AN: Hope I didn't scare anyone away with the end of the last chapter :) Thank you guys a million times for your reviews and feedback. Makes me so happy to hear from you. Has everyone been as excited as I am about all these awesome new cast pictures and interviews and spoilery articles? Sigh, so much great Caskett this week! Anyway, without further ado, I hope you all like this chapter.

*Update* Sorry for the weirdness with the posting! It's acting up and I'm trying repost this chapter so hopefully it will work now.

Disclaimer: Still not mine!


Chapter 4

Castle couldn't sit still, his body was thrumming with anticipation of the evening to come. Kate knew he was taking her to dinner but he'd kept the tickets a complete surprise. Tickets to the Met, Parterre Center Premium. Something he'd stored away in his mind when she'd mentioned that it was a childhood dream. He'd been before, of course, but he couldn't wait to experience it beside Kate. To observe her reactions, her expressions as she felt the devastatingly beautiful rise and fall of each note.

He'd taken his time getting ready, carefully arranging his suit and jet black button up shirt on the bed before starting the shower.

He shot Kate a quick text, asking what color she was wearing so he could coordinate his tie. He was guessing deep blue. Or purple. Kate loved purple. Something else that he'd learned in their time together.

That would work perfectly. He had a purple tie he hadn't worn in a while that he loved. A Christmas present from Alexis, a few years back.

Kate still hadn't responded when he checked his phone, so he'd just gone with his gut and chosen the purple. She was probably in the middle of getting ready, showering or something. It was only 4:15, after all.

But he couldn't just sit. Too keyed up with excitement. He knew tonight was big. Six months of being officially together.

It was more than that, though. Six months going on six years of all they'd been through. And here they were. Still together.

He wanted so badly to ask her to move in. He'd been holding back the words for weeks now. He'd kind of blurted it out at one point but did his best to backtrack, not wanting to overwhelm her. He knew they were past the point of her running away. But, he wanted this to be on her time. On her terms. He would wait forever for her. There was no need to rush.

He smiled at that thought. No rush. They had forever.

One and done. Kate's words.

He glanced at his phone, almost 5:15. Oh screw it, he thought. He'd just go over early. He was too excited to wait.


He took the Ferrari.

Maybe it was a little over the top but he felt the need to expend some of his nervous energy. He wanted to feel the vibration of the engine, the steady hum of power at his control. He turned the key in the ignition and the car revved to life, responding to even the slightest touch of his foot on the gas.

Oh yeah, this was perfect.

It didn't hurt that he knew Kate secretly loved the car as much as he did. Oh, she'd never admit it but he caught the glint of desire in her eyes whenever they took it out. And sometimes she'd snatch the keys from him on nights when she was frustrated with a case. He loved how they worked out their tension with each shift of a gear. The steady climb of the speedometer mirrored their pulses, as they raced further away from the city.

So it would be a fun night, he thought as he smoothly navigated the traffic towards Kate's apartment. A night to celebrate their journey. A night full of living.


Something wasn't right. He sensed it the moment he reached her door. A wave of some feeling he couldn't quite place. Anxiety, maybe? Was it just nerves? He took a deep breath, trying to swallow down whatever it was.

And then it hit him. He was afraid. Why would he be afraid?

Geez Rick, get a grip, he scolded himself. He knocked twice on Kate's door, bouncing on his feet impatiently as he felt the sudden need to see her. To wrap her up in his arms and reassure himself that he was being ridiculous.

But a few seconds passed and he heard nothing. In fact, it was eerily quiet. No water running, no music, no footsteps. He knocked again, a little louder this time, and pulled his phone out of his pocket to check for texts.

Nothing.

Now, he was legitimately worried. He'd been around Kate and the boys long enough to know that feeling when something was wrong. When something bad had happened or was about to. It felt like that moment right before you heard the click of a gun, followed immediately by cool metal pressed against back of your head, completely blindsided.

He felt for his key to her apartment in his pants pocket, and tried to tell himself that maybe she was just in her bedroom and couldn't hear him. He could let himself in. Everything was fine.

Everything was fine, Rick.

But, the moment he opened her door he knew it wasn't.

"Kate?" he called out.

It was dark. Not a single light turned on, just a small glow of light peeking from behind her closed curtains. Something was very, very wrong.

"Kate? Are you in here?"

He took a tentative step in, trying his best to be quiet and attuned to any sound or movement from within. He didn't have any weapon. No protection at all if someone was here.

If someone had been here…

Oh God, had someone been here? He felt sick, a wave of nausea ripping through his stomach. He frantically unlocked his phone and thumbed to his contacts, dialing Kate.

Please pick up. Please pick up, Kate. Straight to voicemail. He desperately punched her at name on the screen, calling again. Over and over just to get her voicemail. "Kate, please…call me, where are you, Kate?"

He took another step, his foot hitting something wet. What was that? It was dark but the light from the hallway illuminated enough that he could make out the small puddle.

He crouched down in the hopes that he could see better and reached out to touch the liquid that seemed to have pooled in the entryway. He wished he hadn't.

He knew the moment he touched it what it was.

Blood.

Oh…oh God. Oh God, Kate.

The room spun around him as he tried to breathe. He was suffocating, drowning in the dizzying panic.

This couldn't be real.

He rose to his feet and fumbled his way to the light switch, both needing to see but not wanting to see anything.

More blood. So much blood. Kate.

He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to shut out the images. But he couldn't. They were burned into his vision, threatening to overtake him. He opened his eyes again and leaned his head back against the wall, desperately sucking in a breath. Breathe, Rick, breathe.

That's when he saw the knife.

He half ran to the counter, legs shaking, barely holding him up as he reached it.

There it sat, as if carefully placed, the blade still covered in blood. Beside a note and a picture that he immediately recognized. The picture integral to both his and Kate's murder boards.

Johanna Beckett in the alley.

He couldn't stop the moan that escaped as he poured over the note.

"Mr. Castle, Did you really think this was over just because you put my employer in jail? Did you truly believe could escape the consequences of your actions? I just thought you'd like to know how I ended your girlfriend's life. How she screamed with each thrust of this blade just like I'm sure her mother screamed the night Dick Coonan killed her."

Cole Maddox. Son of a bitch. His hands shook with the mixture of rage and grief as he continued reading.

"Don't worry, Rick, you're part of the plan too. Your time is, shall we say, ticking right now."

He shoved the note into his pocket as he ran toward Kate's bedroom, searching frantically for anything else Maddox may have left.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

He stopped abruptly. What was that sound?

Then, the explosion ripped through Kate's apartment.


Thoughts?