*Yay! A new chapter! And so soon after the last one. Hopefully, there will no longer be ridiculous delays between chapters. I would really like to have this done before the new season starts. Probably won't happen, but who knows. Anyway, let's delve into this angsty world that I've created, shall we? Happy Reading loveys!

(Kate)

Kate wasn't late for work the day following her talks with Will and Hannah Foster. In fact, she hadn't even left the precinct except to grab a change of clothes and check in with her dad. She'd worked late into the night, finally falling asleep in the break room around one thirty in the morning. She was up again at seven, refreshed from the best night's sleep she'd had in weeks. Ryan had made good on his deal and brought her a fresh muffin, which had disappeared within minutes.

Now, she sat in Interrogation One alone, the file she'd memorized laid out in front of her. Kate was gone, replaced by Detective Beckett. All her emotions tied to this case were boxed away. In their place was the calm, collected, and calculating demeanor of a lioness in her lair. Beckett was ready to take this woman down, and she was more than a little annoyed that a woman so obsessed with deadlines and scheduling had the audacity to be late for their appointment.

Beckett's attention was caught by a sharp tap on the two-way mirror. Esposito signaling to her that Elvis had entered the building. Sure enough, she could hear the grating voice of Castle's agent, even through the interrogation room door. She steeled herself for the confrontation by casually perusing the file again, making sure she had all her facts straight. Like she'd told Esposito the day before, she didn't want to make any mistakes.

The door opened, and Paula Haas was ushered in by an annoyed Ryan, who'd been forced to bear the brunt of her verbal assault. He pulled a chair out for the agent, making a face at Beckett behind her back. As he left the room, he mouthed Take her down. Beckett kept her smile in check, but she nodded once. A promise.

Beckett and Paula stared each other down, each waiting for the other to crack first. Beckett waited patiently, knowing Paula would break sooner or later. They always did. This was a game that she never lost. She'd had the upper hand before Paula had even arrived, the other woman just didn't know it yet. But she would. Soon.

Finally, the tension in the air snapped, breaking Paula out of silence. "Why am I here, Detective? Is it just to have a staring contest with you, because frankly I could do that with any number of the morons I work with."

Beckett raised an eyebrow slightly. "I think you know why you're here, Ms. Haas."

"Actually, I have no idea," Paula bluffed, trying to sound victimized and affronted.

Beckett studied her, then flipped the file open and pulled out the photo and sketch of Camo Man. "Do you recognize this man, Ms. Haas?"

Paula's expression soured, but she examined the pictures without comment. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "I've never seen him in my life."

Beckett took the photos back, nodding. She'd expected that, but she had also needed confirmation.

"Is that really all you called me in for?" Paula demanded, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Oh no," Beckett assured her, shaking her head. "I called you in because you are responsible, however indirectly, for the death of Richard Castle."

Whatever Paula had been expecting from Beckett, it wasn't that. Her eyes widened and her jaw went slack. She recovered enough after a few moments to reply indignantly. "I don't know what the hell kind of fucked up PTSD delusions you're having, but I did not kill my client."

Beckett let her rant, calmly ignoring the jibe. "You may not have pulled the trigger, Paula, and you may not have intended for him to die, but Richard Castle is dead as a result of your actions."

"Have you actually lost your fucking mind, Detective?" Paula snapped. "What actions? And what proof do you have that I was involved with anything related to his death?"

Beckett actually smiled at that. She wanted proof did she? "First of all, we have eyewitness testimony from Will Foster, the young man that you hired to put a bullet in Richard Castle. Second, we have eyewitness testimony from not only the bartender of Mulrooney's, but from several patrons that saw you approach Will Foster on January 6th. Not only that, we also have video footage from an ATM across the street from Mulrooney's that clearly shows you entering the bar on that same day at the same time Will Foster claims you approached him."

Paula was shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Beckett leaned in even closer, her smile widening dangerously. "Is that enough proof for you, or do you need more? Because we have more," she assured her. "Like the phone number that Will Foster was supposed to call when the job was done, which coincidentally matches your old phone number. You remember that one? The one that you had your cell phone company change on January 7th."

