So here it is - hope it works...I went back and forth over this for a long time not sure if it worked out alright...but I can't think about it anymore!

AS always to my amazing betas (stella, marjo and nick)...you ladies are the best!

enjoy!

"You are never going to believe this…" Ryan said as Beckett entered the bullpen from the elevator fresh off her coffee date with Alexis.

"I don't think I even want to know at this point." She countered as she approached her desk. She took her jacket off and draped it over the back of her chair as she pulled it out and sat down, turning towards Ryan who was standing in front of the murder board.

"Cecelia Andrews alibied out."

"Please tell me you're joking?" she said, part of her actually expecting him to say he was. He's not Castle, she thought to herself knowing that only he would do such a thing to her.

"Do I look like Castle to you?" Ryan said giving voice to her inner dialogue.

"Has Esposito finished checking Carter Wilson's alibi?"

"Not yet, he was running down the professors from his classes."

"If you were both running down people at Pace how did you get back before him?"

"I'm just that good…"

"You left him there and took the car didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you speak of…" Ryan said, a slight smile playing on the edges of his lips as he turned back toward the murder board, black marker in hand, to update the space under Cecelia Andrew's name in the suspect column. "Where did Castle run off to? I haven't seen him all day…" Ryan asked after capping the marker and placing it back in the tray under the board.

"He had an interview with the Ledger …" Beckett said as she turned and noticed Esposito walking through the door looking agitated and obviously searching for his partner.

"You took the car…" he said in a measured voice to Ryan who was walking toward his desk on the opposite end of the bullpen.

"Sorry what?" Ryan said.

"You…took…the…car…"

"You…took…for…ever…" Ryan said matching Esposito's tone but adding his own hint of sarcasm.

"I was checking an alibi, bro."

"So was I…"

"Yeah well yours was easier there is no way anyone would forget that girl being in class."

"Why?" Beckett asked from her desk.

"Because she's annoying." Ryan answered. "Every single one of her professors remembers her VERY well because she's always speaking up in class…"

"Well don't professors usually like participation?" Beckett asked with a slight rise in her eyebrows.

"Not from Cecelia Andrews…" Ryan said.

"Didn't mean you had to leave me in lower Manhattan!"

"I was just supposed to sit around? We're in the middle of a homicide investigation after all." Ryan said with a smile.

"You were supposed to help out your partner."

"Hey not my fault your guy is apparently so forgettable."

"And it's not my fault your perp is so annoying!"

"You're the one who ASKED for Carter thinking he would be the weak link in a conspiracy or something…no take backs!

"That is so childish…"

"You're childish."

"Oh that's the come back…?"

"Yeah that's the come back..."

"That's lame bro, even for you…"

"Even for me!"

"Hey guys…" Beckett's voice interrupted.

"Huh?" Ryan and Esposito uttered in unison.

"I would really like to hear if Carter Wilson's alibi checked out or not…." Beckett said.

"It did." Esposito said as he and Ryan moved back toward Beckett's desk.

"WHAT?" Beckett exclaimed louder than she intended, startling the ten other Detectives and Uniforms standing around the bullpen and making them look to the trio gathered in front of the murder board. Beckett placed her hands over her face rubbing her eyes lightly with the tips of her fingers and leaned back slightly in her chair. "I…hate…this…case…" she said slowly, letting her fingers travel up to her temples as she began trying to rub away the migraine that was beginning to pound in her skull.

"Beckett…" the voice of Victoria Gates pulled her back to the moment and she removed her hands from her face.

"Yes, sir."

"What have you got on Evelyn Masters' murder?"

"Um, not much now, sir. Our latest suspects, Cecelia Andrews and Carter Wilson, both have apparently alibied out."

"Cecelia's roommate was up all night talking to her parents – they're on sabbatical in Hamburg – so she verified that Cecelia never left once she got back to the room. Every one of her professors also verified that she was in class all day Monday which covers our entire kill zone." Ryan said.

"There is a security camera at the entrance to Carter's dorm that takes video every minute, Carter never left his dorm." Esposito said.

"Well he could have snuck out of the window," Ryan said.

