It had been a tough case, but the murderer had finally been caught.

Ryan and Esposito insisted on the ritual of clearing the board before leaving the precinct, and no-one argued. There was something very satisfying about packing all the photos back into the case file, and wiping the timeline clean.

It was almost 6PM, and Lanie had arrived from the morgue ten minutes ago to meet Esposito. There had been some talk of going out for a few drinks to celebrate, and everyone was standing around just waiting for Beckett to submit her final report to the captain, then they could go.

She was in Gates's office right now, and the conversation looked like it was coming to a close. A minute later, Beckett crossed the bullpen to join Ryan, Esposito, Lanie and Castle in front of her own desk.

"Done," she said with triumphant grin, "and we've got the whole weekend and Monday off – murder permitting."

Ryan and Esposito exchanged a high five, causing Lanie to roll her eyes, and Castle just smirked as he leaned against the edge of Beckett's desk.

"We should put out a city-wide memo," Castle said, "No killing for the next 48 hours. A moratorium on murder, if you will. A holiday from homicide. A vacation–"

"We get it, Castle," Beckett interrupted, with a grin curling one corner of her mouth, and he just shrugged.

"So," Lanie said to no-one in particular, "got any big plans for the time off?"

"Jenny and I are going to a craft fair tomorrow," Ryan said, smiling enthusiastically, and Esposito wrinkled his nose.

"Like little paper dolls and stuff like that?" Esposito asked, shaking his head. "You're voluntarily going to get dragged around a hundred different colours of thread, and… whatever else they have at a craft fair? That sounds like a nightmare, bro. It's chick stuff."

Ryan threw an exasperated glance in the other man's direction. "It won't be that bad," he said. "She likes it. So I'm going to like it too. Or pretend to."

Esposito shook his head again, folding his arms in judgement, and Lanie poked him in the ribs.

"I think that sounds really nice," she said, and Ryan nodded in gratitude.

"What about you guys?" Ryan asked, seeing Esposito immediately grin widely at Lanie.

"I've got a dinner date with a hot chica tomorrow night, then we're going to a salsa class," he said proudly.

Ryan blinked, and Castle raised his eyebrows.

"So dance classes are OK, but craft fairs are for 'chicks'?" Ryan asked, and Esposito's brow furrowed in an exaggerated look of confusion.

"Salsa is the dance of passion, my friend," he replied. "It's in my blood."

Lanie and Beckett both snorted with laughter, and this time it was Ryan who shook his head.

"Yeah, there's something in your blood, alright," Ryan replied, drawing another grin from Esposito.

"What about you, girl?" Lanie asked, looking expectantly at Beckett, and the other woman gave a small shake of head.

"No plans," Beckett replied. "I'll probably do laundry, go for a run. Grocery shopping. Maybe visit my dad. That kind of thing."

"The party never stops for Detective Kate Beckett," Esposito teased, and she pretended to glare at him.

"See, that's the real crime," Castle said, and all eyes turned to him. "Kate Beckett with nothing to do on the weekend. It's just wrong."

Ryan was nodding earnestly, but Beckett's attention was focused entirely on Castle. Her arms were folded, and her expression was the familiar long-suffering look she often gave her partner.

"I'll be sure to let you know if I get a better offer than my laundry basket," she said dryly, and Castle's eyes sparkled as he pushed himself off the desk and stood at his full height.

"What you need is a weekend of pure hedonism," he said, "perhaps with a handsome, charming, talented man who's been described – regularly – as one of New York's most eligible bachelors."

He wiggled his eyebrows and pretended to straighten his non-existent necktie, and Beckett felt her face flush. He was standing very close to her, and she was extremely aware of the colour of his eyes, and the two open buttons of his shirt.

She also felt the amused attention of the others on her, and suddenly she needed to take back control of the situation. The words were out of her mouth before she knew she was going to speak.

"Looking forward to meeting him, Castle. That'll give me a break from you for a couple of days."

It had sounded funnier in her head, but she was too flustered to really register the moment of silence.

Lanie's eyes widened imperceptibly, and for once she was glad of Esposito's tactless brashness when the man hooted a laugh and pointed at Castle.

