Author's notes:

I had several people comment on this chapter and saying that it was OOC for Beckett. I re-read it and realized that I had forgotten to put something in here that I had intended to do. Hopefully, this will make it a little less OOC.

Chapter 2 Kate and Rick comfort each other in different ways after the 3XK case is resolved.

The next day - Castle's POV

I woke up with the scent of cherries tickling my nose. For the past year or so I have associated that with Beckett but why did I smell that now? I opened my eyes to find the woman in question curled up in my arms on my lap. Then I remembered the events of last night. As much as I just wanted to go back to sleep and keep her in my arms, I knew that we needed to get to work. I needed to catch the Triple Killer right now more than I needed to hold her. I wasn't able to resist nuzzling her hair and smelling the fading scent of her shampoo.

"Kate, we need to get up," I said rubbing her shoulder.

"Hmm? I wanna sleep. I'm comfy, Rick," she said cuddling in closer. I reached out and eased her legs away from my morning erection. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

"I know," I said with a small smile, happy to think that she trusted me enough to be so at ease with me, if only in her sleep. "We need to go catch Jerry."

Kate's eyes shot open, confused for a moment as to why she was waking up in my lap. I held her just enough so that she couldn't run.

"Castle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

"That's okay, Kate. It was late when you dozed off. I didn't want to wake you and make you drive home. Thank you for staying," I said looking into her eyes. I wanted to say more but for the first time, I knew that I could say it later. Last night definitely changed things between us but it was more important to take care of some other things first. I let go of her and she stood then looked at the stairs.

"Morning, Dad. Detective Beckett," Alexis said looking curiously at us.

"Morning, pumpkin. Can you help me start the coffee?" I asked wanting to try to explain about Kate.

"Sure," she said as we walked into the kitchen. "Dad, before you say anything, you don't need to explain anything to me. You both obviously needed to talk, who better that each other, right?"

"How did I get such a smart kid?" I asked amazed at her intelligence and ability to figure out nuances.

"I haven't a clue," she smiled and gave me a quick hug. "Detective Beckett, would you like a coffee?"

"Call me Kate, Alexis. Yes, that would be great," she commented as she walked to the kitchen.

"Kate, can I talk to you?" I asked, afraid that she wasn't going to like what I had to ask.

"Okay," she said glancing at Alexis. My daughter looked between the two of us.

"I'm going to go get ready for school."

"Okay, sweetheart but don't leave without talking to me first. It's important." She looked at little worried but nodded then disappeared up the steps.

"Okay, Castle. What is it?"

"I need to stop Jerry but I haven't a clue where he is going to go now. I was wondering if I could ask some of my friends for help. They write about murderers and people who catch them so maybe they have some other ideas on where he might go. Besides, what is the point of having strings to pull, if I don't pull them occasionally?" I said, knowing that I was probably going to have a fight on my hands.

"That sounds like a great idea." I have to say that was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I know I wasn't able to hide my surprised look. "I'll talk to Captain Montgomery when I get in and see what we can arrange. You go ahead and make your calls and I'll see you at work, okay?"

"Thank you, Kate," I said with feeling as I reached out to touch her arm. I knew the last time I had involved a friend in a case, she didn't want to speak with me for a while.

"Thank you for asking, Rick," she responded and giving my hand a brief squeeze.

As soon as Kate left, I showered quickly then started making phone calls. Alexis and Mother came downstairs just as I was hanging up from one call. They sat down, knowing that I was finally going to tell them everything.

"Okay, here's basically what happened. The guy we thought was a serial killer was actually set up by the real killer. The actual killer knocked Ryan out, he is okay, just a mild concussion and a couple of stitches and tied me up. That is when you called Mother. He was holding a gun on me. I knew that my telling you I loved you would alarm you but sound reasonable to him." I couldn't look at my mother when I said that. I will feel guilty over that for a while.

"How did you escape, kiddo?" Mom asked me rubbing my arm.

"I didn't. He just left. He told me that he was going to kill again and that it would be all my fault." Alexis hopped off her chair and came to give me a hug.

"That is why I am not going to take no for an answer on what I am about to say," I could see the confusion on both faces. "I need you both to leave town, today. This morning, if possible."

"No!" they both insisted.

"He knows my name, probably can find where we live and he wants to do what ever he can to punish me. Him killing anyone would be bad enough but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he even came close to hurting either one of you. I've already called your school and let them know you will be out for a while due to a family emergency with your mother in Florida."

