Title: Reading Rights and Writing Wrongs

Summary: People die every day. In New York City, odds are pretty good they were murdered. Only a select few can speak for those whose lives are taken by another. And one detective has partnered with a writer to answer this call. They are so opposite they complete each other. But at the end of the day, they solve the crime. It's the Castle and Beckett you know and love. With just one little difference. In the first 10 chapters, anyway. From chapter 11 on, things get a lot different.

Disclaimer: I don't own most of these characters. If you recognize a name, odds are it isn't mine. But seeing as this is a fanfic website, you probably knew that already.

Thank you to the extraordinary Sunshiny-Kate. Without her help, this would have done nothing but stay an idea in my head.


Chapter 12

"Yes sir. Ryan and Esposito can pick up the suspect and question him. All the evidence says he's our guy so they should be able to handle it. "

The quiet voice that drew Kate from a deep sleep paused. Her mind was in a fog and her head was throbbing lightly. She blinked open her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. As she was trying to process what was going on, the disembodied voice spoke again.

"If a new case comes in, call me. I understand. Thank you, Montgomery. I'll talk to you later."

Kate began to put the pieces together. The now recognizable male voice talking to Montgomery. The strange bedroom. The pounding in her head and the bad taste in her mouth. She'd gotten drunk and slept with Castle. She felt sick to her stomach. She hadn't had more than a couple of drinks in one sitting since she had helped her father get over his alcoholism. And she'd never slept with a guy while she was drunk.

Suddenly her thoughts became angry. Castle would've been able to tell that she was drunk. How could he take advantage of her like that? But she didn't remember doing anything with him, and there was no way she had been that drunk. Or had she been? And if they'd slept together, why was she still in her jeans? So they didn't sleep together, but she'd slept in his bed? Nothing was making any sense. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to will away the cobwebs in her racing mind.

She was about to get up when she felt him sit on the edge of the bed, seemingly unaware that she was awake. She slowly turned her body, trying not to jar the bed. When she'd turned far enough to see him, she froze. He was leaning over with his elbows propped up on his knees, his head supported by his hands. He looked sad. Why would he be sad? Her emotions went into a whirlwind again. She didn't know what to think or feel. Someone cleared their throat, and when he quickly turned to look at her she realized she had made the noise.

"Hey." Castle said after a few moments had passed.

"Hey." Kate replied.

"How's your head?"

"Okay."

"Does it hurt?"

"Little."

"Can you answer with more than one word? Or is that standard hangover procedure for you?" He smiled to signal that he was joking around.

"Sorry." Kate sat up, still mostly under the covers but now able to look at him better. She heard him chuckle at her response and it made a laugh slip from her lips too. Her green-brown eyes were full of questions and confusion as they met his emotion filled blue eyes. "Um, about last night." She stopped. She realized she was about to apologize but didn't know what for. Before she could speak again he began.

"Yeah, I was wondering. How did you get in?"

His question stumped her. Hadn't he let her in? She looked down and saw her bulletproof vest on the floor, her heels next to it. The floodgates on the dam released, and it all came back to her.

"I went to my bar." She blurted out.

"How did your bar get you into my apartment? And you have a bar? As in, own a bar?" He asked excitedly as he spun around so he was fully facing her. It was then that she realized he was wearing Star Wars pajama pants with a faded ThunderCats tee-shirt. The sight made her smile inwardly before continuing what was becoming an increasingly odd conversation.

"Yeah. I used to write there and it was always inspirational so when the owner wanted to sell it, I bought it." She explained.

"What's it called?"

"The Old Haunt."

"You're kidding me! I love that place!" Castle said with a hint of a squeal to his voice that brought Kate's smile to the surface.

"Anyway, I went there. I was upset." At that she looked away from him, her smile vanishing. She could sense that he was about to say something but she stopped him. "I had a drink. Then another. Then several more. I'm not sure I've ever had so much to drink at once. I finally reached a point where the manager wouldn't let me drink anymore. I started yelling that it was my bar and I'd drink as much as I wanted. So he called my driver and made me get in the car. I went back to the precinct. I was planning on doing some more yelling, but everyone had gone home. I saw the vest on your desk and put it on." She chuckled at the absurdity of what she'd just said. "I don't know why I did that." She paused and looked back at him. He was watching her so intently, hanging on her every word, and his eyes were brimming with concern. She kept letting her story tell itself. "I had the car drive around for a while, just taking in the lights and sights. I ended up in front of your building. I must have told him to bring me here."

"But how did you get in my apartment?" Castle asked quickly as she took a breath.

