Chapter 26

Beckett woke up to music playing. She wandered out to the kitchen and found Castle standing at the stove making breakfast, listening to a song that sounded so familiar, but she just couldn't quite remember where she'd heard it before.

He had went through her iPod that morning and picked out the songs that he knew were her favorites from her ATP playlist, that she always listened to while walking to work. Many of them she had even posted on her website and shared with her twitter followers. He figured that the frequency with which she listened to them, paired with her passion for her Alternative Travel Project, might jog her memory.

"I love this song," she said. "I feel like I've heard it before, but I can't really say where." Was this the kind of thing Dr Burke had been talking about?

He came over and put his hands on her shoulders. "Close your eyes, and just listen to the music," he said. "How does it make you feel?" As he did this, he brought the dish towel he was holding, that he had lightly misted with her perfume, closer to her face.

"It makes me want to move, like I want to go for a run, or a morning jog. I smell something too, it's sweet, yet fresh. It's nice, familiar, like someone I should know."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was smiling more than she had seen in days. His eyes were that bright blue and had just a hint of that Castle sparkle back.

"Very good, Kate. Now write all of that in your journal before you forget. Look at it like a case. Keep collecting evidence, let it speak to you and lead you."

She grabbed her journal and jotted down all of the things she felt and thought as she listened to the music play, while he finished making breakfast.

"So, what would you like to do today? Dr Burke told me that he wanted you to stay here for a while yet, but I've got plenty of movies, video games, and books that I brought over."

She thought for a moment, "you know, a day of just relaxing and reading sounds nice. Maybe a nice bubble bath and a good book will help relax my mind. Care to join me?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Somehow I don't think both of us in a tub would be very relaxing," he laughed as he kisses the top of her head. "Why don't you grab a book and enjoy your bath, while I get some writing done."

He had placed her books in amongst the ones that were already put in her apartment by the set crew. He really hoped that the familiar titles might attract her attention.

While she was picking out something to read, he slipped into the bathroom and replaced the prop bubble bath with the stuff they had sent over from her place. He also left her a glass and a bottle of her favorite rakija. He didn't know if she should be drinking, but he figured it was something she had loved and any chance at triggering a memory, he was going to take it.

She stepped into the bathroom holding a stack of books. "How long are you planning on staying in here?" He laughed, trying to see which titles she'd chosen. Two he was sure had come from her personal collection, as he recognized them from the night before. The other three, he couldn't quite see well enough to tell.

"I couldn't decide." She smiled sheepishly.

"Fine," he said, " but try not to stay in here so long that you shrivel up into nothing, ok?"

"I won't," she laughed. "Now, if you aren't going to join me, get out of here so I can relax." She gave him a shove, as she laughed, and closed the door behind him.

He spent the next couple hours texting and emailing her friends and family, to get as much information on things that would be special to her as he could. Her parents filled him in on some of her favorite foods, as well as some that she refused to eat. Her best friend from college informed him that there was a band that she had been obsessed with back then, and a drink that just the smell had her telling stories of nights when they swore they would never drink again. He learned more about her in the last two hours, than he had in the five years they'd known each other. While he was thrilled with the list he had compiled, a small part of him was sad that it hadn't been her to share these stories with him.

He quickly closed the file and shut his laptop as he heard her coming out of the bedroom.

"Hey, did you enjoy your bath?"

"Yeah, it was great. I feel so much better."

"Did you finally decide on something good to read?"

"I sure did," she smiled, holding up a book for him to see.

His blood ran cold.

On the back of the book, he saw a familiar face smiling back at him. Of all the titles on the shelves, she had chosen Heat Wave.