Chapter 2
"What are we missing?!" A frustrated Beckett exclaimed from her desk.
The team had continued to work on the case since Castle left, still with no plausible leads.
"Don't worry Beckett, we'll find something." Ryan said, coming up behind her. Kate sighed, setting down her marker when she heard her phone beep. A new text from Castle covered the screen.
'Hey babe, just wanted to see how you and little bean were doing. Did you eat lunch yet?'
She sat down in her chair, pushing the hair out of her face before replying.
'Don't call me babe. Little bean is fine, and no, I haven't eaten lunch yet"
Less than a minute later, her phone lit up with a reply.
'Sorry. You should take a break and eat some lunch Kate. I bet little bean is hungry'
She sighed, rubbing a hand on her little bump before replying,
'Okay, I'll take a break. How are things going there?'
'Have I told you how much I hate meetings? Gina and Paula are driving me insane! I would so rather be at the precinct telling you crazy theories and having you roll your eyes at me'
She smirked. Everyone knew how much Kate needed Castle, but she didn't think they realized how much he needed her too.
'Well writer-boy, you better get back to that lovely meeting of yours. Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it'
'But Kaateeee…..'
She rolled her eyes. He really could be such a child sometimes.
'Suck it up Castle, you'll be fine. I got to go, my stomach is grumbling, the baby is hungry'
'Fine…I'll see you later. Love you'
'Love you too'
With that she got up and headed over to the boy's desks. "I'm hungry. What do you say we take a break and head over to Remy's for lunch?"
"Sounds good to me boss." Esposito said grabbing his jacket, Ryan close behind.
After a satisfying lunch, the team got back to the precinct to continue working on the case. After a solid hour of combing through footage, bank accounts, and call logs, the team finally found a lead. Beckett and the boys grabbed their jackets and headed out.
Half an hour later, the team returned with the suspect.
"Put him in the box Espo." She said, heading over to her desk.
"You got it boss." He said, taking the suspect, with the help of Ryan, into the box.
Beckett took her jacket off, putting it on the back of her chair, before sitting down and letting out a sigh. Bringing in the suspect took a lot out of her. She had already been exhausted because of the busy past two days. Hearing from Castle would probably cheer her up. Looking at the clock and noting that it's already three-thirty, she sent Castle a text.
'We finally got a suspect; he looks pretty good for it. I'm about to go in the box now. How are the meetings going?'
After a couple minutes, Castle still hadn't replied. Beckett figured he was busy and stood up to go interview the suspect. Just as she was pushing in her chair, a text from Castle dinged on her phone.
'Glad you got a suspect; hope it pans out. The meetings are well…you know how much I love them. Hopefully we are almost done though. Let me know when you get off, I can pick something up for supper on my way home'
'Chinese? I'll let you know. If this is our guy, I should be out of here by six at the latest. Cross your fingers'
'Good luck. I got to go, the wicked witch is calling. See you later, love you (and little bean)'
'Love you too'
Kate put her phone in her pocket and headed into interrogation, hoping this suspect was their killer and this case could finally be wrapped up.
After a brutal interrogation and a little good-cop/bad-cop with the help of Ryan, the suspect finally confessed. Beckett and the boys headed back to their desks with a feeling of relief and satisfaction. Now all that was left was the dreadful paperwork.
With the interrogation taking a good half an hour, it was just past four when the team sat down at their desks to start on the paperwork. Beckett wanted to get this done so she could go home and finally get some much needed rest, not to mention see Castle. Ever since she and Castle started dating after more than four years of that back and forth dance, she can't seem to be away from him for more than a few hours at a time without missing him. This used to bother her that she had become so dependent on someone, especially a man. Now, she just embraces the fact that she feels this strongly about someone and loves them this much. Also, ever since finding out about the baby, being around Castle provides her with a comfort that she can't get with anyone else.
After an hour and a half of paperwork, Kate finally finished with the last piece. Signing her signature on the bottom, she capped her pen and placed the document on the stack. After quickly filing the papers and straightening her desk, she grabbed her phone to let Castle know she was done.
'Collared the suspect. Confession in under an hour; I got to play bad cop(; I just finished paperwork and am about to head out now. See you soon'
Pocketing her phone and standing up from her desk, she grabbed her jacket and pushed in her chair.
"Alright boys, I'm finished. See you tomorrow."
"See ya Beckett. Say hey to our boy Castle and tell him he missed a good interrogation with you as bad cop and Honeymilk over here as good cop." Esposito said with a smirk.
"Hey! It worked didn't it? And are you guys ever going to let me live down the honeymilk thing?" Ryan said with a slight pout.
"Not a chance bro." Espo said with a wicked smile.
Beckett just shook her head at them and walked towards the elevator. "I'll be sure to let him know Espo." She said before heading into the elevators.
After a long cab ride home due to rush hour traffic, it wasn't until after six when Beckett finally got to the door of the loft.
"I'm home!" She said, removing her jacket and heels before making her way into the living room, surprised Castle hasn't come to greet her yet.
"Castle!" She yelled, not hearing him in the loft. When she came in, his keys were laying in the bowl by the front door along with his jacket hanging on its hook. "Castle?"
Still no answer. Making her way over to the kitchen, she sees nothing out of the ordinary, but no Chinese food either. Kate stops, listening for something to let her know Castle is here. There's no soft padding of his feet coming from upstairs; no water running in their bathroom; no clicking from the keyboard coming from his office.
Feeling a little frustrated, she takes her phone from her jeans pocket and hits the speed dial for his number. After a second of it ringing, she hears his phone coming from his office. Did he fall asleep? She thinks to herself. Hanging up, she pockets her phone and heads into his office.
"Hey Castle, do you know-" She stopped as soon as she saw his body lying, unmoving, on the floor. She rushed over to him and fell to the ground, her hands hovering over him, afraid to touch him.
