Disclaimer: sorry forgot to do this for chapter 1. These characters aren't mine. They belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and there's nothing I can do about it.

Anyways this chapter gets sadder. The last one was just kind of background. Tell me what you think.


...

His head swooped down to peer under her mask of hair, and his grin faltered.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?" She asked, not looking up.

He paused, not entirely sure how to proceed.

"Everything okay?"

"Yep Castle all good. I'll be along in a sec I promise." Her eyes didn't leave the paper beneath her and she forced her eyes to pretend to read the words.

Still, he didn't leave. He sat down in his chair and put his hand over hers to stop her pen from continuing to scribble. She shook it off and continued.

He knew that hand holding in the precinct was still unacceptable for her, but this was different. This Kate felt indifferent and cold, not embarrassed and scared of getting caught.

"Hey," he began. "Hey. Look at me… Please?"

She could hear the hurt begin to infiltrate his voice, but she knew that looking up would most likely result in her resolve breaking, and that wasn't acceptable. Not here. Not now.

The boys walked towards their own desks from the break room and Castle slid his hands off of Kate's desk just as they turned towards around.

"You comin' Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah I just need a minute to finish this last bit of paperwork. You guys take Castle and I'll be along soon."

The boys exchanged looks and Ryan whispered something to Esposito. Their eyes turned to Castle's with questioning looks but Castle's were gaping at Kate.

"Wha? No, no, I'll wait. You guys go along." His eyes went back to her, beginning to really worry.

"Castle just go please. The sooner you stop bugging me the quicker I'll come."

She never scolded him like that anymore. Red flags flew up in his brain.

"I'll shush then. And wait," he said, slipping further into his chair and crossing his arms.

Her head finally whipped around and her eyes met his for the first time that morning. The boys' heads were shifting back and forth, trying to figure out what was going on.

"No." The message behind her glare was clear. But he wasn't moving. Somewhere in his mind was the nagging feeling that this was about more than just the case, but he had been sternly instructed by her to never mention anything unprofessional while they were at work. Still, he pressed on, trying to figure out the emotions hidden behind her all-too-composed face.

"Kate the case is over. It was a hard one but it's done now. Maybe it's time to move on and stop obsessing. Take a day. It'll still be here to work on tomorrow."

Her glare narrowed. He realized that he had let her first name slip without thinking, but he was also pretty sure that the intense stare he was getting could easily have resulted from the comment about her sanity. But for this relationship to go anywhere, he needed her to trust him and not shut him out.

"I'm not obsessing over the case." Her teeth were clenched and the words practically spit out of her mouth. And yet, he also caught a sense of pleading in the desperate way she said it. Her eyes moved from him to the boys and back to him again, as though she was trying to silently send him a message.

Her mask was breaking, and she knew it. But it wasn't going to break here. It couldn't break now. Another deep breath. She loosened her death grip on her pen. Why wouldn't he just leave? The awkward silence in the room was maddening.

As usual, Castle broke it first.

"Hey guys why don't you just go? We'll find you later," Castle said, without even breaking eye contact with Kate.

Ryan and Esposito were her boys, and under normal circumstances they would have looked to their Beckett before leaving. This time, however, they couldn't get out of there faster. They had no desire to be around while Castle and Beckett duked it out. Whatever the problem was, they were so not going to get into the middle of it.

"C'mon Bro. Let's get out of here." Esposito walked quickly to the elevator and jammed his finger into the "down" button. Ryan was right on his heels.

They left without another word. The bullpen was now completely empty except for Rick and Kate, who still weren't saying anything. Feeling her throat begin to close up, Kate resumed her paperwork, hoping to lose herself in it like she had so many times before when pain had tried to overcome her.

Unfortunately, she wasn't alone anymore and Castle wasn't going to let her shut him out again without a fight. He wasn't going to let her use work as a temporary band-aid.

His hand reached out and he tucked the left side of her hair behind her ear so that he had a better view of her face. Her eyes fluttered closed as she gasped slightly at his touch. Her breath was unsteady now, and soft caress of his calloused hands over her cheek wasn't helping. He lowered his hand to hers and gripped it, scared of what on earth could make her crumble like this. His stomach was now in knots.

"Kate…?"

"Yeah?" The word came fast and quiet, but her voice was surprisingly stable considering the unshed tears creeping into her eyes.

"What happened at the appointment this morning?"

"Castle not now." She continued to stare at the paperwork, though her hand was gripping his fiercely.

"Kate we're all alone. I'm just Rick and you're just Kate. We're not Castle and Beckett. I'm not here to shadow you. It's just you and me. Us. And we're- we're a family now and- and I know I wasn't allowed to mention it while we were at work but no one's here to eavesdrop on our lives. Please tell me what happened. Please."

He had meant for that little speech to come out strong and persuasive, but by the end of it his voice had risen an octave with hysteria and he was begging her more than pushing her. Something was very wrong.

He had said family. The word hit her like a kick to the stomach and knocked the wind out of her. She turned her head back towards him, and bit her lip. A single tear leaked from her left eye and still, she didn't speak.

He waited though, hoping that this time she'd break the silence first. She did, eventually, but not with an explanation.

"It's all my fault," she said softly with a tiny sob. And then before he knew what was happening, she ripped her hand from his to wipe her tear away, stood up, and ran out without another word.


So we really never see Kate like this, and maybe it was a little much, but it IS a really really sad situation, so hopefully you aren't thinking it's too OOC for her.

Thanks for continuing to read! As always, please review(:

The next chapter will probably take longer considering these two came out within hours of eachother...