Nightminds
But I will learn to breathe this ugliness you see,
So we can both be there and we can both share the dark.
And in our honesty, together we will rise,
Out of our nightminds, and into the light
At the end of the fight...
-Nightminds, Missy Higgins
Chapter 1
Kate sighed as she leaned back against the side of the building, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger. The day could not possibly get any worse. She had awoken with a splitting headache, the feeling of her pulse pounding directly behind her eyes, Castle snoring softly in the bed beside her. After she forced herself out of bed, and into a steaming hot shower, the pain had eased slightly, enough for her to choke down some coffee and medicine before dragging her sleep deprived body out into the grey, rainy morning to go to work.
They had reached a dead end to the case. A woman had been found murdered— two puncture wounds to the side of her neck. So, of course, Castle had been rambling on for days about vampires, telling her every story he knew about the creatures of the night. She snorted out a laugh at the mere thought of it. Vampires. Ridiculous. She had even caught him trying to slip a clove of garlic into her purse. It was supposed to ward off the demons; all it had done was make her hungry for Italian food.
Her stomach growled at the thought of pasta in a creamy Alfredo sauce, garlic bread and a giant salad. She was practically drooling now. When was the last time she had eaten, again? Oh, yes, Castle had brought her a bear claw with her second cup of coffee that morning after he had waltzed into the precinct only a few minutes before noon. She had practically growled at his impish grin before devouring the pastry. That had been right before Gates had poked her head out of her office to yell at the team across the bullpen, causing Beckett's headache to flare for the second time.
She let out a groan at the memory, her fingers moving to rub at her still tender temple.
Finally, just before four in the afternoon they had caught a break. The victim had been seen walking into a warehouse near the water. Castle had begged out as the team left the precinct— Gina was expecting him for a dinner meeting. She had actually felt a little bad for him when he shot her the kicked puppy look as he was leaving, like he would rather be hunted by demons than go sit with a group of suits for an hour. Not that she blamed him. She had gone to one of those dinners with him before. She would never be going again.
"Yo Beckett, we're heading out!"
Kate lifted her head to see Ryan and Esposito standing by their respective doors of their cruiser. Lifting a hand she waved them off. It had been sufficient for tonight. The warehouse had been another dead end. Nothing. Not a trace of life in the entire building, which they had canvassed not once but twice.
She stifled another moan; Gates was not going to be happy.
Her head rocked from side to side against the brick. Enough. She was going to go home, slip into a hot bath and forget this day had ever happened. Then, tomorrow she would wake up and start again. They would get a lead, she would solve the case, Gates would be happy and then Kate would convince Castle to take her away for the weekend. They could go someplace sunny. The Hamptons maybe, or her father's cabin, possibly a tropical isle where they could lie on the beach and drink fruity cocktails out of coconuts with tiny umbrellas in them and then never come back.
She puffed out her cheeks in a sigh, running her hand through her hair as she attempted to gather the strength to push herself off the building. But before she could move, something made her freeze, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. And her eyes flew open as she felt a needle jab into the side of her neck.
Then the world went black.
"You sure this will work?"
"She's a cop, a homicide detective. She's exactly what we need."
Kate groaned as the hushed voices made it past the haze currently clouding her brain. It was cold and damp. She was huddled in a ball on the floor. But what floor? Where was she?
What was going on?
Who?
She attempted to shake her head against the frigid concrete, to clear away some of the cobwebs.
The voices stopped. She could hear feet shuffling toward her. How many, she couldn't tell.
"But she's going to be mad."
"Don't be worried about that now. It's for the best. She'll come to see that in time."
And then the world was spinning, and she couldn't tell which way was up. She felt everything and nothing except a second set of needles being thrust into her neck.
"Beckett!"
"Kate? Can you hear me?"
"Kate!"
"Beckett!"
Kate flinched. Why were they yelling so loudly? In fact, why were they yelling at all? She was right here and she was... fine.
One eye cracked open, taking in her darkened surroundings. Letting out a sigh of relief she pushed herself off of the dirty floor. Her headache was gone. Finally. At least one good thing had happened, but why was she on the ground?
She pushed herself up in one swift motion, hands roaming her body, doing a mental inventory. Her badge and gun were still in place. Handcuffs: check. Vest. Her clothing was intact. No noticeable wounds or scars. Nothing hurt.
That was... strange. She shrugged it off, eyes adjusting to the dark as she searched for the door, only to have it burst open, her three "boys" pouring through the opening, another yell of her name dying on their lips.
She raised her hand, giving them a short, bored wave.
"Beckett? Oh my God, where have you been? We've been so worried."
Kate opened her mouth to answer, any possible explanation dying on her lips. Where had she been?
"I, um, I'm not sure... I was getting ready to leave and then something pricked my neck and I woke up here... I don't... Where are we?"
