A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys!

And about that one review: Beckett wasn't coming from his bedroom that morning. She was coming from upstairs, she'd left his bedroom earlier while he was still passed out at his computer. I honestly don't know where specifically she was coming from, I just know it was upstairs.

Detective Ryan held the young girl's hand as her lip quivered, every word she spoke fading as she attempted to recall the horrifying experience she'd just had to live through. The cops had arrived only minutes after the girl had left, and they immediately rushed to the body, not noticing Alexis for a few moments. In pain and in shock, the girl had kept silent until someone noticed her and called the paramedics over. Now, she was sitting on the back of an ambulance, feet on the asphalt as she waited for her father to come. She'd overheard the conversation, and immediately after detective Ryan had hung up, he'd turned back to her to continue the questioning. The most Alexis could give him was a description of the man and her friend's reaction when they met eyes, but once she got to the actual murder her throat closed up and she refused to go on further. Understanding her need for space and time to get over her shock, Ryan had stopped with the questions and sat next to her, allowing Alexis to take his hand. He hadn't noticed how much she was shaking until he had to grip her hand to steady her, she looked like she was about to be sick.

Minutes later, a familiar car pulled up, and before it was even at a full stop, Richard Castle hopped out of the passenger seat and ran towards the scene. Martha followed closely behind, followed by Beckett, whose panicked looked faded once she spotted Ryan and Alexis.

"Dad," Alexis said at the sight of her father, her words failing her as she felt his arms wrap around her. She hugged him back the best she could, she had a nasty bruise on her side that made it hard for her to properly hug him back. When he finally pulled apart, she was wrapped into another hug by Martha, and she attempted to hug her back as well. Finally, Kate stepped forward to hug her as well, but she was much gentler and Alexis was more than grateful.

"What happened?" Castle asked, shooting a look at Ryan. His voice was calmer now, and he was no longer in a panic, but he was still incredibly worried.

As Ryan began to recite the story to Castle and Martha, Beckett gave Castle a light touch on his arm as she pulled away from the scene, walking into the alley to the crime scene. She had a job to do, and besides, they needed their family time after a scare like that.

"What do we have?" Kate asked as she slipped on some gloves and crouched down near the body, opposite of Lanie.

"Hey girl," Lanie greeted with a grin. Kate smiled back despite herself. "Amber Middleton, 19. Couple of blunt hits on her head and her neck but final cause of death was her slit throat."

As though on cue, Esposito jogged his way into the alley, a smile plastered on his face at the sight of Kate and Lanie. "Have CSU sweep the area," Kate told him, and he nodded and turned away, but not before sneaking a lustful glance towards Lanie.

Kate held back a smile as she looked at Lanie with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you two were over?"

"You don't get it, you haven't slept with him," Lanie muttered as she wrote something down on her board, avoiding eye contact. Kate chuckled and her head rose at the sound of someone else entering the alley.

"There was someone else here," Rick said, looking at Kate. "Someone who interjected in the double murder and stopped the killer from getting Alexis."

Kate blinked in surprise. "Well their presence at the exact time the killer attacked can't be a coincidence. Maybe we'll get a second set of prints once they sweep the area. Thanks, Castle."

Rick nodded, his eyes lingering on Kate for a moment before he turned away and walked out of the alley, heading back towards Alexis and Martha. Kate let out a breath despite herself, she'd been so worried about how Rick would take this but he seemed to be doing quite well. Now they only had to worry about Alexis.

When she looked back to the body, she was surprised to see Lanie staring at her with a smile on her face.

"What?" Kate asked.

"Nothing," Lanie replied, holding back from grinning as she dropped her gaze again. It was somewhat obvious that Lanie knew, but then again it wasn't really a battle to keep it from her. Lanie seemed to know about their relationship status all the time no matter what. Even though she and Rick have been trying to keep it a secret, it was nearly impossible to hide it from Lanie.

Kate rolled her eyes and rose, giving Lanie an annoyed look before walking away from the scene. She approached the Castle family, who were waiting for her. Alexis smiled shakily at Kate, who responded with a small smile back. She then turned to Rick.

"Castle, take Alexis and Martha home. I'll fill you in tomorrow."

Castle looked like he wanted to protest, but he finally shut up and nodded, giving her a loving look before taking Alexis's hand and leading her and Martha away from the crime scene.

"Good morning," a familiar voice greeted from Kate's left. She turned her head as her partner strolled in, holding out a coffee for her. She smiled and took it, taking a generous sip as she looked over the murder board. It was the next morning, and she almost thought he wouldn't come. They'd last talked last night, Kate had gone back to her place, and when he called he'd asked why. She'd replied with the answer that he needed some family time. His reply threw her off; he'd said and she was family now. She'd been too speechless to reply properly, and even now, the following morning, she had to bite her lip back to keep from grinning at the sight of him. He leaned against the desk next to her, looking over the board for the first time.

In the middle of the board, the face of the young Amber Middleton smiled shyly at them. A description of her murder was underneath it, and on either side of her were the rough sketches of two faces: a brown-haired handsome man who was labeled as their killer and a long-haired young girl who was labeled as the second witness. There was nary a detail on their faces, Alexis hadn't given a proper explanation.

