Castle 1. Chapter 1

**Yay Chapter one! This story takes place after Episode 17 of Season 4. After Once upon a crime.**

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own castle or any of its affiliates :(.

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Kate felt the tension in her muscles start to dissipate as she sank further into the warm bath water. Felt the softness of the luxurious bubbles from the cashmere bubble bath she had added to her nightly ritual. Normally when she was this tired she would just simply take a shower to quickly cleanse away the day and the grim from the murder she was currently investigating or had recently put to bed. Tonight was different, while still needing to feel the symbolic cleansing powers of the water from today's case, tonight she wanted to think, reflect and accept.

The events of the case came back to her. Two people dead, as was the result of all homicides. This one was quite unique thus being hard for her to forget. The first woman clothed in a Red Riding Hood cloak found in the woods with evidence of a mauling. Seemingly as if the big bad wolf himself came and killed her. Her face silent showing the effects of being permanently silenced with the horrors of a fairytale sent askew.

The second woman was clothed in a Snow White costume the details approximate to the Grimm Brothers stories. "White as Snow, Red as Blood, Black as Ebony" written artfully across her chest. A poisoned apple was in her hand. Yet her face as peaceful and as white as the name she bared.

The third woman was found in her bedroom in the dress and state of Sleeping Beauty. In a sleeping state, waiting to be awoken by her prince charming. Though the details to the story were almost identical there were flaws in the third installment of the staging. While the bows in the previous staging's were horizontal this bow was strangely tied differently, vertically, there in lied the answer to the case. Sleeping Beauty was not beautiful at all but in her heart as wicked as the step mother in Cinderella, killing two of her high school friends to cover her murder 7 years prior and relying on her first victim's husband's blackmail to cover her transgressions. That one damn bow.

Relaxing further, her thoughts wandered toward her partner as they often do after they solve a case. This one had been special though, feeling as old times. The weight that had been weighing on herself, and as she had been noticing lately on castle, seemed to disappear. They were back to their old selves bantering on like nothing, short of the world delving into world war 3, had happened in the last month. As if they were not betrayed by one of their own, not only to the country, but personally as well. She thought back to her question in Sleeping Beauty's apartment.

"So what now, your prince charming?" She said smiling.

"Well if the shoe fits" said Castle.

She smiled again as she had in that moment. Thought to herself, you have no idea Castle, mimicking her words to him after their first case together four long years ago. She thought to the moment when Castle again made her breathless and smile, this time in the conference room with the murder board.

"You get cute when you get angry"

Kate looked up and glared at Castle.

"Just not when you are angry with me.."

She smiled thinking about how cute he looked when he realized his joking may have gone too far and that her service piece was very near to where her hand was resting. She was just about to make a playful response when Esposito came in the room with another lead. How did he always do that? Pick that one moment when they were so close to being actually in the "moment".

Something had changed in her today. Ever since Sophia Turner, CIA Agent and traitor, had been killed to protect the country from another World War, Beckett had been thinking about what she had told Castle.

"Do you think what Sophia said is true? That my dad is in the CIA?" Castle said with a faraway look in his eye.

"I think Sophia told a lot of Lies."

Beckett had said that just as much for Castle as for herself. She truly believed that what Sophia had told her about losing the spark with Rick had been a lie. At least it would not be true with them. They had had a longer time to get to know one another, build the kind of relationship that would make it through anything, explosions, shootings, betrayal and lies.

Lies. She hoped their relationship was strong enough to withstand in the face of the secret that she held firmly inside her. A secret that was growing bigger with each passing day, threatening to explode. Would they survive this last explosion? His hand... so soft in her own as she held it offering him silent comfort in the midst of humor. An action that she not normally offered so incoherently. It had felt natural to hold the man she loves hand while he was ceremoniously embarrassed by his mother's musings.

Yet she could not forget the look on his face the moment her hand had landed on his thigh, her fingers intertwined with his. The look of surprise, uncertainty, realization and finally love, all within a second. The smile that spread across his face as he rubbed the back of her hand in circles with his thumb. As he had done only a few weeks earlier in her apartment. The look of "This is nice" and then looking on to watch as his mother continued her story of her plights of being a hostage in her captor's, son's, life.

Yes, she thought, yes they would make it. She smiled to herself thinking about all the things she could and would do in the next few weeks to show, like the hand holding, that she was slowly but surely progressing to being ready to be loved by the one who she loved. Him.

He sat at his desk, staring at the blank screen of his computer. He had meant to write it all down, he really had. But, he kept drifting off into "Beckett Land". Her touch on the couch had left a permanent mark on him. Though it had seemed at first to be a casual expression of humor and comfort as he looked into her eyes, searching them to make sure she was ok with it, he had seen through to her core. He saw the love he had been suspicious of for the last couple months.

His mind flashed back to the moment in the bank vault. How their eyes had locked and the sense of need as Kate had reached out to touch the collar of his shirt... Her green eyes, like a sea that had calmed after a violent storm. Her eyes shining at him with the realization that yes he really was ok, he was alive. He thought of what she had said that day through the phone to the bank robber.

"Because if you pull that trigger, I will personally walk through those doors and put a bullet through your skull."

He knew she didn't know that he had heard her, but he had and in that instant he had felt safe, comforted, loved. Knowing that the woman he loved, the kick ass detective that was so practical and realistic to a fault, would risk her life and her job to avenge his death. That in itself made living that much more essential. Living. Is that what he, they, were doing? He thought of all the missed opportunities to show that he, they, needed to embrace what they were dancing around for all this time.

With guilt though, he also remembered why those opportunities had been missed, his secret. He needed to help her with this. That is what he told himself every day. He couldn't get her killed with what little information he had, whether it was new and relevant to her or not. He couldn't lose her again. He wouldn't make it if she flat lined again. This was not only physically but emotionally as well.

He couldn't risk telling her yet and have her explode on him, as she had put it earlier that day. He couldn't let her build that wall up again that he had been taking down brick by brick. He couldn't lose her. So for now he would wait. Wait for her signal. Wait for her to smack him in the head and yell that she was ready. Because when it came to her he would do anything, even sacrifice his own happiness.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading! Pleeeeeeease Review! :D<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Dislclaimer: I own nothing of Castle or its characters :( i wish i did ;D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

She heard the faint ringing of her phone in the distance. Lifting her head groggily from her pillow she looked at the clock. 5:45 am. She dropped her head back into the pillow and moaned. The night before she had not been able to shut her brain off. Thinking about all the little ways to show Castle that she loved him.

She had finished her bath and applied her favorite lotion, the scent of Shea butter filling the room. Then she had climbed into her favorite pjs, a oversized NYPD T-Shirt and a pair of yoga pants. Set her alarm for the morning 7:00 am, and climbed into bed. Resting into the covers of her down comforter and her 4 pillows she kept on the bed to cushion her neck and to lull her to sleep with the softness of a tender caress.

She had finally fell asleep at 1:30 am. Smiling and telling herself that there was plenty of time to think of things to drive him insane and to show him she loved him all at once.

She heard her phone again, realizing that she hadn't answered it the first time. She put her head back up and reached blindly to her night table. She groaned as she hit her hand on the hard wood table. Finding her phone she hit the send button and answered.

"Beckett." She said trying to sound more awake.

"Yo, Beckett, it's Esposito. Gates just called me we got a body. It's at a little coffee shop on West 76th and Amsterdam."

"Ok I will be there as soon as I can. I will let Castle know."

"Ok, see ya there."

With that she hung up the phone and got out of bed to get ready.

30 Minutes later she had showered and put on a pair of dark wash jeans, loose fuchsia button up blouse and black with grey pinstripe blazer and her black 4 inch knee high boots. She went to her jewelry box to put on her mother's necklace with her wedding ring and her father's watch. But as she opened the box she just looked at the pieces.

Since she started working with Castle she had needed to wear them less and less. Since her shooting and getting Castle back in the precinct she had barely had to wear it at all. Now all she needed was to look at the objects and remember the happy people that they used to belong too. Thinking of her mother's laughing face as she looked lovingly into her father's eyes was enough for her.

Today would be a good day, today she didn't need her mother around her neck reminding her that she needed to be remembered and justified. Today was about her and Castle.

She called him ready to leave her apartment now.

"Castle" He said.

She could tell she woke him up, and thought of how cute he must look in his pjs in his bed with his hair all messed up from sleep.

"Hey, we have a murder. Would you like me to pick you up? It will give you time to get ready since I'm ready now and leaving my apartment. It's about minute drive from your loft to the crime scene." She said nonchalantly, secretly a 10 hoping he said yes and not that he would just meet her there.

"Um, yeah ok I need a few moments to wake up anyway."

"Ok, great I will be there in 20 minutes."

Perfect. #1 on showing Castle she loved him. Buy HIM some coffee and a Bear Claw.

She walked into the coffee shop around the corner from his building 10 minutes later and ordered her coffee. Venti Non-Fat Latte with Sugar Free Vanilla. She went to order castles coffee and thought 'Crap! I don't know what he drinks!'

"Venti Latte with Regular Vanilla and a Bear Claw." She kept it simple.

Although, now that she thought of it although her plan was sweet she may be paying for it later. She thought of Rick Castle on a sugar high from pastry and delectable frou-frou coffee. Then again, what was she kidding, he always acted like he was on a sugar high.

10 minutes later she was in the elevator of his building heading up to his loft with the two coffees in hand and his bear claw in a bag. The elevator dinged for his floor and she got off and strolled almost humming to his door. Ok, she was way to chipper at 6:35 am, normally she would still be home sleeping, but it's what he did to her. He made her happy.

She cheerfully knocked on his door and waited for him to open it.

He opened the door.

"Good Morning Castle!" She said as she flew past him into his loft.

"Um, well good morning to you too, Detective." He said closing the door way looking a little stunned at how chipper she was.

Usually she required caffeine and sugar this early in the morning. Oh, he noted the cup in her hand that she had lifted to her lips; she already had had some this morning. He frowned, getting her coffee was one of the things he enjoyed immensely, and said, "Well I can certainly tell you have got your caffeine and sugar fix." a little too somber.

"Yeah, I went to the coffee shop around the corner from your building." She noted the obvious disappointment in his face. Wow, he really did like getting her coffee in the morning...

Wanting to make him smile because the look of disappointment was almost too much for her to bear she said, "AAAAnd I brought YOU coffee too. And a Bear Claw!" She said whipping the coffee and the paper bag out from around her back and set them on his kitchen counter.

"Tada!" She smiled beautifully and then went to sit at one of his bar stools. By that time he had joined her in the kitchen and was standing next to her looking at her in amazement.

"You brought me coffee?" He smiled.

"Well you did tell me a month ago that I owed you about a hundred of them. Sooo, one down ninety-nine to go." She said smiling at the twinkle in his eye. He remembered that moment in the 12th precinct the day they had caught the sniper and the day Kate had finally admitted to the effects of her PTSD.

"Plus I figured you would want to have your coffee and breakfast before we got to the crime scene. I have a feeling that you won't be in the mood for coffee for at least a little while after this body. So I suggest you finish it before we get there." She said to him putting her hand on top of his and patting it. Her touch shooting waves of electricity up his arm.

"Why? What do we got!" the disappointment clearly gone from his features. Disappointment had turned into excitement after he had remembered why she was in his apartment in the first place.

" Well this one is definitely different. I still suggest you eat and drink that before we leave, so come over here and sit next to me." She said pulling him towards the counter with the hand she still had her hand resting on.

"Ok. Thank you by the way. And um question…" He said looking at her as he sat down and took a swig of his Latte.

"Yeah?"

"How did you know I Love Vanilla Lattes?" Rick said closing his eyes and smiling as he savored the taste of the sweet yet warm taste of the vanilla, the bitter yet robust flavor of the espresso all topped with the perfectly steamed whole milk with just the right amount of foam dancing at the top in the fun design of a rosetta.

"Oh.." she looked at him smiling, a little embarrassed to have to tell him that she merely guessed. Also noting that again they had a small but significant thing in common. Whether it was sugar free or not and her milk was fat free they still both loved the simple beauty of a Vanilla Café Latte.

"I guessed.." She laughed slightly looking at him under her long lashes hoping he wouldn't note the embarrassment in her voice of not truly knowing how he took his coffee after 4 years of being partners.

He saw the slight embarrassment in her eyes even though she was desperately trying to hide it. He thought it was adorable. How she tried this hard to do a measure towards him only to feel like she short changed it. He smiled, and then reached up to her chin. He knew he would probably get smacked for this gesture but he need her to know he genuinely appreciated it so that maybe she would continue it.

He tilted her face up to look at his with his hand lightly pressing on her chin. Their eyes locked, he smiled. Trepidation and shyness crept into the outskirts of hers before they warmed into a sense of courage; as she looked into his eyes almost as if challenging him.

"Thank you. It is delicious. And you guessed right. No need to get your panties in a twist." He said lowering his hand from her face and smirking at her like he often did when he made a joke that he found quite amusing. The smirk reaching and melding with the mirth that swirled in his cerulean irises.

"You're welcome _Castle_…" she said laughing and smacking him in the arm.

"Just for that…" she trailed off as she ripped a piece of his Bear Claw off and shoved it in her mouth.

"HEY!" He said looking down at his pastry and then looking back up at her.

"Whaa.." She said looking all innocent with a mouth full of almond pastry muffling her word.

"Ok well we really need to get going, I told Esposito we would be there as soon as we can and that was 5:45 and it is 6:45 now so let's go Castle." She said getting up from her bar stool and heading towards the door to the loft.

"Hey wait I still have to finish getting ready! I need to put my shoes on and wash my hands and wipe my mouth!" He said jumping up after her.

"Just grab your shoes and let's go you can put them on in the elevator and I have hand sanitizer."

She was halfway between his loft and the elevator now. "You coming Castle?" She yelled from the hallway.

He ran out the door and locked it and huffed over to the elevator as she got in as well. He stood next to her after he had put on his shoes. She looked at his mouth out the corner of her eye. She saw her next move, and it looked quite similar to and almond sliver.

"Oh you were right Castle, you did need to wipe your mouth.. Don't worry I got it." She said smiling as she licked her thumb and wiped the corner of his mouth where there was a little bit of pastry filling and an almond sliver stuck to his skin.

"Mmmm yum. I think that coffee shop has the best pastries I've ever had." She said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. She strolled out to her car without even looking back at him, a joyous smile lighting her face.

He stood there for a few seconds trying desperately to understand and figure out at the same time what had happened to Beckett in the last 10 hrs. Well whatever it was he thought shrugging he liked it. Realizing she was yet again waiting on Him, he hurried out of the elevator trying to mask the huge grin on his face.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle :(

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

"So what we got, Lanie?" Beckett said as she walked up to the svelte yet curvy Medical Examiner.

They were in a small coffee shop named Bistro Baby!

"Well, as you can see we have a female victim. 20-25 years of age." Lanie said.

The body of a red headed woman had been shoved into the dish washer in the kitchen at the back of the café.

"The dish boy found her when he came in this morning at 7 am. He had just finished readying a load to go in when he opened the dish washer and out fell the arm of the victim." Esposito said coming up behind Castle and Beckett.

"Her name is Melanie Smith. She was one of the Barista/ Waitresses here. She was just about to go compete in a Latte Art competition." Ryan said as he followed behind Esposito.

"Well this.." Castle said motioning to her in the dishwasher, "certainly puts a 'tamper' on her plans." he said grinning.

Beckett rolled her eyes at him in the customary way she always did. Glad to know that he could still have a sense of humor at a crime scene. Him coming up with jokes that related to the murder or the victims profession should have annoyed her, made it seem like he didn't have any respect, but it calmed her and somehow made each death that she encountered in her line of work less haunting. He always provided that little bit of light that lead her out of the darkness of death.

"Ok, have you contacted her next of Kin yet?" Beckett asked looking into the dishwasher at the body that was crammed into the dishwasher.

"Yes, they are on their way to the precinct now. Ryan and I are headed there as soon as you say you are good here." Esposito said.

"Yeah we are fine. Go ahead and talk to the family. Find out if she was having problems with them or anyone else she was close with." Beckett said dismissing them.

Beckett turned back to Lanie. "Cause of death?"

"Blunt force trauma to the temple with some heavy object with and odd shape." Lanie said showing Beckett the wound on the woman's temple. There were two gashes about an inch apart with bruising around the wound.

"That is an interesting looking wound. What kind of object would do something like that?" Beckett said touching it with her gloved hand.

"Time of death?" She said looking up at Lanie.

"According to her organs and the feel of her skin I would say about 8 PM – 10 PM, last night." Lanie said looking at her clip board.

"Did Ryan and Esposito do a full sweep before we got here?" Beckett asked Lanie.

"No I don't think so they had been looking at the body and talking to the dish boy when you and Castle showed up."

"Ok thanks Lanie you can go ahead and take the body to the morgue. Just call me if you find anything out I need to know." Beckett said turning around to Castle.

"Come on Castle lets go look around up front for the murder weapon." Beckett said heading up to where the front of the café was.

They didn't see any evidence of a struggle until they got up to where the coffee bar was. A huge espresso machine, not unlike the one in the break room on the Homicide floor Castle had bought, on the counter next to an array of various Torani syrups and sauces to complete your coffee fantasy. There was yellow tape constricting access to the space.

"This is probably where the murder took place." Beckett said ducking under the tape, holding it up so Castle could follow her.

Right in front of them was a pool of blood about a foot in diameter. The portafilter from the espresso machine lying on the ground 3 feet from the pool. Blood had crusted on the spouts that normally held the flow of the caramel colored liquid that gave Beckett and Castle their morning kick. Today, no such luck for those who religiously came in each morning for their jumpin juice. Today the only thing Barista Baby! was brewing was murder.

"You were right about me finishing my coffee before we got here. Seeing the blood on that portafilter is making me not want espresso for a while." Castle said, looking at the bludgeoning weapon that had been used in the crime of opportunity.

Beckett had moved on to the counter where there were several mugs with coffee with various designs on the top. One a Rosetta, one a heart, one a tree and finally one with an intricate working of various swirls and lines to create an abstract master piece.

"She must have been practicing her drinks for the competition. Then…" She said looking over the items, and walking toward the place where the body had obviously lain. "her attacker must have startled her causing her to drop the steam pitcher here." She said pointing to the steaming pitcher that was on the ground with dried milk spilled around it.

"Well we know that she is the only one who would cry over spilt milk." He said looking at where Beckett was pointing.

She rolled her eyes walking further to crouch down by the pool of blood.

"She must have only laid here for a few minutes. A head wound like that surely would have bled out fast with the two puncture wounds. So our killer had been fast to get her off the floor and back to the kitchen."

"I didn't really notice any drag marks or a blood smeared path to the back. How did he get her back there without dropping blood everywhere?" Castle said looking up the hallway the killer had to have drug the body down.

There are a few drips here and there on the way to the kitchen." Beckett said following the random dibbles of blood on the hardwood floor.

"Look, here it looks like a wheel or something ran through one of the spots." She said pointing to the ground where a wheel tract had run through the drops of blood.

"Now that you mention that there was a supply closet up by the bar." Castle said looking back down the hallway.

They got to the closet and opened the door finding a plastic 3 shelved cart. A pool of blood was in the center of the top shelf. Smears of blood were all over the handles from the killer.

"Well this would certainly afford the killer an easier way to move the body to the kitchen. I will have CSU sweep the entire cart for prints incase our killer was dumb enough not to wear gloves. Also I am going to have them run the blood just to make sure it is only our victims. She had some defensive wounds from fighting back. We could get lucky if she scratched him or something to cause him to leave some DNA evidence." Beckett said to Castle as she turned around and headed to a uniformed officer on duty taking statements from the owners and the rest of the employees.

Beckett returned 5 minutes later.

"So, what do we do now?" Castle asked falling in step with her back to her cruiser.

"We need to go back to the precinct to get the list of all the competitors and her friends. Esposito and Ryan are talking to her parents right now, so when we get there hopefully they will be done and can update us on her situation at home or in life. We should also find out if she had a boyfriend or an ex that could be a possible suspect." Beckett said.

"Oh and by the way I also like Hazelnut." Castle said in all seriousness.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Beckett asked stopping and looking at Castle in confusion.

"In my coffee, I figured since you still owe me ninety-nine more that I should inform you of the other flavors I like. I think ninety-nine Vanilla Lattes will get kind of repetitive. So I thought I would give you some insight." He said looking innocently at her.

"So are you calling me boring for getting the same coffee every day?" She said walking towards him pointing at his face while narrowing her eyes at him in the classic Beckett interrogation voice.

"Uh, no, no that's not what I meant at all! I love getting your coffee and I know you like constancy that's why I get you the same thing all the time." He said putting his hands up. "Plus I'm too afraid if I give you something new to try you would shoot me." He said under his breath.

"Hmm, what was that Castle?" She said tweaking his ear and standing only and inch away from his face. She looked in his eyes before she looked longingly at his lips, wishing to, if only, ghost hers over them just to know what they felt like again.

"I didn't hear you." She said looking into his eyes again, her mouth a breath away from touching his.

"I, ah, um… I forgot.." He said looking down at her lips and back up to her eyes.

She stepped back and turned to continue to her car, "Ok, I will keep that in mind. I guess each day will be a surprise, not knowing what you will get." She said smiling at her double meaning. She stopped to turn and saw him for the third time already today, speechless and dazed.

"Castle, we don't have all day, come on!" She yelled at him smiling at what she could do to him in such little gestures.

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><p><strong>Reviews are greatly appreciated! Thank you sooo much for everyone who has Favorited this and added it to their alerts or reviewed it! It means sooo much to me!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own castle. Mr. Marlowe takes all the blame. :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

They were in her police cruiser on the way to the precinct. He was sitting there with a huge grin on his face. She looked over at him and tried to suppress the grin that was presenting itself on her face as well. This is what she loved. She loved making him happy. It was after all the least she could do for him, since he had done so much for her.

"Anything you want to share based on that grin on your face, Castle?" She said in her teasing voice looking over at him.

"Huh? Oh nothing, just thinking." He said smiling again looking out the window.

"You want to share with the class?" She said still looking at him. Examining his facial expressions as he sat there thinking.

"Oh, just thinking about how my charm has finally broken through. Oh and If you want to share anything other than the pastry like maybe spaghetti just let me know." He said with the teasing sparkle in his eyes, grinning in that cheesy Castle way.

"Yeah, that's what it is, your _CHARM._" She said rolling her eyes at him. "Now seriously what were you thinking about?"

"Just that today and last night have been really great. It's really nice to not have to walk around scared because your partner carries a gun." He said looking at her, wiggling his eyebrows at the last part.

"Yeah, well I'm just in a really good mood today. Last night was really fun with your family. Like Alexis, I learned a lot about Richard Castle that I didn't know before." She said smiling at him.

"Now I told you that was mostly fiction!" He said looking exasperated at her statement.

She laughed at him. He was just so easy sometimes. He was always presenting opportunities to pick on his frail ego.

"No, but seriously I had a really nice time. I really enjoyed you sharing your family with me." She said taking hold of his hand on the seat between them.

He looked down at their intertwined hands and smiled, reliving the previous night on the couch again. Maybe she was ready he thought looking up at her again. She had focused back on the road, but she made no move to release his hand so he didn't either. It was nice, this connection between their partnership. Even if she wasn't completely ready yet to move into a romantic relationship, this would be enough. Today was shaping out to be his favorite days in a long time.

Back at the precinct, Ryan and Esposito were just finishing up with the victim's parents when Castle and Beckett were getting off the elevator.

