A/N: I deeply apologize for the delay with this chapter. The holidays messed up my writing schedule a bit and I didn't want to rush through this chapter. This story is a little more intense than some of my other stories I have in process so I wanted to devote the right time to it. I appreciate you all sticking with this story for so long. Thank you.

Jo- Thanks for being a wonderful beta and dealing with my ramblings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine.

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 20

"Beckett."

"Hmmm."

"Kate, wake up," Castle whispered onto her skin as he pressed a kiss against her temple. "The precinct just called."

"Hmm, what?"

"Precinct just called but I couldn't answer it or wake you up before the call dropped. I figured you'd want to call them back."

"Yeah, Castle. Thanks." She cleared her throat and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Seven," he said pulling her closer, kissing the patch of skin below her ear and trailing down her jaw line. A soft moan fell from her lips as his hands moved lower past her abdomen. This was quite possibly the best wake-up call she had received, but they weren't in this hotel for fun. They had the case to work on.

"God. Castle. As much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day doing this, we uh, we need to call the precinct back. They may have news." She gasped as his hand teased her waistband.

"Just give me twenty minutes. Thirty minutes tops," he murmured against her collarbone.

"Mmm. Okay."

Her brain shut off for a moment as her senses were overwhelmed by the memory of the wicked things that Castle had done last night and all the things that could be accomplished in twenty minutes. Just as her eyes fluttered shut and he flipped her over flat against the mattress, she heard her phone ring.

"Don't pick it up…"

"But I—"

"Don't."

"I need—"

"Don't." He mumbled moving down her body and as much as she would have loved to just ignore the ringing she reached over for her phone.

"Beckett."

"You picked it up," he groaned, as he rolled over. She mouthed her apology to him as she sat up against the headboard and listened to Esposito on the other end.

"We got him," Espo stated.

"Who did you get?" Maybe she was more asleep than she thought…

"Ganz."

She shot up in bed.

"You what? How?" she asked in shock.

"TSA caught him trying to catch a flight back to Cali."

"Is he talking? About Royce or about Bracken?"

Her thoughts were racing and she was just throwing out the first words that came to her mind.

"He's not saying a word. Just sitting there and staring. It's like he's waiting."

She needed to get there. They were wasting their time in L.A.

"We're on our way. Next flight out."

She swiped her finger over the screen and ended the call. Flinging the cell down on the bed, she looked over at Castle with a smile.

"They have Ganz," she beamed. "I'm going to make the bastard talk."

Rolling off of the bed, she headed into the bathroom to get changed.

"I'll book the flight," Castle called after her.

"I really have no clue what I'd do without you," she said poking her head out of the bathroom door before shutting it again.

"You'll never have to find out."

Kate was nearly silent the entire way to the airport. She tried her best to not think of all the worst case scenarios, all the ways that Ganz could get out of custody or get off with a good lawyer. Throughout her career, she had always had faith in the system and believed in justice. Yet knowing that these people had gotten away with her father's murder for so long? Her faith in the system was faltering.

Her silence continued throughout their flight as well. Castle must have sensed her mood because he didn't say a word. It was the quietest he had ever been since she had known him.

"Okay, cut it out. It's getting weird now," Kate said, turning toward him.

"Cut what out? What do you mean?"

She ran her hand down his arm toward his hand.

"You're quiet. Too quiet." He intertwined their fingers and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You didn't seem like you were in the mood to talk," Castle defended.

"And when has that ever stopped you before?"

"Normally, it doesn't. I just could tell that you had a lot on your mind. I was just trying to prevent myself from sending you over the edge."

"I appreciate that, but it's not you. You push, you poke, it's who you are and it's what you do and I love you for that."

"Thank you," he said, pressing a kiss into her hair. "And I'm sorry I haven't annoyed you on the flight. I'll work on it."

"You better!" She laughed.

"So what are you thinking about?" She turned her head to look up at him with an arched eyebrow. "What? Now that's too nosy of a question?"

"No—no. Just—you went from zero to sixty. Slight whiplash," Kate said, trying to keep her tone light, but the darkness crept in. "What if when we get there, Ganz has already lawyered up? What if we can't find the tie from Ganz to Bracken or even to my dad's murder?"

"Kate, we'll find a way. No matter what happens right now with Ganz—we'll end this. We'll figure it out, you and me."

"How did I end up with the eternal optimist?" she asked, laying her head back down against him.

"Because nature likes balance. Also, you're pretty hot, so that doesn't hurt keeping me interested," he teased and she smacked his chest in mock offense.

