*Alrighty folks, time for chapter three! Let's get this party started, shall we? Yes, we shall. Happy Reading!

(Kate)

"Absolutely not, Richard."

Castle's face fell visibly at Martha's pronouncement. "But, Mother…" he protested, pouting adorably. Kate had to resist rolling her eyes. Was he really trying the puppy dog eyes right now?

"No buts, Richard," Martha insisted. "I've gone along with quite a bit over the past few years, but I have to agree with Detective Beckett. The situation is simply too dangerous for me to be comfortable with you working this case."

Kate turned to Alexis, who had remained silent since dinner. "What about you, Alexis?" she asked.

The girl bit her lip, turning to her father. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said softly. "I have to go with Gram and Detective Beckett on this one. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

Castle sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, you win," he said, trying and failing to give them a genuine smile. There was an awkward pause, and then he stood abruptly, running a hand through his hair. "I just remembered that I have a chapter deadline coming up. I should probably get to work on that." He retreated to his study, closing the door behind him.

"Oh dear," Martha murmured.

Alexis looked at Kate, her expression pained. "Were we too harsh on him?" she asked. "I think we were too harsh on him. Maybe someone should go talk to him."

Kate sighed. "I'll take care of it," she volunteered, standing up.

Alexis frowned. "Why you?"

"Because I'm the only one that's not going to cave to his big puppy dog eyes and crocodile tears," she teased.

Martha chuckled ruefully. "She's absolutely right, dear," she told Alexis. "Take your time, Katherine," she said with a smile. "We can apologize later, once you've got him in a better mood."

Kate walked back to Castle's study, steeling her resolve as she went. She wouldn't cave to him. She couldn't cave to him.

She knocked on his door softly, entering before he had a chance to respond. Castle was sitting at his desk, staring at nothing in particular. He looked up when Kate closed the door behind her, but he looked back down just as quickly.

Kate made her way over to Castle's desk, leaning against it so that their legs were almost touching. "Hey," she said, touching his hand lightly. "You okay?"

Castle sighed, looking up at her. "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked sardonically. "It's not like my three favorite people in the world just ganged up on me or anything."

Kate crossed her arms, quirking an eyebrow at him. "Did you really think they were going to say yes, Castle?"

He shrugged. "I don't know." He sighed again. "No. I guess I just wasn't expecting them to be so…emphatic about it."

"Really, Castle?" Kate asked disbelief. "They love you. They want you to be safe. If anything were to happen to you…" She sighed, taking his hand fully in hers. "You have to realize that we're only doing this because we care about you."

"I know," Castle muttered sullenly.

"Castle, look at me," Kate said sternly. He met her eyes reluctantly, still pouting. "Now answer me this: what would you have done if it were my name in that book? Or Ryan's, or Esposito's, or Lanie's?" She purposefully left out Alexis and Martha, not wanting to push him too far.

Castle's pout faded slightly as he thought. "I would…want whoever it was to step back until things got sorted out. And I'd do whatever I could to protect them."

"Why?" she asked simply.

Castle answered immediately. "Because I lo-" He froze for a moment. "Because you're like family to me," he corrected. "All of you. Even Gates."

Kate smiled, ignoring his near slip. "Exactly," she said, squeezing his hand. "If you would do whatever you could to protect someone who's like family, then doesn't it make sense that your actual family would do the same for you?"

Castle's pout faded entirely as Kate's point sank in. He looked up at her with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "So, are you counting yourself as part of my family?" he asked, smirking.

Kate fought back a smile. "That depends, Castle," she teased.

He raised an eyebrow. "Depends on what, Detective?"

She leaned in close so she could whisper into his ear. "That depends on your definition of family," she said seductively, pulling back to gauge his reaction.

Castle's eyes were almost comically wide, and he had to swallow a couple of times before he could respond. "You, um…" He cleared his throat. "You definitely make the cut in my book."

Kate leaned back against his desk again, smiling sincerely. "Thanks, Castle." She bit her lip, then added, "For what it's worth, you make the cut in my book, too."

Silence filled the room after Kate's admission, causing her to tense up. She looked down, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing furiously. After a few moments, she looked at Castle tentatively.

To his credit, Castle didn't make any of his usual, ridiculous remarks. He simply smiled, easing Kate's tension, and only driving her point home more.