"So where are we with getting to know our victim? Did the parents have any cause to be suspicious about anyone that had been in Melanie's life lately?" Beckett said as all four of them met at the murder board to lay out what they knew of the murder so far.

"Her parents knew about the competition. Melanie was really stressed out about it. She really wanted to do a good job. They said that it wasn't unusual for her to be at the coffee shop that late. They said the owners were very supportive of her goal to compete. They said they would love to be known for employing a Latte Art Winner." Esposito said putting the picture of Melanie on the board.

"Melanie also had a boyfriend. His name is Derrick Johnson. We have uniforms bringing him in right now." Ryan said filling in the timeline for the kill slot.

"Did her parents know what the state the relationship was in? Or given any indication that Derrick might want to hurt Melanie?" Beckett said heading for her desk.

"Yeah the parents said that her and Derrick had been on shaky ground lately." Esposito said.

"Well let's see if we can figure out why." Beckett said as she watched two uniformed officers take Derrick Johnson into the first interrogation room.

Beckett and Castle weren't very far behind. They went into the observation room to watch Derrick for a little while to come up with their plan of action against him.

"He looks like he could be mean if he wanted to. He could easily hit someone in the head and kill them." Castle said observing the 6 Foot African American man that was surely at least 250 lbs with most likely 50-75 lbs of pure muscle.

"He has a calm face though, he looks like he is either guilty or taking her death really hard." Beckett said raising her hand to her chin as she thought about what his facial expressions meant towards their case.

"He looks guilty alright. As guilty as George after he took out that cherry tree." Castle said looking through the glass.

She laughed smirking at him with her eyebrows raised.

"George Washington.. cut down his.." Castle said looking at her with disbelief.

"I know what you're talking about Castle I went to school you know." Beckett said rolling her eyes and heading out of the room.

Just as they were finishing up with Derrick and were exiting the interrogation room, the owners of the Café were just getting off the elevator.

"The owners of Barista Baby! are here to talk with you Detective Beckett." Officer Jones said to Beckett.

"Ok, thanks Jones." Beckett said walking up to the two sisters.

"We can go talk in the conference room. Just follow me." She said nudging Castle to follow as she walked past him.

After getting situated in the conference room Beckett asked Kelsie and Katrina Marlin, "How was Melanie this last week? Was she acting suspicious or worried about anything or anyone?"

"Well she was pretty stressed out. She had been practicing a lot for the competition, staying late too." Kelsie Marlin said.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember one of the competitors coming in and giving her a hard time during our serving hours one day. It was last Monday. She came in and ordered a drink. When she received it, it was beautiful by the way, I delivered it myself, she took one look at it scowled like she didn't like it, took a drink and started saying very loudly, so most everyone in the café could hear that she hated it and it was very poorly made and that if she did that bad at the competition she was surely going to beat her." Katrina Marlin said leaning forward.

"Did she come into the coffee shop often or was it just the one time? Something like that, being repetitive, would start to be detrimental on your mental state." Castle said looking at both women.

"She came in every week. Finally I had to kick her out. Melanie was going to file a report. If she did before the competition though, she couldn't compete because the report would restrict her from being to close and she would be violating that at the competition. She was going to get the restraining order after the competition was over. I … I guess she doesn't need it now… She was our best barista.." Kelsie said putting her face in her hands.

"What is this competitor's name?" Beckett asked.

"Mercedes Ferguson" Katrina said rubbing her sisters back.

Castle and Beckett looked at each other and Beckett said, "Derrick didn't mention anything about Mercedes Ferguson."

"Looks like Mr. Johnson has some explaining to do." Castle said.

Beckett looked back to the Marlin sisters and said, "Thank you so much for coming down. We will keep you informed of the investigation. Let us know if you think of anything significant regarding Melanie or anyone in her life."

All four of them rose and shook hands. Beckett led them to the elevator reassuring them that they would find whoever did this to Melanie.

Castle sat in Beckett's chair at her desk and thought about the case that was laid before him. He thought about why Melanie's boyfriend wouldn't bring up something so interfering in his girlfriend's life. If it had been his girlfriend that was being harassed, he would have taken matters into his own hands and would end up in the holding cell of the precinct, not the interrogation room. He was off in his thought about this when Beckett, on the way back from the elevator, noticed him.

She stopped and watched as he thought, clearly something perplexing on his mind, he then took on the look of protectiveness and fisted his hands. He looked up at the murder board with contempt and hate for the victim's boyfriend. She hated seeing that look on his face, the look of disgust for his kind, the kind that didn't stand up for those who were most important in their life.

She decided how she would help him keep focus and stop looking like he himself was going to commit murder. Slowly she started again to her desk, careful to barely exert her weight on her 4 inch heels so that when she walked she didn't make a clicking noise. She was slowly sneaking up on Castle, making sure to watch his movements in case she had to duck away to keep from sight. She got to the back of her desk, and silently placed her hands on the back of her chair. In one swift movement she spun the chair around so that Castle was facing her. As soon as the chair was stationary she put her hands on his knees and looked him square in the eye.

"What did I tell you about sitting in my chair?" she asked raising her eyebrow.

"Um, sorry I was just about to get out of it I didn't hear you, you scared me…" he said looking frightened at her menacing stare so close to his face.

"I'm just kidding. I don't mind when you sit in my chair." She said raising up. "Just when I don't want to sit in it." She said raising her eyebrow again.

"Oh, right!" He said jumping up quickly. "Sorry" he said moving to his chair.

She caught his hand before he had sat down again.

"Not just yet Lanie called while I was on my way back from the elevator. She wants us to come down to the morgue. She found something for us to look at." She said pulling on his hand for him to follow her towards the elevator.

"Ok" he said still looking mad.

They stepped into the elevator and hit the button to send them downstairs to the floor of cool death.

"You know all men aren't like him." She said tentively looking out the corner of her eye at him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he said looking at her in bewilderment.

"Derrick, not all men will be that uncaring to bring up something like Mercedes harassment to Melanie to us or to not do anything about it."

"Oh, I know. It just makes me mad. If I had someone that was special enough for me to call her my girlfriend I would do everything in my power to keep her safe and always make sure she was happy in life." He said again his face softening from getting that out to the one person he could always talk to no matter what it was.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the floor of the morgue. Castle started to walk out of the elevator but Beckett pulled him back and made him look at her. She smiled softly at the look of protectiveness that was still on the edges of his expression. She took his hands in hers. He looked down at the soft gesture of caring that she was yet again offering to him today.

"I know you would." She said raising a little bit to brush a light kiss on his cheek. She lowered to her regular stance and looked in his eyes again and flashed her brilliant smile. The smile he was pretty sure that meant I Love You, the smile that meant you mean so much to me.

She looped her arm through his and started to walk towards Lanie's office. "Come on lets go see what Lanie found."

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><p><strong>Please Review! :D<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: i own not the castle :(**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

In the morgue with Lanie, Castle and Beckett were looking over the body.

"So what's up?" Beckett asked.

"Well, when I was doing my overview of the body I noticed several specific defensive wounds." Lanie said pointing out the bruises that were on her body.

"Right we saw those at the crime scene." Beckett said scrunching her eyebrows continuing to examine the body, and bruises.

"Yes but…" Lanie said lifting up the arm of the victim, "notice where they are."

Melanie's arms were both bruised, around the forearms, as if the murder had seized her by the arms.

"Also notice this bruise along her back." Lanie said lifting the body to show Castle and Beckett the long thin bruise that ran across the woman's lower back.

"What kind of struggle would cause those kinds of marks on the victim?" Castle said thinking of possible scenarios.

"I've been thinking about that myself and judging by the bruising on the arms I would have to say that your killer is either a strong female or weak male. Either way they aren't very active. Also I thought it might be relevant that the bruise on the left arm of our victim was slightly worse." Lanie said.

"Ok, Castle walk this through with me. You be the victim and I will be the killer." She said moving towards Castle to grip his arms.

"Why do I have to be the victim?" He whined.

"Because, Lanie said that the killer could be female. I'm female. Plus you are too strong to be a weak male." She said resting her hands on his forearms.

"My, Detective Beckett, do I detect a slight compliment in that statement?" Castle said wiggling his eyebrows.

"M.E. here, who still has a lot to do and tell you here waiting for you guys to finish doing what you do." Lanie said glaring at them while lifting one eyebrow and pursing her lips.

"Ok, sorry. Focus Castle." She said looking from Lanie back to Castle.

"So the murderer has a tight grip, for them, on our victim." She said tightening her grip on castles arm. "The bruising on the left arm being worse meant that our murder is right handed and had a tighter grip with that hand." She tightened her grip on her right hand.

"Ok now what would explain the bruising on her back though?" Castle said out loud, thinking.

"What if the killer pushed the victim into a counter?" Lanie said.

Kate kept her grip firm on Ricks forearms and pushed him up against the counter behind them. While she pushed him rough, it wasn't as hard as she could have or as much as he could have taken.

"Oh! I also found skin, blood and hair in the victims nails. It was short hair that had been dyed a deep red color. It is hair from a scalp, so I am assuming the blood and skin are from the scalp as well." Lanie said still observing Castle and Beckett pushed up against a counter, still immersed in acting out the murder.

"So our victim got free enough to grab our murders hair." Beckett said still gripping Castles arms.

"Then she got free.." Castle said breaking the hold firmly, yet gently so as not to hurt Beckett. "and grabbed her hair." Castle said running his fingers in Beckett's hair slightly tugging on it so that her face inched closer to his.

They looked up and their eyes locked and both widened as they both took in the position that they had assumed unknowingly and in the name of research. Rick's eyes darted down to her lips and back up. Kate subconsciously took her bottom lip between her teeth biting ever so slightly suppressing the sudden urge to kiss him. To kiss him till she no longer saw the blue seas starting to crash into the grassy pastures that were being blundered by the wind that their visual connection was creating.

Only slightly did they hear Lanie out of the corner of their little world yelling at them to break the spell.

"GUYS!" Lanie yelled at them.

They both looked up, Castle reluctantly letting go of Beckett's silky smooth hair so that she could stand up straight.

"Now as cute as that little act was, I need to take what I found in the fingernails to the lab to run the DNA. Will you two be ok alone?" She asked winking.

"Um, yeah we just were discussing that while the victim had the killer in her grasp the killer could have easily reached back on the counter and grabbed the portafilter to hit her in the head with." Beckett said trying to regain as much composure as she could.

"Mmmhmm." Lanie said giving them the_ I don't believe you stare_.

"I was just noting how my killer smelled deliciously like cherries." Castle said winking at Lanie.

Beckett scrunched her face up and rolled her eyes at Castle.

"Anything else Lanie?"

"No but I will call you as soon as I get the DNA results." Lanie said looking down at her clipboard.

Knowing that as the cue to leave Castle headed out the door and on the way to the elevator.

"What was that!" Lanie whispered to Kate.

"Nothing! I'll call you later!" Kate said hurrying to catch up with Castle.

"YOU BETTER!" Lanie called after her. She rolled her eyes. They were a walking fairytale that was for sure.

Back up at her desk Beckett was combing through the stack of papers in the file for the current murder case. She felt Castle's eyes on her as she continued to read a file with the statements from the other workers and people close to Melanie.

"You know that creeps me out right?" She said never looking up from her file.

"Why do you think I do it so often?" Castle said smiling at her.

No matter how long he had been working with her, her beauty never ceased to amaze him. The soft tendrils of her hair in its caramel color framing her face so right. Her eyes like emeralds excavated from the finest places on earth. Her lips like the soft sweetness of an orchid. He didn't care if him looking, no_ admiring_, creeped her out he just couldn't pull away from captivation.

Beckett's computer beeped at her suddenly and both of their focus was pulled towards the screen.

"Oh, I was running Melanie's emails to see if anything suspicious came up. Looks like it found something." Beckett said pulling up what the search had found.

"It's an email to Rupert Williams." Beckett said reading the address.

The both sat there simultaneously reading the email. They turned to each other smiled and said at the same time, "Melanie was cheating."

Beckett smiled again, "Not only that but with Mercedes Ferguson's boyfriend."

"Hey Esposito?" Beckett called over to the detective.

"Yeah what you need Beckett?" Esposito said walking over.

"I need you to go pick up Derrick Johnson again. We have further questions we need to ask. I would like you and Ryan to take the lead on his interrogation though. Castle and I have to go pay a visit to that competitor Mercedes Ferguson. I would like you to ask Derrick why he never mentioned her ok? All the information you will need to question him again is in this file." Beckett said handing Javier a folder.

"Ok no problem Ryan and I are on it." Esposito said heading back to his desk.

"So Castle, ready for another coffee?" Beckett said gathering up her jacket and keys.

"This one won't count towards the ninety-nine by the way. It's the rule. All objects that are owed, like delicious caffeine containing liquids, must be paid in a non-interrogation setting." Castle said holding his hand up like he was stating an oath.

"Whatever Castle, you just made that up." Beckett said rolling her eyes as once again they headed for the elevator.

"I can do that. The objects are owed to me." He said seriously. A little too seriously, he started laughing at his own genius.

"I will get you your coffee when I feel like it and under whatever setting I so choose." Beckett said narrowing her eyes at him.

Twenty minutes later they were parking on the street outside of the Café that Mercedes Ferguson worked. They entered Le Cafe Salope and immediately noticed the barista that was currently steaming milk. She was about 5'6 and was curvy with a short red pixie cut. Beckett couldn't help but notice the slight scrape in the woman's hairline and several minimal spots of hair loss as if it had been ripped out.

"Mercedes Ferguson" Beckett said loudly behind the woman.

Mercedes jumped from the sudden intrusion in her space. When she steamed she was in the zone the milk was one of the very important parts of making a beautiful latte. One single bubble and it could be ruined. She was in the zone when Detective Beckett had come up behind her. Being startled and concentration breaking Mercedes dropped the steam pitcher spilling hot milk on her hand.

"Damn it! Who the hell do you think you are sneaking up on me like that?" Mercedes said turning to look at Beckett and Castle as she clamped a cool damp towel on her hand.

Beckett flashed her badge. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD and this is Richard Castle. We are investigating the death of Melanie Smith. We need to ask you a few questions is there anywhere here we could talk or would you prefer to go back to the precinct?" Beckett said annoyed

"We can talk about that little _hoe_ right here." Said Mercedes sneering that one word.

"Show a little respect for those who have passed please." Castle said already not liking this girl.

"Were you aware that your boyfriend and Melanie had an intimate relationship, Ms. Ferguson? Beckett asked thinking Mercedes knew more than she thought.

"What! Oh that little hooker! If she wasn't already dead I would beat her so bad!" Mercedes yelled.

"Ok that's enough I think we need to take this downtown." Beckett said escorting the woman out of the café so as not to give opportunity to cause even a greater scene.

"Well she fits the name of the place at least." Castle said looking up and pointing at the sign of the Café. Le Cafe Salope meaning The Bitch Café.

Back at the precinct Ryan and Esposito had picked up Derrick Johnson and were interrogating him.

"Man, I was just here. This should be harassment I haven't done anything wrong. Why you guys got me in here again I told you everything." Derrick said huffing and folding his hands on the steel table.

"Really care to revise your statement before you look like a lying ass?" Ryan said standing with one foot on a chair, leaning on his arms that were crossed on his knee.

"Yeah, a woman named Mercedes Ferguson sound familiar?" Esposito said slapping down a picture of her on the table.

Derrick looked down at the photo of the woman. He turned white, well as white as a African American can.

"Um I may have met her before. Oh she is or was in the competition with Melanie!" He said faking realization.

"So did you also know that she was harassing your girl?" Esposito said glaring at the piece of trash sitting across from him.

"Aw no dawg I didn't know. See me and Mel we weren't really talking." He said folding his arms.

"You want to tell me why, _Home Skillet_?" Esposito said sarcastically.

"Hey don't call me that." Derrick said unfolding his arms.

"Just answer the damn question." Ryan said.

"Well, um, ok I knew Mercedes before the competition. We, um, we are kind of sleeping together. I didn't say anything because I didn't want her messed up in any of this." Derrick said sheepishly.

"To late Detective Beckett is talking to her now. So unless you want to be incriminated on this case and also charged with 'Withholding Information in an Investigation' I seriously suggest you dish what ever else you know." Ryan said sitting down.

"Well I'm pretty sure Mel was cheating on me too. I just don't know who the bastard is."

In interrogation room two, Castle and Beckett were continuing the conversation they had started at the café. They had gotten a glass of water ready; Beckett set it down on the table waiting for Mercedes take the bait. They needed her DNA to make see if it matched the hair and skin found on the victim. Mercedes grabbed the glass and gulped it down.

"So Mercedes, it seems to me that you don't really have a right to be upset. At your boyfriend or at Melanie considering you and Melanie's boyfriend were having an affair as well." Beckett said sitting down.

"Which I completely don't understand considering your boyfriend is sooo the 'Edward' type." Castle said pointing to her tattoo on her arm. It was the name Edward written in cursive the w being fangs dripping with blood.

"Derrick and I are in love." Mercedes said crossing her arms.

"Is that why you killed her then? To have Derrick all to yourself?" Beckett asked her.

"I didn't kill her. Someone else did." She said.

"Let's talk about when you harassed Melanie at her place of work. Why did you do that?" Castle asked.

"I knew she was good but I know I'm better, so I thought I would just increase my chances by getting in her head and making her feel like she wasn't any good." Mercedes said smiling smugly.

"I'm curious, what was the prize for this competition anyway?" Beckett asked.

"A brand new espresso machine. For yourself or the business that you work for. I wanted that espresso machine so bad. I'm a business partner with my boss we both own the restaurant and I personally think we need a new machine. I know because I'm the one who makes the drinks." Mercedes said with slight contempt.

"Do you have any idea how long Rupert had been romantically involved with Melanie?" Beckett asked.

"I don't know ever since Derrick and I started sneaking around I haven't really watched him." She replied.

"Ok well I believe we have enough you are free to go we will keep in touch though." Beckett said rising to open the door for her to leave.

"Oh quick question which hand do you use when you tamp the espresso?" Castle said thinking of something.

"Um, right, why?" Mercedes said trying to imagine why he had asked that question

"Nothing just wondering" he said smiling.

As soon as she left, they headed for Beckett's desk. "So what now? Castle asked sitting down.

Beckett looked at the clock. 6:24 PM.

"Well I skipped lunch what about you? You want to go to Remy's and get burgers and milkshakes?" Beckett asked.

"Don't we have more for the case to work on?" Castle asked.

"No not really we are just waiting for the DNA results from Lanie. I had an officer run that glass down to her so she could get the DNA off of it so that she would have something to compare what was on the victim. Which won't be until tomorrow so we are done for tonight."

"Well in that case, lead the way Detective." Castle said waving his arm onward.

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><p><strong> Please Review! thx!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

** Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

"Either this burger is amazing or I'm so hungry from you starving me at the precinct." Castle said taking a bite of his bacon cheeseburger.

"I never said you couldn't eat lunch, Castle. Besides it seems more logical that you should have gone out and got us both lunch. I mean I am getting the coffee now." Beckett said smiling while popping a fry in her mouth.

"Well whatever the case, this burger is really good. How is your milkshake?"

"Well you know Remy's, best milkshakes around." Beckett said taking a sip.

When she had lifted her lips from the straw and had gone to lift her burger, he swiped the milkshake and took a swig.

"Mmmm, this is definitely the best shake. I call it the Kate Shake." He said grinning at her across from the booth.

"Hey! Castle, give it back!" Kate said reaching for her milkshake back.

"What's the magic word?" Rick said grinning.

"Apples" She said grinning in return, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Nooo, that's my safe word." Castle said whispering.

"Yeah and it will be in use once I get to you if you don't give me back my milkshake!" Kate said standing and resting her left hand on the table while the other brushed back her jacket to rest her hand on her hip displaying her service piece in plain view.

"oooh, I'm scared!" Castle said raising booth his hands feigning fear.

"Hah!" Kate said grabbing the milkshake from in front of him.

In the sudden haste of grabbing the milkshake back from Rick, Kate forgot that it was still half full. Before she could stop it that same half was no longer in the cup but on the front of her blouse. She shrieked as the cold liquid made contact with her chest and upper stomach. Chocolate milkshake was soaking through her white blouse.

"Castle!" She gritted through her teeth.

"As much credit as I would love to take for that, you know making your shirt all wet and clingy, you know that was all you." He said laughing at the predicament that was before them.

"Great, now I'm wet, sticky and I no longer have a milkshake." She said pouting sitting back down in the booth.

Castle waived to the waitress to come to the booth.

"Can I get another chocolate milkshake to go? I will pick it and the ticket up at the register." He said handing Kate a napkin.

"Sure, Mr. Castle." The waitress said writing down the order for the milkshake and taking the ticket to the register.

Castle turned his attention back to Beckett. Her shirt, now wiped of all the excess milkshake, clung to all her curves. Most noticeable though, was the black bra she was wearing under her shirt. He could see the delicate lines of the fabric as it met the swell of the top of her breasts. His eyes ventured further down, noting how the fabric laid perfectly across her toned abs.

"Did I miss something?" Kate said purposefully playful, trying to get his attention back to her eyes.

He looked up and noted the playful grin on her face. She wasn't mad; in fact she found this quite amusing. In fact, it was also convenient.

"So, um, since this shirt is getting increasingly sticky by the moment do you mind if we go back to your place and I can borrow a t-shirt for the way home? I mean your place is closer and I don't really want to go home yet." Kate said looking at him with a spark in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah that should be fine. Let's go." Rick said jumping up way to fast. He hit his knee on the table, "Ow!"

She laughed at his clumsiness, she hoped he wasn't clumsy in all the things he did. Based on the kiss they shared a year ago she thought there was one thing that he most definitely wouldn't be clumsy at.

"You're thinking about me aren't you." Rick stated smiling smugly.

"Maybe…" She said coyly.

"Well don't get too much more excited. We don't want everyone to know you are having dirty fantasies do we.." He said raising his eyebrows at her as he grabbed his jacket and left her standing there with a shocked expression on her face.

"You coming Kate?" Rick called around his back.

She smiled as the words she so often used on him were echoed to her. This was going to be fun she decided.

The cab ride to his apartment went by fast. In order to change the atmosphere away from the one that was starting to present itself at Remy's, Beckett brought up the case.

It's not that she was embarrassed about where her thoughts had gone, she had thought of him in that way for a while now, even before he confessed that he loved her. It's just, she had never been caught in thought before and been thoroughly called on it. Even though it was normal for them to tease in innuendo, this time had seemed more serious. The fact of how his eyes had ravaged her body as the shirt clung to her curves.

So, once again not being quite ready for what those looks could entail she backtracked. She didn't want to, truly, but it was necessary. So, she brought up the case. She said she thought they should talk to Rupert at least a little bit before they got the DNA results back. Castle though reminded her that the hair was red, so it was most likely that he didn't kill her. She responded that she figured that but he could give them more information on how Mercedes had been acting on the days leading up to the murder. By the time they had analyzed this idea they had pulled up to his apartment building.

Castle leaned to the front of the cab and paid the fare. They exited the cab into the cool March evening. Beckett closed her coat around herself tighter so as not to show off her newly designed blouse. They entered the building and to the elevator. When they reached his floor they exited and walked towards his loft. Kate looked at her watch. 8:03 PM.

They entered his apartment and he took her coat and his own and hung them up in the coat closet to the right of the main entrance.

"Where is Martha and Alexis?" Kate said looking around the apartment.

"Oh they went to a Broadway play." Castle said coming up behind her.

"Oh, so we are alone.." Kate said trying not to smile to herself.

