A/N- Thanks for all the comments, criticism and love for this story. It's truly awe inspiring! (J&J - thanks to my personal cheerleaders)

Jo- your beta help with this has been incredible. Thank you so much!

Disclaimer- Castle is not mine, but all the mistakes are.

The More Things Change…

…the more they stay the same. Kate Beckett is bored with life, but when a serial killer starts dedicating murders to her- someone enters the scene to aid with the investigation and her life may never be the same. Season 2- AU Caskett meeting.

Chapter 14

"But you're here now. Kate, talk to me. You're not making any sense." Pulling away from his hold, she looked up into his eyes and the decision was clear.

"It's about my dad."

He pulled her farther into the house, leading her toward a couch in what appeared to be a living room. There was a slight hesitation in his actions, like he was afraid that she would break at any moment.

"Kate—I thought," he stuttered, almost at a loss for words. "I thought your father was—"

"He is, Castle. My dad died in a car accident, only it wasn't an accident." She took a deep breath as she sat down on the overstuffed sofa. Thoughts were swirling around in her head, the overwhelming anxiety leaving her feeling faint. She could do this. She could trust him.

"Wait, what?" His voice was calm, but she could hear the concern laced in his words and his expression. He seemed so unsure of himself as he sat down next to her, yet he had the keen ability to read her like no one else could, and the ability to know what she needed. He ran his hand along her leg with an encouraging squeeze.

"My father was murdered…" She kept her voice strong and sure, but then she didn't know what else to say. How did you follow up a statement like that? What words could ever be an adequate companion to her confession of such a life defining moment?

"Are you sure? When did you—"

"All these years, I had always thought it was an accident, but then…" Her voice broke, the strength in her words faltering. It was one thing to know the fact, but to explain it to him—it made it more real. Tears filled her eyes, clouding her vision, but she kept her composure.

"Hey, hey. Kate, you can tell me."

"My mom was holding onto evidence that could prove that the accident was intentional." As she spoke, she looked at her hands and straightened her clothing. If she looked at him, if she met his eyes, she would lose it.

"Why was she holding it? I don't understand."

"I'm still trying to piece everything together, but basically she got involved with investigating a case. She stumbled upon something that she shouldn't have and the people involved warned her to stop." Kate paused for a moment and swallowed down the lump in her throat. "When she didn't listen, they went after my dad and told her if she continued that they would go after us as well. So she stopped."

"Beckett, who are these people?"

"I'm trying to find the answers, Castle. I don't have them all yet, but I will."

"You're looking into this? By yourself? I don't know if—Kate, these people sound dangerous."

"I'm fine," she claimed, her voice rising in volume. She cared about Castle, but he didn't get to decide how she lived her life. It was her life.

"If they went after your dad, what makes you think they won't kill you if you get too close?"

"I can't let these people get away with this, Castle. I need to find the truth. But I'm telling you because I can't keep lying to you about it."

"Beckett—"

"Just let me get this out, okay? I should've told you. I pushed you away because I don't want you to get hurt because of me." His head shot up with her words, like he was having an epiphany.

"That's why you didn't have a problem with me coming up here? You thought you were protecting me? Kate, I don't need—"

"People were following me, Castle. They were watching us while we were on our date." She met his stare, willing him to understand where she was coming from.

"The paparazzi, Kate. I already knew that obviously." She shook her head, he didn't understand. Reaching over, she threaded her fingers with his, rubbing her thumb on the top of his hand.

"No, Castle. Not the paparazzi. The people involved with my dad's death. They were watching us at dinner and left proof of it at my mom's apartment. So she called them…"

"She's the one who called the paparazzi?" His jaw dropped for a second, but he seemed to school his features quickly.

"Yes. She figured that if the gossip rags were watching, then whoever else was following us around couldn't get us."

"Kate, how the hell do you know they aren't still following you?" he asked as the decibels in his voice rose.

She pushed herself off of the sofa and rubbed her hands over her face. The room, so spacious when they'd walked in, was starting to close in on her. He was right. They could still be following her. They could be standing outside the house right now. Panic coursed through her body as she paced across the room.

"I don't, but—I was being selfish, coming here. I wanted to stop living in a 'what if' scenario. I wanted to tell you the truth, but I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Kate looked over at him, tears rolling down her cheeks. "God, I don't want you to get hurt because of me," she repeated, slowing down her steps.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Beckett. I'm a little irritated by the fact that you didn't feel like you could trust me. We've slept together for Christ's sake. But—"

"I told you I'm not good at this. I'm horrible at being in a relationship. I've let you into my life more than I have with anyone else—but it scares me to death." She was rambling, words falling from her lips before she could fully deal with the implication.

