Ryan and Esposito meet back up with Castle and Beckett in the precinct after they get the new information about Casey. The latter two are setting up the murder board when Ryan and Esposito walk in.

Ryan walks in and the moment his eyes find the whiteboard, he feels nauseous again. The picture of Casey's little, broken body is pinned at the top and so far that was it. No leads, no suspects, no anything. Because who in their right mind would kill a child?

Esposito fortunately is able to fill Castle and Beckett in on what they discovered, "Her parents haven't called looking for her because she's got none; she's an orphan down at Miss Owen's House for Girls."

Beckett scribbles that underneath the toddler's picture and wonders aloud, "Then why hasn't Miss Owens called asking about her. A six year old girl has been missing since last night."

"The woman who told us about the orphanage said that she didn't trust children in her care. Maybe she had a good reason to." Esposito is already at the nearest computer, which happens to be Ryan's, running her name through the system.

"Maybe she's got something to hide." Castle offers, studying the murder board intently.

"Wouldn't surprise me, there's obviously no real reason behind Casey's death besides instability." Beckett recaps the marker before putting it down. "We need to go check out that orphanage, look around and maybe ask some of the girls."

"If Miss. Owens is involved then she's probably been sticking it in their heads to not give anything up." Esposito points out as he waits for the directions to the orphanage to print out.

"Hopefully is Miss Owens is bitch, they bonded over hating her so that means if they know anything about getting rid of Miss Owens and getting their friend justice, they'll give it up." Castle stands up, grabbing his jacket. "We all going? I bet there's a handful of girls to interview."

Ryan hopes he doesn't look as sick as he feel; he needs to sit down and take 5, but he knows they can't afford that in a case like this.

Esposito looks like he is about to join Castle, but he stops moving once he looks over at his partner, "Actually, why don't you and Becks go and question Miss Owens now and tomorrow we'll question the girls; it's late."

Castle looks from Esposito to Ryan and then nods as if he understands Esposito's ulterior motives; Ryan smooths his waistcoat self consciously. Beckett seems to notice as well and frowns sympathetically at the Irishman.

"I'm fine." Ryan brushes them all off. "It's barely past dinnertime, the girls will be up." He may be treated like the baby in the team, but he is by no means weak or unable to hold his own.

Beckett sighs, "Alright, we'll go down for a few hours and see what we can get."

Castle hops into their car just after Beckett; they're waiting for Esposito to pull out so they can follow him. Beckett taps her fingers against the steering wheel idly. "I hate these cases."

Castle glances over at his wife, "Because it's a little girl?"

Beckett nods slowly, "Yes, and how it's affecting our team. Did you see Kevin's face? He's probably had Sarah Grace stuck in his head all day long."

"He did look green even after he let out his breakfast dangerously close to my feet." Castle watches Ryan slowly taking his seat next to Esposito.

"Yeah, and that was not even 5 minutes into the case. I just wish he'd head home right now, seeing Sarah would make him feel better." She starts the car when she sees Esposito finally head out into the street.

"He's gotta give Esposito a chance, you know as well as I do that-" Castle is cut off by Beckett.

"I know, but obviously he doesn't. I think he realizes how he feels, but he remembers Jenny and suddenly backs off because he doesn't want to hurt Jenny."

"It's been three years, I knew she was his wife but even Jenny would understand that Kevin can't do it alone and Javi's his best friend, more if he'd let him."

Beckett lost count trying to remember how many times they've had this conversation. They started before Jenny and then it was all forgotten after their marriage, but after Jenny's passing the spark was ignited again. Ecspecially what she said to her and Castle the last conversation they had.

"Take care of those two idiots." Jenny smiled tiredly, her eyes barely open. She had Castle's hand held loosely in hers.

"We will, Jenny, don't you worry." Beckett promised as a tear rolled down her cheek. Castle used his free hand to wipe it for her. "Thank you," She mumbled into his lingering palm.

"My husband…" She paused to take a breathe, "Is a stubborn man. He can't do it all on his own. And there's only one person in this world who loves him as much as I do."

That was the first time since the Ryans married that she thought about the unmistakable love between her partners. It was too soon. "Jenny-"

"No, it's his turn. I know he'll be okay if Javier stays by his side. That's all I ask, make sure they make it. I don't want them suffering alone."

Which made sense. As painful as it was for Esposito to let Ryan go, he was okay with it because Ryan was happy. Since Jenny died, his life was one miserable day after the next and Beckett knows it killed Esposito to just sit by and let it continue. He knows how to make him feel better, but he can't act on it.