"Yeah, why don't we go look for a replacement shirt. There is a bathroom off my room so just follow me and I will get you a shirt." Castle said walking past her.

Kate followed Rick through his office, noting that no matter when she was in his home his office was always orderly, and to his bedroom. She stopped in the doorway, he continued not noticing her hesitation, she had never been past his office.

She looked around at the large King sized bed with a Navy Blue pinstriped duvet. While the room oozed testosterone and masculinity there were certain touches that further reiterated to her about his metrosexual side. The pillows on his bed, which were a slight variation of the blues that were laid throughout his duvet. The tasteful lamps on the bedside tables and the huge window that was framed by heavy yet light curtains.

She looked through the curtains and saw the view that this window provided. Her breath caught at the view of the city that she loves at night through this window, his window. She thought of all the times he must look out that window thinking, about his books, about his daughter, and about her.

She looked over to him bent over his drawer looking for a t-shirt for her to wear. Slowly and cautiously, as if she would leave a permanent mark in this private space, she approached him and stopped by his side. He pulled out an older cotton t-shirt and handed it to her.

"The bathroom is through that door." He said pointing along the wall to the right of them, the door slightly ajar. "Um, there are washcloths in the first drawer on the right side of the sink if you want to um wash some of the stickiness off your skin." He said kind of apprehensively.

"Ok, thank you." She said but she just stood there. Warring inside with herself.

She wanted to show him how appreciative she was of this, even if it had been her idea, but she was for some reason shy and scared for the first time that day. It was because of the way he was looking at her, with all the love in the world for her. Her breath caught in her throat.

Before she could second guess herself and shrug off in fear she rose on her tippy toes and kissed him on the cheek. When she lowered down again she saw that he had closed his eyes. She took that moment to retreat to the bathroom to get her heart rate under control again. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all she thought closing the bathroom door behind her.

She unbuttoned her shirt and slowly peeled off the sticky fabric. She moved to rinse it in the sink and looked up at her reflection. Her face as well as her chest had flushed to an appropriate shade of pink for the situation.

She looked down and laughed at the small lines of chocolate on her skin that the shirt had left. Remembering what Rick had said about the washcloths she got one out and ran it through some hot water. She looked around for some form of soap. She didn't want to use the hand soap. She had a devilish thought just then. She opened his shower and reached in and grabbed his shower gel and put a tiny dab on her washcloth. She rubbed the washcloth together to create a lather and then washed off the remaining remnants of chocolate from her skin.

She went to the sink and rinsed out her shirt. There was one thing she did forget about this whole situation though. Her bra had gotten sticky too. She thought about what to do. She could leave it on and have it be sticky till she got home and removed it, she could remove it now and rinse it in the water and put it back on after it was rung out and risk making wet spots on the new shirt, or she could brave it and go without it. She stood there thinking. She wasn't willing to risk it just yet so she just kept it on waiting to deal with it when she got home and pulled the t-shirt over her head and headed out of the bathroom. He wasn't in his room so she headed out to the kitchen.

"Thank you. It feels so much better to be out of that sticky shirt." She said joining him in the kitchen. He had gotten down two wine glasses and two bottles of wine, one white and one red.

"No problem, always happy to be of service. Now the real question is white or red?" He asked her motioning to the bottles.

"Red please." She said.

He poured the red wine into the cup and presented it to her and poured himself a glass as well. He motioned to the couch and they both wandered over and sat down.

He thought of all the things she had done today. The hand holding from the night before, on this very couch, the coffee, the hand holding in the car the two, not one, but two kisses on his cheek. He smiled as he sat down on the couch. She followed and sat very close next to him leaning into his side.

"Do you really not remember anything about your shooting?" He said lost in thought. He hadn't even realized he said it aloud.

She stiffened slightly, she thought back to that day, back to his admission. She wanted so badly to tell him that she loved him too. So without any further hesitation she told him.

"I remember." She said it barely over a whisper.

"Huh?" he said snapping back to reality at the words that were uttered.

"I remember you Rick. I remember what you said to me." She said swirling the wine in her glass nervously. "Will you say it again?" she said looking up into his eyes, as his questioned if this was really happening.

"I Love You." He said understanding by the look in her eyes, how long and how much effort it had taken her to gain the courage to tell him. This time when he said it she didn't close her eyes and drift away. This time her eyes rejoiced, the joy reaching to the rest of her face. She smiled radiantly. She took his wine glass from his hand gently and placed it and her own on the coffee table in front of them.

Turning back to him, she could see the question in his eyes. She reached up and gently brushed her thumb at the outer corner of his eye and up to his temple. This simple action physically and emotionally removing the question that had been there. He opened his eyes again and peered deeply into hers.

This was where land met sea, in the delicate balance as the waves rolled and caressed the softness of the grass. He took her unoccupied hand in his and intertwined their fingers bringing them to rest softly in his lap. She gently moved her other hand from his temple to cup his cheek. Brushing the soft skin under his eye. He moved his head to the right so that he could kiss her palm. Tingles of electricity vibrated down her arm and into her heart moving her to make one last move to seal their fate.

With that sudden rush of emotion she kissed him. Slow and gentle, saying what she had yet to utter. He raised his other hand to the back of her neck, helping her to deepen the kiss as he rubbed small circles on her neck with his fingers. Needing to say the three most important words she pulled back from their embrace. She looked at him, a smile had crept on his lips and his eyes were still half closed, still reveling in the feeling of her soft lips upon his once again.

"Rick.."she said smiling.

"Yes." He said opening his eyes and looking at her smiling himself.

"I love you." She said squeezing his hand. Smiling up at him, her expression radiant and full of love.

His breath caught and he pulled her closer. She rested her head on his chest and left her hand in his in his lap. He put his other arm around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head. This was how they fell asleep. This was how Martha and Alexis had found them two hours later.

"Dad." Alexis whispered as she poked her father. Sometime since they had fallen asleep they had shifted so that Rick was almost lying fully on the couch with Kate on his side, still with her head on her chest. Her breathing was even and deep as she slept on.

"mmmm" he said rousing from his slumber.

"It's eleven thirty don't you think you should go to bed?" she said raising her eyebrow at Kate still sprawled over her father.

"Yeah, but I hate to wake her, it's so late now. Could you go grab a spare pillow and blanket for me?" he asked.

She agreed and was back in a few minutes. Castle slowly lifted her hand and head from his chest and laid it gently down on the pillow. He took the blanket and put it on her tucking it around the sides so that it would stay in place, years of tucking in Alexis had made him a master. With Kate tucked in he looked at the beautiful sleeping figure before him. She let out a little half snore and shifted to make herself more comfortable in the new position and instantly clutched the pillow and sighed. In that moment Rick knew he had never seen anything quite as beautiful. He bent over and kissed her on her cheek.

"Goodnight my love. Sweet Dreams." He said raising up and heading to his bedroom. Hopefully his dreams would be as sweet as what had happened between them earlier that night. With a loving smile on his face he drifted to sleep.

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><p><strong>Review please! :D Thank you for all who have reviewed! They mean so much to me! They spur me on to write further. :D<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you everyone for reviewing! It means the world to me! Sorry it took me so long to update! Life is crazy!**

**Disclaimer: Alas I do not own Castle. But I wouldn't mind if I owned Nathan or Seamus or Jon! lol**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

"Kate.. Kate wake up." Castle said, nudging Kate awake on the couch.

"mmmm, wha…Castle?" she said half asleep. She woke up significantly when she realized who was waking her up.

"You have to get up. You need to go home and get ready for work." Castle said moving to sit on the end of the couch by her feet.

"What happened? Did I fall asleep last night?" Beckett said rubbing her eyes and sitting up. She had relaxed since she noticed that she was sleeping on the couch.

"Yeah, Alexis and mother got home and woke me up. It was so late and you looked so comfortable that I couldn't wake you. I hope you don't mind." He said.

"No, it was fine actually. I slept really well." She said smiling.

"Good." He said smiling back. "Well it is 6:30. I figured I would wake you up so you would have enough time to go home and get ready for work."

"Yeah, I should get going." She said, looking down as she stood up. "I will, um, wash your shirt when I get home and get it back to you." She said tucking a stray hair behind her ear. She really didn't want this to be awkward after last night. She wanted it to be sweet and tender.

"Don't worry about it, it looks better on you anyway." He said giving her an approving look. "Oh! By the way, I forgot to ask last night. Did you use my body wash?" he said questioning her with his eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I um, yes…." She said as blood rushed to her cheeks. She had completely forgotten about that little factor of last night. She had meant for him to notice right away and tease her about it then, having the night stay light and fun, but it had taken on a serious note rather quickly instead.

"Hmm, I thought so. It was nice. Although, I still have to say I like the cherries the best." He said smirking at her.

"I'll keep that in mind." She said winking at him as she headed towards the front door. That was better, she thought, back to the good old banter. Leave it to Rick to lighten the mood.

"I'll see you at the station." He said lightly grabbing her arm. Before she knew it he had spun her around and had planted a soft goodbye kiss on her lips. He opened the door and softly pushed her out in her dazed state.

"Don't forget to get my coffee now, Beckett." He said grinning at her expression. As soon as a wide grin spread on her face and he knew she had heard him, he raised his eyebrow at her and slowly closed his door.

Outside Rick's apartment, Kate stood there grinning. Nope, she thought, not awkward at all. They were still the same, only slightly more romantic, loving and intimate.

She realized where she was standing and how she must look standing there, she quickly came to herself and started heading toward the elevator. On her ride down she realized she had left her shirt in his bathroom from rinsing it out the night before. Oh well, she thought just another reason to come back. She smiled to herself thinking about her next adventure in the 'Castle'.

She let herself into her apartment and closed the door behind her. As she set her keys on the table, she paused remembering the night. A large smile crossed her delicate lips remembering his sweet sentiments. She sighed and pulled herself from her memory and headed for the kitchen. She walked over and ground her coffee beans to put in her coffee maker and hit brew. Turning around she decided she'd have just enough time to take a shower while it brewed.

She turned on the hot water, adjusted it to the right temperature, and headed back out to grab her outfit for the day. She smiled as she removed his shirt from her body. She laid it gently on her bed running her hand over the soft material that once lay on his chest. The fabric that was now hers, to cherish and sleep in while thinking of him. She was glad that she had chosen to use his body wash instead of just soap. As a result, the shirt not only reminded her of him because it was his but because it smelled like him too. She sighed as she breathed in his scent. Reluctantly, she put on a robe and headed to the bathroom.

When she returned the bathroom was adequately steamed. She shrugged out of the robe she had been wearing and stepped into the warm shower. The warm water caressed her body and lulled her into a sweet peacefulness. She reached for the loofa and her cherry body wash. She squirted the red gel on the loofa and started to wash her arms. The smell of the body wash reminded her of what Castle had said. _"I still have to say I like the cherries best." _His deep voice echoed in her ears.

From behind, warm arms wrapped themselves around her middle. The velvety skin was warm and gentle across her stomach. The light fingers were working circles across her sides. She could feel him breathing her in. His deep eager breathes sent chills down her spine. She could feel his blue eyes taking in and memorizing her naked form. From the top of her soft curls all the way down to the supple curves of her legs.

Kate moaned lightly as warm lips started to caress the base of her neck. He sucked lightly on her pulse point almost to the point of marking her. He let go of the soft wet skin of her neck and gently trailed kisses down her left shoulder and arm, all the way to her hand. He brought her arm up to his face and kissed the palm. He pulled her arm gently up and placed it at the back of his neck. The right arm he again brought up to his face and kissed its palm. He rested that arm over his right arm that was still lying softly and tempting on her stomach.

With just the slight push on his hand she pressed the back of her body flush against him and reveled in the warm slick figure molding to her body. She tipped her head back and to the side and captured his lips with hers.

The kiss was hungry and full of pent up desire. Like the kiss from the night before it showed their love for one another. But last night's kiss had been about love and truths and finally stepping over the threshold of something new and exciting. That's what this kiss was, exciting. She poured herself into it, lightly nipping at his bottom lip with her teeth and then caressing it gently with her tongue. With a slight press at the seam between his lips, he opened them to allow her access to explore the depths of his mouth.

With her hands firmly anchored where he wanted them, he took the hand that had placed her hand at the base of his neck and gently slid it to the swell of the side of her left breast. She felt the warmth of his hand at her side cupping her breast, she moaned soft and low her appreciation of the new sensation. She didn't break the kiss though, with each touch she seemed to just want more.

He was intoxicating, caught up in kissing him she didn't feel his hand shift slightly. Shifting his hand slightly further up, he squeezed slightly while flicking his thumb over her already aching nipple. With a gasp she broke the kiss, her knees almost buckling in the wave of responsiveness her body was giving out. In the moment, she ground her hips and behind into him causing him to mirror her manifestation.

He raised the loofa again to wash her delicate skin. He started with her sensitive arm pit that was raised and open. He circled the body wash there causing her to giggle slightly as the soft fabric tickled. He slowly moved the loofa down her body, lightly rubbing it over her breasts causing her to sigh into his neck. Cascading the loofa down further he circled her stomach causing her to giggle again. Lost in her giggling fit, he chose that moment to press the loofa between her legs and brushed the soft material over her most sensitive and warm parts. She cried out as the waves turned into a storm of intense pleasure.

The cry out caused her to come back to her senses realizing that she was supporting herself with the wall of the shower, as the loofa was pressed intimately between her legs. Embarrassment crashed into the storm she was riding out. She slowly stood up testing her legs to make sure they wouldn't give out on her. She felt her cheeks as they warmed from the rush of blood to heat her now embarrassed face.

She smiled from her embarrassment, her wet hair falling from her shoulders into her face. Oh what Castle did to her. This was going to be a long day. With that thought, she finished her shower, stepping out into her steamed up bathroom, wrapping herself up in a towel.

She moved over to the sink to brush her damp caramel tresses. Looking at herself in the mirror, she combed through the silky layers smiling at her pleased and flushed expression. She realized that love looked good on her.

At the precinct an hour and a half later, Castle strolled in.

"Morning, Beckett." Castle said smiling like he had a secret.

"Good Morning, Castle. Your coffee." She said grinning evilly, thinking back to that morning. Yes, very good morning she thought as she handed him his coffee.

"Thank you." He said not paying attention and automatically taking a swig.

"Ugh! Yuck what is this! We are back to the monkey pee in battery acid!" He said almost spitting the coffee out onto her desk.

Beckett couldn't stop laughing. "Guess you should be a little more observant of your surroundings. Besides that's payment for making me spill my milkshake."

"I bought you a new one!" Castle whined. "Just so you know this doesn't count toward the ninety-nine you have left…" He said pointing toward her as he headed to the break room to make himself a real coffee.

She chuckled as he walked away. He was just so easy sometimes. She opened the file to their case. She had already had uniforms go to pick up Rupert Williams. They would be back in 20 minutes and her and Castle would see if Rupert knew any further information towards their case. At this point though, she was convinced that Mercedes was the killer now all she needed was solid evidence to back up the speculation.

She looked up into the break room watching him make his real coffee. She smiled again to herself looking down at her now empty cup. Hmmm she thought, time for a "second helping." She stood up and smoothed her pants out and adjusted her shirt. She strutted to the break room and stood in the doorway watching Castle. He couldn't see her but he knew she was close. He could smell her signature cherry scent from a mile away. Distracted now, with the overwhelming power that her essence laid upon him, he looked up from preparing his coffee.

As soon as she realized he sensed her presence, she had shifted and walked around to the door that was behind him so he would not see her as she entered the room. She came up behind him and lightly laid her hands on either side of his firm rear. She leaned forward and lightly laid her lips on his neck. She had made sure that from the angle she was at that no one could see them through the windows into the break room. She kissed right under his ear causing to gasp as she assaulted his neck with such a tender caress but yet in forced her dominance with the squeezing of his ass.

He was so surprised he almost dropped his coffee cup. He was making little squeaking noises as she continued to kiss up his neck until she reached his ear and whispered. "Thanks for this morning."

With that she whipped around from behind him and set her empty coffee cup on the counter and reached for the coffee pot for her refill.

"Uh, what was this morning…" He said dazed from the assault she had just inflicted on him. 'She grabbed my butt!' he thought, he couldn't shake the feeling of her small yet firm hands on his firm butt.

"You're the writer…I'm sure you can come up with something inventive and scandalous." She said raising her eyebrow at him as she picked up her coffee and sipped it. She looked at him from over the rim of her mug, laughing with her eyes at his expression.

"Well, um, I, ah…."He said thinking to himself that the way she was looking at him right now was a whole lot sexier than he had ever seen her gaze at him. Something was up. He knew they had past a vital hurdle in terms of their relationship last night, but years of waiting for her had caused him still to be cautious and patient. He never thought they would be to this point so 'quickly'.

A wide grin passed across his face as he started to conjure in his mind what her little tease had meant. She had looked quite happy this morning, when he had seen her at her desk before walking over to her. She had, what she called it the, "Just been laid" face. No… did that mean…. He looked up at her with wide eyes again as he realized just what had gone on with her after she had left his apartment.

She watched him as he finished his coffee, thinking about what she could have meant by her statement. She watched him realize the way she was looking at him, her recent stance towards him, and him think about what had happened the night before. She watched as realization of what she had meant by her little display, played across his ever eager face.

She smiled looking out the window; she noticed that uniforms were heading to the interrogation room with Rupert Williams. Back to work she thought, time to close this case. She turned back to Castle. He was watching her now, the sly grin had been replaced with one of love and desire. She smiled as the blood rushed to her cheeks as she caught him in such an intimate stare. She remembered about where they were supposed to be.

"Come on, Castle. Rupert Williams is here in the interrogation room. Time to find out what he knows." She said walking past him. As she did so, she slapped him squarely on the butt. A little gasp exited his lips from the slight jolt of pain that was mixed with surprise as she furthered the physical contact that morning.

She turned as she was exiting the break room and winked with an open mouthed grin at him. "You coming Castle?" she said as she sauntered to the interrogation room.

He quickly followed her like a puppy follows its owner.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: i do not own castle.**

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><p>Chapter 8<p>

"Hello, Mr. Williams, I'm Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle." Beckett said sitting down in the chair across from Rupert Williams in the interrogation room. Castle followed sitting next to Beckett.

"So have you found who did this to Melanie yet?" Rupert said looking disheveled and distraught from the situation the murder of his affair had caused.

"What was your relationship with Melanie Smith?" Castle said folding his hands on top of the table.

"Um, she was a friend. It was hard to have a friendship though, what with how Mercedes, my girlfriend, and she didn't get along." He said looking at both Castle and Beckett.

"How did they act toward each other? Were they always hostile toward each other, or was this only since they were going to be competing against one another?" Beckett asked.

"Um well they were rubbing heads a lot more lately." Rupert said looking down.

"Why was that?" Castle said, sensing that Rupert wasn't telling them the full truth.

Beckett could sense that Castle had the same suspicion that she had, Rupert was lying.

"Do you want to tell me again your relationship towards Miss Smith?" Beckett said raising her eyebrow at their suspect, breaking the shaky ground of his defense.

She noted the obvious crack in his stance. His face fell and he looked down. She watched as his body literally hunched as he sighed closing his eyes willing the confession that was coming.

"We were sleeping together. Mercedes found out and said she wanted to kill her. She called her a bitch for stealing her man." He looked up directly into Beckett's eyes. Hatred filled the once defenseless and sad eyes. "Melanie wasn't the only one cheating though, Mercedes, that slut, she was cheating on me too! She was sleeping with that Derrick guy!" He said his voice rising with every word till he yelled the name of his girlfriend's lover.

"Mr. Williams, where were you on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 between 8 and 10 pm?" Beckett said asking for his alibi.

"I was just getting off work at 8:45. I work second shift at the Lennox Hill Hospital as a Janitor. You can call my boss to confirm that I clocked out at that time. Then I headed home I got home at about 9:30 PM. Mercedes must have gone out because she wasn't home when I got home." Rupert said with realization dawning on his face at his last sentence.

Castle looked at Beckett. He smiled communicating to her that they were right their suspicion had just been confirmed. Mercedes Ferguson had no alibi for the night of Melanie Smith's murder.

Beckett smiled back at Castle and turned to Rupert Williams. "Thank you so much for your time and your information towards this case. You are free to go." She said standing up and heading to open the door.

"Wait that's it? Do you know who did this to Melanie?" He said searching her expression, his mixed with anguish and denial.

"I think you already know the answer to that Mr. Williams." Beckett said. She turned towards the bull pen and headed to her desk to wait for Dr. Parish's call that would provide the hard evidence she needed to arrest Mercedes Ferguson.

Castle wasn't far behind Beckett. He watched as she walked towards her desk with the perfect sway of her curvy hips. He had always appreciated her backside. Today though with the little tease she pulled in the break room he wanted revenge. He wanted his own little 'squeeze of the day'. He thought about how to do it.

Just as Beckett got to her desk, her phone rang.

"Beckett." She said into the receiver.

"Ok, thanks Dr. Parish we will be down momentarily." She said hanging up the phone. She stood up and looked at Castle. He was watching her with a mischievous grin on his face. She knew that look, whatever he was thinking about couldn't be good. Thinking he was still dwelling on what she had expressed to him about her morning, she felt the blush creep on her cheeks. Gosh she thought she never blushed, she had to keep this under control she was going to start looking like a fool.

In that second the door to the Captains office opened. Captain Gates poked her head out. "Are we any further on arresting the suspect for the Melanie Smith homicide, Detective Beckett?" She said raising her eyebrow as she took in the sight of Castle grinning like a fool and Beckett obviously blushing at whatever his look meant.

"Yes, actually Castle and I were just about to head down to Dr. Parish's office. She has the DNA results back from the hair and skin she found in the victims nails." She said grabbing her coat off the back of her chair.

"Good." Gates said turning and going back into her office.

Beckett grabbed Castle's arm and headed to the elevator. Castle was still grinning. He had figured out his plan of action and so far everything was working out perfectly.

They got into the elevator and Beckett pushed the number of Lanie's floor. She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes trying to ignore Castle's still grinning eyes as they watched her.

"What? You going to tell me what that smug little grin is about Castle?" She said turning to him crossing her arms slightly annoyed.

"I was just thinking, we are about to close this case. That means that we will have the evening off. I was thinking maybe we could go out to dinner at a nice restaurant. You know like a real date." He said smiling sincerely at her.

"Yeah, that sounds nice. I would love too. But I know that that isn't what you were grinning about, Castle; I'm a trained cop I know when you aren't relating the whole truth. Soo what were you thinking about?" She asked.

"You." He said simply.

She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated laugh.

"Well you and the fact that we are alone in this elevator and no one can see us." He said moving toward her. He moved so that he was in front of her and he laid his hands gently on her hips.

"And…." He said wrapping his hands around further so that they cupped her butt. She gasped a little at how close he was and what parts he was touching.

"Go on.." She said almost breathlessly.

"No one can see me do this…" He said as he squeezed her butt. She moaned slightly as he kneaded the firm muscles of her backside. In that little expression, he captured her lips softly and deliberately. He paid her back for what she had given him in the break room with a softness and tenderness that took her breath away. As much as she wanted to watch his face and eyes as they kissed, her eyes had other ideas drifting closed as stars swirled behind her eyelids.

With the ding of the elevator, Castle pulled away and grasped her hand pulling her dazed, out of the elevator. He watched her as she figuratively regained 'consciousness'. It wasn't until she had gone back into her all business expression that he opened the door for her into the morgue.

"You have the DNA results, Dr. Parish?" Castle said asking Lanie, giving Beckett a few more seconds to fully anchor herself so as not to give them away.

