In My Veins

by

A.K. Hunter

Chapter One

"I hate everyone." - Get Set Go

Kevin Ryan had never liked Valentine's Day. The chocolates and cards never felt genuine, and the flowers were surprisingly easy to mess up. For Kevin, Valentine's Day was more stressful than anything else, especially since he began working at the 12th. Murders always increased around the holidays – Valentine's Day was no exception – and though Kevin prided himself on keeping work at work, his job always seemed to collide with his plans.

This year's February 14th found Kevin in front of the murder board with Beckett, Castle, and Esposito, going over the leads on their most recent case. The victim, a middle-aged white male, had been found in his apartment, strung up by his neck, with small hearts carved all over his body. The case had been challenging thus far; their victim lived alone, and didn't have any enemies. The victim's few friends and family members described him as polite and reclusive. Financials were normal. The background check was clean.

"If this guy's so boring, why did he end up as someone's personal, make-your-own valentine?" Javier asked.

Kevin frowned. There didn't seem to be any motive for killing the man, making the case seem more and more like a random murder, which meant they had no way of tracking the murderer, or preventing him from killing again.

Castle opened his mouth, presumably to supply a crazy theory, when a soft voice interrupted them.

"Kevin?"

His heart sped up when he saw his wife standing behind them. Jenny rarely came by the precinct anymore, and she didn't look happy to be sharing space with the Valentine-themed murder board.

"Can I speak with you, please?" She gestured to the empty break room.

Kevin glanced at his friends, who were suddenly very occupied with the victim's call list. He sighed, feeling a familiar tension across his shoulders.

"Sure."

Things hadn't been good between them lately, and he was sure that her unexpected arrival had nothing to do with wishing him a happy Valentine's Day.

"Close the door," Jenny said as she stepped inside.

Looking at his wife, Kevin recognized the sure signs of a tirade. Her eyes were red, her mouth pinched, and she rubbed at her temples. He ran through a mental list. Yes, he'd forgotten to wish her a happy Valentine's Day, but had he missed something else? He hadn't missed a birthday, had he?

"Want some coffee?" Kevin asked, already moving toward the espresso maker. Caffeine was a natural feel-good drug. They could both use a cup.

"No."

His hands stilled at her tone, and he noticed tears shining in her eyes. "Hey, what's the matter?" He stepped close to take her into his arms, but she stepped away just as quickly.

She took a deep breath, and then dug into her oversized bag, removing a manila envelope. A terrible sense of foreboding set in as she handed it over. Kevin opened it, eyeing the contents. Legalese and English swirled together in an indecipherable puzzle. One word stood out among the rest.

"Divorce? You're giving me divorce papers?" Kevin shoved the offensive papers bag in the envelope and tossed it on the nearby table. "What's going on?"

Jenny shook her head, tears slipping from her eyes. "I think you know, Kevin."

"No, actually I don't know." He reached over, taking his wife's tiny hands in his own. "Tell me what's wrong."

She yanked her hands away as if burned. "How can you ask that?"

"Jenny…"

"You're never there, Kev! You're gone. All the time. Ever since Sarah," Jenny's voice caught. "Even when you're home, you're gone. I can't do this anymore. I can't wait around for you anymore."

Kevin was speechless. Sure, he'd been busy with work, but hadn't he always been? Hadn't she known that when she married him?

"My lawyer says it's important to divide our assets, and since we don't have any children," she choked on the last word. "Well, it should be easy." She walked to the door, leaving the envelope on the table. "Just send them to my lawyer once you've signed them. I'm done, Kevin."

His feet were rooted to the ground. He could only watch as she opened the door and walked away. For a moment, Kevin stood, staring at the place his wife had been seconds earlier, the familiar anger and helpless frustration churning in his stomach.

This had to be a bad dream. Kevin had always been skeptical of the men and women who were surprised when served with divorce papers. He'd always wondered how they didn't see it coming. How can you not notice the deterioration of your marriage? Now Kevin was in the same boat. He hadn't seen it coming either.

His phone rang. He answered automatically, his cop instincts kicking in.

"Ryan."

It was Alexis, she had something for him down at the morgue. "I'll be right there." He left the break room, divorce papers lying carelessly on the table. Kevin hoped someone would shred them while he was away.

Javier was by Kevin's side as he dug his car keys out of the desk. "Bro, you look like shit. What happened?"

Kevin shrugged. Partner or not, he was nowhere near ready to have that conversation. "Alexis called. She's got something for us."

A few months ago, Castle's twenty-one-year-old daughter took a part-time job as a medical examiner's assistant for the NYPD. Normally, she wouldn't have been qualified, but between the internship Alexis had already completed with Lanie, her excellent grades in her pre-med courses, and her connections with the NYPD, she'd gotten the job. Kevin had been skeptical about the girl's contribution to their cases, but she was already proving to be an invaluable asset. Whatever information she had for them, he was sure it would help them solve the case.

"Bro, I'm your partner. I'm with you no matter what."

"I know, Javie."

Kevin had spent the drive to the morgue deflecting Javier's curiosity, a task that required every drop of patience Kevin had. They pulled up to the hospital, heading down the familiar path to the morgue.

"Did you forget her birthday?"

"No."

"Did she cheat on you?"

"No, Javie."

"Oh, I get it. You forgot Valentine's Day again."

