AN: A 'what if' story beginning at the end of season 2. Started as a one shot, but took on a life of its own.

All Recognizable characters belong to Andrew Marlowe and ABC.

What Happens in Vegas...

Kate Beckett wakes up with what feels like a world class hangover. Panicked, she looks around the posh hotel suite, trying to remember how she had gotten here. One look told her that this was not the type of room that she could afford, yet here she was - alone. The king size bed looked as if someone had been in the bed as well, yet for the life of her, she couldn't remember who.

Lifting the sheet, she confirms that she is nude. The revelation causes her to groan, as the soreness in her neither region supports the notion that she had done more than sleep last night. Her mouth felt as dry as the Sahara and she was sure that her breath was close to that of the south end of a north facing camel...

Not seeing any of her clothes nearby, she pulls the sheet from the bed, wraps it around her body as she climbs off and stumbles her way into the en-suite. Flipping on the light by the door, she is blinded for a moment by the glare from all of the chrome in the room. Blinking a few seconds, her eyes adjust, and she can see that the decor of this room matches the bedroom - over the top. Standing in front of the large mirror that spans the length of the oversized sink, she takes in the reflection and shudders. Her hair was a mess and she sees, a string of 'love bites' from her neck, across her clavicle and continuing to down to the top of the sheet covering her body.

Curiosity piqued, she opens the sheet and sees that the marks continue across her chest and down her stomach. Judging by the way she had been marked, Kate was sure that she must have had a very good time last night. The problem was, with who? She spots the complimentary bottles of water and the aspirin packs and thanks the people that run this hotel for their foresight as her condition was not unique for this place.

Tearing the packet of aspirin open and tossing the contents into her mouth, she twists of the cap of the water, drinking nearly half of it in one try. It's as the bottle is against her lips that she sees a reflection of it in the mirror. Putting down the bottle, she examines her left hand and gasps. An engagement ring, obviously containing what she would guess was a cubic zirconia stone of about three karats on her finger. But that wasn't what made her gasp. No, it was the wedding band beside it.

The thought of her being married to anyone regardless of how drunk she had gotten the night before seemed like an impossibility. The only man that she truly cared for had left her forever. No, this had to be someone's cruel idea of a joke.

The last thing that she remembered clearly was Lanie talking her into hopping on the first flight available to Vegas for a 'girls weekend'. She had broken up with Tom the day before and had watched as the man she was too afraid to admit she really cared for walked out of her life arm in arm with his ex wife.

She had spent the night drinking far too much wine and cursing her childish actions that finally pushed Rick away for good. It seemed that she was the only one that didn't realize that he was leaving forever and not just for the summer. Just the thought of him being away for three months should have provoked her into action. It took Espo's ominous warning that Castle might have been there for a lot of things, but he was sure that one of them wasn't to watch her and Tom acting like a couple of high schoolers.

By the time she ended things with Tom, Rick was already on his way towards the elevator to leave. She had missed the impromptu send off put together by the boys and nearly sprinted to where he was standing. Having no idea what to say, she begins with a lame 'the boys will miss you', rather than apologizing for her terrible treatment of him over the last four weeks.

Rick is polite and offers some remark about how he will miss working there as the elevator doors open and his perfectly coiffed ex wife appears, sliding her arm through his in a possessive gesture. Stunned by Gina's appearance there, she can't help but inquire. "So... are you two together?"

His ex responds before Rick can speak. "I know, I'm just as surprised as you are. We were talking last night about a lot of things and it felt like it used to be when we were together. The next thing I know, Rick's asking me to spend the weekend at his beach house. I couldn't think of a reason not to, so I said yes..."

Castle gives her an embarrassed look as Gina gives him a squeeze and remarks. "We should get going Ricky. You know how bad traffic will be and I'm sure that the detective needs to be going as well..."

Kate rememberers how Rick extends his hand and remarks. "I hope that I'm not keeping you... Have a good summer."

The air of finality in his voice as he spoke told her that he would not be coming back as she took his hand into hers and gave it a caress, trying to remember his touch.

Gina turns, taking Rick with him and his hand away from her. The elevator doors open and the two step inside. As the doors start to close, Kate calls out. "See you this fall?"