"Yup, the skin and hair that was under your victims nails belonged to Mercedes Ferguson." Lanie said handing the DNA results to Beckett.

"Looks like we need a warrant for her arrest." Beckett said looking at Castle.

"Is that all Dr. Parish?" Beckett said confused, normally Lanie would just call her with this information.

"No, I wanted to talk to you alone Detective." Lanie said keeping it as professional as possible so as not to raise suspicion in Castle. "I figured the arrest warrant would take some time so I called you down here so I could tell you, you could call the warrant in and then we could talk privately." She said now winking at her best friend.

Kate smiled at Lanie's inference. "I will be right back I will go call in the warrant." Beckett said heading through the doors of the morgue to the hallway outside.

Lanie turned her attention now to Castle.

"So, spill. What has you so happy? You and my girl get it on or something?" She said raising her eyebrow at him. She and Beckett both had equally scary stares he decided. Women knew how to get what they wanted. The simple eyebrow raise and the lips pursed to the right degree worked every time, instilling fear of bodily harm on the man they were using it on.

"Um, ah, fine I guess we can't fool you." He said giving up almost instantly. "We kissed last night at my apartment and Kate told me she remembered that I told her I loved her and she told me that she loved me too." He said smiling now.

Lanie looked shocked. Kate had told her about remembering Rick's expression but she didn't think that she would have gotten to the point of telling him yet. She smiled looking at him and the obvious bearing of love and happiness rolling into one. She noted the glimmer of naughtiness in the corner of his eye.

"You two were smooching in the elevator on the way down weren't you?" She said looking at him, for the first time noticing the slight pull of his collar and the almost untraceable muddle of his hair.

"Um, no what makes you think that?" He said getting kind of uncomfortable now.

Lanie started toward him and straightened his collar and smoothed out his hair.

"Next time make sure you both are composed and readjusted before, if you don't want people finding out." She said laughing at him.

"Ok we have about an hour before we will have the arrest warrant for Mercedes Ferguson." Beckett said re-entering the room.

"Good just enough time for me to catch up with my girl." Lanie said linking her arm with kates. "No boys allowed Castle." Lanie said waving a finger at him.

"That's ok I have a few things I need to do before tonight." He said winking at Kate. He turned and headed out of the morgue.

Lanie turned to Kate and said, "Girl you have been holding out on me! When did you and Writer Boy get together?"

"We aren't technically together yet, Lanie." Kate said leading them to a table to sit down and talk.

"Well whatever, I want to know everything." She said sitting down eagerly.

An hour and a half later they pulled up to Le Cafe Salope. Beckett noticed how Castle didn't even try to hide his huge grin on his face. This was definitely his favorite part of a case. The arrest. He loved watching Beckett march in as a force of nature and take down the bad guy, slapping the cuffs on them like the animals they were.

"Mercedes Ferguson?" Beckett said approaching the woman.

"Oh you again what do you want now?" Mercedes sneered.

"I have a warrant for your arrest." Beckett said producing the warrant as evidence.

"For what?" She said as if she didn't know already.

"Isn't it obvious?" Castle said. "Murder. That's a nasty little scrape there." He said pointing to her scalp. "When Melanie did that to you she got your skin and hair under her nails."

"That little slut deserved to die too. She stole my boyfriend."

"Hush up already, all you two had to do was switch boyfriends and this all could have been avoided. Now turn around. Mercedes Ferguson you are under arrest for the murder of Melanie Smith." Beckett said rolling her eyes as she cuffed her. Such a silly reason to kill someone she thought. She lead Mercedes out of the building giving her, her Miranda rights.

Back at the precinct Mercedes was being booked on First degree murder. If convicted, which the amount of evidence she left behind was enough for her to be, she would be facing 25 years to life in federal prison.

Beckett and Castle spent the rest of the afternoon filling reports and cataloguing evidence for the case. They also contacted family and begrudgingly to Castle her boyfriend and her lover. Such a stupid ending to a futile feud. Then again most of the reasons some people come up with for murder were just that, stupid, she thought.

"Good job closing that case, Detective, Mr. Castle." Captain Gates said coming up to them. "There aren't any new cases and the paperwork can always be finished tomorrow, go ahead and head on home. You did good work today." Iron Gates said visually breaking her mold as she smiled at them.

"Thank you Sir." Beckett said as the Captain headed back to her office

Beckett turned to Castle. "So where are we going tonight?" She said trying to get him to tell her.

"Uh uh, I'm not telling you. Just be ready at 6, that gives you two hours. And wear something other than your usual jeans and pant suits ok? I will tell you that the place is nice." He said teasing her.

She looked at him and smiled. "Don't worry Castle I think I have something to wear." She grinned mischievously at him.

"Good." He said smiling, he grabbed his jacket and started to head for the elevator. "I will be at your apartment at 6, you better be ready." He said pointing at her as he reached the elevator.

She chuckled at his insistence and gathered up her things to head home to get ready.

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><p><strong>Please review! I love hearing feedback!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

** Disclaimer: i do not own castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Kate had decided to skip the shower before getting ready for her date with Castle. After what had happened that morning she thought it was best to stay out of the shower, until tomorrow she thought smiling evilly to herself.

She was now standing in front of her closet looking at her selection of dresses. There was the Herve Ledger that she had worn to the book party, no already seen. Also, she was still nervous and self-conscious about her scar and that dress would show it with its plunging neckline. She pushed it away, next was a very simple purple dress, no to ordinary. She smiled as she pushed the purple dress away and saw the red dress before her. It was strapless and very short. She had bought this dress on a whim in case she needed an extremely sexy dress for a special night. She knew it would drive Castle mad.

But for tonight she wanted to drive him a different kind of crazy. She pushed the red dress aside noting that the next date she would be wearing that to tease him and test him on how long he could keep his hands off her. In front of her was the famously termed 'little black dress'.

It seemed rather modest when you looked at it from the front. The thicker straps that assured support with their delicate black roses on the straps. The straight neckline that let the tiniest amount of cleavage show but not enough to draw attention. The length hitting right above her knee cap, seeming almost matronly. Despite all those somewhat safe and boring details, you turned the dress around and you knew the evening would prove to be interesting for both parties.

When you turned the dress around it was backless, the edge barely over the swell of her curvy behind. Not too far down was the daring slit that ran from the back of the knees of the dress all the way to about an inch from the bottom of her butt. And since they were exploring their fondness of asses as of late she figured this would be the best dress to highlight her assets.

Another plus was that the dress fit like a second skin, any under garments even the elusive thong in most cases would show. She grinned as she thought about going out with Castle knowing what she wasn't wearing under her dress.

She undressed and looked at her naked form in the mirror. She went over and looked at her perfumes, she knew Castle loved the scent of cherries that emanated from her daily, but she wanted to change it up. She wanted a scent for night as well, a scent for only him.

She hummed to herself please she had chosen a fragrance that was utterly feminine, sultry and sensual while yet being sweet and light. She picked up the Calvin Klein Euphoria and spritzed both her wrists and her jaw line. Normally she would be done there but she spritzed right between her breasts as well, shivering at the cold moisture settling into her skin. The fragrance gave her the boost and confidence she needed to finish getting ready.

She left her hair down in soft curls, but had it pinned to the side with a small black hair pin. With her hair cascading over her left shoulder her full back would be in view when she was wearing the dress. She had darkened her eyes slightly by adding a thin line of liner on her bottom lashes to mirror the dark black eyeliner on her top lash line. She had applied a little bit of bronzer in the hollows of her cheeks and highlighter on her cheek bones to heighten her already gorgeous facial bone structure. Lastly she applied a deep neutral toned red to her lips. She didn't wear color on her lips for the most part but tonight she wanted to keep his attention, not that she had problems before, keep him focused on her lips and everything that passed through them.

She looked in the mirror at her reflection, satisfied with her work she moved to put on her dress. She heard her phone go off, she veered over to her night stand where she had set it. She had a new txt from Castle.

"_What are you wearing…."_ The txt read.

Kate smiled to herself, so Mr. Castle was afraid of clashing with his date. All that teasing in the precinct had come to bite him in the butt. She knew he would have a hard time trying to imagine what she would wear because he was so used to the jeans and pant suits. She thought about how to respond and had a devilish thought.

"_Currently? Nothing. Walking around my apartment naked."_

She giggled to herself as she sent the txt. She sat on her bed to wait for his response.

"_Oh that's easy then I will come naked too! LOL! No seriously what are you wearing?"_ Read his txt.

"_Oh, I'm DEAD serious Castle. And I'm not telling you what I will be wearing. Consider this your first test, making sure you don't clash with me."_ She said laughing at Castle.

At his apartment Rick was slightly freaking out. He had figured he wouldn't have trouble deciding on what to wear. Was he ever wrong. He wanted to try to look as good as he knew she would look. The woman had made a paramedic suit look sexy he thought. He was standing in front of his closet looking at his collection of silk dress shirts and various suit jackets. He sighed as he read her last txt. The woman was also stubborn and at times annoying when she didn't provide what you wanted.

He settled on a nice pair of dark wash jeans, a dark purple silk button up shirt, and a Black with white pinstripe suit jacket. He pulled out his nice black leather dress shoes and slipped them on noting he still had time to stop by the florists for an impromptu bouquet.

Rising from her bed she walked over to her closet and pulled the dress off the hanger. With ease she slipped into the tight fabric pulling it over her curves. It settled in all the right places, modest and enticing at the same time. She went over to the mirror and looked at the back deciding it did just what she wanted for her backside. She walked over to her closet again and put on her Chinese Laundry Black Patent leather 6 inch peep toe platform shoes.

Just as she was checking her clutch for all her vital necessities, her badge, her gun, lipstick cell phone and breath mints, she heard the faint knocking on her door. Right on time she thought with a smile. She moved out through her living room and kitchen to her door. She looked out the peep hole of her door. She grinned as she took in the sight of a very nervous Richard Castle in front of her door. Without any more hesitation she removed the dead bolt lock and opened the door.

He stood in front of her grinning until he noticed what she was wearing. He first took in her darkened makeup and almost instantly he looked down to her lips. The bright red of her lips enticing him to come close and kiss her. She smiled as his gaze went to her lips. She licked her bottom lip slightly causing him to look up again into her eyes. She looked at him grinning pulling her bottom lip into her mouth.

He swallowed slowly willing himself to take her in fully. He stepped back and broke their eye contact so he could run his gaze down the length of her body. He felt his breath catch in the back of his throat at how her hair lay delicately across one shoulder leaving the other bare. He instantly felt the desire to touch her bare shoulder with his lips.

Pushing the thought aside for later, he looked on down noting the slight touch of cleavage that felt right for the place they were at in this relationship. He followed her curves down noting the sensual way that her simple black dress hugged her in all the right places. How it stopped just above her knee giving him a nice view of her toned calves and the way they were flexed from the impossibly sexy heels she was wearing. He looked up appreciatively.

"You look amazing…" He said finally finding words. He remembered the flowers that he was now clutching tightly in his right hand. He brought them up to her and handed them toward her. "For you my lady." He said smiling at her.

"Thank you Castle." Said smiling back, the love she tried before to conceal, shining through. "They are beautiful! I do have to say it's a little different on the arrangement." She said looking at the unique bouquet. "Come on in." She said stepping away from the doorway to let him pass.

"Each flower has its own meaning. I picked them and arranged them myself. May I?" He said motioning to the bouquet. He wanted her to hold it out to him so he could tell her what all the flowers meant.

She held the bouquet out towards him. He moved in close to her and put his arm around her waist pulling her into a half hug.

"These Pink Camellias mean longing for you." he said pointing to the flower. He kissed her lightly on her cheek. "The pink Azaleas mean fragile passion." He said moving to kiss her opposite cheek. "The peach roses mean desire." He said looking into her eyes with passion as he moved to kiss her forehead. "The white calla lilies mean perfection." He said smiling at her as he kissed her nose. "And lastly the white roses are for your name. When Katharine or Kate is translated it means pure or purity. White roses are perfect because they signify pureness. Like our love." He said his eyes fixed on hers letting her know in this moment that he was completely hers. He lastly kissed her lips.

Covering hers with his own, in sweet exhalations of tenderness and unrequited love. He pulled back from the sweet kiss and rested his forehead on hers and peered deeply into her eyes.

"Thank you." She said breathlessly. She smiled the most genuine smile of love he had ever seen.

In that moment, he pulled her closer to him never wanting to let her go. As he wrapped his arms around her back he felt skin, he slowly ran his hand down until he found the beginning of the dress slightly above the curve of her butt. He slowly pulled back looking at her with a fire in his eyes.

Raising one eyebrow, he said to her, "Backless huh?"

"You like?" She said with a now playful edge to her tone.

He lifted his and her arm and motioned for her to twirl. She did, as she did he noticed the defined yet feminine lines of the muscles in her back and shoulders and the slight swell of the small of her back. Next he noticed how the dress perfectly fit her small round behind and immediately how high up the dress was slit despite its modest length.

"Yes, I like very much." He said turning her around again and grabbing her by the waist pulled her to him again and planted an appreciative kiss on her lips. "If we want to actually go out though, we need to leave now. If I have to continually look upon you in that dress for any longer than ten minutes, we won't be making it out of the apartment." He said wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"Well." She said matter-of-factly. "We better get going then." She said taking control of the current situation. She stalked over to her kitchen counter to grab her clutch, purposely putting an extra sway in her hips as she walked, and came back to him, looped her arm in his and headed for the door.

In the elevator, she smiled as she thought of a way to drive him mad. She un-looped her arm from his and turned to face him with her body parallel to his. She reached up with her right hand and took his collar between her fingers and lightly rubbed them together feeling the soft fabric of his shirt. She took her left hand and lightly brushed it up from his stomach past his right peck, feeling the defined muscle under her touch, to the buttons on the shirt.

She skimmed her hand down again only over the buttons now appreciating their smooth feel under her fingers. When her hand reached the bottom of his shirt she looked up into his eyes and removed that hand from his waist and raised it to the bare skin of his neck. The contrast from her touch on fabric to his bare skin made him shudder. She felt it too because an evil little smile played pleasantly across her face ever so slightly. He noticed it but before he had time to say anything she had leaned forward to kiss the exposed skin on his neck.

He gasped lightly as her hot moist lips caressed his now throbbing pulse point. She pulled back from the kiss ever so slightly so she could whisper in his ear. "You look pretty good too Castle. And you smell amazing." She said smiling into his neck.

Coming back to his senses finally, her scent hit him like a ton of bricks. He smelt the slight hint of cherries from that day but now she smelled sexy. He smelled the mix of different berries and vanilla with a slight hint of musk. It made her seem like this sensual little berry tart that he couldn't get enough of.

Noting the change in the tension of his body, and the way he was focusing on her, Kate pulled back slightly. As she pulled back he pulled her closer, the contrast of both of their actions causing her neck to be more exposed than before. Castle took note and immediately nuzzled his face in her neck, drinking in the intoxicating scent of euphoria on her.

"NO… You smell amazing!" He said pulling up and looking at her with wonderment. "What are you wearing?"

She smiled, "Guess you will have to wait till later to find out.." She said smirking at his slightly slack jawed look. With that the elevator dinged and the doors opened and she again stalked out, swaying her hips ever so exaggeratedly.

He grinned widely as he hurried to catch up to her. Outside, parked in front of her building, was his bright red, cherry red at that, Ferrari. She automatically went to the driver side and turned holding out her hands for the keys.

"Oh no. Tonight Katherine Beckett is a passenger. I am driving tonight." He said jingling the keys above her reach.

She pouted and crossed her arms, looking at him with her best puppy dog eyes. He laughed at the sight of Kate Beckett pouting to get what she wanted. It was adorable. He pointed to the other side of the car. She stomped her foot and reluctantly took her seat in the passenger side. He got in behind the wheel and turned over the engine. The car roared to life. Forgetting her little tantrum Kate instantly grinned at the raw power of the machine she was seated in. Oh yeah, it would go fast.

With ease Rick pulled away from the building inserting them into traffic. He had chosen a restaurant that wasn't particularly close so he could watch her reaction to his car. He reached over and laid a hand on her thigh. She smiled at the contact and reached down and moved his hand further up her thigh. With the movement he tore his eyes from the rode and peered into her smoky green and brown eyes. She smiled silently at him, letting him know it was ok and to go on driving. With the non-verbal permission he focused again on the road. He absent mindedly started to rub small circles, not unlike the ones on her hand from that night in her apartment with Royal, on the outside of her thigh.

Every time his finger would make a complete circle she felt the tingles of his touch shoot to her stomach causing a tight not to form in the pit. Her breath hitched slightly as he gently squeezed her thigh, sending shooting sparks up and down her legs and lower body. She looked over at him and he noted the darkening of her pupils and smiled at his ability to drive her crazy. They drove like that until they reached the restaurant.

Pulling up to the restaurant, Rick got out of the car and handed the keys to the valet to park the car. He walked over to Kate's side appreciating the fact that she was letting him be a gentleman tonight. Tonight she was showing her more laid back and loveable side. It was refreshing to him that she could relinquish the control she daily maintained if she wanted to and had a well enough reason. He opened her door for her and extended his hand. He gratefully took it rising out of the Ferrari. Automatically his hand went to the small of her back, sending shooting lightning bolts up and down her back at his soft touch.

He led her into the restaurant. Penthouse 808, a restaurant featuring Pan Asian Cuisine. He told the hostess their reservation and they were led up through the restaurant to double doors opening out onto a patio. They had risen a few floors from the entrance and Kate could see the view of the patio through the windows on the doors. With a wave of the hostesses hand the double doors were opened and Kate gasped at the site before her.

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><p>Review please :D<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: i own many things, alas, i do not own thy castle.**

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><p>Chapter 10<p>

In a path to their private table were rows of lit white pillar candles. He pushed lightly on her back as he started to lead her to their table. He led her through the gentle ambiance of the candles, up the small staircase, it too covered in candles, to their private table for two on the highest part of the patio.

As they reached the balcony of the patio, she took in the sight before her. In front of her laid the Manhattan skyline with the Brooklyn Bridge slightly off to the right. Closer, she noticed all the candles that were perched on the balcony around their table and on the surrounding tables, the flicker of the warm light setting the romantic, private atmosphere around them.

She focused on the table. Set for two with a black satin tablecloth, black and white damask cloth napkins, bright violet roses as the centerpiece and a silver ice bucket off to the one side. He led her finally to the table, satisfied that she had taken the entire setting in sufficiently.

He pulled her chair out for her and she took her seat with him pushing in the chair behind her. Opposite he took his chair. He looked over to the door and motioned for their server. A young man dressed in a black tux with a white shirt and violet tie arrived at the table. With another motion from Castle the server was removing the wine from the ice bucket and presenting it to Rick.

"Pinot Grigio acceptable to start with?" Rick said showing Kate the bottle. She nodded and he poured a modest amount in her wine glass, following with his.

They both picked up their menus and started perusing the appetizers.

Castle noted the oysters on the menu and raised his eyebrow. "Hmmm…" He hummed.

Gaining her attention then, he said. "Maybe we should get the oysters. They are an aphrodisiac you know." He said wiggling his eyebrows at him.

She chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes for good measure. "Um, no I'm pretty sure we don't need to add that to this evening with how it's going already, I would like to eat a full meal and not have to leave the restaurant early." She said with her best 'I don't think so' look.

"Who says we have to leave? We have this balcony to ourselves for as long as we want." He said grinning seductively.

Kate pointed to the menu in his hands and raised her eyebrow. He got the message and continued looking at the list.

"What about this? Coconut Crab cakes with celery root & mango slaw, and a pomegranate glaze." Kate said pointing to one of the appetizers on the menu.

Rick nodded his approval and they ordered the starter. Over the appetizer they conversed lightly about things that had been happening with regards to Alexis and her many internships. Kate countered with telling him all the progress that she had made with Dr. Burke since her bout of PTSD. When they had finished their appetizer they again looked at the menu.

"So do you like sushi?" Rick asked Kate.

She looked at him and wrinkled her nose and said, "Hmm, I have never tried it. I don't know if I would like raw fish."

"Don't worry it's not like dory will be on your plate singing just keep swimming. I think you would like it. Hmmm so which to choose….." He said laughing at his childish reference.

"ooooh, the Kimoto Dragon, that sounds particularly daaaaangerous…." He said grinning at her.

"Um no, I want a little safeness." She said hesitantly.

"Ok." He said looking back at the menu, placing it slightly in front of his face.

"What about the Skyline Roll?" She asked still looking at the description.

"Hmmm, sweet with yet a spicy kick... hmmm that reminds me of someone..." He said peeking over the menu at her. She smiled at him and set the menu down. They ordered the rolls and resumed their conversation.

Their sushi arrived and they were silent for a few minutes, delighting in the surprisingly tasty roll. They were discussing what they should get for entrees, so they could share and both taste something that interested them, when she slid her foot up his leg. Her shoes causing his pant leg to catch in her heel and the heel to lightly scrape the skin of his leg. She looked up from her menu slightly to gauge his reaction. He let out a slight squeak when he felt the cool plastic of her heel graze his leg. She smiled innocently at him as she slid her foot higher to his knee and pressed slightly to move his knees apart resting her foot between his legs.

"I ah.." there was a slight falter in his voice.. "I though you wanted safeness tonight?" He said trying to focus on his words even though a part of her body was very enticingly pressing upon his own body.

She smiled again at him as she pressed her foot further upon him. "Oh come now.. it's just footsie its harmless." She said mock pouting.

"Just as harmless as playing hooky in High School, right?" He replied.

She laughed and looked back at her menu, she however did not remove her foot. He shifted slightly trying to find a more comfortable position with how her foot was situated in his lap. Instead he made the shoe's hard platform rub even more upon his growing problem. If this continued he thought they would have to play hooky from dinner. He smiled at the thought.

"I think I am going to get the Penthouse Pad Thai with Shrimp." She said pulling his thoughts away from where they had ventured.

"Oh yeah. That sounded good. I am going with the Japanese BBQ'd Salmon." Rick said focusing on the menu again.

"Hmm interesting choice, the only fish that almost kills itself for sex." Kate said pressing down further in his lap.

He squeaked as he felt the pressure in his lap increase both from her and what was going on inside his body. His eyes dilated further into a black abyss. She smiled as she saw the obvious furtherance of change in his demeanor. She noticed the waiter coming back to their table. She smiled up at him and ordered their food. While she ordered she rubbed her foot in circles, further torturing Rick across the table.

Their food arrived and they ate in silence for the most part. They carried on a conversation with their looks and demeanor and actions.

"I think we will be taking our dessert to go." He said to the waiter when he took their order.

"Are we leaving so soon?" Kate said with a smug grin raising her eyebrow at him.

"Don't act coy with me missy. You know very well why we are leaving early." He said as he squeezed his thighs around her foot. He efficiently trapped her foot where he wanted it. While they were waiting for the dessert boxes and the bill, he reached down and started to rub light circles on the inside of her foot. He slowly traveled up with his fingers till he caressed her ankle. She gasped slightly at the loss of control. His hand traveled further up stroking her calf. Gaining a firm grip on her leg he pulled her in toward him further causing his fingers graze the sensitive skin of the back of her knees. She groaned as fire shot out of his black abyss of eyes as well as the fingers that were stroking her already warmed skin. She felt the heat spread to her entire body with its center slightly below her stomach. The center was blazing, a flame that needed dousing.

As soon as the waiter had left, Rick unclamped his legs, letting her pull her foot free. Allowing her barely enough time to regain her footing, Rick pulled her out of her chair and roughly into his arms. He nuzzled his mouth to the skin behind her ear, drinking further in the euphoria of her.