Kevin ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. "Shut up, Javier." As they walked into the morgue, Kevin took in the sight of the redhead standing over the not-so-fresh corpse of their victim. It was still a little unnerving to see Alexis, a girl they'd known since she was fifteen, cutting open dead bodies. Maybe Castle's penchant for the morbid was genetic.

Alexis looked up from the corpse. "Hey guys." She set her instruments aside and tossed her gloves in the biohazard bin. Her careful gaze fell over both men, immediately picking up on the tension. "Everything okay?"

Javier wasted no time throwing his partner under the bus. "Ryan and Jenny are fighting because he forgot about Valentine's Day, but he doesn't want to talk about it."

Kevin bristled under the girl's curious gaze. "What have you got for us?"

Alexis' expression didn't change as she picked up a clipboard at the end of the vic's gurney. "Your guy with the heart-shaped wounds. The hearts were carved into his skin before he died."

Kevin and Javier's faces mirrored surprise. "I thought Lanie determined that the hearts were left post-mortem?" Kevin asked.

Alexis nodded. "That was the best assumption, given the evidence at the scene, but an analysis of the blood clots around the wounds indicates that they were created while this man was still alive."

"That means this wasn't just the work of a whack-job. Those wounds were left with the intent to torture," Javier said.

Kevin frowned. "That makes even less sense than a random killing. Alexis, are you sure?"

"She's right, Ryan. The tests don't lie," Lanie said as she walked in, giving Javier a quick kiss on the cheek. She immediately noticed the storm cloud around Kevin. "What's got you all worked up?"

Kevin pulled his cell out of his pocket, ignoring the M.E. "I'm going to call Beckett and let her know what Alexis found." He walked out of the exam room, letting the door slam on his way out.

For a moment, Alexis, Javier, and Lanie just stared at the door.

"What's wrong with him?" Lanie asked, surprised at Ryan's manner.

"Jenny stopped by the precinct earlier. I'm pretty sure they had a fight," Javier said.

The M.E. nodded sympathetically. It was no secret that Kevin and Jenny had been on the rocks for the last several months, and couples struggling with a loss like theirs rarely stayed together.

"He's practically been living at the precinct," Javier continued. "I think Jenny's finally fed up with it."

Alexis watched the Kevin through the window of the exam room. The normally impeccably-dressed detective looked haggard. Dark circles hugged his eyes, and his three-piece suit was wrinkled in a couple places. He ran a hand through his hair, nodding to Beckett over the phone as he walked further down the hallway.

Alexis wished there was something she could do to help him. She set the clipboard down. "I'll be right back."

Kevin hung up the phone, placing it back in his pocket. He rubbed tiredly at his face. His brain ran through the logistics, both professional and personal. Between the case and Jenny, nothing made sense any more.

"Detective Ryan?"

He turned around, realizing he had an audience. How long had she been standing there? "Alexis. Did you find something else about the vic?" His voice was hopeful.

She shook her head, a pink hue spreading over her cheekbones. It wasn't until she was down the hall, a few feet away from the harried detective, that Alexis realized she had no idea what to say. "Uh... no."

"What can I do for you?"

Alexis smiled, then blurted out, "I-know-I'm-not-Detective-Esposito-or-Kate-or-anything-and-you-don't-really-know-me-but-you-look-really-upset-and-you're-usually-much-nicer-not-that-you're-not-being-nice-anyway-I-wanted-to-know... Are you okay?"

Kevin just stared at her for a moment, letting his brain decipher her question. "Wait, did Espo put you up to this?"

"What? No! I just noticed- well, you're not yourself and I wanted to know if I could do anything for you?" While Alexis wasn't sure exactly what Kevin's response would be, she hadn't expected him to be defensive.

"What could you possibly do for me?"

"I- I don't know."

Kevin sighed and shook his head, trying very hard to keep his tone civil when he really just wanted to punch something. "Listen, Alexis, that's sweet of you, but it's really none of your business. Now, we both have jobs to do. We have a murder to solve. I think we should focus on that." He walked down the hallway, towards the elevator, and out of sight.

Alexis frowned. That hadn't gone well at all. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to face Javier. "I was just trying to help."

"I know. He doesn't mean it," Javier said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Alexis sighed. "But he's right. We need to get back to work. This case isn't going to solve itself. See you later, Detective Esposito."

"You were out of line in there."

Javier was disappointed in his partner. It was probably Javier's fault that Kevin had snapped at the girl, he'd pushed him too far, but that didn't mean it was okay. Personal problems or not, Kevin owed her an apology.

Kevin rolled his eyes. "It's fine, Javie. Yeah, I was a little brusque with her, but Alexis is working with cops now. She'll have to get used to it sooner or later."

"Brusque? Is that the fancy way of saying you were a dick?" Javier asked his partner skeptically. "Look, Lanie's not happy about your attitude either. The last thing we need right now is a cranky M.E. Will you just apologize?"

Kevin sighed. "Fine. I'll go by her place after work, but for the rest of the day I don't want to hear anything about Jenny or Alexis. Let's just get this friggin' case over with."

"That's fine by me, bro."

Kevin ran through a mental checklist, thinking of how much work still needed to be done on the case. "I hate Valentine's Day."

Author's Note: For clarification, this story is not cannon to the season six finale. Otherwise this story is cannon to the show. In My Veins takes place about nine months after season six. Castle and Beckett's wedding did take place as planned, and the gang has moved forward since then. I'm fudging Alexis' age just a little bit, to put her at twenty-one instead of twenty. Any other questions should be answered in subsequent chapters. I hope you enjoyed this first installment, more is on the way. Please review.