A/N

This is my first ever fan fiction, so please review and let me know what you think. Right now I am about 2 chapters ahead of what is posted, but I am keen to hear some feedback regarding the story and see if I can improve the future chapters. Some random misc notes…

1-No beta, I am flying solo on this. I have looked it over for consistency, and Word's tender spell and grammar check is about all we can count on

2- Story takes place after linchpin. Assume "Once Upon a Crime" happened, and that the hand holding was a good step to what we will see here later.

3-This is going to weave a good amount of relationship development with what I consider to be a really interesting case. Not to spoil the future chapters too much but two themes I really am going to try and explore are; 1-How do Castle and Beckett react when the criminal is as smart, devious and prepared as they are, and 2- How are they going to balance a relationship with work.

Disclaimer- Don't own them, taking them out for spin in my 'verse. Marlow and co are the true creators, we just want to play pretend with them for a bit.

Prologue

The steady hum of fluorescent lights, coupled with the steady drip of water on his head slowly brought him back of hazy awareness. He knew he was sitting, and that his hands were behind his back. An involuntary motion to bring them forward confirmed what he suspected, he was bound. He tried to stand up, despite the pounding in his head and immediately became aware of the bindings around his legs as well. Forcing his eyes open the sudden assault of light caused a spike of pain in his head, and a reactive clenching of his eyes. Opening more slowly this time he gave himself the time needed for his eyes to adjust. Expecting a dingy warehouse or some basement, he was surprised to find himself in a clean well lit room, albeit one filled with glass specimen jars holding variety of human and animal parts. Looking around further he noticed that there were several long counters running along the sides of the room filled with scientific equipment, some extremely modern, some looking ancient. There were no windows and a single door. He struggled with the bindings on his hands, working to try and slide his wrists over the ziptie cuffs, but whoever had put them on had tightened them to the chair to the point of cutting into his skin with the slightest move. The water continued to drip on his head and he looked up seeing a retractable hose hanging off of the ceiling. He looked down and confirmed that the floor had multiple drains on it and was a non stick pebbled surface.

"Great, stuck in the lair of Dr. Frankenstein, surrounded by body parts, scientific torture devices, and an easy clean floor." He muttered out loud.

As soon as the sound had died down, he heard the door start to open and looking straight at it, mentally preparing himself for the unpleasantness to begin. He was greeted with a strange and disturbing sight, a man completely dressed in scrubs, disposable gown, facemask, goggles, surgical cap and gloves walked it. The man walked straight up to him and without saying a word, ripped open his shirt. He then proceeded to apply electrodes, the kind you see in hospitals to measure heart rates, on to his chest in a precise pattern. A leather and metal circlet was then fastened to the top of his head. Both the electrodes and the circlet had wires coming out of them, and they were hooked into a tall standing unit, with numerous dials and gauges. Without saying a word, the man left closing the door behind him.

As the door closed, the lights flicked off, leaving a single point of illumination coming from a desk lamp on the side of the room.

"Are you comfortable?" A disembodied voice came over a loudspeaker, distorted, and artificially lowered.

"If this is because I was late paying that hospital bill, just tell me how much I owe and I am sure we can straighten this out" the man joked.

"Humor, excellent a wonderful method to forestall the panic that I am sure is building within you right now." "I assure you Mr. Castle, this is all in the name of science." "I know you yourself are fond of hands on research, so please allow me the same liberty."

With that, Castle heard the distinctive sound of an electrical capacitor charging and then the immediate anguish of an electrical current conducting through the metal circlet on his head, through his skull, and lighting his brain on fire. He spasmed against the chair as sensation without context flooded over him. As soon as it started it stopped, and breathing heavily, he felt his body lose tension and sag in the chair. It took him several minutes before his mind cleared enough to form thought, and then putting thought to words another minute. Even so his voice was strained and halting as if he was learning to talk for the first time

"Reee…search, how about you…. call this….. what it is, ttt…orture."

"No, Mr. Castle, torture is designed to inflict pain either for punishment or to acquire information, I am doing research, careful, meticulous research, and it's all part of the plan."

