I would just like to say before you start reading this story, that I love Martha. She's such a great character, and if anything happened to her in the show, I'd be really upset with the writers. But as an unofficial writer, I can write things that don't come true. So this is a what-if fic. Enjoy and review!

Beckett sat at her desk, glaring from Castle to the papers around her. His latest theory, Jedi-Masters from another galaxy, had evoked more than a few chuckles from Ryan and Esposito, but for some reason, she wouldn't laugh. It wasn't so much that she didn't find it funny; she couldn't laugh because that would be giving an admission that she enjoyed Castle's company. And while she knew that everyone else knew, she couldn't bring herself to give a visible sign of it.

"Think about it! The narrow cut could be from the light saber! Jedi-mind tricks could also explain the lack of a struggle."

"Yeah, Castle, but you're forgetting something. Han Solo only flies in one galaxy."

"But he could have put any boost on the Millennial Falcon!" His phone started buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out, and after a fond glance at Alexis' sweet smile on the caller ID, pressed a button. "Hey, Alexis, what's up?"

Beckett glanced up at him, forgetting to glare when she saw the pure astonishment on his face.

"Slow down, Alexis. What's wrong with Gram?"

Castle and Beckett locked eyes, his expression one she had never seen on his face before, but one extremely similar to something she saw regularly.

"I'm on my way, sweetheart. Just stay there, it'll be okay." He ended the call, eyes blinking abnormally quickly, not to rid them of unshed tears, but in shock. "Can you give me a ride to the hospital?"

Kate was instantly on her feet and pulling her coat on. Castle followed suit, moving slowly, as though in a daze.

"Esposito!" Beckett called, even as she walked toward the elevator. "Castle has a family emergency. I'll be back later."

Javier Esposito nodded, taking in Castle's odd behavior. "Take your time, Beckett. Stay with them as long as they need."

She bit her lip. "I know. I will."

Once in the car, she slid the gear into drive and started down the street. "You want to talk about it, Castle?" She adopted the tone of voice she used for the family of the victims she so often encountered.

He swallowed. "It's my mom." His voice was steady, though carefully schooled.

Kate glanced away from the road, searching his face for a second.

"She had a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest. They took her to the hospital." His phone vibrated again and in an instant he had it to his ear. "How is she?" He was silent for a few seconds as he listened to the voice on the other end. "Yes, it is." His tone suddenly fell flat, losing all of its normal energy and enthusiasm. "Yes… Yes. No. Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can."

He angled his body away from her and stared vacantly out the window, the gears one could normally see turning from his expression masked completely.

Kate gripped the steering wheel tightly. She dealt with this situation all the time, knowing how to deal with loss was part of her job description. But somehow, when it was her partner sitting next to her, the words which she instinctively knew to say were gone. Carefully she pieced together her next sentence. "Rick." It was a lame attempt, but it had come out before she had finished composing a platitude.

He shook his head, still not looking at her. "She's gone. We need to get there soon, the doctor said Alexis is devastated."

Beckett felt tears nip at the back of her eyes, but she refused to give them the pleasure of coming forward, averting them by distancing herself from the emotion. "It'll be okay, Castle."

He looked back at her, an intense glare in his eyes. "You of all people know that it isn't."

Kate let her guard slide down a little bit, not enough to let his emotions seep through to her, but enough to let sympathy run out to him. What was there to say?

His next words matched her thoughts as though he had been reading her mind. "You don't have to say anything, Beckett. Drop me off and when Alexis and I are ready to come home, we can call a cab."

"No."

"Yes!" Arguing helped him to keep control of his emotions.

"I'm going to stay with you until you're ready to go home, then I'll drop you and Alexis off. You need someone right now, someone who understands."

His voice grew soft, adopting low intonation he used when telling a story. "It's a bit ironic. I've worked with death for years, able to observe it and be untouched. I've watched how people deal with death, react to death, and seen why they cause death. But it never reached me." He laughed quietly and without humor. "Maybe it's a form of poetic justice."

"Poetic justice is for the bad guys, Castle."

"I kill people for a living."

She could say that he didn't kill real people, but didn't think that would be much of a consolation. "But you save them too. By helping me capture the murderers, you're saving lives."

Castle paused for a minute before continuing. "I'm thinking maybe I need a break."

His response was the last thing she had expected. "Okay." She would argue with him later when the news was less fresh and he had thought about it more.

She pulled up to the hospital, and before the car was even in park he had thrown open his door and was on his way inside.

"Rick! Wait up a second."

He slowed and turned around to look at her.

"I meant what I said. It will be okay. It'll take a long time. Some days you won't want to get out of bed, and some days you won't want to see anyone. Some days the memories won't stop coming. Some days you'll feel so guilty you'll think you won't be able to stand it." He looked at her, his eyes sad. "The point is, you have people here for you—Alexis, Ryan, Esposito… and me. I'll always be here for you."

He pulled her into a tight hug, and she felt something moist seep through her hair to her scalp.

"Thanks."

Castle released her and gave a weak smile, not one to show that he was alright, but one of sad understanding.