Paula stayed stubbornly silent, so Beckett pressed on. "We found that same phone number in James Avery's notebook. Except he never got the chance to call it." She pulled Camo Man's sketch out again. "Because he was murdered by this man; the same man that took your hit seriously and put a bullet in Castle's heart. Somewhere along the way, there was a misunderstanding, and Richard Castle paid the price."

That finally broke Paula. A tear slid down her cheek as she hung her head. "I never meant for this to happen. Especially not to him. He didn't deserve to die like that."

"No, he didn't," Beckett agreed softly. "But, unfortunately, he did."

"I just wanted him to go back to the way he was before he met you," Paula burst out. "You were such a distraction for him. I just wanted to get him away from you."

Beckett glared at her, some of her carefully contained emotions escaping. "Well, you got your wish." She beckoned Ryan back into the room, pulling out her cuffs as she moved to detain Paula. "Paula Haas, you are under arrest for conspiracy, criminal negligence, accessory to murder, and second degree murder." She cuffed the woman's hands behind her back, tightening them a little more than was necessary. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights, Ms. Haas?"

Paula nodded, and Beckett handed her over to Ryan. As the door closed behind them, she braced herself against the table, slowly letting her emotions wash over her like a flood. For a few minutes she was just Kate, grieving for her lost love. Once the tears stopped, she boxed her emotions back up, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and returned to the bullpen to do her job.

Ryan and Esposito were both gone, presumably taking Paula down to booking. There was a muffin sitting on Kate's desk with a post-it underneath that read You need it more than I do. She wasn't sure if she should be annoyed by the implication that she wasn't eating enough or touched by the sweetness of the gesture. She settled for a little bit of both, leaning more towards annoyance when she discovered the text from Lanie inviting her to a late lunch.

Kate shot off a quick response to Lanie, agreeing to meet her at four. She then turned to the Murder Board, which was slowly filling up. Now that they were finally getting the full story, she could almost see the events playing out in her head. The evidence was finally talking, and it was all pointing her towards one person; Camo Man. If only she could figure out who he was.

(Lanie)

Lanie watched Kate carefully as they walked back to the morgue after their lunch. After the text Javi had sent her that morning, she was honestly surprised by how well Kate seemed to be handling everything. Then again, her friend was a good actress, and they hadn't actually talked about the investigation.

Lanie was still a little miffed about the conversation they'd actually had. Superstar interrogator that she was, Kate had gotten Lanie to not only confess that she still had feelings for Esposito, but to admit that she wanted him back. She glanced over at Kate and scowled when she saw that her friend's self-satisfied smirk was still firmly in place. She tolerated it for a few more blocks before she snapped. "Girl, if you don't get that smug look off your face soon, Imma smack it off."

Kate attempted to rearrange her expression, but only succeeded in making herself laugh. Lanie pursed her lips and folded her arms, staring Kate down until she stopped giggling. "I'm sorry, Lanie, I really am," she said, taking a breath to get control of her voice. She continued, more seriously this time. "I just don't want to see you pass up an opportunity to have something real."

Lanie fidgeted uncomfortably in the cold air. "I don't want that either," she mumbled. "But I haven't even told you the full story. And you don't understand how hard it is for me to believe that history isn't going to repeat itself."

Kate snorted mirthlessly. "You really think I don't understand being afraid of falling in love?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Lanie. "For Christ's sake, it took me almost four years and getting shot in the chest to even admit that I had feelings for Castle." She paused, swallowing hard. "And look what happened. I waited too long and I-I lost my chance."

Lanie grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. They walked the rest of the way to the morgue in silence, each lost in her own thoughts. Lanie noticed Kate texting someone, but didn't think anything of it until they actually got inside. Kate stopped before they'd gotten two steps into the hall and hugged Lanie.

"I've gotta get back to work," she explained, giving her a tired smile.

Lanie frowned. "Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" she asked.