"Carter Wilson's RAs were patrolling the hallways pretty much every half hour after midnight and said Carter never left his room." Esposito said as he moved to cross out Carter's name under the suspect column of the murder board.

"Don't you think that's a little thin, Espo?" Beckett asked trying to ensure Gates wouldn't try to bust him in front of everyone.

"Yes it was initially." Esposito responded with a look at Beckett. "But since some of the guys had been caught sneaking out after hours, the two RA's took to actually checking IN the rooms for bodies. They went into Carter's once an hour and he was there every time. There is no way he would have had enough time to get all the way to Chelsea to get to Evie, get up to that alley and then back to Pace in less than an hour. Plus all of his professors, after some deep reflection," he said with a pointed look toward Ryan, "said he was in class. So his whereabouts are also accounted for during our kill zone."

"So what's the next move here, Detectives?" Gates asked looking from Esposito to Ryan then to Beckett.

"We are going to look into Evelyn's life with a microscope…Ryan, Espo bring her phone records back out and pull financials."

"You got it." The boys scattered and began pulling records from their desks and computers. Gates remained standing in front of Beckett's desk letting her gaze wander toward the murder board.

"The roommate, the ex-boyfriend and now the fellowship rivals have all alibied out…" Gates noted more as a statement, letting her words hang in the relative silence of the bullpen.

"We'll go back through all the notes and make sure we have alibis for every person we've talked to…"

"Sounds like the best place to start." Gates said as she turned to walk toward her office. She stopped after a couple steps and turned back to Beckett, crossing her arms lightly over her chest she regarded the Detective.

"Is there something else, sir?"

"Where is Castle?"

"Oh, he had an interview with the Ledger before the premiere tomorrow."

"Oh, yes, the Heat Wave premiere…Jonah's really looking forward to it." Gates added softly. "Just let me know what you find."

"Yes, sir…" Beckett began before her mind registered what her boss had actually said, "You and your husband will be coming to the premiere?" she asked.

"Yes, Castle invited us at the book launch Tuesday."

"Oh, well…I will let you know if we find anything regarding Evelyn." Beckett said. Gates nodded an approval and turned, walked into her office and closed the doors. Beckett closed her eyes momentarily letting her thoughts settle on Alexis' revelation not thirty minutes earlier. So the Gates' will be there anyway, this could get interesting, she thought. She let her mind mull over the revelation and admitted she was completely confused by Castle lately. She couldn't figure out why he would invite Gates to the book launch and now the premiere after Gates had unceremoniously kicked him out of her precinct. What is his angle, she thought. Then there were Beckett's own interactions with Castle at the book launch - he was acting strangely then as well. She didn't even want to think about the tingly feeling caused by his breath on the side of her face as he sang in her ear. His voice was so soft and pure it had nearly knocked her off her feet and she let herself smile a bit at the memory. But then he had walked away and left her standing in her hallway all alone. And he hasn't gotten nearly as upset as I have over Gates kicking him out, she thought, what if what he said really was just fleeting, words spoken in the moment and not meant to be heard let alone remembered. She tried desperately to tell herself that maybe it didn't matter if he meant for her to hear his words in that cemetery, but she knew she was kidding herself. If he didn't mean it then maybe that's why he isn't upset about being kicked out. She let her eyes wander toward Ryan and Esposito as they hastily retrieved print outs and files and walked towards the conference room. She took a deep breath, ran her hands through her hair, stood and walked toward the conference room, entered the room and closed the doors behind her.

Three hours later the three Detectives sat around the homicide division's conference table, which was buried under a mound of paper, files and coffee cups. Beckett rubbed her fingers over her eyes willing the blurriness that was invading the edges of her vision to dissipate. She opened her eyes and glanced back at the page on the table in front of her. It hadn't helped. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed heavily letting her hands fall on the back of her neck. She leaned her head back slightly and looked to Ryan and Esposito on either side of the table in front of her. She watched as Ryan laced his fingers in front of him and then raised his arms up straight in the air letting out a groan. Esposito closed his eyes and ran his right hand over his face letting his thumb and forefinger rest on his eyelids.

"Anything?" Beckett asked breaking the silence hanging between them.

"Zip." Ryan said.

"Nada." Esposito echoed.

