Title: Secrets

Disclaimer: Yup, all rights for Castle belong to ABC and the wonderfully talented Andrew Marlowe.


As the elevator rose, Castle couldn't help but fiddle with Beckett's fingers as they stood beside each other. Even though they had all the space of the car they chose to stand closer than usual. Their shoulders touched, now clothed and masked through fabric. Though the polyester of his coat and the leather of her jacket were contrasts, it was an outward reflection of their relationship.

The small ding went off and the writer released Beckett's hand. His fingers slid off her skin and to his side but his eyes lingered on her frame.

She smirked, "Keep looking at me that way and they're bound to find out."

Castle returned the smirk making his eyes crinkle and shine but followed her regardless through the busy precinct. Ryan and Esposito were at their desks filling out paperwork. It seemed like a dull day for the team but at the same time it was a good day. Castle and Beckett were still alive, Ryan and Esposito got them out of trouble like usual, and everyone was still breathing with a heart that beats.

Ryan's head perked up as Beckett's heels clacked against the laminate flooring. Her footsteps were always identifiable since she was one of the only women detectives who wore three-inch heels to work everyday. Well, nearly everyday. Ryan gave them his boyish grin and stopped his work.

"Look at you two coming in together." He said lacing his hands together.

Esposito reclined in his seat and laughed, "Yeah, how was last night? Anything good happen?"

Leave it to the men to act like children. But Castle and Beckett had a firm agreement that no one besides Alexis and Martha were to know. It suited them just fine and they were tough enough to withstand the ridicule.

Beckett shook her head and proceeded forward towards her desk. They were across from each other in the bullpen giving the detective the perfect angle to deliver a deadly glare. Castle shook his head at the two and followed his partner.

"It was fine," he said with his back to the male detectives. "Though I have a knot the size of Texas in my back."

Beckett smirked and knew what Castle was doing. He was writing the story like always. That's what their entire relationship seemed like, one giant story that detailed their lives and left no stone unturned.

"Not my fault, Castle. I told you to go home."

"Psh," Esposito remarked. "You slept on her couch?"

Castle nodded stretching his back. Beckett refrained from eyeing his butt though neither male detective could see her. "Yes, but what makes this tale more grim is that she doesn't have a TV."

"You don't have a TV?" Ryan questioned slouching over his desk.

Esposito was turned around and facing the partners now. "What is wrong with television? You learn so much."

Castle pointed to the males, "See, that's what I told her. But, in Beckett's defense she's classier than most women. She reads rather than watching crappy reality shows."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Castle. I guess there's only one real man here."

The two were about to protest till Captain Gates peered out through the doorframe. Even the captain looked at ease today, which seemed to be a first. She scanned the room at first and stopped at the partners.

"Beckett, may I have a word with you?" she asked in her cool collected tone.

The detective's lips pursed together and she nodded.

"Want a refill?" Castle obliged as she left her desk.

She looked over her shoulder and nodded, "Thanks."

The writer watched as her frame went through what used to be Montgomery's office and proceeded to close the door behind her. The blinds were already drawn which meant more was happening than just a talk. Whatever was happening in there was serious and Castle had an endless ache that something was up.

He shook the supernatural pang away and went into the break room. The writer cleaned the travel mugs and grabbed two NYPD white mugs for them. The ceramic warmed as the coffee spilled into it and filled nearly to the brim. Castle gave Beckett's two sugars knowing she'd need the energy.

Detective Ryan knocked on the door just as Castle was finishing.

"Hey, I've got something for you."

Castle looked at him and back to the coffee. "How sweet, you remembered our anniversary."

"Ha ha, smartass." Ryan remarked closing the door. Both Castle and Beckett were now trapped behind closed doors and awaiting their fate. What did Ryan have that was important?

"You remember for the Weldon case how you asked me if anything came up to tell you?"

Castle set the mugs down and moved closer to his friend. "Not so loud, but what did you find?" the writer peered around the room making sure no one else was around. The other door was open but he hoped no one would come in.

Ryan opened up a manila folder and chose some pages. "Two calls were made from Jordan Norris' cell that matched to some of the numbers off Lockwood's." he looked up at Castle. "You were right, they're connected."

Castle ran his right hand over his mouth trying to think of the next move. Sometimes a well-placed pawn is better than a king. That's all he was in this game, a simple pawn of the mystery man's doing. Somehow he was choreographing this entire thing behind the scenes and making sure Beckett and Castle were safe and out of the way.