Kate shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. "I'll call you tomorrow if I need to talk."

"Tomorrow?" Lanie raised a questioning eyebrow. "What's gonna stop you from calling me tonight?"

Kate just smiled secretively. "You'll find out," she sing-songed, leaving before Lanie could even form a response.

Lanie walked down the hall to her lab, stopping short when she got to the door. Esposito was waiting inside, fidgeting anxiously. Lanie shook her head, inwardly cursing her friend. "She wouldn't dare," she muttered.

Her text alert went off, and she almost dropped her phone when she read the message from Kate. Here's your second chance. Take it before it's too late. Then another text a moment later. You'll thank me for this later. Lanie was seriously contemplating smacking her upside the head the next time she saw her, but she steeled her resolve and decided to take Kate's advice, pushing through the doors to the lab before she could chicken out.

Lanie's sudden appearance startled Esposito, who knocked over a tray of instruments when he jumped. She immediately knelt down to help him pick them up, but his proximity caught her off-guard, causing her to freeze up. She tried to take a calming breath so she could stand up without shaking, but only managed to inhale the scent of his cologne, throwing her off again.

Javi took her elbow and helped her stand, not releasing her until she was steady again. "You okay?" he asked.

Lanie nodded. "Just got a little dizzy," she fibbed. "Don't really know what happened." There was a slight awkward silence. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I didn't scare you did I?" she teased.

"I just wasn't expecting you," he defended, backpedaling when she raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Okay, I mean I knew you were coming back, I just wasn't expecting you back so soon. I thought I had more time," he explained.

Lanie paused before asking, "More time for what?"

At first, she thought Javi wasn't going to answer. He turned away from her for a minute, but then turned back, running a hand through his short hair. "I thought I had more time to prepare what I was gonna say to you. And I had this whole speech planned; all these reasons why we should give it another shot." He paused for a moment, shaking his head. "And I thought I was ready to lay it all out for you, but the minute you walked through the door, it all went out of my head. So…" He paused again, collecting his nerve. "So I'm not gonna give you a laundry list of reasons. I'm just gonna suck it up and beg you to give me…no, to give us a second chance."

Lanie was so stunned by his outburst that she couldn't respond immediately. Apparently, Javi took her silence as a bad sign, because he nodded dejectedly. "Shoulda known this was a bad idea," he muttered, heading for the door.

It didn't register to Lanie that he was leaving until he passed by her. "No, Javi, wait," she called, grabbing his wrist to stop him. He turned to face her, his expression a mixture of confusion and expectation.

"It's just…" She stalled for a minute, not sure how to phrase everything. "I'm more like Kate than people realize," she explained. "I don't open up easily. I tend to avoid serious relationships. I've always got one foot out the door, ready to run." Lanie took a shaky breath, tears pricking at her eyes. "I watched my parents' marriage fall apart right in front of me. I've been betrayed, cheated on, or lied to by every guy I've ever dated, except for you. You're the only one that hasn't had me waiting for the other shoe to drop. I didn't even think about how serious things might be getting until Jenny made that comment about us getting married, and then…"

"And then what?"

"I got scared," Lanie admitted. "And if I'm being completely honest, I've never seriously considered marriage. It was always something I figured would happen way in the future if I met the right person."

Javi sighed. "And you didn't think that I was the right person," he guessed.

"No, that's not what I meant," Lanie protested, growling in annoyance. Why was this so hard? "I didn't want to think about it at all, because I didn't want to ruin the best relationship I've ever had." She sighed. "I guess I did that anyway."

Javi touched her arm softly. "You didn't ruin it," he assured her. He took a tentative step closer, then closed the remaining distance between them and kissed her. He started to pull away after a few brief seconds, but she pulled him back to her, kissing him for all she was worth.

When they finally broke apart, they were both grinning like idiots. "So," Javi started, smirking. "I'm guessing that's a 'yes' on the second chance?"

