Title: Brand New Eyes
Characters/Pairings: The whole team, yes, with some moments of Beckett/Castle goodness
Rating: T (I guess, just to be safe for later stuff)
Warnings: Some dark stuff and then some not so dark stuff (I am a fan of Caskett/Beckle, so expect moments of fluff.)
Spoiler alert: Generally spoilers for S1 and S2. This is about three years after the conversation in the hospital at the end of S1.
Summary: Everybody has their theory about how they'll be going about Beckett's mom's murder and how eventually Castle and Beckett will end up hooking up. This story was started from a dream I had the other night, so we'll see where it goes.
Author's Notes: Don't own anything, just lots of student loan debt. Well, I do own a car, so I do own something! LOL. This is my first Castle fic and will be ongoing, so just bear with me! Oh, and with regards to the title, I know it's not exactly original, but it will have a point, later. Feel free to comment, critique….and most of all, enjoy!
Chapter 1
10:38 PM.
10:51 PM.
Rick Castle was not a man to be rendered speechless easily, but, as he stared at the digital clock in his office, he could not speak. The pouring rain outside echoed on the windows of his office, the only light coming from the flickering screensaver of his laptop and a small lamp on his desk.
11:11 PM.
"Still awake in here, kiddo?" Martha asked, fluttering into the office, still dressed in her clothes from the evening.
He looked up at her, not knowing where to begin.
Her expression turned serious, taking in his dull eyes and long frown. "What's going on? Did something happen to Alexis? Or Detective Beckett?" She asked, sitting down at the other side of the desk.
"Alexis is fine." He said in a hoarse voice. "I talked to Clark."
"Dr. Death? Is this about Detective Beckett's mother?" She asked.
"I have to go." He stood up and grabbed his coat. "If I'm not back, will you make sure Alexis gets off to school okay tomorrow?" He asked.
"Absolutely." She watched him leave the apartment in silence, wondering what Dr. Death could have told him to shake him up so much.
***
Castle rounded the corner of the second floor of the 12th Precinct, and, for a moment, was taken aback by the sight of Kate Beckett at her desk. The lone detective still at her desk, she kept herself busy by filling out the last of the paperwork from the case they closed today, soft music coming from her computer. Her smile at a particular song disarmed him a bit as she moved to turn the volume up a little, tapping her pen in time to the music. It wasn't often that he was able to see Kate from Detective Beckett, and normally, he would have enjoyed it. Not tonight, though. And probably not for some time forward.
He lost track of the moment when she looked up and saw him. "Castle?" She asked, the smile still on her face. "What are you doing here?" She moved to turn down the music as he sat himself in the chair next to her desk. "We got the right guy."
"It's not about that." He said, cursing himself for the way his voice broke.
She whipped her head around at the sound of his voice, the only time she had heard his voice like that it had been at the hospital after seeing Sorenson after he had been shot. It's about your mother… She subconsciously shook off the chill that had gone down her spine at the thought. Three years later and that conversation still made her skin crawl.
"There was a murder tonight in White Plains."
Her hand stilled over the paper. "White Plains isn't in my jurisdiction, Castle." She said, hoping she had put enough edge in her voice to mask the quiver she felt in her stomach.
"I know. I got a call from that friend of mine that looked at your mother's case, and the victim had the same kind of wounds she and the others did. I had him send a copy of the report to Lanie and she's going over it as we speak." He had called the Medical Examiner from the cab.
She stared hard into Castle's blue eyes, her silence broken by Ryan, Esposito and Captain Montgomery. "Sir," she started.
"I've already gotten a call from the captain up there." He said. "He's expecting all of you."
Beckett jumped out of her chair and grabbed her trench coat and keys before Castle could blink. "Let's move." She said.
*****
The ride from the 12th to White Plains in the car that Beckett and Castle shared was quiet, up until the moment that Castle was sure the silence was doing to drive him insane. "You are not shouting at me very loudly." He said, gazing over at her.
She sighed, shifting to one hand on the wheel. "It's not you, Castle." She looked over at him. "It's really not. It's just," her gaze filtered back to the road, "this is the call I've been dreading." She said. "I've been asking myself if I'd ever be ready to go back to this, and I haven't been able to answer."
"Personal demons aside, I think you are ready, Beckett." He said softly. "It's been three years since I brought it up to you at the hospital. You're a lot different from the Detective I knew then." He said.
She looked back at him again, her green eyes holding his own. "I hope you're right." She flipped open her cell phone as the ringer went off. "Beckett." She answered. "Okay. We're just about there. Find out what you can and I'll see you then." She flipped the phone closed. "That was Lanie. She just arrived at the scene."
"She must have taken off right after I called her." He mused.
"We're almost there, too." She said.
He wanted to get her back on the conversation they had been on before Lanie had called, but saw that was pretty much an impossibility. Kate had disappeared and she had been replaced by Detective Beckett, all business and no time for personal matters.
*****
Upon arriving at the crime scene, Kate surveyed what was in front of her as Esposito and Ryan spoke to the detective from the White Plains police department and waited for Lanie to finish speaking to the local Medical Examiner. Castle stood next to her, and for once she was grateful for his presence.
"Kat Harper." Lanie said as she walked over to Beckett and Castle. "We can't place why she was in the alley, considering where she lived."
"Did you find an ID?" She asked.
Lanie nodded, handing her a wallet. "Upper East Side in Manhattan."
Kate realized the victim was her age, and then gasped at the address. "This is the same building my father lives in." She said, passing it to Castle. "What can you tell me about the body?" She asked her.
"Probably a lot of the same things you can already guess. The wallet is still full, and there's no sign of sexual assault. I'll run everything and I'll let you know what I find when I get her back to the lab."
"White Plains CSU is going to comb the alley." Esposito said as he and Ryan walked up to the trio. "Ryan and I are going to start canvassing and see if we can find anyone who saw anything." He told Beckett.
She nodded. "Let me know in the off chance you find something."
"Will do, boss." Ryan said as they headed towards the street.
"What's our next move?" Castle asked.
Beckett sighed, shaking off a yawn. "Coffee. Then we check out Kat Harper's apartment." She grabbed her keys and turn back to Lanie. "Thank you." She said.
"Let me know what you find." Lanie said.
She nodded, gesturing to Castle to follow. "I'm okay, Castle." She said in response to his unspoken question as they stood next to the vehicle. "At least for now."