Chapter Three

Beckett sat on her desk, staring intently at the already-packed murder board in front of her. It was barely ten o'clock in the morning but it had seemed like such a long day already. The crime scene was a tough one to sift through, lots of belongings of each of the victims, lots of pieces that could be evidence but could also just be nothing at all, and four very different yet similarly gruesome murders to investigate.

Esposito and Ryan returned from the break-room with coffees in hand. Esposito handed one to Beckett and she sipped at it, letting the liquid inside immediately perk up her senses.

"Six friends book a rental house together," Beckett started, running down the list of what they knew for her partners, trying to get the wheels turning. "Four of them wind up dead, two go missing."

Ryan nodded. "Uniforms are searching the area for them. Maybe they've got the answers for us."

"If they're alive." Esposito chimed in.

"Or maybe they did it." Beckett added. "We won't know until we find them. But we can't wait around for that either, so let's start with what we know and go from there."

Ryan looked over at the murder board. "You know who would love this case?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where Ryan was going with this and not wanting to let her mind wander to him right now. As if on cue, a familiar voice replied from behind them. "It's definitely the best 'welcome home' gift ever!"

Esposito and Ryan spun around at the sound of their friend's voice. Beckett froze, back still turned, as she tried to compose herself, so many conflicting thoughts flooding her mind.

The three men behind her celebrated their reunion, causing Kate to turn around and laugh. "You guys are worse than a bunch of five-year-olds on Christmas morning…" She quipped, glad for the chance to use humour to help her hide the conflicting feelings that were tearing her apart.

The guys separated, realizing the scene they were causing in the middle of the bullpen. Castle smiled and looked at Beckett, not at all surprised at how good it felt to see her again. "Hi" was about all he was able to mutter, his words suddenly escaping him.

Beckett smiled back, against her own will, before replying. "Hi, Castle."

The two shared a locked gaze for what seemed like forever to them. In reality, it was only mere seconds before Esposito broke the silence. "Bro, you got here faster than I thought you would."

Castle grinned, feeling more at home than he imagined he would. "Actually, I came back home late last night. I heard about the case on the news this morning and I just knew it was one of ours…"

"Ours?" Kate sarcastically snapped back, challenging him. Just like old times.

Instinctively, Castle took the bait and followed their usual routine. "Well, I do have two more books to write…"

"Don't remind me." Beckett scoffed, turning back to the murder board. She waited a second before scooting over on her desk to make some room. "You might as well have a seat, Castle… you have a lot to catch up on." She said as she nodded at the murder board.

Castle grinned and sat down beside her. She blindly offered him the half-a-cup of coffee that she had left, causing him to smile even more as he took a sip. Kate forced away the smile that was creeping up on her as she focused on the case and started to get Castle up to speed on it.

Ryan and Esposito shared a knowing glance towards each other, both grinning from ear to ear as they looked on at the pair in front of them.