Author's Note: Thank you for all the reviews! Hope you're still enjoying the story. :D

Beckett thought she heard the elevator sounding, and she turned around to see who it was. She shocked herself when she exhaled in disappointment when it was Esposito who emerged. She got her pounding heart to calm down. Geez. She was jumpy today.

Who else could have been on that elevator? It's not like... No, no, he wouldn't...

"Beckett, I got everything you want to know." Esposito said, dropping his jacket on her table for the moment. "I went through our vic's cubicle at work, nothing out of the ordinary. Mostly school related. Then I went through his desk in the classroom, and I found this," he opened his hand to reveal a scrap piece of paper in an evidence plastic bag. Beckett took it, attempting to read the faded print.

"This looks like... like an address or location. Can't quite make it out." She tried looking again at the paper. Beckett gave it back to Esposito, catching his smug grin. She found it weird, but said nothing. "Uhm, take that to Forensics, will you? Maybe they can put it under a UV light and—" She stopped talking, realizing what the grin was all about. Beckett shoved him lightly, laughing. "Cut it out, Esposito. You already know what this paper says."

"Expected less from me, Beckett?" he mockingly asked.

"I will make you pay." She chuckled. "Come on, spit it out. We haven't got all day."

Esposito turned serious as he looked down on the paper. "This is the address to our crime scene. It took me some time to get it right, but it's the address of that abandoned building and it also specifically notes the area near the back exit."

"Near the back exit," Beckett murmured. "You're right. That's exactly where our vic was found."

"We've confirmed he was killed there, right?"

She nodded. "But what was there for him? And why would he have this location kept away in his desk? It must have been important." Esposito crossed his arms, a frown creasing his forehead. "You know, Ryan told me about the guy you picked up. He could still be good for it. He gave this address to our vic to meet him there, and then he killed him."

"Hale?" Beckett asked skeptically. Though it did seem like he had the most to gain from Mr. Shapiro's death, something didn't click with Mr. Hale becoming a murderer. But they couldn't rule him out yet until they found more evidence to support another theory. "I don't know about him, but Ryan's talking to his wife right now about his alibi. We'll know soon enough."

As if on cue, Ryan appeared at a corner with a dejected expression on his face that they didn't have to comprehend. Guess Mr. Hale's alibi checked out. "We gotta let him off the hook."

Beckett nodded, giving him the signal to do the job. Ryan left them once again. Esposito crossed his large arms, a frown creasing his face. He looked like he was thinking deeply about something. She moved her head to one side and looked at him curiously. "What are you thinking?"

"Well," Esposito shrugged. "We don't really know anything about our victim except that he had the crime scene written down and that he seems to have a secret that he's keeping from everybody else. You know what I'm thinking—it's no coincidence that he died where he was supposed to be."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"His wife can't give us anything. But I have an idea on a few people who might have a lot to say about him."

"Who?" Beckett asked, a little mystified by his sudden spark of ingenuity.

"His students."

xxx

"The kids are still shaken up about the news. Mr. Shapiro was a wonderful teacher." The principal said to them as they walked down the halls. "Never got a complaint on him in his five years with us. It's just remarkable how he connects with his students. It is such a shame that he's gone."

"How many are there in his class, Mr. Higgins?" Beckett clarified. Her heels clicked on the tiled floors loudly. "Twenty-two. I've informed them of your arrival and I assure you they will be on their best behavior."

Beckett smiled. "Thank you."

A few heads appeared in the doors, watching with ever curious eyes at Beckett and Esposito. She hoped they didn't look too official. She wanted them to open up to her a little. "Detective… Beckett, correct?"

"Yes."

"A fair warning." Principal Higgins started. His eyes showed amusement. "There is a certain gentleman in class that is very… well, how do I explain this… He's very well versed with the ladies. Very charming. Knows how to talk his way into things. Quite a talker. I see you are an attractive woman. He will flirt with you, at the very least, if the pain hasn't registered yet."

Esposito's cheeks puffed out, his cheeks turning dark. Beckett wanted to kick his shin for wanting to laugh at the rather awkward prediction.

She fought back a blush and forced a pleasant smile to grace her lips. "That's good to know. I'll be wary of him, thank you."

The stout, gray-haired man slowed down in front of a door. They could hear the voices of the students and the scrapes against the floor as desks were moved around inside. As Beckett thought he was going to knock, he instead turned to them with a serious expression.

"Detectives, there is only one thing I request of you."

