Florida Heat

A/N: Sorry about the delay between updates but here is a short chapter to tide you over. I am so glad you all are enjoying this story! Thank you for all of your responses, excitement and encouragement! You all rock. :)

Chapter 7

Castle didn't sleep that night. Instead, he found himself staring at a series of pages covered in magic marker that he had taped to the wall of his hotel room. He had the rattling air conditioner running full blast, but he was still sweating as he sat on top of one of the double beds, cross-legged in a white undershirt and blue plaid boxers. He had talked the sheriff into giving him copies of some of the crime scene photos- ones of Kate battered and bruised and the ditch in which she was found. He hadn't put those up on the wall, he couldn't handle staring at them constantly and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep with them staring back. Not that he ended up sleeping anyway.

The blonde hair. He kept on coming back to it. Why would someone kidnap her and dye her hair blonde? What was the point? Castle looked over the notes again and tried to think back to the cases they had been working when he had left. Kate had disappeared the day after so chances were it had to do with one of those cases and not a new one. Two of the victims they had had before he had gone on tour had been blonde but they were both younger- teenagers. The other two victims were schoolteachers; stand up members of the community- didn't litter, donated to the ASPCA, hosted foreign exchange students.

Foreign exchange students. Castle's ears perked up as he remembered that detail and he scrambled off of the bed, bringing a marker up to the wall. Both of the girls they had found hadn't been residents. Dental work had shown they had been European. They had automatically assumed they had been illegals when they hadn't been able to find IDs or information on them in any database, but what if that hadn't been true? He tried to think back to the crime scenes, to the Millers' house. There had been a ton of pictures on the walls; the Millers' with their adopted pets and the series of exchange students. Castle's eyes widened as the marker went limp in his hand. They had all been girls and they had all been blonde. He had been right. Oh, God, he had been right. It had been human trafficking.

Kate…

When Castle arrived at the hospital later that morning he had already guzzled two double espressos and was working on a latte. He had a second cardboard to-go cup and a thin paper pastry bad grasped in his left hand. He let out a sad smile when he saw the hunched form of Javier Esposito sitting, elbows on knees, hands clasped behind his hung head, in one of the hard plastic chairs in the hall.

"Hey Esposito," Castle said as he approached the other man, sitting down gently in the seat beside him.

When Javier didn't respond Rick glanced through the window behind him to see Kate sitting cross-legged on the bed, facing Ryan who was sitting in the chair at the bedside. They were talking animatedly about something.

"What are they talking about?"

"Wedding details," Esposito's response was low as he raised his head back up and tilted it to lean against the wall behind him. "She doesn't remember any of it."

Castle nodded in understanding. When he had first started coming around the precinct it had been Esposito who had dragged him out into the back alley and stared him down with a steely glare and a threatening big brother speech. He was the one that had her back; that protected her, but he couldn't protect her from this. None of them could.

"What happened to the other guy, the one that Gates brought in, Johnson?"

Esposito shrugged his shoulders, brings a hand up to rub his brow. "We don't know. He hasn't been found yet."

Castle nodded and leaned back, mirroring Esposito's posture. "Did you bring those case files with you? I managed to put together some theories but I want to check my facts again before I'm sure. Truth is, I don't know if I want to be right or not."

Javier glanced over at him, both men emotionally drained, sitting in uncomfortable slick plastic chairs in a stark hospital that smelled like antiseptic. "Yeah, man. I got them. You want to set up here?"

"No, I have a hotel just a few blocks over. More privacy."

"Hey, Rick. Is that for me?"

Castle looked around Esposito to see Kate leaning against the doorframe leering at the coffee hungrily.

"Of course it is. I always bring you coffee," he replied automatically before noting his verbal gaff. She didn't remember that he always brought her coffee.

"Oh, well, thanks," she answered as she reached out to grab the cup and bag from his outstretched hand. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Both of them glanced towards Esposito who was already pushing himself out of his seat and walking towards Ryan who had come out of the hospital room behind Beckett.

"Come on, man. Let's go get ourselves some coffee since someone wasn't considerate enough to bring us any," he grumbled good naturedly as the Irishman fell into step beside him.

"That's what we get for not being pretty."

"Speak for yourself, bro. I happen to be very pretty."

Rick and Kate sat staring at the two retreating backs as they made their way down the hall towards the cafeteria.

"Are they always like that?" Kate questioned, bringing the to-go cup up to her lips for her first sip before diving in to devour the bear claw.

"Everyday," Castle replied. "Look, about yesterday. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said what I did."

"No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have kicked you out," Kate countered. "I, just… this is hard, Castle."

"I know," he replied, snaking an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a sideways hug, her head falling to rest against his shoulder. "We'll figure it out. We'll get you back to normal."

Kate nodded against his shoulder before they fell into silence, sitting cuddled in the hard plastic chairs, for a long moment. "What were you and Javier talking about?"

"You, well, your case. They brought some info down with them that we are going to set up."

"Can I come?" Kate looked up at him, raising her head slightly with the question. "The doctors cleared me physically this morning. The bruises will heal and there is nothing wrong with me besides my memories. There is no reason for me to stay in the hospital."

Castle blinked in response. He wasn't used to hearing Kate Beckett ask permission. Normally, she just did what she wanted, ordering everyone else in the process, damn the consequences.

Ryan and Esposito chose that moment to return from their coffee run and Castle moved to take his arm back instinctively, ignoring the boys' knowing glances.

"I don't see a problem with that. I will call and book you a room while you get discharged. But if you will excuse me for a second, I have one last stop to make before we leave."

Kate nodded in response before pushing herself out of her chair and wandering back into her room, coffee in one hand, the other still holding up her too big pants. Castle made a mental note to pick up some better-fitting clothes for her.

"Hey, doc, do you have a minute?" Castle knocked quietly on the partially open door before sticking his head into the small office.

"Mr. Castle, of course. What can I do for you?"

Castle walked into the office, grasping Dr. Singh's hand in his own. "I have a question for you about Kate's memory."

The psychiatrist motioned for Castle to sit down in one of the chairs across his desk as he returned to his own. "Has anything come back to her?"

Castle sighed and shook his head. "I've told her stories, showed her pictures and videos. I even got her some of her favorite things. It's like she is watching the life of someone else. I don't know what to do and we can't go back to New York yet. Part of this case is here and we need her to remember. She is the only link."

"The videos and photos you've shown her; the stories, have they all been from work?"

Castle nodded. That was all he had. Beckett's life had pretty much revolved around the precinct the last few months. She had been declining invitations out with the gang, getting to the station house before anyone else and leaving after. "She pretty much lives for her job."

"Well, Mr. Castle. It is that job that did this to her. It is probably what she is hiding from. If you want her to remember, you need to get her away from that; make her remember things other than being a detective. You need to start with good memories, one's that she isn't afraid of. Get her out of the hospital; make her feel safe but if she asks about something painful, don't lie to her. The truth may hurt her right now, but lying to her, holding things back, will just make her confused once her memories do start to come back. She needs to know that what she is remembering is real and not something her mind has made up. According to the scans, there is nothing physically wrong with Ms. Beckett. She isn't remembering simply because she doesn't want to."