Kate woke up drowsy and her right arm felt numb, like something was on top of it. Lying on her stomach, she tried to sit up but smacked her head on something hard.

"Is that the ceiling?" she thought.

She reached to her left and found a wall just has her right foot found the other one.

"This can't be right," she thought, "am I in a box?"

Underneath her, something moved. She felt her right wrist move along with it, which brought along the cold metallic feeling of handcuffs.

"What in the hell?" she said quietly as she tasted a mouthful of hair.

Kate brought her left hand up from her side and pushed the hair away from her face. The thing is, it wasn't her hair. She could feel her heart rate rising with every minute she was lucid. Suddenly, she felt something move near her stomach moments before the mound hair moved just below her face.

"Ow…" came a voice, "why does everything hurt?"

"I know that voice," thought Kate. She pulled her own hair from her mouth as she gathered her thoughts. "Lindsay, is that you? I think we were kidnapped."

CHAPTER 1:

The sun was shining through the blinds as Castle lay in bed, smiling happily at his bride. They have been married for over a year now but every time he looked at the beautiful woman sleeping soundly next to him, he couldn't help but smile. It was after 7:30 in the morning and Kate still dozing peacefully, something that was all too rare for the police captain. Castle snuck out of bed, careful not to wake her, and crept into the kitchen to start the coffee.

"An essential part to every morning routine," he said quietly to himself as the Brazilian aroma filled the kitchen. Walking over to the fridge, he pulled out eggs and grabbed the shredded cheese. It was a simple breakfast but one of her favorites.

He placed the finished product on a tray, complete with a fresh flower, and carried it into the bedroom. He could see Kate stirring as he walked in and she sat up when she smelled the fresh coffee.

"You made me breakfast in bed?" she smiled as she wiped the sleepiness from her eyes.

He set the tray in her lap and bent down to kiss her softly. "You got home late last night."

"My meeting ran long at 1PP, just a lot of logistical stuff that I won't bore you with. What is all of this?" Kate said as she picked up the large cup of coffee.

"Oh, nothing much," Castle said as he crawled back in to bed next to her. Kate grabbed a forkful of eggs and shoved it into his mouth with a laugh.

"I figured I should share since you went through all of this trouble," she said with a smile.

Suddenly, her phone started ringing on her nightstand.

"Beckett," she said, trying to hide the forkful of eggs in her mouth. "Perfect, I'll meet you at the airport." She hung up the phone and took a big gulp of coffee. She noticed Castle staring at her, waiting for her summary of the phone call. He was always looking for the next crime to solve. "No body is murdered, Castle. Sorry to ruin your morning," she said as she leaned in to kiss him. "Just have to pick someone up at the airport."

Castle kissed her deeply then took her hands in his. "Anybody I know?"

"No, but you will soon. Are you coming to the precinct today?" Kate said as she crawled out of bed and walked over to the closet, pulling out her signature skinny dress pants and a button up maroon shirt. She grabbed a leather jacket and threw it on the bed as she strolled to the bathroom.

Castle grabbed another forkful of eggs and talked as he chewed. "I have some work to do here for the next Nikki Heat book but I can swing by later. Especially if you guys pick up murder because you know how I love a good murder."

"I'll never be able to keep you away from murder, will I?" Kate laughed as she finished putting on her bracelet; the same one Castle gave her the first day she was officially Captain of the 12th Precinct. She emerged from the bathroom and grabbed a pair of black heels and slipped them on. "I'm sure the boys will call if they catch anything." She bent down and grabbed his face with both hands then kissed him deeply. "I'll call you later."

And with that, she grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.

Kate pulled her car up to the loading zone and hung her law enforcement tag on the rearview. She climbed out and headed for the entrance of the airport, looking over her shoulder and clicking the lock button, just to make sure. The black Dodge Charger honked in response and she continued into JFK. Kate wove her way around crowds of tourists, businessmen and families and made her way to the arrivals board. She starts scanning the massive number of incoming flights when her phone startled her.

Picking it up on the third ring, "Beckett."

"We caught a murder in the park, Ryan and I are on our way now," Javier Esposito said.

"Surprised not to see you in the office this morning, Cap," chimed in Kevin Ryan.

Her best team was always in sync and always reliable. "I have a few things I need to do this morning but I'll be there later," Beckett said casually. She didn't want to tell them over the phone, she knew she should have told them sooner but didn't know how they were going to take it. Hell, she didn't even tell Castle exactly what was going on. "What's this case you caught?"

Ryan was the first to answer, "911 got a handful of calls about a possible dead guy on a bench in Central this morning. EMT's checked it out and sure enough."

"Lanie should be there now. We'll give you the full lowdown when we get back to the bullpen," Espo continued.

"Thanks boys and hey, make sure you call Castle," Beckett said with a smile. Her husband always loved a good murder.

"He's meeting us there," Ryan said with a small laugh as he hung up the phone.

Beckett found the right flight and headed towards terminal C. The flight from Omaha was landing in fifteen minutes, which gave her plenty of time to grab a large coffee.

With coffee in hand, she found a seat by the windows overlooking the runways and took a deep breath. She was nervous, change was never easy and she hoped her team would be okay with this one. She picked up her phone, tempted to just call and tell them the news but then thought better of it and set her phone back down on the table.

"It'll be better if they find out in person anyway," she mumbled to herself.

Kate watched the signature blue and red American Airlines land and then taxi up to the airport. She gathered her coffee and her phone and headed toward the security barrier. Unlocking her phone, she opened her email app and clicked on the saved message from Captain Gates. Even though she was at 1PP, Gates was still a big part of the team. After all, this was her idea to start with. Kate opened on the attachment and checked the picture one last time. Slipping her phone in her pocket, Kate leaned up against the wall only to rise moments later as she saw the tall blond emerge from the security gate.

Beckett straightened her jacket and walked up to the woman, extending her hand. "Detective Cavanaugh," Kate smiled, "I'm Captain Kate Beckett. Welcome to the team."