"What's that?" Esposito asked.

"If you could conceal your weapons while you are with them—they're still children, even at sixteen."

"Of course."

He led them inside the room quietly. Beckett noticed their eyes slightly widening at their sight, as if it were all too real to believe. Mr. Higgins cleared his throat, standing erect. "Kindly clear your desks of any unnecessary things." His tone was soft. "These are the detectives I told you about earlier. They're here to ask you some questions about Mr. Shapiro. I know it's a hard time for you kids, but I need you to cooperate. Understand?"

Their faces remained almost blank and without expression. The boy sitting in the first row was absentmindedly looking out the window, as if he wished he was anywhere but in the classroom. A girl in the back observed worriedly, the rims of her eyes red. And there was a boy in the middle row who had his head bent down low, avoiding eye contact with anyone. He was the only one still properly situated in his place. He didn't bother to openly share his grief like his classmates did.

Beckett heard Mr. Higgins give a low sigh. "Call me if you need anything." He told Beckett and Esposito. He gave one last look at the class before leaving the classroom. The door hit the frame lightly, and everybody turned to look at it as if it were the biggest thing that happened. She noticed that they were all looking for a distraction. Like they would do anything not to remember that their teacher was gone.

"My name is Detective Kate Beckett. This is Detective Javier Esposito." She started. "We're from the NYPD, and as your principal said, we're here to ask for your help. At the same time, we are doing our best to find out what happened to Mr. Shapiro."

Someone's hand shot up. "Yeah?" Beckett was surprised. She didn't think anyone was in the mood to talk. "What happened?" The one asking was a handsome boy of sixteen with golden hair and almond shaped blue eyes. "The news were saying that someone killed Mr. Shapiro. Why would anyone wanna do that?"

Esposito smiled sympathetically. "We don't know what motive there is involved yet. That's part of why we're here."

"Do any of you know why anyone would want to hurt your teacher?"

This time no hands went up. Everyone started to look at each other.

"If there's something you want to tell us, you can come up and we can talk privately about it, if that's what you want." Beckett suggested, scanning the sea of young faces.

"No, that's why our class has always worked, it's because we shared everything. No secrets. We're one big family—that's what Mr. Shapiro taught us." A brunette student spoke up. "Mr. Shapiro was the best teacher we could ever ask for. He taught us everything we needed to know about school and about life. He was always there for us."

Murmurs went around the classroom and some students nodded their head affirmatively. Beckett went to stand at one corner of the classroom. "Do any of you know then, if Mr. Shapiro had problems?"

"He was being his usual self." A student answered. "Nothing different. If he told us about what he was going through then we would help him. Maybe he wouldn't be dead."

"None of this is your fault, okay?" Beckett chided gently. "You can still help him. Help him by helping us. What can you tell us about him?"

"Mr. Shapiro practically lived here. He was always around. If he wasn't checking papers, then he was on the phone with students trying to help with their problems. If he wasn't in class, then it was because he was too tired from the party that he had to drag my drunk self out of the other night." The handsome boy said. "He was that kind of teacher."

"Sounds like he kept busy with you guys." Esposito remarked.

"Yeah. We could tell when he had a fight with his wife but he would never admit it to us. He didn't like to worry us about it."

"Did they argue often?"

"I guess. Mr. Shapiro was so busy here that he forgot about home."

"Ethan, come on. You know Mr. Shapiro wasn't like that." Another boy protested, sounding distressed.

"I'm not saying he neglected his responsibilities to his wife on purpose. I'm just saying what I think."

Beckett raised her hand to stop whatever was about to come next. She didn't feel like needing to draw her gun to get two, angry, teenage boys away from each other; especially since the principal said the opposite. The boy named Ethan shot the other boy a heated stare but said nothing.

Esposito watched them carefully. He looked ready to get in between them incase a fight broke out, though she guessed he wasn't looking forward to it at any point.

"Ethan's right. This is why we're here. We don't know Mr. Shapiro the way you guys do, so we need you to tell us. Whatever you share to us will be kept confidential unless it is pertaining to the case. We need information to understand why." Beckett explained.

"I'm just saying, Mr. Shapiro's already dead. Why can't we give him the same respect while he was still alive?" The other boy spoke up. Clearly, he wasn't done with Ethan.

"We are not here to form judgements, okay? We care about what happened to your teacher. We want the truth. Don't you want that?"

The class was silenced by her words.

