The twelfth precinct
Kate was sitting at her desk. Stacks of folders sat waiting. She was in a funk, grateful they hadn't had a body drop. At least for the time being, people weren't killing one another and trying to cover it up.
Her job was to seek out the truth, track down killers. The reasons people killed usually fell into three main categories: Greed, Jealousy, and Lust. The job was never-ending. Until recently it had been enough, the job and her life had purpose. She'd immersed herself into to bringing justice to others, and it had been enough until…
She stared at the words and they weren't registering. Kate threw the folder on the desk in frustration. She held her hand to her face, and wondered what in the hell was going on with her.
"Guys, I'm going to the morgue."
Espo and Ryan looked up and nodded. They had their own stacks of folders to clear. As soon as the elevator door closed; they started talking.
"I think Mom is missing Dad." Ryan closed the file he was working on and put it in the completed pile.
Espo fist bumped Ryan "Can you believe Castle is having coffee delivered to her every morning?"
"Beckett loves her coffee." Espo started to write a note in his file, his pen wasn't marking the paper. He scribbled in on a scratch pad, the ink began to flow.
"I think Mom loves Dad." Ryan grabbed another file.
Espo laid the pen down. "I think you're right 'Bro." Espo looked around the room; no-one was within ear shot. "I miss him too."
"Yea, Castle did make murder more fun." Ryan sighed.
Espo looked at him with disbelief. "Did you just say murder was fun?"
"You know what I meant." Ryan threw a wadded paper ball at his partner. "It's time for a Mom and Dad intervention. She needs to talk to him."
Espo agreed. "Call or Text?"
Ryan pursed his lips together as he was thinking. "Text, we don't know if he's signing books right now."
Espo picked up his phone. He typed out a short message.
Yo, our girl is in a funk. You need to call her.
Just as Espo finished reading his message to Ryan his phone buzzed with Castle's reply.
Thank you, Espo I will call as soon as my meeting is over.
Kate's hands were flush against the back of the elevator as she rode down to the basement. The last place most people headed to cheer up was a morgue; but Kate Beckett was not like most people. She was a cop, whose best friend is a medical examiner.
The door on the elevator was about to close when Kate noticed she'd arrived at her destination. She was lost in a daydream recalling moments spent with Castle, oblivious to arriving at her destination. She reached out and grabbed the door to prevent it from closing. She stepped out and headed to find Lanie.
"Hey girl, what brings to down here?"
"Hey Lanie, I just needed a break. I couldn't focus on paperwork anymore."
Lanie was studying her friend. She usually picked up more from what Kate didn't say than from her conversations with her. It was like pulling teeth to get that girl to share her feelings, especially if those feelings pertained to a certain Mystery Writer, she lived in denial.
Lanie just finished an autopsy. She stripped off her gloves and went to the sink to wash her hands.
Kate sat waiting for her friend. She was staring off into space.
"Girl you need some fun, do you want to go out tonight?"
"Thanks Lanie, but I think I'm going to go home and take a bubble bath, maybe read for a while."
Lanie shook her head. "When does Writer Boy come back from his book tour?"
Kate gave Lanie the look. "This isn't about Castle."
"Girl, you can tell yourself that if you want, but I see what's going on here. You miss him. Hell the boy's and I miss him too; and we're not the ones in love with him."
"I'm…not..."
Lanie held up her hand "Please, do not insult my intelligence I see what is going on. You may not see it, but I do. You love him he loves you. Both of you are too stubborn to do anything about it."
Kate looked even more miserable than when she first arrived.
Lanie came over and gave her a hug. "Oh, honey you need to tell that boy how you feel."
"What if he doesn't want a real relationship? What if he just wants…I don't know… a conquest…then I'm going to hurt worse than I am now?"
"Girl, I'm going to smack you. That boy has followed you around for the last three years. He has enough material to write ten books. He stayed because he wants a relationship with you. If he wants booty, all he has to do is snap his fingers. He is good-looking, rich, and that boy has junk in his trunk. Hell I'd go for him…..but he's already taken."
"He does have a nice ass." A small smile crept on her lips, and she envisioned Castle backside.
"Javi was telling me he had a boy delivering coffee to you every morning, is it true?"
Kate nodded.
"Girl that boy is romantic. You need to hop on that stallion and take a ride."
"Lanie!"
"Oh, please I know you want him. Kate all I'm saying is don't wait. I have drawers full of people they thought they had all the time in the world. Now they are here with me. This last one, she was only twenty-four; dropped dead from a heart attack. She didn't have any signs of heart disease; I'll bet she thought she had time. She's dead Kate."
"I…..I know Lanie it's like we've been doing this dance." Kate slid off the stool.
Lanie came over and hugged her. "Honey, he's just as scared as you are, talk to him."
Kate nodded her head in affirmation, Lanie was right they needed to talk. Right now she needed to clear file folders off her desk. She headed back upstairs.
The elevator doors dinged and she stepped out. As Kate was walking over to her desk her phone rang. "Beckett"
"Hey" a rich deep baritone voice reached across the miles.
"Hey, Kate was smiling from ear to ear. "How's the tour?"
"I don't even know what city I'm in. It's all a blur."
"It's Thursday, Austin, Texas" Kate blurted out. She was waiting for him to tease her about tracking him.
Castle didn't react to her slip-up, he stored the information away. She was keeping track of him.. "The fans are great. They've been kind. I miss…..home." He was going to say you. He decided he'd better amend his thoughts. I could write a book about the things we don't say. God he missed her. "Are you getting your coffee?"