If there was a guy code handbook, Beckett is pretty sure that 'don't jump on your best friend the minute his wife dies, no matter how much you love him' would be pretty close to the top of the list.

"So what? We're not gonna help push them a little? Espo will never say anything about it and Ryan will continue to think it's taboo." Castle interrupts her thoughts.

"We'll figure something out, Castle. We'll just have to see what happens."

"Oh, that's a great idea." Castle scoffs, " If you want to be dead by the time they get together!"

Beckett narrows her eyes at him and spares a second of driving to pinch his arm, "Unless you're planning on sleeping on the couch, save that attitude for the boys at Poker night."

There's not much heat behind her words, but that doesn't make the pinch hurt any less. "Okay," He relents, "If I said that nicer, would you have agreed with me?"

"Sure,"Beckett answers without hesitation, "But it's really not our place. Let's just give them time before we try anything."

Castle grins, as if he is a child that was told he can have chocolate before dinner, "Waiting I can do."

By the time the four step out of the cars and are knocking at the front door, it's a quarter past seven. It's dark, but not quiet on the street. Esposito raps his knuckles harshly against the chipped, wooden door.

"Kathy Owens, please open up." He says loudly when she doesn't answer right away. A fews seconds after shuffling around just behind the door, Kathy opens it hesitantly.

Her eyes dart from each of them, "Can I help you?"

Esposito nods, stone-faced, holding up his badge, "NYPD, we'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

The woman is definitely caught off guard, but opens the door wider and allows them to enter regardless. "Sorry for the mess," She mutters as she leads the four to the couch in the living room. "The girls were cleaning upstairs today."

"Miss Owens, how many girls do you house?" Castle asks curiously.

"I didn't get all of your badges." She says keeping an eye on Castle.

"Mine's all you need, ma'am." Esposito retorts dryly and repeats Castle's inquiry. "How many girls?"

"A dozen and a half. I can assure you, I'm not over the limit." She crosses her arms over her chest, offended somehow by all of these questions.

"And it's just you here in charge of the girls?" Beckett asks, ignoring the sudden coldness that Kathy's radiating.

"Yes." She says with a dignified smile, "But, once a month, a woman from the agency comes to check up on the girls."

"Check up on the girls or you?" Esposito asks coolly with an arch of his eyebrow.

"And just what do you mean by that, Detective?" She spits back, like she's talking with vermon.

Esposito leans forward, his arms resting on his knees, "Maybe because you don't seem to care that one of your girls is missing." He watches as her face darkens and he celebrates internally; he caught her.

"I don't know what-who's missing?" She glances over to the stairway, uneasily, "I thought all the girls were there this morning. Sometimes a few of the older girls sneak out." Her expression suddenly hardens, "Is it Paige? Did she finally get herself into trouble? I warned her this day would come."

"Last night between 10 pm and 1 am, Miss Owens. Where were you?" Ryan finally finds his voice, unable to listen to this monster anymore than he has to.

Kathy's eyebrows knit. "Here with the girls, asleep. What does this have to do with Paige?"

Ryan closes his small notepad and meets her eyes, unaffected by her steely glare. "None of this has to do with Paige, unless you lost two girls last night. We're talking about a six year old named Casey that was killed last night."

"C-Casey?" Kathy shakes her head, all of the color drained away from her face leaving it pale and pasty. "But, she's just a baby."

"Which is why we won't stop until her killer is behind bars." Ryan makes that promise like it's his last promise to the world.

Kathy leads them up the stairs and down the hall to a door at the end, "This is the older girls' room. My oldest, Paige, was always with Casey. Most times I caught her trying to sneak out." She explains as she knocks on the door once.

"Why would she want to sneak out?" Castle asks.

"You know teenagers; they're always looking to rebel." She doesn't meet the writer's eyes when she responds and turns back to the door and knocks again. "Paige, open this door. The Police are here to speak with you."

Then the door opens and a teenage girl sticks her head out the bedroom door. Her eyes are puffy and red and her hair is mussed up. "Good evening, officers." She doesn't acknowledge Miss Owen's presence.

"Paige, we were wondering if we could have a word to speak with you about-" Beckett starts to pull out her badge so the girl feels some comfort, but Paige nods and interrupts her before she can finish speaking.

"About Casey. I know." Her voice is as haggard as her appearance.

