Disclaimer: Castle belongs to ABC

As Kate Beckett hurriedly exited the apartment, with Rick Castle close on her heels, she turned the opposite direction of the elevator. Rick frowned as he tried his hardest to keep up with her. "Beckett, where are you going? You know the elevator is the other way!" he called out, quickly losing his breath.

Still continuing her rapid pace, Kate felt herself roll her eyes. Didn't Castle know anything? The elevator always took longer than the stairs, plus she was too anxious to stand around and wait for a machine that would probably go slower just because she was in a hurry. "I'm well aware of where the elevator is, Castle. We're taking the stairs."

Beckett's words made Castle come up short. The stairs! Was she crazy? They were in a penthouse apartment! It was going to take forever to get to the garage. "Why are we taking the stairs?" he asked as he jogged alongside her.

Kate stopped in front of a gray metal door and looked at Castle in his blue eyes before pushing the bar to release the latch and walking through it. "Because I want to, if you'd rather take the elevator you might as well go to bed, because I'm not waiting for you."

"No, no, I'm coming," he said as he hurried down the stairs behind Beckett. He looked around the back stairwell; he had never been back here before. He never had reason to; he didn't pay fifty dollars every month for a gym membership if he was just going to take the stairs at home.

When they reached the garage Kate stopped, the garage was entirely packed. There was no way she was going to find her car as fast as she needed to. Without even thinking she lifted her keys up in the air and hit the panic button on her remote. When she heard it go off she peeked behind her shoulder to make sure Castle was still with her and took off for her car.

Before Rick had even fully caught up with Beckett she was already in her car and was beginning to ignite the engine. He barely made it into his seat and closed the door before Beckett slammed on the gas causing the car to screech out of the parking spot. "Kate…" he said tentatively not knowing what he was going to say to her.

She didn't take her eyes off the windshield as she responded. "Not now, Castle. Let me get on the highway before your incessant chatter begins."

It was fifteen minutes before Rick Castle pulled his eyes off the lights of the city out the car window and looked at Beckett again. She still had the same worried and stressed look she had on her face when she pulled out of the spot in his apartment. "Kate…" he tried again, not knowing if she'd answer.

Kate took in a breath trying to control the level of anxiety that was building up in her chest. Her father had to be okay, he just had to be. She couldn't lose both parents before she walked down the aisle. That last thought came up so suddenly that she almost hit the break; she had not thought about her wedding since the day they closed Sophie Ronson's case. As she heard Castle speaking she shook her head and briefly turned her eyes to him. "What, Castle?"

"Why is it, do you think, that we don't have a suspect yet?" Rick asked. He'd been thinking the question over from the minute he got in the car. Even when Ryan and Esposito had suspected Dunn, it was thin. Nothing about this guy's M.O. fit Dunn; then again, so far it didn't fit anyone. This guy was a ghost. No one heard him, no one saw him, yet these intolerable acts were committed.

Kate shook her head as she continued to look out the windshield. "I don't know, Castle. We can't seem to catch a break on this one. The only thing we can count on is getting those DNA results back from the lab."

Rick frowned at Beckett's words. He didn't know that DNA had been sent out; he didn't even know there was DNA. He opened his mouth to ask Beckett about it when the answer came to him. Kimberly had been raped, of course there was DNA. "You know I can get them for you in an hour if you'd like me to," he said as he looked at Beckett out of the corner of his eye.

Much to his disappointment she didn't smile at the memory of their first day together. Rick understood though, she was worried. He'd feel the same way had it been his mother who he thought was in danger. Suddenly a melodic melody filled the car followed by a bright light coming from Beckett's cell phone.

As Kate looked over at her phone, which was sitting in a hands free device right above her stereo, relief flooded her body. "Dad!" she said as she hit the talk button on her phone.

"Hey, Katie, I just got your message. Is everything okay, Sweetheart? You sounded very panicked," Jim Beckett said as his voice flooded the car.

Slowly, before answering her father, Kate let out a deep, relieved sigh. He's okay, she told herself, he's okay. "Dad, haven't you watched the news at all today? There's a serial killer lose in the city. I tried calling your house and your cell phone twice. I was starting to get really worried."

Jim frowned at his daughter's words as he turned down the sheets in his bed. For the life of him, he could not think why she would be worried. "I'm sorry, sweetheart; I fell asleep on the couch watching my show," he was quiet for a minute before he spoke again. "Why would you be worried, though? I'm nowhere near the city."

"I know," Kate said as she reduced the speed of her car. "I think that's what worries me the most."

Again Jim frowned. She was keeping something from him, he could tell, she sounded too anxious. "What is it that you aren't telling me Kate?"

Kate sighed, what had she gotten her father into? She didn't want him knowing what was going on; she didn't need him worrying about her mental state. "The two victims that he's killed today…" she took a breath before continuing, this was harder to say than she thought it would be. "The first one was Kimmy Holtz, Marie's daughter. The second one was Will…Sorenson."

