Chapter Two

It was Castle who noticed her first. When Esposito had first told her the address of the murder she'd been surprised they'd even been called. They were not in her district. Apparently there had been a slew of murders in the area and the active Detectives were overwhelmed. So when they'd walked into the tiny apartment - that really didn't qualify for much more than a glorified closet, she'd been overwhelmed with the state of the place and she'd missed the young girl on the sofa.

"Beckett," Castle's voice had been quiet, meant only for her and she just barely caught the nod of his head in the direction of the back wall. Beckett's eyes widened in surprise as she took in the young girl whom she was guessing was quite a bit younger than she looked. If she found it odd that the girl wasn't crying she didn't allude to it.

Kate heard Lanie speaking to Ryan and slipped into the bedroom to check on the murder victim; her mind not quite able to leave the young girl on the sofa.

"What have we got Lanie?" Kate heard Castle gasp as he entered the room. There was blood everywhere. The bed and the walls were drenched in it; the woman was on her back, head flung over the end of the bed and her body was an absolute mess.

"Are those…" Kate peered more closely at the naked body.

"They are…" Lanie nodded

"Someone lashed her to death, what is this the middle ages?" Castle's voice was lower than normal and Kate was pretty sure it had to do with the teenager in the living room.

"Wasn't cause of death though, she died from strangulation and from the looks of the markings a good number of them were done post mortem."

"So someone beat her with a whip until she couldn't defend herself, and then strangled her, and then continued beating her. She must have incurred some serious wrath," Castle added.

Beckett was about to ask another question when they all heard a laugh escape the front room.

"She's laughing?" Ryan's left eyebrow rose in such a typical fashion, despite where they were and the seriousness of the situation, Beckett had to force down a grin, "Everyone grieves differently Ryan." Beckett and Castle poked their heads out the bedroom door and then made an unspoken decision to speak with the girl right away.

They approached her cautiously, she was a kid and laughter or not she had just lost her mother.

"My name is Detective Kate Beckett, and this is Richard Castle." Kate introduced herself and then Castle. They watched the young girl size the both of them up.

"I'm sorry for your loss..." Kate let the sentence hang, waiting for the girl to introduce herself.

"Thanks, as you can see I'm devastated." Kate watched her playing with the hem of her t-shirt and looked at Castle. There was something about the young girl that just didn't sit right with Kate. Something was off.

"How old are you sweetheart?" Castle asked, Kate was always surprised at how genuine he could be.

"I turned eleven last month." Castle had to sit back at the physical blow that came attached to the girl's age. His mind instantly went to Alexis at eleven; she had still been such an innocent little thing at eleven, not that she wasn't anymore but...eleven.

"What's your name?" Beckett took the lead knowing Castle was working through his own fears at the moment.

"Cole,"

"Cole?" Castle had to repeat it; it wasn't the type of name a young girl would normally hold; though normal didn't really fit into any of this.

"My mom has a thing for men, as you can see." Cole nodded to the bedroom, both adults made the conscious decision to ignore the comment.

"We'll need to ask you a few questions Cole, is that ok?" Kate watched her shrug and continued on.

"What time did you get home tonight?"

"Quarter to twelve," Beckett attempted to hide the shock from this answer.

"That's pretty late for an eleven year old, would you mind telling us what you were doing, who you were with?" Cole rolled her eyes and then opened her mouth.

"I work at the bakery downstairs, the creep that runs the place pays me under the table because I'm only eleven. Because I'm only eleven he pays me 3 dollars less than minimum wage. So to make what anyone else can make in a regular 8 hour shift, I have to work twice as many hours. I get up at 4 o'clock every morning and I make pastries and breads; then right as people start coming in for breakfast I go to school. When I'm done school I go back to the bakery and begin on the dinner rush. Then once everyone is gone I clean-up and then lock-up. It's my passcode that set the alarm last night, feel free to double check it." It wasn't self pity he heard in her voice, it was just the way it was in her life. It made Castle desperate to wrap the little girl up in his arms and carry her away from it all. She was a child and she was working harder than he ever had in his entire life. He looked at Kate and could tell that the girl's words had hit her hard as well.

"Was your mom here when you got home?"Kate cleared her throat as she continued, attempting to hide the uncharacteristic hitch.

"Yeah she was dead on the bed," Cole was tired and it was starting to show.

"You found your mother?" Kate couldn't hide the sadness in her voice. Her mind wandered back to her mother's case and she remembered the moment they had told her her own mother was dead. It was obvious that Cole hadn't had the same relationship with her mother that Beckett had, but the knowledge that Cole had had to witness the state of her mother's body was just another hit to her heart.

"She wasn't really much of a mother, but yeah I found her. I didn't touch her or anything, just called the police and then waited. Oh and I wrote out a list of her dealers and pimps – the ones I know any way, it's on the counter in the kitchen. Do you know how long this is all going to last because I would really like to get a few hours of sleep before I have to be at the bakery in," She looked down at her watch for the third time in the past 20 minutes, "4 and a half hours. You guys aren't going to call child services are you, because I can take care of myself."

Beckett wasn't sure what had prevailed her to do it, but the second the child had claimed she could take care of herself Beckett had vowed she would never have to.

