A/N: I don't own Castle or Forever… that should be obvious. I've been wanting to write a Castle/Forever crossover story since Forever started, to be honest. And I decided to just go ahead and do it. I've been working on this baby for quite a long time and finally finished it. Timeline-wise, for Castle, this takes place before "Castle, P.I." and for Forever it's a little after "Memories of Murder." I hope you guys enjoy!
Ties That Bind
Morning's sunrays spread over the small park. Its rays touched down on the plants, the benches and one early-morning jogger. Hannah never missed a day. She was going to keep to her workout routine. Earphones firmly implanted in her ears, mouthing along to her favorite song, she tripped over something in the middle of the sidewalk.
Hannah pulled herself up and looked back to see what she had tripped over. Her eyes widened as she let out a scream. A man's dead eyes stared back at her.
The tea kettle let out a loud whistle on the stove. Martha Rodgers picked it up and poured herself a cup of tea.
Castle came up behind the older woman, "Morning, Mother."
"Oh, good morning, Richard," Martha smiled and turned to her daughter-in-law coming up behind Castle, "And good morning to you too, Katherine."
"Morning, Martha," Kate snagged an apple from the fruit bowl.
"So, how are the newlyweds doing?" Martha took a sip from her cup. Before either Rick or Kate could answer, Beckett's phone went off.
"Looks like they're going to be busy," Castle quipped.
"Beckett," Kate answered her phone.
"Haven't seen something like this in a long time," Esposito greeted the writer and his muse as they crossed the police tape.
"Something like what?" Beckett asked.
"A bona fide Beckett-flavored murder," Esposito replied and gestured to the victim. Ryan was off to the side taking Hannah's statement. Lanie was already kneeling down by the body.
"Whoa," Castle's brows went up.
"You can say that again," Lanie stood up. The victim was a white man, black hair and medium build, probably in his mid-30s. That wasn't the freaky part. His lower half was that of a black woman. His mid-section was severed in half and then tied loosely back together with rope in a sewn pattern to the woman's bottom half, from the hips down.
"That's a man and a woman put together," Kate stated the obvious.
"Yes it is," Ryan joined everybody, "Our witness tripped over him on her morning jog. No wallet or ID… for either of them."
"Any sign of either of their other halves?" Kate grimaced.
"Nada," Esposito shook his head.
"Somebody had to have seen something," Castle said, "He obviously wasn't killed here. There had to be someone to see the killer drag the body out here."
"Canvas the area," Kate instructed Esposito and Ryan, "Maybe a homeless person saw something or maybe he was killed in the area. The killer wouldn't have been able to get very far with the body… or uh, bodies."
"On it," Esposito nodded and Ryan followed his partner.
"Dare I ask cause of death?" Kate turned to Lanie.
"Looks like it might be blunt force trauma," Lanie knelt back down to the body and gestured with her pen to his head. His dark hair soaked up most of the visible blood, but it was noticeable that he had been whacked there, "Time of death… I'd say about three am. I'll be able to tell you more once I get him back to the lab. I'll see if I can get an ID on him from his dental records… his other half though? Might have more trouble with that."
"There's another victim out there," Beckett looked grim, "And it looks like we've got a psychopath to catch."
Dr. Henry Morgan stood gazing out the window of Abe's Antiques. He took a sip of his coffee from his cup. Abe came up behind him, "What you looking at out there?"
"Nothing," Henry sighed, "Just… thinking."
"Anything in particular?" Abe started to get the shop ready for opening.
Henry turned around, "No, just watching life outside."
"That's a nice switch from the usual," Abe smirked. A second later, the phone rang. Henry looked at his watch, "That'd be Jo."
"Hello, Detective," Henry picked up the handset.
"One of these days I'll figure out how you know it's me without a caller ID," Jo's remark came through the earpiece.
"Not today," Henry smiled.
"Yeah, well, we've got another victim… and you're definitely gonna want to see this one," Jo replied.
"Be with you presently," Henry answered and hung up. He turned to his son, "Duty calls."
"See you later, Henry," Abe waved him off.
Henry adjusted his blue gloves as he came on the scene. They were in an abandoned building. Jo and Hanson were standing by the body, talking to each other apparently waiting for his arrival.
"Well, I don't think you need me to tell you this one was murder," Henry came up to join the two detectives.
"Thanks, Doc," Hanson greeted him with a sarcastic smile.
"Never seen anything like this," Jo knelt down next to Henry and the body. The top half was that of a woman, a thin black woman around mid-30s, but her bottom half was a man's. The woman's head was clearly bashed in and the two halves of the man and woman's bodies were woven together in a sewn pattern with rope.
"No, neither have I," Henry tilted his head, taking in every detail of the body in front of him, "Who found her?"
"Some teenagers playing around in here," Hanson replied.
"Well, she wasn't killed here," Jo said, "There'd be a lot more blood… especially since she was cut in half and put together with another person."
"I agree with you there, Detective," Henry nodded, "But not because there'd be more blood."
Jo furrowed her brows and Henry explained himself, "She was already dead when she was cut in half. You can tell by the cauterization of the halves. The same can be said about our male victim. Any sign of his other half?"
"No," Jo shook her head, "But we've got another vic out there somewhere. Once we get an ID on her, we'll hopefully be able to figure out who he was."
"Charles Perry," Ryan came up to Castle and Beckett by the murder board, "That's our vic's name. Lanie just called. He's a high school teacher from Brooklyn, clean record… except for a parking ticket here and there."
"How does a guy like that get murdered the way he was?" Castle asked.
"He had to be into something… maybe even both of our vics were," Kate started to theorize, "Run financials. Do we have a next of kin?"
"Still working on that," Ryan replied.
"Did Lanie say anything about identifying the woman he was attached to?" Castle asked.
"She said she'd try from some of her DNA, but it's a long shot," Ryan shook his head, "It's not like she's got fingerprints or dental records to go off of."
"Toe prints would be too much to ask for, huh?" Castle tried to lighten the mood. Kate gave her husband a side glare.
"Detective Beckett," Gates stepped out of her office, "Mr. Castle… in my office."
Beckett nodded off to Ryan as he went to go run Perry's financials and find next of kin. Getting off the edge of the desk, she headed to Gates' office followed by Castle.
"Is there something wrong, sir?" Kate asked.
"A friend of mine informed me that another body showed up with a woman's top half and a man's bottom," Gates replied.
"That's our other halves," Kate perked up, "Where, sir? We'll be right on it."
"The body was in another precinct's jurisdiction and was already assigned to another detective," Gates put her hands up, "But given the nature of the situation, I think it'd be best if we worked with them on this one. After all, the victims were tied together."
"Which precinct?" Castle asked.
"The eleventh," Gates said, "The case belongs to Detectives Jo Martinez and Mike Hanson."
"Have they found an ID on the woman yet?" Beckett asked.
"Not yet, but they have their top medical examiner working on the case with their two detectives," Gates came around the desk, "Dr. Henry Morgan… I'm told by my friend Lieutenant Reece at the eleventh that he is the best. He even works in the field with the two detectives. A bit unorthodox, but then again so are you two. I just got off the phone with Reece. Once they've identified the female victim, they'll be over here to work with you."
A/N: So? Promising start? I love both of these shows so much. Words can't describe it. And now that they've both ended it's a little bittersweet. It turned out to be about 35 pages. I split it into a prologue, 5 chapters and an epilogue. I'll figure out a posting schedule. Maybe like once a week. That's what I used to do with my Smallville stories. Let me know what you guys think! *bites nails in anticipation of reviews*