Jim released a slow sad breath from his nose as he closed his eyes. "Oh, Kate…" he was quiet for a moment or two before he spoke up again. "You know, that certainly does explain why Montgomery put a security detail on my house this evening doesn't it?"

At her father's words Kate felt her jaw drop. Her father was protected? Anger and relief flooded her body all at once and she let out a deep breath.

Rick who had been fighting to stay quiet the entire time since the phone went off let out an accidental chuckle. "Sorry," he muttered as Beckett looked over at him with fire in her eyes.

"What was that?" Jim asked hearing Castle in the seat next to Beckett. "Are you with someone right now? Did I call you back at a bad time?"

Kate eyed Castle again before answering her father. "No Dad, it's just Castle. He doesn't know how to stay quiet when somebody is on the telephone. I think it may be due to the fact that he has pathological need for constant attention."

"So Rick is with you?" Jim said as he smiled. He wished more than anything that Kate would swallow her pride and just admit to herself that there was a spark between the two of them. "You need to marry that man already, he's perfect for you and I need grandchildren."

Kate felt her jaw drop open in embarrassment as Castle cracked up beside her. What was wrong with her father? Did he not know that he was on speaker phone? Surely he had to. "Okay, Dad, you're safe, you're protected. Great, I'm going to go; I'll see you soon though. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too, Katie," she heard as her finger pressed the red end button.

As Beckett turned her eyes back onto to the road in front of them Rick looked at him with a smug and satisfied smile on his face. He could not believe he just heard what Jim had said to his daughter. "I guess your dad likes me, huh?"

As Kate got on the exit ramp she glared at Castle out of the corner of her eye. Why were all the men in her life driving her insane tonight? "He was half asleep when he called, I don't think he knew what he was saying."

Beckett's argument made Castle smile even more. "I don't know Beckett; he sounded pretty lucid to me."

As Rick and Kate approached the front door to the apartment Kate placed her hand against the wall and closed her eyes. "I am so tired," she said as Castle unlocked the door.

As Rick got it unlocked and they walked through the door he looked over at Beckett and smiled. "I can't imagine why. It's not like you've been awake since three a.m. and had a stressful day or anything," he said as they walked down the hallway to their respective bedrooms.

A smile found its way across Kate's face. She was so thankful that her father was all right, that the psychopath hadn't gotten to him before protection had been put on him. She'd have to thank Montgomery tomorrow after she was finished yelling at him for not telling her in the first place. Now wasn't the time to think about that though. "Thank you Castle, I really appreciate it."

Rick frowned at Beckett. What was she thanking him for; he hadn't done anything this time. "For what?"

Kate shook her head causing a piece of hair to fall into her eyes. "For going with me just now, keeping your head when I was losing mine; just for everything today."

Rick smiled as he took a step closer to Beckett. "You're welcome," he said as he reached his hand forward and with two fingers moved the hair out of Kate's eyes. When the hair was in place he slowly ran his fingers down the side of her face and much to his surprise Beckett's eyes slid closed. As he reached her chin her eyes slid back open and she looked up at Rick through her eyelashes. An unsure smile found its way to Rick's lips as he leaned ever so slightly forward.

When she realized what was going on Kate took a step back from Castle. What was she doing? Her and Castle didn't act like this! As she backed up Castle stood up straight and she thought she saw his face flush red in embarrassment for a millisecond. Kate could read the raw emotion on his face, disappointment. But she knew something about this, right here, right now, wasn't right. "Goodnight, Rick," she said as she opened her bedroom door and disappeared behind it.

As Rick watched her disappear into the darkness he felt a mix of emotions. He felt stupid, he should have never tried to kiss her, he should have known better. Yet something inside him was also joyful. "Goodnight, Rick" she had said, not Castle. Despite his rejection he felt a small smile creep across his face. "Goodnight, Kate."

The next morning when Rick woke up he knew something was off. As he looked around the room everything seemed to be in place but something was also missing. As he got out of bed and he heard his feet hit the soft carpeting of his bedroom floor that was when he realized what it was. His apartment was totally, and completely silent. He stood in the middle of his bedroom taking in the silence for a moment. In almost seventeen years he had not known what it was like to wake up to nothing but the sound of his own breathing. As he padded to his bedroom door a thought struck him, it shouldn't be silent in his house, because he was not the only one who should still be here. "Beckett?" he called as he walked down the hallway leading to the kitchen.

There was no answer, there was no way she could still be asleep could there? He squinted at the clock that was on the cable box on top of the television. 7:30. No, there was no way she was still asleep. The only time he knew her to sleep later than seven was when she did not have a case to be working on, and she certainly did have a case. With a sigh of regret he realized that she had probably went off to the prescient without him.