"I um, I picked the lock." She said with a bite to her lower lip.

"You picked the lock?" His eyes grew wide as he spoke.

She simply nodded her reply.

"You broke into a detective's home?"

Kate nodded again.

"By picking the lock."

Her answer was another silent head bob.

"That's actually pretty hot."

His statement caused her to lock eyes with him, hers much wider than his. Then they both burst into laughter, tension releasing from each of them. A couple of minutes passed as they both settled back down.

Castle looked at Kate and had to fight the urge to reach out and tuck a stray bit of hair behind her ear.

"Kate, do you want to talk about it?" He asked in a gentle tone that was barely above a whisper.

She knew exactly what he meant. And if anyone else had asked her she would have said no. If he had asked her yesterday, she would have said no. But now, sitting there with him like they were the only two people in the world, she did want to talk about it with him. She wanted to tell him everything. It was not a normal feeling for her, but it was unmistakable. She was going to let him in.

"Yes." She saw a caring and relieved smile spread across his face. "But don't you need to get to work?"

"I called Montgomery. Told him I needed the day off."

"But the case?"

"Ryan and Esposito are big boys, They can take care of themselves."

"What did you tell Montgomery?" Kate's asked him timidly.

"He knew what I was going to do yesterday. He actually tried to stop me." He noticed a flash of several emotions burn quickly through her eyes. "I just told him I needed the day to clean up my mess. He doesn't know you were here. He never will." Castle assured her.

"Thank you."

"He cares for you, you know. Like one of his own daughters. That's why he warned me not to approach you about your mother's case."

"He and my father are the only one's who know what I am about to tell you."

Castle scooted closer to her, so they were separated by less than six inches. Kate reached out and took one of his hands in hers. She looked at their intertwined fingers and sighed out a breath that was a strange blend of worry, sadness, and contentment. Castle merely sat there in silence, not wanting to push her, knowing she needed to go at her own pace. As she opened her mouth to speak, a low growl interrupted her. They both looked down at Castle's stomach, which was the source of the offending noise. Laughter once again rang out in the room from the two of them.

"Want to talk after breakfast?" She asked him.

"It's up to you." He replied.

"I don't think it is."

Her statement was followed by another rumble that renewed their laughter.

"Okay, breakfast, then soul bearing?" He asked her.

"How can I argue with that? Can I use your bathroom first?" She asked with a tinge of shyness in her voice.

"Certainly. I'll go start breakfast."

"What are we having?"

"It's a surprise. Better than the last one I gave you, I promise."

"Okay." She said with a smile, but the expression on her face didn't match the one in her eyes.

Castle thought about saying something to bring the smile into her eyes, but decided to let her be for now. They both got up and Kate went towards the bathroom as Castle walked out to the kitchen. Just before they each went through their respective doors, they let their gazes lock from across the room. They said nothing, and a few moments later they broke apart their eyes and resumed their exits.


Kate stood at the bathroom counter. She was washing her hands, but they were long past clean. Her head was still throbbing, but she shoved the pain to the back of her mind. She looked down at her already wrinkled hands and cupped them together. Once the makeshift vessel was full, she splashed the warm water over her face. She repeated the action two more times and then grabbed a towel that looked clean and dried off. She took a deep breath, expanding her lungs almost to the point of discomfort and let the air back out in a loud huff. She could do this. It's just Castle. It's just her mother's murder. It's just the only thing that could break through her tough exterior. No big deal, right?

Even though she'd only known Castle for such a short time, she couldn't deny the way she felt about him. And the way he made her feel. Open. Free. Inspired. Safe. That was it. She felt safe around him. He wouldn't judge her. He wouldn't think she was crazy, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. Maybe this was all just the remnants of alcohol in her system. Even if it was, she was going to do this. She was strong enough to share this with him. And maybe, just maybe, they actually could solve the case. The one case Kate could never solve. The one case she needed to solve. She hung the towel back up and headed out to the kitchen. If he was willing to climb the walls she'd put up, she was willing to throw him a rope.


Castle started the coffee then began to get everything ready. He pulled bowls out to put everything in and got the necessary boxes from the cabinets.

He didn't notice Kate come into the room. She watched him for a few minutes before she cleared her throat. He looked up from the coffee mugs he was tending to and smiled while she walked towards him and took the proffered cup.

"Mmmm." She sighed out as she took a sip.

"Good?" Castle asked.

"Perfect. Thank you."

"And for breakfast, I invited some friends."

Kate's eyes opened wide. He'd asked other people over? Or did he already have some kind plans that she was interrupting? Before she could think of any more scenarios, Castle kept talking.