"Not tonight," Kate stood up, "Grab your things Cole you can crash at my place tonight we'll deal with everything else tomorrow." Kate ignored the look she knew Castle was giving her. She slipped back into the bedroom to tell Lanie she was calling it a night, not missing the look Cole gave Castle silently questioning the seriousness of the detective.

CBCB

The ride back to Beckett's apartment was silent and awkward. When they stopped at Castle's apartment to let him out, Cole spoke the first words she'd spoken since they had left her mother's crime scene.

"What, you two aren't married?" Castle and Beckett looked at each other and each of them shared a smile. The commonly asked question had ceased to really bother either of them.

"Uh, no" Beckett looked back at her, Castle remained half in half out of the vehicle

"I guess that explains all the unresolved tension and the fact that you stare at each other every time the other one looks away. People who've jumped in the sac together generally lose the spark." Her words were matter of fact and held such indifference that it nearly broke his heart. A romantic through and through he couldn't stand the thought that someone so young had already become so cynical towards love.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Cole. Kate," the use of her first name startled her and she found her gaze lingering on the spot that he'd been in, that was until Cole cleared her throat rather loudly.

When they finally reached Kate's apartment she grabbed the small backpack that Cole had packed and they made their way up. Cole whistled her approval as they entered the apartment and Kate didn't miss the way she took in every aspect of the main room.

"Come on, you can have the spare bedroom. There is a little bathroom at the back just a toilet, sink and shower but its cozy. I'll grab some shampoo and clean towels." They walked into the bedroom that her dad used on his visits in the city. There wasn't much to it, but she knew the double bed, and the massive amounts of pillows that her dad enjoyed would be comfortable.

"The only time I've ever slept in a bed was at my friend Kari's birthday party last year." Cole didn't know what it was that had compelled her to reveal this tiny tidbit but she had none the less. She noticed the way the detective took in the information without showing how she felt about it. She was instantly grateful, if not a little curious as to how she had become so good at hiding her emotions.

"Are you hungry?" Kate asked

At the same time as Cole replied with a sturdy no, her stomach growled. Kate chose to ignore it. Once again Cole was finding herself grateful to the detective.

"The Kitchen is in the main room where we came in and you're welcome to anything. My room is just down the hall from yours. We have to be at the precinct by 8 at the latest tomorrow morning."

"I have to be at the Bakery by 4; then I have school." Kate had known this moment would come and she sighed before answering.

"You won't be working at the Bakery anymore, and I need you at the precinct tomorrow. If you feel up to school you can go back after tomorrow. "

"What," Cole's voice escalated, "You can't do that, I need that job. Who else is going to hire an eleven year old."

"No one, because eleven year olds shouldn't be working," Kate was surprised at how much conviction was in her voice.

"Who the hell do you think you are? You're not my mother."

"No, no I'm not your mother. Your mother was brutally killed tonight and as much as you may have hated her that doesn't change the fact that she was your mother." Kate had managed to keep her voice calm and she could see that Cole was trying desperately not to let the tears fall. To help the girl save face, she took that moment to slip out of the bedroom, then down the hall to her own. Once she had shut the door she picked up the phone and dialled his number.

CBCB

Castle shook his head and as he climbed out of the elevator. His mind was replaying the last couple of hours and he kept jumping from memories of Alexis at eleven to Cole sitting on that sofa, acting three times her age.

Like all of the nights when he came back from a particularly grizzly case, Castle made his way up the stairs in the loft, and into his baby's room. She was fast asleep by now, so Castle took a seat in the old rocking chair beside her bed and just watched. He knew Alexis would call him creepy, but it was days like this when the only person that could make him believe there was still goodness in the world was his innocent daughter.

It wasn't long after finally peeling himself away from Alexis that he felt the buzz of his phone. He pulled it out of his back pocket to see Beckett's name flash across the screen. Despite the evening they had just had, he smiled.

"Beckett?" He answered quietly

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing Castle! I took a KID home from a crime scene today, what the hell am I doing?" Rick let another smile grace his lips. Not because of Kate's obvious panic, but because in that moment of panic, she had called him.

"Kate," He spoke her name quietly but not even that could dissuade her

"I mean she was only here for 10 minutes before we were arguing. I can't take care of a kid, especially not a traumatized one. I'm too traumatized myself!"

"Kate," he tried again to no avail

"I mean did you see how she was living? Did you see her mother? Castle she wrote out a list of her mother's pimps and dealers. What eleven year old has to do that," Kate's voice cracked and Castle could hear her fall onto her bed in defeat. Castle remained silent waiting to be sure Kate was finished.

"Castle? You still there?"

"I am. Just making sure you can fully hear me when I say this. Are you listening," She nodded into the phone and by some unexplainable connection Castle heard it.

"You are remarkable Kate Beckett, and you did the right thing tonight. Go to bed, get a couple hours of sleep and I will see you at the precinct in the morning." The overwhelming urge to add I love you, was not missed by Rick but he kept his mouth shut.

"Thank you Rick," Her voice was quiet, but it was steady. Kate was struck the most intense feeling of loss as she whispered her good night to Rick and disconnected the call.

A/N – Thanks for reading and for the awesome reviews. I know this isn't a typical casket-y fic so I appreciate all of them.