THEN
The door thuds shut behind him. Rage courses through her, pure fury at his presumption, at his arrogance that he would ask her to walk away from her mother's case, that he claims to know what's best for her.
They've been partners for five years, but that doesn't give him the right…
He loves her.
He's asked her that if she feels anything for him at all…
She does, of course. How could she not. He shows up week-in, week-out, to stand by her side, coffee in hand. He picks her up when she falls down, and writes books that even she acknowledges are all but love letters to her. She trusts him. Wants him. Love? She doesn't know what love is, really. She's shied away from it her whole life. But with this man, she might've found it.
He makes her smile, makes her laugh, makes her forget her worries in the world. Helps shoulder her burdens, and trusts her with his own in turn. He is steadfast, and brave, and clever. He appreciates her power and her intelligence, isn't intimidated by it. He can turn her on with a single look. They just fit. Fit into each other's lives like two interlocking pieces.
But he's betrayed her trust tonight, torn the underpinnings of all she thought she knew about him from under her, and she's afloat on a sea of emotion, rudderless.
What do you do when you need your anchor, but he's walked out of your life?
She doesn't know if this breach can be repaired. She's thrown him out in the past, fits of rage over his meddling, over her mother's case. He came back. He's never chosen to leave before.
The way his eyes looked at her, bleak and solemn and painful. The way his voice trembled, this gentle giant of a man who deflects most people and most emotions with that devil-may-care façade, making himself vulnerable for her…it strikes a chord in her. But the anger and her need for justice washes over it.
She wants him, but not as much as she wants her mother's murder solved. That has been the single defining cause in her life for so many years now, and the solution is tantalisingly close. Her detective's intuition can sense it.
He might love her, but right now that's not enough. Once she solves her mother's murder, she can revisit that. But right now, she has a war to prosecute.
She chases Maddox up on to the roof. Her mistake. The blood rushing through her veins, the adrenalin coursing through her, her thirst for the man who hired him overriding her training, her ability to think through situations
He gets the drop on her, and she's losing the fight right from the start. He's bigger, faster, stronger, better trained, a special forces veteran. The mocking tone in his voice as he taunts her is justified.
It's over in seconds. She hangs from the rooftop by her fingertips, him crouched over her, ready to finish her off.
Time slows to a crawl. She's going to die here. She can feel it.
A single gunshot rings out.
Blood blooms on Maddox's chest. A second shot, a double tap. He drops to the ground, undecipherable sound bubbling out of him.
"CASTLEEEEEEEE?" It's the only name she can think to scream. He has to have come back for her. Watched her back. He's her partner. He would do this.
The sound of running footsteps, then the bloodied face of Esposito as he peers over the ledge and grabs her arm.
"He didn't knock me out. Chump."
"Thanks, Espo." She just sits next to the body for a minute, regaining her breath. Espo rifles through it in expert fashion. Nothing. Nothing useful.
They meet Ryan, Gates and the SWAT at the door. Almost a farcical moment.
Still, success papers over most sins, and she and Espo get a rap over the knuckles. It could've been worse. She isn't even suspended, thankfully.
The next day, Detectives Chu and Wilson over at the 6th Precinct catch a case. Michael Smith, retired lawyer, tortured then killed with a single gunshot to the head. There is no physical evidence, and with the body dumped in an alley, no leads ever turn up in the next few weeks or months. Eventually the death is attributed to gangland violence, an elderly man in the wrong place at the wrong time and the case is filed as cold.
She never finds out who he is.
A dark, shadowy DC office. An untraceable burner phone rings.
"Is it done?"
"Maddox got the information, but was killed before he could do anything with Beckett. The back-up team took care of Smith. We believe we have destroyed all copies of the file."
"Believe?"
"If Smith hid them elsewhere, no one's ever finding out."
"And Beckett…can the back-up team take care of her now?"
"They can, but I recommend no move sir."
"Why?"
"She has no evidence. She has no leads. She has nothing. According to our surveillance on her apartment, her partnership with Castle may well be over. Kill her now and everything ties back to her mother's case. Castle could kick up a fuss, get the FBI involved- hell she's friendly with Jordan Shaw. No need for those kinds of complications. Best to let her keep butting her head against a wall."
"I…see."
"Will that be all?"
"Yes."
I've always considered the events of 'Always' to be the pivotal/defining moment in their relationship. Their emotions are out in the open, and Beckett finally has her grand epiphany to match Castle's one from the previous finale bringing them on the same page.
So when I was playing around with idea of what could've gone wrong, that was definitely episode that came first to mind. More flashbacks in future chapters to fully explore what happened, don't worry. Leave a review if you want to see them.
Note: I have no issues with anon reviews and people thinking my writing of Beckett is OOC, but I'll be damned if I let people bash by saying having a healthy sexual appetite and exercising it makes her slut. All such reviews will be deleted.