Author's note: This story contains aspects of the Jewish faith, with a couple of details tweaked slightly to make the story work. If this is likely to offend you, hit the back arrow. If you choose to read anyway, rest assured that I have made an effort to treat the subject with respect, as I would any religion.

Original Character:

Clair; Castle's recently ex-girlfriend. First appears as a murder suspect in "Castles in the Air"

Luther; Clair's dog, originally rescued by Castle. First appears in "The Haunted Castle"

Alexandra "Sasha" Beketov; aka The Chess Killer, prison inmate and Castle's friend. First appears as a serial killer in "In Defense of the Castle"

ha'armon: transliteration of the Hebrew word for Castle

Friday morning at the precinct things are unusually relaxed. The detectives are finalizing the paperwork for their most recent case. Castle is kept busy enough making coffees and distracting all of them with paper planes and other such antics, when an officer gives him a letter that was delivered with the precinct's mail. Confused for a second, he recognizes Clair's handwriting and excuses himself, to read it in private. Esposito asks Beckett, "First time he's heard from her?"

"Far as I know, yeah."

Ryan says, "Did you see the look on his face, when he realized it was from Clair?"

Beckett agrees, "Yeah. Though, other than his two-day bender, you wouldn't know how much he's hurting." A little saddened, she says, "He's getting better at hiding his emotions."

Ryan can't resist asking, "Now where do you suppose he learned how to do that?"

Used to his friendly teasing, Beckett's only reply is to glare at him and say, "Get back to work."

Without Castle's "help" the work progresses well, but is less fun. It's only when Beckett wants another coffee and none appears by her hand that she realizes Castle has been gone a long time and goes to check on him. She finds him in the empty conference room, sitting on the floor with his back against the wall and a faraway look on his face. Not wishing to intrude on his privacy, she doesn't enter but asks, "You ok, Castle?"

He looks up and says, "Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm fine."

Beckett can see that he's holding the letter in his hands and says, "Bad news?"

"Not exactly." He holds out the envelope for her. So she takes it and sits down beside him to read it. Inside are a handful of postcards, all starting with "Hey, Rick" and signed only "-Clair":

Toledo, OH; Only a day away, and Luther is already missing you. I'll pick these up on the way and post them when I stop. I hope you're keeping your head down.

Minneapolis, MN; God, it's cold here. I woke up with Luther on top of my sleeping bag. Bit of a shock, considering who I was dreaming of.

Miles City, MT; I really like Montana. But it's not far enough away to feel safe. So we'll keep moving.

Spokane, WA; Drive here was so beautiful, that I almost want to do it again. But we're almost there now, and I'm tired of living out of my car.

Port Angeles, WA; End of the road. I'll get settled and then find a phone. I just realized that this road-trip is the first real vacation I've had in years.

Beckett reads the last one and asks, "Where the hell is Port Angeles?" Castle has already searched for it on his phone and shows her. Beckett asks, "Did she just keep going, until she ran out of land?"

"It's just how her mind works; the simplest and most direct option is best. She wanted to get away from New York, and chose the farthest place she could without leaving the country." After a pause he says, "There's one more."

Beckett reveals the last card, which is actually a photo of a pregnancy test; a positive pregnancy test. Shocked, she looks to Castle for verification and he nods. Beckett feels a twinge of pain at the news. But, when she remembers what this must mean to Castle she smiles and nudges him with her shoulder, saying, "Congratulations."

Bemused at what, for Beckett, is an ostentatious display of affection Castle smiles and nudges her back, saying, "Thank you."

"You didn't know about this?"

"Yeah, I knew. But I didn't have long to get used to the idea, before she left and…I guess it got too real too quick for my legs."

"So, you're ok with her maybe raising a child without you?"

"Well, I'm not thrilled. But it's the only thing she's ever asked of me. So, even though I hesitated, I'm not sure I was capable of refusing her."

"So, you're going?"

With a sad smile, he says, "Not unless she asks me. You, of all people, should know that I won't proceed without an invitation." At the sudden fear in Beckett's eyes, he stays true to his word and doesn't press her, instead saying, "She'll let me know if she wants me there."

Relieved, Beckett asks, "So, who are we telling?"