"Castle…"

"I just speak the truth. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?"

The overhead speaker boomed on and the pilot announced their descent.

"Castle, I need you to be serious."

"I'm being completely serious about that," he said with a wink. "But I know what you mean. Let's catch these bastards and then you need to take time to let your arm heal. You need to take a breather."

"I promise, and maybe I'll let you continue with nursing me back to health."

"That's all I ask," Castle said, kissing her again.

"Where's Ganz?"

"Kate, go home. You're not in any condition to be here," Roy said, meeting her as she walked off of the elevator with Castle in tow.

"Sir, I just flew back so I could talk to him. Has he said anything yet?" she asked, looking around the bullpen. Her thoughts were as frantic as her movements. All she could focus on was going in there and breaking him.

"Silence. He hasn't even tried to ask for a lawyer yet."

"What the hell could he be waiting for?" Kate asked, focusing on Montgomery's words.

"Not sure, but Ryan and Esposito just moved him back into interrogation to see if they could get him to budge."

"Let me talk to him," she pleaded, the desperation flooding through every syllable. She moved in the direction of the room, but Roy blocked her from moving farther.

"Do you really think that's a good idea? I understand Royce was a friend, but I don't think that emotion will be a smart idea in there."

"Roy, just let me have this one. I need to get Ganz to break."

She wanted to tell him everything. She trusted Montgomery and he had always been there to guide her career but she needed more evidence to bring him in, more than just conspiracy theories.

"This is about more than just Royce, isn't it?"

"I'll explain it all. I will. I just—just let me talk to him."

"Okay. But I'm sorry, Castle, you're watching from observation," he said, turning to her partner.

"Fair enough," he agreed, turning toward Kate. "You've got this."

Ganz didn't help. He just sat there staring at her like a smug self-serving asshole. She knew she could break him, but she needed more leverage. Something that would make him scared. When she tried to provoke him by telling him that Royce named him in his letter and blamed him if he ended up dead; he just looked at her and laughed.

"Last time I saw him, he said something about hell raining down on me. I never imagined hell would look like you," Ganz said, looking down her body.

"Wait, so now you're talking? You admit that you know him?"

"Sure, I know many people. I like people. I consider myself a people person," he said with a smirk. "What happened to your arm, Detective? Looks like it hurt—"

The look in his eyes. She remembered that look; the eyes that bore into her as her consciousness flickered out during the attack.

"You asshole. You did this! It was you!"

His eyes almost sparkled with amusement at her outburst. He was a psychopath.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just commenting that it looks like you may not be one hundred percent. Like you had an accident," he spat.

"Son of a bitch!" she screamed, as she shoved the table forward with her uninjured arm and her side; knocking him over. She stalked toward him- and within seconds, Ryan and Esposito were back in the room, pulling her away from him.

"Beckett, stand down," Ryan said holding her off in the corner.

"He basically admitted to killing Royce and being responsible for my attack," she yelled with words broken from near hysterics.

"No, he was baiting you," Espo said, calling back to her.

"Detective, a word?" Roy asked, looking through the doorway. "Ryan, Esposito. Finish up in here."

"Sir?"

"Now!" he barked, as she followed him out of the room.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but he all but admitted to the murder and my attack. If you just give me a little more time, I could get a confession."

He turned back to her and shook his head.

"No Kate, what you almost had in there was a step closer to losing your badge. I don't want to have to write you up on a disciplinary issue when I know I shouldn't have let you in there in the first place."

"But Sir, I was so close."

He didn't understand. No one understood how much she needed him to talk. This was her chance for justice for her father.

"Beckett, take the rest of the week off like you were supposed to. We'll take care of this," Roy commanded, walking back to his office.

"You don't understand how important this is! I need to be here. He's the only lead I have," she pleaded again. She was losing all control. He turned back to her and was about to say something when Castle interrupted.

"Kate, that's not true," Castle said, walking out of the observation room with the key in his hand. She grinned at him when realization struck to what he was holding. How had she forgotten about the key?

She had an idea.

Sure it was a long shot, but then again so was anything at this point.

"We need to go to the evidence room," Kate said, reaching out for his arm and tugging him with her.

"Detective? I need some answers," Roy said, standing there dumbfounded.

"I'll explain everything. I promise," she said over her shoulder.

"I'm trusting you," he called out after her.

They moved further down the hallway toward the room.

"Kate?" Castle asked, as they walked into the evidence room.

