One of Our Own
She had her face stuffed into one of the pillows, only a single ear visible between the pillowcase and the curtain of her hair. Castle wasn't sure if she was sleeping or trying to gather up whatever strength she had left after Round Two. He rolled over onto his chest, reaching his hand out to trail his fingertips over the curve of her spine until it disappeared under the sheets.
"Hmmm?" she hummed, most of the sound lost in the pillow since she didn't shift her head to be heard.
"Ready for dinner now?"
This time Kate did turn her head, eyes still closed. "I guess." She inched her hand out from under the covers to let it rest against his cheek.
He captured her hand against his face. "You promise not to jump me again?"
Kate swung her legs out of the bed. "No promises," she said, heading for the bathroom. "Shower, then dinner."
Castle scrambled out of the bed, following her into the bathroom. "Can I help you get clean?"
"No." He looked sad when she twisted the hot water on. "I'm well aware of what you're idea of 'getting clean' is and I just want a shower."
The tile was warm when he gave her a gentle shove against it, capturing her lips with his as he held her against the wall. "Give me two minutes and I'll convince you that my version of 'getting clean' is the best version."
Kate pushed him away, grabbing for her shampoo. "Either take your own shower or go away and warm up dinner for us."
"You are so demanding, woman," he muttered, letting his soapy fingers trail over her waist.
"Didn't seem to mind that a few minutes ago, did you?" Kate teased, washing the extra shampoo bubbles off her hands before reaching around him for her razor.
"Keep saying things like that and I'll have no choice but to-" He was cut off when she made a grab for his ear. "Later then."
They dressed in pajamas after the shower, which had included Round Three, no plans to leave the chilly apartment for the night. With her hair tied up in a messy bun, Kate sat at the bar as she watched Castle re-heat the steak and baked potatoes he had made before she had shown up. The days of minimal sleep were catching up with her as she rested her head on her folded arms, ignoring the drops of water from her hair that trickled down her back and shoulders.
"Going to bed early tonight," he said, sliding the plate of food in front of her, nudging the fork and knife closer. "We both need the rest." Castle sat next to her, his hip pressed against hers.
"Deal," Kate responded, cutting into the baked potato and dragging the piece through the small pool of butter under it.
They watched a movie, something mindless that allowed them to spend more time curled up with one another than paying attention to the plot, before falling off into sleep with the TV screen still on the main menu after finishing the movie. Despite the warring air conditioning and heat from outside, Kate tucked herself as close as possible to Castle, letting him loop his arm over her shoulders as she buried her face into his chest. He anchored her against the dreams he knew would be teasing at the edge of her conscience after the mental exhaustion of the past three days. Her fingers were curled around the neckline of his t-shirt, holding her there with him.
She could hear the ringing of her phone from the living room.
"Don't answer it," he groaned, hugging her closer and trapping her arms between their bodies. "Voicemail."
Normally, Kate would agree, let the phone kick the caller over to her voicemail, and drift back into sleep for another few hours. But not now, not with this case. "Can't, Castle," she said, pulling away from him and untangling their legs before she jogged out of the bedroom to get the phone. She answered it just before it stops ringing, a minor miracle, but she immediately wished she had let it go.
"Beckett?"
"Yeah," she muttered, running a hand through her hair as she walked back into the office to sit in Castle's desk chair, pulling her legs up against her chest. "What's up?"
"There's another victim," Esposito said, sounding just as tired as she felt. "A Lieutenant Rachel Miller from the One-Five."
"Shit." Kate got up from the chair, leaving it spinning behind her as she ran into the bedroom and straight into a sleep-rumpled Castle. He caught her upper arms, steadied her as she shook her head. "Shit, shit, shit." Kate fumbled to put the phone on speaker, tossing it onto the bed as she scrambled to find clothes. "Am I meeting you guys at the One-Five or at the Twelfth?"
Castle took the cue to get dressed as well, tugging the t-shirt off and finding a clean button down from the closet as Kate pulled on a pair of jeans.
Esposito's voice was crackly as he spoke. "Neither. Beth Israel on West 57th."
Kate breathed out in relief. "She's alive?" Her eyes meet Castle's as she buttoned up her own shirt.
"Barely, but yeah."
She promised that she'd be at the emergency room as soon as possible and hung up on her co-worker. "Thank God," she sighed, ducking into the bathroom to brush her teeth and pull her hair up into a mess of a bun.
On the ride from SoHo to the hospital in Midtown, Kate tried to figure out which one of the task force members was Rachel Miller. She vaguely remembered the name from their list of members still alive from the research but features, personality, current division escape her. So instead of narrowing down the person, Kate ran through the possible units housed in the 15th Precinct. Another homicide unit for the Upper West Side, an anti-crime squad that used taxi cabs to catch crimes before they got too far, maybe a harbor unit since they were near the piers along the Hudson River.
She parked in the same area as the ambulance bay and Castle remembered to toss the laminated NYPD parking plate onto the dashboard as Kate started toward the automatic doors. Kate already had her badge in her hand, tipping it toward the nurse sitting behind the desk. "Detective Beckett looking for Lieutenant Miller."
"Over here, Beckett," called Ryan from down the hall. He brought them down the corridor until they were out of earshot of the room.
"She's still alive?" Kate asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets as she leaned against the wall.
He nodded, still speaking quietly. "Stable, physically, at least." When Kate only raised a brow, Ryan continued. "She was raped. Repeatedly."
Castle pushed off of the wall with a muttered "Dear God" as Kate bit down on her knuckle, hitting her head against the surface behind her.
"Yeah. It's not good but she's breathing." Ryan turned when Esposito came around the corner, running his hand over his head. "The SANE is in the room with her right now but she wants to talk to you when she's done."
"SANE?" Castle asked, pacing back toward the small group.
Kate nodded. "Sexual assault nurse examiner. Standard procedure to have one in the room during the examination."
"Detectives?" Three of the four spun to face the nurse that was at the corner of the hallway. "Rachel's asking for a Beckett?"
"Got it," she said, starting after the nurse until Castle snagged her wrist, following her. "Castle, not this time. Just… Sorry, it's a cop thing."
"Wait, Beckett!" called Esposito. "We'll head back to the Twelfth and start figuring out the next step."
"Good. Good, yeah. Castle," she said, drawing his eyes up to her. "Go with them." Before he could protest, Kate held up a hand. "It'll help. It'll be your best move right now."
He sighed but nodded, staying back with the boys as the nurse led her to one of the rooms they had passed earlier, pushing the door open. The woman sitting on the table looked nothing like any of the women from the task force. Ten years and current events obviously had changed Miller.
She had short brown hair that curled wildly around her face, reminding Kate of how her own hair dried without the aid of a hair dryer. Miller looked up when Kate stepped into the room and twin pairs of hazel eyes met across the distance. The other cop's voice is strong even as her hands shake. "Thanks for coming, Beckett."
"Of course," Kate said, picking up the extra chair in the room rather than dragging it; experience said loud noises when someone was already on edge weren't the best idea. She also knew better than to ask the obvious question of 'are you okay?' since nothing was okay right now. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"
"You're lead on Wheeler and Enright's cases, right?" When Kate nodded, Miller swallowed. "I want you on my case too."
"Okay," replied Kate, getting up to search for a piece of paper and a pen. The SANE passed her the items along with a clipboard from where she sat at the desk in the corner. "Start from wherever you can remember, Lieutenant."
