A/N: Sort of angsty, sort of fluffy. I wrote this a few weeks ago and am just posting it. Hope you like it! Inspired by the song Rise by the Frames, the song at the end of Knockdown.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

The mood in the precinct was morose. Ryan and Esposito, the official detectives on the case, were doing paperwork quietly at their desks, speaking in hushed voices like they'd didn't deal with dead bodies everyday. Montgomery was locked in his office, blinds shut, probably swigging scotch from his flask. Most of the other cops on the floor were gone, and the few who remained kept themselves busy and out of they way. Castle, meanwhile, was flitting between the break room, the murder board (as if to remind himself that the past two days had actually happened), and his chair beside Beckett's desk. Beckett, likewise, was moving around, but her only purpose appeared to be avoiding him.

Castle had been sitting in his regular chair, sipping his coffee, hoping and waiting for Beckett to come back, when he glance at the clock, then around the room. He'd been sitting there for a while and hadn't seen Beckett at all, not even in passing. She couldn't have left, her coat and purse were still on her chair, so she had to be here somewhere.

He left his mug on one of the saucers he'd bought when Beckett had left her coffee on the wood and hadn't cared when he'd been appalled at her carelessness. "Have you seen Beckett lately?" he called to the boys, standing.

They shrugged and went back to their work without a word.

He glanced into the break room, but it was empty. He sighed and wrinkled his nose. Turning, he walked down the hallway, thinking that maybe she was taking her feelings out on some poor robbery cop in the dojo, but as he passed the door to the filing room, he heard a sob and then a sniffle.

The door creaked as soon as he tugged on it, twisting the knob slowly. He cringed but didn't hear anything different, so he slipped inside, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dimmed lighting. He focused on the figure sitting against the far wall.

Beckett had her elbows propped on her knees. Her head was in her hands, but when he walked in she looked up, wiping her eyes on her sleeves, turning the fabric a darker shade of gray. "Hey Castle," she whispered.

"Hey," he said, slightly startled. Beckett rarely cried, and if she did, no one saw it. She didn't let people in, but now the cover was gone.

"Did you, um, need something?" she asked. She'd realized her mistake and was quickly trying to regain her composure, her mask.

"Um, no, I was just looking for you. No one had seen you in a while. You know, if you'd wanted to hide, you, um, would've done better in the women's restroom. All females have disappeared." He smiled weakly.

She didn't seem to hear the joke in his voice. "Why does this happen?"

"Sorry?"

"Why do people kill each other? It's unnatural."

He walked toasted her slowly, like she was a little bird he didn't want to scare. He reached her and sat down to her left. "The dichotomy of the human nature, I suppose. We're all capable of being really good, but we can be really bad at the same time."

"But...a lot of these people, they seem like angels, but when we actually look at them, they fall. They're good people, and it's almost always the case that they get into stuff in the last few weeks of their lives. And because of those bad decisions, they're dead. Why? And their families, they're completely unaware that anything's wrong. Why does that happen?"

"I don't know, maybe because everything happens for a reason."

"What reason?" She seemed desperate for an answer. "What possible reason could there be for something like this?"

Castle recognized that the conversation had finally returned to the one topic he'd known it would, the only thing that had been on either of their minds for the past two days: her mother.

"I'm not trying to justify anything," he said slowly, cautiously. "I know you never really let it go, and you still haven't, and you haven't gotten the closure or justice you should have. But you have to think about the positive things that came out of it."

The corners of her mouth twitched upwards as she leaned her head against the wall, looking at him. "You sound like a preacher."

He grinned. "But think about it. If your mom hadn't been killed, you wouldn't be a cop and there would be so many killers who'd still be walking free. You wouldn't be so able to connect with the victim's families. Montgomery once told me that you were the best detective he's ever seen talk to them. That's what makes you such a good cop. You don't care about getting the job done, you just care about justice."

She sniffled and shrugged.

"you wouldn't have the friends you have today. Lanier wouldn't know you, and she's like your twin. The Captain pretty much thinks of you as a daughter. Ryan and Esposito are like over-protective older brothers." He paused, looking into space—remembering. "Dating those girls was always interesting." He snapped back to the present, still pensive. "And then there's me."

"You're right, I guess. I wouldn't even have read your books. Before my mom died, I almost always read fantasy. After that I started reading murder mystery." She smiled. "So what are you in the family? Crazy cousin in the attic? The uncle who always gets drunk and starts dancing at weddings?"

"Of course not," he sniffed self-righteously. "I'm the next door neighbor. I'm the best friend."

She grinned slowly. "I guess so. Because you're my partner, right?"

"Exactly."

They were silent for a while. Castle set his hand on hers, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. Just a comfort thing, but Beckett was grateful.

"You know, I meant what I said earlier," he said finally. "I will always be there for you."

"Thanks Castle." She looked at him closely. "It's amazing how you can promise that. You could be killed, following me. So why do you do it?"

"I don't know. But as long as I watch out for you and you watch out for me, we'll both be fine. We're partners, remember?"

"We're partners. Yeah."

Castle pushed himself up and held out a hand for her. "Come in, or the boys are going to start making bets."

She took his hand and stood up. But when she was up, he didn't let go. Instead he looked straight into her eyes, and she shivered like he was reading her soul. "What?" she asked.

"I was just thinking. I'm a writer, right? And in most stories you will ever read, the main character falls in love with the partner. It's like Taylor Swft or something." He shrugged as she gaped at him. "Just a thought."

He let go of her hand and walked back through the door. She stared after him. Slowly her face broke into a grin. She shook her head. He was right of course. It was pretty much the oldest storyline in the book. Maybe it didn't happen automatically, maybe they didn't like each other, sometimes hated each other, to begin with, but rest assured the pattern continued.

She shook her head and followed him out of the room.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I liked writing it. Please review! I think I may live off of reviews. xD