The writer examined the pages and shook his head. The numbers matched but both were traced back to burner cells and there was no GPS on those.

"Whom does the number belong to?"

Ryan shook his head quickly checking over his shoulder and past Castle. "No idea, but there was another number from that burner cell we traced to Norris and Lockwood had the same number."

Castle's brow furrowed as he tried to dissect this case. Two numbers linked between Norris and Lockwood. The same two numbers tied to Beckett's case, which inevitably led back to Johanna Beckett's murder. Castle tried seeing the connection but could only see the line of succession as this all trickled back towards Beckett and her mother. First Coonan, then Raglan, then McCallister, then Lockwood, and finally Montgomery. Their trusted friend, mentor, and captain was the final player in this game. But it wasn't over just because those key players were out. No, the mystery man was still orchestrating something and keeping Castle and Beckett safe from the real leash holder.

Everything they had been over seemed to disappear and in serious need of fine-tuning. Castle knew that tonight, when Beckett was asleep or off somewhere, he needed to go over all this information again and find the connection. This was a needle in a haystack but he wouldn't give up till that needle was found and they were all safe.

"What about that number?" Castle asked examining the page again.

Ryan tapped the page, "Traced it back to a Owen Knight." The detective flipped the page and showed Castle an older looking man. He had to at least be the same age as Martha.

Castle shook his head, "I don't get it. We've been over all their lives with a fine-toothed comb and yet this guy, Knight, never came up once. Even when Beckett and I were investigating that fire this guy didn't come up."

He looked back at the man's face. He was clean cut with gray hair that receded slightly. No stubble or even shadow on his face. But the man had piercing blue eyes that struck Castle in his soul. Owen Knight did not look like a coldblooded killer or a criminal.

"What's his story?"

Ryan opened up the folder again and started to recite the summary. "Knight has been in the film industry since he was twenty and has been a very successful screenwriter. Knight retired about five years ago and moved to Connecticut with his family. Says he still lives there now."

A screenwriter involved with three dirty cops, and two hired hands? This was starting to look like one of Castle's books now.

"I don't get it," Castle said looking Ryan in the eyes. "Why would all these guys need a screenwriter that's not even in the state anymore?"

Ryan shrugged, "I don't know. I can try to do more digging, but—"

"No, you're not digging anymore. You've helped me out and now it's my turn." Castle tried to take the folder from his friend but Ryan pulled it away.

"Does Beckett know yet?"

"Know what?" he asked reaching for the folder again.

"That you're still investigating her case." He said in a stronger tone.

Castle looked down and touched his fingertips to the counter. The coffee was cooling now and he hoped Beckett had returned to her desk.

"Uh, no, she doesn't know. But she doesn't need to either."

Ryan sighed, "You can't just hide this from her."

Castle peered at the man and tried to reason with him. Yes, he was most likely making a mistake but it was necessary. The writer needed to keep Beckett safe at all costs, and if hiding this from her was how he did it, then that needed to happen.

"Kevin, they will kill her if she opens this again. We all know her, and Kate will just jump down that hole and not come back. I can't lose her, we can't lose her."

Ryan's off blue eyes were filled with compassion and understanding. If he and Jenny were in the same place then he would do the same thing. Neither man could lose the one they loved, though as far as Ryan knew, Castle and Beckett were simply friends and partners.

"Fine," Ryan stated. "But Esposito and I want in. You're not handling this by yourself."

And then there were three. Two more people involved in this infinite chess game that only continued to grow and exceed all of Castle's expectations. The deeper they dug the more difficult it was to come out of this. Either everyone was gone or the person at the heart of this chess game, the king who Castle needed to topple, was busy sending out his henchmen to take the other players out. It was a dangerously twisted game but Castle refused to give up. With this information, with a name, he at least had a new stepping-stone.

Castle sighed but resided with allowing his friends to join. "Fine, before I leave today I need that folder. You and Esposito can come over tomorrow night."

"What's wrong with tonight?"

A uniform came through dumping their mug in the sink not paying any attention to their conversation.

"I have plans tonight. Get me the folder and show up tomorrow. There's a lot that I need to explain."

Ryan leaned against the counter. "How much have you found out?"

The writer shook his head. "Now is not the time to ask me. I will explain everything tomorrow and answer any of your questions."

The male detective nodded and patted his shoulder. "Whoever this guy is we'll get him."

Castle swallowed and felt uneasy by that same gnarl that twisted itself into his stomach that morning. "That's the same thing we told Kate and look at how much farther we are now."