"How is it that every single person in this girl's life who had a reason to want her dead has an air tight alibi for her murder?" Beckett said, not truly asking her cohorts but musing to the universe at large. She placed her elbows on the table and let her head fall into her hands. The sound of her phone ringing startled them. On the fifth ring she located her phone under a pile of Evelyn's phone records and checked the screen. She smiled when she saw the photo and name telling her Castle was calling.

"Hey Castle, how was the interview?"

"It was great." He said, "Sorry it look longer than I thought, but Natalie and Jason and I decided to grab a bite after the interview."

"Oh, well you know that we are unable to function without you, Castle. Somehow, though, we struggled through"

"Good to know that you have managed to find your way without me…well, you all I mean, not just you…" Castle responded awkwardly.

"Castle…" Beckett said, trying desperately not to convey that right before he called she found herself wanting to hear his voice.

"Look I was going to head back to the 12th but Alexis just texted me that she wanted to talk…"

"Go, spend time with your daughter. We were just about to pack it in anyways, we're getting nowhere right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Tell Alexis we say Hi and we'll see her tomorrow night."

"I will…and I'll see you in the morning?"

"In the morning…" Beckett responded and hung up the phone. She set the phone on the table and looked to Ryan and Esposito. "Let's get out of here. Everything is just starting to blur together and I can't decipher any of it anymore. We'll jump back in in the morning, ok?"

"Sounds great to me." Esposito said.

"Perfect, I can get home and spend time with my wife." Ryan said as a smile overtook his features.

"A little warm honey milk?" Esposito asked.

"Shut it," Ryan retorted. Beckett laughed and stood gathering files and her phone as the boys continued their bantering back and forth. And they joke about Castle and me practicing, she thought as she walked from the conference room towards her desk. She dropped the files on her desk and grabbed her coat.

"I'll see you guys in the morning." Beckett said. She picked up her coat and headed toward the elevator contemplating a long, luxurious bubble bath while willing herself to not think about Castle and thinking of nothing else.

Richard Castle opened the door to his loft not truly expecting to see his 18-year-old daughter sitting on the couch anxiously awaiting his return.

"You just texted me. Have you been here the whole time?" He asked her as he walked to the couch and hugged her.

"I came here straight from class."

"You're making this sound very dire, pumpkin. What's up?"

"There's just something I need to tell you and I'm not sure how you're going to take it."

"Hold that thought," he said as he took a seat next to her on the couch, "the tone makes me think I should be sitting when you expose your soul."

"Dad…" Alexis said with a tone of joking reproach, one she had used endlessly with her father.

"I'm all ears."

"CaptainGates'." She stammered in one long breath while trying to gauge her father's reaction.

"Come again…I didn't quite catch an actual word in that." He watched his daughter take a deep breath and look him directly in the eyes. Their light blue irises locked and she spoke clearly and concisely:

"Captain Gates' son, Ethan, is coming to the premiere."

"Oh, I know…" he said with a wave of his hand.

"You know? How do you know?" Alexis questioned, then a thought occurred to her that made her mind reel, "Did Kate tell you?"

"I invited Doctor and Captain Gates and, of course, Ethan by extension. Why would Beckett have told me if Ethan was coming? Does she know?"

"Well I told her…" Alexis said quietly.

"Cause I haven't seen her since I left you two this morning…" Castle said then, after registering Alexis' comment, continued: "Wait a minute, how did you tell her? How did you know I invited them if I just told you?" Castle finished his eyes narrowing in Alexis' direction.

"Kate said to just tell you up front so here it goes…Dad," she said reaching forward to grasp his hands in hers. "Ethan Gates is coming to the premiere…as my date."

"Come again…" he repeated, his face revealing that he didn't quite believe what his daughter was telling him.

"Ethan is the Teaching Assistant for Dr. Waller, my professor for contemporary American fiction. He was sitting in on my section the first week of classes. On Wednesday he came into my section again and we started talking after class and…he asked me out."

"Ethan Gates?"

"Yes."

"Asked you out?"

"Yes."

"Ethan…Gates?"