"But she's filming in Australia right now," Alexis said confused.

"I know. I don't want to lead him to her either. Mother, I would like you to go with Alexis. Don't tell me where, just somewhere away from here for a while. I need you both to be safe."

"Okay, son," she agreed quickly. "Let me call my agent and I'll let them know I have to take my granddaughter to her mother. Alexis, lets go and pack."

"No, don't take the time. Just go somewhere and you can buy what ever you need when you get there," I told them as I pulled my wallet and handed my mother my credit card. She looked shocked that I handed it to her and not Alexis.

"How are we going to know when this is all over, Richard?"

"I'll call you. Or Kate will," I didn't want to say that would happen only if I was dead. "Just to be safe though, don't pay attention to any phone calls that aren't from Kate or myself, Ryan, Esposito, or Captain Montgomery."

"What do you mean?" asked my daughter.

"If someone called to tell me that one of you were hurt, then I would drop everything and go to where they told me, it would be a perfect trap. I trust the 12th precinct and only them with your lives. Also, if you leave, I know that they can't trick me that way." I stood up, took a deep breath, and hugged my daughter then my mother.

At the precinct, I took a cup of coffee to Kate knowing that she hadn't finished the one that Alexis made her. "Here, Beckett," I said having to bit my tongue and not say 'you left this at home.'

"Thanks, Castle," she said. "James Patterson and Michael Connelly are waiting for you in the interrogation room three."

"The interrogation room?" I asked.

"Yeah, the captain said to put them in there since the cameras and such in there are down for some reason. Tech can't get in until Monday to fix them so we can just set everything up in there and not be interrupted. Captain Montgomery will give me the files that you can share with them. He is going to want to hold something back but I am not sure what yet. Judge Markway is in the captain's office. He doesn't want to hear all the evidence but he wants to be close by to sign any warrants that we need."

"Good." I looked around, everyone was busy or gone so I thought it would be safe to say something. "Kate, if anything should happen to me-"

"Nothing is going to happen to you," she said adamantly.

"But just in case, call Alexis. They are leaving town, not sure where they are going. I told them not to believe any calls except from you, the boys, or the captain."

"Okay, Castle," she said while looking sad. "I'll let the guys know. Let's go tell Montgomery, get the files and start going through everything."

"Kate," I stopped her once again. "I just sent away the people that I care about the most to keep them safe. Please be safe."

She looked at me and I once again wished that I could read her mind. I didn't really intend to say it that way but it was the truth. Finally, she just nodded then led the way to the captain's office.

Beckett took charge of the impromptu meeting and went over each case one at a time as if none of us knew anything about them. Every now and then, something would catch someone's attention. Esposito left to go review some things then a little while later, he returned to let us know that Lanie and Clark Murray, my friend who helped me with Beckett's mother's case, were going to go over everything with a fine tooth comb down in forensics.

I had just walked back from getting another coffee when Esposito came back with Lanie, Clark, and a stack of files. They didn't look happy.

"Hey, Castle. Have a seat," Esposito said.

I nearly stumbled to the chair beside Beckett, knowing that this was the worst news. I felt her hand lightly on my back and this small show of affection meant a lot to me. Lanie handed me a file folder. I opened it up and saw a copy of a death certificate for one Jerry Tyson.

"What? I don't understand," I said as I slid the papers to Beckett.

"From what I can piece together after he left the safe house last night, he decided to do some jaywalking of all things, he got hit by a cabbie," Esposito explained. "The hospital pronounced him DOA. He didn't have any identification on him so he was listed as a John Doe. This morning they had someone run his prints and it came back as Jerry Tyson."

"Why didn't you let us know right away?" asked Beckett. I was glad she was able to speak because I didn't think I was able to right now.

"Beckett, if I called you out of here, Castle would have assumed that the Triple Killer had killed again, and I didn't want put him through that. I didn't want to say anything until I was able to prove that it was Tyson. That is why I got Lanie and Dr. Murray."

"Castle, we haven't gotten the DNA results back yet, obviously but everything else points to the John Doe from the hospital last night being Jerry Tyson," Lanie explained. "They are the same physical size, look the same, the dental x-rays match, the blood type match and even the full body x-rays match."

"Full body x-rays?" Beckett asked.

