Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... the characters of this amazing show belong to the genius Andrew Marlowe and ABC. :P

A/N: Okay, the last chapter might've ended in a bit of a cliffhanger, but it wasn't too bad. ;) Castle isn't in this next chapter, but you see him again in the beginning of Chapter 11 - don't fret. :P This chapter focuses more on our beloved Detective Kate Beckett. I found a few minutes to post this update before I have to delve into my studying/homework for the weekend. Chapter 10 is about 5 and a half pages or so in MS Word. :) I hope you enjoy it! And I hope you like the imagery, I worked pretty hard on a certain section to get the imagery just right and I hope I succeeded. Tell me what you think! Here's Chapter 10...

Previously in Habeas Corpses...

Unknown Location

Castle sat in isolation, bound to a chair in the center of a dim and musky room with a new added feature – he had duct tape over his mouth. He tried to loosen the ropes around his wrists, but all it got him was some rope burn. Trying to figure a way out, he noticed that the table had a sharp edge where some wood had splintered off of it. Beneath the tape, he managed a small smile and decided to hop over to it.

Thankfully the chair wasn't bolted to the floor, so he was able to move it, "Come on, Castle, you can make it. Something tells me if I stay here much longer, Nick is going to kill me. I want to know more of why he ordered the hit on Kate's mother, but I won't do much good if I'm dead."

He made a couple of more hops successfully, silently hoping that the noise he was making wouldn't attract any attention, "One more should do it. Come on, Rick, just one more – just a little farther."

Rick let out a breath through his nose and made one more hop. He failed to notice a divot in the floor. One of the legs of the chair landed directly on it, knocking his balance totally off, and once again, Castle found himself tipping head first into the table. Unlike the last time, the table wasn't as sturdy and it broke in half with a loud crash, knocking the author unconscious. A small line of blood ran down Castle's forehead from his newly formed gash.

Now in Habeas Corpses...

Chapter 10

12th Precinct

"I think it's a safe bet that Mr. Johnson here was Mr. Sullivan's killer," Shaw stated.

"You drawing that conclusion from the fact he kidnapped Castle?," Beckett asked.

"That and my boys were able to get the audio up on the video footage," Shaw smirked, "Castle asked him what he was doing at his apartment and he replied 'a job' – if he was hired to kidnap Castle, he more than likely was hired to kill Charles Sullivan too. He was perfect. Sullivan knew him, he could get close, and murder him."

"Any further info?," Beckett was growing very frustrated with their lack of evidence.

"No," Shaw sighed. She was just as frustrated, "We don't have a breadcrumb trail like before. We're not getting any clues. And even though we've got plenty of info on King's background, there's hardly any info on his recent activity – and he knows how to cover his tracks too well. Plus, this Johnson is like a ghost. I think our best bet is to sleep on it and come back first thing tomorrow morning with a clear head."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Beckett refused, "Castle might not have a day and I don't want to wait around when this lunatic could be hurting him or worse."

"Sorry, Beckett," Shaw argued, "This is out of your jurisdiction. Your captain put me on this case and I outrank you. I think our best bet of catching this guy and bringing home Castle safely is to sleep on it. Now, go home and get some rest. You're useless to me if you're stressed and burned out."

Before Beckett could get another objection in, Shaw walked away, leaving her to her thoughts. She slumped down in her leather chair and couldn't help but stare at Castle's vacant chair once again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. All through the summer, she knew he'd be coming back, but now…

"You all right?," Ryan came up behind Kate.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Ryan," Kate looked up at him, "Just tired and frustrated."

"Ditto," Ryan managed a small smile and squeezed her shoulder, "If you need to talk, you know we're all here for you."

"I know," Beckett replied, patting his hand.

"You going home?," Lanie asked, switching places with Ryan.

"Not that I want to," Kate practically bit back, "Jordan's making me go home to get some rest and come back with a clear head. We've got absolutely no leads on this case. This isn't like our other cases, Lanie. The difference is we know who did it, we just can't find him."

