My daughter was clearing out some closets and playing some old vinyl from her younger days. Janis Ian is haunting my brain. She sang about her orientation, I imagined something totally different. May go a few chapters on this one.

I enjoy moving characters out of their familiar comfort zones and into situations that require them to adapt and overcome and find new paradigms in their relationships.

Bring on the flames and gasps ye bloody harpies

OM

She Learned the Truth at 17 – by Oldest Man

"Where is she? They brought my daughter in here. Katie Beckett. Something about burns?" Johanna Beckett had been called at her office by a man who simply said 'Back off. You have a daughter.' and then her husband had called her.

"Johanna!" Jim Beckett stood near the windows and called out to his wife.

"Jim, where is she?"

"In the ER. Some – someone threw acid in her face. I got a call from her school. I haven't seen her yet. They won't let me in. They sedated her…she was screaming in pain, Jo – "

New York City
Several years later

"You need my help on this, Detective. This guy is using my books to set up crime scenes for his murders. How about we discuss my ideas over dinner?"

"God, Castle, I thought the tabloids and scandal rags were exaggerating but it's really true." Beckett turned away from him, instinctively allowing her long hair to drape over the right side of her face.

"What?" He was curious just which of the outrageous exaggerations she'd taken to identifying him with.

"You'd fuck a scarred snake if someone held it still."

She could see the effect that her words had on him and some small part of her cried out, 'NO, I didn't mean it like that!' while most of her gloated, 'Gotcha in one'.

"I think we're done here, Detective. Good luck with solving this case. I'll be sure to read all about it in the press. Be well."

She watched Castle walk away, duck under the yellow crime scene tape, and stride quickly through the crowd. She looked down and away, a habit she'd perfected since she was a teenager. It kept her long hair masking her cheek and neck.

"That was cold, Beckett, even for you. The guy was just trying to be helpful and friendly and you gutted him like a fish. For someone who holds the truth in such high regard, you sure parrot the lies just like everyone else."

"Lanie, he was just trying to score with the 'Scar'. I've been around his kind before. God damned man whores. They get a perverted thrill out of – "

"That's just so much crap, Kate. Sure, I've read the tabloids but have you ever read about him and any scandal, any paternity suits, any of the usual crap that haunts these celebrities you so despise? No. That's all publicity the publishers and agents put out to help sell their books."

"I learned a long time ago that the 'Beautiful People' are just shallow and hollow and superficial, without substance. He's one of Them, a Pretty Boy with notches on his bedpost and nothing in his heart but emptiness."

She had watched the hurt blossom in his eyes when she'd insulted him. It wasn't his pride that she'd hurt. It was something deeper, something hidden away, something she thought she had recognized for just a moment before he had shut down and walked away.

She sighed and turned back to the crime scene. They could have used his insights in this case but she just couldn't get past her own damned fears.

She hadn't kissed a man since she was 17 except for her father, of course. She hadn't had a date except once in college and she'd been humiliated when she discovered it was a fraternity prank called 'Dog Date Night'. Except for a self-inflicted deflowering with a vibrator, she was a virgin.

And she was bitter and scarred far more than the thick ropey scars on her right cheek and the right side of her neck and down almost to her right breast.

She had been a warning to her mother to 'back off' from something she had been working on and when Kate hadn't been enough, they'd killed her, masking it as 'random gang violence' but she knew better.

"Lanie, let me know if the tox screens show anything. I'm pretty sure you were right with the cause and time of death."

"Sure, Beckett. Say, how about a girl's night at my place. Bring the vodka and I'll provide the ice. Be like old times and God knows I could use the company."

Richard Castle hailed a cab and gave the driver his loft address. He was pissed off and needed to burn off the anger at his gym. The pretty police detective hadn't even considered that since the killer was using his books as templates for a series of murders, that he just might be able to give their investigation some help.

'It'll be a cold day in Hell before I offer any help to that Prima Donna.'

There was a heavy frost in Hell a week later.

"Daddy, it's someone on the phone for you." Alexis dropped the phone on the table and walked back to her room. She had an American History exam to study for and being interrupted by the phone while her father sulked in his study wasn't helping her understand the Federalist Papers any better.