Rick returns a sad smile and replies as the doors close. "See you this fall..."

Kate turns and can see everyone that had been in the break room had watched the entire show. None of them knew that she had ended things with Tom and were actually surprised to see her at all, considering she hadn't been there earlier. She gathers up her belongings and walks to the stairway as the others look on thinking that she's going away with Demming.

The ride back to her apartment was spent with her cursing her cowardice. Castle had no idea that she had ended things with Tom and considering how badly she had treated him, shouldn't have been surprised that he made his own plans for the weekend. What was surprising, was his choice of companions. Nothing Rick had ever said about his ex would have prepared her seeing the two about to go away together for a romantic weekend. A getaway that she could have went on if not for the choices she made.

The second guessing and self loathing continues after entering her apartment, now aided by a bottle of fine French wine that Rick had given her a case of as a housewarming gift. The problem with hindsight is it's always 20/20. Every cutting remark, every lie she had told him since she tried to make him feel as jealous as she felt seeing him flirting with the young starlet on TV.

Kate knew that she shouldn't have been pleased to learn that the woman had used him to land a role in the upcoming Nikki Heat movie. A real friend would have felt sorry for him and she starts to wonder if she was ever his friend. Sure, they had shared a few meals together and she had stayed in his home when hers had been destroyed, but every attempt by him to become something more than coworkers had been rejected by her.

X-X-X-X

Lanie Parish was getting ready for her date with Javi when her phone begins to ring. Not recognizing the number, she nearly lets it go to voicemail before answering with a terse, 'Hello?'.

"Dr Parish, this is Gina Griffin, Rick Castle's publisher. Do you have a minute to talk?"

Of all the people that Lanie could imagine calling her, Castle's ex would have never made the list, no matter how long it was. "What's this about? Is Rick in trouble?" She inquires, certain that writer boy must have done something wrong.

Her questions bring a chuckle in response and Gina replies. "No, he's not in trouble, but I'm afraid that he could be. Rick told me that you are detective Beckett's best friend?"

"I've known Kate since she was a rookie. What's she have to do with this?" Lanie counters, curious as to why she is wanting to know about her friend.

"Her boyfriend... the robbery detective... is it serious? I know she's going away with him for the weekend and all, but do you think that it will last?"

"How would I know and why do you care?" Lanie asks, growing weary of the questioning.

"Just because I'm no longer married to him doesn't mean that I don't care. I know that he was head over heels about the detective and the next thing I know, he's leaving the NYPD and trying to end his Nikki Heat contract."

"So this is about his books?" Lanie counters, sure that her interest was only in his ability to provide her with novels.

"I wish that was all it was. The last time I saw him like this was when I served him with divorce papers and I don't want that to happen again. He's on his way to Las Vegas as we speak, alone. A broken hearted Richard Castle, on his own in Sin City is a dangerous combination." Gina replies, hoping that the woman she is talking to cares about Rick.

"I'm not trying to be difficult, but I don't understand where I fit in all of this?"

"You're her best friend... I was hoping that maybe you could talk to her..." Gina replies.

"What do you want me to say to her? She's probably just arriving at the cottage that she and her boyfriend are spending the weekend at. The last thing that she'll want to do is talk to me, especially about Castle."

"Look, I know you're right, but when I showed up at the precinct to pickup Rick, she truly looked upset that he was leaving. If you think that she cares for him at all, what's the harm in finding out? If you call and she blows you off, then we'll have our answer." Gina replies, convinced that calling the woman had been a mistake.

Lanie was glad that she was on the phone and not face to face. Her shocked expression hearing that Gina had been the one to take Rick away from the precinct would have been comical to anyone who didn't know the people involved. Lanie knew that Castle was probably in love with her best friend and she was pretty sure that Kate felt the same way. She had given up a long while ago trying to make her see what everyone else knew was true.

She was also aware of Kate's failed attempt to make Rick jealous by parading her new boyfriend in front of him. In fact, her actions had the opposite effect and he began to withdraw, which only added to her frustrations with him. Instead of admitting defeat, she ramped up the high schooler like behavior putting on embarrassing PDAs for everyone to see and making fun of his presence there. Honestly, Lanie was surprised that Rick held on for as long as he did before giving up.

