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I hope you like it, even though it's a tad dramatic.

Chapter 7

Castle had gone into the Jeffersonian earlier in the morning, not wanting to miss any progress in the case. He was now going through the photos of Kate on his phone. The ones from Kate and Alexis he liked the most. Their relationship had visibly grown, for which he was very glad. When they teamed up against him, he played hurt, but from inside he was happy to see they were bonding. He just hoped they would talk more, because they loved each other as mother and daughter, but they were both afraid the feeling wasn't reciprocated.

He looked up as a young woman walked past him, seeming too determined to notice him. She headed to Cam's office. He figured it was Michelle, Cam's daughter. She slammed the door shut after she entered and Castle wondered what the cause was.

Xxx

"Michelle! Don't slam the door!" Cam said with a raised voice.

"Oh, no, you're not going to avoid the topic right now. Nu-uh." Michelle crossed her arms. "I was going to hang out with some friends and you just have someone send me here straight after school? I'm not a child anymore. Why the hell did you do that?" She yelled the last sentence.

"Detective Beckett was abducted yesterday. That proves Tyson is not going straight at Castle, but through other people. I don't want you 'hanging out' on the streets while that creep is still out there. I don't want you to get hurt, or worse. You might not understand that now, but you will once you have children of your own. You'll want to protect them from getting hurt, just like I want to protect you. You mean too much to me."

Michelle let her arms relax and sat on the couch, looking down at her feet.

"Is detective Beckett a friend of yours?" she asked quietly.

Cam walked over to the couch as well and sat down next to her. "I'd just met her. She and her team came here to help us with the 3XK case. But I do really like her."

"I'm sorry. For your friend, but also for snapping at you. I might have overreacted a little bit." Michelle stood up after that. "I'm going to find the rest of your team, talk to them. I think they can use the distraction."

"That's sweet of you. I'll see you later."

Michelle exited the office and walked towards the lab. She walked past a room on her way and saw a man sitting inside, looking upset. She looked closer and saw it wasn't just a man. It was Richard Castle. Her eyes went big. Okay, she wasn't some fan girl, but she did love his books. Especially Nikki Heat was cool. And then it dawned on her. Nikki Heat. Kate Beckett. Richard Castle's muse and now girlfriend. No wonder he was looking so down. She was sure he could use some distraction, or maybe just someone to listen to him.

"Let me guess, she was being overprotective?"

Michelle jumped a bit at the sound of his voice and looked at him. Castle motioned for her to come in. She sat down on a chair across from him.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I have a teenage daughter, and when she's angry she has the same expression on her face you had when you stormed in. I was wondering why you'd come here after school, but I figured with everything going on, Cam would want to protect you. I'd do the same thing with Alexis."

"I was pretty pissed at first, but then she told me about detective Beckett." Michelle saw him flinch a bit at the reminder. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring it up."

He shrugged. "That's okay."

She was determined to fix this. "You know, I'm kind of a romantic, so would you like to tell me how you two met, how you became lovers? If that's not too much for you, of course."

Castle brightened up at this. He loved to tell other people about Kate.

"I first met her about 5 years ago. I had a book signing, and I was just telling Alexis how I wanted someone to come up to me and say something new. Not a second after that, someone says my name. I figured it was just some other fan, so I turned around with a pen and I asked: 'Where would you like it?' I stopped in my movement when I saw her, taking her in. It didn't last long however, she pretty much shoved her badge in my face. And I just… stared at her."

Michelle laughed. "You stared at her? That's creepy."

"Yeah, that's what she tells me all the time. You know, at first I was just intrigued by her. And I don't know when, but I fell in love with her. Her strong, tough character, but also the soft side she showed towards the families. And her eyes have something… I don't know how to describe it. After a while I thought she felt something too, but things got messed up. She got a boyfriend, broke up without me knowing, I started dating, she started dating because of that… But I still loved her more than anything. The year after that was rough, but we got through it and we gave into our feelings. And the past year's been wonderful. I know, I have known for a while, she's the one. She's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"That's a cute story. Complicated, but cute nonetheless," Michelle said. "But I'm gonna head to the rest of the team, I kinda have to catch up with them."

"I'm going with you. And thanks for the distraction, I could use it."

"You're welcome."

Xxx

When Booth arrived at Brennan's room, she was already dressed and ready to go, holding Jade in a pink blanket. He walked over to them, first kissing his daughter's forehead, then turning to give Brennan a kiss on the lips.

"Ready to go, I see?" he asked after pulling back from her.

"Definitely, I don't like being stuck somewhere." She handed Jade to Booth and together they walked outside.

"Shouldn't we sign my release papers?" Brennan asked confused.

"I already did." They reached the car. Booth opened it and put Jade in the back, making sure she was safely strapped in her seat. He caressed her check before closing the door. Brennan was standing right next to him and put her hands around his neck.

"I never imagined having a child. I never even imagined being with someone, and I didn't mind. But now I'm glad that we're together and that we have a gorgeous baby. I love you." And then she kissed him.

Booth immediately responded, but when he pulled back he looked into her eyes, wondering where this had suddenly come from. She got the message and explained.

"We've dealt with serial killers before, but back then I had nothing to lose. I do now."

"I won't let anything happen to you or Jade. I won't. Now stop worrying and get in the car, okay? We've got a murderer to catch."

Xxx

Everyone who was at the lab was just sitting around a bit. There was nothing they could do. They already knew who had Kate but there weren't any witnesses, no evidence, nothing. Zero. Nada. Ryan and Esposito had run out earlier. Castle figured it was to get something to eat. Just then, they returned. No food. They all looked up at the two detectives and Esposito started to talk.

