Author's Note: Sorry for the delays in getting this chapter up folks. I have been dealing with a lot of personal issues, and dealing with something like Layers really wasn't an option. I hope all the other random fics I have been posting have kept you entertained so far. Major thanks are due to my Muse Manuxinhace for keeping me on-track with this one, and being there for me to bounce ideas off *hugs*. Without further ado, I give you the next chapter. I hope there won't be as long a delay in getting you the next chapter. :-P

NevynR

Previously in Layers of the Onion...

"Actually, ma'am, it's Sergeant Johnson now, although Rodgers here wouldn't have known that, since I only got the extra stripes after he left." He said. "Any chance you can explain why I was called down here?" A little disconcerted by the casual way he referred to Castle as 'Rodgers', she gestured for him to sit down.

"Sergeant, there is no easy way to break this to you, but it's about your daughter..."

12:30pm, 12th Precinct Break Room

Castle sat on the couch, nursing his coffee. Next to him, Beckett waited silently. The air between held an uncomfortable edge. He was still digesting the fact that one of his unit members had just re-entered his life, only to find that their latest case was his friend's daughter, and there was nothing Kate could do to ease the pain he felt. He knew they would to their utmost to find the person responsible, and she knew that until that happened, Castle was not likely to start dealing with the emotions it brought up.

He sighed and drained the dregs of his drink. He placed his empty cup on the table and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Where are we on the background checks for Melissa?" Shoving the emotions into a box inside himself, he closed the lid. All business, he faced the case full-on. Huh, He thought briefly, I wonder if this is how Kate feels when she goes all business-like suddenly?

A small frown creased Beckett's forehead as she saw the hurt and frustration slide from her partner's face, replaced by determination and focus. She had never seen Castle so effectively isolate himself from a situation. Mind back on the case, she replied.

"Ryan got back with phone records, so far nothing out of the ordinary. Esposito is still running financials, but it looks clean for the moment."

"Any luck with witnesses?"

"Not so far. The area didn't have any traffic or security cameras, and we only have a few witnesses who admit to seeing anything."

"So we have nothing solid so far then?" Beckett stood up, an apologetic look on her face. Her mind on the case, she absently held her hands out as she stood in front of Castle. Taking her hands in his own, he stood as well, their eyes locked. Seeing the hurt in the ocean blue of his eyes, Kate gave his hands a reassuring squeeze, saying

"We'll get him, Castle, whatever it takes." He gave her a half-grin in reply; some of the tension draining out of him. Beckett was the best the NYPD had, and Castle knew that when she gave her word you could take it to the bank.

"Hey, Beckett..." Ryan entered the break room, a file in his hand. He stopped, looking up at the duo, holding hands and standing a lot closer than he would have expected. His gaze flicking between the two of them, a teasing smirk settled across his lips as he asked "Am I interrupting something here?"

His comment greeted by an eye-roll, Beckett replied, deflecting his question.

"What have you got, Ryan?"

"From the phone records? A whole lot of nothing unusual for a thirteen year-old girl. Calls and texts from her friends, no boyfriend to speak of. The rest of the household is the same. We did log one incoming call two days before from an unknown number, but tech traced it to a payphone on the upper east side. Phone logs show it was only a few second's duration, around midday."

There was a silence as they thought. Castle spoke up, an idea churning in his head.

"Where is the nearest phonebook, guys?" Puzzled, Beckett replied.

"There should be one in the bottom drawer of my desk... why?"

"Just a hunch. I don't want to share with the class just yet..." He headed for Beckett's desk, calling over his shoulder as he left the break room. "Ryan, can you get tech to pull a list of the previous half-dozen numbers phone numbers dialled from that payphone?"

"I'm on it." Ryan responded, heading for his own desk.

Beckett not far behind, Castle pulled out the phone book from the drawer and sat down. Quickly leafing through the pages, he ran his finger down the list of names until he found the one he recognised: Johnson, T M & M J. The phone number matched the one Esposito had dialled to contact Melissa's next of kin. Marking his place with a finger, he glanced up as Ryan walked over, looking at his notepad.

"Tech pulled the numbers for us." He said, sliding the notebook across the desk. Castle spun it around and compared the numbers in the notebook to the numbers above the Johnson's in the phonebook. A triumphant grin on his face, he looked up at Beckett and Ryan.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner..." Still seeing confused looks on their faces, Castle explained. "Who calls a house in the middle of the day from a payphone? Somebody without a cell phone. It can't have been any of Melissa's friends, because they all have cell phones, and were in school at the time anyway. It can't have been Tommy, he's got a solid alibi across town. Middle of a Monday, when nobody is home, why call for a few seconds and hang up...? The call must have been from the murderer."

"Castle, what are you getting at?" Beckett asked, still not understanding. She knew he was probably onto something, but needed something solid to go on.

"Beckett, he called seven numbers, one after the other, each call lasting less than ten seconds, in the order they were listed in the phone book. He was hunting for Johnsons... those particular Johnsons." Illustrating his point, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled Tommy's number. The phone rang twice, and was picked up by the answering machine.

"Hi, you have reached Thomas and Mary Johnson. We can't..." Castle hung up.

"He had a surname, and a general area. He called the numbers when he knew nobody would be home, and confirmed the identity by the message on the answering machine. He had Melissa's home address two days before he killed her. This wasn't a random attack..."

They shared a look for a second. Beckett snapped her fingers, and turned to address Ryan.

"Can we pull any cameras that covered that payphone?"

"On it, boss!" Ryan quickly headed back to his desk to begin chasing down the footage. Beckett turned back to face her partner and threw him a grin.

"Nice catch, Castle." Standing up, they made their way over to the murder board and updated it with the latest information. "If it wasn't random, we need some kind of idea what the hell the motive was..."