Castle was at her side in an instant, flashlight in one hand, the other tangled in her hair, pulling it to the side so he could inspect her neck, rolling her head around to see the other side.
"I don't see anything," he stated and Kate flinched at the volume.
"Do you guys really need to be so loud? I swear, it's silent in here, you don't have to be yelling everything."
Castle frowned, gently pulling her head back so he could look in her eyes. "Beckett I was whispering."
"We need to get you to the hospital, get checked out. Just in case you've been drugged or have a concussion," Ryan interjected.
"No." Kate shook her head adamantly, her brow furrowed. She couldn't go to the hospital. She just couldn't. "No hospital. Guys, I'm fine."
"Kate..." Castle chastised. "You disappeared for hours, you said you were attacked. You need to get checked out."
He sighed at the stubborn expression painting her face.
"Okay, fine, no hospital, but at least let Lanie look you over, run a tox screen," he bargained.
Kate considered the compromise for a moment, her eyes searching his before turning to read Ryan and Esposito's expressions: stone, arms crossed over chests. Okay, fine, she could deal with Lanie. "Okay."
The group collectively relaxed as they ushered her out the door and through the warehouse toward the waiting sedan.
Kate sniffed the air before shooting a look over at Castle, leaning slightly into his side and sniffing again. Doing a slight double take, she jogged up to Ryan and Esposito and frowned as she took in a breath from both of them before falling back to walk beside her partner, her nose crinkled.
"What's wrong? What were you doing?" Castle asked, his expression confused.
"Nothing," Kate shook her head. "You just smell better."
Castle shot her another look as they reached the sidewalk, but she shrugged it off as she slid into the backseat of the car.
What? It was true. She really should tell the boys to lay off the donuts.
Kate huffed out a sigh as she pushed herself up onto the exam table in the morgue, taking in the scene of Castle staring at her skeptically as Lanie snapped on a pair of bright pink gloves and came to stand in front of her, arms crossed over her chest, stethoscope looped around her neck. She had sent Ryan and Esposito home. There was no use in them wasting their time standing. After all she was fine and this was merely Castle's paranoia kicking in.
"Why do you have a stethoscope?" She piped up. "You work with dead people."
"It's for when you idiots come in here because you're too stubborn to go to the hospital," Lanie sassed back, her eyes piercing Beckett with a glare.
"It's nothing, Lanie. I feel fine."
"Uh huh," Lanie murmured. "I'll be the one deciding that. Now come here, let's get this over with so we can all get some sleep."
Beckett sighed, scooting forward on the autopsy table so Lanie could reach her.
The doctor nodded in thanks before pulling out her penlight and flashing it in her left eye quickly followed by her right. Lanie frowned, putting away the light so she could use both of her hands to feel Kate's skull, fingers moving methodically over the surface as she asked if anything hurt, her frown deepening every time Kate answered "no".
"What's wrong, Lanie?" Castle questioned.
Kate's eyes flickered from her friend to where Castle was huddled in the corner, leaning back against the wall, staring back at her with a curious yet sullen expression on his face.
"I don't know..." Lanie murmured as she pressed into the sides of Kate's neck. "Her pupils were contracting a lot faster than normal."
"Yeah, because that light was really bright." Kate chimed in. She was getting tired of all of this. "I don't see what the big deal is, I feel fine. Great even. Better than I did earlier today, that's for sure. My headache's gone; I'm not tired at all. In fact I feel like I could keep going all day."
"Stimulant, maybe?" Castle mused as he looked to the coroner for answers.
"Maybe," Lanie agreed. "But not like one I've ever seen."
"Okay, sweetie," she continued. "Let me listen to your breathing and heart."
Kate's eyes rolled but she nodded in agreement, biting her lip slightly as the cold metal of the stethoscope pressed against her back.
"Okay, breathe normally for me."
Kate's leg started to swing as she sat bored on the table.
"Kate, come on. Breathe."
"I just did."
"No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did."
"Okay, fine," Lanie roused. "Just do it again, deeply."
Kate sucked in a breath. "There. Happy?"
Lanie nodded a single nod before backing up to study her friend's face, immediately leaning forward again and pressing the instrument to Kate's chest.
The doctor drew back suddenly, turned to her in shock, fingers immediately digging into the pulse point on Kate's neck. Pulling them away after a moment, she pressed the stethoscope back to her chest.
"Kate, sweetie..." She hesitated when she looked her friend in the eye, hand dropping to Kate's shoulder. "I can't hear your heart."
Kate couldn't help but laugh as Lanie continued to stare at her with a grim expression and Castle wandered up to stand next to her, his fingers twining through her own. "Very funny Lanie, what do you mean you can't hear my heart?"
"I mean it's not beating..."
"But that would mean that I'm dead and I'm clearly not dead."
"I don't know," Lanie shook her head. "You have no pulse, Kate and until I asked you to suck in a deep breath you weren't breathing at all..."