"You know something is wrong with Casey? How?" Esposito asks hopefully, like she knows something about the murder.

"I know she's not here. Hasn't been since last night." Paige opens her door further, inviting the four inside to continue questioning.

"What do you mean you knew, Paige?" Kathy attempts to meet her gaze. "Honey?"

Paige refuses to listen, "Was there anything you were wondering, officers? I'd like to help all I can to find her."

By the sound of her voice and the look on her face, Beckett knows that this girl may know she's missing but she doesn't know she's dead. "I'm sorry, Paige. We already found her. This afternoon."

"What? No." Paige shakes her head, her eyes welling with tears. "Not Casey...Please, God, you're lying." She slumps into the doorway.

"We're going to work our hardest to find her killer, but we need your help." Castle says softly, wanting so badly to comfort her until her tears stop falling.

Whatever hope the team had of her knowing something about the murder is destroyed when she shakes her head, "I'm sorry. I only knew she was missing...nothing else. I wish I did." She cries into her hands and excuses herself back into her room.

"Wait," Ryan says, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turns around to face him and Ryan pulls a card from his pocket. "If you find out anything, don't hesitate to call." She nods and takes the card with a soft thank you before she shuts herself back into her room.

Esposito notices that Cathy let out a sigh of relief just a little too loud beside him. She straightens and puts the frown back on her face. "I'm sorry we couldn't help you more, Officers."

"Detectives." Esposito corrects, eyeing her warily.

"I apologize. Anyways, if that is all you need…" She extends her arm to the stairs, but none of the team goes to move.

"Any other girls we can talk with? There's over a dozen, someone had to be with her before she was killed." Beckett looks at the other doors in the hall.

Cathy shakes her head, "None of the other older girls really talked with Casey. And the younger girls that did are already in bed."

Beckett knows there's nothing more she can do right now and nods, "We'll be back tomorrow. Please have all the girls here until we solve this. And you cannot leave town either."

As the team walks through the elevator doors into the bullpen, Castle clears his throat. "Are we betting on Miss Owens?"

Esposito huffs angrily. "Casey was 6 years old, she couldn't have known that many people."

Beckett holds her phone up, already turning back to the elevator. "Lanie just called me saying she's got something. Castle and I will head down there while you two get the names of every single girl in that orphanage and anything about Miss Owens and her orphanage that looks suspicious."

"Then we'll head home for the night." Esposito says looking at his disheveled partner.

"Then we head home." Beckett confirms before her and Castle disappear in the elevator.

Esposito watches his partner drop himself into his desk chair with no grace, "You wanna get the girls' names and I'll check into this woman's history and her orphanage?" He knows that the task he gave to his partner would be easier on him.

"Sure," He nods and starts up his computer, but his movements are slow.

Esposito tries to concentrate on looking up anything to do with Kathy Owens and her orphanage, but his partner is worrying him too much. It's been a half hour and he hasn't said a word. Usually, Ryan is always talking about something or another to keep the silence away. He claims that he doesn't work as well when it's silent; he prefers the noise and conversation.

"You finding the list okay?" Esposito asks looking over the top of his monitor.

Ryan doesn't answer right away, he's staring at his own computer screen with a deflated look in his eyes. He doesn't seem to hear Esposito's question, but he isn't busy typing, he's just staring ahead.

"Ryan?" Esposito is now concerned, hoping that Beckett and Castle return soon so they can all go home. God knows they need the rest. "Kevin," He says louder, startling him to look up finally. "Are you okay?"

Ryan nods hastily, "Yeah, I'm just finishing up."

Esposito doesn't believe him. Sometimes he thinks that his partner forgets he can see right through him. "You know, I'm here if you need to talk about anything, right?" He reminds Ryan even though he'd never forget.

"I know, bro." Ryan gives him a weak smile before returning to his work.

Then why won't you talk to me?

"You have something for us, Lanie?" Beckett asks when she walks through the morgue door.

Lanie purses her lips with a grimace. "Just to confirm something we already knew. The poor baby was raped before she was killed." She pauses a moment before continuing, "There was a large portion of her brain that was swollen. Her killer was probably shaking her repeatedly and her brain hit against her skull too many times."

Beckett looks down at the little girl on Lanie's medical table, feeling her heart break even more.

She began to think of the 7th birthday Casey would never have. The high school diploma she'd never receive. The aisle she'd never walk down in a white dress she'd never buy. The prince charming she'd never marry and the kids they'd never raise. The stories she'd never create to tell grandkids that would never exist. The funeral that will be held 90 years too early.

