I got such great response about the previous chapters. So many of you shared your stories of the awkward sex conversation with your mothers so I thought I would share mine. I was 16 and it was the night before my older sister's wedding. My very conservative Christian mother stood up in the kitchen as we arraigned flowers and politely asked me to leave the room because she and my sister needed to have the talk. My sister and I busted out laughing and shook our heads. She said, "No Mother, we don't." That was her first and last attempt. I cringe to even think of what she may have told my younger brother years later. Needless to say, he is 32 years old, single and still lives at home.
Now, down to business….
I in no way intend for this to turn into a case centric fic, but Kate is in fact a Detective and Castle does indeed help her solve murders, so I can't keep them away from the 12th all the time. Don't worry, it will only be two chapters or so.
Don't own them because if I did I wouldn't believe in spoilers….
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Castle raised the yellow tape and held it for Beckett to walk under; then ducked below it himself to follow her onto the crime scene. The alley was still shrouded in shadows, as the rising sun was yet to reach between the towering buildings on either side. The area was a hotspot for the young and artsy. There were clubs for just about every kind of music or art you could think of. This particular alley was behind a jazz club known for supporting the burgeoning careers of young singers. Castle had taken a second to take in the feel of the joint called Sway before he and his partner had crossed the crime scene tape. He couldn't help but feel like it was a place that he might take Kate for a nice evening of food, music and dancing.
"Hey Lanie, what have we got?" Beckett looked down at the body of the dead man sprawled out amongst some garbage and debris that must have blown out of the nearby dumpster. She pulled a pair of latex gloves from her blazer pocket.
Lanie began to spit out the clinical details, "Male John Doe probably between thirty-five and forty. Stabbed multiple times in the torso and abdomen. He has some bruising on his arms and neck. I won't have cause of death until I open him up, but I estimate TOD anywhere between two and four this morning."
"Damn," Both the ME and Castle looked at Beckett as the explicative passed her lips. She was pulling a torn glove from her left hand.
Castle quickly realized what had caused the glove to rip. They had decided she would not wear her engagement ring while at work. The size alone made wearing it during a take down impractical. Wearing it during interrogations could make her and-or-it a target for the nefarious schemes of such slime bags. She had remembered easily the last two mornings and removed it, placing it on the nightstand beside their bed before heading to the precinct. However, in their haste to leave this morning, being her first body-drop since returning to full duty, she had forgotten to leave it behind.
Beckett hastily removed the damaged latex from her hand. She heard a slight gasp escape from Lanie's mouth and saw the wide-eyed expression that accompanied the sound. Kate had not yet told anyone outside of she and Castle's family about the engagement. Castle wanted to get everyone together after work this evening to share the news. Not wanting to share her impending nuptials with her best friend while hovering over a corpse, Kate gave Lanie a slight smile and raised an eyebrow as if to say, not now.
"Anything else?" Lanie caught on quickly, but did steal a glance at Castle and gave him a knowing wink. Which he returned in kind "Nope, just that the boys are already canvassing."
"Thanks Lanie, call me once you've got more."
Beckett and Castle both turned to go find Ryan and Esposito. She had removed the ring from her finger but couldn't decide what to do with it. She was wearing what seemed like the only pair of dress slacks she owned that didn't have pockets. Her white tailored blouse was also pocket-free. She thought about her blazer, but was terrified that with the frequency with which she took things in and out of that pocket, things like her cell phone and rubber gloves, she would lose the precious item. Finally she grabbed Castle by the hand. They were about to enter the front door of the jazz club they had parked in front of minutes earlier.
"Please take care of this." She slipped the ring into the front pocket of his jeans using her index finger to push it to the very bottom.
Castle smiled and placed his hand at the small of her back as they stepped into the club. She heard a slight whisper behind her, "Always." That one word and the deeper meaning it held caused a slight shiver to run up her back.
They found the guys at the bar interviewing the staff. The victim was a regular customer, he was there most Tuesday evenings for open mike night. No one really knew his name but he often talked up the young female singers that dared take the stage in hopes of becoming the next big thing. Before the Detectives left the club, the owner had promised to call them as soon as he located the credit card receipt from the previous evening belonging to the victim.