"I hear you, girl," Lanie empathized, "But you know that it's all for the best, right? By tomorrow, I'm sure we'll be further ahead in the investigation. Even though she told us to go home, you know she's going to stay on it all night."

"This case is just…," Kate couldn't even think of a word to describe it.

"Come on, sweetie, I'll take you home," Lanie put her arm around her, leading her to the elevators.

"Actually, can you take me somewhere else?," Beckett asked as the elevator doors closed.

Castle's Loft

"Kate?," Martha answered the door.

"Detective Beckett?," Alexis got excited, "Did you find my dad? Where is he?"

"Sorry to get your hopes up, Alexis, but we're still looking into his location," Beckett replied, "I'm actually here for another reason."

"Well, don't just stand there, come in," Martha ushered her in, "Come in, kiddo."

"What is it?," Alexis asked once they were all inside and settled in the living room.

"Agent Shaw ordered me to go home and get some rest before following up some more on the case tomorrow," Kate started, "But I can't go home. It's too quiet. And I've been worried about you two. I was wondering, if it wasn't an imposition, would it be all right for me to spend the night here?"

"Darling, you don't have to ask," Martha assured her, "Of course you can stay here."

"Montgomery put some security detail on your place for safety measures," Kate told them, "Just thought you should be aware in case you need to leave at all tonight."

"I can take the couch and you can sleep in my room," Martha offered.

"Oh no, Martha," Kate stood up, "If I'm putting you out of your room… I can't."

Martha gave her a look, but before Martha could insist that it was perfectly fine with her, Alexis made another suggestion, "Why don't you take Dad's room?"

"That sounds perfect to me," Martha agreed.

"I-," Beckett started to object, but Martha cut her off, "You're not going to argue, Kate. You came here to rest up and watch out for us at the same time. And if I'm being perfectly honest, if you hadn't come over, I would've called you over… Now, let's all have something to eat and you can brief us on what you know so far about my boy."

"There isn't much," Beckett started, "Hopefully we'll be able to make a connection of both cases to triangulate some sort of location."

After a pleasant meal and after Kate briefed Martha and Alexis on everything that she knew about the case, Martha let Beckett know that Alexis was now aware of the fact that Nick King was Castle's father. Martha said that it might be a softer blow for Castle if the three of them told him together after he got back. Beckett insisted that it was a family matter and she didn't want to impose on that. Both Alexis and Martha told her that she was just as much as a part of their family as everyone else down at the precinct as being blood-related. After some reluctance, Kate agreed to be present when they told Castle the truth about his father. Some time passed and it was time for bed.

"Goodnight, Detective," Alexis bid Kate goodnight.

"Alexis, I think it's about time you called me Kate," Kate smiled.

"I'd like that," Alexis returned the favor, "Goodnight, Kate."

"Until tomorrow, Alexis," Beckett replied with a secret smile. Alexis disappeared behind her bedroom door. Martha came up behind Kate, putting her hands on her shoulders, "Everything is going to be all right, sweetheart. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Beckett turned around, "But it doesn't hurt to be reminded every once in awhile… it's just that these sort of cases don't always turn out for the best and I don't want this one to end up like one of those cases."

"It won't," Martha was sure, "You'll find him in time. I have faith in you."

"I just don't want to let them down," Beckett started to tear up.

"Who, darling?," Martha asked.

"My mother… and Castle," Beckett replied, "I don't want to be too late and let her down again and I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost Castle."

"You won't let them down, Kate," Martha knew that for a fact, "And Richard isn't going anywhere. You've cast a spell on him, Kate… you truly are extraordinary."

"You know, my mom used to say that 'Life never delivers anything we can't handle' – she called it Johanna's Immutable Law of the Universe," Kate got a look of reminiscence cross her features.

"She was a wise woman," Martha smiled, "You can handle this, Kate… I have complete faith in you to be able to do this and bring Richard back home safe and sound to all of us."

"Thank you, Martha," Beckett gave her a small smile through her tears. Martha gave her another small smile, rubbing her arm in an assuring gesture, "Don't you have anything to sleep in? Something more comfortable than your work clothes?"

