Beckett sat at her desk, as she had been doing for the past month, pen tapping against her legal pad. She stared at the screen in front of her, the only source of light in the entire precinct. It was well into early morning; Kate hadn't slept, as per usual, and no one was still at the precinct. She glanced at his chair once, twice, three times before letting her pen fall from her hands and laying her head on the desk, a silent tear trailing down her cheek.
It had been a month. An entire month and still nothing. No clues, no leads, no trail. Just some strange evidence that didn't add up and Castle's unknown whereabouts. If Beckett was honest with herself she knew she couldn't go on like this for much longer - it was wearing her down. She couldn't see straight, couldn't think properly, and she wasn't making any headway in the case. She peaked up from where her head was laying, hearing a noise come from the opposite end of the precinct. She managed a smile as Larry, the janitor, walked in, cleaning supplies in hand. Although they never exchanged words Beckett took comfort in his presence. She picked herself up and shook her head, determined to get more information on this source before the boys came back.
Suddenly Beckett heard movement beside her desk, and before she could even think she was standing up, gun drawn, pointing it at the noise. There Larry stood, hand on his chair, about to move it out of the way to clean under it. In her head Beckett knew the smart thing to do would be to put the gun down and go about her business, but for some reason that's not what actually happened.
"Take your hands off the chair, Larry, and everything will be fine." Larry stood there, shell-shocked, obviously not sure what to make of Beckett's behavior.
"What the hell, Beckett?!" Someone's voice called from across the room. Beckett turned her head to see Ryan jogging towards her, hands up. "Just put the gun down, Beckett."
Beckett looked from Ryan to her gun to Larry's face, and finally to Castle's chair, before lowering her weapon and slouching down in her own seat. Larry quickly backed away, leaving the chair where it was, as Ryan came up and put a comforting hand on Beckett's shoulder. Kate buried her face in her hands, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to spill.
"I just... I keep thinking that if the chair is in the same spot-"
"I know Beckett. You don't need to explain."
Ryan walked over to his desk and sat down, giving Beckett one more concerned look before starting his work. Kate took a deep breath, glanced at the chair, and then to her computer screen. She had to find him. She just had to.