"Look, I'll give her a call, but I have no idea what to say to her." Lanie offers, hoping to end this awkward conversation.

"Thank you. That's all I can hope for. You've got my private number now. Give me a call regardless of what you find out."

The call ends, leaving Lanie staring at the phone and wondering how she got herself into this mess.

The knock at her door, pulls her away from any thoughts about her friend. "Shit!" She mutters to herself and hurriedly tries to finish dressing while making her way to the door. A quick look into the peephole confirms that it's her date on the other side and she hollers. "Just a minute."

Zipping up her dress and slipping into her heels, Lanie returns to the door, removing the security chain and releasing the two deadbolts before pulling it open.

Javi takes an appraising look at the woman standing before him and lets out a whistle. "Damn girl, you sure do clean up nice. Ready to go eat?"

"Let me get my purse." Lanie replies and the two are out the door and on their way down the stairs.

Javi had chosen a small Chinese restaurant that was a five minute cab ride from her place. They had eaten there before and appreciated the excellent service and low prices. The conversation was kept to safe topics about anything other than work which was something they agreed to when they first started seeing each other.

They had nearly made it to dessert, when Espo sees Lanie looking at her watch for what had to have been the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. Curious, he inquires in a teasing tone of voice. "You got another date lined up after me?"

She chuckles and replies with her typical sass. "I wish... You'll never guess who called me right before you showed up at my door... Writer Boy's ex."

"No shit? I thought she went away with Castle for the weekend. Beckett was trying to talk to him and then she appears. Next thing I see is him leaving arm in arm with his ex and Beckett slinking off, looking like somebody kicked her puppy. Hell, I thought that she'd be doing cartwheels seeing him leaving for good."

Lanie jabs him in the arm after her last remark and he feigns hurt, as she replies. "You really don't understand women at all, do you? That girl is crazy about him but she's afraid."

"Well, if that's how you treat someone you're crazy about, I'd hate to see how she'd treat someone she didn't like. You weren't up there with a front row seat to the soap opera. I'm amazed Castle stayed as long as he did. It was bad enough that she was parading Demming around like a schoolgirl, playing kissy face. No, she said nothing while her boy toy ridiculed his theories and berated him because he wasn't a cop. When he told her he was taking a break, she acted as if it wasn't a big deal, even when I warned her that he wouldn't be coming back."

Lanie tries to mask her surprise after listening to how badly she had treated Rick. Kate had redacted most of these ugly details when they had talked and began to wonder why she would even try to do anything that would get the two back together.

"All she told me was that she had put him on a plane to Vegas and she was afraid of what would happen to him... Then she asks me to call Beckett."

"Why? You'd think she'd be glad that Kate was gone." Espo remarks, puzzled by what he hears.

The buzzing of his cellphone stops him from continuing. Javi extracts it from his pocket, glances at the caller ID and frowns. "Ryan", he mouths to her as he answers. "Don't tell me, we've got a body..."

Lanie watches as her date listens to his partner on the phone. For Kate to get the weekend off, Kev and Javi agreed to be on call and judging by his reaction to whatever Ryan was telling him, their date was about to be cut short.

"Text me the address and I'll be there in thirty minutes." Espo remarks and ends the call, shoving the phone into his pocket and giving Lanie a sad smile. "Sorry about that... but on the up side, you'll have plenty of time to call Beckett."

Lanie gives him another jab in the arm and sarcastically replies. "Just what I wanted to do on a Friday night. Call my idiot friend who's probably doing the nasty with her boyfriend to find out if she has feelings for another guy."

Espo has to chuckle at her remark and replies. "Well, when you explain it that way, it does sound pretty dumb..."

Javi tosses enough money on the table to cover their meal and tip as they rise up from their seats to leave. Once outside, he hails a cab for her first and gives her a kiss as she climbs inside. "Let me know what you find out. She's my boss and he's still my friend." Lanie simply nods as he closes the door and the taxi speeds off into the night.

It was a few minutes after ten when Lanie returned to her apartment. Heading for her makeshift bar, she extracts the ingredients necessary to make her a drink strong enough to make the call to her friend. Dialing the number, she prepares mentally for the voicemail message she was sure to receive.

