A young woman is standing in the dark alley. The ground is littered with cigarette butts and trash, glowing embers still fresh on the floor. Graffiti spreads across the walls, the vivid colors muted in the night, the expletives and the vulgarity sprawling all over the stained surface. An old sign, titled 'Sons of Palermo' hangs at one end, rusty and decayed from the constant flow of water dripping from mildewed, stale pipes above. The young woman is dressed in a crisp blue blouse, a white blazer, and a checked skirt, belted at the waist. Her shiny brown hair hangs to her shoulders, and the twinkle in her green eyes can be seen even from afar. She seems oddly out of place in an area like this, especially at this time of the night. That is what drew Kate Beckett's interest. As she comes closer, the woman seems eerily familiar, her features strangely similar to her own.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
Her voice is distinct in the silence of the night, yet Joanna Beckett does not seem to hear.
"Mom, it's dangerous out here, you gotta come home with me now"
She tries to pull her mother away, but there seemed to be an invisible barrier between them.
From the darkness of the shadows, a man appears, his features hidden behind a black balaclava. There is something ominous about him, the menacing swagger in his walk, the dark, macabre atmosphere that came with his appearance. Something silver glints in his hand. It is a dagger. Shiny, silver, but most of all, sharp. Joanna Beckett appeared to be oblivious as he crept up behind her, inching closer and closer.
"Mom! Look out!" Her voice trembles with fear. She is ignored.
"Mom, we gotta go. Now!" Her tone takes on an edge of urgency and desperation, border-lining hysterical. "Please Mom! Can't you see the killer behind you? Mom, please. You might just get...killed"
It's too late. In a blink comes the first blow, the silver dagger flashing through the air, stabbing her squarely in the chest. Her expression changes from one of serenity, to one of horror and realization. The muffled screams of Joanna Beckett reverberate across the silent alley, piercing the quietness of the night. Her cries drip with pain and hurt, the anguish transparent upon her lovely, stricken face.
"No, no, this can't be happening! Mom!" She is sobbing now, hysterically trying to force her way through the invisible wall between her and her dying mother, to no avail. Her entire body convulses with guilt-racked sobs. Helplessly, she watches her mother fall to the floor.
As the mysterious killer vanished into the night, her mother lay there, bleeding out on the cold concrete floor. The crimson of her blood poured out from the dark wound in her chest, staining her blouse a deep, burgundy red. Suddenly, her eyes seem to flicker with life, and she looks straight at her, her gaze steady and unwavering. Her mom's gaze locked onto hers, the green to the green, and for a moment there, they seemed to speak to her.
"...Katie, I dedicated my life to fighting for justice and the truth. It is your turn now."
"Mom, please don't die... Please don't leave me." Her voice is all but a desperate whisper. Salty tears prick her sad green eyes. A lone teardrop escapes those glistening eyes, rolling down her pale cheeks.
"I love you Katie, and I know that you will do me proud..."
Her voice trails off, blown away in the whistling wind.
In a second, Joanna Beckett is gone, the life snuffed out like a candle, the light in her green eyes extinguished, left blank and staring.
It is then that she truly cries, sobbing her poor heart out, calling her mom's name, over and over again, in the hopes that she would wake up and tell her that everything was okay.
Wake up mom, wake up and tell me that this is just a dream...
Where am I?
She is in a room, a room of white. Stark white walls, stark white sheets. A steady mechanical beeping echoes in the background. Everything is blurred and hazy, and all she can see are vague silhouettes hovering above her. There is murmuring in the background. She tries to make out the words they are saying, but it all turned into a jumble of thoughts in her disorientated mind.
What happened?
She tries to remember, but her mind is blank. All she remembers is…pain.
She let her fluttering eyelids settle gently. Closing her eyes, she began to drift off. Then the memories started to come.
She is on the podium. The bright sunlight warms her back, and reflects off the glassy tears in her melancholy eyes. She is speaking, fighting tears as she does so.
"Roy Montgomery taught me what it meant to be a cop. He taught me that we are bound by our choices. That we are more than our mistakes."
The words tumble freely from her lips, strong and emotional, yet to herself, they seem empty and cold. No words could express the feeling of loss, the loss of a friend, the loss of a leader, and most of all, the loss of a friend. She bites back the stinging, quivering tears. She has to stay strong.
"Captain Montgomery once said to me that for us there is no victory. There are only battles. And in the end the best you can hope for is to find a place to make your stand. And if you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you."
For a moment, she turns her head, and looks straight at Castle. Gone is the jokester, the playboy extraordinaire. With tragedy comes his true colors, a strong person who is there for her, always has been, always will be. He catches her eye, and gives her a little smile of encouragement. Warmth radiated from him, and with his support, she found the will to carry on.
"Our Captain would want us to carry on the fight. And even if there is…"
"Kate!"
She's hit. The breath is sucked out of her, and for a moment, everything is still. Then all hell breaks loose.
Pain.
She is pushed down, and her body crumples like a broken doll, down onto the soft green of the grass. Around her, chaos ensues, people running around, people screaming, yet all she can feel is…pain.
It's too fast, too fast.
She feels her blood, seeping out of the dark wound. She feels the sharp biting pain as her heart grows weaker and weaker.
There's someone there, someone cradling her limp body, holding her. She feels the warmth of his touch. It's Castle.
"Kate…Shhh Kate…please…"
He strokes her hair, pressing down on the wound from which her lifeblood is slowly draining out from. His sapphire eyes are full of terror, and still he stays there with her, whilst everyone else runs away.
"Stay with me Kate."
His voice is full of pleading, begging her to show some response.
"Don't leave me, please."
She tries to say something, but her face is frozen in a mask of shock. She struggles, and a single, glistening tear falls from her green eyes. No matter how hard she tries, no words escape her lips.
"Stay with me, okay?"
There's something she needs to tell him.
There's something she needs to say.
There's no more time.
"Kate..."
Her vision is starting to blur, her world turning black.
No! She tries to fight it, but it consumes her, swallowing her into its fading, dark abyss.
She looks up at him, and she hears him whisper three little words…
The last thing she sees is his blue eyes.