Finally, the calm-looking girl who looked like she led the class exhaled, looking up at Beckett. "What do you want to know?"

xxx

"I don't get it. It's like he's two different people." Beckett said to Esposito in a low voice. They were walking back to Beckett's car, the sun coming down on them as they crossed the wide school ground. She tucked her hands inside her coat pockets and looked at Esposito as he replied, "There's no overlap in their statements."

She nodded. "We got one person claiming that he obviously had a problem with his character, while we got 22 kids as witnesses to his perfect teacher title. I mean, what are we supposed to even base his profile on?"

"His good reputation has been adding up so far."

"But that still doesn't help us answer why he went there and why he wasn't wearing his wedding ring. Central park isn't hooker central."

Her car's lights flashed and the doors unlocked. Beckett gripped the handy car remote in her hand. "There's something we're not seeing. I mean, come on, Esposito, do you really believe he's that good of a person?"

Esposito went to the passenger side, pausing at the door to answer her question. "Well, he forced a gay teenager to watch porn. There's nothing noble about that."

"I feel like he's keeping a dirty secret or something." Beckett said to him. She got settled in her seat but didn't start the car right away. Instead she was contented on sitting for a few more minutes to let her mind work. Esposito had the same intention.

She cleared her throat. "I don't know if I'm being too critical, but those kids aren't telling us everything. Even a saint lost his temper once or twice. Mr. Shapiro could have yelled at them in class or thrown their notebooks to the ground but they wouldn't tell us even if it did happen."

"You're being too critical." Esposito smiled. "Their teacher just died and they think that by talking to us openly, it would be like betraying him. I noticed. They made him sound too good."

"Protecting his image even after death."

Esposito sighed. "If we find out what killed him, then we can start from the point."

"Right. Let's go back and see how far Lanie has gone."

Beckett turned the key, and the engine sputtered to life. There was a low, rumbling sound that they heard from the car, but it didn't ring normal. There was another noise coming from underneath the car too. The engine covered it up pretty good. Beckett grimaced at both sounds with a pissed shine in her green eyes. She'd told the department about her dying car and they promised her a replacement within the month. Obviously they hadn't come around to it yet, but if she heard the same sounds again in October, she wasn't going to be so polite anymore. She fumbled with the air conditioning while Esposito watched.

"Are we going to make it to the precinct or should I call us a cab?"

She looked at him with narrowed eyes and a small smirk. "Don't make fun of my car. He's protected me from bullets and horny blind dates."

"He?"

"Just shut up, Esposito."

"Why can't your car be a she?"

"Unless you want out of your transportation back to the precinct, do me a favor and zip your mouth."

Beckett grabbed her seatbelt and pulled it over her body. She glanced up at Esposito, who was looking out the window. She ignored the fact that he was most likely just laughing with no sound coming out of his mouth. Typical of him. She turned the wheel and eased the car out of its parking position. Esposito shifted in his seat as he watched out for the sudden appearance of cars who had no regard for the speed limit. When they were safely on the main road, he moved again to face the dashboard. As he did, his seat creaked loudly.

She frowned slightly at his half-amused, half-surprised facial expression. He moved his leg, and a slow sound of air releasing made his jaw drop. It sounded remarkably close to a person's fart.

"That wasn't me, Beckett."

This time she had to smile. "I know. It does that sometimes."

Esposito chuckled. "I remember Castle saying he was embarrassed to have suspects in your car. I now know why."

Beckett tensed up behind the wheel as soon as his name slipped. She tried not to let it get to her. She pretended not to hear, focusing her attention on her driving. But it was already out and as much as she wanted Esposito's statement to enter one ear then leave the other, everything was so clear in her head. She could listen to Castle's voice in her mind repeating those words with no end. It burned her throat when she realized she remembered the day he told her that. He wanted a Batmobile or something close to it.

It sounded ridiculous and totally like him back then, but Beckett realized that it would hit her everyday just how much she missed hearing off the charts suggestions and impossible requests. Castle always had the knack for those kinds of things.

"Alexis dropped by, didn't she?" Esposito tried again.

"Yes. We talked."

"About Castle?"

She became tight-lipped again. He was swimming in uncharted waters, but if he really wanted to push her buttons, then let him. Beckett was sure he would regret it afterwards.

"I miss the guy, you know. I know you do too, but you'll never admit it." He continued. "At least if he were here, he could offer us a crazy theory that might be right all along. You remember how he does that."

"Sure. It's only been a month, Esposito. I don't have memory loss."

"And yet you do your best to forget he ever existed."

