AN: I'm hoping this chapter will show you that this is indeed a Caskett fanfic. I am NOT going to have them just jump right into it because this is not that type of story. Please be patient. Thank you for the favorites/follows/reviews thus far. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope for those who haven't been enjoying this so far (due to caskett not being together yet) that you enjoy the rest of this fanfic. Starting Sunday, I might not be updating this as much (since I'll be getting ready for my trip), so enjoy the daily updates while you can lol

She was starting to get tired of Josh canceling their plans, but she was busy with work and she really couldn't blame him. That was one of the reasons she started dating him. She figured that he would be busy at work so when things got more serious, she could use that as an excuse to run. But she did want someone in her life. She wanted Castle. He was still with Gina though and she didn't want to break up with Josh just because he wasn't Castle. She did that with Demming and it backfired on her.

She was just about to head home, putting the 3XK case to rest for the night, when she got a call. She saw that it was Castle's land line. She knew that it wasn't Castle, considering that he was with Ryan, so it was either Alexis or Martha.

"Beckett."

"Kate, it's Martha. Richard's in trouble."

Kate's heart stopped. "He called you? Where is he?"

"I called him. I'm not sure. He told me that he loved me and I knew that he was in trouble."

"I'll find him." With that, Kate hung up the phone and told Esposito and Montgomery to follow her to the hotel, where she last knew Castle was. She wasn't even sure how she got there. She didn't remember. She just drove and hoped that Castle was alright. She knew now that the man that they had was 3XK and he just got away. She didn't care though if he got away, as long as Castle and Ryan were alive and well. She would never forgive herself if something happened to either of them, especially Castle.

She got out of the car, as soon as it was in park, and ran up the stairs with her gun in hand. She kicked down the door and saw Castle was there, tied up to the chair. He looked fine, but she ran over to him while the others checked on Ryan. She went behind him to untie him. "I'm so glad that you're okay." When she got him untied, she led him over to a paramedic, just to make sure that he was indeed okay.

She looked around a little bit, seeing if he left any clues as to where he might have ran off to, but he was 3XK and she wasn't expecting anything to be left. She sighed and headed down the stairs. She got him some coffee, from inside the hotel. It probably wasn't that great, but it was the thought. Kate sat down with him and handed him the cup of coffee, which he took. She wasn't sure why he let Castle live, but she was happy that he did.

"Why did he let you live?"

"To punish me. Make me pay for ruining his plan. Now he's going to kill again, all because I couldn't stop him. And I feel so..."

"I know the feeling."

"I know you do."

With that, she put her hand in his. She knew exactly what he was feeling. "Come on, Castle. I'll take you home." She moved her hand from his before she got up.

She took him home and as much as she wanted to stay, she knew that she had to get home. Plus, if he needed someone, he could call Gina. She had something else in mind to do anyways when she got home. When she got to her apartment, she made sure that Josh wasn't there. She told him about the spare key, in case of emergencies, but he had a tendency of using it to surprise her from time to time. She locked the door, including the chain. She didn't want him to surprise her tonight. Not when she was dealing with this.

She opened up the window shutters and looked at the murder board that she had set up. She started this in the summer. It took her mind off of the fact that Castle wasn't calling her and that he was back together with his ex wife. Sure, she had Josh, but with his schedule she couldn't count on him. She didn't tell Josh about this. She didn't trust him with this. She didn't talk about her mother's murder with him and she didn't plan on telling him about it. She looked at the board and tried to find something there that she hadn't seen before. That was until she heard the knock on the door.

"Kate? You home?"

She quickly closed the shutters. "Just a second." She headed over to the door and unlocked it. She gave Josh a soft smile. "Hey."

"Hey." He stepped inside when she cleared the doorway and shut the door behind him. "Busy day?"

She nodded. "A serial killer got away and it almost cost us Castle's and Ryan's life."

"They okay?"

She nodded. "Ryan's going to take a few days off and Castle, well Castle will be okay in time...I hope."

"He will be." She gave him a soft smile. "So, did you eat yet?"

"Um, no I just got home and was thinking about if I should shower or take a bath before I ate."

"Well, while you go do either one, I'll cook us up something." He pressed a kiss to her cheek before he made his way to the kitchen.

He didn't spend the night. She told him that she had an early shift and was tired from today. He told her that he was probably going to be leaving the country soon, to help people in Africa. Normally, she would be sad about this, but this was good. She could work on her mother's murder without him here. It still wasn't going to be for awhile, but it was something to look forward to. Maybe she should just end things with him if this is how she was feeling about him. She knew she wouldn't feel like this if she was dating Castle and he told her that he was going on a book tour. She shook that thought from her head as quickly as it entered.

She was just about to get comfortable when she heard her phone. She saw that it was Castle calling. "Castle? Everything okay?"

"Yea, I just..."

She knew why he was calling. "You want to come over?"

"I'm actually already here." With that, she heard the knock on her door. She got out of bed and hung up her phone. She unlocked the door and let Castle inside. He closed it while she went over to grab two wine glasses and bottle of wine. She poured both of them a glass before sitting down on the sofa. He took a healthy sip before he spoke. "How do you do it, Kate? Live with knowing that there's someone out there that you can't catch and know that they're going to kill again."

"It's not easy, Castle. I try to focus on the people that I do put behind bars and the justice that I get for others. Some day, I'll get my justice. They'll slip up and I know one day 3XK is going to do the same. And that day, you and I will both be there to catch him." She placed her hand in his the second time that night.

"There's no one else I'd rather have by my side."

She smiled at him. "Me too." She took a sip of her wine. "You're welcome to stay, Castle, but I do have an early shift tomorrow."

"I'll make sure to lock up when I go. Get some sleep, Beckett."

She got up from her seat on the sofa, but then she sat back down. She smiled at him before she spoke. "Maybe I can stay up for a little while longer."

The next morning, Josh figured he'd surprise her by bringing her breakfast. He knew Castle usually brought her coffee, but he wanted to bring her one so she wouldn't need Castle's. He used the spare key and unlocked the door. He placed the key back and was delighted to see that she hadn't chained the door. He wasn't delighted however when he saw the two wine glasses on the coffee table. He walked in more and saw that she was sleeping on the sofa, using Castle as her personal pillow. He walked out as quickly as he entered.