7:30am Thursday, 12th Precinct Gym

Castle stepped forward, parrying Beckett's punch. He hooked his foot behind her ankle and shoved. Surprised, she over balanced but managed to pivot mid-air and turned her backward fall into a dive roll, coming back up onto her feet and spinning around to face him once more. Flashing her a quick smile, he stepped back, allowing them to take a break.

"You're improving, Kate." He complimented her. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Beckett sucked down a couple of quick breaths before replying, an amused smile crossing her lips briefly.

"If I was, Castle, you wouldn't have been able to pull off such a cheap move." He shook his head at her.

"It wasn't that I managed to trip you, Beckett... I tried the same move on you yesterday, and you fell flat on your backside. Today, you didn't." Realising he had a point, she retuned his grin. Still out of breath, she asked,

"How about we break from sparring for a bit, Rick?"

"Sure... Did you want to run over some disarms?" A little puzzled, she nodded. Seeing her look, he explained. "The police teach you how to subdue your suspect using your gun, baton, and some unarmed stuff. I was thinking you could do with learning a few things that are more aimed at keeping you alive, instead of bringing a suspect in intact." The serious tone in his voice caused her to frown slightly. Understanding where he was coming from, she neatened the loose strands of her hair into her ponytail and moved to the centre of the mats once more. Walking up to her, Castle instructed her to hold her arms out as if she had a pistol pointed at him.

From a few feet away, he raised his hands as if in surrender.

"This is primarily designed to get you out of the line of fire. Assuming you get that far, you can control their weapon and use it to control the situation." Moving slowly enough for her to observe, he brought his hands down, circling, as he moved forward and to the side. His right hand cupping her right hand, his body next to her right shoulder, he brought his left fore-arm down into her elbow joint and forced his right hand forward, collapsing her arm. As her arm folded, he stepped behind her, his left arm snaking under hers and cupping the back of her head in a half-nelson as their joined right hands moved to under her chin.

Trying hard to ignore the scent of her hair in his face and the feeling of his body wrapped around hers, he explained.

"The pressure from the left arm immobilises your attacker, the left hand controls their head position so they can't head-butt you, and your right hand should now have a finger on the trigger of their weapon. Unless they are significantly bigger than you, you should be able to control the muzzle so that if you need to, you can fire it at point blank and not have to worry about the bullet hitting you if it exits. Messy, but better than being on the wrong end of it…" Stepping back, he used their still-joined hands to turn her around to face him once more. "You want to give it a try?" She nodded, thankful that their recent exertions still had her face flushed, hiding the blush that was rapidly covering her cheeks. She tried to remember exactly what he had been saying, but concentration had been… difficult.

Castle raised his hands, holding an imaginary pistol as Beckett repeated the move he had just shown her. Without her heels on, Beckett noticed the height difference between them more, finding it difficult to apply the half-nelson. Sensing her problem, Castle disengaged and thought for a second.

"Try kicking the back of the right knee after you hit the elbow, before you move behind…" Nodding, she did as instructed. The buckling of his knee dropping him, she had all the height advantage she needed to execute the move, finishing with her standing behind him with him on his knees. Her breath tickling his right ear, she asked

"How was that?" Castle swallowed, keenly aware that Kate's lips hovered mere inches from his neck.

"That was… good." A sneaky smile flitting over his face, he teased her. "Although, having me on my knees does give me one advantage…" Still holding him pinned by her arms, she could feel each breath he took. Impulsively, she lowered her lips to just brush his neck, right below his ear. Her voice lowering, she whispered

"Oh, I think I have you just where I want you…" She felt his weight shift, and he pivoted, spinning her around his torso as he hip-tossed her onto her back on the mats in front of him. Keeping his momentum up, he straddled her, pinning her wrists to the floor above her head. Noses almost touching, Castle noted her sharp intake of breath, the way she arched her back slightly, her arms testing the strength of his grip before relaxing, her eyes wide.

"I could say the same thing, detective…" His weight pressing her into the mats, his voice sent a shiver of longing through her as she saw his eyes dart from her own to trace her lips, and back to meet her own heated gaze. Slowly, he lowered his head, brushing his lips faintly across hers once, twice. Seeing her eyelids flutter half-closed, he deepened the kiss, surprised when she slipped her hands free from his grip, and wove her fingers through his hair, holding him in place as she opened her mouth, her tongue dancing with his.

When their need for oxygen broke them apart, panting, he pulled back. The sounds of people talking loudly in the hall outside intruded on his befuddled brain. Realising they had been making out like a pair of teenagers where anybody could have seen them if they had entered, Castle quickly rolled off Beckett, offering her a hand up. Standing up, she looked down shyly for a second before smiling at her partner.

"We'd better hit the showers before somebody comes in…" She said, her eyes sparkling, the warm, electric buzz from the kiss still flowing through their linked hands. Closing the distance between them, she pulled him into another searing kiss before breaking away and grabbed her gear bag. Glancing back at him over her shoulder, saying "I think we could both do with a cold shower before Ryan and Esposito get in…" A knowing grin on his face, Castle grabbed his gear as well, openly eyeing her figure.

"Cold shower. Yep, definitely going to need a cold shower." He held the door open for her, and they parted ways, both trying hard to keep the smiles off their faces.

AN: As usual folks, reviews feed the plot bunnies! Thanks to my Muse, the plot for this one has been substantially thickened, but feedback is always appreciated. ;-) Now the plot actually has a proper direction, you guys should be getting (hopefully) one update a week on this one, giving me enough time to work on the backlog of unwritten fics I still have to work through. Thanks for all the positive feedback so far, you guys rock!