"You know," he started, grinning like a five year old. "Tuesday nights are Family Movie Nights at Casa Castle. Since I did include you as part of my family, it's only fair that you be included in this as well," he enticed.

Kate bit her lip, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Castle, but some of us do have to work in the morning," she teased gently. "I'll happily take a rain check, though."

Castle smiled back, nodding. "Right…work," he murmured. Kate sighed as his sunny mood evaporated again.

"Look, Castle," she started. "About this case…maybe we can find a way for you to be a part of the investigation without you having to come into the precinct."

"Really?" he asked, his eyes lighting up. "How?"

Kate shrugged. "I could keep you up to date on the case, let you go over whatever evidence we find. We could turn that Smart Board of yours into a makeshift Murder Board, build some theory off the clock…"

Castle was practically bouncing in his chair. "That would be so cool," he enthused. "Can we? Can we, please?"

"I'll have to talk to Gates," Kate said, chuckling. "So don't get your hopes up. But even if she says no, maybe we can work something out."

Castle beamed at her. "Thanks, Kate," he said, his tone turning serious. "I really mean it. Thank you for everything; for being honest with me, for being honest with my family, for coming in here and cheering me up when you didn't have to. Thanks for putting up with me."

Kate squeezed his hand again, smiling softly. "Always," she whispered, holding his gaze.

They fell into an easy silence for a few moments until Castle cleared his throat. "It's getting late," he remarked, squeezing Kate's fingers lightly. "You should probably get going."

Kate nodded, standing up fully. "Yeah, you're right. See you 'round, Castle," she said, making her way to the office door.

The expression on his face made her pause with her hand on the doorknob, ducking her head to hide her blush. She waited for him to say something, anything, though she wasn't quite sure what was about to come out of his mouth. Another declaration of love? No. Kate mentally shook her head. The past eight months had done wonders for their relationship, but she was still holding back, which, in turn, made Castle hold back.

When he finally did speak, it was surprisingly simple. "Good night, Kate," he said, hesitating before adding, "Sweet dreams."

Kate refrained from telling him that her dreams would be anything but sweet, at least until this case was done. Therapy and medication were helping, but Kate had an overactive imagination and persistent symptoms of PTSD. Add those together, and you get nightmares that would've had Hitler screaming for his mommy. And letting Castle in on that secret? Out of the question. He'd only worry, and she didn't want that, didn't need that right now.

Kate opened the door, turning back to Castle momentarily. "Sweet dreams, Castle."

(Alexis)

Alexis heard the door to her dad's office close, and was on the alert immediately. Kate reentered the living room shaking her head slightly, her expression confused. She finally looked up at Alexis and Martha, and gave them a small, encouraging smile.

"How's Richard?" Martha asked, taking a sip from her wine glass.

"Still pouting," Kate said with a smirk. "But I think he understands now that we're just trying to protect him," she added reassuringly. She grabbed her coat from one of the barstools and slipped it on, pulling a pair of gloves out of the pocket.

"You're going?" Alexis asked, disappointment coloring her words.

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I have to work early tomorrow," she said apologetically.

"Oh," Alexis said, biting her lip. She stood up and grabbed a pair of shoes. "Do you mind if I walk down with you?" she asked.

Kate looked taken aback for a moment, but she recovered quickly. "Not at all," she said, smiling.

"Great," Alexis said, pulling on her sneakers. "Gram, I'm gonna walk Detective Beckett downstairs, okay."

Martha merely nodded, sipping her wine again. "Have a good evening, Katherine, dear," she called, lifting her glass to Kate. "And thank you."

"Anytime, Martha," Kate replied. "Have a good night."

"I'll be back up soon, Gram," Alexis said, leading the way out of the loft.

Alexis considered the elevator for a moment before leading Kate to the rarely used stairwell. She wanted time to talk, and the elevator would get them downstairs too quickly.

As they started down the stairs, Kate looked over at Alexis, smiling knowingly. "So, how much did you hear?"

Alexis' eyes widened. "H-how did you…" she stammered.

Kate's grin widened. "Those bookshelves go straight through to the living room, Alexis," she teased gently. "So, what did you hear?"

Alexis sighed guiltily. "Kind of everything," she admitted. "Like you said, the bookshelves go straight through, and…I was curious."

Kate shrugged. "Not a crime."

"Dad's telling the truth, you know," Alexis said. "You are family. Gram and I agree."

