation with Meredith and easing the fears and concerns that he obviously had. If he doesn't kick your ass out for having it out with his ex-wife under his own roof without his consent. The elevator came almost immediately, the sense of dread creeping back in like one of those ninjas that Castle was always going on about. As she stepped on and pressed the button that would take her to the loft, she secretly hoped that the elevator would break down, trapping her and delaying the showdown at least for a little bit. But the elevator shot up and before she knew it, the doors were opening to spit her out onto Castle's floor. Dammit, was it too much to hope for a stop or two along the way? It never goes this fast when we're hot and bothered and needing to get into the loft!

Kate made her way to the door and slipped her hand into her pocket to finger the rough edges of the key that Castle had left in her stocking for Christmas. He hadn't lied when he'd said he hadn't gotten her anything, he'd told her; that was the spare key, and he'd gotten a new key to replace the spare. He'd looked at her with that sly grin, so damned pleased with himself that he'd gotten around her decree not to buy her anything, giving her something big, significant without spending a dime. She'd have been irritated as hell at his deliberate loophole jumping if her stomach hadn't been invaded by a flock of butterflies, her heart doing gymnastics in her chest.

She slipped her key in the door and quietly opened it up, peeking around the door, hoping desperately that she wouldn't be waylaid before she reached her destination. She was sure she'd lose her nerve if she was detained, and she wasn't sure if she'd ever work up the gumption to do it later. She could hear the rise and fall of Martha's voice from the study, and since she didn't see Castle anywhere, she assumed he was with his mother. She was incredibly thankful that she still had her running shoes on, the rubber soles moving noiselessly across the hardwood toward the stairs. As she passed Alexis' room, she gazed at the door, imagining the girl behind it and strengthening her resolve. This needed to happen.

Kate hesitated at the open door to the guest room, unsure of how to proceed. She raised her hand to knock on the door jamb to alert the other woman of her presence, but stopped short, realizing that she had no idea what she was going to say, let alone how to begin the conversation.

"It's short." The cultured voice shattered the silence and wrenched Kate out of her own thoughts.

"I— It—… What?!" Kate's thoughts tumbled over one another like rambunctious puppies as she struggled to gain her equilibrium in the exchange. She realized that Meredith was standing in the en suite bathroom primping in front of the mirror and could see Kate at her position at the entrance to the room.

"Richard."

Kate choked. Surely his ex-wife was not referring to—

"His attention span? It's short." Meredith eyed Kate via the reflective surface, her expression clearly questioning the other woman's cognitive ability.

It was all Kate could do to keep the hysterical laughter from escaping. Trust her filthy mind (which had been plenty dirty before, but had grown exponentially so in the last several months) to go there in reference to Castle. She should have known that his ex-wife, the Deep-Fried Twinkie, would know that "short" was not even remotely accurate a description of—

Holy shit, Kate. Get your head in the game! You're standing in front of Castle's former wife thinking about his package!

Meredith had not moved from her position in front of the vanity, methodically brushing the tangles out of her hair but never letting her eyes leave the reflection of Kate's. It seemed that the actress was attempting to intimidate by not deigning to face her 'guest'. And if there was one thing that Kate knew well, it was how to paint an imposing figure. Well, two can play at that game, my dear.

Kate took a step into the room, leaned her shoulder against the door frame, and crossed her arms. On anyone else, the pose might convey defensiveness, but on Kate Beckett, the effect was quite predatory. As if she was restraining herself from coming at the woman physically. To her credit, Meredith didn't flinch but continued running her brush through her titian locks, though it didn't appear that they needed taming.

"Having worked with the man daily for the last four and a half years, that's a trait I'm well-acquainted with, thank you. This is not news to me."

"Well, since you've been around him this long, then you are likely well-aware that his relationships do not escape the effects of his attention span. He goes through women like I go through—"

"Men?" Kate interjected, brow lifted in challenge.

Meredith's eyes widened, her jaw dropped. She whirled around, auburn hair flying, and stalked out of the bathroom toward the woman who had the nerve to insult her. "How dare you!" she hissed, hairbrush pointing in Kate's direction, emphasizing her ire. "You don't know me!"

"That's right. I don't. But you apparently don't know your ex-husband as well as you think you do." Kate held the other woman's gaze steadily, not taking her eyes off hers for even a second. Her interrogation tactics were serving her incredibly well, because actress or no, Meredith was not accustomed to being challenged by anyone, much less another woman.

"Oh, sweetheart." The redhead adopted an expression of abject sympathy that Kate recognized as patently false and completely condescending. Her own opinion of her acting far outshone her actual ability. "You thought this was it, didn't you. That he was the one." She tsked softly, then pushed her lower lip forward slightly. "Honey-"

"Okay, first of all, call me 'Honey' or 'Sweetheart' again and you will find out why it is not necessary for me to use a gun to assault someone." Inwardly she grinned at the sputtering, shocked noises that the actress was inarticulately and unattractively spewing forth, but her poker face never faltered. "Secondly, don't you dare presume to know the nature of my relationship with Richard Castle."

Meredith flailed her hands dismissively. "Oh, please. I'm sure it's been a fabulous couple of weeks, but once the novelty wears off-"

"Eight months, Meredith. Castle and I have been seeing each other for eight months now."

The redhead's blue eyes widened in shock, her body frozen in the midst of a dramatic gesture. She lowered her hands slowly. "What?"

"You heard me."

