Rocket Man Chapter V

Wow, I can't say how greatful I am for all the reviews and story alerts etc. You make me all very happy! THANK YOU!

Marjo's challenge for this chapter was: "You crazy bitch are just trying to get into my house." Since Martha used the "b" word in Cops & Robbers I decided it is safe to use it.

And yet again I have to thank my fabulous BBB's. You are awesome and your input means a lot to me!

Disclaimers:

They are not mine. I'm not keeping them, just borrowing, although I wouldn't mind to keep Castle. ;-)

She walked up to the crime scene alone and missed him. Not because she wasn't used to be working without him, it had happened before, but this time was different. She tried to shake off the feeling of loneliness that tugged at her heart, hoping it wasn't obvious, that she could keep it her secret. The call came in during her breakfast with Alexis. Yet Another Castle who made sure she was fed.The detective was normally not one to waste time on ingesting solid food in the morning, but with her partner's daughter around she wanted to set a good example. She had given Alexis an apologetic look when she had to leave in a hurry. But Alexis had just grinned saying that she was used to it. The only difference; normally Beckett was the one to call.

"What have we got?" she asked, crouching down next to Lanie, keeping her eyes fixed on the victim, hoping that the M.E. would get the message that she did not want to talk about Castle right now, not here.

Lanie shot her a quizzical look but obviously understood the silent plea, "White female, between 25 and 35."

"COD?" Kate asked, but was almost sure she knew the answer, when she saw the marks.

"The marks on the victim's throat indicate that she has been strangled to death from behind. I'd say with some kind of wire. See the cut mark? They are lower at the front, turning slightly upwards towards the ears," she pointed her finger at the red line around the victim's neck, Kate nodded. The line indicated that someone had stood behind the victim, placed the wire around her throat and then had pulled upwards.

"Must have been someone bigger than her," Kate mumbled to herself.

Lanie nodded, "And strong. She put up one hell of a fight."

Kate sighed and looked at the woman's face. Too young to die. "Do you have TOD?"

"I'd put time of death between 10:00 last night and 04:00 this morning for now. I should be able to narrow it down once …."

"Once you get her back to the lab," Kate nodded, her lips in a firm line. "Thanks Lanie."

She stood up, searching for Ryan and Esposito who stood at the other end of the alley, interested in something Esposito had picked up.

"Found something?" Beckett called out before she was half way there and the boys turned around, Esposito holding up the object they had pulled from a dumpster. A handbag.

When she reached them Ryan was already studying a passport, "The victim's name is Maren Leichsenring," he said, a funny look on his face, while he tried to pronounce the name correctly, "28 year old German."

"A tourist?" Beckett questioned and sighed when Ryan nodded. She could sense that this would be a tough one. Dealing with foreign authorities was never easy.

"Stamp from passport control says she arrived two days ago on a tourist visa," he handed Beckett the passport to have a look. She studied the picture. There was no doubt that the woman in the picture was their victim.

"Yo Beckett," Esposito got her attention. "Looks like she was at the MET last night." He handed her piece of paper, which turned out to be a ticket to last night's performance of Manon.

"Anything else? Wallet, hotel key, phone?" she asked and handed the ticket and the passport back to Ryan. Both men shook their heads. "No just the passport and the ticket," Ryan said. "Other than that the bag is empty. Looks like a robbery."

"Could be," she stated not willing to rule anything out just yet and contemplating their next moves, "Okay, you guys, call passport control, she must have given an address on the ESTA form when she entered and I hardly doubt that she was here on her own, so look into the MP reports as well, maybe someone already reported her missing," she was already turning towards her car, "Oh and go to the MET, maybe someone else bought the ticket, see if she was with someone."

Esposito shot Ryan a look and then called out after her, a smug grin on his face, "And what are you doing, boss?"

She regarded him with squinted eyes, not missing his tone, "I will fill Gates in and contact the German consulate. Someone needs to inform her family."

With one last look at the dead body she left the crime scene and got into her car.

Beckett parked her Crown Vic on 41st Street right at the stage door of the New Amsterdam Theatre. The victim's hotel was just across the street. Esposito had texted her to meet him and Ryan there, while she had been waiting at the German consulate. Much to her surprise Gates had not wanted to contact the German authorities herself. She was just getting out of the car, when her eyes caught on a chimney sweep leaning against the brick back wall of the theatre, cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. Oh that's right, they were playing Mary Poppins here.She started across the street when her phone beeped, announcing a text. Beckett read the message from Alexis, telling her the red-head was planning to visit her father after school, and asking Kate to join her. Not knowing when she might be able to wrap it up for the day, she typed a quick reply, telling Alexis she would try.

"How did it go at the consulate?" Ryan asked when she had crossed the street and stopped next to them.

She shrugged, "They forwarded it to the authorities in her home town of Flensburg. They will call us." It was not very satisfying but there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing but wait.

"Where's Flensburg?" Ryan frowned.

"Somewhere in the north, close to Denmark," Beckett answered dryly and then started towards the hotel entrance, "Let's go." pushing through the swinging doors into the lobby and heading towards the front desk.