"Royce left the key. He must have left it for a reason."

He raised his eyebrow at her and confusion was apparent in his expression.

"Yes, for the safety deposit box, but we don't know where the box is."

"What if he had the address on him? He wouldn't leave the key and address in the same spot. So if he had the letter in L.A., what if he had the address as far from the key as possible…?" she mused.

"New York from L.A. would be a nice distance to separate the two," he agreed as she started searching the room for Royce's belongings. "You don't think anyone has claimed his belongings?"

"He didn't have any family. He was always married to his job."

"Kinda like you were—"

"Kinda like I was, before you stormed into my life," she said, finishing his sentence and nudging his side with her elbow to indicate the box containing Royce's items.

"Did anyone check his apartment?" he asked.

"Yeah, it was searched but there wasn't much there."

"His place in Los Angeles didn't have much either—"

"Wait, Castle. Look at this." She held out the receipt from his wallet.

"It's a receipt," he stated.

"Not just any receipt. It's for Java Joe's."

They were normally in sync with things, but it would've been a long shot to expect that he would understand her train of thought with this.

"I'm not following."

"It's the place that Royce and I would always stop at during overnight patrols. It was great because they were open twenty four hours," she explained.

"So he kept a coffee receipt. How is that helpful?" Castle asked.

"This was the location we would stop at, which happens to be located next to First National Bank," Kate said, as his eyes widened in realization.

"He was sending you a message."

"His way of telling me where it is without leading me directly to it," she whispered.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." He grabbed her hand and started pulling her out the door.

"Castle, what if there are other people watching us? We lucked out in L.A., but we're back where I was attacked. If someone is tailing us, if someone gets the contents of that box-"

"So we're not going to go?"

"No, no we're going to go. We're just not going to go directly from the precinct." He raised his eyebrow in her direction and she ran her hand through her hair. "I'll admit this isn't my best plan. We can grab something to eat and then go."

"And how will eating help us?"

"I don't know, Castle. I don't. All I know is that someone is probably out there watching me—watching us. And I can't go home because I know they know where I live. Hell, at this point they're probably watching your place as well, so I don't want to draw any more attention to it."

"Neutral ground," he said, in understanding.

"Exactly, neutral ground. We can both be on the look-out for anything suspicious before we go to the box."

"Are you sure that we shouldn't tell Montgomery or the boys? Maybe have some back up?"

She ran her hand over her face. He was right. That would be the safe way to go in a normal case, but not this one. With this one, all bets were off.

"Castle, if they catch wind of anything at all, I'm basically dead. My only hope is that since Ganz is in custody that they may be focusing their efforts on him."

"What about your mom?" he asked.

"She still has the security with her. I texted her after we got off the plane. She's worried about me of course, but I told her just to act normal. I don't want anything to happen to her," she said, turning to lean against his body before he wrapped his arms around her.

"This will all be over soon."

Remy's was buzzing with the usual patrons that flowed in and out on a daily basis. Nothing seemed off and they hadn't noticed anyone follow them. It was now or never.

They'd switched cabs three times on the way between Remy's and the bank. True, it was slightly paranoid, but her arm throbbed in confirmation that she was entirely justified in her precautions.

Castle laced his fingers through hers as they walked into the bank. He held her tight and close to his body. The bank was busy for the end of the day rush and the confidence in his expression was starting to crack. Kate tried to ease his worry by squeezing his hold, but she knew it wasn't helping like it should. He wasn't a cop; he shouldn't have to deal with this anxiety. He wasn't trained to deal with life and death situations. The case and the fact that she had allowed him to follow her down this rabbit hole; this was far past book research. The worry lines on his face confirmed this without needing any words.

As soon as the private banker ushered them back into the safety deposit room, Kate's heart pounded and she was sure the banker could hear it through her chest. Selecting the box that matched the number on the key, she held her breath as the keys turned and she heard the click of the lock.

"Please let me know if there is anything else we can assist you with. The bank will be closing in thirty minutes," the woman said with a polite smile before she turned to leave the room.

Kate's eyes met Castle's and he gave her a reassuring smile.

"You can do this."

She gave him a quick nod and opened the box.

"Beckett?" Her partner called out after her as they moved off of the elevator; her eyes focused on her Captain's office.

"Not now, Espo."

"Beckett? What is all that?"

"Ryan? Like I told Espo - not now," she said, glaring at her partners as she continued on her path with Castle not far behind. Knocking quickly, she walked into Montgomery's office before he had the chance to invite her in.