"But- but that's not even possible. I haven't seen a word about it online or in the papers, and I still-" she stopped, though she'd already showed her hand. Kate Beckett was not the NYPD's best detective for nothing. Kate hesitated, knowing that with the knowledge that she had, this conversation could go two very different ways. She could unleash her inner bitch and destroy this woman before her, humiliate her and send her sniveling back to whence she'd come... Or... She could simply, but firmly put her in her place, explain exactly the situation and what she would and would not tolerate from her. The former option would be far more satisfactory, and she could practically hear her alter ego cracking her knuckles, readying herself for the kill. But... The image of a teenaged girl with the eyes of a lonely, forgotten child floated through her consciousness. Alexis. This was her mother, and she was not about to start a war with someone who would never truly be gone completely from their lives. But that didn't mean she was going to let herself, or anyone else, for that matter, be walked on any more.

"It's very possible. Rick and I have made it a point to conceal our relationship from the press. We value our privacy, and don't wish to contend with the media until it's absolutely necessary." Kate stood, hands in the pockets of her running jacket, not aggressive, but hardly friendly.

"But Alexis hasn't breathed a word. If things were ser—"

"Serious? Well, I can't presume to know why Alexis refrained from informing you about our relationship. I, however, refuse to justify our relationship to you. Perhaps Alexis and I are of the same mind in thinking that it's none of your damned business." She paused, letting the other woman absorb her words, while simultaneously weighing her next ones. She hoped she wasn't over-stepping, but- "Have you even seen her?"

"Wha- who? Alexis?" Meredith said distractedly, obviously still reeling from the revelations of a moment ago. "Of course I have. You were there when Alexis confirmed she'd asked me to stay!"

Kate gave her an epic eye roll. "I meant since then. Have you gone in to see her? Check to see how she's doing? Done anything more than vie for an invitation to stay that could not be refused?"

Meredith's sputtering reminded her of the ancient outboard motor in the fishing boat at her father's cabin. It would've been amusing if it wasn't so damn frustrating and so unnecessarily tragic.

Kate's pause gave Meredith time to recover. "Well, to coin a phrase, Detective… that's none of your damned business."

"So that's a no. That's what I thought. Do you know that she's amazing?"

"Of course-"

Kate shook her head forcefully. "There's no 'of course' about it because if you knew, you wouldn't be standing here arguing with your ex-husband's current girlfriend, but instead be in her room looking in on her, seeing if she needs anything, and just spending time with the incredible young woman that you haven't realized she's become."

Meredith's face flushed. "Now, just a minute! That is my daughter you're talking about-"

"Then act like it, dammit!" Kate exploded. She began to pace in front of the door. "Be her mother, don't just call yourself that!" She stopped abruptly, turning to face the other woman, her hazel eyes now a brilliant green lit with the fire of her anger. "Earn it." She took a step forward, stopping herself from encroaching in the other woman's space too aggressively. She had to forcibly remind herself that this was not an interrogation, even if it was just as important. "Giving birth to someone doesn't make you a mother. It's being there when your daughter needs you, giving of yourself when it's inconvenient and less than glamorous." Kate leveled Meredith with a hard look, her eyes flinty as she took the measure of the woman before her. "I'm not sure if you're even capable of doing that, but I do know that there's a girl in there who feels like shit, knows what kind of person you are and is still hoping that you'll pull your head out of your ass and be there for her."

Meredith blinked rapidly, her mouth opening and closing, incapable of uttering a sound.

"So why don't you have a seat, and I'm going to tell you how things are going to go down around here." She paused, cocked her head, and waited the actress out. Meredith's jaw snapped shut, and she seemed to remind herself to breathe. Her eyes narrowed just a fraction, but she moved over to the bed and slowly sank down to perch on its edge. The break in the flow of Kate's tirade seemed to allow her to regain her faculty of speech.

"Who do you think you are? This isn't your house! You can't just—"

"I can, and I will. The only reason you're still here right now is because I told Castle to let you stay." Hands on her hips, she waited to let the information sink in and could see that this was as much a shock for the redhead as anything else she'd heard from Kate. "And make no mistake about it, there's nothing I would like more at the moment than to see you move to a suite at the Ritz. But my priority here is Alexis. And she will be your priority as well, while you're here. You claim that Alexis is the reason you need to be here… so prove it. Be there for her." She pursed her lips, weighing her next words. "The moment that it seems that you've forgotten that reason, I will rescind my objection to your leaving. Furthermore, Castle is not interested in pursuing anything with you, so you will stop putting him and the rest of us into uncomfortable, embarrassing situations. Quite frankly, you're coming off as pathetic and desperate. It's beneath you. So keep your hands to yourself, keep your damn clothes on and dress like a normal human being in the common areas of the loft." And before Meredith could get in another word, Kate spun on her heel and strode through the open door. She stopped abruptly in the hallway, before turning, a softer look on her face. She leaned her shoulder gingerly against the doorframe.

"Just- look. You've… missed… a lot. Don't waste the time you're given. She's a great kid, and we never know how many tomorrows we have with the people we love." Kate worried her bottom lip before deciding to leave it at that. She pushed off the door jam and made her way toward the stairs.

Castle still sat in his desk chair, nursing the drink his mother had poured for him, listening to her regale him with a quite obviously embellished version of a disastrous opening night for a production at her drama school. He knew she was doing her best to keep his mind of the disaster that was his life, at least at the moment. He chuckled as she recounted the opening scene where the untried lead actor had puked all over the shoes of the horrified leading lady, having gotten drunk before curtain call trying to calm his nerves.

He felt his senses heighten, and turned toward the doorway to the study. Kate stood in the doorway looking a little dazed and a lot nervous.

"I… um… I just told your ex-wife to get her head out of her ass and to keep her damn clothes on."

A/N – So… your thoughts? ::nervous smile::

The next chapter will give us a Kate and Rick discussion... and possibly some sexy times... ya still with me?