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Around lunchtime Beckett got a call from Lanie, she had finished her preliminary exam and had some info. Castle was reviewing video feed from an ATM camera near the crime scene so she decided not to disturb him.
"Girl!" That was the only word Lanie got out before Beckett interrupted.
"Later Lanie, what about the vic?"
The ME huffed a bit, but got down to business. "Cause of death is exsanguination due to eighteen stab wounds." She pointed to the man's body lying on the table between them.
"In addition he has perimortem bruising on his arms and neck."
"The killer tried to strangle him?"
"No, I'd say the killer way trying to fight him off and got in a few good licks."
Kate pondered the info, "Lanie, eighteen stab wounds is overkill, not self defense?"
"Yeah, seems odd to me too. Oh well, I sent his fingerprints and DNA to the lab. Maybe we will get lucky and one of them will be in the system."
Lanie watched as Beckett headed for the door, "Thanks Lanie, keep me posted."
Before she even made it to the elevator, Beckett heard her cell chime. She laughed as she read the text from her friend.
L: seriously!
B: 2nite us the boys jenny old haunt 8 pm
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By two o'clock the owner of Sway had called and given them the name on the credit card used by the victim. Jackson Cantrell was a thirty-one year old Janitor. According to his DMV photo he was a heavyset man with brown eyes and hair. Considering their John Doe was slightly older thinner and blonde, they had not yet identified their victim. Not willing to chalk it up to something as simple as credit card theft, Ryan and Esposito were out looking for Mr. Cantrell.
"Beckett." The Captain called her name from the open door of his office. When she looked up his head tilted slightly indicating they should join him. She and Castle settled into the chairs across from Montgomery's desk.
"We got a match to the victim's fingerprints?"
Kate was glad to hear the news but was confused as to why the report was sent to the Captain and not her. She was the Lead Detective after all. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the same confusion on Castle's face. She felt a small twinge of pride; he had learned so much since working with her and most of it was just through observation.
"Great, so we have a name?" Kate leaned forward in the chair.
Montgomery's jaw ticked, "Well no, his prints match those found in four other cases, but there are no suspects."
Castle spoke up, "Great, so our guy is a criminal. What did he do?"
"They're rape cases, Castle."
Beckett let out a small sigh and slouched back in the chair. She could tell there was more.
The Captain continued, "Those four are linked by MO and DNA to fifteen others occurring over the last decade or so. The fingerprints are from the most recent cases."
Castle practically shouted, "This guy has raped at least nineteen women? I say we stop looking for the killer right now. This asshole got what he deserved!"
"Castle, we don't get to pick the vic." Kate kept her eyes on the floor and her voice calm. She felt the same as him, but they had a job to do. Also, she knew they were about to face a day of interviewing rape victims. Something she didn't look forward to at all.
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In one interview room Ryan and Esposito were drilling Jackson Cantrell. He was an oaf of a man. He had quickly given them the name of the John Doe who they now knew was a thirty-nine year old named Carl Stewart. Carl was Jackson's friend and roommate, but the two did not seem to be an obvious match. Jackson Cantrell was an undereducated Janitor and possibly even mentally delayed, although none of his medical history indicated any official diagnoses. Carl Stewart held an MBA and worked as the CEO for a local manufacturer of musical instruments. The two had met twenty years earlier when the victim was nineteen and volunteered with Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Jackson was the eleven year-old boy that had been paired up with the young college student.
In the other room Beckett, having started with the four cases that had a definite fingerprint link to Carl Stewart, was sitting across from the last of the three rape victims they had been able to contact so far. The fourth victim was proving a little more difficult to locate. After reading the case files Beckett was prepared to meet some very emotionally broken women. The details and pictures she had seen were horrifying and turned her stomach. She hesitated to let Castle read them, but knew his input would be invaluable. She watched him as his jaw clinched in disgust as he read through each one.