He told the Mayor to kiss his ass after confirming that Detective Beckett was still heading up the investigation.

"Damn it, Rick. The Commissioner himself asked me to call you. Are you so damned stubborn that…"

He hung up on the Mayor. Friend or no friend, there were limits and that woman pushed him well past his.

12th Precinct

Beckett was leaning back against her desk in a position that seemed to come most naturally to her. She couldn't find any patterns or connections between the victims. The only connection was Richard Castle's novels.

"Beckett, a word, please," Captain Montgomery called her from his office doorway. There was someone in the office with him but she'd just returned from reviewing the most recent crime scene hoping for something to make the 'magic' happen and didn't see who was in it.

She walked in and stopped. "Mr. Mayor, this is Detective Beckett, the lead on the Castle cases." Kate glanced at her captain, one eyebrow raised. 'Since when are these the 'Castle Cases'?'

"Detective, Mr. Castle seems to dislike you for some reason known only to himself and he refuses to lend any assistance to your stalled investigations. According to Roy, his novels are the only thing linking the murders, is that right?"

"It would seem to be that way. But we're exploring possible leads – "

"Bullshit! You're stumped. Now, here's what's going to happen. You're going to go to Castle's home and ask him for his help. You, Detective, not one of your team mates, you, are going to go to his home and ask for his assistance."

Kate looked at the Captain who looked away. "Fine. But he's not going into the field. I can't have some amateur endangering real cops."

"Whatever it takes to catch this serial killer, Detective, whatever it takes. I've known Castle for years, play poker with him, and I've never known him to show such antipathy towards another person in all that time. I don't know what you did or said to him, but he really dislikes you and I didn't think Rick Castle disliked anyone."

"I turned down a dinner invitation to 'discuss' the case."

"He asked you to dinner? Castle? Rick Castle? He never asks anyone out. He's turned into a hermit since his divorce so I sincerely doubt he had any interest in you personally. Ask him what he wears around his neck sometime, Detective Beckett, and ask him why."

The mayor stood and nodded to the Captain and then to Beckett saying, "He'll help if you ask him, Detective. Just check your attitude at the door and talk with him."

Castle Loft
New York City

It got downright frigid in Hades the next evening.

She flashed her badge at the doorman in lieu of the usual call to the resident to see if he was 'taking visitors' and took the elevator to the 21st floor where the 'penthouse' lofts were located.

She didn't see a doorbell so she knocked firmly and waited. She adjusted her leather jacket again, smoothed out imagined wrinkles in her blouse and knocked again.

A young girl of about 14 answered the door and Kate introduced herself and explained that she was here to talk to her father. She couldn't help but notice the girl's burn scars. The skin across her forehead and cheeks was stretched tightly and the light shone off them – just as it did with hers.

"If you're done staring, Detective, I'll go get my dad. Please have a seat."

Kate tried to say something but the words caught in her throat. She knew she'd screwed up and had to make it right with the young girl.

"Please, Alexis, come back. I – I was staring but not for the reasons you think. Please, let me show you something and then you can get your dad."

Alexis turned and frowned, wishing her father were here so she could disappear upstairs into her bedroom but she'd been taught not to be rude and walked back to the foyer and faced the Detective.

"I was staring but not – look." She pulled her hair aside on the right side of her head. She felt totally naked and uncertain but she didn't want this young girl's feelings to be hurt.

Alexis' eyes widened and she looked at Kate and extended a fingertip and Kate just nodded. Alexis ran her fingertip gently down the side of Kate's face, seeing the ruined ear and the thick and angry red scars that coated her neck until they disappeared beneath her collar.

"Acid. A man threw acid in my face when I was 17."

"My mom left water boiling on the stove while she talked on the phone and I pulled it down on me. I was three."

"I wasn't staring, honest. I was – I was comparing. How many operations have you had? I had 4 but then I figured it wasn't worth all the pain and falling behind in school."

"Would you like something to drink? I'll go get my dad, Detective. You use your hair really well to cover it."

"Yeah. It's the closest thing I can get to hiding them without wearing a mask."