Ten minutes later they stood in a middle class one-bed hotel room, nothing fancy, but nice. They had learned their victim indeed had been staying here alone and since it was a small hotel they were lucky that the concierge actually remembered her.

"She checked in two days ago. She was definitely alone and I don't think she knew any of the other guests," he said standing in the doorway and looking incredibly pale. "She seemed to be nice."

"Can you tell us when Miss Leichsenring," this time Beckett struggled with the pronunciation,"left yesterday night?" she questioned.

"Yes, she dropped her key around 06:00 pm. I remember, because she told me, she was one of the fortunate ones to have a ticket for the sold out performance of Manon."

"Is it that hard to get tickets for the MET?" Esposito had to admit he had never been to the opera.

"Anna Netrebko was singing!" the concierge stated as if that was answer enough. Beckett saw Espo's blank expression and took mercy on him.

"She's currently the world's most famous soprano. Tickets cost up to $400, even higher on the black market." she elaborated where the concierge had left off.

"How do you know so much about opera?" Esposito frowned, giving her a pointed look.

Beckett ignored his question, turning her attention towards the concierge she thanked him and waited until he had left them alone, before she turned around to have a closer look at the room. It looked tidy, but not too tidy - in other words, totally unsuspicious. She doubted that someone had been in here since Maren Leichsenring had left it the night before.

"Beckett!" she looked over to Ryan who held up a laptop. She walked over, flipping it open and turning it on, they waited only to see that they needed a password. "Get it to the techs," she said and switched it off again. Other than the laptop there was nothing of interest in the room and they left shortly after. They would leave the rest to CSU. She had hoped to find the victim's phone, but at least the concierge was able to give her the number. She would let the techs track it down.

Leaning against her desk, she studied the murder board. Not much to look at so far. The boys' trip to the MET was more or less a bust. The victim had purchased the ticket via the internet, but contrary to her hopes it had been a single ticket after all. She still waited for the call from German authorities but figured that due to the time difference they wouldn't call until tomorrow.

Her view fell on the chair, normally occupied by her writer. Yes, herwriter, her partner. She had stopped denying that a long time ago, frankly since the day she had proposed to be a one writer girl. She realized how much she really wanted to see him, how much she missed having him around, building theories with him and she wondered if it was ever going to be like that again. Someone plopped down next to her and handed her a cup of coffee, "I know its not Castle coffee, but I thought you could use one."

Her lips curled up into a small smile, "Thanks Espo. I'm sure it's fine."

"So, how's he doing?" Esposito asked, while keeping his eyes on the murder board.

She shrugged, she wasn't sure if there was a right answer to that question, "He's still Castle."

Her partner smirked, "That's a good thing, I suppose."

She regarded him with silence, grateful that he didn't push her to fathom what it all meant to her. If she thought about it, it might change things; for better or worse. They sat in silence until Ryan came running into the bullpen, laptop in hand he called out to them, "Guys! Techs cracked the password."

He placed the laptop on Beckett's desk, "Nothing interesting on it as far as I can tell, but most of it is German so we need someone to translate that stuff for us," he said. "She has a Facebook account and the techs were able to get us the login information as well. Again mostly in German, but some English entries as well."

"Any news on the phone?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's turned off. Techs couldn't track it," he shrugged, knowing that this wasn't what she wanted to hear.

Beckett glanced at her watch and sighed, "Okay, lets call it a day; we probably won't get anywhere tonight. I think Lubowksi from Burglary speaks German, I'll ask him tomorrow to give it a look." She handed Ryan the computer to return it to Evidence.

"And the phone?" Esposito questioned.

"I will ask the Germans if the can get us the phone records, tomorrow." She added and sighed. Another obstacle.

"Are you going to visit Castle?" Esposito asked when they all started gathering their stuff.

"Yes, I'll head over now." There was still enough time to pay him a short visit before visiting hours were over.

"Say hi from us!" Ryan grinned on his way out. She looked at him, her face brightening as she nodded.

When she entered his room twenty minutes later she knew Alexis had already left. The girl had sent her another text, telling her she was meeting her at the apartment. She couldn't help but consider they last days she had spent with Alexis as progress. They were getting somewhere and although she wasn't sure where exactly, she felt that some of the anger Alexis had addressed towards her, some of the pain Kate had inflicted had subsided.

She had knocked and when she didn't get an answer she quietly walked up to him. His eyes were closed, a troubled expression gracing his features and for a moment she thought about leaving again. Before she could act on her impulse she heard him mumble her name, his voice gruff. She turned back towards him and her face lit up, when she saw his blue eyes fixated on her.

His daughter's visit had exhausted him. He had seen the hope in her eyes when she had entered the room, and had watched it vanish when she realized that nothing had changed. He still didn't remember. It was pushing on him, all those questions and stories of a life that didn't feel like his own. A life he couldn't imagine was his. He feared he just wouldn't live up to the expectations.

"Hey, how are you doing?" she asked and stepped to his side not sure if she could or should touch him. He tried to smile, but she could tell that it was forced a one, a mask. "What's wrong?"

"My head hurts like hell," he admitted finally, deciding to keep his fears to himself and closed his eyes again. Trying to will the throbbing away and hoping that those other feelings would vanish with them.

