a.n. Thanks for the reviews! You guys are awesome!

Like I said last chapter, if I don't cover a part of the case in a chapter assume that it is the same as canon. However, DO NOT assume that the dialog is, just assume that the dialog doesn't change the story that much. Castle doesn't make rude or inappropriate comments in our story here like he does on the show. For obvious reasons I'm not going to cover every single minute of Caskett's interactions.

This chapter is our first time jump (we're going from 1x02 to 1x05). I'm not going to go through each case they work like they did on the show. When there is a time jump, you won't be left completely in the dark about what happened. Also, some of the dialog in this chapter is direct from canon. I do not own it.

Disclaimer: Don't own Castle.

Chapter Eight

Previously…

"Yeah. I have no idea why I told you that. It's not something I talk about."

She looked at him then, considering how damaged this version of Richard Castle really was. He put on a good show, making it appear that he was perfectly fine. But he wasn't. He was a lot like her when they had first met before. Sad and broken. It worried her that her quest would prove to be much more difficult than she had anticipated because of how damaged he was.

"I'm glad you told me," she said finally.

He gave her a sad smile and then said, "I should let you get back to the precinct. I have to do some writing." He stood, took out his wallet and laid down enough to cover the bill. She could tell that he wanted space after the conversation they just had. She was well versed in that fine art, so she decided that she wouldn't push him for more. Not just yet.

"Until tomorrow, Detective," he said.

"See you tomorrow, Castle."

xxxx

"I seriously don't understand that," Castle said as they walked out of the Davidson's house. They were investigating the case of Melanie Cavanaugh, who they found frozen at a construction site. They had just finished interviewing Melanie's parents, Ben and Julie Davidson.

"Don't understand what, Castle," Kate asked, getting in her car.

"I don't understand how a cop could just write off this case as a missing person when the parents were so sure that something else had gone wrong. The detective just gave it like two days and was done with the case. Are there a lot of detectives like that?"

"A lot of older ones, yeah. It's sad."

"Not to sound like I'm brown nosing, but you'd never do something like this. I mean I've been with you now for three weeks and I just could never see you doing it."

She smiled. "That's sweet, Castle. But not all detectives are invested in the job like I am. That and I know what it's like to have a detective shove a case away after only a small investigation."

"Do you know this particular detective?"

"No, Detective Sloan was before my time."

"Is he still with the force?"

"No, he's a local sheriff in Jersey."

"Is that where we're going now?"

"Yup."

xxxx

As they drove back to the precinct after interviewing Sloan, Beckett said, "I hate cops like him. Guys like him, things only make sense if they fit in a box. So they make them fit, and murderers go free."

"That part about him 'having reports' really got to me. It seems like he was taking the word of a piece of paper instead of doing the actual police work," Castle said as he read the case file for a second time.

This case had been almost identical to how it had been the first time around, with the exception that Melanie and Sam Cavanaugh had no kids, and they lived in a different place than they had during Kate's first time through. The rest of the details and people had all been the same thus far. "Well we're going to have to do that work now. Something here just doesn't add up. If Sam killed Melanie, then who killed Sam and why? It's too much of a coincidence that he was murdered four years after his wife."

"Could be that they were both mixed up in something illegal. Melanie was killed to keep Sam from going to the cops. When he broke a year ago, the same organization or person came back to finish the job."

Kate frowned, scrunching her eyebrows and tightening her grip on the steering wheel. "Maybe."

xxxx

The first differences in the case started to appear once they found the storage locker where the killer had kept the freezer. The first thing she noticed that was different from the first time was that Melanie's ex-boyfriend, the one that she kept running off to see during her marriage to Samuel, was not in prison this time, but instead worked at an auto mechanic's shop in Brooklyn.

They learned absolutely nothing from him, other than he and Melanie were madly in love, but he didn't consider himself good enough to be with her. He had checked himself into rehab and had been clean ever since.

The next difference Kate noticed was that Samuel's best friend, Charles Wyler, was hiding something, and it was different this time. It was something bigger than simply paying for the storage locker where the freezer was kept. Something more menacing.

As she and Castle walked back to her cruiser after talking to him, Castle asked "That guy give you the creeps?"