"Beckett?" he asked, his voice low with anger.

In response, she dropped all the files and paperwork on his desk.

"It's all here," she stated, trying to keep emotion out of her tone, but she knew she was failing.

"What's all here? What is this, Kate?"

"Names, transactions, dates. Everything associated with the organization," Castle added, seeing Kate struggle with words.

"Will someone start making sense and explain?"

She took a deep breath and focused on getting through this.

"Ganz. He runs the part of the organization that takes care of the problems. If someone needed a little persuading or was getting in the way he took care of it," she explained and then pulled out the journal and flipped back to the date. "This date right here. This transaction. This was the hit that was taken out on my father to warn my mom. And here—" Kate moved further back to a more recent date. "This was the date of my attack."

"How—how did you get your hands on this? What organization? And if Ganz is just in charge of the hits, who runs this thing?"

She paged through more of the paperwork, showing him other items in the file.

"Royce found it and placed it in a safety deposit box before anyone knew it was missing. He flew to L.A. to hide the key as far away from the journal, but he somehow knew I would follow the lead to find it. I have other research and files from my mom that corresponds with some of these dates in the journal, as well," Kate said.

"So I'm still confused—your attack, Royce's murder, and your dad's death—they're all related?"

Closing her eyes for a moment, she looked directly at her Captain and nodded.

"Yes."

"Why?" he asked.

"It's all a massive political cover-up," Castle explained, squeezing Kate's hand as she swayed from the weight of what was happening.

"Political cover-up? Who's the politician?"

"Here," Kate said, pointing to the name and photo in the file.

"Are you serious? He's in town now," Montgomery hissed.

"He is?" she asked.

"Yes, it's been kept quiet but we had to send over officers for extra security. He has a meet and greet at the Windmark. Word is he's asking for donors for a potential run at the presidency."

"I don't see that as a possibility anymore," Castle sneered.

"Neither do I. Looks like Royce collected enough evidence to put Ganz and Bracken, along with many others, in lockup for quite some time. I'll get your partners to try and see if they can get Ganz to roll on Bracken," Montgomery said, thumbing through the evidence.

"Bracken is all mine," Kate stated.

"Take back up," he told her.

"I can't go in with the cavalry, Sir. Too many eyes. He'd be tipped off in a second. I need to go in there alone."

"Like hell you will," Castle snapped, his words jarring her.

"Castle, you're not a cop. I'm not going to put you in any more danger."

"Kate, I've been in danger this entire time. I'm not going to let you go in there on a suicide mission without back up. Cop or not, I'm your partner now."

His voice was unwavering. As nervous as he seemed walking in the bank with her, it dawned on her. He wasn't concerned about his own safety. His only concern was for hers.

"Beckett, I think this is a really bad idea. If he's as well connected as all this evidence states, you'll be outnumbered," Montgomery said, flicking his eyes between Beckett and Castle.

"Sir, all we have to our advantage is the element of surprise, and the hope that he doesn't know we have the evidence to go after him. He's probably pretty confident that Ganz won't talk. We need to move before we lose that possible advantage."

"I'm going to have backup a couple blocks away. If you need it, they'll be there," he conceded, looking up at the two of them.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Thank you, Roy."

"Kate, don't go and get yourself killed. Be careful, you two."

She gave him a tight smile and walked out.

Castle was following her into the nightmare situation. It wasn't her life she was worried about.

The Windmark was buzzing with a lot people for an event that was supposed to be kept quiet. Her eyes darted around the room. She knew it was in her head, but she felt like she was walking in there with a target on her back. At any moment, one of Bracken's men with a fancy gun and a silencer could take her and Castle out; thus ending their story and their future, all because of government corruption and greed.

They passed through security without any problem with the help of one the uniforms who she knew. One hurdle passed. Looking to her side, she reached over for Castle's hand and tugged him over to a small nook in the ballroom before they put the final part of their plan into play.

"Kate? He's right there. What—"

She cut of his question by pushing herself into his body and kissing him hard on the mouth. The kiss was brief, but intense. There was so much she wanted to say to him; so much she wanted him to know, but if this was it, she at least wanted him to be left with the taste of her on his lips.

"I love you, Rick."

With one last peck on his cheek, she disappeared to set their plan into action before it was too late. She rushed to the balcony near a phone line that Montgomery had told her about. Standing from her observation view, she watched as Castle casually bumped into Bracken while he shook hands with his donors, slipping the burner cell into his pocket without his knowledge.