"Kate, I'd like you to meet Tony and Sam. And I imagine you know the Captain." He paused as her mouth fell open and she frantically searched the room for Montgomery and the strangers, then continued. "And of course, this is Count Chocula."

His last statement caused her to jerk her head back around to him. He stepped around her and pointed to the table where several boxes of cereal were sitting along with two bowls and some milk.

She couldn't help but laugh when she realized just who it was he was talking about. She followed him as he went to the table and they sat down next to each other.

"Is cereal okay? I thought we'd go old-school." Castle asked.

"It's great. But let me guess. You don't have any grown-up cereal?" Kate joked.

"Alexis has some fiber filled bran flake stuff. I think it has raisins in it too. Or nuts. Or granola. Or maybe all those things. You want that?" Castle started to get up but Kate grabbed his arm lightly to stop him.

"Crunch-berries sounds delicious." She answered with a smile.

They filled their bowls, her with the colorful berry flavored cereal, and he with fruit-loops.

"So, tell me one thing." Castle said between bites. "You own a bar."

"I've already told you that." Kate interrupted.

"That wasn't what I wanted you to tell me."

"Oh."

"Since you own a bar, tell me this. Do I get free drinks? "

"Why would you get free drinks?" She raised an eyebrow at his question.

"Because I'm far too good looking to pay for my drinks."

Kate almost choked on her cereal. When she could breathe normally again she looked at him.

"Is that your only reason?"

"Isn't it good enough? What argument do you have against it?" He prodded.

"Well, if you are so good looking, why don't you just get someone to buy your drinks for you?" Kate pushed back.

"I'm a man. Doesn't work for me. I'm supposed to woo, not be wooed."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"In that case, you can have free drinks." Kate saw him perk up and a smile spread across his face. "But only because I feel bad for you." His smile was replaced with a protruding bottom lip and a furrowed brow. "Hey, take it or leave it, Detective."

"Alright. You drive a hard bargain. Can I have my own booth?" Castle asked with his hands clamped together in front of his face like a begging child.

"Don't push it." Kate had to work hard to hide the smile fighting its way to the surface.

Castle had a look in his eye that Kate knew all too well. He was about to say something that he knew he shouldn't.

"If I get bad service can I call the owner directly to lodge my complaint?"

To anyone else his question would have sounded completely innocent. But Kate was not anyone else. She felt a blush consume her cheeks as she tried to think of a response. She knew she had to come up with something quickly, for the window of opportunity for a properly timed witty retort was closing.

"Miss Beckett?"

Castle and Kate turned towards the source of the quiet voice and saw Alexis. Kate stood up in embarrassment.

"Hey, Alexis. Um. Good morning?" Kate greeted her, but in her flustered state it sounded more like a question than it should have.

"Good morning. Am I interrupting something?"

"No." Kate said.

"Yes." Castle said at the same time.

Alexis just looked back and forth between the standing writer and her seated father.

"Kate came over to talk about a case." Castle explained. When he saw Alexis glance at Kate's bare feet, he continued. "Last night. Then it got late and she was tired so she crashed here."

"Okay." Alexis accepted his explanation, then looked back to Kate.

"Did dad even offer you something for adults, Miss Beckett?"

Please, call me Kate." The couple of times Kate had been at Castle's apartment she had told the teenager to call her by her first name, but she seemed to forget, or perhaps she just didn't want to.

"I offerd her some o your fwaky bwran cerel." Castle defended himself as he took a large bite of his breakfast.

"Dad, don't talk with your mouth full." Alexis fussed at him playfully.

He swallowed the food and finished his defense.

"She didn't want any of that stuff. It's too healthy."

All three of them laughed and Kate sat back down. Alexis got her own bowl and cereal and joined them at the table. They talked and joked as they ate. Once they were done, Alexis went to finish getting ready for school while Castle cleaned up the kitchen. He wouldn't let Kate help, so she fixed them each another cup of coffee while he was busy. They were drinking the warm drinks when Alexis came back out. Castle turned to Kate.

"I'm going to walk her to down and wait for her ride to school. I'll be right back up."

Kate merely smiled and nodded her reply.

"Bye Kate." Alexis called out. "Happy belated birthday. I hope you had a good day. Dad wouldn't stop talking about it."

"Okay, I think I hear Paige's dad honking. Let's go." Castle said quickly as he ushered his daughter towards the door.

"Thank you, Alexis." Kate said gratefully, laughing to herself at Castle's reaction. "Have a good day at school. See you later."