Now sitting alone across from a twenty-four year old violinist named Cassandra Erikson, Kate steadied herself once again. The reports had not prepared her for the physical scars she would witness this day. Not only had Carl Stewart beaten and raped his victims, but he cut the soft flesh of their faces. His actions leaving behind physical reminders of the terror he had inflicted on their souls. Cassandra's story mirrored the stories told by the two previous women Kate had spoken to earlier. She had been grabbed outside a club, having just played her violin for a small crowd. She was pulled into a van; she believed it was green or maybe even teal. Her attacker was thin, but strong and wore a mask but no gloves. A larger man drove the vehicle while the assault occurred. Eventually, after repeated sexual assaults and slicing her face with a small pocketknife, she was thrown from the moving vehicle and left to bleed out on the sidewalk. The wounds did offer one clue. His fingerprints were all over each victim having been preserved in the dried blood.
Just like in the earlier interviews with a pianist named Riley O'Rourke and a harp player named Elaine Schultz, Cassandra Erikson had a rock solid alibi for the time of Carl Stewart's murder. And just like the other two women, she was completely offended by Beckett's line of questioning. The Detective just apologized and escorted her out. There was nothing she could do to take away the pain her questions had caused.
Castle had watched each interview from behind the two-way mirror. They feared the presence of a man may cause the women to clam up, so Beckett had asked that he not join her. He watched as the effects of the day wore his partner down. With each interview her shoulders slumped a little more then they had a few minutes before. He wanted to be in there for her, but solving this case was paramount. He didn't want her to have to wade through fifteen more victims. He reviewed the fourth case file again as he watched.
It was obvious to them all that Carl Stewart and Jackson Cantrell worked in tandem to grab and assault these women. All indications were that Jackson did not participate past driving the vehicle and watching. Carl was the Alpha Male and his type was clearly young musically inclined women. But, there was something different about the victim they had not yet located. According to the report, Tabitha Jenkins was twenty-one at the time of her assault. She was a student at a local community college studying music appreciation. She didn't play any instruments, but was apparently a very gifted vocalist. The interesting thing about Tabitha was that she had a very high functioning form of Autism known as Asperger' Syndrome. He had heard of some cases where people with this syndrome had the ability to hear and speak in perfect pitch. This would only aid in her ability as an aspiring singer. Castle stared at her picture attached to the inside of the file. Finally it clicked and he ran out of the room.
"Hey," Beckett found him hunched over the computer screen fast-forwarding and rewinding the ATM footage he had been slaving over most of the day. She placed her hand on his back and leaned in to see what he was looking at.
He paused the footage and pointed to the screen, "There!"
It took Beckett only a few seconds to realize she was looking at victim number four, Tabitha Jenkins, crossing the street towards Sway just hours before Carl Stewart was murdered in the alley behind that very establishment.
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"We can cancel you know?"
Castle rubbed circles on Kate's back as she laid her head against the steering wheel. They had just pulled up behind The Old Haunt. She shook her head not wanting to cancel, but not ready to get out of the car just yet. The day had been a heavy one for all involved and she just needed a minute. Of course Castle understood and just continued to caress her back.
After putting all the pieces of the case together, it didn't take a genius to figure out who had killed Carl Stewart. Obviously, Tabitha Jenkins had some how recognized her attacker even though it had been six months since the actual rape. Both the owner and the wait staff of Sway had confirmed that Tabitha was on the list of singers that had performed during open mike night the previous evening. Beckett's team had spent the rest of the day trying to locate the young woman, but were unsuccessful at both her home and the school where she gave vocal lessons to children afflicted with her same condition.
According to everyone they spoke to, Tabitha was a kind and loving woman that had ascended beyond the limitations of her syndrome. She spent her life doing what she loved, sharing music with anyone who would listen. She had no family to speak of, having grown up in foster care. Her co-workers seemed to be her closest friends and they all attested to the darkness that had overcome Tabitha since the rape, but no one blamed her. She had suffered a terrible tragedy, but was enduring with the same tenacity that she had shown her whole life.
