Hi guys! I'm putting a temporary hiatus on The Art of the Con due to the fact that my laptop ate all of those files when it decided to crash, so until I have time to rewrite all of what was written, this will be what I'll be working on. I don't really know where this came from, but the idea was in my head and wouldn't stop nagging me. I know I'm not the worlds best writer (I honestly wish I was half as talented as you guys!) but I thought I'd give it a go. Any reviews and constructive criticism are welcome and appreciated!

Trigger warning: Abuse. Nothing too graphic because I won't be able to do that, but just in case.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Castle.


Kate Beckett shifted anxiously in the chair she's been seated in for the past couple of hours, fiddling with the pen in her hand. She stared blankly at the pile of papers situated in front of her while her mind was elsewhere, silently playing out the events of the day in her head. What little events there were, anyway. There had been a few simple open and shut cases – thanks in part to the suspects who all but screamed their guilt throughout the bullpen upon entering – but nothing that required her or her team to go out into the field. Normally she'd be grateful for the break, a chance to unwind, but she couldn't help but wish that there was an actual case.

The elevator doors pinged, opening to reveal a joyous looking Castle bouncing his way into the bullpen with a coffee in each hand. He hadn't come in at all that day because he needed to "take care of some business" but promised to make an appearance – no matter how late – with fresh coffee. True to his word, here he was, coffees in tow. The happiness he exuded was short lived, however, when what he saw in front of him made him stop, and a confused expression found its way to his face. It was Beckett all right, but something was different.

She sat hunched over in the chair, her face placed atop her arms that were folded on the desk. Her hair fell over her forearms and sprawled onto the surface. She wasn't moving, and if he didn't know better – if he didn't know her – he would have assumed she fell asleep. He noticed something was off the past couple of weeks but he tried not to make much of it, tried to shrug it off as fatigue. This job got exhausting and even the best had their limits, including New York's finest. He knew she wouldn't want him to fuss over her; this was Beckett after all. But the past few days especially, they were… weird. She lost her pep and her end of their usually playful banter came off more as a robotic routine. It was as if she wasn't the one saying the words; like she was merely the messenger. She could barely force a smile when he handed her coffee and when she did, it wasn't believable; just a ghost of a smile. She flinched whenever he brushed her shoulder or touched her at all, something he did casually all the time. She tried to hide it, of course, playing it off as a jerk or just the chills. It wasn't like her, and his concern was heightening.

After taking a moment to process what he was seeing and sort the multitude of explanations making their way into his head, he continued his walk over to her.

She must have heard his footsteps because her head popped up slowly before he had a chance to reach her desk.

"Hey!" Castle grinned, trying to stop his thoughts from displaying on his face.

He almost playfully bumped her shoulder as a signal to take her coffee but decided against it and outstretched his left hand instead, offering it to her.

She hesitated for a second before she took the coffee from his hand and wrapped her fingers around it, taking in the warmth. He could tell she was trying to push away whatever was bothering her so he wouldn't notice. Oh, but he did.

"Thanks, Castle," Beckett said quietly, finally looking up at him, attempting to give him an appreciative smile in return.

There's that forced smile again, he thought.

A silence fell between the two. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it wasn't comfortable either. Beckett remained in her seat, staring down at the untouched coffee that's been sitting in her hands. Her fingers subconsciously tapped the sides of the cup, making their own melody of sounds. Castle looked over and recognized the look on her face. She was thinking about something, and if the way her brows furrowed into her forehead was any indication, it wasn't something she wanted to be thinking about.

He hated seeing her look like that and decided he had to break the silence.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Castle quipped, trying to lighten the mood that had suddenly emerged.

There was a short pause before she broke herself from her daze. "Did you say something, Castle?"

Castle whipped a single coin from his pocket and held it out to her. "Penny for your thoughts, detective?" He smiled at her, hoping to get one in return.

The ends of her mouth twitched upwards for a brief second upon seeing him dangling an actual penny in front of her face; it was just so Castle. The smile wasn't there long and he couldn't tell if she was just humoring him, but it was there and he would take what he could get.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I was just thinking," she replied dully, choosing not to delve deeper into her train of thought.

After a moment, Beckett sighed. Castle had remained silent, only slightly nodding as a response. He didn't pry any further – yet, anyway – even though she knew how much he wanted to.

They sat in yet another silence for what seemed like hours before she glanced up again, peeking at the clock across from them on the other side of the bullpen.

11:45.

Fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes until she'd have to pack up what papers she had strewn across her desk and begin her journey home.

Just the thought made her cringe.

It wouldn't hurt to stay a while longer though, right? She could ask Castle to order some Chinese and they could sit there and do the remainder of her paperwork together. She knew he'd be more than happy to oblige. More so to staying there with her rather than to the paperwork, but he'd be there.

Josh wouldn't mind. She's stayed late before, plenty of times in fact. It's part of the job; it wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

Who are you kidding, Josh would mind, she reminded herself, bitterly.

She hadn't realized she got swept up in her thoughts again until she was jolted back to reality by a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

"You alright, Beckett?" Castle asked, her sudden movement making him jerk himself back.

She could hear the concern hovering in his voice and she took a second to compose herself before answering. "Yeah, I'm fine, Castle. Just startled me, that's all."

She didn't look at him, trying to avoid the accusing look that she knew all too well would be filling his eyes.

"Alright," he said, almost inaudible. There was a pause before he continued, "I think I'm gonna head home. I promised Alexis I wouldn't get back too late. Not that midnight is exactly early or anything, but it could be worse." He laughed.

He couldn't help noticing a small glimmer of something in her eyes when she turned her head. He couldn't put his finger on it, but if he wasn't mistaken it seemed like… disappointment? That didn't make sense.

Trying to test out that observation, he continued on. "But if you wanted to get something to eat or go for a drink down at the Old Haunt, I could certainly come up with an excuse. And you've heard my excuses, you know it'll be outrageous and she won't even be able to stay angry."

There it was, a real smile.

"That'd be great-" she started, before the smile quickly faded and was replaced with a solemn look. "But I really can't. Sorry, Castle."

Now he was just even more confused. She was going to accept his offer, even seemed pretty pleased with the idea, but then something happened. And it's that something that he needed to figure out. And he would.

"Okay, but if you change your mind you know where I am, detective." He gave her a soft smile then moved towards the elevator. Before he got there, though, he stopped and turned on the heels of his feet, returning to her desk.

He walked up beside her and leaned in, ignoring the look of questioning evident on her face. He whispered in her ear, "And if you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

He didn't know what was going on, but he wanted to make sure she knew she could talk to him. About anything.

The appreciative curve of her lips that found its way onto her face told him he made the right choice. Satisfied with himself and now feeling a bit better, he gave her one of his infamous Castle smiles before making his way to the elevator again.

Even with him out of sight, Beckett had to hold back the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes.

He cared. He cared about her more than anyone she could think of – besides her dad – and it both elated and killed her.

She was ashamed she let herself get sucked into something like this. She didn't want anyone else – especially him – to be dragged into this… thing, this problem. She'd figure it out on her own and she'd be okay.

Beckett brushed her thoughts to the side and picked up all of the paperwork from her desk, putting it into her bag. She took one last look around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything before turning off the desk light and starting towards the elevator.

Once she was inside and the doors closed she backed herself into the wall, letting her body go limp against the hard surface.

She let out a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.

"It'll be okay," she whispered to herself over and over again under her breath, just loud enough for herself to hear.

Maybe if she repeated it long enough, she'd actually start to believe it.