Ryan opened his mouth but shut it instantly. He gave Castle one last nod and left the room. The writer watched as his friend and new co-conspirator left. His heart was pounding as he tried to get his mind off the newest bit of information. Castle couldn't bother with this now, he had to play it off and not let Beckett suspect anything. Well that would be easy now.

He palmed the mugs and felt that nearly all the warmth had left the ceramic vessels. He re-poured the dark bitter liquid, added more sugar to Beckett's drink, and left the room behind.

That's what he needed to. Rather than playing an imaginary chess game in his head he needed to focus on the web they were all connected to. At the heart of this web was Kate Beckett, his partner. But soon the 'Dragon' as McCallister had once said would soon swoop down and successfully get rid of Kate Beckett and leave an endless hole in Castle's life.

"You okay?" Beckett asked as he stood before her.

He didn't even realize his legs carrying him the entire way over to his seat. He was too lost in thoughts and not paying attention to the now. Castle nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"Yeah, just having a moment." He placed the now warm mug in front of her and took his seat.

"That's sweet." Beckett said taking the mug away from her lips. A small half circle shined with her pale pink lip-gloss and her nose was crinkled.

"I try," Castle said taking a sip of his own.

She kicked his knee. "I mean the coffee. How much sugar did you add?"

He shrugged, "Two spoonfuls."

The detective tried it again and cringed. "I'm going to dump this and clean out the mug because this tastes like pure sugar."

Castle sighed, "It can't be that bad."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really, then you try it."

She put the mug right under his nose and Castle caught the whiff of pure sugar. Looked like he lost track of how many spoonfuls actually went into the black liquid.

"What did Gates want?" he tried changing topics quickly so Beckett wouldn't bother with the coffee. He needed to get his mind off Ryan and Esposito who seemed to glance his way every few minutes.

Beckett puffed out air and propped her head up. "She was wondering how I felt and if I needed to take the weekend."

Castle laughed, "But knowing you, you gracefully declined?"

She sighed and looked into the mug. Even though it was warm the consistency was grainy and the taste was entirely too sweet and didn't leave the bitter tang she enjoyed.

"I've got a job to do, Castle. I can't just sit out because I don't feel well."

"No, but sometimes you should."

Beckett's tongue flicked against the backs of her teeth. She was biting her tongue from starting another argument with Castle especially because their new relationship was going somewhat smoothly so far.

"Castle, we are not starting this here. When we're at your place or mine we can argue and bicker but here, at work, you and I need to stay on task."

He waggled his eyebrows and smirked at her. The writer leaned in trying to get close to Beckett though they were in a room full of cops that knew them. Her breath was a nice combination of mint, coffee, and sugar that bit his sensory receptors. She looked good in the light blue button down blouse beneath her black leather jacket. This woman had a fantastic sense of fashion and knew exactly what to purchase to accentuate all her features.

"So," he asked in a husky voice. "Does that mean no fooling around?"

Beckett's eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips, but they lingered at his lips for entirely too long. "Only behind closed doors, Castle."

The elbow he had propped up on her desk shot down causing his entire body to jerk downward. Beckett couldn't resist the self-righteous laugh that graced his ears and shine her beautiful smile his way.

"You're way too easy, Castle."

He adjusted his coat and smoothed out his hair. "And you're a complete tease, Katherine."

"Yo, Beckett." Esposito voiced across the bullpen. He held the desk phone in his right hand and gave her the nod. It was their shorthand signal that they had a dead body and a murder in need of solving.

She stood and grabbed her keys and phone. Her fingers grazing across her badge and gun, the typical check she always did before leaving anywhere. "Come on, Castle."

He turned to the boys who were busy getting their jackets and heading over.

"Where we headed?" Castle questioned following the three towards the elevator.

"43rd and Lex." Esposito voiced hitting the button.

Beckett glanced over her shoulder. "Since when do you complain about a dead body?"

Castle shrugged, "I'm just saying I thought you guys were off till Saturday."

Ryan shook his head clasping his hands together. "Nope, since we showed up today dispatch handed us the case."

The bell dinged and the four friends and colleagues gathered together into the elevator car. Esposito and Ryan gave Castle a look while Beckett punched in the first floor. He returned it with a single finger over his lips and the two men nodded. Everything was based off secrets even those close to one's heart.


Author's Notes: And let the drama begin. I know, I'm treading in slightly AU waters but it'll be okay. Personally, I can't see Castle keeping his involvement away from Esposito and Ryan and knew that I had to somehow incorporate them in. And then there were three conspirators.

KP, aka Ashley