(Kate)

Kate was starting to think the walk was a bad idea. When she'd told her dad she was going out to clear her head, he'd looked out at the darkening sky and back at her with a disapproving look. When she'd persisted, he had just sighed and told her to call if she needed him to come pick her up. She'd rolled her eyes then, but now she was seriously considering it.

About twenty minutes into her walk, the heavens had opened up. It was just warm enough for there to be freezing rain mixed in with the snow, and within minutes, Kate was soaked to the bone. She had ducked inside a Starbucks to call her dad, only to discover that her phone had died. Now she was finishing off her latte, trying to figure out where to go.

The door chimed as someone entered, and Kate turned when she heard Alexis' voice. "Gram, I really think we need to just tell her. She deserves to know."

"I'm not saying she doesn't, darling," Martha replied. "But we both promised your father that we wouldn't say anything."

Alexis sighed. "She's going to find out sooner or later, and how do you think she's going to feel when she realizes that we knew the entire time?"

Martha had opened her mouth to respond when she glanced over and caught Kate's eye. "Kate, darling!" she called, rushing over with Alexis trailing behind her. She reached out to hug her, but stopped abruptly. "Dear, you're absolutely drenched," she said, frowning. "I hope you haven't been wandering about in all this." She gestured outside, where rain and snow were still coming down in sheets.

Kate nodded sheepishly. "In my defense, it wasn't raining when I started my walk. I got caught in the storm, and I've been trying to figure out how I'm getting home tonight. My phone died, so I can't call my dad," she explained. "And there's no way I'll get a cab in all of this."

"You could come home with us," Alexis offered. "We were just going to have a late dinner and snuggle up by the fire until bed. You could use my charger and at least get warm and dry before you go home."

Kate thought it over for a moment. "That sounds awesome, actually. Besides, there's some information about the case that I'd prefer you heard from me." She looked to Martha. "Would that be okay with you?"

Martha laughed. "Do you really have to ask, Kate?"

After receiving their drinks, Alexis and Martha ushered Kate into the waiting car, which immediately started for the loft. Once they were settled, Kate filled them in on the updates in the case, including Paula's arrest that morning.

"So wait," Alexis interrupted, holding up a hand. "You're saying Paula is the one that had Dad shot?"

Kate nodded. "She never intended for him to die, but yes. Unfortunately, the man she hired didn't shoot your dad, and neither did the guy he asked to do the job for him."

Alexis absorbed the information silently. "So, you still haven't caught the shooter?" she asked after a few moments.

"Not yet," Kate confirmed. "But we're getting close." She took Alexis' hand, squeezing it gently.

The rest of the ride to the loft was spent in silence. As they entered the building, Martha pulled Kate aside. "How are you holding up, kiddo?"

Kate shrugged. "I'm not sure that it's completely set in yet. I think I'm still in shock." She sighed heavily, closing her eyes momentarily. "I just can't believe he died over something so stupid."

Martha wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the elevator. "I just miss him so much," Kate murmured, leaning against Martha. The past couple of days were starting to catch up to her, and she stifled a yawn as the doors opened on their floor.

Alexis unlocked the door to the loft and Martha led Kate inside, helping her strip off her coat. The older woman smiled sympathetically. "Why don't you take a hot shower and then lie down for a while?" she suggested. "I'll find something for you to wear while your clothes are in the dryer, okay?"

Kate nodded, far too tired to argue. She let Martha lead her through the loft to a bathroom, stripping down and stepping into the shower robotically. It wasn't until the hot water started to clear the fog from her head that Kate realized she was in the master bathroom. She froze in place, waiting for the panic to set it. Tears were pricking at her eyes, and she let them fall, hoping that if she gave in to her emotion, the panic would stay away. After a few minutes, she relaxed under the hot spray and began trying to wash away whatever remained of the last few days.

Kate woke up later that night disoriented and confused, but surprisingly refreshed. She sat up and looked around, her gut clenching when she remembered that she'd fallen asleep in Castle's room, in his bed no less. The clock on the nightstand read just after one am. She cursed to herself, knowing that her dad had to be freaking out.