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you are trying to kill me." He whispered seductively into her ear.

"Why do you assume that I'm not?" she whispered just as seductively back.

"Because you aren't waving your gun around at me." He said pulling back the teasing glimmer taking over in his eye.

She looked into his goofy face and decided to torture him one last time before they got to the apartment.

"No but you are. Maybe I should be more afraid of you killing me." She said as she locked eyes on him and rubbed her hand slowly down his front. After she had gone the full length, of his body, she grabbed his hand and the to-go containers and lead him out of the restaurant.

She climbed into the driver's side of the Ferrari and strapped herself in.

"It might not be the best idea for you to drive Kate…."

"Why is that Castle?" She said looking at him.

"Well it doesn't seem to help my problem considering how sexy you look gripping that steering wheel."

"Settle down Castle and "Rambo". We will be there soon enough." She said smirking as she pulled away from the curb. Rick made a very audible groan to let her know the pull of the vehicle wasn't helping either.

Fifteen minutes later, thanks to Kate's driving, they pulled up to her apartment and stumbled to the elevator. As soon as they were in and the doors had shut, he grabbed her and slammed her into the wall. Kissing her furiously, she started to grind her hips into the evidence of his arousal. She whimpered at the lack of contact that this brought and also for the fact that she needed more NOW!

The noise of the elevator opening barely registered in their minds as they kissed and groped their way up to her floor.

When they finally realized that the doors of the elevator were open, and a couple was standing there amused by the show they were receiving, they exited stealthily as the embarrassment showed on their cheeks. They reached her apartment and rushed inside giggling at their actions.

"Well that was embarrassing!" Kate said breathlessly as they closed the door to her apartment.

"What you don't like putting on a show?" Rick said grinning at her.

"No I only do private viewings." She said stalking toward him.

When she reached him she put her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the desire that was coursing through her body. She moves her arm from his neck into his hair playing with it lazily. She gently pulls his head to her further as she slides her tongue into his mouth exploring further the dark wet place that drives her insane. As she nips his bottom lip slightly he moans into her mouth. She drags her tongue, soothing the area, over his bottom lip caressing it to her.

His hands, knowing what to do, slide down her sides to her behind. He cups her butt and lifts her slightly causing her to wrap her legs around his waist and anchor herself to him as they further the assault on each other's lips.

"Why don't we take this somewhere more private then?" He said breathlessly as he pulled away from the kiss, walking her towards her bedroom.

"mmmmm" was all she could say as he started to kiss her neck. He trailed kisses all the way down to her modest cleavage and kissed that spot lightly. He pulled his face up to hers again and looked into her eyes.

"I love you so much Katherine Beckett." He said seriously to her.

A look of joy shone through the clouds of arousal, lust and desire as she gazed upon him with echoing love.

"I love you too Richard Castle." With that she again took his lips with her own. The kisses, more light, less hurried, expressing the words that were previously uttered.

He set her down when they had entered her bedroom. Their kiss was broken from the change in position, this new position though allowed her to start to unbutton his shirt. He had already removed his jacket in the kitchen.

Their eyes locked as she undid each button slowly and with care. Although their actions in the elevator and the kitchen had been rushed and frantic, they now wanted to go slow and savor everything from this moment on. This was their first time together and they wanted to cherish it forever.

As she reached the last button she tugged gently on his shirt, removing it from the confines of his pants. She pushed it off of his shoulders, running her hands up and around his defined chest. Exploring the firm toned planes. As the shirt fell off his arms she skimmed her hands down his biceps and forearms until she reached his hands. His hands had been at his sides this whole time allowing her to start, to initiate what they had waited four years to do.

She reached for his hands and brought them up to her hips again, setting them there. She leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Take my dress off."

With the words and her breath on his ear he shivered and looked into her eyes, giving her a visual signal. If she wasn't ready and wanted to stop he would be a gentleman and would stop.

She smiled at him with all of her emotions, most of all love, shining through. Reassurance swam in her eyes. She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, giving all the reassurance he needed. He slowly pulled up on her dress, revealing inch by inch of her now bare skin. With a swift movement, he pulled the dress over her head. Her hair ruffling slightly and resting sensually on her now bear chest.

He looked down at her now naked form. "You didn't have anything on under that?"

"Nope." She said smiling slyly.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't tell me because we would have never made it out of here earlier." He growled attaching his mouth to her clavicle.

"Mmmm, Rick it's my turn. You still have pants on and it isn't fair." She said moaning as he again kissed down her neck finding the enticing planes and hills that had been hidden by the dress before.

She reached down and undid his pants and pushed them and his boxers down until he was standing before her bare as well. He stepped out of his pants and took off his socks and shoes. As she watched him she realized that she still had her six inch platforms on.

She reached down to take her shoes off as well but he stopped her.

"Leave them on." Rick said.

"Maybe next time." She said pulling them off. This was their first time, how awful would it be if she hurt him already because she failed to remove her spikes of heels.

"Ok." He said taking her in his arms again. She sighed as their naked skin collided.

He walked her back to her bed until the back of her knees touched and gave out onto the soft fabric of her comforter. She sat down and inched her way back towards the pillows of the bed.

Rick stood there for a minute looking at the beauty before him. The rays of only her bedside lamp casting on her, he took in her glowing skin, humming. She reached her hand out, motioning for him to take it and come to her.

He climbed onto the bed and took her hand. He pulled it and placed it on his back as he pulled her hips toward him. She opened her legs allowing him access to lie above her. She pulled on his back pulling him toward her needing him closer to her. She pulled him in further kissing him. He moved his hands up her body touching all the right places causing her to arch into his body. With a swift movement he sent their bodies into oblivion. They moved together causing ecstasy to pour out of each of their beings.

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><p><strong>Review please :D<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. OMG! I cant wait for The Limey! It looks sooo Good!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

The next morning he woke up to the unfamiliar feeling of a person tucked into his body. He was groggy at first and started to freak out until he remembered the night before. As he remembered what had ensued, he smiled. He nuzzled his face into her soft tresses and breathed in. The arm he had placed around her waist in the night, as they spooned, tightened bringing her in as close as she could be.

He moved the hair on her neck off and lightly kissed her skin. "Good morning my love." He whispered to her while she slept on. The small noises of her sleep echoing in his ear. He decided then and there that he would do everything in his power to wake up next to her every day for the rest of his life.

With that sentimental mood flowing through his body, he untangled himself without waking her and rose from the bed. He quickly dressed as the sunlight began to stream into her windows. He moved over to close the curtains, allowing her to have the satisfaction of sleeping in on her day off. He went to the side of her bed again and kissed her on the cheek.

With that he headed out of the apartment and down the street to the little Bistro he had often wondered about. This morning was going to be special, one they would never forget. He entered Le Fouet, noticing the relaxed yet romantic atmosphere. He went to the counter where they had their breakfast menu displayed. He looked at the signature items and finally decided. He ordered her crepes with fresh strawberries, a strawberry champagne glaze topped with homemade whipped cream. For him he ordered the Belgian waffle with blueberry butter topped with warm syrup and breaded chicken strips. He topped the order off with two freshly squeezed orange juices and two vanilla lattes. He made his way back to the apartment practically skipping he was so happy.

She opened her eyes, immediately feeling a sense of loss as she noticed she was in the bed alone. Images of their night together flashed back into her mind. They had made love, cuddled and made love again. The second time even more endearing and amazing than the first. She had hoped it would always be like that, always getting better, always leaving her breathless. But now as she felt the cool sheets next to her she started to acquire pain in her stomach. She felt like curling up in the bed and never coming out. He had left. As much as she wanted to just lay there and do nothing, she got up. She shivered as the cool morning air hit her naked skin.

She walked over to her bathroom and turned the hot water in her shower on. She entered the shower running the hot water over her body hoping to ease the tension her body was already producing. She washed her body and hair. She was toweling herself off when she felt a large hand grab the towel by her waist and pull it out of her grasp. She shrieked not knowing it was Rick behind her and who had just stolen her towel. She turned ready to fight an intruder even in her naked form. She scoffed when she saw Castle standing there laughing at her, at her current attack position.

"You are even sexier when you are in cop mode naked." He said raising his eyebrow at her as he looked her wet heaving body up and down.

He reached and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into him. He seized her lips with a frantic craving for the taste of her. She smelled overwhelmingly of cherries. Her wet hair brushed his cheek. She quickly forgot that she was mad and let the joy of his return flow through her. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his back. His hands found the back of her neck in the mass of her wet locks. He tangled his fingers in the soft, cool, damp jungle. Needing air, Kate pulled back.

Between breaths she said to him, "I .. I thought.. you.. left.." She said, the hurt and confusion returning and shining brightly in her eyes.

"No, you think I would just leave after last night?" he said taking her hands in his and looking hurt. He would never do that, especially now with her. He never wanted to leave her now.

"Well I didn't, but you were gone when I woke up so… I just figured you had left sometime after I fell asleep." She said regretting her doubt and misunderstanding of him.

"I went to get us breakfast. I wanted you to be able to sleep in on your day off. Especially considering we didn't get very much sleep last night." He said. He watched her eyes glaze over and a smile reaching her lips causing her cheeks to flush pink. He smiled at her and kissed her neck tenderly.

"Why don't you put some clothes on and meet me out in the kitchen and we can eat." He said releasing her and pushing her gently toward her dresser.

"Ok." She said biting her bottom lip while she smiled.

They enjoyed their breakfast, her marveling in the scrumptiousness of her crepes and him ecstatic about how delicious his chicken and waffles were. She smiled up as she gazed again upon the single red rose that adorned her kitchen table. He had set it next to her plate so that it was the first thing she had regarded when she had entered the kitchen. Next was the beautiful display of her fancy, 'thank you for last night', breakfast. She sat down and took a sip of the fresh orange juice. The twang and sweetness meddling to provide the perfect flavor. She looked up again and lunged for her coffee. She sipped the hot beverage and sighed as the familiar feeling of energy from the caffeine surged through her body.

Later, they had moved to the couch and lazily snuggled there watching some silly soap opera that made no sense. Just then Castle's phone started to ring. He looked at the caller id and smiled. It was his mother. He had told her last night before he left, not to wait up because he probably wouldn't be home in the morning and most likely spending the day with Beckett.

He smiled, she misses me already he thought. He picked the phone up and hit answer.

"Hello, Mother checking in on me?" He said playfully

"Richard…" Martha said into the phone. She sounded distraught.

"What is it mother what's wrong?" He said concerned now, normally his mother was annoyingly upbeat. She was always positive, finding the good in everything. Her tone now as she answered was not normal.

"Richard, darling…" She started to cry.

"Mother, tell me! What's going on?" He had pushed himself to the edge of the couch ready to jump up and run out and take care of the problem.

Kate noticed his sudden movement and diverted her attention to him, fully listening and watching him.

"It's Alexis. She is … she is GONE!" Martha said through sobs.

"Mother calm down I'm sure she is fine. She is 18 years old and has God knows how many internships now." He said trying to calm his mother down.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I was gone last night, I just got home! There was a ransom note on the counter! Someone has kidnapped Alexis! They want Two Million Dollars in exchange for her!" Martha was on the verge of hysterics now, causing Rick to rise from the couch and put his hands in his face and throw the phone down on the couch.

"Rick.." Kate rose off the couch quickly crossing the room to where he stood.

His shoulders were shaking and she could hear the gasps of air as he sobbed into his hands. She reached to pull his hands down from his face, he tried to pull away from her but she used her force training to grasp his wrists forcefully. She tugged again and he admitted defeat, letting her draw his hands down. She saw his crumpled, defeated expression and pulled him into her arms. She didn't ask him about the phone call. She knew he would tell her. She would just wait till he was ready.

She felt him start to pull away and she gently released him. She kept her hand on his forearm so that he wouldn't close himself up again the instant he was alone. She reached her hand up and brushed her hand on his cheek, this caused him to finally look at her. When they locked eyes, hers shone with concern for him. One single tear made it through the confines of his tortured eyes.

"Alexis has been kidnapped…" He said with great effort.

"Oh no….." she breathed, she was on the verge of crying now too. She had always been fond of Alexis, even as of late when she had been finding out more about her and her father's relationship.

"They left a ransom note… They want two million dollars…" He said sitting down on the couch now; his legs could no longer support his sullen body.

She went over and sat down next to him and took his hand and intertwined their fingers and rested their hands on his thigh.

"What do I do first? Do I send the money and hope for the best or wait?" He said trying to figure out what to do.

"No first thing is you are going home to shower and change. Then we will go to the precinct and alert the Abduction Unit. They deal with this situation and ransom negotiations."

"But it's your day off." He said, trying to protest even though he wanted to start the investigation as soon as possible.

"It's your daughter, Rick." She said placing her palm on his cheek, she brushed his cheek and under his eye. He leaned his face into her touch closing his eyes.

"Can't we just investigate it? I mean I know you are homicide, but you did the hostage negotiations when mother and I were in that bank."

"No we will need all the help we can get and I don't know if Captain Gates will let at least me investigate it at all. It is not in my department, if there is a murder I will have to investigate that. My job and my department are priority to Captain Gates. If I had a choice I would push any homicide cases to the side."

"That doesn't mean we can't investigate it together secretly." He said not quite satisfied with her answer.

"Rick, the abduction unit is good at what they do. They are highly trained for these types of situations. They can handle it. I know one of the detectives, he is especially good. I can get him to take point on this investigation. Now I'm going to change into work clothes and we will go to your loft and while you shower and change I can comfort Martha.

An hour later they were entering the precinct. When they reached the Homicide floor they exited the elevator and walked to her desk. She sat in her chair and logged on to her computer and pulled up the search program for the station. Castle had sat in his seat too but was looking off into space, he didn't know what to do with himself. She looked over at him from the screen and rested her hand on his. He snapped out of his daze and looked up at her. She tried to smile but it felt to fake.

"We will find her. She is going to be ok. I'm going to email the head detective in the Abduction unit." She said squeezing his hand looking back to her screen. She kept her hand in his though, offering him a tiny amount of comfort.

The elevator dinged and off walked Ryan and Esposito. They walked into the bullpen and noticed Beckett and Castle.

"Hey what are you guys doing here?" Esposito said stopping, he noticed Castle's demeanor and how him and Kate were holding hands, he immediately knew something was wrong.

"I thought it was your day off Beckett?" Ryan said.

Beckett, turned from the computer screen, said to the boys, "Alexis has been kidnapped and they have contacted Castle for a ransom of two million dollars." She took in their shocked faces. Immediately though they put their personal feelings aside and went back into detective mode.

"Does the Captain know?" Ryan said.

"No I was hoping you could inform Gates for us while I wait for a response from Detective Bryant." Beckett said rubbing her forehead. She looked over again at Castle and rubbed her thumb over his hand.

"We will go tell the Captain. You let me know when Bryant contacts you. I want to help you catch this son of a bitch." Esposito said pointing at them to stress his point, he turned and tapped Ryan on the arm and they both headed for Gate's office.

"Is Bryant really that good? This is my little girl, my pumpkin…"Castle said the raw emotion of pain and loss evident in the quiver of his voice.

Beckett didn't care where they were, who would see, and most definitely who would win the pot from the bet about them. She needed to do this, he needed it, they needed it. She pulled on his wrist causing him to lean forward slightly and she leaned into him and kissed him. She raised her hand up to wipe the tear that had formed and left his eye.

"You and I and him will find Alexis. You can be certain. Once he emails me back we can start. Him and his team will contact that number on the note first thing and get all the information from the kidnapper that they can." She said after she had pulled back and made sure he looked her in the eye as she spoke to him.

"Ok.." He whispered.

She looked over and saw Ryan and Esposito standing there just staring at them. She wanted to laugh, but for Castle's sake she ignored them and gave them orders to start looking at the evidence that CSU had brought back from Castle's Loft.

Beckett's computer beeped, alerting her that she had a new email. It was Detective Bryant. In his email he informed her that he did not have any current cases and that he would be up to the Homicide unit in 5 minutes to start the investigation. He stressed that even though Alexis was 18 this should be classified as a child abduction. So the next 48 hrs were extremely crucial.

She turned to Castle. He looked up at her. She smiled very small. "Andrew Bryant will be here in 5 minutes to help us in the investigation."

Castle stood up with a start and headed for the murder board.

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><p><strong>And here ensues the Angst. Hope it didn't upset you too bad madsthenerdygirl. Like always Reviews bring smiles to my face. Leave me one I dare you. Unlock the sunshine of my smile and spur on a new chapter! :D<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter was written jointly by RoxyShadow and Writerfly. Thanks for all your help girl! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. I wish I did, because if I did I would not want to punch Richard Castle right now for how he treated Kate in the Limey! **

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><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

Alexis awoke feeling groggy and dazed. She could smell paint thinner and urine. She opened her eyes slowly allowing them to adjust to the low light. She could make out wooden stairs in front of her. She was sitting in an old metal kitchen chair. Her arms were tied behind her back and her legs were both strapped to the cold legs of the chair. She looked around taking in as much as her brain would process. The old washer and dryer in the corner, they were stained from what looked like water dripping down them for years, the wall of shelves full of paint cans and old rags.

She had just started trying to come up with an escape plan as the door to the upstairs started to creak open. A dingy white sneaker stepped down onto the stairway. Alexis closed her eyes again. She wished she could just snap her fingers and she'd wake up from this crazy dream. She opened her eyes again looking at the floor. There the sneakers were standing right in front of her. She slowly started to look up. She wanted to see the face of her captor. She noted the oddly colored high waist "mommy" jeans, the white top with a melon pink cardigan thrown on over it.

Alexis was taken a little aback by the woman's dark eyes. They were drilling a hole right into her face. They looked pitiful and sad. Her brow line was wrinkled with scowl lines. Her overgrown eyebrows added more to her homely appearance. Alexis finally figured she had to be at least 35.

"What do you wa-want?" Alexis' voice shook as she managed to get the sentence out.

The woman just scowled at her more. She stood straight up and looked over Alexis' head. "I want to hurt him, just like he's hurt me." She bent down again to look Alexis right in the eye. "You're the only thing he loves more than himself." Her thin lips began to curve up in a malicious smile.

"What did he ever do to you?"

The woman stomped her foot. "WHAT HASN'T HE DONE TO ME? That is the question right now!"

Alexis just looked up at the woman befuddled.

The woman's eye narrowed, "Your Father… I've been there… at every single one of his book signings… I've read everything he's ever penned… I've been there when he's been low… I've been there when things started going good! I read his works when no one had every EVEN heard of Richard Castle. I promoted him and I gave money to his foundations! How did he ever repay me? He DID NOTHING!" Her eyes glazed over as if she were in some fantasy land. Her face twisted in sorrow. She began to whisper, "He did nothing. I told him I loved him and he did nothing."

Alexis tried to hide her look of astonishment by looking at the floor. "This lady is nuts. Off her rocker and she's going to keep me here 'til dad comes to get me. Please oh please Dad… Kate! Please know I'm gone and you're looking for me… Please don't let me be here entrapped and nobody even realize I'm gone. Why oh why do I always have to be gone from home?"

Just then a grey Tabby with white feet came into her view as it began to weave its way between this mysterious crazy lady's legs. It began to mew at her and rubbed more feverishly.

The woman spoke again. Her voice was stronger this time, more bold. "It was supposed to say Richard, Isis, and Mr. Fluffy Castle out there on that mailbox." The lady reached down to pet the pleading cat on the head.

Alexis' eyes widened slightly, "Did she just say her name was Isis? Ok I've got to remember that…. Isis… Isis… What a weird name…" Her thoughts trailed off but she wouldn't forget this woman's name… not ever.

"That RAT!" Isis hollered. The Cat jumped and hissed slightly. "That rat bastard took everything from me! I have spent YEARS waiting for him, wanting him, dreaming about him. I was willing to die for him, to do whatever he wanted me to do. I waited my whole life to be part of his! And all he's ever done was stared at me in the crowd and then just turn his back on me and leave! He told me that he cherished me! He told me that he was glad I was there for him! He'd tell me every time he signed my book!"

Tears were streaming down her face. Her eyes were scrunched shut her mouth trembled with her anger. She was hunched over as if someone had hit her in the stomach. Her dark eyes opened and she turned to look at Alexis.

"I will get him for doing this to me! He will PAY for all the anguish I've suffered. He will finally feel how I've felt all this time! HE WILL PAY!" She yelled as she started to run up the stairs and away from Alexis.

The door shut and again Alexis was left in the horrendous smelling basement alone. Part of her wanted to pity the poor woman. She was obviously hurting, but as Alexis continued to think…. It was this Isis who had caused herself pain. She had obviously fantasized to the point of believing it was real. Her dad would have never done or said those things off handedly to some woman at a book signing.

She jumped slightly as a mew emanated from her right side. The grey tabby lay looking up at her, its golden eyes seemed just as malicious as its owners. Alexis just shook her head and rested her chin on her chest. All she could do was wait. "Dear god Dad and Kate. Find me. Please find me."

She sat there and watched as the last rays of daylight peeked into the sole basement window. She remembered just getting ready to shut the door from getting home from the morgue when something had pushed through the door and knocked her down. She'd looked at the clock just moments before everything went blank. It had said 9pm. Fear caught in her throat as she suddenly realized: She'd been trapped here for a whole day.

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><p>"How can it be almost 24 hrs and we don't have one damn thing!" Castle said as he rubbed his head.<p>

They were still at the precinct. They had been unable to get ahold of the kidnapper. They had run the note for prints but had come up empty. They ran the hand writing through the data base that the abduction unit had and it was able to at the very least determine that the kidnapper was left handed.

"Well we know the kidnapper is left handed. And based on the curves and neatness of the cursive it will most likely be a woman that has kidnapped your daughter." Detective Bryant said.

He had seen to many cases like this before. The parents were always anxious and blamed themselves for their child being kidnapped. This case was hard though. The girl, Alexis, was 18, technically an adult, not a child. And her father was in special circumstances. It was very rare that an officer's child was abducted. Even though Castle wasn't an official officer, he worked at the station every day with a detective, he knew the odds. And at this point they were only going down.

Kate had been sitting there quiet going over the data they had that had been laid out on the murder board. She had been analyzing it for over an hour now and her eyes were beginning to burn. She looked over at the clock. 11:30 PM. She rubbed her eyes and looked over to Castle.

He too had been continuously running the facts that they knew over in his head. Who would do something like this to him? What had he ever done to deserve this? Things had just been working out perfectly and then this…. He looked over to Kate and saw her concerned eyes watching him. He faked a weak smile. He hated having her see him like this. He hated seeing her like this.

In the more than 12 hours since they had found out, Kate had been furiously tracking things and trying to find a shred of truth for them to hold onto. He had seen in her face and in the things she did how much she cared for Alexis too. She loved her almost as much as he did and couldn't let anything happen to her. He knew she would blame herself if anything did happen to her. She would think that she was a bad cop, unable to prevent things.

He saw her smile back. But he knew that look, she was worried and over exerted. Even though this was his daughter and he knew they needed to find her as soon as possible, he knew they wouldn't get much else done tonight. Especially on a lack of sleep and nourishment. He brought his hand over and covered Beckett's with his.

"We aren't going to get any further tonight. You look exhausted. Let's go home and get a few hours of sleep and we will approach this fresh tomorrow." He said gently to her.

"Castle….. this is Alexis…. We can't go home. She needs us to find her!" Beckett said looking at him shocked. How could he just leave his daughter in danger like that!