"Dad saying it over and over isn't going to help…"

"The repetition helps it stay in my brain…Ethan Gates…" he said again then let the room fall silent. Alexis rolled her eyes and regarded him with a look of annoyance and expectance.

"Dad say something, anything," she said when he remained silent. He moved to open his mouth when she clamped her hand over it and narrowed her eyes, "If you say his name again I will pinch you!"

"Ok, geez, no need to get violent." He said as he reached up to his mouth and removed Alexis hand from his face. Her hand fell to her lap. He leaned forward and placed his right hand on top of both of hers enveloping them in warmth. "You like him…" he said more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah I do." She said softly.

"Honey, why did you think you needed to hide this from me?"

"Because I know that it's not exactly the best situation, with you and Captain Gates barely even tolerating one another…"

"But that doesn't mean that you have to hide the fact that you like her son."

"So you're ok with this?" Alexis asked moving her right hand from underneath her father's hands and placing it on top of his hands.

"I think I will be once my head stops spinning…"

"Daaad…"

"I'm ok. I'm glad that you told me and didn't just show up with him tomorrow. What?" he asked when Alexis began giggling.

"Nothing…"

"No what's so funny?"

"It's just that I asked Kate what she thought I should do and she said either tell you up front or just show up with him. You two..." Alexis said. She squeezed his hands gently with hers and stood, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek and turned to walk toward the stairs.

"What do you mean "us two"?" Castle asked his daughter's retreating back. Alexis turned and regarded him for a moment before speaking:

"Just that you two have this amazing connection don't you? Your minds tend to go to the same places and you think a lot alike. I find it amazing."

"You find our connection amazing?"

"Yes, but then there is also the fact that you can both be so blind to what is right in front of you. Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Pumpkin." Castle said distractedly.

She stood in soft, dancing candlelight. She wasn't even certain where she was because she could only see rows of candles in the flawless circle, which ringed her. She turned slowly in a circle and her eyes fell on him. He walked forward and the light from the candles fell on his face and bathed him in a heavenly glow. She watched as he approached her with the candlelight glistening in his bright blue eyes. She felt his hand caress her cheek and move to run through her hair. Her pulse quickened as he moved closer into her. Closer. Closer. With each breath the small bit of space between them closed. All she would have to do was lean forward slightly and their lips would touch. She silenced every doubt raging through her head and the whisper of his name was captured in his lips on hers.

She couldn't help the feeling pulsing through her. The way her mind was spinning and the fluttering in her stomach was getting stronger and stronger the longer their lips touched. She could feel his hands moved down her back slowly and she let her hands run up his neck and buried them in his hair. She felt his hands move under her shirt and could feel the warmth of his touch on her skin making her entire body tingle. She was reeling and didn't want to stop the flood of emotion coursing through her. Her hands left his hair and raised above her as he lifted her shirt up her arms and it fell to the floor. She was captured again by the look in his eyes as he pulled her back into him…

She startled awake limbs entangled in her sheets and heartbeat racing. She could still feel the ghost of his kiss and before she could stop them her fingers rested on her lips. She breathed deeply in and out, in and out willing her mind to stop replaying the movement of his body and the feeling of his touch. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 4:00am. Looks like I'm not getting any more sleep tonight, she thought as she turned over and adjusted her pillow, settling in for another restless night.

Across town, Richard Castle tossed and turned in his bed not having slept at all. His mind kept replaying Alexis' comment about him and Kate and their blindness. He knew that Alexis had always respected Kate. But he knew Alexis had also harbored anger towards the older woman after the shooting in the cemetery 18 months ago. It went along with Castle's own insistence on returning to the precinct; and his apparent willingness to put himself in harm's way; and for what? What was the reason he continued to return, he asked himself. He couldn't escape her, did not want to escape her. He wanted to be near her. And he had to stop pretending, he knew Alexis was right about that. But not pretending he was cop, that he was part of the team…pretending that he wasn't completely in love with Katherine Beckett.

When Castle entered the precinct Friday morning the first thing he noticed were the drawn faces of Ryan and Esposito across the bullpen as they gathered files and notepads from their desks. They both looked up and noticed him as he approached Beckett's desk.

"Ah, so nice of you to bring coffee for the whole class, Castle." Esposito crooned sarcastically.