She looked over at him as she approached the driver's side door. "Yep. He's hiding something and it definitely isn't something good."

"His eyes are shifty, but they were also cold, you know?" Castle said, getting into the car.

"He didn't seem all that shook up about Samuel's death did he?" She pulled out into traffic and started back towards the 12th.

"But how do we prove that he had something to do with Samuel's demise? And what about Melanie? We've been going under the assumption that Samuel killed Melanie because he waited a day to report her missing, what if that's not the case? We have no proof that he did the deed."

She loved building theory with him, so damn much. Even without the flirtatious side of this Castle, it was still like some kind of foreplay. They just got each other, and it made the whole experience electrifying. "We'll find it, Castle. All we have to do is look in the right place."

He gave her a small smile and turned his gaze to the passing buildings and pedestrians, apparently deep in thought.

xxxx

Wyler was the killer. They knew it. They knew why. They just didn't have the proof.

"It's been five years," Castle said. "Is it possible that there just isn't any evidence left? I mean the cops didn't exactly knock this out of the park when they investigated her disappearance. There was a lot of time for him to kill Melanie, hide her body, and then cover it up."

"There is no such thing as a perfect murder, Castle," Beckett said while she stared at the murder board, looking for any clue that could lead them to the evidence they needed. They had been stumped for hours, but Castle had posited a theory that made a lot of sense.

Wyler and Samuel Cavanaugh were in business together smuggling goods through Wyler's transportation company. Samuel got cold feet, and was threatening to call the cops. In order to stop him, Castle posited, Wyler killed Melanie and made it look like Samuel had a hand in it. Four years later, Samuel Cavanaugh decided enough was enough and threatened to go to the police again. Wyler wasn't sure that Melanie's death could be pinned on Samuel, so he offed him instead.

She had asked Castle why Charles Wyler had kept Melanie in the freezer for five years. He had responded that Wyler not only needed her body for evidence so he could pin her murder on her husband, but also to taunt Samuel should he need to be reminded of his proper place.

She was pretty sure given what little evidence they found that Castle's theory was correct. They just had no evidence that Wyler committed the murders.

"It may not be perfect, Beckett, it might just be that there's nothing to find. Have you heard back from Lanie on the final autopsy report?"

"Not yet," she said. Her phone rang and she said, "that's her now, nice. Hey Lanie, you have something?" Kate listened to her friend's response, and smiled victoriously. She pressed the end button and looked up at her partner. "We got him, Castle. She found some DNA under Melanie's fingernails, and it matches Wyler. We may not get him for Samuel's unless we can get a confession, but he for sure killed Melanie." She turned to the boys who were both sitting at their respective desks. "Hey guys, go pick up Charles Wyler, we got him." The both grabbed their coats and made their way to the elevator after bumping their fists together.

Castle sighed. "Something wrong, Rick?"

He shook his head and sat down in his chair. "Just a long day. This case got to me."

"Yeah it got to me too. But we have him now. Sometimes we get lucky."

He smiled up at her then pulled out his phone.

xxxx

She loved him, she really, really did. She wanted him back. Over the last couple of cases, they had met after the case for dinner at Remy's. She had come to crave those small periods where they could meet and be alone and talk about things other than the case. During their second case together he had told her a lot about Alexis, and she loved to see how happy he was remembering the good memories of his daughter, even if there was the lingering sadness which would always be there.

On the previous case, she told him the full story about her mom's murder and about the aftermath. She couldn't deny that even though she knew she could solve her mom's case, it still hurt to talk about it. He had been sympathetic and had asked about how she got to be so level headed about her loss. She had told him about how she had found herself buried by her mom's case for several years and how she had to undergo therapy in order to be better.

After they had gotten a confession out of Charles Wyler, she asked, "Hey Castle, you up for some dinner tonight before you head home?"

He looked over at her from where he was standing near the murder board. "I'd like to, but I've got some writing to do, so I'm going to have to ask for a raincheck."

She tried to hide her disappointment, she really did, but she could tell she was unsuccessful. He didn't say anything, but she could see the regret in his eyes, and she knew that he wasn't just saying no; that he really had writing to do.

