Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update, but actually, I shouldn't even be writing, I have this big thing at school, but I still managed to give you this chapter. It is, I think, longer than the other ones.

So, I'm actually kind of proud with how it turned out, but as usual, your opinion is the best I can get.

As always, don't be afraid to tell me if there are grammar or spelling mistakes.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Castle.

A few minutes later, Kate got back to the conference room with two cups of coffee in her hand.

"What took you so long?" Rick asked.

Beckett looked at him, confused. She had promised Alexis not to tell her dad, but what could she tell him?

"Euh, the coffee machine is a bit old, so..."

"I see..."

There was an awkward silence, none of them knew what to say... Kate decided to speak first.

"So, we should get to work..."

"Oh, I already started."

"Castle, what part of 'don't touch anything' don't you get?!" she was furious.

"But, look at what I found!"

Kate took a look and sighed.

"I told you not to touch! Did you even bother to put on gloves?"

"Yes" he said sheepishly. "So much for being good" he thought.

"And that, Castle, is just a letter that has probably nothing to do with the case."

"Or, it could be more. If you think about it, you could find a connection between each one of those."

"Connection with what, exactly?" she asked. "I mean, except for the fact that they're all for you."

"Smart girl! But I was thinking about another kind of connection. Something a little more subtle. When you think about it, this whole case is no different from my books."

"It's completely different" Kate snapped. "When you write your books, you decide who lives or dies. You decide how they die. You just decide EVERYTHING about the story. But I don't, and the victims sure as hell don't!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know" Rick said in a calming voice. "But as you said, I decide everything for my stories. And when you think about it, so does the killer."

Now Beckett was intrigued. What Castle had just said was surprisingly... smart.

"Go on."

"You basically said that I'm the big master in my stories, a sort of God. I give life as well as I take it. Now, I know it's just fiction, but in a way, it's the same. Your killer probably thinks he's God, that he can take lives away whenever he wants."

Kate was staring into his blue eyes. She was following him, it made sense, but what did this have to do with the fan letters?

"So, you're saying that..."

"I'm saying that all these letters are important, because they all tell a different story. And as far as we know, all of them could be connected to the case. Which is why we have to read them all thoroughly."

Beckett was troubled, to say the least. How could this man be such a jerk, and then, a minute later be so much like the nice guy she had been friend with?

"So, is that why you're here? The story? You do realize that one could see it as morbid curiosity..."

"It's not curiosity. And it's certainly not morbid..."

He let the silence settle in for a second to make suspense.

"I'm sure most cops don't care about the victims" he spoke again. "But you don't. And I don't. Because what some people could see as routine is different. To both of us. It's a life taken away. It's dreams ripped out. It's a family torn away. It's a story that has nothing to do with any other story. And the ending is up to you. You're the one who decides who's guilty."

"The evidence do" she corrected.

"Yeah, but in the end, you're the one who arrests the bad guy. Because it's important to you, right? I know you. You're never as good as when you're personnally concerned. That's your biggest strength."

The detective looked down. What could she say to that? And how could he even know her this well after all this time? She had changed, she had made sure of it, and yet... There he was, trying to break everything... And there was no way she would let him do that. She didn't like direct confrontations, but at least, once it's done, you can forget about it.

"Okay Castle. What do you want to know?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, surprised.

"I know you. And this... thing in your eyes, it means that you're curious. So go ahead. Ask me whatever you want to know and I'll answer."

"So that I will leave" Castle guessed, sad.

Beckett sighed. She had to admit that it would make her life easier, but she didn't feel like turning him down...

"Or so that you won't harass me with your questions anymore. I need silence to work" she said with a slight smile.

Rick felt his heart miss a beat. She didn't want him out of her life! Well, not entirely at least.

"So..." she said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"You promise you will answer my questions? Honestly?"

Beckett sighed, thinking. She already regretted her decision, he was way too curious. But she had started this, so she might as well try to do her best. The more she answered, the sooner it would stop, right?