"God, I hadn't even thought of that."

When he doesn't immediately continue, Beckett suggests, "Maybe Martha? I doubt your life will be worth much, if you don't tell her first."

"An excellent point. It's been a while since I've done this. Isn't there some rule about waiting, or something?"

"Only if you're superstitious. It's up to you, Castle."

"Either way, I'm not going to be much use today. I'd better go home."

Beckett hands him the envelope and gets to her feet. Holding out a hand, she helps him up, saying, "That's ok, Castle. Without you helping, we'll finish early." And then asks, "Is poker still on tonight, or do you want me to let them know it's been postponed?"

"No, it's still on. I'll know by then if I want to share the news. If I do, it'll be with everyone at that table. If I don't, then I'll want a distraction. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being a friend."

"Any time, Castle."

Castle's apartment is empty when he returns home. He texts an "important, but not urgent" request for his mother to join him, and spends the interim reading the postcards yet again and searching for information about Port Angeles, Washington.

Martha soon arrives, nervous despite him reassuring her in his message, and says, "What is it, Richard? Are you ok? Is Alexis all right?"

Holding up a hand to slow the onslaught, he says, "Everything's fine." Gesturing to the sofa, he says, "But you'd better sit down, just the same."

Having debated with himself how to tell her, he ends up just handing her the envelope, so she can find out the same way he did. When she's done, she looks at him, eyes shining with tears and says, "Oh, Richard. Was this something the two of you decided?"

"Yes." And then asks, "You're not angry?"

Just in case there's any doubt, she gathers him in a crushing embrace and says, "No, I'm not angry."

Sitting back, she asks, "But how do you feel about it?"

With a shrug, he says, "Well, I was in shock for a while. But I'm definitely warming to the idea. Clair's promised to keep me in the loop." With a grin he adds, "And to be more forthcoming than you ever were."

"Richard. I don't keep it from you to punish you."

"I know. I made my peace with that a long time ago."

Looking at the photo again, she says, "Evidently. But are you sure about this?"

He laughs and says, "Bit late for such questions, isn't it? Besides, as you've often pointed out; I didn't turn out too bad."

Patting his cheek, she says, "Not too bad at all."

"The usual gang will be here tonight. I'm wondering whether to tell them? I know it's considered bad luck, but…"

Martha interrupts with, "I'm the superstitious one, Richard, not you. What do you want to do?"

Face breaking into a huge smile, he says, "I feel like celebrating." His smile dims a little as he continues, "But this isn't something I should decide without talking to Clair, and she's still unreachable. Beckett knows, because she found me while I was still recovering from the news. What about Alexis?"

"You know she'd handle it ok. But she'd also understand if you want to wait, until you've discussed it with Clair."

After considering for several seconds, Castle says, "Then I think that we'll keep it between the three of us, just for now, ok?"

"Ok, Richard. Thankyou for telling me."

With a grin, he confesses, "That was Beckett's idea. But I'm glad she suggested it. It hasn't quite seemed real until now, thank you."

Hugging him again, Martha says, "I'm sure it'll get all too real, very quickly. But I'm happy for you."

After saying goodbye to his mother, Castle calls Beckett and says, "Just you and Mother for now. I need to at least discuss it with Clair, before I go telling even trusted friends."

"Ok, Castle. It's your call. I'll see you tonight." When he doesn't reply, she asks, "Clair?"

After a second he says, "Yeah."

"Well, you have more chance of winning, without her there."

"I suppose so. I'll see you tonight."

Beckett can hear that he's still hurting and says, "In the meantime, you can get started on baby names."

He's silent for a few seconds more, but she knows he's now smiling because he says, "Thanks for that."

This first date went well, so well that Ezrah is smiling as he walks home. He and Arella have a lot in common and she's pretty too, in a quiet way. Living his life by the Noahide Code has made dating difficult. For the first time he's seriously considering a second date. The fact that Arella let the back of her hand brush his as they said goodbye, makes him certain that she feels the same way. It's a promising violation of the taboo against unrelated men and women touching, because it hints at a passion not evident from her conservative dress and manner.

