She was having that dream again, the one where she and Castle make love on the deck of a catamaran in the middle of the ocean. She had gone for a swim in the cool blue water and returned to the boat to find a very naked Castle waiting for her. She could feel his soft lips on her collar bone, his warm hands untying her bikini top, his long, hard….

RING… RING… RING…

Damn, She thought, Someone's always gotta die right before I get to the good part.

Being woken up in the middle of the night to go check out a body was always disconcerting for Kate, but tonight's call felt different, alarming, yes, but also foreboding. Esposito's voice sounded quiet, concerned and sad on the phone and all he said was "We got a body. I know you're not on call tonight but I think you'll wanna be here. 81st and Madison. Hurry ok?" Something about his tone turned her stomach into a rock. She climbed out of bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. On the drive to the crime scene, she just couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

The street corner was surrounded by squad cars and taped off. She quickly spotted Ryan and Esposito standing over the body in the alley. The looks on their faces sent Kate's worried mind into overdrive. She took and deep breath and stepped out of the car to be met immediately by Lanie.

"What the hell is going on Lanie? You all look like you've seen a ghost".

The ME answered in that same concerned tone she recognized from Esposito's phone call. "Sweetie, we called you because we know you'll want to be the one to deal with this but you need to prepare yourself."

"Jesus Lanie, just tell me what happened".

After taking a deep breath and placing a gentle hand on Kate's shoulder, she softly replied "It's Castle's daughter. The victim is Alexis"

Kate felt the world tilt. Feeling like she'd just been hit in the stomach, she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. This couldn't be real, this couldn't be happening. She had to see for herself. Before Lanie could say anything else, Kate had torn herself from her friend's grasp and was charging toward the lifeless figure under the sheet. She bent down, praying this was a mistake, even a dream. By the time Ryan and Esposito realized what was going on, it was too late to stop her. She slowly pulled the sheet down revealing a mess of fiery red hair and a pair of ice blue eyes that Kate recognized instantly as Castle's.

Kate felt Ryan's hand steady her as her world blurred. She stood up shakily, and realizing that she could hardly breathe, walked out of the alley and sat down on the curb. She hardly noticed when Lanie sat down a moment later and stretched her arm around Kate's shoulders. Kate felt her eyes burning and she clenched her teeth to fight back the tears.

"What happened to her?" she asked in a voice so weak it couldn't possibly have been hers.

"She was strangled. It'll take some time to confirm time of death but it appears to be between 10pm and midnight"

As her thoughts turned to Castle, Kate could swear she felt her heart stop completely.

"Has anyone talked to him?" she asked with pain in her voice.

"No honey. We think it would be best coming from you. But if you can't, Ryan and Esposito are prepared to".

"No. I'll do it" was all Kate could manage.

They sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Kate gathered her resolve, stood up and made her way back to her car with the ME by her side. Lanie gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before walking back to the crime scene. Kate started the car; the only thoughts in her head were of that fiery red hair as she headed to the hardest visit she would ever have to make.

Kate had done this hundreds of times since she became an NYPD detective. She had watched families be torn to shreds over hearing about the loss of a loved one, she had seen mothers fall apart at the tragedy of the passing of a child, hell, she had even been on the other side and felt her world crumble when Detective Raglan had delivered the news of her own Mother's death. All of this experience but she knew that nothing could prepare her for what she was about to do.

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door. Realizing the hour and that he would probably be sleeping, she knocked again, this time with a little more force. After a minute, he answered. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, hair sticking up at odd angles, wearing nothing but a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and her heart broke for him.

"Beckett? What're you doing here?" he asked sleepily.

"Hey, Castle. Sorry to wake you. Can I come in?" she asked, making sure that she never met his eyes, knowing that he would be able to read her in a second.

"Of course" he replied, instantly sensing the gravity of the situation. "Come on in. I'm just gonna grab a shirt".

As he walked back into the bedroom, she gazed around the loft. Her eye caught sight of a small framed photo of Castle and Alexis when she was a kid. She'd never noticed it before. Alexis was about three years old and she was lying on his chest. They were both dead asleep. If she thought her heart could possibly break a little more, it would have at the sight of that picture. She was shaken out of her thoughts when he reentered the room.