"I figured I wouldn't need any," Kate replied, "I wasn't sure if you'd want me to spend the night, so I didn't really bring anything. Besides, I'm only spending one night, I can sleep in this. It's no big deal."

"Nonsense," Martha wouldn't hear of it. She opened the door to Castle's room, where Beckett would be spending the night, and went to his closet, "You can wear one of Richard's old baggy shirts and sweatpants. There's no need for you to be uncomfortable."

"Martha, I-," Beckett was about to object once again, but as per every time she tried to argue, Martha wouldn't hear of it, "Now, Kate, Richard would never forgive me if he heard you spent the night here and had to sleep in your work clothes. It's really not any imposition, you could never be an imposition. Now get changed and get to sleep."

Without another word, Martha handed Kate one of Castle's baggy 'NY' t-shirts and some sweatpants, gave her a hug goodnight, and closed the door behind her. Kate let out a long sigh. She was relieved that Martha and Alexis didn't mind her spending the night. Now alone with her thoughts in the object of her thoughts' bedroom, she sat down on the edge of Castle's bed – his clothes beside her.

She got up and quickly changed into Castle's clothes. Pulling the front collar up to her nose, she was happy to discover that his scent was still on the shirt – a hint of his aftershave. Sitting on the side of the bed near his bedside table, she couldn't help but smile at the picture he had sitting there. It was of him and Alexis smiling at the camera when she was younger, she couldn't have been more than six years old. He truly loved his daughter.

"If something were to happen to me, I want you to watch out for Alexis," Castle's voice from months ago when he thought he was cursed echoed through Kate's mind, "She looks up to you and if her boyfriends get frisky, you can shoot them."

"Nothing's going to happen to you," Beckett heard herself say.

"But if it does," Castle emphasized. Beckett remembered the look he gave her – it killed her.

"Okay," Kate remembered herself agreeing.

She closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming. Nothing was going to happen to him. He'd be back soon enough to bug and tease her, to help solve their cases, and be there for her. Gently reaching for the clasp of the necklace she wore of her mother's ring around her neck, she slipped it off and placed it on his bedside table in front of the picture. Then, she took off her father's watch and put it right next to her mother's ring. She lifted up the covers and crawled in, sliding her arms under the pillow, her head facing the picture. Kate shut off the lamp. The last image she saw before falling asleep was looking into the image of Castle's smiling face, his baby blues seemingly staring right back into hers.

12th Precinct

Agent Shaw may have told Beckett and everyone else to get some rest, but she was burning the midnight oil. The lack of evidence and leads were unnerving. She had to find some sort of connection. Jordan had gone over Charles Sullivan's case, Johanna Beckett's case, all the background they could dig up on William Johnson and Nick King… so far nothing was adding up. She let out a grunt of frustration, "What am I missing?"

She laid out Sullivan's case next to Johanna's. Thinking out loud, she muttered, "Why were you looking into her death, Sullivan?"

Looking up, struck with an epiphany, she booted up their smart board back to life to dig up all the information she could on Johanna Beckett's past, "Both lawyers, that's something, now let's see if you two were looking into the same cases."

After a few more keystrokes, Johanna Beckett's past cases and Charles Sullivan's past cases were cross-referenced and there was one relation – they were both looking into a mob group dealing in heroin trafficking, "Great, got a connection, now let's see if by some miracle, it links up with anything else."

The few seconds it was taking the computer to correlate every bit of information felt like a lifetime, "Come on."

'MATCH' lit up on the screen, "Got you, you son of a bitch."

TBC

Lookie-lou at that! There's a break in the case. :D You knew that was coming, Agent Shaw's on the job. ;) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I also hope that I wrote Kate's feelings in-character and the imagery was just right as she went to sleep in Castle's bed. It took me a little while to get it just right. I'm not sure when Chapter 11 will appear, but I'm sure it won't be too long. Only four chapters and an epilogue are left of this story. Please comment and tell me what you think!

Thanks to those of you who are just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois and Caskett Forever! :D