Finally she spoke, "No, Lanie knows what's up and there is no way she will let us cancel. Plus, we can't just postpone all the good things in life because of a bad case."
Castle rubbed her hair from her face as she lifted it from the wheel and turned to face him. "Ok, but how about just a few drinks and appetizers to celebrate the news and then we call it an early night?"
"Sounds good." She leaned her cheek against his hand as he rubbed her ear with his thumb. "You know, I'm a Homicide Detective for a reason." Castle just cocked his head. "I'm good with a dead victim's family, I'm not so good with an actual living victim. I hate that I will have to arrest her when we find her." She dipped her head a bit, "Did you see what he did to them?"
Caste got out of the car and walked to her side. He opened the door and pulled her out by her hands. He needed to hold her and comfort her. "Yes, I saw it and you treated them with the utmost respect. You were only doing your job."
She wrapped her arms around his body, "Sometimes my job sucks."
He gave her a little tickle, "You're preaching to the choir."
After a couple more minutes and a few deep breaths they entered The Old Haunt. They picked a large horseshoe shaped booth and Castle slid in behind his fiancé. Kate leaned into his side and his arm lay across her shoulders as they waited for their friends to arrive. Castle had made very few changes to the bar since purchasing it. He was a stickler for maintaining the historical integrity, but he had insisted on installing a nice sound system and made an area where couples could dance if they were so inclined. It had become a favorite spot for not only them, but for their friends as well. And of course Castle insisted that everything was on the house. The waitress arrived and quickly brought them their usual drinks and Castle ordered a ton of appetizers so they could eat as soon as everyone arrived.
Kate couldn't help but think about the case and Castle could tell it was still eating at her. He placed a kiss to her temple and left his lips there as he spoke. "If anyone ever hurt you or Alexis like that I would kill him myself."
Kate knew he spoke the truth and her newly found maternal instincts kicked in. "I would help you." She turned and pressed her lips to his before sitting up straight and swallowing the shot of the tequila that had been placed on the table. "Ok, seriously Rick, we need to buck up here. After all this is our engagement party isn't it?"
"Well, I had hoped we…."
She placed her finger to his lips, "Uh-uh, I do not want some big fancy-schmancy event to announce a big fancy-schmancy wedding. This is all I need."
"Yo Castle, where's the spread?" Esposito, Lanie, Jenny and Ryan all slid into the large booth.
"Don't worry I ordered enough food for an army. It should be out in a minute." Castle motioned to the waitress and she took everyone's drink order.
The conversation remained light and fun. No one mentioned the case, not wanting to have to think about it for a while and not wanting to scare the pants off Jenny. She wasn't accustomed to hearing the gory details of their job. Beckett wasn't sure how Ryan did it, closing off that part of his life every night before going home, but he did. She had to assume that was one reason he and his partner were so close. Esposito let Ryan vent to him so he didn't have to take it home to her.
After they finished off the food and were on their third round of drinks, Lanie couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, how much longer are you guys going to make me suffer?"
Jenny, Ryan and Esposito just looked back and forth between the ME and the couple across the table. Lanie had done a very good job of keeping quiet but Kate knew there was only so much she could take.
Kate cleared her throat and began, "Castle and I have something we want to show you all." She pushed at Castle's shoulder and hips forcing him to slide from the booth and stand next to the table. She reached into the front pocket of his jeans. She was fishing for the ring she had placed there earlier.
"Whoa Beckett!" Ryan threw his hands in the air. "We can leave if you guys want a little privacy."
Castle looked at his friend and Kate could see the boyish grin spread across his face. She could get lost in that look, but instead she turned and gave Ryan a stern eyebrow lift. "How does a month on desk duty sound to you?"
"Kidding!" Ryan and Esposito pumped fists across the table and the women just shook their heads.
Finally Kate managed to find the ring and slipped it on her finger. She stood next to Castle and hooked her right arm in his left. Jenny and Lanie gasped at the sight and the boys both whistled in appreciation.
"Finally making an honest woman out of her, huh Bro?"
"Actually, I think it might be her making an honest man of me." Castle was talking to Esposito, but only had eyes for Kate. He leaned in and kissed her smiling lips.