"According to the medical records," added Clark as he handed me another file, "Tyson had broken his left arm when he was about 10. And he broke a couple of ribs while in jail. The x-rays confirm that those bones on the John Doe had suffered the same breaks at the same ages."

"So why did you run all these tests?" asked James Patterson.

"Yeah, especially if you knew who it was?" asked Michael Connelly.

"Because Esposito knew that Castle wouldn't believe that this was over so easily," Beckett answered for Esposito.

"Exactly," he nodded. "Bro, I know that you can come up with some pretty wild theories and you know I like them but this one. This one was too close."

I really didn't know what to say. I just sat there shocked and barely even mumbled a good bye to my friends. I sat staring at the files the Esposito brought in. No matter how much I hoped that this case would be over quickly it just didn't seem right that it was. And all because the guy went jaywalking? That just didn't seem possible. We worked so hard going over every detail of each case again and now it's over like that? It seemed so…

"Castle, are you okay?"

"Anticlimactic."

"What?" asked a startled Beckett.

I shook my head and realized that I had said that word aloud. "I was just thinking that we had worked so hard to end this case and some cabbie did it for us, it's just anticlimactic."

"Castle, just go home and relax."

"I don't have anyone to go home to, Beckett. I sent everyone that cares about me away," I said angrily.

"What about Gina? Or did you send her away too?" she asked.

"No, she's just gone. Too much time has past and all that," I tried to explain. I wasn't really focusing on the conversation though because I was getting mad. Mad at some fool serial killer who went jaywalking. How was that for stupid?

"Well, we care about you here," she said sounding miffed that I hadn't thought of them at the precinct.

"Yeah, but I don't think Ryan or Esposito are really the cuddly type," I said nastily.

"Don't tell me that playboy writer Richard Castle can't find someone to cuddle with," she said sounding rather pissed off now.

"I'm not really a playboy. That was my first publisher's idea. Sure, I like being around women but think about it," I raised my voice. "I was raised by a woman who took me to theaters where I spent more time around women, I live with two women, I work with one and write about another. So yes, I like women, it just doesn't mean that I sleep with them all."

"You actually think I'll believe that you don't have one night stands?" she said raising her voice also.

"I am a product of a one night stand. Do you actually think that I would even possibly put a kid through that? Hell, Alexis is the only reason that I married Meredith in the first place. And that marriage was obviously a mistake. I married Gina to try to give Alexis something close to a normal life but that was a mistake too," I was practically yelling now.

"How about all the women I see you with in the paper or tabloids?" she asked softly. I had to be my overworked imagination but she actually sounded almost jealous.

"Most of the women in the tabloids and papers just want to be seen with me, want my money or my connections. I want someone who just wants ME," I yelled before lowering my voice. "And Alexis, we are a package deal. Most women don't seem to realize that. They all assume, like you did," I said more accusingly than I intended, "that I am just a party animal. I thought you knew me better than that, Beckett."

"I know that you are a great father, Castle. Any woman should be happy to know your daughter, she keeps you in line," she smiled.

I squinted at her. I know she was trying to be funny but I really wasn't in a laughing mood right now. I knew that this fight was going too far into details that I hadn't meant to share with her right now but I couldn't help it.

"And on the rare occurrence that I find a woman who accepts Alexis, she doesn't trust me because of my reputation. But I can promise you one thing, Kate Beckett. I have never cheated on anyone. Never!" We both stepped to opposite sides of the table to take a deep breath.

"And I'm sorry, I don't have a 'friend with benefits' as you say." I knew I was being harsh but I couldn't help it.

"I never said friend with benefits, that was your term," she was obviously pissed off at me now. "Mine was fuck buddy."

I was shocked to hear her say that word as she rarely used foul language.

"And besides, that's over. He doesn't want to see me anymore," she said not meeting my eyes.

"Why not? Did you decide you don't like the bad boys anymore?" I put my hands flat on the table and leaned over.

"I said something over Memorial Day weekend that he took offense at," she replied. I wondered at the timing of things since Memorial Weekend was when I left for the Hamptons with Gina. After I had already asked Kate.

"What did you say?" I asked quietly, needing to know.

She looked away, and said "Turns out it isn't good form to yell out another guy's name."

"What name did you call out?" I had no business to ask but part of me had to.

"Castle," she sounded exasperated as she also leaned over the table. I wasn't able to tell exactly what her tone meant.

