Kate sighed and looked down at her paperwork. A double homicide and Esposito and Ryan had decided to leave her to do most of the work while they went and watched the 'big game' on tv. Castle had just left, leaving her to do the boring part of her job alone. Kate considered calling Castle for company, but decided against it; he would obviously tease her for calling so soon after he had left, just to talk.

Kate looked at her father's watch. It was 7:30pm. Kate heaved another sigh and closed her books, she would finish the work in the morning. Kate gathered her things and walked out of the precinct, waving goodbye to uniforms still doing work. Tonight Kate didn't have the mind for paperwork, details of the case were still running through her head as she rode down the elevator.

The call had come at 9:00 that morning. Double homicide, possible suicide. Both victims female, 23. Kate could still remember their faces as she walked into the apartment block on east 42nd. A blonde girl, blue eyes and fair skin, the other a brown haired and brown eyed girl with slightly darker skin, of Hispanic descent. Ella Noreen and Earlene Lavina. They had been friends, socialites who attended college and parties together. What provoked the sudden urge to kill themselves?
Lanie had the answer to that one.
Bruises on the girl's right index fingers, indicating someone had pulled the trigger using the girl's own fingers. There were signs of struggle, they had fought back. Good.

But the gunshot wounds to their foreheads were all too prominent and the evidence clear; someone had murdered these girls.

Kate had gone through the usual detective work, questioning suspects and family members, attempting to link together the last moments of these two girls lives, but things weren't clicking together. The victims were reportedly seen at a party at 1:00am and Lanie puts their time of death at 3:00am, so where did they go for two hours and how did they get back to the apartment on 42nd?

The elevator shuddered to halt, reaching the ground floor. Kate waited for the doors to open and walked to her car. As she started the engine and pulled into the lazy New York traffic, her mind was elsewhere, pondering the day's case work.

Kate parked outside her apartment block and waved to the doorman as she crossed the pavement towards the door. She rode the elevator to the floor of her apartment and after unlocking the door, collapsed onto the couch in exhaustion. It had been a long day.

Kate pulled herself off the couch and looked into the fridge; nothing as usual of course.

Kate shrugged off the idea of cooking and decided to order Chinese instead, its not like she was eating with anyone else tonight.

Just as Kate had picked up the phone to dial the number of her favourite Chinese place, she heard a knock at the door. Who could possibly be coming to see her at 8:30 at night?

She placed her hand on her gun, which was still in its holster as she was yet to put it away and called out.

"Hello?"

"Oh! Beckett! Are you there?"

Kate unlocked the door hurriedly. "Castle?"

Standing there, in her doorway was Richard Castle, famous writer and (to her luck) her tag-along at work. Castle uses her as 'inspiration' which she was honestly doubting. "What are you doing here?"

Castle held up a bottle of red wine. "I though I'd come over, it was a tough case today and I thought you might need something to relax with?" he explained.

"That still doesn't really explain why you're here Castle." Kate realised she was leaving Rick Castle standing, in the door-way of her chilly apartment block, with a bottle of red wine and refusing him entrance. Was she crazy? No. She refused to think of him that way.

Kate shook her head and stood aside to let him pass.

"Doesn't matter, come in Castle."