Here goes chapter six. First, I need to say this before I forget again: I wait until after my story is written for the AN, and I always forget things. First off, I'm not all that familiar with NYC geography, so if I get things wrong, my apologies. Secondly, my research was extensive for this chapter, but again, I'm sorry if I didn't get everything correct. Also gotta give props to Tamala Jones, I borrowed a quote from her and used it in Lanie's dialog. Hopefully you will recognize it when you see it, but this is my disclaimer to that. Lastly, the part about Storm Rising I made up entirely, so none of that is accurate for sure. And now to the normal jabbering:

I love you, I love you, I love you, and Paris.
(And review?)
I love you even more if you got that song reference.
If you didn't, GTS.

you're all just precious dears.


Kate woke up the very next morning. Where was she?
Not her bed. No.
Who was with her?
Someone was.

"Good morning, Detective," a deep voice greeted her. She forced her eyes open and the grogginess of the morning fled her body.

"Castle?!" She shot straight up, on full alert. She was on her couch, stretched out the entire length, a blanket tucked around her. Castle was at the other end in a sitting position and fully clothed, details that automatically put her at ease. The night's events came flooding back to her and she sank back down into her cocoon of warmth. She was too comfortable to really care.

"Shhhh," he told her, patting her leg comfortingly, leaving it there maybe a second too long.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I didn't want to wake you," he said. She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"We should get going," she said, sitting up again.

"I'll get the coffee," he told her, and she returned his soft smile.


"Lanie, what can you tell me?" Beckett greeted as she and Castle strolled into her lab.

"I'm great, and how are you?" Lanie asked back. Beckett made a face, so she continued. "Mr. Wayne here and I had a long conversation yesterday. He told me all about his demise."

"Care to let us in on it?" Beckett asked.

"COD is the multiple stab wounds to the chest and torso- these cuts- they were strategically placed," she told them.

"What do you mean?" Castle asked, intrigued.

"It seemed odd to me how…clean cut these were, if you will please pardon the terrible pun." She pointed with the scalpel she held in her gloved hand. "These cuts were all thought out- notice how they all seem random yet none severed any major arteries."

"So it was torture?" Beckett asked. Lanie nodded.

"That's my guess. They were inflicted with what looks like a 6 ½ stainless steel, saw toothed blade."

"Does that narrow down the scope for the murder weapon by much?" Kate was doubtful, but Lanie nodded.

"No, but I found traces of a deposited copper selenium compound in the wounds that does," she told her.

"Black Oxide?" Castle asked. The two women turned to him, bewildered at his display of obscure knowledge. "Well I remember in Storm Rising I had to write a scene where the Czech assassin comes across the Navy Seal when he goes to commandeer the boat and offs him with his own blade," he explained.

"A navy seal?" Kate asked looking from Castle to Lanie.

"the Mark 3 navy seal knife, brought to you in part by the US Government," Lanie confirmed, smiling at Castle. "I have to admit, writer boy, I'm impressed."

"Don't sound so surprised," he told her, his smile oozing charm.

"Thanks Lanie," Kate was making her way to the door, dragging Castle along with her.

"Oh no girl," Lanie's voice stopped her in her tracks. Inwardly, Kate sighed and mentally prepared herself for the proverbial beating that was sure to come. "You don't get to walk out on me that easy!"

"Lanie, I have a murder to catch," Kate tried. Behind her, she heard Lanie roll her eyes.

"Castle, you know what I could really use right about now?" Lanie asked, instead of acknowledging Beckett's excuse.

"What's that?" he asked, feeling very awkward.

"Coffee. Hot coffee," she said, smiling.
She could charm him right back.

He got the message. He made to leave the two alone, again touching Kate's shoulder on his way out. Why did he keep doing that? Kate asked herself. And why do I like it? Once Castle was clear out of earshot, Lanie spoke again. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. Kate had to fight a smile.

"I don't know what you mean?" she said, innocently.

"Oh no, you are not going that route, honey. Dumb doesn't suit you. Meaningful touches on the arm? Don't think for a second I missed that." Again, a smile threatened Kate's face. She wondered silently how long she could keep this up. She could lie to the best of them, herself included, but for the life of her she couldn't keep the truth from Lanie.