Lost in pleasant thoughts, he almost walks into the Rastafarian. It's only when the stranger says "Shalom Aleichem" that Ezrah realizes he's looking at a Nazirite. Of course, he's read about the devotees, but never met one. Remembering his manners, he nods and says, "Aleichem Shalom".

The Nazirite holds out his hand in greeting and says something inaudible. Pleased at this opportunity to learn more about an almost extinct practice, Ezrah takes the offered hand and asks, "What was that brother?"

The stranger's grip is very strong and Ezrah is powerless to resist as he's pulled closer. A sudden hot pain burns through his chest as the man says, almost by Ezrah's ear, "May you never know any more pain."

Already going into shock, Ezrah automatically clutches the site of the increasing pain. It's only when his hand immediately slicks with blood that he knows he's been stabbed. He tries to cry out then, but the man holds one hand over his mouth and stabs him again. With his remaining strength, Ezrah fights back, to no avail. Soon the pain is too much to mean anything to him, and Ezrah's last thought is to wonder why his attacker would offer him words of comfort for someone in mourning.

Castle is woken early the next morning by his cellphone. On seeing the caller ID he answers it, saying, "You know it's Saturday, right?"

Beckett says, "Sorry, Castle. But there's news about that case Sasha asked me to look into."

"Oh?"

"I passed on the information to the Hate Crimes Task Force. They've been digging deeper all week, but hadn't got anywhere near solving it when a young, Jewish man was killed last night."

"You think it's the same guy?"

"Looks like it. Thanks to your heads-up we're already treating it as a serial killer case and the FBI is on the way."

"Jordan?"

"Uh huh. She called me, saying that she wants to talk to Sasha. Do you think she'd go for that? There's not much point setting it up, if she won't cooperate."

"I've no idea; I'll ask. When is the cavalry arriving?"

"Tomorrow."

"Wow, that's fast…hey, they didn't get here that quick when Sasha was after me."

Smiling at his indignation, she says, "No. But Hate Crimes have been working with the FBI since Thursday. So Shaw must have already set things up, just in case."

"Oh, ok then. I'll call the prison and get back to you."

Thankfully, Castle's influence at the prison is enough to get Sasha on the phone, and greets her with, "How do you feel about entertaining another guest tomorrow?"

"I suppose that depends on the guest."

"Special Agent Jordan Shaw of the FBI."

"They escalated to murder?"

"Yes, last night. Jordan is assisting on the case and wants to speak with you."

After a few seconds, Sasha says, "Ok."

She's seems too quiet, so he says, "I can still hang around for a game, if you'd like?"

"It's not that…I'm not sure you'll want to hear some of what's said."

"Sasha, you do know that I've assisted on several murders, right?" When she's still quiet he continues, "And that I already know you're a psycho killer?"

She laughs and says, "Ok, Rick."

Castle then calls Beckett to say, "Sasha will speak with Jordan. If she gets here tomorrow, as expected, I'll take her there. You're heading to the scene?"

"Yeah."

"Well, as I'm already awake, how about giving me a ride? I'll even throw in a coffee."

"Ok, Castle. I'll be there soon."

When Castle isn't waiting outside his place Beckett nods to the doorman on the way up to the apartment. Castle answers the door and runs a hand through his washed, but unbrushed hair and says, "Sorry; almost ready." Gesturing to the kitchen, he says, "Help yourself to coffee. I'll be two minutes."

Sure enough, almost exactly two minutes later he emerges from his room, coat and scarf in hand and says, "Let's go."

Once in the car, Castle asks, "Where we going?"

"East 1st Street, just past 1st Avenue."

Castle mutters, "The nexus of the universe."

"Sorry?"

"You know; from Seinfeld, 1st and 1st - How can a street intersect itself? I must be at the nexus of…" When it's obvious she has no idea what he's talking about he asks, "Does Jordan have a profile of the killer yet?"

"Not yet. I think she's hoping to get some information from Sasha, before proceeding."

"Sasha seems to think that a lot of the attacks have gone unreported. Any news on that yet?"

"Yeah. Hate Crimes have been working with the Shomrim and they've uncovered many more; eighteen so far."

"Shomrim?"