"Do you want me to go?" she asked, sounding unsure.

"No! No. Please stay. They already gave me something, it should be better soon. Just tell me something." he sounded almost pleading, how could she say no to that, "Nothing about me, just tell me about your day?"

She shook her head, slightly amused at his wording. He sounded like a caring husband, she realised, and at that thought the amusement left her face to be replaced by a nervous twitch. She should not think like this, but ever since Ryan's wedding and her third time's the charm comment, she had wondered if the future might hold that for them. Marriage. Even though she wasn't anywhere near ready for this kind of commitment, still she couldn't banish the thought. Pulling a chair to his side that was normally occupied by Alexis, she considered where to start. How was her day? She wasn't used to telling him, normally he was there. He moved a bit further down the bed and turned slightly towards her, his left arm secured in its sling on his stomach. Resting on his good arm, his palm facing up, inviting, but she resisted the need to slip her hand into his.

"Alexis told me you have a case," he mumbled into the cushion and then winced, a small groan escaping his lips.

"That bad?" she asked and without permission her left hand started to softly stroke his head, drawing small gentle circles on his scalp. He sighed, his eyes shut tightly, "Feels good," he mumbled. They sat in silence for a while, Beckett's finger continuing her ministration, when Castle suddenly chuckled, his left eye suddenly looking at her and she could see the sparkle in them.

"What?" she asked, her eyebrow shooting up.

"You, crazy bitch, are just trying to get into my house!" he said out of nowhere and Kate pulled her hand away.

"Excuse me?" she was shocked.

"Not you!" he raised his head, both eyes now turned towards her, the pain temporally forgotten, "That's what my mother told my ex-wife," he thought for a second, "Gina. She told her on the phone today." He chuckled again.

"What? Why?" she didn't understand.

"Apparently this Gina wanted to inform the press about this," he gestured at his head. "And she had the obviously not so great idea of taking care of Alexis until my mother's return."

"Oh," was all Kate could come up with.

His grin even widened, "And then my mother told her exactly what she thought about that." He placed his head back on the pillow and Kate's hand came back to massage his head again, without asking permission.

"Sounds like something your mother would say," she smirked and could see his lips twitch.

"That's what I figured," he grinned, eyes closing.

They stayed like this, Kate sharing her day and Castle listening. For once she was the talker and he the listener. At some point she realized that his breath had evened out. He had fallen asleep, the tense expression gone from his face, replaced by a sweet look of contentment.

She watched him for a little while longer, seeking comfort in his features, until she finally left him to rest.

Opening the door to her apartment, a wonderful smell assaulted her senses. Frowning, she entered further and found Alexis behind the stove, peering into one of the pots in front of her. Looking up she beamed at the Detective.

"Hi Kate!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Kate asked amused. She didn't even know she owned so many pots.

"I'm making dinner," Alexis declared and Kate chuckled.

"I can see that."

"I hope you'll like it," Alexis looked expectantly at the older woman, hoping that Kate wasn't upset with her taking over the kitchen like this. Kate stepped to her side and peered into the pots herself.

"It smells delicious," she said approvingly. "But Alexis, you don't have to do this." Kate didn't want the teenager to feel obligated to contribute anything to their living arrangement.

"I know," Alexis looked at her, suddenly serious, "But I wanted to."

"Okay," Kate nodded slowly, again having trouble reading the girl but couldn't help the warm feeling that spread inside her, hoping her voice didn't give away her inner turmoil she looked around for something to keep her occupied while she cleared her throat, "I'll set the table?" This was not the time to get sentimental.

Alexis nodded, already handing her the plates.

Dinner was delicious and conversation light. Alexis talked about school and visiting her father, including Martha's outburst and adding a few more details. She did not mention Castle being in any pain when she left and so Kate decided not to bring it up, she did not want to worry her, when Alexis seemed to be at ease for once. Kate shared a bit of their case, knowing that Castle frequently discussed cases with his daughter, but refrained from going too much into detail.

After finishing their dinner, they started to clear the dishes together, working in a comfortable silence. Kate was surprised how easy it was to have Alexis around. Since college she had always lived alone and liked it, but she couldn't deny it was nice to have someone waiting for you after a rough day, and on top of that being served a delicious dinner with light conversation. It reminded her of the evenings she had spent with her parents, so many years ago. And for once the memory did not make her sad, but put a small smile on her face.

"So what are your plans for tonight?" Alexis pulled her from her thoughts.

Kate remembered the login information for the victim's Facebook account. She had scribbled them down at the precinct to have a look at tonight. "Actually I was planning to work. Have a look at our victim's Facebook profile. But it's probably all in German so I'm not sure what I can get out of it." Kate answered, while putting the last glass into the dishwasher.

"I could help," Alexis offered. "Three years of German with Frau Sonnenberg must be good for something."

"You sure?" Kate questioned, she didn't want to keep Alexis from whatever plans she might have had.

"Yeah, absolutely!" Alexis confirmed excited and already started for Kate's computer.

Kate smiled and followed. She might not have Big Castle but Little Castle was certainly a good temporarily replacement.