"It's nothing, Lanie," Kate told her, trying to sound honest.

"It's not nothing as in 'it's actually something but I'm pretending it's nothing,' or 'it's nothing but it could can and will be something in the very near future?'" Lanie rolled off so fast Kate almost couldn't follow.

"I don't know," she shrugged.


Castle grabbed two coffees from the break room and returned to Lanie's lab in record time, not spilling a drop of the steaming liquid. He paused outside the door, voices audible from the other side.

They were still talking.
In hushed voices, but talking.
About him.

"I don't know," he heard Kate's voice.
God he loved her voice.

"What do you mean 'you don't know?'" That was Lanie. "He's hot, you're hot, why not?"

"Lanie, it's not that simple."

"Well why the hell not?"

"Because…" a good reason escaped her. "Because…" Castle could practically hear Lanie's eyebrow raise. "Because I don't want to mess it up," she said, exasperatedly. "I like what we have now, and I don't want to lose that."

"Kate, you are the best poker player I know. Take a risk, cause Lord knows your holding all the Aces," Kate let out a tinkling laugh at this analogy.

"It's just not that simple." Kate said again, this time definitively. Castle's superego could be heard now, barking into his ear. His ID receded and he forced himself to pull away, opening the door and entering the lab.

"Coffee, for the ladies," he held out the two cups, letting each of them take one. "Should I go get biscotti's?" he asked them, Lanie specifically.

"No, actually, we were done," Kate answered instead, making to leave and practically dragging Castle with her. "Nice chat, Lanie!" she called behind her.

"We will finish this conversation later!" Lanie called after them, even though the door had already closed behind them. "We will," she told Mr. Wayne on her table.


"Espo, what can you tell me about the mysterious John Marcus?" Beckett asked as she strode into the bullpen, cradling her coffee almost protectively. Esposito and Ryan turned in their seats, leaping up to update she and the shadow behind her.

"John Marcus was no easy man to find," Esposito told them, pinning a rap sheet to the white board. "Long rap, too. Arrested in the 90's for impersonating a police officer, identity theft and robberies."

"So what are we looking at?"

"Our boy's a con man. Ran some small-time real estate cons, nothing huge, just minor pay-offs, until he graduated to identity theft, internet scamming- mostly the fake vacations and stuff."

"And he how long did he serve?" Beckett asked, an eyebrow lifted.

"He was small-time, but he was smart. He cut a deal, gave up his partner and got 15, was out in ten on good behavior."

"His partner?" Kate asked.

"Matthew Gregory," Ryan said.

"Are you serious right now?" Castle chose this moment to comment. "Matt Greg is his name?" Ryan nodded, not following. "What IS it with this case?" Beckett stifled a laugh and looked at Esposito to continue.

"Anyways we had a hell of a time tracking him down, he moved all over the place, parole was lifted last month, he's been off the grid,"

"But?" Beckett asked.

"Who says there's a but?" Ryan challenged. Again, Beckett's brow reached her forehead in a neat littler arch.

"I say you would look so smug unless there was a but- I'd say neither of you would be grinning if he wasn't waiting for me in some interrogation room. I say there's a but," she informed them, crossing her arms.

"Have you had your coffee this morning?" Ryan asked, backing away a bit. She shot him a look.

"But Ryan got a hit off a stolen car report off of a total fluke- there is a one Mr. John Marcus sitting in Interrogation Room Four for you," Esposito assured her. She smiled.

"Thank you," she breezed past all three of the men, towards the interview room.

"What did you do?" Esposito mouthed silently in Castle's direction. Castle could only shrug, wildly.

"You comin' Castle?" Kate called behind her. He just waved to the boys and hurried after her, slipping into the interrogation room.


John Marcus was the most disgusting man Castle had ever seen. The second he laid eyes on the sorry excuse of a man he knew it- and his judgments were proven the second he opened his mouth. Some filthy comment directed towards Kate- Castle couldn't remember exactly what, but it was distasteful. Something about 'damn,' and 'hot and something else perverse. Castle sat rigidly in the seat beside Beckett, across from Marcus. He watched Kate as she handled the so-called compliment, with a tight smile and a stone still face.