"They're like a Jewish neighborhood watch. They have patrol cars, vests, radios; everything except guns. They're authorized to track and detain suspects for the NYPD." With a shrug she adds, "Unfortunately, sometimes they do more than detain. And sometimes, like now, they don't report to the police quick enough…or at all. But it's been working all right since the 1980s."

"Jewish vigilantes? How come I've never heard of this?"

"Not vigilantes, Castle. They're sanctioned and trained by police. And you've probably never heard of them because the Jewish communities prefer to keep to themselves. That's why the Shomrim was formed in the first place. People are much more likely to call them, before turning to the NYPD. Far as I know, there's no patrol active in Manhattan. But I'm sure they'll take an interest in this case."

Castle is already searching on his phone and says, "How do you spell…oh, I got it. This is so cool."

Smiling at his delight, and then says, "That reminds me; I wondered why Port Angeles sounded familiar. Does Clair know…"

"That it's one of the settings for The Twilight Saga? Almost certainly not. She's the only person I've met who works longer hours than you do. I doubt she's ever heard of the Cullens."

He chuckles and Beckett says, "What?"

"She's super smart, so I just think it's funny that she travelled across the country to get away from everything and ended up in a tourist town."

The scene is a walkway from East 1st Street to East 2nd Street, between a large apartment building and a small park. Police and CSU are in attendance. After consulting with the uniformed officers and investigators, Beckett says, "Looks like the victim, Ezrah Baumann, grabbed some hair…long hair."

Castle frowns and asks, "A woman?"

"Doubt it. They say it was a pretty vicious front-on attack; three stab wounds to the abdomen while the victim fought back. Not many women strong enough for that." Nodding towards the body, she says, "They're done. We can check it out."

The victim is young man wearing the black grab and yarmulke of an orthodox Jew. His jacket and shirt are open and the letters YHWH carved into his chest, and three wounds on his torso. There's little bleeding around the carved letters and Castle points to them, asking, "Post mortem?"

Smiling, Beckett says, "Look at you, talking like an ME. It's a pity Lanie isn't here to be impressed."

"Well, thanks for standing in for her."

Castle searches on his phone. When it's obvious he's found something, Beckett says, "Well?"

It's the Hebrew word for God; pronounced Yahweh, or sometimes Jehovah." After thinking about it for a few seconds he says, "If that Jewish neighborhood watch thought the attacks were done by one of their own, how would they react."

Beckett's eyes widen in understanding and she nods, saying, "They'd be reluctant to share the details with police. Nice one, Castle. That explains a lot."

Beckett already has her phone in hand. Castle hears her asking for Agent Shaw and squats down by the body for a closer look. He can see that the youth's side curls have been cut off. On closer examination, Castle can also see that part of the victim's short beard has been crudely shaved, leaving rather brutal shaving cuts. While waiting for Beckett to finish her call he searches online again. He's interrupted by Beckett saying, "Bored already, Castle?"

In answer he shows her the information he's found on a site explaining Jewish law pertaining to ancient mourning customs:

"We are forbidden to make four types of cuttings:

1) Cutting the head or hair

2) Cutting the face or beard

3) Cutting the flesh

4) Inscribing writing on the flesh"

Shocked, she looks at Castle and asks, "How did you do that?"

Smiling, he says, "Now, Beckett, if I tell you all my tricks you'd have no more reason to keep me around." And then adds, "Looking more and more like an inside job, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Can you send that to me?"

After a few seconds, he says, "Done. What's next?"

"Check out his address, right around the corner. Detectives from Central Homicide are there now. They might know more."

"Central Homicide?"

"You're learning a lot today, huh? Even I occasionally sleep. These guys take care of things when no one answers the phone at my desk."

Beckett is already walking through to East 2nd Street. Castle hurries to catch up and asks, "Just guys?"

Smiling, Beckett says, "Shopping for a new muse, Castle?"

"Are you kidding? It's taken me this long to get you to trust me. I'm not sure I have the strength to go through that again. No, I'll stick with you."

"Oh, ok. In that case there is one young, hot detective on their team."

Trying not to betray too much, Castle "casually" asks, "Oh?"

"Yeah, his name's Tom."

Shaking his head and trying not to smile, Castle says, "You're not nice."

End of Chapter One