"Mr. Castle is right Detective Beckett. You both need to remain objective on this case. The less sleep the less amount of objectivity. Right now you are both barely holding on. I don't have anyone at home to go home too. I will stay and wait for a call, and keep going over the information we have. Have your boys come in early so you can get enough rest. We want you to be able to do your best work." Bryant said.

"Beckett, you are always better in the morning anyway. We need to rest. Bryant will call us if anything pops." Castle said getting up and retrieving his jacket from the chair. He gently grabbed her hand again and pulled causing her to rise to her feet.

"Ok." She said reluctantly. She allowed him to help her with her coat and lead her out of the precinct. They stopped at her apartment first so she could get something to sleep in and clothes for the next day. Then they went to his loft.

"I'm going to go take a shower and try to relax a little. Make yourself at home. There is food in the fridge and have whatever you like of my wine collection." Castle said without enthusiasm.

"Ok." She said as she came up and kissed him. She smiled at him reassuring him that it would be ok. With his sad eyes locked on hers he smiled, hardly.

He left her and headed into his bathroom closing the door after him. She went into the kitchen and looked at his wine. She picked a nice red and poured herself a glass. She picked it up and started wandering around the loft. It seemed in a different light tonight. For the most it was a bright loving place. Tonight though, it was dark and a constant reminder of the lack of the person who brought light. There were no giggles between father and daughter, no mature conversations carried out by the child to the immature parent. No mother flittering around the apartment with her bright ensembles singing of her new project.

She moved to his large windows overlooking the city and leaned against the window frame and sighed looking at the lights. She wondered where Alexis could be. She pushed her thoughts from that. She was trying to relax trying to rest and start fresh tomorrow. She turned from the window and wandered into his office.

She walked around his desk touching the deep rich mahogany wood that formed the place where he wrote. She felt the soft suede fabric of his large chair. She walked over perusing his expanse of books. Smiling at some that he had, they had similar taste. She smiled when she reached the shelf that held all of the books that he had written and published.

She turned away from the bookshelf and noticed a large screen off towards the back wall. She hadn't noticed that the last time she was in his office; she thought back, that was over a year ago. It was probably just a tv. Her curiosity got the best of her.

She walked over and touched the screen. The screen came to life, brightening in front of her eyes. She gasped and dropped her glass of wine onto the floor. There was a crash and slosh as the cup broke on the floor spilling the contents universally. There in front of her was a murder board. This one though was centered on her. In the middle was a picture of her face with branches running out with other pictures and information regarding her mother's murder and her own shooting.

She heard footsteps enter the room. In her shock she hadn't heard him leave the bathroom and put clothes on. She turned to him with hurt and confusion in her eyes. He looked at her and then to the ever present picture of her face and the links to her. He closed his eyes and put his palm over his face.

"Wha…. What is this….. Castle..?" She said quietly, barely above a whisper. She was trying her hardest to contain the anger that was starting to boil within her.

"Kate….let me explain…" He said starting towards her.

"You mean let you explain that you have been searching and solving my mother's murder with out me? You have been tracking down my shooter without informing me with new information to catch that son of a bitch?" While she said this she moved back while he moved forward, at this rate neither were making any progress.

"I had to do it with out you. They would kill you if you went back and tried to solve it. They gave me the info so I could save you. I did it because I Love You and I don't want anything to happen to you. It nearly killed me when I thought you could be dying in my arms. I couldn't go through that again. How many times do you think you can get lucky! I was afraid that the next time you ran at this you wouldn't make it, that I would lose you. I can't…. I can't lose you…" He said, he had become overcome with emotion and had to sit down in his chair as he put his head in his hands trying not to cry.

He had startled her with his sudden change from calm to rage and then down to sorrow and pain. She watched as the strong man before her again crumpled under the weight of distress. She had thought he was just keeping her in the dark, just waiting till he knew it all and then telling her to make the arrest like it would be ok that he did it all by himself leaving her with no real satisfaction in a mere arrest.

Now as she looked at him, she understood. He couldn't lose her. She remembered how he had been so excited to see her in the hospital. So happy that she was alive. She remembered his utterance as he held her those painful moments after the bullet had seized her chest. She knew from the look in his eyes then that it would kill him if that happened to her again.

She walked over to the murder board and tapped it again, sending the screen back to black. She then walked over to him and placed her hand on his forearm. He looked up at her with tears in his eyes. He stood up and took both of her hands in his.

"I love you so much, you have to know that's why I didn't tell you. I only wanted to protect you."

"I understand. And I love you too. But I don't know how I feel about this. I don't know how I would have handled this information back after my shooting but I know I need to deal with the fact that you kept something from me. If we are going to have a successful relationship we need to be honest. That is why I told you that first night that I remembered your 'I Love You'. I wanted to start the relationship off clean." As she said this to him she had brought her hand up to brush his cheek. "I don't know if I can stay now. I … I need to think…" She said lowering her hand and turning to walk away.

"Kate….! Please….. Please don't go… I need you… I need someone I love near me right now." He begged her as another tear ran down his face. He had had moved forward to grasp her hand stopping her from leaving.

"Fine. I will stay. But I'm still mad." She said turning to face him and saying the words softly. "I'm going to take a shower and try to relax." She said walking away towards his bathroom.

She shrugged off her clothes once she was in the bathroom. She felt a little better. She felt that she had removed part of the day in a sense and now all the bad parts would be washed away. She looked into his shower and smiled at all the different pressures and shower heads. She turned on the water and chose the temperature and pressure. She tested the water and approved. She smiled finally as she entered the warm water encased in marble walls. The warm water caressed her body and lulled her into a sweet peacefulness. She reached for the loofa and her cherry body wash. She squirted the red gel on the loofa and started to wash her arms. The smell of the body wash reminded her of what castle said. "I still have to say I like the cherries best." His deep voice echoed in her ears.

_Warm arms wrapped themselves around her middle. The velvety skin was warm and gentle across her stomach. The light fingers were working circles across her sides. She could feel him breathing her in from behind. His deep eager breathes sent chills down her spine. She could feel his blue eyes taking in and memorizing her naked form. From the top of her soft curls all the way down to her supple curves of her legs._

_Kate moaned lightly as warm lips started to caress the base of her neck. The reciprocated moan released from his lips, the blast of warm air on her collar made her shiver even more. His hand slowly glided across her wet skin. It drifted down her arm; he intertwined his fingers in hers. Pulling her hand up, he laid gentle kisses on her knuckles, slowly working back up to her shoulder. His nose nuzzled her shoulder then another kiss._

_She turned her head and pulled his lips to hers. Such a sweet ecstasy it was to her to have his lips to hers. His hands began to explore her body. The slow curves of her hips, the taut firmness of her behind, the enticing curve of her lower back; His hands were rough yet soft all at the same time. Painfully slow he slipped his hand up to cup her breast. Another moan slipped out of her lips as he firmly grasped her breast. She pulled his face even closer to hers. Urgency resounded in her lips as she again assailed his lips. His lips were just as urgent._

_Rick's tongue quickly followed. He lightly licked her bottom lip followed by a quick suck. Kate slightly opened her lips to him. As their tongues mingled, Rick turned her to face him. His hands were urgently caressing her arms, shoulders, and breasts. She pushed him back to the wall of the shower. Her hands rubbed the lines of his slightly built chest. The light chest hair was damp and curled around her fingers. His shoulders were broad and strong under her fingers. He shifted once more grasping tightly to her buttock he lifted her and turned. Kate quickly wrapped her legs around his waist as her back touched the cool marble. Rick stopped suddenly. His blue eyes looked deeply into hers. "I love you, Kate." He sweetly whispered into her ear._

She sighed as she gripped the wall her fantasy slipping from her. Even when she was mad at him and in this dire time, he still seemed to creep into her thoughts and desires. She felt slightly guilty at taking advantage of his shower to relax herself and even guiltier for 'using' him. She had him now; she didn't have to pretend any longer. She just hopped he hadn't heard her when she had cried out as she had lost control. She quickly finished her shower and got out.

She brushed her hair and braided it so it wouldn't get in the way while she slept. She put on the shirt that she had taken home from him that night from the milkshake battle. It still smelt like him and continued to bring her comfort. She slid a small pair of cotton shorts over her panties and headed out to the bedroom.

He had already gotten into bed and was curled up with his back facing where she would lay. She climbed in next to him and whispered, "Good night, Rick. I love you."

When he heard her words and felt turn away from him, he felt bad. He didn't want it to be like this. He turned and gently pulled her into the crook of his body and wrapped his arm around her waist. She sighed as his warmth emanated to her body. The warm caress lulled her to sleep and soon the were both dreaming of a better time when Alexis was safe and sound.

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><p><strong>Please Review :D Thank you for all the reviews and alerts and favorites! P.S. Sorry about the long wait for the update.<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

"You don't really look like him you know." Isis was standing there in front of Alexis, examining her features.

"Yeah, unfortunately I look more like my mom." Alexis said looking down. She wished she looked like her dad more. At least then she wouldn't be daily reminded of Meredith and her whims.

"The police are looking for you. They have tried to call me twice. But I won't answer until he calls me. I want him, not them. And I don't want to talk to that whore he is working with. She doesn't deserve him. She should just go back to that guy on the motorcycle. Skanks like her like the bad boys. Not like my Ricky. He is such a good man. I almost hate to hurt him. But with what he did to me, he deserves this." Isis said with a crazed look in her eyes.

Alexis couldn't believe what she was seeing. This woman was officially and criminally insane. She didn't think she would hurt her. She wasn't the object of her rage. She was just the outlet the psychotic woman had used to break her dad. She sighed and looked down. If there was one thing this woman was right about it was that kidnapping her would hurt him the most, other than physical torture. Even then, she knew how much her dad loved her; he wouldn't break with physical pain if it meant that she was safe.

"I'm going to go to the store now. Do you want anything?.." She looked at Alexis expectantly.

Alexis just looked at her confused. She was a little bit grateful that her kidnapper was at least a little bit considerate of her.

"No." Alexis said looking down.

"Well, fine. I have to go get a few things. I want to have everything ready when Rick gets here. It has to be perfect!" She giggled as if she were a teenager going on a first date. With that she turned and scampered up the stairs.

Alexis' head had snapped up and she yelled after Isis. "Where is he! Is he coming? Please!"

The basement door slammed without an answer. Alexis sighed and again rested her chin on her chest. She was glad to know that they were looking for her. It gave her hope that this soon would be over.

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><p>Kate had texted the boys to be at the precinct at 7 am to catch up with Detective Bryant. They had both told her they would and to get some sleep.<p>

It was 8am now and Kate woke up in Ricks arms. He was awake. He was just lying there holding her. He was just trying to hold on to at least one thing that he loved. He was trying to draw from her so as to fill the void that his missing daughter had dug in his heart.

She turned in his arms so that she was facing him. "Morning." She whispered.

"Morning." His voice still lacked the enthusiasm that she had become accustomed for the last 4 years.

She reached up to brush his cheek. "Did you sleep at all?" She was concerned, he looked exhausted. There were deep circles under his eyes and he seemed to have aged several years over night. She had never seen him this sad. Even her presence did hardly anything to brighten his visage.

"A few hours. I most laid here thinking about you and me. Holding you, listening to your breathing, admiring the calmness that falls over you when you sleep. I was also running the case through my head again. Why don't you think the number that was left on the ransom note isn't being picked up? What if it is never answered and we never find her?" He whispered.

"They will answer soon. They have to in order to get the money anyway. They haven't provided a drop off site and further stipulations for Alexis' release. They will answer Rick. We will find her. I promise you." When she had uttered this she kissed him lightly.

"We need to get going. The sooner we get to the precinct the sooner we can get closer to finding her." Kate said getting out of the bed and heading to the bathroom to get ready.

He had gotten out of bed and had grabbed her wrist. "Kate, about last night…." She stopped him with her finger on his lips, "Not right now. Your daughter is more important. I can be a big girl about it. We will talk about it after Alexis' is home."

He pulled her in and kissed her. "I'm so sorry. I love you. Now let's go find that bastard."

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><p>"All this sitting around is making me mad! When will my Rick call! He surely wants his little pumpkin back!" Isis was pacing around the floor of the basement with the phone in her hand.<p>

Alexis gasped as she heard what Isis had called her. How did she know that? He only called her that when they were at home. It dawned on her that this woman must have been stalking her father for a long time.

Isis heard Alexis' gasp and turned towards her. "What's wrong pumpkin? I know you must be frustrated too. It isn't like your daddy to be so slow. It's probably from that _Kate_…." She said Kate's name as if it was something vile in her mouth.

"Don't call me that." Alexis said in a deathly tone.

"Why not? After I get your dad here and make him realize he loves me too we will be a family!" Isis said bending down to pick up the grey tabby cat.

"I thought you hated him?" Alexis said perplexed. She was just getting confused trying to understand the psychotic woman's ideas.

"I do but then again every relationship should have a healthy dose of hatred. I'm quite convinced that once I get him here he will see what he has done to me. He will feel bad for hurting me and will profess his secret undying love for me. I will make him beg but in the end I won't refuse him. I have been waiting for him. He is special. And then mister fluffy here will have a daddy!" She said justifying her crazy logic while she petted, what she termed affectionately, the cat.

"You are insane." Alexis spat at her. She wondered how long this woman had been twisted like this. She must have had a trauma as a child or something to make her this nuts.

As Isis pulled up a chair to sit by Alexis and sat down with the cat in her lap, the phone rang. She looked at the caller id and scoffed.

"The police station again. Well I guess I should answer. I did ask for a ransom after all." She said looking at the phone and then up to Alexis.

She crossed her legs and pet the cat before she answered the phone.

"Hello." She said in a monotone.

"This is the NYPD. We are calling in response to your ransom demand for the release of Alexis Castle." The officer on the other line kept a pleasant tone. They were trying to keep this as civilized a possible.

"I will only speak to Richard Castle. If he is not put on the phone I will hang up and disconnect the number and he will not see his precious daughter ever again." She said sneering at Alexis.

Alexis watched as the woman morphed back into the mean bag that had greeted her and screamed untruths about her father. It was as if there was a solid wall that had formed over her body causing her to stiffen and become as a sharp edge.

"What do you want?" The obvious revulsion for her was sorely laced through Rick's voice when he answered on the other line.

"Darling! Rick! You silly old bastard! I want you! But I don't know now, you don't sound very pleased with me. I think you should apologize for that tone. That is no way to talk to a lady! Especially after all that she has done for you!" She said chuckling into the phone.

"Where is my daughter?" His tone remained the same.

"Now Ricky you know I can't tell you that. Not when that_ whore _is sitting there next to you listening to every word I say. You are so funny!"

"Where do you want your money dropped off? I have it withdrawn and ready to drop off. I am done playing games. You will get your money and then you WILL release my daughter. Because if you don't _Kate _and I will hunt you down and take her back. So either we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way. It doesn't matter to me, I WILL get my daughter back and she will be ALIVE. When you have decided on a place call this number back. Until then I don't want to hear your putrid voice again." Rick said slamming the phone down on the receiver.

"My, my, my, your father sure is torn up over your abduction." Isis said looking back at Alexis.

"My father loves me, of course he would be upset. You are an idiot." Alexis spat at Isis.

"Well, I guess I should pick a place to have him drop off the ransom. He has the money ready. Now where should I have him go…. It has to be somewhere sentimental. Somewhere he would know and remember me. It has to be special." Isis said pacing the room.

"I know! A year ago we had a connection at a bookstore when he signed one of my Derrick Storm books. There is a mailbox that is used for large pick-ups. It would be perfect for a bag with money in it. That would be perfect. Once he sees the place he will remember me and realize that I am the one for him."

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><p>Kate watched as Rick's face grew with more rage than he had ever displayed. She listened as he spat the words at the woman who was holding his daughter. She saw that, despite his firm and hatred filled voice, he was on the verge of a break down. She watched as he slammed the receiver down. He got up and started pacing around the desk running his hands through his hair.<p>

"She called me darling and Ricky… Like she somehow feels close to me.. I .. I can't talk to her again. Get the drop off." He said going into the break room.

He returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee in each hand. He set one down for Beckett and drank from his. He sat down in the chair and rubbed his hands over his face. All they could do was wait now.

"Well, here we go!" Isis said jumping up and down with excitement. "My plan is about to be set in motion!" She picked the phone up and hit redial sending the signal to the Police Station.

"NYPD. Detective Bryant."

"Tell Richard Castle that I only want him to drop the money off. If I see that woman with him I will never give the location of Alexis. I want the money dropped off into the blue USPS mail box directly in front of the book store entitled "Open Pages" at 7 PM. I will contact you with the location of his daughter when I have received the money." With that she hung up.

Rick stood up and looked at the clock 5:30 PM. He grabbed the bag and started arranging the books of bills inside. Kate grabbed his hand.

"Wait. We need to discuss this. I can't have you just running in there full speed ahead. You are going to get yourself hurt. This woman is crazy there is no telling what she could do. There has to be some sort of back up with you in case she tries to do something stupid.."

"You heard her, me only." He said pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"She knows me I know that, but she doesn't know Bryant or Espo or Ryan. Please let me have one of them around in case you need back up or something…"

"Fine.. I know where the book store is. It has been on my book tour for the last couple years. I'm guessing this is some deranged fan. She is obsessed with me and decided to take Alexis to get noticed." He said finishing the bag. He started to move towards the elevator. She grabbed his arm again.

"Who do you want with you?"

Castle thought about who would be easiest to lose when the time came for him to make the drop. He hated the decision.

"Ryan." He said simply.

She touched her hand to his cheek and stood on her tippy toes and kissed him chastely on the lips.

"I will go tell Ryan and he will get the necessary equipment." She said heading towards the break room.

"I am going to go take a nap on the couch in the break room. I stayed here all night while you guys went home so I'm exhausted. It will take at least a half an hour for the equipment and planning. I'm sure Beckett and Ryan can devise a simple plan without me." Bryant said rising and heading towards the break room.

Once Castle was alone, he looked around and grabbed the bag of money and headed out of the precinct. He didn't wait for Ryan and he completely ignored Beckett's concern. The only thing on his mind was getting his daughter back.

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><p><strong>Reviews make me happy :D<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

He knew that as soon as they figured out that he had left to get Alexis they would try to stop him. He turned his phone off and took the battery out so they could not trace him. To be quicker he took the stairs taking advantage of his adrenaline rush. He had been going so fast that he burst through the door of the stair well almost knocking over a traffic cop on his way out of the station. He mumbled his apology and ran out of the building and toward the street waving frantically for a cab.

One pulled up right away and he got in threw the duffel bag in beside him. He spat the address of the book store at the driver and looked out the window trying to be patient as they made their way across town. He had the urge to turn his phone on to let his mother know where he was but he had a feeling that she would find out soon enough. Plus he didn't want any distractions or second thoughts about what he was doing. He was going to get his little girl.

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><p>"Hey, Ryan, we got the location for the ransom drop off for the release of Alexis. Castle has the money ready in a duffel bag at my desk. The suspect had confirmed that I have been compromised but she doesn't know you, so you will be back up for Castle. He won't know but I'm going to have Esposito cover you guys also. I will have you positioned at a convenient location incase anything goes wrong. He isn't objective right now, it's his daughter we are dealing with, I need you to keep a close eye on him and make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid."<p>

Bryant walked passed them in the break room to lay down on the couch. Beckett had sat down at the table with Ryan and was getting the file all together with the location of the drop off and the amount and where to position Ryan and Esposito. She thought Castle might have followed her but just figured he was sitting by her desk waiting for Ryan to be ready. Just then Esposito walked in.

"Where did Castle go? I thought he would want to be here getting the up and up." He said moving to pour more coffee into his mug.

Kate sat up straight in her chair and looked over at Esposito with fear in her eye. "What do you mean where is Castle? Isn't he at my desk?" She said jumping out of her chair to run out to the bull pen. She gasped when she saw that he and the duffel bag were gone.

"Shit." She mumbled under her breath as she reached her hand up and rubbed her temples.

Ryan and Esposito were behind her. She turned to them. "See if you can get Castle to answer. He has run out to go save Alexis. I am going to try and see if he is still around somewhere outside. Text me if you get a hold of him or his location." She said as she started to run towards the stairs. They would be faster in the long run if she were to catch him.

She ran down and erupted through the door and ran straight towards the exit. She got out to the street and abruptly stopped turning around looking for any sign of him. She realized it had already been 10 minutes since he left, he would be in the middle of traffic in a cab.

She took out her phone and called Martha.

"Hello?" the older woman answered.

"Is Rick there?" Beckett practically shrieked into the phone.

"Kate, darling, no what's wrong?" Martha said detecting the near desperation in Kate's voice.

"Rick has gone after Alexis. He got the ransom drop off and when we weren't looking he headed out without any back up."

"Oh! Kate! You have to find him and Alexis, he is going to do something stupid I know it!" Martha sobbed into the phone.

"We will find him Martha, I will call you, I'm so sorry…" Beckett said almost crying into the phone.

"Bring him and Alexis home Kate." With that Martha hung up the phone, leaving Beckett to feel responsible for the kidnappings of both the Castles.

She headed back up to her level, taking the elevator to provide her time to think, she knew she needed to remain even more objective than before. For now she needed to block out her personal emotion and focus on the task at hand. Rescuing Rick and Alexis.

"Where are we on tracking Castle's phone? Is he picking up?" She directed towards Esposito when she reached the two men.

"He isn't answering at all. I think his phone is off and the battery is out because it goes straight to voicemail and we can't get a track on it." Esposito said looking up from the phone. He saw the fear and turmoil in his boss' eyes.

Ryan must have noticed it too because he spoke up next. "We have the address for the drop off, we were just about to find you and head out. We are going to find him." He said resting his hand on her arm lightly.

"Let's go." She said, her voice lacking any emotion. With that she turned and headed back to the elevator.

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><p>He knew from the precinct it would take close to an hour for him to reach the drop off site. That would put him a half an hour early. He would go in the book store and try to watch out the front window inconspicuously and see if the kidnapper tried to stage anything on the mail box. The cab was just pulling over now to the book store. 6:45 PM. It had taken fifteen minutes longer than he had anticipated. He mumbled his thanks to the cab driver and paid his fare.<p>

He got out with the duffel bag and looked around, scanning the area, locating the mail box almost immediately. He headed into the book store to watch the area for the next fifteen minutes.

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><p>She watched as he got out of the cab. She smiled as he looked around once the cab had driven off with its newest customer. He was looking for her already she thought. He couldn't wait to be with her. She smiled again, joy rooting deep in her heart as she watched him head into the book store. She frowned and looked down to her watch. He was early, she shrugged as she continued to sit there, on a bench in the park across the street from the book store. She pulled out her copy of Heat Rises and laid it on her lap casually looking down while yet watching the store out of the corner of her eye. In the years she had been following him she had gotten good at being out of sight when she had wanted to be.<p>

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><p>He looked through the glass and across the street to the park that was bustling with joggers and dog walkers and the occasional nomad. He smiled, despite his current state of turmoil, as he saw a woman lift up a very familiar book. He watched as the woman started to read Heat Rises. He looked away as another person caught his attention. He was aimlessly staring out the window when the store owner came up to him.<p>

"Rick Castle! So nice to see you again!" She said in a warm, welcoming voice.

He turned to see Paige Turner, the owner of Open Pages. He gave her a quick and polite smile. "Oh just doing some business in the area and I thought I would stop in. My next book is due to be out sometime later in the year and I wanted to make sure you would still like to be on the book tour. I know my agent, Paula usually does this but I am trying to be a little more personably this year." He lied.