He looked at her with a laugh and a scoff. "You think I'm good at this? I have two failed marriages. It's not like I'm great at relationships either. But you need to know you can trust me. With anything."

"I know. I know I can and that's why I came here. I couldn't tell you over the phone and I didn't—and I couldn't lie to you anymore." She stopped and turned to him, allowing Castle to reach over and pull her into his lap.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked, rubbing his hands down her arms before pulling her closer into a hug.

"I need to find my father's killer. I need to make him pay for what he did," she whispered into his neck.

"Okay. Then I want to help you." The words sparked concern in her stomach and she pushed back to look into his eyes.

"Castle, no. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Hell, I probably shouldn't stay here, in case someone was following me. It was a horrible idea for me to come up in the first place."

"No. It's non-negotiable. I'm helping you. And you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you finally admitted we're in a relationship," he said with a smirk and a wiggle of his eyebrow. A low chuckle released from his throat, as he held her tighter and claimed her mouth with his.

"What if someone tried to follow me?" she asked, breaking the kiss.

"I have a state of the art security system and I live in a gated community. Wait—how did you get past security?"

"I flashed my badge," she said with a smile and a blush.

"Abuse of power. I like it! My girlfriend's a rule-breaker," he chuckled.

"Girlfriend? Jumping right to the titles, are we?"

"Yes, Beckett. You admitted it. We're in a relationship," he replied, popping the p for emphasis.

"I don't think I actually said those words," she said, laughing at his excitement.

"Maybe not, but you definitely implied them."

"So much for fun and casual," she muttered.

"But Kate, we can still be very fun. I now have my gorgeous girlfriend up here with me for Memorial Day. I couldn't ask for anything more."

"I probably shouldn't stay. Just to be safe," Kate said again, trying to pull away but he reeled her back in.

"I'm not taking no for an answer now," he hummed into her ear.

"Castle—"

"Nope. Now when do you have to be back at the precinct?"

"Tuesday."

"So I have you all to myself up here for five days." He pressed a kiss against her neck and smiled.

"I didn't bring anything with me. I didn't actually realize I was driving here. Kinda drove on autopilot." She shrugged a bit, embarrassed about her poor planning.

"Well I'm sure Alexis has some clothes you can borrow and anything else you need we can go into town for."

"Castle, I should be working on my dad's case. I don't need to take a vacation right now." But he was making a convincing argument and every nerve ending in her body was telling her she wouldn't mind five days wrapped up in his arms. But if she did this? Took the time to herself? Was she letting her dad down?

"I'm going to help you with it, Kate. I don't want you doing it alone," he said while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Excuse me—" Maybe she admitted that they could be together, but she would not allow him to tell her how she could conduct investigations.

"I didn't say you weren't capable. I just—these people sound dangerous. So I can be your backup. Your plucky sidekick if you will." He grinned and gave her a wink.

"Plucky sidekicks always get killed."

"Fine, partner then," he concluded and kissed her cheek.

"Okay, partner." She laughed at his stubbornness. Though, she couldn't really say much about that, she was the same way. If she allowed him to help, she would have someone watching her back. Someone she trusted. She would hate herself if he got hurt, but it was obvious that he wouldn't let her investigate without him.

"But that can wait. Let those people think you've dropped it. We'll enjoy the sand, the sun, and the water…" He wasn't going to let her leave.

Sighing to herself, she smiled and nodded her head. "I'll stay."

"No more lies?"

"No more lies," she agreed, feathering a kiss onto his lips.

"Together."

"Together," she repeated with another kiss.

"I missed you."

"It's only been a couple days," she teased, earning a scoff from him. "Kidding. I missed you too." She leaned forward and pulled him into a deeper kiss.

Walking through the house, Kate was in complete awe of every room Castle showed her. Each space was decorated with the utmost detail that could be described as both classic and relaxed. He led her through with their fingers intertwined, occasionally squeezing as if to cement the fact that he was happy she was there with him.

After the week that she had experienced, there was no way she should be this relaxed. This content. Yet there was something about this man; he had such a calming effect on her. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was really good for her. Castle looked back at her as they walked into the next room of their tour. His eyes were sparkling. He was beautiful, but with the genuine, honest look in his eyes when he looked at her; a certain four letter word came to mind.

Too soon.

It wasn't the first time she contemplated or considered that she may be feeling like that, but the way that he gazed at her made her believe he might be feeling the same way too. It was terrifying.

"This place is great, Rick. Really," she said, smiling up at him trying to cut the intensity of her thoughts.