"Burned, bro," he said. "That was third degree."

Castle gave what he hoped was an easy smile, but he was sure it didn't reach his eyes. His jaw clenched, and it was all he could not to recoil as if he'd been slapped.

Ouch, he thought, glancing down at his own feet and keeping the smile fixed in place.

It was always like this, he thought. He would often try to get closer to her, to pay her compliments, and to make her laugh. The innuendo was mostly for that purpose, but a part of it was to try to make her see that he could be something more than just a partner, or a sidekick, or the precinct's jester.

He thought he'd been making progress, but whenever he pushed a little too far, she'd withdraw into herself and shut him down. It was so hard to read her.

Sometimes he saw signs of a thaw – he was sure of it. He'd bring her coffee in the morning and she'd suddenly give him an unguarded smile that stopped him in his tracks, or she'd lay a hand on his forearm to emphasise a point while they were building theory. Sometimes he'd even catch her looking at him, and she'd quickly glance away.

But it never goes anywhere, he thought. Sooner or later it's back to being Writer Boy, every time.

She was never cruel, though. Not until now, anyway. He allowed a frown to crease his brow for just a moment before he carefully made his expression neutral again.

He glanced up again, and she met his eyes at the same moment. She wore a small, wry grin – just the kind of grin you'd expect after making a quip.

She doesn't really see me at all, he thought, and he felt a ball of ice drop into his stomach. It was so clear to him now. I'm chasing something that isn't there.

He was in love with her, no question about it. He couldn't clearly remember not being in love with her. But that was as far as it was ever going to go. It was incredible that he hadn't seen it earlier.

I didn't let myself see it, he thought.

He had to get out of there.

Only a few seconds had passed since Esposito's comment, and the two other men's eyes still crinkled with good-natured laughter.

Castle nodded along with the joke, feeling a hollowness spreading inside him. The scene had taken on an edge of unreality.

Damn it, girl, Lanie thought, glaring at the back of Beckett's head. She was almost furious at her friend, and took a deep breath to bring herself back under control.

"And what about you, Castle?" Lanie asked sweetly, trying to throw the man a lifeline. "Are you spending the weekend with Alexis?"

Castle looked over at her, and blinked as he tried to focus his mind back on the conversation.

"Ah, no," he said. "She's going away with some friends later tonight, for a couple of nights. Back sometime on Sunday."

He paused, then realised that he hadn't really answered the question. "I have some writing to do," he continued. "I'm a little behind on the next couple of chapters."

Lanie nodded. "It's tough at the top," she said. "Or so I've heard."

Esposito tightened his arm around her shoulders, and Castle gave her a genuine smile.

"Actually, I should just get right into it," Castle continued. "The book won't write itself."

"You're not coming out for a drink?" Ryan asked, sounding disappointed, and Castle smiled apologetically.

The remains of Beckett's grin disappeared, and a fine crease appeared across her forehead.

"I've been stalling long enough," he said, and Ryan nodded reluctantly.

Years too long, Castle thought, and in that moment he made a decision.

"Hey, we can still go to the Haunt though, right?" Esposito asked, and again Lanie jabbed him in the ribs.

"Totally," Castle said. "I already called ahead. You've got the usual table, and a tab."

"My man," Esposito replied.

"Well," Castle said, clasping his hands together, "I'm going to head out. Have a good one."

He paused for a moment, his eyes flicking first to the murder board, then to the name-plate on Beckett's desk, and finally to Beckett herself. There was a question in her eyes, and he quickly looked away again.

"G'night, Castle," Ryan said, and Esposito echoed the sentiment. Lanie smiled at him and nodded, and he noticed that her expression was unusually earnest. There was something in her eyes too, almost a request, but he pushed his curiosity aside.

"See you on… Tuesday," Beckett said. Her voice was tight, and Lanie glanced over at her. Neither Ryan or Esposito seemed to have noticed.

Oh now you wake up, Lanie thought, curling her toes in frustration.

Castle looked at Beckett for a moment longer than usual, and gave her a ghost of a smile.

"Bye," he said, then turned and walked to the elevator.