"I promise I'll try" she offered.

Castle looked at her, trying to read her. Yeah, he could do with that, it was better than nothing...

"Okay, so... Why this?"

Kate didn't even have to ask him to clarify his vague question. She knew what he meant...

"I didn't know what else to do..." she said simply, hoping he would hear what she wasn't saying and drop it. But she wouldn't know him at all if she honestly thought that.

"Anything... You could have done anything. You could have continued you law school. I understand why you left Stanford, but you could have chosen Columbia, or NYU. But this..."

Kate felt the tears well up in her eyes. Of course he didn't know. She had basically thrown him out of her life, and for once, he hadn't chased after her.

"They never found him, right?" Castle could only guess, but he knew her. Something had had to drive her into this, she never did anything randomly. "Is that why you did it?"

"Yes" Kate admitted. "They never found him. Or rather, no one looked after him."

"So is that why you became a cop? To find your mom's killer?"

"That was the idea. I wanted to get justice for her. To give her the dignity those cops had taken away from her when they refused to look for the bastard who did it."

"And then?" he asked, sensing that the story was not finished.

Kate couldn't believe she was telling him all those things. Her mom's case was something she never discussed with anyone, not even her father or Lanie. So, why Rick? She hadn't seen the man in ten years, and it didn't matter whose fault it was. But again, how could she not trust him when he was so... nice and understanding?

"And then I stopped. And now, I realize that, although I started the job out of revenge, it's really what I want. Being a lawyer, I would have had to defend people, no matter how I felt about them, but being a cop... I have nothing to prove to anyone, I just look for the truth and that's... I like it."

"Why did you stop investigating your mother's case?" Rick asked, surprised.

Kate looked down. "First, I wasn't allowed to, which is, in my opinion a good enough reason. The only reason I'm still on the force is because Captain Montgomery is understanding. And also... You know, after her death, I started seeing a therapist. And he convinced me that if I didn't let it go, it would destroy me, and so I let it go."

"And what about..."

Suddenly, Beckett got tired of this 20 questions game. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy having him around, it's just that... it felt weird. She hadn't seen him in so long and there he was, opening the box where she was used to lockig her emotions in.

"Look, Rick, I just..."

But the writer interrupted her. He was holding a sheet of paper with a crazy drawing of a body under roses that exactly matched the way they had found Allison's body. "I think I found something."

Beckett was relieved, they finally had a suspect. From her experience, she could say that he probably wasn't their guy, but she knew that what he would tell them would give them new leads.

But first, she had to go and pick Alexis up, like she had promised she would.

Before leaving, she shot one last glance at the picture of Kyle Cabot and said goodbye to Castle and the rest of the team.

When Kate got out of her car in front of Alexis' school, she immediately knew it was a bad idea. Practically everything about her screamed 'Hi, I'm a cop!', her car with the flashing lights, her formal clothes, plus the fact that her badge wasn't exactly hidden. She forgotten to take it away.

She was pretty sure that being waited by a cop wouldn't be good for Alexis. She was in high school after all, it was a jungle. And indeed, when the students started coming out, she could hear whispers. And it was kind of awkward. She really wasn't used to waiting in front of an high school. Which is why she felt relieved when she saw a red head coming.

"Kate!" she exclaimed, apparently not bothered by the fact that everyone was looking at them. "You came!"

"Well, of course I did, I promised you, didn't I?"

She was somehow better. Seeing Alexis this unsure of the situation reminded her of little 5 year-old Alexis and it was kind of comforting. What she didn't expect however was Alexis wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

"Thanks for coming, I really appreciate it" Alexis said, looking embarrassed too. "So, where are we going?"

"Well, I figured that, since it's getting late, I could buy you dinner. How does it sound?"

"Well, you don't have to."

"I know, but I insist. So, what do you feel like? Italian?" she asked, remembering that the girl used to be crazy about pasta.

"No thanks. How about Remy's?"

Kate nodded. Burger and shake, that was all she dreamt about after her day.

