Castle arrived at his home with every intention of heading straight to his room for a really long nap. He was too emotionally drained to even attempt writing, and guitar hero wouldn't do the trick at cheering him up this time.
"Don't you dare!" Alexis was warding off Martha with a coat hanger when he walked in, a couch separating their tensed bodies.
"You will obey me!!" A violent rage darkened her eyes.
Castle quickly jumped between them and held them apart with his outstretched arms. "What the hell is going on here!?" The two of them relaxed instantly and smiled at him innocently.
"Just rehearsing, kiddo. We must be getting good!" She took a moment to gloat and then asked, "What are you doing home so early?" Martha picked a fleck of dirt off her shirt and looked at him expectantly as Alexis' arms wrapped around his waist. He absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair.
"I could ask you the same thing. Generally, when people move out, they don't show up unexpected."
She gave him her dramatic eye-roll. "Chet is sulking over his latest fight with Leah. I came over here to rehearse with the prodigy granddaughter and get a break from that insufferable man."
Castle chuckled softly. "Insufferable? You must really love him, mother."
"What's wrong, Dad?" Alexis was still clinging to his side, and from that angle she could see how tired and unhappy he was.
He gave her a sad smile. "Our favorite detective is less than herself right now. I'm just worried."
Alexis released him. "You know how she is, Dad. She'll come around." She smiled at him with all the energy of a teenage girl and then said her goodbyes, grabbed her coat, and flew out the door to spend her spring break with friends.
"Well?" Martha stood with her hands on her hips, waiting for an explanation.
He didn't even try to pretend that he didn't know what she was waiting to hear. He jumped right in. "I don't know." He shrugged and let out a deep breath. "She came over here last night as Leah was leaving, but she left as soon as she arrived. Today she would hardly look at me and all but forced me to leave."
Martha tilted her head to the side. "She saw Leah leave?" Richard nodded. "Well, there's your problem!"
Castle didn't understand what she meant at all.
"Dear, Kate must have assumed that Leah was there to- you know." She gave him a meaningful look.
He felt like gagging. "Oh, no! You don't think...Leah is Chet's niece! That's just wrong! She was upset and came over to talk to Alexis, but she wasn't here, so she vented to me. How could Kate think that?" He stuck his tongue out in disgust and shook the idea off.
"You and I know that she wasn't here for that, but Beckett has no way of knowing that. The poor woman is jealous, Richard."
"That's ridiculous. She saw me hug Leah and just jumped to that conclusion? Beckett would never be jealous of any woman with me. She'd feel lucky that it wasn't her." As he said it, he found himself hoping that wasn't true. The detective was not just a friend to him.
"Jealousy makes women crazy, kiddo. Knowing Kate, she's probably very confused by these feelings. Talk to her, but don't let her know you think she's jealous. That would just make it worse." Martha liked to think she had all the answers, and while Rick would normally disagree, this time she was convincing.
The diva sauntered out of the apartment to go talk with Chet about his latest problem with his niece. Castle plopped down on the couch and thought about the same woman he always seemed to be thinking about these days.
Kate Beckett: no longer just a detective that he shadowed and bothered. She now had the title of best friend, as juvenile as it may sound. He could come to her with everything, and it had taken time, but she finally started to do the same with him some time ago.
It was routine for them to spend at least two nights of the week together outside of work. Kate had bonded with his mother and daughter. He hadn't pressured her to, which is probably why it was so easy; it was always easier for her if she didn't feel pressured.
With everything they'd been through, Castle knew for a fact that he loved her. He didn't deny it to himself or his family anymore. His feelings for her were just a fact. Besides, it was evident in his smile when he so much as thought of her. Denial wasn't an option.
He hadn't acted on it; well, not any more than usual. There was still flirting and attempts at asking her out, but she had always passed it off as a joke. He let her think that, hoping she'd eventually take him up on the offer when she was ready.
So could it be that now she was facing her feelings for him? Seeing him with Leah, even if she didn't see what she thought she saw (wow, what a brain-twister), made her jealous, if his mother was correct. He hoped beyond hope that she was right.
Castle could work with jealousy. He could work with anything as long as Kate wasn't angry with him.
His phone rang as he pondered what to say to her and when to say it.
It was Beckett. "Castle...you might want to get here soon. There's been a murder." Her voice was shaky and nervous; there was something more to this case.
A new case distracted the detective from her unruly and unwelcome thoughts about Castle. She drove over to the scene with the music up louder than usual so her mind wouldn't wander. All afternoon she'd either been fuming over what she'd seen, sulking because she didn't understand why the hell she was fuming, or playing her dream with the writer on repeat.
She pulled up to a nearly abandoned parking lot and walked over to the only other car occupying it. Lanie's head popped out from around the open door and she waved the detective over.
"What do we have, Lanie?"
"Female, young, maybe 17-19. Cause of death looks like strangulation, but I'm not sure what she was strangled with. These marks don't look familiar. Definitely not hands, though."
Beckett leaned in to look and gently pushed blonde hair back from the victim's face with a pen.
She nearly threw up when she realized who it was. As much as she'd wanted to avoid calling Castle in for this one, now she had to.
He rushed over to the address he was given, leaving a note for Alexis in case she returned before he did.
Beckett gave him no reason to worry over the phone, but her tone scared him. Plus, she didn't usually willingly call him to a crime scene when they were fighting; she was too damn stubborn for that.
He ran over the possibilities in his mind. He knew it wasn't Alexis because she'd texted him when she arrived at her friend's house. Martha was with Chet, and his apartment was on the other side of town. They had no reason to be in an empty parking lot like the one he was currently driving through.
He parked as close as he could and dashed out of the car to Kate's side. She held a hand to his chest and shook her head, pushing him away from the scene and walking with him a short distance.
"What you're about to see...I'm sorry. You need to be prepared." She looked into his eyes, committing them to memory while they were still vacant of pain. There was fear, sure, but they were still full of life; they still had that spark. She wasn't sure they would after she revealed what was in the car.
He turned to the car and strained his eyes. The distressed man would've run over there immediately, but he knew she would stop him before he could even take two steps. "Who is it, Kate?"
For once, Kate really did hope that the girl was just another bimbo conquest. That would make this easier for him. Something told her that she was wrong, though.
Grabbing his hand and entwining their fingers, she led him to the body. At first he held onto her tightly, even more scared now that she was showing affection, much less public affection, but when he caught sight of who it was, his hand fell limp.
Hi guys! Updated as soon as I could...hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you seemed to enjoy the last! Leave a review if you don't mind =P I'll add again soon!