A lump formed in her throat. She pinned her lips against one another, holding the steering wheel with unnecessary muscle. The thing with detectives is that they're trained to see the all the hidden clues. The thing with Detective Esposito is he speaks his mind about what he sees. And he's not afraid of it. Beckett has always been thankful for his frankness on most matters, but right now she felt frustrated at how he saw right through her. She'd wanted to go through her turmoil privately, but clearly she didn't know her friends well enough.

She laughed, sounding shaken. "What is there left to do, right?"

Esposito's smile slid off his face. The look on her face freely said that this wasn't something you can shake off. Or that Castle was the kind of person you could just laugh your way out. It took a lot for Beckett to react to a situation that way. Usually when that happened, the facade of being so tough and intimidating faded. That was how she looked like right now. Upset.

"He cares about you. I don't have to tell you that." He said. "But maybe you need to hear it."

"I don't how to make things right, Esposito." Beckett admitted softly. "Castle is just… He's not like the other men in my life. He's different—he's good different."

"You can call him up. Pick up the phone. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

"If Castle did that to me, I wouldn't be so sure I'd forgive him."

"You're not Castle. God only knows what the man would go through for you."

"Exactly." She sighed. "I don't want to be the kind of person who repeatedly hurts someone like him. He's done so much for me. He'd take a bullet for me, I know. And look at how I treated him. It's my fault we're not speaking."

"So you blew things out of proportion; who doesn't do that sometimes? It happens to the best of us, Beckett."

"Castle is the best. And he deserves the best."

"You are the best person for him."

"No. No, I'm not." She sounded distant and unemotional. "What made him stick around, I don't know."

Esposito looked at her with knowing dark eyes. "Three years later and you're still asking that question?"

"I don't want to hurt him anymore."

"And time away from you isn't hurting him?"

Beckett shook her head strongly. "I messed up. One day, he's going to realize that and it's going to be over. What I'm doing now is I'm preparing myself for what's to come."

"Listen to your heart, Beckett. I know that it's not what you want. You know deep inside that he's not done with you, and you're not done with him." Esposito argued. "When two people love each other, they are always going to find ways to fix things."

"I never said—"

"You don't have to."

They stopped at a red light. Beckett turned to him, her eyes brimming over. She'd been feeling like she'd lost total control over her emotions. The topic about Castle got to her, and it showed just how much he meant to her.

"If Ryan hears this, he'll have a laugh out of it; but Castle could be your soulmate and something equivalently dreamy to that, and you're just choosing to let him go?"

His words rubbed off on her and she chose not to say anything at the instant.

"I will have a laugh out of it, Esposito, but right now Beckett needs us." Ryan's voice filled the car.

"What the hell—" Esposito reached into his back pocket. The call had been on for half the duration of their time in the car.

"Your butt dialled me."

"Excuse me?"

"You must have sat on your phone and accidentally called me. Interesting butt of yours, it even put me on speakerphone."

That was the ice breaker.

Beckett broke out into a big smile, and even chuckled.

"So you just listened in to our conversation for ten minutes, huh?"

"What can I say; you were doing a great job with Beckett." Ryan paused. "Hey Beckett."

"Hi, Ryan." She replied, smiling.

"Seriously speaking, I just want to let you know that we all make mistakes and there are people willing to forgive them. We could tell how happy you were with him, right, Javy?"

Esposito nodded.

"We look out for you, you know, and we'd do anything for you not to get hurt by some dirt bag. He's good for you, Beckett. You heard it from us. Castle's good for you."

"But am I good for him?" She couldn't help but ask.

"All the guy could think about before he met you were dancing girls with fake breasts and the next party he was going to host. Now when we finish a case, you actually see him caring about what happened. And not just so he could get a story out of it. He wants to bring justice to the victims. Who do you think taught him that? So yeah, I'd say you're good for him."

She heard what she needed. She looked over with fondness at her two friends. Though her mind was not entirely made up, it made her think about some things.

Maybe things didn't have to end.

"I love you guys." Beckett said earnestly.

He cares about you…

God only knows what that man would go through for you…

You are the best person for him…

He's not done with you…

You're not done with him…

We could tell how happy you were with him…

Castle's good for you…

You're good for him…

When two people love each other…

Author's Note: I am so sorry for making you wait this long. I suck, I know that. Please tell me you guys will still read my story?

The next chapter will be from Castle's point of view, so we'll see how he's doing. R&R! Thank you! :)