Jenny tapped her fork against her glass, "I think this calls for a toast." She cleared her throat and thought for a moment. They could tell she wanted the toast to be relevant somehow. "Try as you will, you cannot annihilate that eternal relic of the human heart, love." She raised her glass, "To Rick and Kate."
Everyone touched glasses as Castle and Kate answered Jenny in unison, "A Victor Hugo fan are we?"
Before Kate could sit back down Castle raised his glass, "I'd like to make a toast of my own." He pulled Kate closer with his free arm and spoke to her and her alone. "The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." He had followed Jenny's lead and stuck with the words of the French author.
Kate's heart fluttered in her chest. She had the sudden desire to be in his arms. She wanted to get lost in his eyes. "Dance with me."
The words were barely a whisper, but he followed her command and let her pull him away from the booth to the small dance floor he was now thanking himself for thinking of. The current song was up-tempo, but would soon be ending. As he held her by the waist and watched her move to the beat, he prayed the next one would be something slow. He wanted to pull her in and feel her body as it melded into his. A few moments later his prayer was answered and Kate slid her hands behind his neck as the soft music played. The whole world seemed to melt away.
I'll always remember It was late afternoon
It lasted forever And ended too soon
You were all by yourself Staring up at a dark gray sky
I was changed
Castle slid his hands up her body stopping as his thumbs skimmed her ribs. His fingers applied enough pressure to pull her body flush with his. Wearing her tallest power heels, they were face to face. Their breath mingled in the millimeter of separation between their lips.
In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry
The moment that I saw you cry
The words mirrored their feelings and they sang to each other with their eyes. As usual, no words needed to be spoken. Castle continued to rub the sharp edges of her ribs with his thumbs, but would occasionally move higher to the soft flesh above. He couldn't help but draw a parallel to Kate herself. To much of the world she showed only hard edges, but to him, the softness shined through.
It was late in September
And I've seen you before (and you were)
You were always the cold one
But I was never that sure
You were all by yourself
Staring at a dark gray sky
I was changed
Kate breathed in the smell of him. It was covered slightly by the faintest hint of tequila. His touches coursed through her body and she slid her hands down his chest taking his dress shirt into her fists. She didn't care who was watching as she covered his open mouth with hers. She tilted her head to allow her tongue deeper entry. She whimpered as his thumbs once again moved north.
In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry
He knew her body as it responded to his touch and needed to feel more. He grazed his thumbs over bumpy flesh and felt her whimper into his mouth. She shivered at the contact and slipped her hands inside his jacket and around his body. He could feel her kneading the muscles below his shoulder blades in rhythm with her tongue as it worked against his.
I wanted to hold you
I wanted to make it go away
I wanted to know you
I wanted to make your everything, all right...
Kate ran her hands up and down his strong back. She dug her nails in as Castle's hands slowly slid around to envelop her body with his. There was an ache deep in her belly as her body begged for more of him. She was lightheaded with need for oxygen so she reluctantly pulled back, but ran her tongue along the roof of his mouth as she withdrew.
I'll always remember...
It was late afternoon...
In places no one would find...
Castle's moan was low and guttural. His mouth already missed hers and he held her tighter as her legs wobbled. She was so small that she practically disappeared inside his suit coat as he embraced her. Her breath warmed the spot on his neck where she nibbled between gasps. She slipped her hands down his back and rested them in the waistband of his jeans as they continued to sway to the music.
In places no one would find
All your feelings so deep inside (deep inside)
It was then that I realized
That forever was in your eyes
The moment I saw you cry
Finally he cupped her face in his hands and kissed the tip of her nose with a gentleness no one but Kate would think possible from a man of his size. "Oh woman, what you do to me."
She smiled and once again visited Jenny's friend Victor Hugo, "The most powerful symptom of love is a tenderness which becomes, at times, almost insupportable."
He kissed the tears from her eyes. "Let's go home."
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If you liked the song it was by Mandy Moore and is from the soundtrack to A Walk to Remember