"Only made better by you being here." She could feel the blush warm her cheeks and before she could tell him to cut it out he pulled her quickly toward the door. "Now come on, I want to show you my favorite part."

They walked through the set of French doors into his expansive backyard, though the word 'backyard; didn't quite do the view justice. It was absolutely breath-taking.

"When Alexis was little, we would just come up to the Hamptons and spend all day out here all summer long. Each day was a new adventure," he beamed.

"That sounds kind of magical." She looked around at the beautiful yard, the view of the ocean and the beach. The breeze tousled her hair and she took a deep breath. This was exactly what she needed.

"It kind of was. And now she's going to be at Princeton all summer." His face fell for a moment, but she nudged him and he answered with a smile.

"That's what you get for raising such an over-achiever," she smirked.

"I can't take much credit for that. She practically raised herself," Castle said with a shrug.

"Maybe, but she was lucky to have such a great dad."

"Beckett, are you going soft on me?" He chuckled as he grabbed her hand again.

"Maybe. I blame this place," she answered with a small laugh.

"Just this place?"

"Well you might have something to do with it too," she admitted with a wink. "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"I needed this. I was falling down a rabbit hole back in the city. This—this is giving me some perspective. I don't want to lose myself to this case." Castle led her further into the yard, exploring his entire property.

"You have me. I won't let you, but for now—"

"For now, I'll try to not think about it. Let's put a pin in it until I'm back in the city," she decided, looking around some more.

"If you're sure…" He hesitated before she answered with a nod.

"I'm sure. Let's just be Kate and Rick, two people trying to figure out what it means to be in a relationship together."

"I like the sound of that," he beamed, pulling her closed into his side and kiss the top of her hair. "Definitely like the sound of that."

As the sun began to set on her first day in the Hamptons, she sat on his private beach, staring out at the waves while Castle tended to the bon-fire he started. Smiling to herself, she couldn't believe what a difference a day made.

Yesterday she would've never expected to be sitting next to a bon-fire on the beach with Castle. Yesterday, she was—no, she'd promised to put it out of her mind. She needed to just enjoy her time here with Castle. Her toes dug into the cool sand and she wiggled them, enjoying the feeling. She could do this.

"What do you think?" he asked, pride seeping from his words.

"Impressive campfire skills, Castle," she applauded.

"It's nearly perfect, if I do say so myself."

"Nearly?" she smirked.

"Yes, this fire is missing one key ingredient." He walked over to his bag and pulled out a couple of containers and a plastic bag. From her angle on the blanket, she couldn't see exactly what was in the mystery containers. Castle had insisted on packing everything for tonight all by himself. He told her he wanted to surprise her with a Hampton's evening she wouldn't forget.

"What's the missing ingredient?" she asked, craning her neck some more.

"S'mores!" he exclaimed, finally allowing her to see what was in his arms.

"Okay, I may officially like you a little bit more!"

"And you should know, I'm quite possibly the best s'mores maker this side of the Mississippi."

"And the biggest dork too."

"I'm going to pretend you meant that as a compliment or else I'm not going to share," he teased, waving the bag of marshmallows at her.

"It was totally a compliment. Now please share," she pleaded, reaching for the bag.

Chuckling softly, he brushed a kiss onto the top of her head before he sat down next to Kate and passing the marshmallows to her. She reached over for one of the skewers next to their supplies and poked a couple onto the stick. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Castle was sitting there with a smile on his face.

"You know staring is creepy," she smirked.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Beckett. I wasn't staring." The words were out of his mouth but he didn't take his eyes off of her.

"Then what do you call it?"

"Okay, maybe I was staring a little. I can't help it. You're fascinating," he admitted. The fire glow in the background danced across his cheeks, but she swore he was blushing a bit.

"I'm poking marshmallows with a stick," she laughed. "Which, I thought you were going to show me these world famous s'mores of yours. Were you all talk?"

"Not all talk. It's just the more I get to know you, the more I learn, everything about you fascinates me. It's just—thank you," he stammered.

"What are you thanking me for?" A bit of a déjà vu from earlier, only now she was the one confused by the gratitude.

"For being here with me in spite of everything. For realizing that I'm more than my public persona. For trusting me and letting me into your life. I know it's not something you do and maybe you didn't even do it on purpose, but I can't help but feel grateful." His expression was warm. She reached over and cupped his cheek with her palm, grazing her thumb over the delicate skin below his eye.

"I'm the one who should be grateful. You're saving me from myself," she whispered, pulling him down with her onto the blankets and kissing him hard on the lips.

The s'mores could wait.

TBC

Thanks so much for reading! I would love to know what you think.