He had known last night as he was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep that things would more than likely be awkward between them for at least a day because of what he tried to do. He never thought that she would leave without him though. Shaking his head he turned around and headed back into his bedroom to shower; if she was going to leave without telling him, then he was just going to show up at the prescient without telling her.

As he finished getting dressed he looked at himself in the mirror. Sadness covered his face, how was he supposed to explain this to guys? He knew he could always say that the case had him down; he was a good enough liar to pull it off, but he knew they still wouldn't buy it. Cases never got him down and Ryan and Esposito both knew that. With a shake of his head Rick walked away from the mirror and grabbed his wallet on his dresser as he walked out his bedroom door.

As he got to the end of the hallway he stopped short. There standing behind the counter in the kitchen was Kate Beckett. He stared at her for a minute to make sure he was not just imagining things.

As Kate poured herself a cup of coffee she felt as if someone was staring at her. As she lifted her eyes off the mug in front of her she saw Castle standing there just staring at her and she jumped. "Castle! What are you doing?"

Rick shook his head as he approached the counter and took a seat in one of the barstools. "Have you been here the whole time?" he asked, still confused.

"Yes…" Kate said looking at Castle strangely. "Where else would I have gone?" she asked as she rounded the counter and took a seat next to Castle.

Rick looked down at the counter embarrassed. He had been so foolish; of course she wouldn't leave without him. He shrugged before he went on, "Well, when I got up you were nowhere around so I thought…"

"You thought I left without you?" Kate said as she snickered. "No, Castle. I am very much still here, I stepped outside a couple of minutes ago, Lanie called, and I get better reception on the back patio."

At Lanie's name Rick's head popped up. "Lanie called?" he said his eyes wide as a five year old's in a toy store. "Do they have the results for the DNA?"

Kate shook her head as she swished her coffee around in a mug. "No, the results for the DNA test won't be in for another day at least."

Rick opened his mouth to offer his connections once again, but decided against it. If Beckett wanted him to call up the mayor and ask him to hurry the process along then she would have jumped on the opportunity last night. "If it wasn't about the DNA, then what was the call about?" Rick asked curiously.

Kate smirked as she placed her mug on the counter and leaned in close to Castle. "What if I told you, our conversation was about you," she said tauntingly.

Rick felt his jaw fall open slightly. She was talking about him, to Lanie? "Really?" he asked in excited disbelief.

"Sucker," Kate said giggling as she finished off her coffee. The smile on her face grew as she watched the expression on Castle's face fall from excited to a faux sadness. "It wasn't the DNA that she got back," she bit her bottom lip before continuing. "But she did find a fingerprint, on the rope, from Kimberly's crime scene."

When Kate and Rick arrived at the morgue the smell of formaldehyde, methanol, and ethanol greeted them at the door along with Dr. Sidney Perlmutter. "Good morning, Dr. Perlmutter, haven't seen you in a while," Rick said with a smile in his voice to the medical examiner.

Sidney looked up from a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant he was eating. He nodded at Beckett before looking up at Castle. "Tell me Castle, what exactly is good about this morning?" he asked with a full mouth.

Rick shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you're not the one on the slab this morning. That would definitely make my day good."

"Castle!" Kate said and shook her head at him when he looked over. "We're here to see Dr. Parrish. She's not with anyone, is she?"

Sidney shook his head as he took another bite out of his croissant. "No, we've had a pretty slow morning so far."

At Perlmutter's words Kate thankfully closed her eyes. She wouldn't dare think it but maybe, maybe the killer had done all he had set out to do. Then the memory of the message on the wall of Will's house came back to her. How many must die before you catch me Nikki? A sickening feeling filled her gut, just as it did at the crime scene yesterday. "Thank you," she said and led the way into the examination room that she spied Lanie in.

When Castle and Beckett entered the room Lanie Parrish looked up and smiled at the two. They were always together. It wouldn't have surprised Lanie if after Castle had finished the Nikki Heat series he became a cop. "Hey heard you two were roomies this week."

Kate raised her eyebrows at her friend, how could she be accusing her and Castle that something could be going on when things were much more obvious between her and Esposito. "Really? You didn't hear that from your bedmate, did you?"

Lanie pursed her lips and walked over to a computer, passing by the slab with a magnifying glass hovering over a rope. "So that first finger print I told you that I found on the rope, I took a closer look after we hung up, the same fingerprints are all up and down the rope. So I ran them through the system. We got a match, they belong to a Scott Hill."

"Scott Hill?" Rick asked amazed as he looked at Lanie and Beckett. When it showed that neither of them understood the name like he did he realized he had to explain. "Beckett, Esposito told me that Ashley, Kimberly's roommate, had a 'buddy'," he said as he made air quotes around the word. "She told him that his name was Scott Hill."