"Plan, what plan?"

"Patience Mr. Castle, we have plenty of time to go over the plan, suffice to say, its starts with the perfect murder..."

With that Castle hears the capacitors start to charge again and gritting his teeth, expecting another surge to turn his brain to jelly, is literally shocked when the jolt starts in his chest, blasting the breath from his lungs. And then something extremely strange happens. He feels it suddenly, or more accurately he stops feeling it suddenly. His heart is no longer beating, the steady pulse in his chest is silent, and suddenly breathing becomes impossible, like being underwater. His weak struggles are cut short as darkness starts to close in on him his final thoughts before nothingness are of his family, his friends, and lastly of the woman he loves

"Kate"…slips out with a last gasping breath.

Chapter 1

4 weeks ago

Detective Kate Beckett had a bad feeling. It was early evening and the precinct was quiet, with no current active cases on her team's plate Esposito and Ryan had volunteered to go over financials and traffic cameras for Karpowski's case of a hit and run that looked like it was not an accident. Kate herself was catching up on some overdue paperwork, but without Castle there this morning she had powered through almost all of it. She was distracted as her phone beeped at her.

Save me! The text blared.

A momentary feeling of panic erupted in her chest. The text was from Castle and all she could think of was that he had gotten himself into some other situation, and was in danger yet again. Visions of banks exploding, and of tigers flooded her vision before the chime of another text alert startled her.

Paula shanghaied me into a book reading and signing tonight

Visibly relaxing Beckett texted him back, a small smile playing on her lips

I thought you loved your adoring public, not enough cheering fans or chests to sign?

His reply took less than 30 seconds to appear.

My favorite fan (and chest) is not here

Kate smirked at that comment, but she also felt a tingle in her chest, knowing that he was missing her, and if she was honest with herself she was missing him.

I'll tell Espo you miss him and his rippling pecs. She wrote back trying to stifle the laugh.

NOT what I meant, or wanted to visualize right now…Come visit, free food!

Looking around again she noted that Gates was out of the office, some sort of budget meeting, and Ryan and Esposito seemed to be finishing up their good deeds with Karpowski's team.

"Hey guys, I am going to head out, call me if we get a body, but once your finished head home and pray for a quiet night"

They boys waved to her, fist bumping in excitement about their early day, but they deserved it and she knew Ryan wanted to get home to Jenny at a decent time, and Espo…well maybe she was going to make Lanie a happy woman this evening.

Striding out of the precinct towards the parking garage she reflected on her evolving relationship with Castle. Things had slowed to a crawl recently with them, neither one seeming to want to break the détente in their lives. Kate was still seeing Dr. Burke and was making progress dealing with her issues. She was beginning to find a balance again, knowing that her mom's case and her shooting did not have to rule her life. She was still not sure how she wanted to broach the subject with Castle, since she knew that whatever she did was going to have to start with her confession that she remembered everything from the shooting. Some days just knowing that he loved her was enough, and other days she wanted him to know that she loved him. Those days were becoming more frequent, especially in light of the situations he had found himself in with Serena and Sopia. Kate knew that at some point, even as much as he loved her, he would accept being in her life in a non-romantic way and would seek someone to fall in love with. She was desperately trying to avoid that, but she knew unless she did something that was where they were heading, and she did not know how much more time she had left.

She arrived at the book store within 30 minutes, taking a couple of side streets to avoid the rush hour commute. Moving to the front door she noted a sign on the door advertising the book reading and signing. Pushing open the doors she was greeted immediately by a wall of people in front of her. Moving around the edges she was able to get closer to the front and to her favorite author.

Castle was dressed in his normal dark wash jeans, blue button down and black jacket. He was seated in a comfy looking leather chair and on the table next to him were a short stack of Derrick Storm and Nikki Heat books. He was holding Heat Wave in his hand and was reciting one of the more dramatics sections. Kate loved listening to him read; his steady voice was infused with emotion and drama as he brought his words to life. She sometimes took for granted his skills in the literary world, having come to trust and depend on his investigative skills. She clapped along with the rest of the audience as he finished, and Paula quickly came up next to him and announced that the book signing and meet and greet would be held in the back of the store and would start in 15 minutes. Castle disappeared off to the side as the crowd started to migrate back. Kate figured she would catch up with him later and started walking back as well. She was startled when a hand grabbed her elbow and dragged her to the side

"My heroine, come to rescue me from the horde of coeds and bored housewives" Castle laughed as Beckett steadied her footing.