Expressionless.
He envied how she could do that.

"Mr. Marcus," she began, straightening the case folder in front of her.

"Please, call me John," he said, a southern drawl ever-present in his voice.

"Cute accent, Mr. Marcus, where'ya from?" Beckett asked, ignoring his request.

"Wes' Virginia," he slurred, lazily. "Where are you from? Cause I need to send them a thank you letter," he smiled a crooked grin. Castle wanted to puke at the lame come on.

"You flatter me, Mr. Marcus," Castle whipped around to Beckett.
She was playing along, it dawned on him.
She never played along.

Castle quickly discovered that he did not like this new tactic.

He realized it was part of her job- profiling on the spot and cold reading for the best approach, but this was not his favorite. He liked it when she put them in her place.

Yes, now that was fun to watch.
But Beckett? Batting her beautiful eyelashes at that waste of space?
He was struck by the sudden urge to vomit again.

Another ugly smile was sent her way. Beckett moved, slowly, to Marcus's side of the table, noticing Castle's look of shock but not acknowledging it. "Why don't you tell me where you were Saturday night, John?" she asked, batting her lashes again.

No, Castle thought.
No, he didn't like this at all.

"At home," he told her.

"With?"

"Don't get jealous on me. I was alone," they seemed to have forgot Castle was there at all.

"Really?" Kate asked, drawing out her vowels. It would have been hot if the situation was different. Without warning, Marcus launched towards her, his lips aiming for hers. She dodged him, letting him fall short and stumble over the table. She made her way back to Castle's side, crossing her arms across her chest.

Outwardly she looked quite pleased with herself, but under that Castle knew better.
Under that she was disgusted.
With Marcus.
With the situation.
With herself.

"So no alibi?"

"Bitch," Marcus snarled. She just smirked. And then, when he sat back in his seat, now a look of anger permanently etched onto his face, "What exactly do I need an alibi for?"


After the interview was finished and Marcus was booked in holding, Castle found Beckett in the break room. He slipped inside, loud enough to alert her of his presence and quiet enough to be discrete, closing the door behind him. She didn't turn around where she stood, fixing an espresso. He came up behind her, resting a hand on her arm, carefully. "Are you okay?" he asked her into her ear, quietly.

His presence behind her was so comforting.
She caught herself leaning backwards into him and straightened, rigidly.
As much as she wanted to just curl up into him, she couldn't.
Not here.
Not now.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice clipped. "I understand why he was an internet con man now," she commented, earning a half-hearted laugh from the man behind her. He was so close she felt it, rumbling from his chest. Again she had to straighten her back. He grabbed her arm again, lightly, turning her to face him. She kept her eyes downcast, taking up a sudden fixation with her shoes.

"He was lucky you even pretended to be interested in him," he told her.
He didn't know if this was the right thing to say or not, but it was all he could think of. He had a teenage daughter- he could tell when a pep talk was in order. She looked up at him, slowly, her green eyes sparkling. "I'm lucky," he told her, his voice quiet again. It was barely a whisper. He reached up to touch her face, but going against every fiber of her biological being, she turned her head, dodging his touch. The look on his face and the drop in her heart made her immediately regret the move.

"Not here," she whispered, equally as quiet, admiring the buckles on her heels once again. She touched his chest, briefly, as if to tell him it was okay. He nodded.

"Alright," he told her, taking his hands back to himself.

"Thank you," she told him.
She didn't just mean his acceptance.
This he knew.


Okay, second long AN:

So sorry it took so long to update.
This case involved some research, so that took time, then this stupid 'school' thing that keeps getting in the way. Anyways, sorry. Hopefully I made up for it in length. Also I want to say- maybe the interrogation scene was a tad OOC- I wasn't sure, but ahh, here it is anyways. I'd love to know what you thought. I had a hard time with this chapter, but hopefully I managed to make it somewhat legitimate. Also- I have no idea where this case is going, but I will figure something out.

Also, I have no intention of linking this to Johanna Beckett's murderer. Just throwing that out there.

Be a dear?
The button's below. D