Now she just had to wait.

Kate tracked Castle as he moved back toward the currently abandoned kitchen. It was her turn.

She dialed the number to the burner phone and watched as the Senator looked around in a state of confusion. Finally he reached into his pocket and pulled out the cell.

"Hello?"

"This is Detective Kate Beckett…"

Bracken's eyes widened in realization and frantically looked around the room.

"I'm not in the mood for games, Detective," he spat.

"I'm done with games, Senator. Trust me. I'm beyond done. Now you're going to do exactly what I say because I have information that will destroy your career. If I see you flinch or make any signal to anyone else, I'll release it all to the press. All of it," she said, her voice with mock strength.

Bracken's head slumped forward, but he schooled his features in an instant. Kate watched as the man who murdered her father and her friend slid the phone back into his pocket and walked off to the location as she'd instructed.

The air stilled in the room and she felt like she was suffocating. It was all happening too fast and too slow at the same time.

She now had to see this man face to face. She had to look into the eyes of the man who had destroyed her family and had her beat to within an inch of her life.

Evil in human form.

Castle met her at their predetermined spot where Bracken wouldn't see them.

They moved further into the room to find the man where they had instructed him to meet. As he moved out of the shadows, Kate lifted her gun with her uninjured arm and pointed it at his head.

"That's far enough."

"What do you want, Miss Beckett."

"I want you to admit it all to me. Confess your sins."

"Never expect the truth from a politician. Besides, if you have all this information like you said on the phone, why do I need to say anything more?" he asked, toying with her.

"Because I want to hear it from your mouth. I want to hear you admit every life you stole, every family you destroyed. You owe it to me and so many others," she yelled.

"Your father's death was a tragedy. And I am deeply sorry for your loss. But I can't give you what you want."

She scoffed at the sound bite that fell from his lips. He was trained, coached. There wasn't a genuine bone in this man's body.

"Save me your campaign speech apologies. It's over. You're done."

"Like I said before, Detective. If you truly had all this evidence, you wouldn't be worrying about getting me to confess. And the gun, while endearing, it's not who has the gun. It's who has the power. Do you really think that's you? Because I don't. See you around, Detective," he said with a smirk, as he started to walk away. Before getting far, he turned back around. "Mr. Castle, big fan of your books. I would love for your support in the next election. Maybe you can bring your daughter and your mother to the next event."

Castle moved forward, ready to jump him, but she held him back.

"You son of a bitch. Stay away from my family," Castle shouted, breaking his resolve on the situation as Bracken chuckled turning away from the two of them.

"I would hate for there to be another accident," he said as he was about to turn the corner.

"Royce gave me the journal before you had Ganz kill him. All the evidence every last detail," Kate called out to him.

The next thing she knew, Bracken was sprinting off toward the exit that he had originally entered through. Without hesitation, Castle bolted off in his direction. Her broken ribs made her breathing difficult so it took her longer to catch up.

By the time she found the men, Castle had Bracken wrestled to the ground and he was kneeling on his back.

"I told you I make a good partner," he said, as the Senator tried to wiggle free. She offered Castle a tight smile in gratitude before turning her attention back to Bracken.

"Senator Bracken, you're under arrest for blackmail, conspiracy and for the murder of my father, Jim Beckett."

She holstered her gun and pulled out the cuffs. With Castle's assistance, she cuffed him and led him out of the hotel as she read him the rest of his rights. The squad car that she called for met them at the entrance of the building as the media began to swarm.

As Bracken was being booked on his charges, she learned that Ganz turned against him in interrogation once he found out that the cops now had the journal and the rest of the files. It was safe to say that neither man would be breathing fresh air anytime soon.

The evidence that Royce collected also detailed several other high ranking officials and CEOs all over the country with crimes too numerous to count. He may have been involved in the beginning for an ill conceived crusade for truth and justice, but Royce had more than made up for it in the end; even if he couldn't save himself in the process.

Kate watched from the sidelines as Ganz and Bracken were carted off to central booking. She couldn't do much else but stare as everything around her seemed to be moving in slow motion.

Trying to bring herself together enough for a moment, Kate pulled out her cell phone to call the one person who needed to know more than anyone.

As the call connected, she felt Castle walk up behind her and wrap his arms around her waist for support. Her voice was thick in her throat, but she managed to get out everything she needed to say.

"Mom, it's over. We're safe."

TBC

Thank you so much for going on this journey! Next chapter is the epilogue. I would love to hear from you!