"Yes, thank you." She wanted to tell him, she missed his blue eyes sparkling as he handed her the cup each morning. She knew she was crazy, but the coffee didn't taste the same, it was better when she received the cup from him.
Kate heard someone calling his name in the background. "Richard Castle get your ass in here the fans are waiting.
"It's Paula he hissed. I've got to go; I'd like to call you later tonight-if that would be alright?"
"I should be home early. So call anytime." The sound of his voice comforted her.
"….Until tonight" Castle held his phone as if it was a life-line.
"Bye." Kate was smiling as she hung up the phone.
When she looked up, Espo and Ryan were watching with goofy grins on their faces.
"What?" Kate picked up a folder from her stack.
Espo and Ryan fist bumped and grabbed a folder.
Three hours later
Kate cradled the phone into the base on her desk. "Guys we have a body, 3rd and LEX."
Stopping in front of the crime scene Kate paused a moment before she stepped under the yellow tape. This funk needed to stop. She really needed to focus. She caught herself before she turned to remind Castle not to touch anything. She was so used to him being by her side. She'd taken him for granted. Opening the car door she got out, alone. She took a deep breath and ventured in.
Espo and Ryan were talking to the witness. Lisa Deavers, age 24. The deceased was her fiancé Andy Reynolds. They were getting married this spring. They were going into the convenience store to get a soda. The shooter came in demanded the money from the cashier. They were at the wrong place wrong time. The shooter shot him point-blank no reason. He had forty-two dollars in his wallet and pictures of Lisa. He'd handed over his wallet, the PERP shot him anyway.
The shooter was released from prison a month earlier. He was on probation for robbery and drug use. Now he was going up for murder.
Lisa came into the precinct and gave her statement. Kate listened as Lisa told her of their plans. The wedding was two months away. She had the dress. They'd bought a house, they were going to wait two years and then start a family. Her life changed in an instant.
Kate dealt with death and getting justice for the victims. The case was solved, but Kate didn't feel Lisa was getting any justice by knowing the PERP was going back to prison. She was going home alone. Her partner in life was staying behind lying in the morgue.
Today Kate wasn't feeling very good about the world in general.
As the water filled in the tub, Kate gathered the tools she needed to unwind. A glass of wine and his words. She tested the water with her toe. It was hot, just the way she wanted. Sliding into the tub the water enveloped her caressed her. Her muscles began to UN-knot. She took a sip of wine and picked up his book. She needed his words.
She read.
Kate began to cry. Her tears were for love lost. Lisa and Andy's future was forever changed. She'd experienced lost. She thought if she solved her Mom's case and justice was finally served. It would all make sense. The loss today shook her to the core. Lisa knew who killed Andy. The PERP just got out of prison. He would likely get out again, and Andy would still be dead. Knowing who killed him didn't change the fact he was gone forever.
Her phone rang.
"Hey," It was him"
"Kate why are you crying"
She shook her head. He knew her so well he could tell with one word that she was crying. Wow just Wow Castle. " …um the case we worked today, it was difficult."
"Talk to me Kate." His voice was soothing, he wasn't demanding, only asking she share her day with him.
She sniffled…Okay um A couple was getting a soda at a convenience store the shooter he-um got the money, but he pulled the trigger anyway... His fiancée was standing right beside him, she saw him die right in front of her. We caught the guy…but it's.
"Not enough?"
"They were about to begin their life together, its just-it makes no sense. Why would he shoot him? He had the money."
"Tell me their story." He knew she needed to talk. He wished he was with her; he wanted to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. He closed his eyes. He could dream anyway.
Kate re-told the young couples story. He listened. She felt better sharing the loss she felt with him.
"I miss you." It slips from her lips before she filtered it through her brain.
"I miss you too." She may shut him down in about two seconds, but he wanted to say what he felt, without having to worry about her running.
"Are you taking a bath?"
"Yes, I'm drinking a glass of wine, and I was reading In a hail of bullets. I needed to try to UN-wind after today"
His heart smiled.
"My water is starting to cool off, I think I should get out, my toes are wrinkled."
"Put me on speaker." He didn't want to break the connection, she was being open and honest, and he felt she would clam up if she called him back. He didn't mind waiting; he'd waited for three years.
"Okay, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you." Her voice echoed around the bathroom the acoustics from all the porcelain and tile made for a distinct sound... The moment was intimate, not in a sexual way, deeper richer. He treasured this moment.
He could hear her making little noises as she dressed. He'd waited for a-long time witness an un-guarded Beckett.
She blew air out as she slipped her NYPD t-shirt over her head. "Almost there Castle"
"Take your time, I'm comfortable." He was propped up in the hotel bed. His laptop was open; he'd written a few words. Rook was in a funk, rather his writer was.
She headed into the bedroom.
He heard the wine glass scrape across the nightstand as she sat it down. Kate climbed into her bed. He heard the rustling of the covers as she pulled back the comforter exposing the crisp sheets. He was enjoying the sounds of Kate Beckett at home.
She crawled into bed and took the phone off speaker.
He had to bit his lip to keep from chuckling; she was making the cutest noises as she prepared for bed.
"How the tour going, getting writer's cramp from all the chest signings?"
"Funny, no actually I'm fielding questions about you."
"Me-why?"
"Everyone wants to know if the real life inspiration is as cool as Nikki."
"What do you tell them?"
"No, I tell them you are much more than I could ever capture on paper."
…He could tell she was smiling.