"I'll get my dad. Y'know, he told me about you. He said you were very pretty but that all that anger inside made you ugly. I think he's right. You are very pretty and the scars just make the pretty more noticeable. That's what he always tells me. 'Imperfections are God's way of making people notice the beauty'."

Beckett felt like running away. How could she face him after what she'd said in the alley? Now she knew what it was she saw in his eyes before he raised his shields. It wasn't pity. It was remorse.

"Alexis, you might try some foundation on your forehead. It will reduce the shininess and – "

"Yeah, I use it. Grams is an actress and I've had professional makeup artists teach me. I guess it's my mask.

"Alexis, I think I heard the Feds calling you about your history test? Go, pumpkin. Detective Beckett and I have some business to discuss and then we'll order pizza, okay?" Rick was standing in the living room and had heard the conversation.

"Um, Mr. Castle, I came to ask for your help. We're stumped and the only thing the murders have in common is your book series. We – I need your help, Castle. And about what I said in the alley, I was way outta line."

"Yeah, well, I think you misunderstood my intentions but given the circumstances I think I'll just give you a pass on the alley. And she had six operations. Whether or not she tries for a natural seven is up to her. Now, I've made some notes and posited some suppositions. Why don't you take a look at them."

It was 1am before Beckett got back to her apartment. She joined the two for 'pizza and stuff' and then she and Castle spent the remainder of the evening working out a theory about why the killings were mirroring his novels.

When she finally crawled into bed, she felt almost optimistic for the first time in a long time.

The next morning Castle showed up bright and early, for him, a little after 9am and spent the rest of the morning reviewing files and making theory. It had been the most fun Kate had had in ages and she found herself drawn to the smiling man who always had a kind word for anyone he met.

The funniest thing that happened was when Castle sampled a cup of the Precinct's 'coffee' and almost threw up.

"It's no wonder you people have such crappy attitudes. If I had to drink this recycled bladder offering I'd hate everyone by the end of the first week."

After rinsing his mouth out he announced that he had a prior engagement that required his attention. Esposito, still not fully accepting his presence, asked him if he had a 'hot date with some arm candy' and Castle coldly informed him, "I don't date, Detective Esposito. I have a meeting at my daughter's school. It's a parent-teacher conference."

Kate just rolled her eyes and glared at Esposito. Ryan had accepted Castle's presence with grace and humor whereas Esposito had been almost rude.

As he was getting on the elevator, an idea blossomed in the back of his mind and the next morning, although he wasn't there to see it, an espresso machine he had 'donated' to the 12th was installed in the 4th floor Homicide break room.

The team solved the case in three days and apprehended the murderer and Beckett overwhelmed him with evidence and used Castle's 'back story' to squeeze a confession out of him.

Castle waved goodbye and left, happy to have a maniac off the streets and satisfied that he'd done his civic duty once again.

Beckett watched him leave and sighed. They made a good team and she didn't feel the need to be defensive about her scars or to go to uncomfortable lengths to shield them from view when she and Castle working alone. She'd miss the ease with which they'd worked together, often finishing each other's sentences.

Just before she left for the day, she stopped by the Captain's office and mentioned that the paperwork was done and that he could tell the commissioner and Mayor that Castle had been a major contributor to a successful arrest.

"Good. They'll be glad to hear that. We can use all the brownie points we can get given the current budgets. You two worked well together and there was none of the friction I had prepared for. See, Beckett, you can play nice with others. Make it a habit."

She looked down at her feet and sighed. It was now or never.

"Sir, I was wondering if we could use Castle from time to time on some of the freakier cases and maybe a few of the cold ones. He looks at things from a different perspective and I'd like to utilize his expertise at times in the future."

"I'll pass it along to the Commissioner. The Mayor won't be a problem. He and Castle have been friends for years."

Beckett left the office and Montgomery just smiled. 'Well, well, Castle and Beckett. The Hermit and the Scar. Who'd a thunk it.'

He called the Commissioner and gave him the good news and he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Good job. The Mayor might just get off my ass now'. Taking advantage of a good mood, he made his pitch to use Castle as an 'occasional consultant' – without pay, of course – on some of their cold and unsolved cases.

"Good idea, especially the 'without pay' part. I'll mention it to the Mayor."