Ava sat in the coffee shop the next morning, tired as all hell. She hadn't slept the night before, because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was that bullet coming straight at her. Kate had passed out on the couch after midnight, and Ava just stayed up most of the night watching TV. She finally dozed off around three in the morning, barely able to keep her eyes open. Maybe a little caffeine will wake me up, Ava thought. Even though she didn't drink coffee, Ava had stopped by the shop anyways, and finally settled on a green tea.

Now, she sat at an empty booth, just staring blankly at the table top. She felt tired, and a little sick. She took a sip of her tea, ignoring the fact that it was extremely hot. The burning sensation helped wake her up, and at this point, her head didn't even recognize pain. But it did recognize a familiar face walking into the coffee shop: Richard Castle. He stepped cheerily into the short line, not even seeming to notice that Ava was only a few feet away. Or, so she thought. A few minutes later, the tall, ruggedly handsome author was standing at her booth, holding a Styrofoam cup out to her.

"One hot-chocolate, with whipped cream and sprinkles." He said, his bright blue eyes seeming to twinkle. Ava looked at him, and smiled for the first time that day.

"Mr. Castle, I do believe you just read my mind." Ava said, taking a swig of the drink. The combination of chocolate and whipped cream instantly put her in a better mood. She motioned for Castle to sit across from her at the booth. He sat down almost hesitantly, Ava thought. He seemed troubled. But why?

"So, Mr. Castle, what can I do for you?" Ava said, trying to lighten the tension that had seemed to settle over them.

"Actually, I was hoping there was something I could do for you." He said, glancing guiltily at the floor, pausing while Ava took another sip of her drink. "Ava, Kate told me what happened last night."

At this, Ava choked a little on her drink. Castle stood up to help, but she motioned that she was okay.

"Damn, why is it that every time you talk to me, I end up choking on hot chocolate?" Ava giggled uncomfortably. Castle didn't laugh. He had a serious look set on his face.

"Ava, is there something that- that you might need to talk about?" He stuttered. Only then did Ava realize the gravity of the situation. Richard Castle wasn't here for small-talk: he had come here to help her. He knew she was in pain. No, not just in pain, more like agony, despair, desolation. She was hurting inside, and she was denying it. And that thought, that was the last straw. She finally broke down, tearing up a little.

"Look, I- I'd rather not talk about it here. Could we maybe go somewhere else?" Ava said, trying hard to hold back the tears.

"I'd be happy to."

Ten minutes later, Ava and Castle were seated in a park bench not far from the coffee shop. It was a sunny April morning, but no amount of vitamin-D was going to cheer Ava up. She had almost broken down on the way there. The only thing that had kept her going was the fact that Richard Castle had been holding her hand the whole way, as if to say it's okay, I'm here. Everything's gonna be okay. But in Ava's mind, nothing was going to be okay. She couldn't deny it now: she had PTSD. And she had it bad.

Ava sighed deeply, and then began talking.

"I guess it all started after the car accident. When I was in the hospital, I could rarely sleep. Every time I would close my eyes, I could literally feel the car summersaulting, I could hear the screeching metal. But worst of all, I could hear my mom screaming." Ava paused, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. She didn't bother wiping it away, knowing more were on their way.

"I guess I was too young then to know what PTSD was, so I just kind of brushed it off as nightmares. But it only got worse after that. Back when I was staying with Ryan, I used to wake up screaming in the middle of the night. I never really knew why, I just would. Ryan would say it was probably just bad dreams."

"When I was about thirteen, all those bad dreams and stuff started going away. I thought it was just because I was with my dad again. But then, last week, all this shit happened, and all of that stuff just started coming back." Ava was crying now, actually full on crying.

"A few nights ago, I had this really bad dream that we were back in the Wood house, and the bullet was aimed straight at my heart. Oh God, everything was so vivid, I actually felt like it was real. People say that you can't feel pain in a dream, but I swear I could feel the bullet going right through me. I finally woke up, and I was screaming and sobbing."

Ava sat back now, holding her head in her hands. Castle moved toward her, and she clung to him desperately. He didn't seem to mind. He held on to her for a few moments, cradling her, until she finally pulled away, sniffling.

"Ava, why didn't you tell anyone?" Castle said, and Ava could see that he had begun tearing up a little bit as well.

Ava sighed again. "Look, I know I haven't known you for a long time, but you have to understand. Growing up, I created this little tough-girl persona, I guess as a way to block out some of the pain. But if I were to lose that façade, people would just see me as weak. I couldn't let that happen."

Castle couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was as if a small bit of Kate had jumped into this girl.

"Ava, I may have only known you for a few weeks now, but I can tell you this: no one is going to think less of you because of this. Hell, look at Beckett! She gets up every day and faces off with this, and she does just fine. And if she can do this, so can you. Ava, you may think that you're not really tough, but trust me, from what I've seen of you, you're a pretty strong person."

Now, Ava was crying again, this time, though, they were tears of happiness.

"Thank you." Ava whispered.

"Always. So, what do you say, you give this case one more shot?" Castle said.

Ava looked him dead in the eye, and grinned. "Let's do it."