Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed Chapter 1! Alas, here is chapter 2 :) Again, read and enjoy. And no, I do not own NCIS or Castle. But the musings are mine.

"McGee, does this look okay?"

Abby stood in the bathroom doorway, smoothing out her long black dress, which ended just above the floor, most likely due to the three inch heels she was wearing. Tim turned around on the bed to look at her and couldn't help but smile. "You look beautiful, Abby."

A smile that mirrored the one on Tim's face appeared on Abby's. "Thank you," she said. "And thank you for bringing me as your date."

"It is my pleasure," Tim replied. "And for the record, I was going to ask you before Gibbs suggested it."

Abby smiled at Tim and then linked her arm through his. "I'm ready to have the time of my life," she said with a huge grin on her face.

They left their room and began walking down the hall when another couple exited their room just in front of Abby and Tim.

Suddenly, Abby hit Tim on the arm. "McGee, that's Rick Castle!" she quietly shouted. "You didn't tell me he was going to be here," she said and then hit him again.

"Ow! I didn't know he was going to be here," Tim explained and Abby hit him for a third time. "Will you stop hitting me?"

"Do you know him?"

Tim nodded. "I've met Rick a few times."

As Tim finished his statement, Rick and his date turned around and Rick smiled. "Magoo!"

"Rick!" Tim exclaimed as he and Abby approached. "How are you?"

He sighed. "Tired. Research for the new series is time consuming. It is not easy being a cop. And speaking of, this is Detective Kate Beckett, the inspiration behind..."

But Abby cut him off. "Nikki Heat! I'm a huge fan, Mr. Castle."

"Uh, Rick, this is Abby Sciuto, our forensics specialist in DC," Tim said.

Rick smiled at Abby, who now looked like she had lost the ability to speak. "Please, call me Rick. Kate, this is Timothy McGee. He is an NCIS agent and moonlights as a bestselling author."

Kate smiled. "It's nice to meet you both."

"Hey," Rick said as they all loaded onto the elevator, "do you guys have dinner table partners?"

Tim shook his head. "Well, you do now," Rick said as the double doors closed in front of them, the elevator moving downwards in a timely manner. "I don't want to be stuck with some no-names like last year."

They waited for the doors to open up into the main lobby, which was now filled with a crowd of people, waiters with trays of champagne glasses and finger foods, and a DJ with speakers bigger than the entire group.

"Jeez, Castle, authors sure know how to throw parties," Katie said as they claimed a table and then immediately hit the open bar. After making their rounds, Kate and Abby standing to the side as Rick and Tim talked with old friends; they made their way back to the table to wait for the buffet to open.

Kate began to ask Abby a question when suddenly Rick asked, "What are Bonnie and Clyde doing here?"

Kate turned to search for where Rick's eyes were focused and noticed Ryan and Esposito walking quickly towards the table. They finally arrived and Kate laughed at Rick's question. "What's so funny?" Esposito asked.

She shook her head. "What's up?"

"We just got a call about a three-person murder. Two males, one female. All three were killed the same exact way and one of the men is a marine," Ryan explained and both Abby and Tim perked at the mention of marines.

"Is NCIS on the scene?" Tim asked.

Esposito shook his head. "The local team is on location somewhere and can't be back until tomorrow afternoon. We've been ordered to keep the victim under wraps until they return."

Then, Kate looked at Tim and Abby. "Let's go. You two have permission to examine the marine."

They all stood up and headed for the door just as the waiters began to wheel out the food trays. Rick watched the trays as the rest of the group walked out to the cars.

"Lanie, what do we got?"

Lanie stood up from her crouched position over the female victim and looked from her notepad to Kate's face. "Six gunshot wounds, two in each body. One in the heart, one in the temple. They're all through and through."

"Any ID?" Tim and Kate asked at the same time.

"Corporal Gavin Moore, his brother Travis Moore, and their sister Grace Moore. Seems to be a family affair," Lanie said and then turned to face Kate again. "Who are your friends?"

Kate turned back to see Tim taking notes and Abby observing. "This is Special Agent Tim McGee and Forensics Specialist Abby Sciuto. They're members of NCIS from DC here for the author party."

Tim smiled and shook Lanie's hand. "Any evidence left behind?"

Lanie crouched back down and Tim followed her lead, Kate following his move. "We found a gun lying next to Grace's body, but from what I've seen, it doesn't match the GSW's."

"There was a fourth person who escaped," Rick said as he stood over them.

"Most likely, but until I find time to run ballistics, we won't know if he or she escaped unscathed," Lanie explained.

"Neighbor says she heard gun shots but didn't open her door so she's not sure if someone left the apartment," Esposito reported.

Ryan continued. "There are no security personnel in the lobby, but there are cameras. The landlord says he can get us tapes tomorrow."

Kate stood back up. "And there are no other bullet holes anywhere in the apartment?"

Esposito shook his head. "Not yet, but you'll be the second to know."

"Excellent," she said before turning to Tim, who had stood up as well. "Agent McGee, feel free to contact your team in DC. We're gonna need a few extra bodies on this case."

McGee nodded and walked away as he held his phone to his ear. "Abby?" Kate called and Abby moved closer. "When we get everything back to the precinct, would you mind helping Lanie out?"

"Not at all," Abby said. "I'm more than happy to help."

"My team, uh, the team will be here in the morning," McGee said as he returned. "Where should we start?"