All because of the monster who killed her.

"Poor baby," Castle says quietly as he looks down at her.

Lanie nods in agreement, but continues on with her observations. "The bruises on her body are from a man. The fingerprints are too large to belong to a woman."

"Did you get any DNA? Anything that could help?" Beckett asks hopefully, but sees the look on Lanie's face and gets her answer before she can say no.

"Tell me you four have something up there." Lanie says, leaning against desk.

Beckett shrugs her shoulders. "The owner of the orphanage looks good, but I doubt she killed Casey."

"Boyfriend, maybe." Lanie offers with a shrug of her shoulders. She's never been good at figuring out the who's, what's and why's to a murder, but everyone would pitch in on this case.

"It would be easier if she'd answer questions without a warrant." Beckett says rolling her eyes.

"She's being difficult?" Lanie raises her eyebrows.

"You have no idea," Castle sighs as he turns his head away from Casey, his eyes still filled with misery.

"We filed for a warrant, but it'll take at least a day or two to clear. Hopefully the circumstances of this case will speed up the DA, but I'm not holding my breath."

Lanie shakes her head, but wishes them luck. She gives Beckett a quick hug and whispers in her ear that she'll be able to bring the baby justice because she always does. Beckett smiles gratefully, "Thanks, Lanie," She whispers, "I just wish it wasn't his hard."

By the time Castle and Beckett return from the morgue, both Ryan and Esposito have finished their duties. Ryan has the list printed out: All the girls' names, ages and birth parents. He made four so they each have a copy.

"Nothing on Owens, 'sides a few parking tickets." Esposito slumps in his seat.

"What about boyfriends? Hookups?" Beckett asks, coming closer to her partners.

"Nada." Esposito laments, hating he has to say that.

"Well, I guess that's all we're getting tonight. Might as well head home, boys. We'll pick up first thing tomorrow." Beckett runs a hand through her hair, like she does when she's stressed.

Ryan checks his watch and sighs, it's past 9 o'clock; Sarah's definitely in bed by now. Even though she'd be asleep, Ryan knew that at least seeing his daughter would bring his hopes up. It was always nice to have someone with you to wind down with after dead end after dead end in a case like this.

Ryan pulls his coat off the back of his chair and watches his partner do the same. He feels his heart twinge when he realizes that Castle and Beckett have each other when they get home, he has Sarah (more or less), but Javier has no one. He goes home to an empty apartment every night. And Ryan doesn't know why it's taken him this long to realize that. Before he was married he spent every minute of his free time with his partner, but after he married Jenny, he went home to his wife (restricting Madden nights to two times a week). Then after she had passed, he used whatever free time to be with his daughter.

"Javi," Ryan says softly, "You wanna come over tonight?" He notices that his partner looks confused and Castle and Beckett are giving him odd looks. "I know what it's like being alone," Is all he says.

Esposito relaxes and it seems as if a weight has just been lifted off his shoulders. Ryan guesses his partner was thinking the same thing. These cases always hit hard and dealing with them alone was the worst thing to do.

Esposito and Ryan both say their goodbyes to Castle and Beckett, the latter two still staring. They walk to the elevator, neither saying a word until they are out of the precinct, in the car and only a few blocks from Ryan's apartment.

"Thanks," Espo says with his head leaning against the cold car window. "I was kinda dreading the silence."

Ryan turns his head away from the road for a second to smile softly over at his partner. He can say it's no big deal or don't worry about, but he doesn't think that sounds appropriate. Instead he says with the most sincerity in his voice he can muster, "You're welcome, Javier."

When they first became partners, Ryan always called him 'Esposito' and sometimes even 'Espo', but it wasn't until their 5 year anniversary that Ryan called him 'Javi'. It caught his partner by surprise; only his mother had called him by his first name, but he didn't say a word to correct him. It just seemed so natural slipping off of Ryan's tongue.

He hardly ever called him 'Javier'; it was too intimate and he saved those moments for close calls in shoot outs and long, hard chases. But now, he can't think of a better reason to call him that. It just fit.

It's quiet again after that. Not awkward or uncomfortable, more because of the fact that they're both exhausted and just being next to each other is comforting enough.

Minutes later, they pull up in front of Ryan's apartment. It's not anywhere near as spacious as Castle's loft, but it's an improvement from his old apartment. After he and Jenny married, they knew they wanted to start a family and decided that a railroad apartment would be the best solution. It wasn't in an apartment building, the steps lead to a door that opened directly into Ryan's apartment.