She swung out of bed and almost fell over instantly, unused to the height of the bed and tripping over too-long pants. Martha had left her a Green Lantern tshirt and a pair of flannel pants that had obviously served as Castle's pajamas. She'd been a little stunned at first, but the scent of him on the clothes had actually helped her sleep better.

Kate tiptoed through the bedroom, opening the door that led to Castle's study. She couldn't quite stifle a shriek when she saw a figure sitting in his office chair. The chair spun around, and she could see Martha's stunned expression even in the dim light.

"Martha, I am so sorry," Kate whispered. "I had no idea you were in here."

Martha raised an eyebrow. "Likewise, dear."

Kate frowned. "You didn't know I was in here?" she asked.

"No," Martha replied, shrugging. "I thought you were upstairs in the guest room." She looked Kate over, smiling sadly. "I see you found something to wear for yourself."

Kate flushed crimson, ducking her head. "They were in the bathroom when I got out of the shower," she muttered. "I just thought…"

Martha nodded. "No need to explain, kiddo. It's not like I care."

Kate smiled. "Thanks." She wandered closer to the desk. "Um, do you know if my dad called me?"

"Oh, Jim?" Martha asked, smiling. "I talked to him hours ago, dear. He'll be dropping by in the morning with a change of clothes."

"Wow, thanks," Kate said. "I'm surprised he didn't ask to talk to me."

Martha shrugged. "I told him you were sleeping peacefully, so…" She paused for a moment. "You were sleeping peacefully, weren't you?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah," she confirmed. "Best night of sleep I've had in a while, actually." She leaned against the desk, and her hand hit a remote, turning on the smart board behind her, bathing them both in blue light.

She turned to switch the board back off, but froze when she saw the grid laid out in front of her. All of the details of her mother's case were mapped out, along with theories, a box labeled "Mr. Smith?", and, in the center of the board, her own face with the caption, "Who hired the sniper?". Anger started to bubble up as she sorted through all of the information on the screen. Some of it was old, from her mother's case file, some were facts they'd discovered together, and some of it was brand new information that she'd never seen before.

"Kate…" Martha's soft voice broke Kate out of her thoughts.

She turned to Martha, angry tears burning in her eyes. "How long has he been doing this without me?" she asked. "When did he start investigating this again?"

Martha closed her eyes. "I don't believe Richard ever stopped."

Kate clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting the bile that was rising in her throat. She swallowed hard. "Why?" she managed to choke out. "Why would he lie to me about this?"

"From what little I know," Martha started, "he was trying to protect you."

Kate squeezed her eyes shut, forcing a few tears out. "What did he tell you?" she asked.

Martha sighed. "When I found all of this and demanded an explanation, Richard told me that he'd received a phone call back in September, right around the time you were going back to work. He said that a man who called himself Mr. Smith told him that if you didn't stop investigating your mother's murder, the men who tried to kill you in May wouldn't stop until they'd succeeded in killing you. Richard said the only way he could think of to keep you safe was to lie to you."

Kate processed the information, also realizing why Castle had felt the need to lie. "He thought that if I knew those men were still out to get me, I wouldn't stop. He was scared that my stubbornness would get me killed."

Martha came around the desk, putting her hands on Kate's shoulders. "Kate, I'm not saying what my son did was right. I'm not saying that he was justified in lying to you. All I'm saying is that he did what he did out of love for you. He just wanted to keep you safe. Can you really blame him for that?"

Kate sighed, shaking her head. "No, but I've told him before that I need to be able to live my life my way. I don't like having decisions made for me, especially without my knowledge." She sniffed a laugh. "I want to be angry with him, but I just can't bring myself to be." She sighed, another tear escaping. "I don't know what to do."

Martha pulled her into a hug. "None of us do, darling," she confessed. "None of us do."

*See, toldja it wouldn't be as long between chapters this time. So yes, things are really moving along now. We're getting down to the wire now folks. Only a few more chapters until the end. Stay with me. I promise it'll be worth the wait.