Chapter 7

Rick and Kate opened their eyes at almost the same moment. "Happy New Year," Rick whispered, brushing Kate's hair back from her temple.

"Seems like we christened it last night," Kate said, trailing a finger down the stubble on his jaw.

"I'm always up for an encore," Rick said, raising an eyebrow.

"I have noticed that," Kate replied. "I could get the champagne," she teased.

"I had another form of intoxication in mind," Rick told her, bringing his lips toward hers. Rick drank of the taste that was uniquely Kate, pulling her ever closer until her breasts flattened against his chest. An inner heat rose as the friction increased, skin against skin. It spread through them, demanding more. Rick kissed Kate ever more deeply as she guided him to where she was open and ready. It was almost too much and they stilled for a moment, absorbing the feel of each other, only to be overtaken by an irresistible force to move again, to take even more. Rick slipped a hand between them, bringing Kate to the peak, where he met her. They jumped off together, cradling each other in the plunge, resting together as they touched earth.

They didn't rest long. Beckett's phone buzzed. It was time to go to work. The body rested in the snow outside a fraternity at Hudson University. The ever pleasant Perlmutter leaned over it. "Happy New Year, Perlmutter," Castle greeted him.

"It was until you got here, Mr. Castle," Perlmutter retorted.

"Got an ID on the victim?" Beckett asked.

She was answered by an approaching Ryan. "Vic's name is Fred Prochett the third. He was a member of the Alpha Beta Fraternity. He was identified by the one member who wasn't drinking last night.

"Religious prohibition?" Castle asked.

"No, out of rehab. Still on Antabuse," Ryan replied.

"What was the COD?" Beckett asked.

"Right now it looks like he froze to death, but I'll know more when I get him back to the lab," Perlmutter told her.

"How does someone freeze to death right outside his own frat house?" Castle asked. "That's crazy. All he would have to do would be to go inside."

Perlmutter sighed in exasperation. "Mr. Castle, when I have more information I will be sure to let Detective Beckett know."

"Perlmutter, I too, so enjoy our little talks," Castle told him.

It seemed unlikely that a canvass would uncover any witnesses, but Esposito started one anyway. It fell to Beckett to make the notification. The Prochets lived in a multimillion dollar apartment on Central Park West. The door was opened by the housekeeper, who was hesitant to wake her employers, but upon seeing Beckett's badge and the look in Beckett's eyes, went to get them.

Fred Prochet was irritated and bleary eyed. "What kind of trouble did my son get himself into now?" he asked. "Whatever it is, you can talk to our lawyer."

"Mr. and Mrs. Prochet," Beckett said gently. "can we sit down?"

Mrs. Prochet ushered Beckett and Castle into the livingroom. "Mr. and Mrs. Prochet," Beckett continued, "I am so sorry, but your son Fred was found this morning. He's dead."

Fred Prochet looked dumbfounded. Evelyn Prochet twisted the sash of her robe as tears brimmed in her eyes but didn't quite fall. "What happened?" she asked. "Did someone hurt him?"

"The medical examiner hasn't fully established a cause of death, but there were no signs of violence," Beckett explained. "You'll be notified as soon as we have more information. Once again, we're very sorry for your loss."

As they walked toward the car, Castle looked almost as white as the snow. "Are you all right?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle answered. "That boy was Alexis' age. I know how they felt because it's how I felt when Sara El-Masri was returned and Alexis wasn't. The world just stops." Kate and Rick held each other as tiny flakes of snow frosted their eyelashes and hair.

Beckett was filling out endless paperwork at the 12th when she got a text from Perlmutter to come to the morgue.

"Fred Prochett did freeze to death, but that wasn't the primary cause of death," Perlmutter explained when Beckett and Castle arrived.

"What was?" Castle asked.

"I was getting to that Mr. Castle," Perlmutter replied grouchily. "He had a blood alcohol content of 3.2. That can cause stupor, coma, seizures, or in his case hypothermia. He had already lost the ability to regulate his body temperature. The weather just finished the job."

"He drank himself to death?" Castle asked.

"That's what I just said, Mr. Castle," Perlmutter told him. "He died of alcohol poisoning."

"What are you thinking, Castle?" Beckett asked as they returned to the 12th.

"That it could have been me. I've done more than my share of tying one on. Once you've had a few too many, you never think about the consequences. It's stupid and senseless. I'm going to make doubly sure that the staff at the Olde Haunt know when to cut someone off. How are you going to tell his parents?"

"There is no good way. I'll just do it as gently as possible."

Beckett finished her call to the Prochets, closed her eyes and put her head in her hands. From his chair at the side of her desk, Castle reached out to touch her shoulder. "It never gets any easier, does it?" he asked.

"No, it doesn't," Beckett answered.

"Normally I'd ask you if you wanted to go for a drink," Castle told her, "but under the circumstances, I'm just going to ask if you want to go home."

"Yeah Castle, I do," Beckett answered,"but let's pick up a strawberry shake on the way."

Dinner in the loft was a quiet affair. Beckett sipped her shake while Castle prepared a simple meal of chicken breasts, nuked potatoes, and a salad. Neither Beckett nor Castle wanted to discuss the day's events and they certainly didn't want to talk about them in front of Martha.

After Martha had disappeared to review some script revisions, Rick held Kate across his lap, her head on his shoulder. "What can I do to make things better?" Rick asked.

Kate stroked his cheek and kissed him lightly. "You're doing it."

A/N Sorry if this is a downer. What would you expect from Perlmutter? There will be more news, (from Lanie), in the next chapter, I promise.