"Castle," greeted Esposito, who had just approached the couple. "I know it's early notice, but we need to get Alexis in here for questioning."

Kate held up a hand to stop Rick from saying something he might regret. "What do you mean by questioning?"

"She's our only available witness and the only person who got a clear look of the killer's face. Plus, she was right in the middle of it."

Kate let out a sigh and turned her head to face Rick. After a moment of inner conflict, he nodded and walked towards the elevator, going home to get Alexis. Once he was gone, Kate turned back to Esposito, missing her boyfriend already. Every time he left he took a part of her with him, even if it was only for a short time. She smiled, however, and asked Esposito if he'd checked into Amber's background yet.

"I have, and get this, Amber Middleton doesn't exist."

Kate blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"She's in no records anywhere. As far as we know, she doesn't even have a family. We've sent her face everywhere in the city but there are no records of her existing anywhere."

"So it's a dead end." Kate let out a sigh and shook her head. She hated dead ends.

A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened and Rick and his daughter stepped out. Rick's arm was around her shoulders, but she was putting on a brave face despite the obvious trauma she was likely still experiencing. Esposito took her without another word and led her to their sketch artist. Within minutes they had to accurate sketches of their second witness and their killer. Kate took the photo of their killer in her hands, noting how he was obviously handsome.

"Okay, you guys go back to the restaurant and see if anyone recognizes this man," she said, handing Esposito and Ryan the sketch.

Once they were gone, Kate walked off towards the interrogation room where Alexis was sitting, waiting for them. She signaled for him to watch this time and entered the room alone.

"Hey Alexis," Kate said, throwing down her notes and pulling up a seat across from her. She believed everything Alexis had told them, but she needed to know the whole story. "Why don't you start at the beginning."

Alexis let out a sigh, grateful that it was Beckett that was questioning her. "Me and Amber were just going out for dinner. Just two friends, planning on having a good time."

"How was she acting before the man?" Kate asked.

"Normal. She was a quiet person, she hardly spoke or smiled widely but she was a sweetheart and that's why I loved her. When we saw the man, at first we were both attracted. I started... teasing her about him." A sad smile crossed Alexis's face. "When they met eyes, that's when I saw the change."

"Change?"

"She... suddenly looked terrified. And the man had a look on his face that just screamed hunger. Like… he'd been hunting her and he finally found her." She let out a shaky breath and paused for a moment. "And we left. She dragged me out."

Kate raised an eyebrow at her statement and leaned forward, urging her to go on.

"He started following us. When we started running… someone else started following us, too. A girl, about our age. I panicked and… pulled us into an alley. It was a dead end." She shook her head and let out an exasperated laugh. "My phone didn't have service. I pushed Amber behind me, to try to protect her. But he came after me first." She raised her head and pointed towards the large bruise on the side of her neck. "He gripped me by the neck and threw me aside."

From behind the wall, Richard Castle let out a small whimper. It was killing him seeing his little girl all banged up about this, knowing that she was probably traumatized after witnessing a murder, but he couldn't help but feel a little proud at how she was carrying herself. She was strong, and she insisted on telling the full story even though every word hurt her. He made a mental note to get her ice cream later.

Back in the room, Alexis's gaze broke from Kate's and she stared at the table. "And then he killed her. I was up against the wall, I was defenseless. He had the knife… he slashed. That's when she came."

"Did you get a clear look at her?"

Alexis shook her head. "It was too dark. I just remember being thrown backwards into garbage cans as she stabbed him and fought him off. Once he was gone, she looked over the body and then asked me if I was alright. She called the cops and then she was off."

Kate let out a sigh and nodded her head. "Alright Alexis, that's –" Her phone rang through the room loudly, stopping her parting speech. "Excuse me," she said as she stepped outside. "Beckett."

"Girl, you'd better get down here," Lanie said into the phone. "And bring Castle, he'll like this."

Kate raised an eyebrow but said nothing further. "Castle," she called. Rick was by her side in seconds, looking at her questioningly then back at Alexis, who was still in the room. Kate opened the door. "Alexis, you're free to go," she said.

"I want to stay. I want to find the girl who saved me," Alexis said firmly, and Kate could tell there would be no stopping her. Kate sighed and nodded, grabbing Castle's arm and leading him away from Alexis, who was now heading towards the break room to sit down while she waited.

Kate dragged Castle into the morgue, and once she let go he didn't run off to go see his daughter like she expected him to. Instead he looked at Lanie with curiosity. Lanie smiled at him as he threw back the sheet on the victim's face.

Amber looked so at peace, other than the large slit on her throat.

"Castle, you'll wanna see this," Lanie said as she pulled back Amber's lips and revealed two large fangs.

"Now we know why she never opened her mouth," Rick said, his eyes widening and his eyes twinkling with that little-kid-in-a-candy-shop look.

"Another vampire?" Kate said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Not exactly," Lanie said. "But they're real."

A/N: Reviews are very much appreciated ;)