"Good news, though," he said, picking up his coat off the back of his chair.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. If I get this writing done tonight, I'll be able to give you your advanced copy of the first Nikki Heat novel."

"You're almost done with the book? It's only been three weeks!" She was shocked. It had taken him nearly a year to write the first book the first time around.

He ran his hand through his hair and said "I don't have much else to occupy my time, and I don't sleep that well anymore, so I write. A lot. And," he said, giving her a smile, "I was really inspired this time. I haven't been this excited about a character since I first started Derrick Storm, maybe not even then."

She couldn't help the blush that colored her cheeks, she ducked her head but remembered that she no longer had long hair to hide her head from view. I really need to grow my hair out again, she thought.

"So when will I get this first look," she asked, recovering.

"Maybe tomorrow. You can't tell anyone, though, my publisher will have a fit if she finds out I shared a copy with you. But I really don't care what she thinks."

"Is that Gina Cowell?"

"Yeah, how did you know?" he asked, snaking his arms through his coat and pulling it over his shoulders.

"I had to call her when I needed to talk with you that first day. I needed your address."

"Ah, so you've already talked to the beast. I hope she was helpful. She can be a bit much if she doesn't feel like cooperating."

"She was fine." Together they walked towards the elevator. "Do you have a title for the book yet?" She was curious if the title of the book would be same this time around of if it would be different.

"Yeah. It's great! It's called Heat Wave. Obviously playing off Nikki's last name. I really hope this book does well because there are so many title opportunities."

"Can I ask if you plan on continuing to shadow me after this book is finished?"

"Technically, Roy said I could stick around through this book only. But I'm going to talk to him. I want to stick around. I have enough research, but I like what you do and I like solving crimes alongside you. We make a great team. So while it isn't set in stone, I want to do it at least. Why don't you want me to?"

"Of course I do. You're right we're a great team. And while we haven't been together for long, you're a great partner even if you aren't a cop."

"Okay, cool!" They had reached the outside of the precinct and were standing facing each other. He reached out and touched her elbow. "But…uh…Kate if you ever get sick of having me around, just say the word. The last thing I want to do is be an inconvenience."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I doubt you'll ever be one. But I'll let you know if it ever becomes a problem."

He smiled back at her and dropped his hand from her arm. "Until tomorrow, Detective."

"See you tomorrow, Castle."

xxxx

Her phone woke her up at around 3AM. She let out a groan and buried her face in her pillow. Please don't be a body, please don't be a body…

"Beckett," she growled after getting the damned device up to her ear.

"Kate…"

"Rick what's wrong," she said, suddenly much more awake. He sounded so small and scared. She knew instantly that something wasn't right.

"I'm sorry," he said. She could tell he was trying to regulate his breathing. "I shouldn't have called."

"Oh, no, Mister. You don't get to wake me up and then not tell me what's wrong. What's going on?"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I…uh…had a nightmare and needed to make sure you…uh…were okay."

Oh, Rick, no. "I'm okay, Rick. Promise. What was the dream about?"

"This is embarrassing. I dreamt about the day that Alexis was stabbed, only this time it wasn't her, it was you. I don't even know why my brain went there, but…I guess it's just we've been spending so much time together it just went there. I'm sorry for waking you up."

"No, that's okay. I've had those type of dreams before so I know how it can help to talk to someone about them. So don't apologize."

"Thanks, Kate." She could tell that he was much calmer than he had been when she first picked up the phone. While she was sad that he was having the dreams, the fact that he was dreaming of her made her feel a little giddy.

"Sure, Rick. You going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early."

She smiled, looking forward to it. "Okay. Night, Castle."

"Good night Detective."

xxxx

a.n.2. So there's another case. Again, let me know how I'm doing. I am working really hard on the balance between case and Caskett. If I do too little case, I'm afraid it'll be confusing, so let me know how it works.

I also know that it might seem a little early for Castle to be dreaming of Beckett, but I think it fits with this version of Richard Castle. Even after four cases, he is attached to Kate Beckett. He just doesn't know how much yet, and we won't know how he'll deal with it once he realizes his feelings.

Review please.