Alexis made it down a few more steps before she realized that Kate was no longer at her side. She turned and found her standing frozen in place on the landing between the fourth and fifth floors. "Um…I…uh, wow," she managed, her eyes wide. "Thanks, Alexis."

Alexis shrugged, blushing a little. "No problem."

"You know," Kate said, catching up to Alexis. "What I said applies to you and Martha, too. You're the closest thing to a real family I've had since my mom died," she admitted, her voice catching.

Alexis watched a couple of tears slip down Kate's cheek before she gave in and wrapped her arms around the detective's waist. She felt Kate stiffen momentarily, then relax into the embrace. "Thank you, Kate," Alexis whispered, her words muffled against Kate's shoulder.

"For what?"

Alexis pulled back so she could look Kate in the eyes. "For protecting my dad," she answered. "For convincing him to stay out of this."

Kate gave her a tiny smile, eyes still swimming with tears. "I love your dad, Alexis, and I'll be damned if I don't do everything in my power to keep him safe."

Alexis' jaw dropped, and Kate stared at her for a moment before her eyes went wide with realization. She brought a shaking hand up to cover her mouth. "Alexis…" she whispered, her voice cracking.

"You love my dad?" Alexis asked, earning a meek nod from Kate. "You're in love with my dad?" she clarified, waiting for confirmation.

Kate nodded again. "Yeah. Yeah, I am," she murmured, running both hand through her hair. "Um, I obviously haven't told him yet," she continued. "So, could we keep this between us for now?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

Alexis nodded. "Of course," she agreed, pausing to think for a moment. "You're going to tell him, right?"

"Yeah," Kate assured her, fighting more tears. "Not…not right now, but soon. I promise."

They walked down to the lobby in silence, not speaking again until Kate was about to leave. Alexis gave her another hug, smiling up at her when they pulled apart. "I'm glad it's you, Kate," she said honestly. "You're good for him."

Kate gave Alexis the first genuine smile she'd seen all night. "He's good for me, too." She squeezed the girl's hand briefly. "Thanks for the talk, Alexis. Have a good night."

"You, too," Alexis replied, waving goodbye as Kate exited the apartment building. She headed back upstairs, choosing to take the elevator this time. She leaned against the wall of the car, grinning. Kate loved her dad. Kate loved her dad, and she was going to tell him soon. Oh…which meant that Alexis couldn't say anything. Alexis sighed. Soon had better happen soon, or she was going to explode.

(Esposito)

"What are we doing back here, Becks?" Esposito asked, following Kate into the vic's apartment.

Kate ducked under the yellow tape, reentering the crime scene. "Lanie said that there was no stippling around the wound, so Avery was shot from a distance. Ballistics managed to narrow it down to about twenty feet, and we know that the killer was in the apartment afterwards. If we can figure out how he got into the apartment, we might be able to find some physical evidence."

Esposito nodded, following her under the tape. "Gotcha." Ryan followed closely behind, and the three of them stood in silence, staring around the apartment.

"You said ballistics narrowed the distance down to twenty feet, right?" Ryan asked, striding over the bloodstain that marked where Avery had fallen and then walking across the room from there. He stopped just short of the window. "Twenty feet would be right about here," he mused. "But why shoot from that far away if you're in the room with the guy? And why didn't Avery try to run?"

Esposito joined Ryan at the window, looking outside. "Maybe he wasn't in the room," he suggested. "What if he made the shot from the fire escape and robbed the place after?"

"It's possible," Kate said, frowning. "But Avery would have had to have the window open. Look at how old that frame is. There's no way our killer would have been able to open it without attracting Avery's attention."

"And what New Yorker in their right mind would leave their window open in the middle of January?" Ryan added.

Esposito's eyes widened. "I just remembered something the super said the last time I talked to him," he said. "I didn't think anything of it then, but he did mention that Avery liked to keep his apartment cold. Never turned on the heat, apparently, and the last time the super came up here to talk to him, the window was wide open."

Kate paced the room, absorbing the information. "Alright, let's get CSU over here to check the fire escape and the window. I want the two of you to talk to all of the tenants that live directly above and directly below Avery. Maybe one of them saw someone creeping on the fire escape."

Esposito sighed. Another canvass…of course. "What are you gonna do?" he asked, proud that he was able to keep most of the bitterness out of his voice.