"Oh, well I'm glad you stopped by! And of course we would love to be on your book tour still! Don't be silly! You bring in the most of our profit!" She put her hand to her mouth and slightly gasped. "That will be our little secret." She whispered as she giggled and laid her hand on his forearm. "Let me know if you need anything! See you soon Rick!" She said strutting away.

He rolled his eyes at her obvious flirt and turned his attention back to the street. He noticed that the woman on the bench was gone. He looked down at his watch. 7:03 PM. "Damn it." He whispered as he headed for the exit.

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><p>"How close are we?" Beckett said turning to Esposito who had the directions on his phone.<p>

"We are still fifteen minutes away." He said looking back at Ryan in the back seat.

She turned to the steering wheel and gripped it tighter, reigning in her self control so as not to turn and drive on the sidewalk. Castle had at least a fifteen minute head start on them. And it was 6:55 PM right now.

"That is 10 minutes too late!" She said losing some of her control. She looked at Esposito, "Find a quicker route, one that isn't congested, back roads anything….." She said hurriedly. She wasn't going to make it. She hoped nothing would happen. She hoped he would drop the money and would call her soon and tell her that everything was fine and that he had Alexis. She could only hope.

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><p>Isis watched as he talked to the woman in the book store. She recognized her as the owner; she had only been in the store though when Rick was there. He made places worthwhile going too. She watched as she talked to him, throwing her head back as she laughed, flirting with him. She smiled as he didn't lead her on like he used too, he was focused on one woman now. She watched as the woman rested her hand on his arm, rage started to boil up into her. No one touched her Ricky but her! With that she got up and set her plan in motion. She walked across the street when he still had his back turned from the mail box and taped the phone under the box. She walked away and when she had gone as far as she could and still make out his figure at the mail box she stopped and waited.<p>

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><p>He was clever he thought, he had put the money into a box that was marked as if it were a package in the cab on his ride here. This way there wouldn't be any undue suspicion as what he was mailing. Though it looked like a package it wouldn't go anywhere, it did not have a proper label and address. He walked up to the mail box and lifted it out of the duffle bag and opened the mail slot and shoved it in. as soon as he shut the lid he heard the faint ring of a song. Taylor Swift's "The Best Day" flooded into his ears as the song got louder. He frantically started looking around for the source. It was coming from under the mail box. He knew it was the ringtone that Alexis had chosen for when he called her. He knew that this call was meant for him, as a sign.<p>

He bent down and reached under the mail box finding a phone taped to the underside of the mail box. He pulled it out and gasped as he had pulled Alexis' phone out from the hiding place. 1 New Message. He hesitantly opened the message. It read,

_I have your daughter. Go to 182D #1 Edgewater Park in the Bronx. Your daughter will be released there. Come Alone._

Castle finished the text, tucked the phone into his pocket and hailed a cab. He got in and rattled the address to the driver and sat back. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out Alexis' phone and stroked it. A single tear fell from his eye, he was going to get her back.

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><p>The last 5 minutes Kate couldn't stand it anymore. She flicked her lights on, immediately causing traffic to veer to let her through. She sped up and weaved her way through the aggravated drivers. She found the book store and sped towards it, slamming her brakes just in time and throwing the car into gear. She located the mail box instantly and ran toward it. She pulled the lid down and looked inside, she didn't see the duffle bag. She did notice the odd looking package though, she pulled it out and looked it over and handed it to Ryan.<p>

"It's the money, this is defiantly Castle." Ryan said turning the package over in his hands.

"What does it mean that the money isn't gone yet? It is fifteen minutes over the drop off time. Don't you think the kidnapper would have picked it up by now and called with the final directions?" Esposito asked, confused.

"I don't know. Lets go in the book store and see if the owner or anyone saw anything." Kate said.

Twenty minutes later Javier found Kate in the park across the street on a park bench. She was sitting there with her head in her hands. Her shoulders heaving as she silently sobbed. He sat down by her and put his hand lightly on her shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"I was too late. I didn't stop him, and now I have a horrible feeling that he is in danger. I am a horrible cop. First, Alexis and now Castle. I don't know what to do…" She said as she looked up to Esposito.

His brotherly nature kicked in, he raised his hand up and wiped her tears away with his thumb. "We are going to find Castle and Alexis, and we are gonna take that crazy bitch down. They are going to be fine Kate. Come on, sitting here and crying isn't helping to find him or her, they need you to be strong. We need to go look over this new information at the station."

Ryan came up and said, "The owner said she did notice him dropping the package in, but was confused when he bent down. He rose back up with a phone in his hand and she just figured that he had dropped it. But I thought it would be weird since Castle's phone still isn't showing any signal so he must still have the battery out. So it must be someone else's phone. She did say that he seemed distracted and worried and when he was looking at the phone he looked even more distraught and then got in a cab and left."

"Ok, thank you Ryan." Kate said rising from the bench. "Let's go put everything together again and hopefully we find something."

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><p>The cab drove away behind him before he got a chance to turn around from slamming the door shut. As he turned around he noticed why it had skittered away so quickly. He found a small yet cheerily eery house in front of him. It was shaped and painted as if it were to be a doll house. But all around it were dead trees and a murky pond that lay beyond the house in the back yard. He moved up to the door and without even thinking, almost barged in with only rescuing his daughter on his mind. He stopped short just from the door and noticed that the door was ajar.<p>

Feeling that this was his chance, if the captor was gone, to seize the moment and save his daughter. With out hesitation he burst through the door and stopped a short measure into the living room. Once he stopped he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck before he registered that blackness was consuming him. With a thud to the ground his world went black.

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><p><strong>Review Please. :D Thank you for all who are journeying with me through the angsty bits. Thank you for all the alerts and favorites and reviews!<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

**Author's Note: This chapter was also a collaboration with Writerfly. Thanks girl!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

Rick's eyes fluttered slightly. Her heart jumped at the anticipation that he might awake soon. She hoped he wouldn't be too much longer. She straightened her white apron. It was her favorite, and she was sure Ricky would love it too. She gently caressed the white ruffles that adorned the side of it. Her finger ran across the pink thread hem.

An inward smile began tugging on her lips. She knew Ricky would love it. She turned back around to take another long look at his unconscious face. She reached out and ran her fingers up his exposed arm, feeling the light hairs that dusted his lower arm. She pulled her hand away and quickly went back to what she'd previously been doing. 'Ricky will be hungry when he wakes up. I better get the biscuits out of the oven before they burn' she mused to herself.

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><p>It had been two hours since they had left the drop off site. They had left CSU sweeping the mail box for suspicious prints. She knew though, that it would be a lost cause. Hundreds of people used the public mail boxes daily, the evidence would be compromised. She sighed as she rubbed her hand over her face, catching to rub her sore eye sockets.<p>

She looked to the murder board, at everything that her and the boys had put together. She looked up as a cup with fresh, steaming coffee was set before her. She smiled before she caught herself. She looked up sorrowfully as she realized it wasn't from Castle. She saw Espo instead. He was looking at the murder board as well.

"We are going to have to start looking around in Castle's personal files and financials soon. We have got to find why someone would want to hurt him. And soon, time is running out." Esposito said turning to look at his boss.

"Ok. Let's get fan mail that he has received in the last month. Maybe we will get lucky and find a threatening note. Also let's check Castle's phone again to see if he has turned it on."

"On it." Esposito said moving to go find Ryan to get a court order for Castle's mail.

Kate sat there while her partners left to follow her instructions. She looked over at his chair and sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"Beckett, may I have a word with you in my office?" Captain Gates said poking her head out the door.

Beckett lifted her head and got up, walking into Gates' office. She shut the door behind her and took a seat in front of her desk.

"You look like hell Detective. Please tell me you are making headway on this kidnapping. I have a pile of homicides that need taken care of. Now I have never been too keen on Mr. Castle here in my precinct but I will give that he does help you get your work done." Gates said firmly to Beckett.

Kate was tired and the emotional toll that Castles and Alexis' abductions had frayed her last nerve. Normally she would have enough control to be respectful to her superior but when she was this stressed and worried and she was talked to like that, there was no stopping her.

"With all due respect, Sir, Castle is very important to me as well as his daughter." She said standing up. "Now I have tolerated how you treat him the last 7 months but now, when he is missing and his daughter is as well, I will not tolerate it. I am working as hard as I can to bring home the man I love and the young girl I care for almost as my own daughter." Kate said her voice cracking as she expressed her true feelings about Castle and Alexis. "And I will be damned if you talk to me about the pile of homicides that I am behind on. There are other detectives." Kate said rising from her chair, trying to regain her composure.

"Like I said Detective, you look like hell. Go home. Detective Bryant will resume where you left off. Now go, that's an order." Gates said somewhat more softly, she truly did care about Beckett, more than she knew.

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><p>Richard Castle had never had a headache quite like the one which plagued him right now. He felt like his whole mind was swollen and he could barely comprehend what the last thing was he'd done. He let out a soft moan as he slowly opened his eyes. Bright light caused him to shrink back.<p>

He tried to sit himself up when he suddenly realized he was handcuffed. He gathered his wits about him and checked to see if his legs were restrained also, which they were. He cursed himself for having been so imprudent. Finally after gathering the nerve to do so, he slightly opened his eyes. First thing his vision focused on was the oddly green colored ceiling. It was almost a dark sage green. 'What a strange color for a ceiling' he thought. He let his eyes wonder a little more. A tiffany style light came into view as it hung silently above him.

"Oh Ricky!" A shrill female voice rang out from the end of the bed he'd been strapped to.

"You're awake!" His stomach turned and flopped as the voice rang through the room. He looked down towards where it came from. There stood a woman of medium build clad in a light pink pencil skirt and a white blouse. A white apron hung from her neck and tied behind her back. All he could see was her dark black tresses hanging down the middle of her back. She stood over what looked to me an apartment size stove. She started humming some unnerving tune.

Rick couldn't help himself; He pulled impractically at his bonds. He scanned the room for any ideas of how to get out of this mess. He never minded being handcuffed to the bed before, but this… This was beyond any kinkiness he'd be into.

She turned slightly to bat her eyelashes at him. "I hope your hungry Ricky," She cooed. "I've been slaving making a good supper for you my sweetie poo." Her voice was sickening sweet.

Rick continued silent still trying to think of someway or something to help him escape. He craned his neck forward to check for the door and see what utensils might be by. There to his right was a normal oak door with a metal knob. There in front of him seemed to be a complete apartment sized kitchen. A mini fridge sat closest to the door a small sink stood between the fridge and the small stove. He noted a high back chair over in the corner to his left and a small night table to the left of the headboard. It was empty except for a bolted down lamp. Even the lamp shade was securely fastened to the lamp. It gave an ivory hue to the otherwise plain white walls. The only color he noted was the sage green ceiling.

She finally turned to face him a plate in hand. She walked over and sat down next to him on the bed, laying the plate of warm food on the night table. Her dark eyes dug deep into his face. Even though there was a smile on her face, he felt as though he was a bug about to be eaten. Her dark hair framed her face as she leaned over into his face.

"Oh Ricky, I've been waiting my whole life to be next to you." Her savage breath made Castle's eyes water and wished he had a free arm to shove her back away.

"Look I don't know what you want with me but I'll tell you right now, I'm not going to be here long. I promise you that, and if you harm one hair on Alexis' head I'll kill you." He hissed.

"Oh Ricky don't be that way. We're meant to be together. We've always been destined to be a family." She rubbed her hand up and down his inner thigh.

As if on cue, a grey tabby jumped up onto the bed next to her. It rubber persistently against her arm, finally to satiate the poor animal she rubbed his head and pulled him into her lap. "Ricky, this is Mr. Fluffy. Our baby." She rubbed the cat against his side. "I bet you didn't know we had a baby huh? You see, Mr. Fluffy. He's our baby to love and cherish."

Her voice faded off as she looked above him and into space as if she was thinking hard. Finally she returned from her trance when Rick moved slightly trying to get some space between her and him. She let out a giggle and bent over to give him a kiss on the cheek. Out of reaction he shied away, her lips barely touched his cheek, as he let out a disgusted groan.

She stood up angrily. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO BE THAT WAY RICHARD CASTLE." Her voice squealed through the small room. She pulled the plate off of the night stand and flung it roughly in the direction of the sink. A loud crash sounded when the ceramic collided with the wall. "You think you can just treat me like this?" Her dark eyes screamed at him. "I'll just treat Alexis as bad as you're treating me! How would you feel if I hurt her, huh? I'll let you cry as you hear her scream!" With that Isis stormed out of the room slamming the door shut behind her.

Castle struggled against his restraints. "If YOU HURT HER, I'll NEVER KISS YOU!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Panic gripped him. He strained hard to hear anything that might come from wherever the bitch might be keeping his daughter. He'd been in many situations, but this one… He just didn't know what he could do while being chained to a bed. He tried one last time to struggle against the shackles that held his body captive. Hoping maybe just maybe something would give. But nothing did, it just left his wrists and ankles raw and his heart empty.

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><p>Kate forcefully opened the door to her apartment. She was still fuming from her conversation, if you could call it that, with Gates. She couldn't believe that in a time like this she would still have the nerve to talk badly about Castle. Had the woman no sympathy, no compassion? She slammed the door behind her, throwing her keys somewhat in the direction of her kitchen counter.<p>

She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. She didn't know what she wanted to do. So she flopped down on her couch and sighed. She got up not being satisfied with her sitting position. She was restless, she felt as if she was betraying him by not continuously looking for him. She knew though that she did her best work on at least a little sleep. And she knew that Castle deserved her best, which at this point isn't what she was giving.

She walked slowly to her room, she decided that she needed to relax a little and turned on her water, slowly filling the tub with hot water. She looked at her collection of body washes and bubble baths and decided that she needed bubbles. Bubbles made everything better. She stripped off her clothing and settled into the tub trying as she may to relax the bulging tension in her back and neck. Maybe if she read, she thought. But instantly again she was reminded of the periless situation she had caused her favorite writer to be in.

She sighed again, the feeling of wanting to scream edging into her demeanor once again, and closed her eyes laying her head on the rim of the tub. After fifteen unsuccessful minutes of relaxation, she washed her hair and got out of the tub. She put on her comfy pjs, consisting of the t-shirt that Rick had let her keep, she still hadn't washed it, letting his scent flow around her and a pair of boy shorts. She crawled under her covers, trying to will sleep her way. She laid there unable to shut her brain off.

Her chest hurt, she knew it was her heart slowly breaking as the time ticked by and she thought of all the horrible things that could be happening to them right now. This time when the urge to scream came upon her she gave in. She grabbed her pillow, burying her face in it and screaming until her lungs burned, the pain to go along with the burning of her scorching heart. After she had expelled all the pent up frustration that the control had built, she felt a sudden wave of relief. It was then that it hit her.

Castle had been looking at a phone, and his phone had never been traceable, meaning that he had never turned it on. Whose phone was he looking at then? She remembered what the bookstore owner had said, the phone was white. Castle's phone was black, who's phone was white? She wondered. Then it dawned on her, Alexis'. She jumped out of bed and got her phone out of her purse. She pulled up her Police GPS App and typed in Alexis' number. She prayed that he hadn't turned this phone off as well. The icon started to flash a green signal over an address in the Bronx.

She grabbed her pants off the floor and pulled them on and whipped the t-shirt off. She pulled on a shelf bra tank, not even bothering with a bra and a button up top over it. She grabbed a pair of flats out of her closet. She needed practical footwear in this situation. She grabbed her phone and keys and was out the door within five minutes. On her way down she called Javier and gave him the address and told him and Ryan to meet her there. They were getting Castle and Alexis back.

"Yo, Ryan, Beckett has Castle and Alexis' location! She needs backup!" Ryan whispered to his partner behind him.

Ryan looked up and saw Detective Bryant once again going over the information on the murder board.

"What about sasquatch over there?" Ryan said motioning behind him to Bryant with his thumb.

"Don't worry about him. Let's go." Esposito said rising from his seat and hitting Ryan on the shoulder.

They both got up and swiftly and silently made their way past him and into the elevator. They were going to help Beckett.

It wasn't fifteen minutes before Bryant realized they were gone. He turned around looking for them, without any luck. He checked the break room, giving up when they weren't there. He pulled out his cell phone and called Ryan.

"Where are you guys?" He questioned.

"Beckett got an address that we are checking out, she thinks it might be where Castle and Alexis are." He tried to say casually.

"Give me the address, I will meet you there." He barked into the phone. Ryan gave him the address thinking that everey cop available would be needed.

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><p><strong>So it's almost done I promise! Happiness is in store! Prevail with me as I trudge on! Review if you like :D Thanks!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Yada Yada. Lol**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

Alexis whipped her head up as she heard the door to the basement thrash open and watched as Isis clambered down the stairs before her.

"Your Father!" she yelled towards Alexis.

"What? What about him?" Alexis said trying to gauge her reaction.

"He still doesn't appreciate me! Not even after I cook a decent meal for him and give him a comfortable bed to sleep in, I … I even wore my good apron! He wouldn't let me kiss him, he shrugged away and groaned!" She was inches away from Alexis' face now, her eyes burning with fire as her anger for Castle grew.

"And now I am forced to hurt you. I will make him suffer for how he has made me suffer." She screamed.

Alexis cringed as she watched Isis' hand raise and come towards her face. She felt the sharp impact of force from Isis' open palm. Immediately her cheek started to burn like fire. She knew that her hand was no longer there but the feeling of the hard contact still lingered on her cheek. She felt the hot sting of tears leaking from her eyes. She let out an involuntary sob.

Isis smiled, her eyes taking on a pure evil and insane nature. "That should teach him." She said.

"Now I think it is time that we are a family." She said her demeanor changing as if from a snap of her fingers. She moved to help Alexis out of the chair. She untied her feet and helped Alexis stand, keeping her arms tied around her back. She pushed Alexis up the stairs and through the basement door.

Alexis cringed as the bright lights of the kitchen blinded her. She had been in the dark, damp basement long enough that she had forgotten what real light was like. They rounded the corner into a dark hallway that had a singular door at the end. Immediately the strong scent of potpourri filled her nose, she scrunched her nose as the damp scent of urine from the basement mixed with the stale smell of cinnamon.

She felt as Isis tightened her grip on her arm when she opened the door. She pulled Alexis in the room and sat her in a chair. This room was dark; she couldn't see anything in the room. Isis had been careful to keep the hallway dark and to close the door behind them as soon as possible so as not to let any light in.

Rick heard the door of the room he was in open and shut. He knew she was in the room again. He waited, he didn't say anything for fear of what she might do. He realized that there were two patterns of breathing in the room, not just one. They were distinctly different. One more of a wheezing as if they had too much moisture in their body and one was as if they had just ran a mile, short , panting breaths. But before he could speak up the light flashed on.

He cringed shutting his eyes as the harsh light attacked his sensitive eyes. Alexis turned her head shielding her eyes as well from the bright light above her. She though was the first to open her eyes and take in the sight before her. She gasped as she found her father before her chained to a bed.

"Dad! Why are you here? Like that!" She said trying to get up. It proved futile though as her arms had once again been placed to wrap around the back of the chair, inhibiting her movement.

He opened his eyes when he heard the gasp. Immediately he looked towards the door where he knew his captor would be standing. She just smiled at him, taking in the sight of her "family" before her. In her haste to assault Alexis she had left Mr. Fluffy in the room. She smiled as she saw him curled up at the foot of the bed with Rick. Rick's attention was shifted when he heard the terrified voice of his daughter. He whipped his head over in the direction of her voice and took in the sight of her, sitting on a chair with her arms tied behind her back, her cheek a bright and angry red. He noticed the slight swelling around her eye. Instantly a tear fell from his eye before he hardened his expression again towards Isis.

"Don't you dare hit my daughter!" He screamed at her.

"What like this?" Isis taunted as she walked over to Alexis and slightly smacked her swollen cheek. Alexis winced as the fire burned hotter with the new assault.

"You whore!" He screamed pulling on his restraints.

"Now I barely tapped her. Didn't I honey?" She asked Alexis, raising her other hand and lightly caressing her other cheek. "I'm sorry for punishing you for your daddy's bad behavior." As she said this she leaned down and kissed Alexis on the throbbing cheek. Alexis closed her eyes and tried not to pull away for fear that she would be hit again.

Isis pulled back and looked at Alexis. Alexis noted a now motherly expression on the woman's face. "Are you hungry, honey?" She asked.

Alexis nodded her head. After being stuck in a basement for the last few days and not eating anything, she was going to take some food if it was being offered.

"Ok, good, this was supposed to be for your father but the stubborn bastard wouldn't eat it." She said shooting a look of disdain toward Rick.

She got up and got the plate ready and came back over. She sat down next to Alexis and fed her. "Do you need anything else sweetie?" She said once she finished and had cleaned up the plate. Alexis shook her head no in response.

"Why are you doing this? Why won't you just release us? I put your money in the mailbox. You should be happy!" Rick started to question, his voice growing more heated with every word he uttered.

Isis' dark eyes flared with indignation as she listened to him. She ignored him, not giving him the satisfaction of an answer. She would not answer when spoken too in such a way. She turned from Alexis and walked straight past him not even acknowledging him. She flipped the switch of the lights and walked out the door closing it behind her.

"Wait! Please! I'm sorry! I..I want you! I will kiss you! Please just don't leave us.." He yelled, the desperation in his voice evident. She smiled wickedly and opened the door again turning the light back on.

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><p>Kate speeds through traffic, her siren and lights blaring. She pushes on the accelerator further, willing her car to take her there faster. Adrenaline is rushing through her system. She is ten minutes away, but those ten minutes seem like forever. When she enters the neighborhood she turns off her lights and siren, she doesn't want to draw any more attention than her unmarked car already will.<p>

She slows down and creeps up the street where the blinking light is on her GPS. She finds the address and pulls her car to a stop, cautiously examining the house she is about to enter. She knows she should wait for Ryan and Esposito to show up, but she is this close! She gets her gun out and holds it at her side. She walks up to the door and knocks firmly. There is no answer. She knocks again, still no answer.

She takes a deep breath and pushes back the nagging thought in her brain of how this is against regulation and stands back and kicks the door down. She walks in cautiously in her armed stance, her gun in front ready to aim if needed. She quickly clears the front rooms and the kitchen. She turns and heads out of the kitchen noticing the dark hallway with a door on the end. There was light creeping out of the crack at the base of the door. She creeps up to the door and listens. She hears shuffling on the other side.

Isis walked over to Rick and kneeled down beside the bed, she heard the knocking on the door but ignored it. Now she would have her Ricky. She looked him in the eyes and whispered to him. "You will? You will kiss me?" He looked over to Alexis, she just watched with wide eyes, she knew he was doing this for her, to keep them safe. He silently apologized to her and looked back at Isis. He nodded his head. She smiled down at him and started to lean down to his lips. He shut his eyes trying to make this all just go away.

Right before their lips touched the door burst open. Rick opened his eyes in just enough time to watch Isis' surprised face be pulled away from his as she fell to the ground. Someone had tackled her.

"Isis Ebony you are under arrest for the kidnapping of Alexis and Richard Castle." Kate said cuffing Isis as she lay on the ground beneath her.

Rick slumped back on the bed, letting out a long sigh. Kate rose and instantly took his face in her hands and kissed him. She had been so worried and had missed him so much. He kissed her back fervently expressing his gratitude and love for her, for her rescuing him. She pulled back and slapped him on the chest. "Don't you ever do that again Richard Edgar Alexander Castle!" She looked up finally and noticed Alexis in the corner of the room. She rushed over to her and untied her arms and took her into a firm hug.