"Geez Castle, watch it, I almost pulled my gun and shot you, and while I know your lifeless corpse can't sue the city, these poor workers would be left to clean up the mess, plus your disappointed fans" She joked with him. "But seriously that was a nice reading. I forget these days that you are also a world renowned author."

"Well thank you Kate." He said with a touch of modesty and genuine appreciate. She knew that he had shed a lot of his playboy persona in the last year in the press. Paula and Gina had initially been reluctant to let him get out of the public eye, but it became apparent that his book sales were not slumping, and the stories that he did make it into often revolved around his involvement with the NYPD and the real life Nikki Heat so the angle of real life crime solver and mystery writer was continuing to bring in new readers.

"Time to go sign some chests Castle?" Beckett asked trying to lighten the mood and egg on the twinkle in his eyes.

"You know I am not doing that anymore right?" he asked. Her surprised looked told him she didn't.

"Since when?"

"Since the release party for Heat Rises. I told Paula and Gina that I would sign books and pictures, but no more chests, plus I had them change up the themes for my book launch parties. I invited more friends, more people I met through the 12th, and a wider selection of fans from teens to grandparents, and we did a silent auction for the Police Widows and Orphans fund. It felt right and it felt more appropriate after everything that had gone on with Montgomery."

Kate was shocked, she knew that she had missed the launch party during her recovery, but no one had told her about it and she assumed that it had been a raucous affair more suited for a frat party than a book signing.

"That's really nice Castle, I wish I could have been there"

"You were there in spirit, and your literary alter ego was there, so it all worked out."

Rick glanced down at his watch, "I have to head back, but why don't you stay for a bit, there is food and we can go out for coffee or to the Old Haunt after."

"Alright, I'll hang around, maybe look around a bit and see what new books are out." Castle's wounded look brought a smile to her face "Patterson's new book is out and I think I saw something about a new James Bond book by Deaver." Teasing him with her implied dalliance with other mystery writers.

"Second rate hacks" he muttered as he headed towards the back, stopping briefly to grab Kate's arm and drag her along with him at least to the back gathered crowd. He smiled and walked over to a long table at the front of the crowd and sat down with Paula starting to direct traffic.

He signed for about two hours, as Kate got a plate of food from the small buffet they had set up and wandered around. She picked up a few books looking for something new but nothing caught her eye. She wandered back to Castle and saw that the signing line was almost completely done, but that a fair number were milling around the buffet talking with each other and obviously waiting for Castle to come mingle.

Kate sat down and took the opportunity to observe Castle in his work environment. She saw him finish up signing and get up. Catching her eye he indicated he was going to grab some food and mingle. She nodded at him, but continued to sit and watch him. She saw the fans gravitate towards him and watch as he engaged them in small talk, answered some questions, shook some hands and took some pictures. Several of the more nubile guests gave him hugs, and even though she initially flinched she could see that he was returning the hugs in as innocent a manner as possible.

"Excuse me, Detective Beckett?" Kate was jarred out of her Castle watching, by someone coming up in front of her. Looking over and up, she saw a young man, in his late twenties, dark hair, green eyes and glasses staring at her intently. She noted wryly that he was wearing a corduroy coat with patches on the elbows and looked like a too young professor.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"Dr. Andrew Drake" the young man extended his hand. "I am a big Richard Castle fan, and I recognized you from some of the articles about Nikki Heat."

Beckett groaned a little internally, as much as she was secretly flattered that Castle had based a character off of her, she was still a little weirded out by fans who thought of her as the real Nikki Heat.

"Pleasure to meet you Dr. Drake."

"Please call me Andrew, I must admit I didn't expect to see you here as well as Mr. Castle."