"I'm heading back to the precinct. Avery's financials should be in by now," Kate replied.

"Right," Ryan said, nodding. "And you sending us to do the grunt work has nothing to do with your coffee date with Castle."

To her credit, Kate barely reacted to Ryan's jibe. She raised an eyebrow at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Esposito nodded. "Sure you don't," he teased.

"It wouldn't be a big deal if you did, though," Ryan added. "C'mon, the guy's basically been your partner for, what, three years now?"

"Yeah," Esposito said. "Besides, pretty much everyone at the precinct, aside from Gates, misses Castle, though probably not as much as you."

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. "I do not miss Castle," she denied. "It's been three days, Espo. I do not miss him."

"Mhmm. You keep telling yourself that, Beckett," he said, smirking. "C'mon, Ryan. Let's get started on that canvass. See ya later, Boss."

Ryan sighed, leading the way out the door. They boarded the elevator, heading up to the eighth floor to start the canvass. "Why are you so eager to get on this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Esposito.

Esposito grinned evilly. "Because, the faster we get done here, the faster we get back to the precinct to tease Beckett about Castle."

Ryan fist-bumped him. "You, my friend, are a genius."

Esposito's grin widened. "And don't you forget it, bro. Let's get to work."

(Kate)

Kate pulled up in front of Remy's, attempting to calm her nerves. This was not a date. No matter what the boys said, this was not a date. This was simply Kate meeting Castle for lunch so that she could (illegally) share information about the case with him and tell him that she remembered everything from the cemetery and that she loved him too. No big deal. And definitely not a date.

Kate sighed, slumping back in her seat. "Who am I trying to kid?" she muttered. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the folder containing Avery's financial records and heading inside.

"Beckett!" Castle's voice summoned her as soon as she stepped through the door. She found him in a corner booth, burgers, milkshakes, and coffee for two already set on the table.

Kate raised an eyebrow at him as she sat down. "You ordered for me?" she asked.

"No, I ordered our usual," he clarified, shrugging. "They know us here."

She rolled her eyes and tried to hide her smile. "I'm trying to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing," she remarked, taking a drink of her coffee. This time, she couldn't stop the smile from spreading. Even when he was only ordering it, Castle got her coffee perfect.

They ate in silence for a minute or two before Kate spoke up. "Your detail knows you're here, right?" she asked.

Castle rolled his eyes. "Dawson? He's here with me," he said. "Follows me around like a lost puppy."

Kate smirked at the irony. "I wonder how that feels."

"So," Castle said, ignoring her jibe. "Miss me yet?"

Kate took another sip of coffee and nodded. "Yeah, I do," she replied. "I haven't had a decent cup of coffee in three days," she added, winking.

Castle chuckled. "So, how's the case coming along?" he asked. "Or am I not allowed to know?"

"We're hitting dead-ends everywhere we look," Kate said, sighing. "Ballistics still hasn't gotten anything off of our bullet, and Lanie hasn't found anything unusual about the body. Not to mention, we're still in the process of tracking down the families of all of Avery's victims."

Castle whistled. "Wow. Have you found anything useful?"

Kate shrugged. "We're pretty sure that Avery's killer shot him from the fire escape through his open window. I've got Ryan and Esposito talking to all of the neighbors above and below Avery. Who knows; it might get us a lead."

"What about financials?" Castle asked, his mouth full of food. "Have those come through yet?"

Kate grinned. "Why did you think I wanted to meet up with you?" she asked, pulling the file out of her purse.

Castle's eyes widened as he swallowed. "Tell me you didn't," he whispered in awe.

"Okay," Kate said mischievously. "I didn't sneak Avery's financial records out of the precinct against Gates' direct orders so that we could go over them together."

Castle beamed. "Best. Muse. Ever."

"Call me a muse one more time, and I'll walk right back out that door and take these with me," Kate threatened. She opened the file between them. "I'll take the bank statements, you take the credit card bills?"

Castle nodded in agreement, and they took their respective stacks of paper, eating as they worked silently.

Kate hummed in disappointment. "There doesn't seem to be anything outstanding in Avery's bank statements that we didn't already know about." She paused for a moment, examining something. "Wait a minute. About two weeks ago, Avery took fifty-thousand dollars out of his account. It was almost everything he had…" She looked up at Castle, expectantly. "You find anything?"

