Author's Note: Well, so far so good! Still lots of backspaces and corrections I notice after it's already gone up. Hopefully someone's enjoying it! Again, the story isn't meant to fit into the timeline of the show, I've just set it in the "Castle Universe". Rated "T" for the gory stuff, higher rating may come later.

Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection to Castle the show, it's stars, creators, etc. Just love it and the characters ;-)

Chapter 2: She Makes Me

He wondered how long it would take her to start yelling at him, but sitting in Beckett's chair allowed him the best view of the murder board. She was scribbling furiously and moving the pictures around. He propped his head up with his elbows on the desk and watched her, she was completely engrossed - and so was he.

"So Castle," she started without turning around, "you should just turn your chair around instead of screwing up my chair." Beckett had the passing thought that he was staring at her ass, but she knew he actually liked the murder board. Then she mentally kicked herself. Castle made enough innuendo for both of them.

"Busted!" Castle hadn't even noticed Ryan and Esposito arriving, notepads in hand. "Bro, why'd you keep sitting there when you know she'll just kick your ass to the curb?" Javier loved mocking him, and it definitely made him feel like he was part of the team.

"I dunno, maybe I like it when she kicks my ass?" However, his actions betrayed that statement as he lowered the seat back down to Beckett's preferred level and moved to perch himself on the corner of the desk.

She stopped setting up the board to walk over by the boys' workspace, followed closely by her faithful shadow. "What info have you gotten so far guys?" she asked Ryan and Esposito. "Any leads? People to track down? I was pretty lazy this morning, sorry for plopping it in your laps."

"Eh, Just gives us more to do. Besides, it was pretty easy. This guy wasn't exactly a choir boy. He's gotten a few complaints from a co-worker, said he's stalking her and contemplated a restraining order. Never got around to issuing one for whatever reason." Ryan answered.

"Well, it's a place to start I guess... " Beckett picked up the picture of Amie Carnevale that she had just been handed and placed it on the murder board. "It's still too early to try and chat with her, so I may run over to Remy's to grab some food and about 20 cups of coffee."

Castle realized he was starving as well, so he offered, "Shall I walk you over? I could go for a hot meal too."

"Sure. I don't think I'll be the best company, but it's better than eating alone." Kate accepted with a slight eagerness. It had been a long time since she had resorted to eating solo, and today wasn't a day she wanted to sit in silence. She threaded her arm through the arm he offered and they walked towards the elevator.

"You sure you don't want a bite?" Castle asked Beckett, gesturing at his plate of what could only be considered 'comfort food'. A short stack of chocolate chip pancakes covered in syrup, a small omelet loaded with cheese and what looked like bits of bacon, a couple of sausage links, and last but not least, a cup of hot chocolate almost completely obscured by a mountain of whipped cream.

"No thanks." She cracked an actual real-life smile for the first time that day. She finished off her english muffin and wondered why she'd ordered something so small. "How can you eat that? Do you work out ten times a day? That can't possibly be good for you." Yeah, she was a little envious of his meal choice, but it wouldn't have fit in with her mood.

"Of course it is." He said incredulously petulant. "It's breakfast. I wish every meal had whipped cream as a component." he winked as he stuck his index finger into the topping and eagerly licked it off. On a whim, he got a bit more, and touched Kate's nose. She gave him a fake stern stare and then wiped it off with her thumb. She managed to eat the tiny amount she had pulled off the tip of her nose, and he was happy she seemed to be cheering up.

He felt himself brace with a somewhat sharp intake of breath as he contemplated his next sentence. "Soooooo... You don't seem yourself today Ms. Ass-Kicking Detective. Anything I can do to help? I don't think the rush from that minuscule amount of sugary goodness is going to last long." He arched an eyebrow to punctuate the devilish tone of his words.

"I... I don't know Castle. I stayed a little later last night finishing up paperwork, but I was still out by ten. When I got home, I just couldn't get to sleep. By the time the call came in this morning I was already a wreck, so I'm just trying to hold it together and hope that I can perk up a bit to get through the day." She offered a weak smile, but she knew he could see through it. It was a feeble attempt to bring a little levity to her exhaustion.

"Anything you want to talk about?" He had stopped chewing long enough to ask, but comically, he hadn't swallowed, and ended up filtering his question through a mess of pancake and syrup. He really did look like a little boy sometimes. It was part of his charm, and she knew very well how that charm worked in his favor.

She thought about answering with one of her standard 'non-answers', but relented and said: "I'm filled with ennui today Mr. Writer Boy." She placed her hand on her forehead to feign a withering wistfulness and heard Castle chuckle ever so slightly. It was completely true, but somehow saying it dramatically made her feel a little better.

His eyes lit up immediately as his brain started percolating. Rubbing his hands together, he proclaimed, "I have just the thing for that. C'mon." He tossed down an obscene amount of money, grabbed her hand, and bolted for the door. She noticed he was furiously sending a text to Esposito and Ryan - she was sure that meant they would be pawning off their work today to do something 'Castle-style'. She was still contemplating how she felt about that as he flagged down the taxi.

I've started to concentrate more on Castle and Beckett, but we'll get back to the murder soon enough. She was a little mopey and I wanted to cheer her up. Plus I could use a little bit of Castle myself today, so I'm living vicariously through them. ;-)

Also, this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I think the next part would have made this too long. Seemed like a good stopping point. I already have half of the next chapter written, let's see if I can flesh it out in the next couple of days.

Love you guys and I'd love to hear what you think!