Castle's fingers flew across the keyboard; a constant cacophony of tiny clacks filled his office as he typed up a new chapter in his next Nikki Heat book. One would think that after a while, he would tire of writing the words 'Detective Heat', but he never did. Possibly this was because every time he typed it, he could see her in his mind's eye. Hazel eyes, arms crossed in front of her chest, golden-brown locks spilling down around her shoulders. She would be smiling at him, obviously in one of her better moods; he would smile back at her before returning to his writing, bidding her farewell until the next time he wrote her fictional alias's name.

"Richard, darling!" His mother's voice echoed brightly from the doorway, but he didn't take his eyes off his computer screen, instead putting up one finger while continuing to type with the other hand – a skill which he never failed to impress himself with. "One second," he said absentmindedly, before bringing his hand back to the keyboard and completing his sentence. Only then did he save the document and look up from his laptop. "Yes?"

Martha Rodgers was just outside his office, curls of short orange hair framing her aging face, holding herself like she was someone of great importance. From one hand, she dangled a vibrantly orange dress; in the other, she clasped a hanger holding a rather shiny dark blue blouse and a black skirt. "For my audition today," she said pompously, lifting both of her hands to indicate that she couldn't decide on an outfit.

"Really, Mother?" Castle replied, raising his eyebrows. "You're asking me for fashion advice?"

Martha was silent for a moment, her face frozen with her mouth slightly open, before replying, "Good point," and walked away, no doubt going to find Alexis and ask her opinion.

Shaking his head slightly, Castle lifted his favorite Richard Castle mug to his lips and sipped the scalding coffee inside. Replacing the mug on the desk next to him, he returned to his writing, still smiling slightly to himself every time he typed Nikki's name.

Still, he only had a few minutes of peace before Alexis rushed through the doorway of his office, her black flats making nearly no sound as they collided with the floor. Her orange curls, so similar to her grandmother's, swung side to side as she ran, but came to rest against her back when she stopped in front of his desk. She wore light blue jeans, worn on the fronts, and an argyle sweater in a variety of shades, ranging from lightest blue to white.

"Going somewhere?" Castle asked, typing as he talked. It was late on a Saturday morning, but Alexis had arrived with the attitude she normally had when declaring that she was leaving for school.

"Study session with Taylor and Paige. Don't worry," she added quickly. "Paige's mom is driving us."

"I wasn't worried." Castle finished the sentence he was typing and looked up. "Be home in time for dinner?"

Alexis smiled sweetly. "Of course. Exams aren't until Friday, anyways." And before her father could begin chiding her on studying an entire week before exams, she hurried around to his side of the desk, kissed him quickly on the cheek, and fled the room.

Once again, Castle was left alone with his computer; once again, he resumed telling the tale of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook. This time, he actually managed to write for twenty minutes straight before his phone began to ring.

Instantly, he brightened up. A murder to solve – a murder to solve with Beckett, at that – would make this typical boring Saturday into something much more enjoyable. Granted, Gina, his publisher and ex-wife, may just murder him if he didn't finish the first draft of his manuscript soon… but as he grabbed his phone from the desk and answered it without bothering to look at the caller ID, he decided he could worry about that later.

"Castle."

"It's Ryan." The male detective's voice was not what Castle had expected – or hoped – to hear, but maybe Beckett's phone was dead. Maybe she had called in sick. A murder without Beckett wasn't quite the same as a murder with Beckett, but he still would rather be crime-solving with the boys than stuck in his apartment writing. "Get to the precinct, ASAP."

Something in Ryan's voice gave Castle pause; he stood, already moving towards the door. "Ryan, something wrong?"

The silence that followed seemed to last an eternity. Castle was standing at the door of his apartment, having put on his shoes and his coat, with his car keys dangling from his hand, when Ryan finally replied.

"It's Kate."