"Not really," he said, flipping through the papers. "There's no outstanding bills, no extravagant purchases, no unusual activity whatsoever." He continued flipping through the papers. "There is one place that keeps showing up on these bills, though."

"What is it?"

Castle frowned. "Mulrooney's," he replied. "From the looks of it, he was a regular. Went there almost every night."

"Mulrooney's," Kate mused. "That sounds like a bar or a pub."

"It is," Castle asserted. "I've passed by it a few times. It's just a few blocks down from The Old Haunt."

"Do you know anything else about it?" Kate asked.

Castle shook his head. "Not really. I've heard rumors that most of the patrons are thugs, but those are just rumors."

Kate nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "Alright then. I'll take the boys to check out Mulrooney's tomorrow." She took the papers back from him, tucking the file into her purse. She glanced at their, now empty, dishes and then at her father's watch. "I've got a little time left on my break," she said. "You wanna go for a short walk? There's that park right around the corner…"

Castle nodded. "Sure," he agreed. "Let me go take care of this and we can go."

Kate pulled on her coat as he paid the check. She was checking her pockets for her gloves when he returned to grab his coat.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Kate sighed. "I must have left my gloves at the precinct," she muttered. "Oh well, let's go."

They walked arm-in-arm down the sidewalk, heading in the direction of the small playground. Kate could feel the tension building between them as he waited for her to speak. She was vaguely aware of Dawson tailing them and kept the pace a little slower than usual for the kid's benefit.

They reached the deserted park and sat down, side-by-side, on the swings. After a few tense moments, Kate looked over at Castle. "Did…um, did you know I've been seeing a therapist?" she asked softly.

He shook his head, apparently stunned by the abrupt question. "No, I didn't," he replied, pausing for a minute. "How long?"

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Since...since that first case back," she admitted. "His name's Dr. Burke. He's…nice."

"Yeah?" he prompted.

"Good at what he does, too," she added. "I honestly don't know how much worse I would have been during that sniper case if I hadn't been going to see him."

Castle took her hand, smiling at her. "I'm proud of you, Kate."

"I talk about you a lot during my sessions," she volunteered. "I don't think I even realized how much at first. But you, work, and my mom are pretty much all we talk about."

Castle gazed at her, dumbfounded. "Why me?" he asked, sounding both awed and petrified.

Kate looked away from him, unsuccessfully blinking back tears. "Castle, I…" She sniffled. "I…I…" Her voice broke, deserting her completely.

She heard a soft, "Oh, Kate." before she was pulled up into his arms. She buried her face into his right shoulder, sobbing quietly, trying to calm down enough to finish the conversation that she'd started.

Kate heard a distant pop and felt Castle's grip loosen. She fell to the ground with him as he crumpled, shock and pain etched on his face.

"Castle," she said, quickly regaining her composure. "Castle, what's wrong?"

He stared up at her, terrified, as his breathing started to get shallower. He grasped feebly at his coat, and she pulled it open to find a rapidly growing bloodstain on his white shirt.

Kate pressed her hands firmly over the center of the stain, trying to keep Castle from losing any more blood. "Someone call an ambulance!" she yelled, glancing over her shoulder to find Dawson. She saw the younger cop on his cell phone and turned her attention back to her partner.

Castle's breath was getting faster and more shallow. His heartbeat was slowing under Kate's hands. "Stay with me, Castle. Stay with me," she murmured, trying to keep calm.

"Kate…" he croaked, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek. "Kate…"

Kate felt tears stinging her eyes. "Damn it, Rick, stay with me," she begged. "C'mon, baby, don't leave me. Don't leave me," she whimpered.

Kate pressed her hands over the wound harder, unable to stop her tears from splashing down onto his chest. Castle gazed up at her, his eyes slowly losing focus. "God, Rick, please don't give up now," she begged. She leaned down over him so that she could whisper in his ear, keeping her hands planted on his chest. "You can't leave me," she whimpered. "Not when I remember everything that happened that day in the cemetery. Not when I'm so in love with you that losing you would kill me, too." Kate closed her eyes, drawing in a shuddering breath. "Rick, I love you. I love you…"

*Don't you all just hate me now? *grins evilly* I really loved writing this chapter, especially the scene between Kate and Alexis. Hopefully, it won't take quite so long for me to get the next chapter out. I really hope you enjoyed this. Sit back because this story's just getting started.