Author's note: This story diverges from canon after the end of 47 seconds, so this is a brief chapter to get us up to that point.
I foresee a darker path for Castle in this version of events. No Vegas trip at the weekend, and no flight attendant.
I think that, by this point, he's running on pure hope, and also the cautiously encouraging signals he's been receiving from Beckett. When he suddenly feels that he's been catastrophically wrong all along, I don't think he'd act out – but rather fold in on himself; broken, exhausted and empty.
Beckett glanced over at the empty chair again. Castle had apparently been here a while ago, and had left her coffee on the desk, but according to Esposito he had to leave. That was over an hour ago.
He had been going to say something important to her earlier; she knew it. It was in his eyes. They'd been getting closer lately – moving towards something. She felt more at ease with him than she ever had, and she'd slowly been learning how to let herself show him how much he meant to her.
Once the case was closed, it was time for them to talk. She'd ask him what he wanted to say, and she'd listen, and then she'd work out the next step. The fact that she wanted there to be a next step was a huge change – a testament to her work with Dr. Burke.
And to Castle's endless patience, she thought, her eyes again flicking towards the visitor's chair beside her desk.
"Hey," came his voice from nearby, and she turned in her chair to see Castle approaching.
"Hey," she replied, smiling at him. "Where were you?"
"Just clearing my head," he said, his eyes moving immediately to the case file in front of her.
A note of unease briefly stirred somewhere in her intuition, but she ignored it. It had been a very difficult few days, for everyone.
She began to bring him up to speed on the latest developments with the case, and he listened attentively, rarely making eye contact.
He had a strange look on his face, and she was just about to ask if he was OK when Esposito approached with an update from the FBI on the nature of the device that had been detonated in the plaza. Ryan arrived a few moments later, and she forgot all about Castle's unusual behaviour as it became clear she'd need to interview Bobby Lopez again.
It was over.
Leann West had been taken into custody by the FBI, and Gates had just finished telling them all to go home and get some rest. Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito were still standing in a loose cluster near her desk.
Beckett turned towards the three men.
"You know what? I'm still kind of wired. You guys want to go out for a drink?"
Ryan smiled apologetically. "Ah… sorry, it feels like a month since I've seen Jenny. I should really get home."
Beckett nodded sympathetically, as Esposito glanced first at his partner, and then at her.
"Me too," he said. "I'm tanked. I'll holler at ya."
Both men nodded their farewells, then walked off, and Beckett now turned towards Castle. She felt her stomach twist with nervousness, but also anticipation.
"So I guess it's just us," she said, looking at him carefully. He glanced up at her.
"Yeah," he replied.
She took a breath before continuing.
"You know, now that the case is done… what did you want to talk about?"
He seemed to consider something for a moment, before giving the briefest shake of his head.
"Nothing. Nothing important, anyway," he said. There was another brief pause, then he tilted his head in the direction of the corridor that led to the elevator. "I'm gonna head home. 'Night."
He gave her a perfunctory smile that barely even curled the corners of his mouth, then it vanished, and he immediately turned and strode away.
"G'night…" she called after him, taken aback and suddenly lost. She'd expected him to jump at the chance to join her for a drink without the others, but it seemed like he couldn't get out of the precinct fast enough.
Her brow creased.
What's going on?
He'd done that several times today – given her a strange, blank, contemplative look. He hadn't smiled at her since this morning.
Again her intuition stirred, but there was nothing to go on.
It's been a tough case, she thought. And it's been really hard on Alexis. He probably wants to get home to her.
That made sense. That's probably what it was. In a day or so, he'd be back to his usual self.
She pulled on her coat, flipping her hair out over the collar, then she turned to her desk to collect her purse. Her gaze fell on the elevator, which was open.
Castle stood inside, and he looked towards her just as the doors were beginning to close.
His eyes were dark, and his face was pale. His lips were a thin line.
She felt her breath catch in her chest. She hardly recognised him. The confusion she felt became a spike of icy foreboding.
The elevator doors slid fully closed, and she let out the breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.
Just a tough case, she thought, but she no longer quite believed it.