Esposito follows Ryan slowly from their car parked in front to the door. He leans heavily against the railing as Ryan sticks his key in the lock and jiggles it a few times. He's only just realized how exhausted he really is.

Ryan manages to open the door after a few failed knob twists and thy shuffle inside the dimly lit apartment. Alexis calls from the living room. "Kevin, is that you?"

"Yeah," Ryan responds and Esposito trails behind him as they walk into the living room where Alexis is slouched on the couch reading one of her textbooks. "Javi's here, too."

Alexis raises her eyebrows, "I saved some dinner, but I'm not sure if there's enough for two of you."

Ryan shrugs, "Don't worry, Alexis. I'm not hungry anyway."

"Did you eat at work? You missed breakfast." Alexis crosses her arms and looks over at Esposito so he can have her back.

"Rough case, don't worry about me," Ryan says, but doesn't look at her so he doesn't see her stare. He turns around to toss his coat on the armchair. "You need a ride home? It's late and I don't want you out alone."

Alexis rolls her eyes. "I'm not a child, Detective. I can make a 5 minute drive." She grabs her purse and coat from the coffee table and gives both Ryan and Esposito a hug and kiss on the cheek goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Ryan smiles as he follows her to the door and doesn't turn away until she is safe and sound in her car, driving away. She waves goodbye to him one last time in the car which he returns. He shuts and locks the door before heading back to the living room.

Esposito had already retrieved a sheet from the hall closet and was draping it over the couch when Ryan enters the room. He watches his partner trying to set up his bedding to get comfortable and he sighs, "What are you doing?"

Esposito is about to lay down, still in his work clothes and gives Ryan a hesitant response, "Uh, going to sleep?"

"On the couch? Dude, that's okay when we both pass out during Madden, but not when I've got an empty queen sized bed in the other room. Not tonight." He emphasizes.

Esposito is too tired to complain and stands back up from the couch. "Thanks, bro," He mumbles, walking beside his partner into his bedroom. He feels like the 'bro' was heavily needed because he's about to share a fucking bed with his fucking partner.

When Ryan opens his door and flicks on the light, he chuckles. "Or maybe not so empty."

On his bed is Sarah Grace curled around his pillow, sleeping soundly.

Esposito grins as he watches his partner blush, trying to explain. "She gets upset when I don't come home on time and sleeps on my bed. I completely forgot she'd probably be here. I can move her to her room-"

"No!" Esposito says a little too loudly, he's afraid for a second that he woke up Sarah Grace when she shifts on the pillow with a soft moan. "Don't wake her up, I'll crash on the couch."

He goes to turn back out of the room, but Ryan grabs his arm and doesn't let him move. "There's enough room, I'll lift her to my chest." He looks Esposito up and down once before bobbing his head towards his dresser. "And grab a pair of pajama pants, those can't be comfortable."

Esposito grabs a pair for him and Ryan and also two t-shirts. He hands the blue pants and the Yankee t-shirt to Ryan before he enters the adjoining bathroom to change into the gray sweats and the Spider-Man shirt he borrowed from his partner. When he steps out of the bathroom, Ryan is changed and laying down on his side of the bed with Sarah snuggled in his arms.

Esposito walks over to the other side of the bed and doesn't stop to think about how ridiculous it is that he's about to share a bed with his damn partner. He just pulls the blanket up and settles into the mattress, keeping a few inches between each other, but not like he's consciously making sure they don't cross invisible lines.

He switches off the bedside lamp and whispers, "'Night, Ryan."

"Goodnight, Javi." He hears Ryan's voice, soft and gentle in the dark of the room. It's too somber; Espo needs to lighten the mood, help him laugh because that's what he always does when they're in any kind of trouble. He makes a joke and gets Ryan to smile away the pain.

"You better not hog the blankets, it's bad enough you snore."

He hears Ryan chuckle besides him, it sounding much louder when the light is off. "And you better not kick."

And like that, Esposito is able to fall asleep as if he was sleeping in his own bed. He hopes that Ryan is able to do the same. They need all the rest they can get for this case.


I'd like to than everyone who continues to read, favorite, follow and review my story. It makes me so happy to see all of your thoughts of my writing.

An even bigger thanks goes to my new beta, TXMedic37. Thank you so much, you're a life saver!XD

See you guys next Saturday!