"So, what's up?" he asked, motioning for her to take a seat on the couch. "Is this about a case, or did you just miss me?"

She sat silently, wringing her hands, desperately grasping for the right words to say.

Sensing her apprehension, he asked "What's going on?"

Her eyes met his for the first time and he immediately saw the pain, concern and fear in them.

"Kate. What happened?" he asked with trepidation. Part of him knowing he didn't want to hear the answer.

She grabbed his hand and took a fortifying breath.

"It's Alexis".

With those two words, Castle felt his heart stop and his world shatter. He pulled his hand away from hers and stood up, tears filling his eyes, he shook his head. Rather than leave his mind to guess or enter a state of denial, Kate continued.

"She was attacked in an alley on Madison and 81st. A waiter from a nearby restaurant found her. She's dead, Castle. I'm so sorry".

She stood up, taking a tentative step toward him but he kept backing up. He was shaking his head vigorously.

"No. No. That can't be right. It has to be a mistake. I talked to her earlier tonight, she was fine. It can't be her. It's a mistake. She was…"

"Rick," she interrupted as gently as she could, "It's not a mistake. I saw her".

With that he dropped to his knees and let out a sob that wracked his whole body. She rushed to him. She remained standing and held him close to her middle as he cried. His arms encircled her hips and held on to her like she was the only thing keeping him from slipping into the darkness. She soothingly ran her fingers through his hair as his tears soaked her blouse. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, his crying abated and he slowly pulled away from her.

"C'mon," she said tenderly, "Let's make some tea".

She helped him off the floor and led him by the hand into the kitchen. She pulled out a chair for him at the bar and helped him sit down. He complied almost as if in a trance. She began to fill the kettle when he finally spoke. The rough abruptness of his voice astonished her.

"No tea. There's a bottle of scotch in the cabinet".

She grabbed the bottle and two glasses and placed them on the counter. She poured the drinks and scooted one across the bar to him. He hastily downed his and placed it back on the counter indicating his need for a refill. She refilled his glass and leaned against the bar as she sipped from hers, not saying a word. There really was nothing to say. Finally, looking up at her, he broke the silence.

"How did it happen?"

Tears in her eyes, she looked back at him, forcing herself to be open with him. She knew that honesty was what he needed.

"She was strangled. Between 10 and midnight".

He closed his eyes, not wanting her to see the pain he was in because of her words.

"I know this is hard, it's impossible, but do you think you could answer some questions?"

"Yeah. Whatever you need".

"Where was Alexis supposed to be last night?"

"She had dinner with me here at 7:30, and then she left. She said she was going to sleep over at her friend Paige's so I didn't worry when she didn't come home last night"

These words filled him with pain. She would never be coming home again. He pushed past the thought and forced himself to continue, knowing that this information could lead to finding his daughter's murderer.

"But Paige lives on the upper west side; I don't understand what she'd be doing over on Madison".

"Ok. I'm gonna call the boys and give them an update. We'll get in touch with Paige and try to find out what she was doing over there".

She started dialing but stopped when she caught sight of the look on his face. It nearly tore her in two.

She grabbed his hand and said with the all the confidence and sincerity she could muster, "I'm gonna find this guy, Rick. I swear to you. He's gonna pay for what he did to her".

He nodded wearily, grabbed the bottle and retreated to his office. "I have to call my Mother. And Meredith".

After getting off the phone with Esposito and Ryan, Kate sat down on the couch, finally letting it all sink in. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw stuff, shoot things, yell and scream. But she refused to. She was going to be strong for him. He was her rock through her Mother's case and now, she would be his. She would do whatever he needed to take his pain away. He was her partner, her friend. She had even reconciled herself with the idea that she was falling for him. After breaking up with Josh, she had decided it was time to stop fighting her feelings for him and was planning on telling him but then tonight happened. Now his little girl was dead and perhaps the Rick Castle she knew was dead too.

A/N: Oh man. Do you guys hate me for killing Alexis? This is my first fanfic EVER so let me know how I'm doing. I have ch 2 written and it is rated M. Shall I post it? Change it? Give up altogether? Please let me know what you think...