"Are you saying that like 'Castle stop being an ass' or that 'Castle' was the name you called out," knowing that it had to be the former. I just wanted to make her madder so we could yell more. I would even accept a slap across the face since I knew that I deserved it. Anything to get rid of this anticlimactic feeling.

"Both," she said quietly while meeting my eyes.

I didn't think I just acted. I reached out my right hand, slipped it around to the back of her neck and pulled her close and kissed her with as much passion as I felt for her. After just a moment, she responded to my kiss, which just amazed me. I leaned back just a few inches to look into her eyes and try to read her mind again. I was almost expecting her to haul off and deck me, but she brushed some of the files off the table. Taking that as an invitation, I sat on the table and swung my legs around to the other side. Once there, I reached out with both arms and pulled her close between my knees into another kiss. I had wanted to kiss her like this the first night I met her in this very room even. Her fingers were tangled in my hair, just as my fingers were in hers. A few moments later, she broke the kiss to work her way down my jaw then she lowered her hands down my back and tugged my shirt up. I know that she had to feel my erection and this time I wasn't trying to hide it from her. I actually lowered my hands to her hips to pull her closer. I turned to lightly nip her earlobe before I spoke.

"Do you want me to stop?" I asked. I would if I had to but I was so hoping that she wouldn't ask me to.

She didn't answer; she just reached down and rubbed my straining erection through my slacks before reaching for my belt. I wasn't able to think anymore, I just went on instinct. My hands moved to her pants, wishing she were wearing a skirt today, and quickly slipped them down her beautiful legs. She stepped out of her pants as she finally reached into my boxers and touched me, my cock jumping in her hand. I stood up, dropped my pants and leaned into her, pushing her back, as I squeezed her backside and pulled her leg around my waist. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hopped up and wrapped her other leg around my waist. I pushed her up against the mirrored wall and hesitated a moment. I had to be sure that she really wanted this.

"Yes," was all she said, as she seemed to read my mind.

I entered her in one hard thrust, drawing groans from the both of us. I paused for a moment just feeling her around me. She once again nipped my ear, obviously telling me without words to keep going, and I was lost. I began thrusting and I knew that I wasn't going to last too long. I slipped one hand between us, and small, incredibly erotic whimpers escaped from her throat as I played with her most sensitive spot.

"Castle!" she yelled as she suddenly climaxed, squeezing me with her arms, her legs, and everything else.

"Beckett," I groaned as I came, somehow not yelling her name.

We stood there, arms tightly around each other for a few moments. This had felt so good, but at what cost I wondered. I was so afraid that she was going to regret this. I had always known, or at least hoped, that one day we would make love but I never expected our first and probably only time would be up against the mirror in the interrogation room. As much as I wanted to stay just as we were, I knew I had to sit down before I fell down. Acrobatic sex is always great fun, but I usually do it in a bed, not standing up. I leaned back slightly, noticed the chair behind me and not yet wanting to let her go, I held tight to Beckett and sat down. She shuddered in a delicious way around me as I let my hands slide up and down her bare legs that have always intrigued me. We both slowly came back to reality and caught our breath, my head tucked into her neck.

"Castle," she said softly. "Rick, we need to get up."

"Do we have to?" I whined as I pulled back to look at her trying to gauge her reaction. Her reaction was to squeeze me with her inner muscles. "Dear God, woman, are you trying to kill me?"

"We really should get up; we probably shouldn't have done this here."

"So you aren't wishing this didn't happen?" I asked tentatively.

"No, Rick. It just shouldn't have happened here, especially in the interrogation room. Thank goodness the cameras are all broken." I looked over at the mirror and realized that if the cameras weren't broken, she probably would have decked me when I kissed her.

"Shall we take this somewhere more appropriate? And maybe do something crazy?" she asked with a smile.

"You mean like make love in a bed?" I asked excited.

"Yes, I mean a bed."

"Yes, please." I kissed her one more time then helped her stand up. We both reached for our pants, hers on the floor and mine around my ankles. Once we were dressed we looked in the mirror to make sure any buttons were buttoned correctly and such.

"Did you bite me?" she asked when she noticed a small mark on her neck.

"Maybe just a little," not even realizing that I did that.

"Oh, I will make you pay for that," she smiled as I walked up behind her and looked at us in the mirror.

"Promises, promises. Besides, I've already told you I'd be happy to let you spank me," I said with a big smile.