"We've all been looking at how Tyson got away and where he was headed without anyone seeing him. But we forgot about something else:"

"What happened before that," Ryan added. "He didn't just magically appear in front of the hospital. He probably followed one of us, but after that he couldn't anymore. He somehow figured out where we were in the hospital."

"So, Ryan and I headed back to the hospital and went into the room we were in. There was a big window, so we watched straight ahead. And we spotted a bench which would have had a perfect view of that hospital room."

"But he wouldn't have left any prints on that bench. He's too smart for that," Cam said.

"I wasn't done yet," Esposito replied. "There was a house behind that bench."

"A house with a nosy inhabitant," Ryan said. "So we went over to her and asked her if she'd seen anything."

"Let me guess, she wasn't home that evening," Booth said.

"You really need to stop interrupting us," Ryan said. "She did see something that evening. Tyson. She noticed he had some cheap, throw-away binoculars with him, and she figured it wasn't to spot birds. But then he got up and threw them away, starting to walk around. She let it go." Ryan looked at the expectant faces. "Of course, he wouldn't leave any prints and if he did, it wouldn't help us. But we thought-"

"That I could check it for any fibers or other stuff that can determine the place it's been," Hodgins said, getting the idea. Esposito pulled an evidence bag with the binoculars in it out of his coat and gave it to Hodgins.

"Knock yourself out."

Hodgins immediately began to work on it. The others just sat around, making small talk, anxious to see if they'd finally found a good lead. A while later Hodgins came back to them. The look on his face said enough.

"I'm sorry guys. I checked every single spot on the damn thing, and I got nothing. I'm really sorry."

Xxx

God, she hated this. She hated him. Tyson had come in a few times, gave her a tiny bit of water and a dry cracker every time. And every time, he would look at her in a way that sent shivers down her spine. Not the fun kind of shiver. Not the one that she got whenever she was with Rick. She sighed. Rick. Her ruggedly handsome writer she loved so much. What if she never got to see him again?

"No, don't think like that. Think positive. Think positive. Just keep thinking positive."

It made her think of their first real date. She smiled as she thought about it. Her boyfriend might be a goofball, but he was also incredibly sweet.

* Flashback *

She'd bought a new dress that afternoon with Lanie. She pulled it out of her closet and put it on. She walked towards her mirror and smiled. She knew Rick was going to love it. It was a white one that didn't even reach her knees. It had sleeves until her elbow and it was white with shimmering silver. She had a matching purse and a pair of crazy high heels. She let her hair down and didn't put on any jewelry, but she did apply a bit more make up. Just as she finished she heard a knock on the door. She took her purse from her bed, threw in some necessary stuff and walked towards the door. For some unknown reason, she was nervous, so she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Castle's jaw dropped as he saw Kate. He'd had his hands clasped together to stop them from shaking, but now he just let them drop to his side.

"You look breathtaking, Kate," he managed to say.

"You don't look too bad yourself either, Castle. But are you going to stand here all night drooling or can we go on our date?" She said with a bright smile on her face.

"Oh right, sorry, of course," he stammered while offering his arm. "Follow me, my lady."

They had been in the cab for a while, just holding hands and discussing their last case.

"You're not even going to ask where we're going?" Castle suddenly asked.

Kate smiled. "We're headed towards Broadway. I don't need to ask where we're going. I'm a detective, remember? But maybe you could tell me which show we're going to see."

"No. No way. You already ruined half of the surprise; I'm not going to ruin the other half. You'll see when we get there." Just then, the cab stopped in front of a small diner. Kate frowned. Why not stop in front of the theatre? She could see it from here. She looked at Castle.

"Food first, theatre later," he said, as if he sensed her question.

The inside of the diner was not what Kate had expected. From the outside it looked… well, not as cozy as it was from the inside. They didn't stay long, however. The show started at 8, and they didn't have time for extensive dinner. They just had some French fries and shakes before they headed out towards the theatre.

When Castle gave her the tickets, and Kate saw where they were going, she was surprised.

"Sister Act? As in, like the movie? Oh my god, Rick, how did you know that's one of my favorites?" Kate exclaimed. Castle smiled.

"You might be the detective here, but I have connections, Kate. You should know that by now."

Well, she never told him, and the only other one who knew-

"My dad told you, didn't he?"

Castle offered his arm. "Let's go inside, shall we? We don't want to be late."

Kate always enjoyed movies and theatre shows. Going with him was better. But going with him as a 'them' was amazing. They laughed most of the time, all the while holding hands and exchanging sweet kisses. She could let go of detective Beckett and be simply Kate. And she loved every minute of it.

After the show finished, they hailed a cab and Castle gave the driver Kate's address.

Once they reached their destination, he got out with her, telling the driver to wait for a bit. She took his hand and tugged him with her towards the door of her building. Then she turned around.

"I've really had a great time, Rick. Thanks." She kissed him on the lips and allowed him to enter her mouth with his tongue, before pulling back. She squeezed his hand one more time and then she let go, walking inside and ending a perfect date with that.

* End flashback *

"Care to share your happy thoughts with me?"

And just like that, the happy feeling was gone. Kate didn't answer Tyson. Instead, she glared at him. Then she noticed he was holding a phone. Tyson walked towards her with a smug expression on his face.

"It's time to have some fun."

Almost there! Just hold on, you will be rewarded for your patience.

The dress Kate is wearing is the one Stana wore at the Film Independent Spirit Awards 2012.

Let me know what you thought of it!

-xxx-