"Hello?" Kate answers after the third ring surprising her friend.

"Boy, things must be really bad if you have time to talk to me while you're off on a romantic getaway. I thought that I'd be talking to your voicemail." Lanie offers with her typical sass.

"I'm not with Tom. We broke up." Kate replies, her voice barely above a whisper.

Concern replaces her sarcasm as she quickly replies. "Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. What happened and where are you?"

"I'm home. I broke up with Tom just before we were supposed to leave. I'm sure that he hates me too." She replies, fighting back a sob.

"Who hates you?"

"Castle. I tried to tell him that I didn't want him to go, but his ex wife showed up before I could say anything and told me they were going away together. That was supposed to be me, but I was afraid. He's gone Lanie and it's all my fault." Kate replies and doesn't try to fight letting her friend hear her cry.

Lanie listens to her friend and can't help but feel bad for her in spite of the things she had done that led her to this mess. "Aww honey, I'm on my way. I'll be there in thirty minutes, so have a pizza ready..." She ends the call before Kate has a chance to refuse her offer.

Exiting her apartment, she hails a taxi and gives the driver Kate's address. As the car made its way through traffic, she decides to call his ex and let her know that Kate was about to tell Rick that she had broken up with Tom just as Gina arrived to pick him up. She listened intently as Lanie explained what she had learned from her brief conversation with Kate.

"I only agreed to pick him up because he needed a friend and it seemed like I was the only one around." Gina replies bitterly. Lanie starts to say something, but is stopped as the blonde continues. "Rick called me last night and told me how he was leaving the NYPD. When I asked him why, he told me that everyone there seemed to think that his efforts were of no benefit. I knew that whatever was behind his decision involved your friend. I tried to assure him that wasn't the case and that was when he went into exquisite detail how Tom repeatedly ridiculed his theories and reminded him that he wasn't a cop. Your friend heard all of this and said nothing in his defense."

Gina pauses to take a calming breath before she continues. If it was up to her, she'd throw a party to celebrate Rick finally realizing that the woman that he had followed for the last two years would never return the feelings he had for her. But deep, down, she still cared for him and truly wanted him to be happy.

"But what finally made him give up were the lies. He asked her to come out to his beach house for the holiday weekend. Rather than tell him no, she makes up some story about how she'd like to but couldn't because she had used up all of her vacation days hunting for a new apartment. When they return to the precinct, her boyfriend appears and confirms that he had secured the reservation for their weekend getaway."

"Oh shit!" Lanie blurts out, unable to believe that Kate would lie to Castle like that.

Gina actually chuckles at Lanie's reaction and continues. "But here's the best part, rather than admit that she lied, she tells him 'I didn't want things to become awkward between us'. She managed to make a bad situation worse by adding an even bigger lie to the original. As if things weren't already awkward between them thanks to her antics."

Lanie was shocked that Kate could lie to Rick that easily. All she had to do was tell him no, that she had already made plans. Castle would have understood. 'Was she embarrassed to admit that she was going away with Demming?'

"With Martha off doing dinner theatre in the Midwest, and Alexis spending the summer at Princeton, I knew that Rick would be alone, so I offered to spend the holiday with him at his beach house. He said that it wouldn't be the same there without Martha and Alexis. The next thing I know, he's talking about stopping in Vegas for the weekend before heading to Los Angeles to meet with the producers of the Nikki Heat movie. He asks me if I want to go there with him instead, and as tempting as it was, I had to decline. I offered to pick him up at the precinct to show my belief in him, you know, moral support."

"I had no idea that things had gotten that bad. I'm sure that Kate cares for him, but for some reason is afraid to give in to her feelings. After hearing how upset she is, thinking that he's gone forever, only seems to confirm that." Lanie offers, hoping that Castle's ex really wants to help.

There's an extended silence that has Lanie wondering if the call had dropped before Gina speaks. "Rick would probably have my ass if he had any idea I was doing this... How would you like an all expense paid weekend in Las Vegas, complete with first class air fare? Oh, and I expect that you'll bring your friend with you."