"See you later, too!" Alexis answered happily.

After the two Castles had left, Kate sat back down to the table. She had just eaten breakfast with them, sent Alexis off to school and told her she'd see her later. Two months ago she was just a writer without a story. Now she had a halfway finished book. And her own story, her life, seemed to be changing faster than she could keep up. It was terrifying and exciting all at once.


Twenty minutes later a new pot of coffee had been brewed and their mugs were refilled. Castle and Kate were sitting on his couch, a foot of air between them.

"Kate, we can talk about as much or as little as you want. Or whatever you want." Castle said, breaking the silence that had settled over them.

She turned her head to face him. The way he called her Kate warmed her from the inside out. She smiled at him and leaned back against the cushions and let the words pour out.

"I was nineteen. I was visiting home for winter break from school. It was the night before I was supposed to go back, so my parents and I were all going out to eat. My mother had to wrap up some work stuff, so she was going to meet my dad and I at the restaurant. " She paused to take a drink of her coffee. "After waiting forty-five minutes we decided to go ahead and eat. We'd called her cell phone several times, but back then service was harder to come by, and she hardly ever remembered to charge it. By the time we arrived home that night it was nearly 10:00. We expected to find her with her nose buried in a case file or asleep at the kitchen table. She was nowhere to be found. Not ten minutes after we got home, there was a knock at the door. I was so relieved, because I knew it was my mother. She was horrible about forgetting her keys. I ran to the door and unlocked it, then flung it open."

Kate stopped again. She hadn't talked this candidly about that night to anyone, ever. Not even her dad, and he'd lived through it. It was just an unspoken part of her that she didn't let people into. She looked over at Castle, who had turned to face his body mostly towards her. His arm was propped up on the back of the couch and was in turn holding up his head. His expression was caring and warm. He was there to listen and it was apparent that that was all he was going to do until he knew it was his turn to talk. So Kate continued, closing her eyes as the memories grew stronger.

"It wasn't my mother I saw in the hall. Instead I was staring into the emotionless eyes of a Detective named Raglan. I think I knew right then why he was there. My dad walked up behind me and we were given the bad news. Right there in our front hall. He didn't even say he was sorry for our loss." She stopped and looked back at Castle. "He wasn't anything like you. You're so kind and gentle when you tell the families. He practically blurted it out. Just told us they'd found her body and we needed to come down to the morgue to officially confirm her identity. Even though her purse and everything had been found with her. Anyway, my dad didn't want me to go, but I insisted. I had to see her for myself. When they pulled the sheet from her face, my world stopped. She looked like she was asleep, yet vacant. Her skin was so pale. The body looked like my mother. But it wasn't her. She'd been taken from me."

Kate was shocked when she felt a light touch on her cheek, wiping away a tear she hadn't felt fall. Her eyes jerked open and she realized Castle was now sitting as close he as possibly could without actually making contact, except for the finger he'd used to catch her tear. She hadn't even felt him move. He lowered his hand and took her now cold cup of coffee and set it on the table next to his empty mug. He turned back to her. His eyes were urging her to keep talking. So she did.

"They investigated for a while. Ruled out robbery right away, since nothing had been stolen. A few weeks later the case was marked cold and put into storage. They just put her case in a box on a shelf."

Without thinking about it Kate closed what little distance was left between them as she curled into Castle's side. She laid her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm protectively around her waist. She sighed before she continued her story.

"That's how I met Roy. I'd snuck in to find her case file. I had some childish whim that I could look through it and solve it. I know now that I was looking for closure of some kind. Any kind. My dad was looking for his at the bottom of many, many bottles. My mom was dead, but we weren't really living. Anyway, Roy found me and took me under his wing. He saved me. A few years later, I was able to save my dad. And you were right yesterday. I write for my mom. To find justice. Even if it is just on a page in a book."

Kate stopped talking. She had no more to say. The two of them stayed there in silence for what felt like hours, though it was merely minutes.

"Kate." Castle voice was soft but she could feel the vibrations of his words where they were connected. "We will get him. Or her. Or them. We will solve this." He pulled back slightly and the movement made her look up at him. "Together."

"I'm sorry I got mad at you." Kate replied, her eyes lost in his.

"I'm sorry I didn't ask you first. I'd say we're even."

They both smiled and her head returned to his shoulder. His cheek found its way to the top of her head. They returned to silence for a while.

"Castle?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being here for me."

Castle hugged Kate tighter to him.

"Always."


A/N - I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it. Thank you again for reading. Thank you also for the reviews and alerts. Until next time, Paige.