"Lanie, come on... cut it out," Kate huffed. She was starting to get annoyed now. It was too late for this. "I know I should have gone to the hospital. I get it, I'm sorry but just cut the crap and tell me I'm fine so we can go home."
Lanie's hand dropped from Kate's shoulder to grasp her free hand. "I'm not kidding, Kate. Something is wrong."
"What? Are you saying I'm some sort of zombie?" Kate snorted out an incredulous laugh. She couldn't be serious.
With a roll of her eyes she wiggled her hand free from Lanie's grasp and pressed her own two fingers to her neck, Castle still clutching onto her other hand; eyes wide, mute. She knew it must be bad if he was staring and at a loss for words.
She couldn't feel her pulse.
Her chest began to tighten, her mind racing.
She yanked her hand from Castle's grasp, feeling at her wrist.
Nothing.
She pushed the heel of her hand into her chest, willing herself to feel the heartbeat.
"Lanie..."
She wanted to say she was gasping for breath but there was no breath to gasp.
Then she felt it happen, the flare in her eyes, the shift of her teeth and they were staring at her as they jumped back across the room, mouths agape. It felt like the world was on fire.
"Beckett...?"
"Kate, sweetie, calm down..."
And in an instant the fire was gone and she was back to normal.
Lanie was edging closer to her, an arm reached out in front of her.
"Let me just..."
She pried Kate's jaw open, poking at her teeth with the other. "Did you get some dental work done recently?"
Kate ran her tongue over the ridge of her teeth. They felt normal "No. Why?"
"Well... they sort of..."
Kate shifted again on the cold metal of the table as her best friend and partner continued to stare at her hesitantly. Why were they being so weird and asking about her teeth?
"Kate..."
"Just spit it out, Lanie."
After a moment, when Lanie still refused to answer her, she turned her attention to Castle who was still staring at her wide-eyed.
"Castle," She whimpered as he slowly edging back toward her. "What's going on?"
He blinked at her.
"Kate, sweetie," Lanie chimed in, her words slow and soft as she reached out to take her friend's hand. "Something happened. You turned into a..."
Kate's eyes widened slightly. "A what?"
"A vampire..."
Both women turned to Castle as he whispered out the words, wonder and disbelief filling his voice.
Beckett felt her eyebrows hit her hairline. "A vampire? Really, Castle?"
"Actually, sweetie, he's not lying... you changed."
"Changed?"
"Fangs, glowing yellow eyes."
"Fangs?"
Lanie huffed as she turned and picked a hand-held mirror off the table behind her. "Here. See for yourself."
Kate rolled her eyes again as she reached out and snatched the mirror with one hand her other occupied with shooing away Castle who was now poking at her face, with one finger eyes inches from her skin.
Holding the mirror up in front of her she froze. There was no reflection staring back at her.
Castle's pulled back, his eyes suddenly sullen, trained on his partner. "Beckett?"
Kate was shaking her head frantically, tears pooling in her eyes. "No. No, this isn't happening."
She held her arm out. "Do a blood test, study me, something! Tell me I'm shot up with LSD and hallucinating."
Lanie simply nodded, pulling out a tourniquet and gently taking the detective's arm, turning it so she could see the veins. Kate flinched slightly as Lanie tied the giant rubber band around her bicep.
Drugs. It had to be drugs.
Then she watched, silent dread pooling in the pit of her stomach as Lanie poked at her arm, squeezing where veins should be.
"Sweetie," Lanie piped up after a moment. "There's no blood."
Kate swallowed the lump, which had been building in her throat. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that your vein should be expanding with blood right here from the pressure of the tourniquet. There's nothing. In fact I can't see your veins at all. It's like they're empty. No blood pumping."
No. This was not happening. She was dreaming, she was drugged, something. There was no such thing as vampires. Next she would be spouting on about fairies and unicorns.
No.
She would prove it. She would show them that this was simply some strange reaction to some crazy street drug they had never seen before.
Beckett's hand shot out, grabbing the first thing she could find: a scalpel and sliced it over her wrist.
"Kate!"
"Beckett!"
She shook her head. "See, I'm..."
But her words died in her throat as the blade clattered to the floor because where the cool metal had sliced through her skin, she expected to see bright red blood spilling over her hand, running down her palm and coating her fingers, but there was only torn skin.
She watched, stunned, eyes glued to her arm, as the cut mended itself before her eyes.
"I'm... dead."
A/N: This little tale is based off a story request made to me by Lietomebaby, which long story short was "Beckett's a vampire". If you haven't run screaming from this already please stick around because it's going to be a fun one, full of normal Caskett goodness with a good dash of angst, and completely worth it in the end. ;)
Thank you to Lietomebaby for this prompt, Angie for the awesome graphic and to Kate for the beta and for listening to me and helping as I hashed out the logistics to this, including informing me on the anatomy & physiology of a vampire.