A few minutes later, they were seated and waiting for their orders to come. But most of all, they were silent, not knowing what to say, or who should speak first for that matter.

Kate was wondering what Alexis wanted to tell her, of course, but she didn't want to push, so she wanted to let her talk when she was ready.

And Alexis was afraid to say what she had to say, because it was obvious that the Detective Beckett she had in front of her had definitely nothing to do with the Katie she had once known, and she didn't know how the detective would take it.

Finally, Kate decided to break the silence, surprising herself. She wasn't usually one to start a conversation.

"So, is everything alright?"

Alexis sighed, searching her words, but luckily, she got extra time when the waiter arrived and gave them their orders.

Come on, Lex, you can do this, she thought, taking a sip of her raspberry milkshake.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about my dad." she finally said.

"Your dad? What about him?" Kate seemed genuienely surprised.

"I'm worried about him..." Alexis said, hoping to get a reaction out of the young woman.

"And why would be worried? He's a grown man, he can look after himself, not to mention that's he should worry about you, not the other way around. He's the father and you're his daughter."

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." she was cautious. She knew that what she was about to try was not subtle at all. "You know he's been marrieed twice, right?"

Kate was completely taken aback. "Hum, yeah. Why?"

"And both times, it ended badly. I mean, I love my mom, but she was awful to him, and Gina... Well, let's not talk about her. What I mean is, he's my dad, and I care about him. But there is this woman, that came into his life a little while ago. And she's already turned his world upside down. And I'm worried, because, everytime he feels that way for a woman, he ends up hurt, and I hate this."

"And you're telling me this because..."

"Because, I'm sure you had to take care of your dad, and I was wondering if you could, you know, tell me what to do?" she lied. She wasn't even sure what she had just said was true. She had heard a little about Jim Beckett's alcohol problems, but how would she know it was true. However, the look on Kate's face left nothing to her doubts.

"Hum, well, you could... You know what, I think that the best you can do is actually nothing. I mean, it's your dad's life, right, not yours, and who knows, maybe this will go better than you think" Kate said, feeling uneasy. She was pretty sure she knew who Alexis was talking about.

She heard the girl sad, and then she said: "Thank you for your time Detective, but I gotta go, I don't want dad to worry."

"Sure, you want me to drive you home?"

Alexis thought about it. She didn't want to bother Kate, but on the other hand, as awkward as this conversation had felt, she had enjoyed her time with the young woman. And she kind of wanted to end their meeting on a more cheering tone.

"Actually, I would love that."

The ride was way more comfortable than the meal. Alexis and Kate were talking about ererything and anything, from school to Kate's job, and even boys and make up. Kate was amazed. It was the first time in years that she had allowed herself to be relaxed. Not even Lanie could get her to talk this freely about such random topics, but it actually felt great. She realized that, while she had loved playing with little Alexis, talking with teen Alexis was almost better, she allowed her to be herself, probably because she knew her without knowing everything, and it was nice.

"There you go, young lady" she said as she stopped in front of Castle's appartement.

"Thank you Detective. I had a very good time."

"Alexis?"

"Yeah?"

"It's Kate, not Detective, I'm not at work, and even if I was... Whatever. I had a great time too. Feel free to call me whenever you want to see me, okay? You have my number, right? And, if you don't, here's my card. And you know where I work."

"Thanks a lot, Kate" Alexis said, smiling. "See you."

"Goodbye Alexis."

She waited until she was sure Alexis was inside and left, thinking about her day. It had been strange,exhausting, and yet, fun.

Her day with the Castles had shown her that, while she wasn't who she was 10 years ago, she was more than badass Detective Beckett. Rick and his daughter had allowed her to be Kate, and she realized that it wasn't all that bad. She might even like it...

So, what do you think?

By the way, Torontosun made me realise that it looked like Kate wasn't interested in Castle anymore, which is obviously not the case, so, sorry if you thought that. I hope that this chapter made it clear that she still cared.

XOXO

ChairCaskett