Lanie coughs, too stunned to respond to the offer. Gina laughs and remarks. "Tell her that you won the trip and have to use it this weekend or lose it. Tell her that it'll be a girls getaway."

"What if she doesn't want to go?" Lanie counters, fairly sure that the last thing that her friend wants to do at this moment was go anywhere to have a good time.

"You're her best friend. I'm sure you'll figure out something... Tickets will be waiting for you tomorrow morning at the United desk at JFK. I'll arrange for a limo to take you to the hotel once you arrive there. I'll book you a suite at the same place Rick is staying."

"Why are you doing this?" Lanie asks again, still unsure of her motives.

"Because I really do care for Rick and I'm afraid that he'll do something stupid in an attempt to ease the hurt he feels because of your friend. Only she can make this right. Call me when you get to Vegas and I'll try to tell you where he is then. Good luck, I have a feeling you'll need it." Gina ends the call before she can respond.

The taxi comes to an abrupt stop in front of Kate's apartment building and she is out of the car and on the elevator. Checking her watch, she smiles, seeing that it had been 28 minutes since she ended her call with Kate. 'Damn, I'm good.' She thinks upon exiting the elevator and walking to Kate's door.

The smile on her face vanishes seeing her best friend opening the door. It was obvious that Kate had been crying and judging by her slurred greeting, drinking too much on an empty stomach. Wrapping her friend in her arms, she gives her a hug and remarks. "Everything is gonna be okay."

Kate gives her friend an incredulous look and replies in an almost whimpering tone. "How? I've ruined everything. Castle's gone forever and it's all my fault..."

"Tell me everything. Maybe it's not as bad as you think sweetie." Lanie replies as the two walk to her sofa, sitting at opposite ends.

Kate quickly returns to her feet and walks into her small kitchen to get her friend a wine glass. As she returns to the room, there's a knock at the door. She sets the empty glass in front of Lanie and gestures to the bottle sitting on the table before her. Grabbing the money she had sat on the table, she walks to the door and takes the pizza from the delivery boy, telling him to keep the change.

Kate returns to the living room and sets the box on the table and heads towards the kitchen to get them plates. She opens the box and hands her friend a plate. It was self serve around here. Kate grabs herself a slice and places it on her plate. Lanie takes a bite and groans her approval which results in a feigned smile from Kate.

The two eat in silence for a few moments. In reality Lanie ate, while Kate picked at the toppings while not actually taking a bite. Knowing that she is stalling, the ME pushes her friend to tell her everything and for the next half hour she does just that.

Having already heard Gina's and Javi's version of the story, she knew Kate was truly surprised when Rick finally decided that he had enough and announced he was leaving. She couldn't believe that her best friend was that clueless and told her so.

"Anyone with a functioning pair of eyes could see that writer-boy's been in love with you for quite a while. Everyone except you. Look, I don't know why you didn't feel the same way, but maybe this is for the best..."

"But I think I love him Lanie. I was going to ask if I could go to the Hamptons, but his ex appears and tells me that she is going with him!" Kate blurts out before she returns to sobbing.

Lanie felt as if she had been squarely placed between a rock and a hard place. As much as she wanted to help Kate, there was no guarantee that Castle would even speak to her, assuming they found him. There was also that nagging doubt that her friend was more upset that Rick had been the one to call it quits rather than real affection for him. All Lanie could do was hope she was wrong.

"What you need is a girls getaway... I had the winning bid at a charity fundraiser a couple of weeks ago and the prize was an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas..."

"You never told me about this and why aren't you taking Javi?" Kate quizzes, clearly puzzled by her friend's offer.

"Javi couldn't get the weekend off and you had already made plans with Tom. I have to go this weekend or lose it. It includes first class airfare and a suite at a four star hotel. You need to get away from the city. Come on, it'll get your mind off of the mess you've made. Please. If not for you, do it to keep me out of trouble. " Lanie counters, hoping she'll agree, even if she has to guilt her into doing so.

Kate sits there in silence as her friend looks on. She had to admit that the last place she wanted to be was alone in the city with nothing to do but think about Castle and his ex having the weekend together that she had refused. While the last thing she wanted to do was have fun, she owed Lanie for being there for her.

"What time do we leave?"

X