"Spur of the moment decision, sometimes Castle needs me to provide an escape plan from these parties."

Drake laughed at that and Beckett found herself warming to the man, noting he did not seem like an obsessed fan or star struck at meeting her, just curious to meet and talk with her.

"What kind of doctor are you?" Kate asked, curious.

"Forensic psychologist, actually. I teach at Columbia and I have a small consulting practice."

"Consulting?"

"I work with prosecutors and defense attorneys evaluating clients and suspects during trials and for sentence recommendations"

"So you're an expert witness then."

"I guess that is the court's term. I have been doing it for about 3 years now. It was actually Mr. Castle's books, and his insights into the criminal mind that initially got me interested in psychology."

"Ohh god, please don't tell him that, his ego can't get any larger or I will never be able to fit in the elevator again with him"

"What about my ego?" Castle's voice sounded over her left shoulder. Glancing back Kate saw him about a foot behind her, his eyes on the man in front of her.

"Dr. Andrew Drake, say hello to Richard Castle" Kate spoke up, "You have my permission to sign his chest if you want Castle"

"Thank you no" Drake stammered. "The book is fine."

"Pleasure to meet a fan, though should I ask to see some I.D. to make sure you are old enough to buy that book?" Castle asked with a laugh

"I assure you Mr. Castle I am old enough to buy this book, as well as drink." Drake countered with an amused grin.

"Well in that case call me Rick, and it truly is a pleasure to meet you, did I hear the lovely detective Beckett say that you are a psychologist?"

"Yes, actually forensic psychology, I primarily teach and do expert witness patient consults, but I have been trying to get more involved in profiling, and working with state and federal law enforcement."

"Really, hey Beckett, don't you think it would be cool to have our own profiler on retainer" Castle sounded like a kid in a candy store.

"I thought you were the master of the criminal mind" Kate gave him a pointed look

"Dedicated amateur. Still to have access to someone who actually does psychological profiling. You wouldn't mind if I picked your brain sometime about some of the cases you have worked, some of the crazies you have dealt with?"

"Well crazies is not the technical term, but sure, I would be more than happy to sit down with you. Perhaps you both could return the favor? I have been trying to get more profiling experience, but starting out is tough, and without getting called in on a case it is hard to put the profiling into practice."

Castle looked down at Kate "What do you think; maybe we could use him on a case or two?"

"I'd have to run it by Gates, and you know how she is about "consultants", plus I don't think we have any room in the budget for outside help"

"Detective, please, there would be no charge, I am really looking to help, both the department and myself. The more experience I get, plus some positive references, the easier it will be to offer my services, or have my services requested from any kind of law enforcement agency. I would be more than happy to talk with your superior about my offer, and offer references from my expert witness work as well. Let me at least give you my card so that you can contact me, even unofficially."

Drake handed both of them a card. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you, and Mr. Cas…I mean Rick, thank you for the signed book, I look forward to speaking with you in the future."

"Very nice to meet you as well." Castle shook his hand.

The young man turned to leave and Castle turned back to Beckett and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I told Paula I am out of here, I did my "Famous Author" work for the day, how about we get out of here before my cheeks go numb."

Smiling at him, she got up and didn't immediately move her hand from his grasp. "Ok, so where to?"

"Old Haunt? I need to check in anyway, and I wanted to show you the renovations to my office there."

"Did you spring for padding all of the walls, or did you chose dominatrix pleasure palace?" Kate asked with a smirk.

"Neither, though I think I may have a spare dominatrix outfit lying around somewhere if you want to help me redecorate" Castle leered

"Why, have you been a bad boy?" Kate responded in her faux Russian accent, knowing that would certainly give him pause. She was not disappointed as his eyes glazed over and did not track her as she started walking towards the front door.

"Come on Castle, you promised me a drink." Snapping out of his (ohh so naughty) thoughts he hurried to catch up to her and they walked out of the book store, shoulders bumping into each other several times on the way out.

Beckett pointed down the street slightly, to the crown vic, looking shiny and new after its tune up with the CIA. "Our carriage waits."