"Yeah, you're so thoughtful…" Ryan added.

"Well, I just didn't think…" Castle stammered as Beckett exited Gates' office.

"Why do you guys insist on giving him a hard time?"

"Because apparently you are the only one worthy of Castle coffee." Ryan said. Beckett smiled and reached out to grab the cup Castle extended to her. Their fingers brushed lightly, making her cheeks burn as her mind replayed the sensation of his hand caressing her cheek by candlelight. She tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and thanked him as her eyes fell from his face. She prayed he hadn't noticed the blush that bloomed in her cheeks or the look she knew was prominent in her gaze. She moved toward her desk and retrieved her stored notepad and the files, before leading the boys into the conference room.

"So what did Gates want this early in the morning?" Ryan asked after the doors had closed and they had all settled around the table: Beckett at the far end from the doors with Castle at her right, Ryan to her left and Esposito directly across from Ryan.

"Just asking if we made any headway last night."

"And how mad did she get when you told her we had nothing?" Esposito asked.

"I didn't tell her we had nothing…"

"Beckett are you lying to the Captain now?" Ryan asked.

"I did not lie, per se. I just refrained from speaking certain facts about the current status of the case."

"And they say I'm the writer…" Castle said. "You could be in public relations with a rationalization like that."

"Shut up, Castle." Beckett said tossing a pencil at him.

"Now that I have lead poisoning…did you get anywhere last night?" Castle asked as Beckett glared at him.

"Not really," Ryan answered as he noticed Beckett was continuing her glare, and Castle was glaring right back at her.

"We went back over all of the alibis and all of our notes from every interview. So far, nothing has popped." Esposito continued as Beckett and Castle continued their glaring contest.

"Ha! You blinked, I win!" Beckett said after a minute of silence tempered with not so hidden smiles from Ryan and Esposito.

"So unfair I want a do over." Castle said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Uh uh, Castle, I won fair and square."

"You are such a sore winner…"

"And now who's the sore loser?"

"I am not a sore loser…"

"So…we've been looking back over Evelyn's phone records," Ryan interjected making Beckett and Castle look toward him. "Nothing so far…"

"Why don't you hand me the bank records, I'll check those again." Beckett said directing a small smile toward Castle as Esposito handed her a file of papers. She set the file on the table, and they each fisted their coffee, pen or highlighter and buried themselves into a mound of papers.

"I never thought I would get so cross-eyed from reading!" Castle said as he ran his hands through his hair. Beckett looked up and found herself mesmerized by his ministrations. She was captivated. Castle's hands fell from his face and he caught Beckett's eye. Their eyes locked, and they held each other's gaze. Both trying to look away, yet neither one willing to be the first to do so. They both jumped when Esposito's voice reverberated through the charged air...

"Ok there is nothing weird about her phone records. She called her roommate, her ex. She called her parents every other day sometimes every night."

"Bank records aren't impressive for either Jocelyn or Ezra…everything looks normal and there is nothing outside of what their alibi's have already confirmed. Ezra has a charge at the diner Sunday night and then nothing else until Monday afternoon on campus at Pace. Jocelyn's show nothing after 6pm on Sunday night and the only charge before that was a market a block away from Chelsea Studios on 6th and 27th." Ryan said.

"Cecelia and Carter's bank records don't show anything out of the ordinary either," Castle said flipping through the papers in front of him. He looked at Beckett as she placed her fingers to her temples and again looked down at the bank statement in front of her. Only this time, something caught her eye. Castle noticed the slight lift to her shoulders and knew she had found something out of the ordinary. "What is it?"

"I think…I may have found something…" she said as she looked over the document in her hand. She uncapped a highlighter with her teeth and marked a spot about halfway down a page.

"Beckett…" Castle said but she was too engrossed to register his voice. She was in the zone now and he knew it as she reached across the table for additional files, glancing quickly through them to find the information she needed. Castle looked at Ryan and Esposito, and as they exchanged glances they leaned back in their chairs, awaiting the moment Beckett would share her revelation with the rest of the class.

you thought you were going to find out who the murderer was didn't you?

next time: unveiling a murderer and the Heat Wave premiere