"I'm so glad you are ok." She said pulling back to rest her palm on the young girls cheek. She noticed the bruise that was forming on her face. Kate's eyebrows knit together. "Did she hit you?" Alexis nodded silently. She pulled Kate back in and hugged her again. "Thank You." Alexis whispered.

"You can't keep me from my Ricky! He will never love you! You are just a whore!" Isis yelled from her position on the floor.

Kate felt the anger that she had suppressed bubbling over. She rose and stalked over to Isis and kicked her in the ribs.

"You have the right to remain silent so SHUT UP! But first where is the damn key to these hand cuffs?" Kate said kneeling down to be eye level with Isis.

"In the drawer of the night stand." Isis spat at Kate.

Kate stood and got the key out and undid all the hand cuffs on the bed, releasing Castle.

Just then Esposito and Ryan appeared in the doorway of the room.

"Beckett, what's up?" Esposito said to Beckett.

She looked up from Castle and saw them. "Hey guys, could you take Alexis outside to wait for the ambulance? She needs her cheek looked at."

"Sure thing." Ryan said walking over and taking Alexis and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He and Javier led her out of the house.

Kate turned and picked Isis off the floor and started to lead her out of the house. Rick was one step behind her. She led Isis out to Ryan and Esposito's car. She opened the back door and shoved her in, hitting her head on the car as she did.

"ooops, sorry didn't see you there. Sit tight." Kate said rolling her eyes and shutting the door.

The ambulance had just arrived and a paramedic was examining Alexis. Castle walked over and took her into his arms and held her once the paramedic was done. Another unmarked police car pulled up to the scene, Detective Bryant stepping out of it.

He stalked up to Kate and said. "Why the hell didn't you wait for me! I am in the abduction unit! This wasn't no homicide! That should have been my arrest!"

"I'm sorry Detective Bryant. I know you haven't got a lot of rest during the last few days, so your crankiness is understandable. If you have a problem, talk to my captain. Now if you don't mind," Kate said smiling, looking over to Castle and Alexis, "I'm going to check on my family." With that she left him where he was.

He mumbled something about straightening this out when he got back to the precinct and got back in his car and drove away.

She walked up to Castle and Alexis and smiled. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." He said smiling.

She came up and wrapped them both in her arms. "Let's go home." she said.

"Yes, I need to see gram, soon!" Alexis said. Kate chuckled and led them to her car.

They both got in while she told Javier and Kevin that they could take Isis down to booking and that she was taking the rest of the day off to get some much needed sleep.

They finally got back to the loft, the clock reading 4:00 AM. Castle and Beckett both hugged and kissed Alexis before heading to bed. They left Alexis and Martha in the living room hugging and sobbing.

Kate looked up at Rick and smiled she intertwined her hand in his and laid her head on his shoulder as they made their way to his bedroom. Once there he turned down the sheets and stripped of his clothing down to his boxers and climbed into bed. She followed him in only her tank top and boy shorts.

He pulled her to him, holding her hands to his heart as she faced him. He kissed her on the forehead and then on her lips. "I'm Sorry." He whispered to her. She felt a tear spill from her eye. He wiped it away with his thumb. "I'm so glad you are ok. I love you." She whispered back kissing him again. She sighed as she pulled back and snuggled into his chest, falling asleep almost instantly. He smiled as he too let sleep over come him.

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><p><strong>Soooo? Please Review! I love to know what you think of each chapter :D<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Again with the apologies on the delay. I was suffering writer's block again with this story. I hadn't really thought about what would happen after Beckett saved Rick and Alexis. Anyways, this chapter is mostly fluffy. As much as I hate to admit it is mostly a filler chapter. I apologize in advance as well if it is dull to most of you. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Counting down to September!**

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><p>She woke facing him as he breathed deeply, whimpering slightly in his sleep. She smiled and brought her hand up to cup his face. She had almost lost him. Again. She thought of all the times that they had almost lost each other, the explosion in the bank, the dirty bomb, the freezer… She stroked his cheek, admiring the strong man next to her. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips.<p>

He smiled in his sleep as he felt her warm, soft lips upon his own. He slowly started to kiss her back until he was fully awake. He opened his eyes and looked at her. He smiled and brought his hand up to stroke her cheek in return. "Morning, Beautiful."

"Morning." She said.

He noticed the slight fear that was left in her eyes. Pushed toward the back, trying to hide underneath the joy and the love. "What's wrong?" He said his expression turning concerned.

"I was just thinking about all the close calls we have had." She said almost in a whisper.

He smiled as he stroked her cheek again. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms protectively around her. "We are still here, and we are alive. Let's cherish that." He said taking her lips with his again.

They finally emerged from the bedroom around 2 pm. Alexis and Martha were busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

"I thought you guys would be hungry so Grams and I decided to make brunch." Alexis said flipping the pancake that was in the skillet before her.

Rick looked over to Kate and wiggled his eyebrows. She mouthed 'what' to him, confused. He leaned over and whispered into her ear hotly, "pancakes."

She grinned, biting her bottom lip and looking up at him under her lashes. Yes the pancakes were definitely thanks for earlier.

"So what do you two plan on doing with the rest of your day?" Martha asked while they were all seated at the dining room table eating their brunch.

"I have to go to the precinct and finish up the last of the paperwork for this case." Beckett said looking up at Martha.

"I will be helping her." Castle said.

Kate turned to Castle and smiled at him. "You will?"

"Well it is the least I could do after I got myself kidnapped." He said smiling.

Forty-Five minutes later they were walking into the precinct arm in arm. She pulled her computer to life after they had taken their seats at her desk. Opening a folder and setting it down in front of her she started to type in the information to the data base.

"What job do you have for me, detective?" Castle asked.

She turned from her chair and handed him a page of notes she had written down on plain notebook paper. Next she handed him a folder that contained sheets of paper that had questions and had the start of statements that needed finished with the information from the notes.

"Since you are so eloquent with words, you can finish writing all my information on those police reports so I can more easily input them to the system." She says going back to her work.

True to his word, he quietly picked up a pen and started to write on the reports from her notes. She watched him out the corner of her eye and smiled. She remembered back to the day he was in the bank and had called her out of boredom. _Tell me you need me. _His words filtering through her brain again. She hadn't realized that he needs her so much and that she in turn needs him. She had almost lost him. Again. The vision of him chained to a bed still freshly imprinted in her mind.

He looked up at her and noticed the faraway look in her eye, noticed the furrow in her brow. How she was slightly scowling in the midst of his presence. Something was wrong he knew, she was dwelling on something unpleasant. He reached his hand over to hers lightly brushing the back of it. She startled slightly, her eyes drawing to meet his. She smiled slightly when she noticed the concern in her eyes.

"Hey." He whispered to her.

"Hey." She whispered back to her partner. She brought her fist up to her face and rested her chin on it looking at him.

"What are you thinking about?" He asks quietly again.

"You." She says smiling.

"What about me? You looked upset." He said frowning at her smile.

"Just thinking about all the times this last year that I could have lost you. About how much I need you, about how we need each other." She said.

"Don't worry about me. I'm not going anywhere." He said taking her free hand and laying a soft kiss on the top.

"I know." She smiles at him and looks back at her paper work. She lets her hand rest in his though as she goes over what she has typed on the computer.

Gates observed Castle and Beckett through their exchange. She knew something had changed between them. Kate's lack of better judgment in rescuing him had proved that. Now she knew. She hated having to do this but the detective had been out of line. She put herself and civilians in danger by not waiting for backup. Not only that but she had taken over an investigation that she wasn't in charge of. In order for Detective Bryant not to cause a fuss with IA with Beckett stealing his case and arrest he had suggested that Captain Gates put her on suspension.

She sighed as she opened her door and called out to her, "Beckett, a word." She turned from the door leaving it open.

Beckett looked up from her computer screen at her name from her Captains lips. Castle looks up at Kate with a questioning look. She answers with a shrug of her shoulders as she rises to walk to Gate's office. She walks into the office shuts the door behind her as Gates sits down.

"Sir?"

"Detective Beckett please have a seat." Gates says gesturing to a seat in front of her desk.

Beckett sat down, folding her hands in her lap and looking at Gates expectantly.

"As you know the case involving Alexis Castle and then Richard Castle was reassigned to Detective Bryant in abduction. Once a case has been reassigned it is that Detectives lead that everyone else is to follow. I can't run a department where individuals go behind their leaders back and makes decisions on their own based on a personal relation to the victim. What you did in not informing Bryant of your plan to arrest Isis Ebony and to rescue the Castles is against regulation. We are facing a possible case with IA because of your personal agenda. Then there is the matter of going into a home without a warrant and probable cause. You're lucky the owner is a criminal and cannot press charges. Now with the matter of going in alone and without back up, you, Detective Beckett are one of my best cops. I don't want to lose you because of an unfortunate occurrence of impatience where you are killed. Now with that out of the way I am hereby assigning you to two week suspension with pay. I do not want to see you or Mr. Castle in my precinct until those two weeks are up. Do I make myself clear?" Captain Gates says as she crosses her arms and in forces her iron stare on Kate.

"Yes, Sir." Kate looks down, ashamed of her actions, she knew what she did was wrong. She knew she deserved this for letting her feelings get in the way of the proper precautions and regulations. She looked up at Gates and knew that the decision was final. She rose from the seat, left her badge and gun on Gate's desk and exited the office.

She walked over to her desk and grabbed her jacket off her chair. She put the jacket on and reached down on her desk to close the file.

"What's going on what did she say?" Castle asks as he stands up from his chair and watches her clean up her desk of files.

"Gates put me on suspension for two weeks. I didn't follow regulation and in order to avoid a case with IA instigated by Detective Bryant , Gates had no other option than to suspend me." Kate says taking the files and lying them on Esposito and Ryan's desks.

She walks back to Castle and grabs his hand with hers and they walk out of the precinct. Outside they hail a taxi and she gives her address. They sit in silence for a few moments before Castle speaks up. He has been wondering since she told him of her suspension.

"What are you going to do for two weeks?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping to spend that time with you. I missed you so much when Alexis was kidnapped and we didn't really get to talk about what this relationship means to us. Since Alexis was kidnapped the same night we got together. These two weeks will be plenty of uninterrupted time where we can talk and determine exactly where we want to be together." She said taking his hand in hers again.

They rode the rest of the way in silence until they reached her building. Castle paid the fare and got out behind her following her up to her apartment. They entered into the room, Beckett putting her keys on the counter and wandering over to her couch. She sits down and sighs. He follows her and sits down too, pulling her into his lap. She sat there with her arms around his waist, her head resting on his shoulder. It was an odd sense of comfort that she didn't even realize till now that she had needed.

"Promise me you won't investigate my mother's murder or my shooting anymore unless I help?" She whispered.

"I promise. Do you want me to tell you what I have found?" He asks gently, knowing how touchy the subject is.

"No, I don't want to talk about it. I want to get away. From the city, from everyone, I want to just be with you." She says snuggling into his chest further.

"We could go to the Hamptons." He says absentmindedly.

She perks up next to his side. She thinks of the beach and the house all to themselves the sound of the ocean. The refreshing saltiness of the water from the ocean around her. She smiles at him and gets up off the couch heading for her bedroom.

"Where are you going?" He asks, confused about what she could be going to do.

"I'm going to pack." She says lingering in her doorway.

"So.. You want to go?" He asks getting up and walking toward her.

"Yeah, it sounds fun. Which is what I need and want right now. Things have been too serious. I want to have fun as just us. Not the famous author Richard Castle and NYPD Detective Beckett, but just Rick and Kate."

He smiles coming up in front of her. He envelops her in a hug resting his nose on her shoulder and gently breathing her in. She closes her eyes and abandons to the feeling of his arms wrapped around her. After a minute or so she pulls back and rises on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"How long before you can be ready?" She asked heading toward her closet.

"It won't take me long. Did you want to head up tonight? It isn't very late, it's 4 PM. It's about a two and a half hour drive. If we leave in an hour I can make reservations at a restaurant for 8 PM, and that would give us half an hour to drop our stuff off." He said thinking.

"Ok. An hour should give me enough time to pack and be ready." She said pulling a suitcase out of her closet.

"How long do you want to stay down there?" He asked so as to gauge how he would pack. He had a lot of stuff there already but there were a few special things that he would have to take with him from the loft.

"The whole two weeks. That way we have plenty of time to work on us." She said smiling up at him.

"Sounds good. I will be here to pick you up in an hour." He says walking over and kissing her chastely on the lips. There would be plenty of time for the rest once they were in the Hamptons.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Inspiration has finally struck again! I am sooooo sorry for the delay! As with many other authors I had been suffering from writers block. So with out further adieu here you are. I hope I make up for being MIA with this sexy little bit o lovin. Enjoy!**

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><p>Half an hour had passed since they had left the city. Castle was behind the wheel taking the reins from Kate for once so that she could relax. He knew she liked to drive and for the most part lead the way in everything she did. She had chalked it up to the fact that he knew where he was going and she didn't. All in all he knew better though. Still he had been happy with the slight change in routine.<p>

She had been silent for the last fifteen minutes. The first fifteen minutes, they had joked and talked like they always did having little spats about the speed and the radio station that they would play in the background. Alexis had decided to stay home with Martha and make sure she didn't have any parties that were too wild. She knew her father and Kate needed some alone time as well as herself to assess her life since the life altering experience she had gone through.

Castle took her hand in his as she peered out the window going silent. She thought about all the things that this trip would mean. She thought back to the failed acceptance of his invitation two years ago. When she had been reluctant at first and then had finally made the small commitment only to be too late and alone the entire summer. She looked over at him to catch him watching her trying to determine what she was thinking about.

"Have you thought about what you want to do first when we get there?" He said smiling at her. He lifted her hand up and kissed the back of her hand.

"I haven't really thought about it I was actually just thinking about the last time I was even thinking about the Hamptons two years ago." She said giving him a knowing look.

"Yeah.. I hope this trip turns out better than that one did. I was miserable, Gina was pressuring me to write and I couldn't because I had left my beautiful inspiration in the arms of another man." He said smiling sadly at her.

"If Gina had shown up just a few minutes later I'm pretty sure the summer probably would have gone a lot better." Kate said, waiting for him to ask what she was talking about.

"Why would that be?" He asked looking pointedly at her. He was confused now.

"I broke up with Demming that day. I was just about to accept your invitation when Gina showed up. It nearly broke my heart when you stepped away for the next three months." She said looking down, not able to meet his eyes.

He looked over at her an noticed her slightly shy and reminiscent demeanor and raised her hand and kissed it again.

"Hey…" He said softly causing her to look up at him and smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know but now we are together and I am never leaving you again." He said smiling at her reassuringly.

An hour and a half later they pulled into the drive way and unloaded their stuff inside.

"So what do I need to wear to this dinner of ours?" She asked as she lays her suitcase down on the floor in his bedroom.

"Its just a nice casual upscale restaurant nothing too fancy but not overly casual." He said unloading the few things that he brought specially for them on this trip.

"Ok. I will be ready in twenty minutes, now out." She said pushing him out of the room smiling wickedly at him.

"Hey! I need to get ready too!" He said turning to push back at her.

She raises up on her tip toes to whisper hotly into his ear. "If you are a good boy and let me get ready I might have a surprise for you later." She kisses his neck under his ear and moves her way up nibbling on his ear.

Ricks eyes widen as a wave of desire courses through his body. He growls as he grips her hips and turns his head to capture her lips in a tantalizing kiss that promises the things to come.

"I guess I can behave for a little while. But I'm not promising anything later." He said as he steps away and smacks her ass as he walks out of the room.

She gasps as his hand connects with her firm round cheek. She smiles at him over her shoulder with her eyes full of wonder and lust as he closes the door.

She watches as the door closes a seductive grin on her face. She struts over to her suitcase and lifts it onto the bed. She opens it and hangs up all of her clothes quickly assessing what she brought with her. She walks into the bathroom to freshen up her hair and makeup. Strips off her clothes and walks back into the bedroom to get her cherry scented lotion. She is bending over her bag when she feels his warm hands on her hips. She jerks up causing her bare back to be flush with his front. He presses his face into her hair and breathes in.

"I thought you were going to behave?" She said breathlessly as he moves his hands softly over her toned stomach.

"Well I had pure intentions. It's not my fault that I walk in her and there you are gloriously naked! A man can only take so much." He whispers the last sentence, emphasizing it with the push against her bottom.

She reaches behind her to wrap her right arm around his neck and she turns her head and captures his lips in a fierce kiss. He deepens the kiss with her responding all the same. Right when she has him where she wants him, she rips her lips away from him and turns quickly running her hand down his chest and pushing him down onto the bed roughly.

Rick is too dazed from the kiss and the sensation of her naked skin on his hands. His eyes are closed and stay that way after he lands on his back on the bed. She takes that opportunity to grab her undergarments, her lotion, and her dress and runs into the bathroom.

"I expect you to be ready and out of the room when I exit this bathroom again Richard Castle!" She yells laughing at him still lying on the bed.

She closed the bathroom door behind her and set her clothing and lotion onto the counter next to the sink. She took the lotion and took her time spreading it across her skin. She wanted her skin to be soft and fragrant to drive him crazy. After she had moisturized her entire body she placed the lotion back down and ran her fingers over the soft silk of her bra. She smiled to herself thinking of later that evening.

He heard the door open from the bedroom causing him to get up and walk out of the office and to catch her as she came out of the bedroom. His breath caught in his throat as he again took in the stunning woman before him. She had left her hair down in soft curls all around her face like he liked. He hair fell softly down her shoulders revealing creamy glowing skin. Her dress was a deep purple silk sheath dress with black lace overlay. The sweetheart neckline accentuated her perfect bosom and the length hit at an appropriate mid-thigh.

He forced himself to take a deep breath in to calm himself down. After the little trick she had pulled in the bedroom it was all the self-control he had not to burst into the bathroom and hoist her up onto the counter and attack her. He looked up and met her eyes. They were shining and had a mysterious light to them as they peeked out of the curtain of her chestnut curls.

He walked over to her taking her into his arms. She wound her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Beautiful. Gorgeous. Sexy. _Extraordinary_." He whispered into her ear. His hands travel down her back to the swell of her ass. He rests his hands there and gives her a tempting squeeze. He leaned back and pecked her quickly on the lips and then spun away grasping her hand in his as he led her toward the door.

"We are going to be late for our reservation." He said rushing her out to the car.

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><p>He gripped the steering wheel as the heat soared up his leg tightening certain parts of his anatomy and loosing others. The rush that he felt through his body as it intensified on through the evening with her slow strokes of fire as she milked them out of him. The slight rub of her foot, the tantalizing look of her eyes the way she ate the chocolate covered strawberry, sucking off the chocolate. Sweeping it off with slow rough flicks of her tongue. If there was one thing this woman knew how to do and it was drive him mad.<p>

She slowly pushed her hand up his thigh inching closer and closer to her objective. She didn't believing in setting small goals she liked to go for it all at once, big and fast. She knew that the entire night it was all he took to behave and keep in control. Being a sexy woman though, she liked to know how far she could go when testing the limits. Again she pushed her hand up farther just shy of her prize. She caressed the luxurious blend of fabric that sheathed his muscular thigh. She smiled as a small whimper escaped his lips followed by a growl that could only be defined as self-preserving.

He pulled the car into the drive, threw it in park and flew out of his side, honing in on her like the predator he is. He rips open her door and she barely has time to undo her seatbelt before he is pulling her out of the car and slamming the door shut with her body. He barely restrains himself from taking here and now against the bright red Ferrari in the moonlight with the waves crashing against the shore in the distance. He cups her backside as he claims her mouth. Forcing his tongue to part her soft warm lips and allowing the warm wet confines of her mouth draw a moan out of him. She in part draws it out with everything she has. Shoving her hands up into his hair she pulls down on one side to angle his head and deepens the kiss further shoving her tongue against his and biting playfully on his bottom lip.

His knees practically give out as she starts to slowly kiss his jaw lightly sucking on the underside and moving to behind his ear. It's no secret that she loves biting his ears. It's something that she has only ever done and loved with him. It's special, it's their unique signature. She slowly makes her way to his earlobe, taking the soft skin in her lips and sucks on it. She smiles as she caresses the opposite side of his head as she softly bites down on his ear before she sensually whispers, "Since you were a good boy I guess I should give you your present now."

He presses her firmer into the car as he takes in a deep breath willing his legs to work to make it to the bedroom. She leans back to look him in the eyes and rests both of her hands on his chest, waiting for him to make the first move. He smiles at her, a light and fun twinkle behind the dark desirous need in his deep blue eyes. He all of a sudden sweeps her off her feet and carries her toward the door. He puts her down and opens the door and they stumble in attached at the lips again slamming the front door loudly. Castle absently locks the door and hits the security system on as Kate makes fast work of shoving off his jacket and unbuttoning his dress shirt.

She is fumbling with his belt when he picks her up and hoists her onto the counter in the kitchen. He is unable to keep his hands to himself. He cups her breast as he kisses her pulling small needy whimpers from her lips. He moves and reaches back and unzips her dress all the way down, running his fingers down her back the entire length of the zipper till he reaches her garter belt and thong. He growls into her mouth as he threads his thumb under the strap of her thong and pulls it away from her bottom and lets it go, snapping it against her sensitized skin. She gasps, breaking the kiss and sucking in a ragged breath.

She wraps her legs around his waist, causing her dress to ride fully up until it is only bunched around her hips. Her arms wind around his neck as she continues to deepen their kisses. His hands move up caressing the soft silk and lace of the sides of her dress. He moves down again until he cups her ass and grips her to him and lifts her and heads toward his bedroom.

He enters the room and la

ys her gently on the soft silk comforter of the king bed. He stands up to fully remove his open dress shirt baring his entire chest and strong arms. He gently reaches down and pulls the straps of her dress down her arms revealing her deep silk purple bra lined with delicate black lace with silver metallic threading throughout. He leans down and reverently kisses each swell of her breasts causing her to moan and run her hands through his hair. He kisses the valley between her breasts where her scar reminds him of their battles.

He slowly pulls the dress down her body, slowly revealing her soft creamy skin. She smells amazing he thinks. Kate his warm cherry pie. His breathing stops when he reaches her hips and pulls the dress down and whips it off of her legs. He takes in the sight before him. She lays there in the dark navy silk comforter in nothing but her purple silk bra and a very sexy black lace garter belt, a black lace thong and fishnet stockings.

He pushes her up the bed and notices that she still has on those sinful shoes, Black stilettos with black lace on the toe. He reaches down and lifts her legs till her feet are planted on the bed and spread apart for him. He leans down and kisses the inside of her thighs. Her breathing was ragged and he sucked softly on the skin right beside her thong on the inside of her thigh.

She slowly pulls his head up to her and kisses him as his hands caress the skin that is bared to him. He reaches down to unclip her stockings and reaches up and pulls her thong off, tossing it across the room. He pulls her legs up and presses them around his waist. She wraps them around his waist and locks him in with her heels.

He reaches behind and unhooks her bra and tosses it off to the side. He takes her nipple into his mouth and sucks making her desperate. She reaches down and undoes his belt and unbuttons his pants and shoves them and his boxers down. He pulls back just to remove his pants before he is attacking her skin again, kissing up her stomach and then fusing his lips to hers.

"I Love you Rick." She says breathlessly grinding her hips against his as she wraps her legs around his waist. "I need you, please." She says caressing his face.

"I'm all yours Kate. I love you." He whispers as he joins their bodies as one.

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><p><strong>Sooooo... was it worth the wait? Let me know in the reviews! I will try to post another chapter tomorrow too!<strong>


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