AN: Posting a little earlier than normal today, since I have a few things to do. This is my first story where I'm getting mixed reviews, so thank you. I know that might sound crazy, but I do look at your suggestions and see if it's you or if it's me. I saw the one review from a guest that doesn't get the plot, so let me explain in case there are more out there. The plot of this fanfic is that Josh and Demming are working for Bracken. Josh is pretending to be her boyfriend, in order to keep tabs on her when she's not working. Demming is in charge of keeping tabs on her when she is working. Kate and Castle have feelings for one another, but like in season 3, they are either with someone else currently or can't admit their feelings to one another. SPOILER ALERT, they eventually do end up together. However, until that happens, I'm showing you through words how that comes to be and how (and if) Kate finds out about Josh and Demming. With that being said, enjoy this next chapter. Also, thank you (as always) for the reviews, follows, and favorites.

It had been a few weeks now since their comfort food truck dinner and Castle had broken up with Gina. Kate was tempted to break things off with Josh, but she knew breaking up with her current boyfriend to go try things with Castle didn't end well for her. She also couldn't help it that she felt like something was different with Josh. She blamed it on Castle coming back into her life, but she wasn't so sure that was it. She wasn't sure what to do, so instead of telling Castle how she felt or calling up Josh to break up with him, she did a little extra in her workout. That was when she got a call from the lead detective who worked her mother's case. He wanted to meet with her, alone. She couldn't go alone though. She needed someone. She called Josh, telling him that she would be late to their breakfast date, before she went to find the person she needed. She knocked on his door, hoping he was home.

"Beckett."

"Hey"

"Come on in."

She didn't move though. "Can we talk for a second?" He knew something was wrong. He didn't have to ask. He got his keys and closed the door behind him. They headed to the diner, where she was going to meet Raglan.

"I said no cops."

"He's not a cop," she said as she sat down.

"Then who is he?"

"Someone I trust." She moved her had to his knee, wanting him to know that she wanted him to stay and to remind herself that he was here with her.

They listen to him tell him what he had brought her here today for. He told her why he had written her mother's case off as gang violence. As he went to tell them more, a bullet came through the window and struck him.

Beckett and Castle duck down for cover as she yells out, "Everyone down." She can feel Castle checking her out, to make sure that she was okay. "It's not my blood. I'm okay," she said before she called for backup. Castle checks Raglan, to make sure he's still alive, but he finds out what they had thought to be true. He's dead. He makes his way back over to Kate.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine."

He knows she's not fine, but he won't get into that right now. Right now, he wants them both to get out of here...even though he desperately wants to just take her into his arms and let her know that she's safe and that it's okay for her not to be fine.

Something was up. Kate usually gave a reason as to why she was going to be late for their date, but this time it was a real quick, "I'm going to be late." He also knew that she wouldn't cancel on him unless it was something important, since he was leaving for "Africa" today. So, he called up Bracken.

"Hello?"

"Something might be up. Kate's going to be late for our date. She usually gives me a reason, but not today."

"I'll look into it. Thank you." With that, he hung up and dialed the number he had for Lockwood.

"Ah, senator. What do I owe the pleasure of? Is it time to kill that detective of yours you have me watching?"

"I need you to find John Raglan and kill him. He should be with Kate Beckett. Don't harm her...yet. Money will be wired to your account once the job is done."

"Yes, sir."

He hung up the phone. He knew that Raglan was looking to contact Kate. Demming had called him the other day that he saw that he had came in looking for her, but she was out and asked for her number. He knew that this would be something she wouldn't tell Josh about and he was going to make sure Raglan didn't tell Kate about him or anyone else for that matter.

Kate had been sent home, by Montgomery after her interrogation with Simmons. She was just sitting on her sofa, crying. She heard the knock on the door though and figured she'd go look to see who it was. She brushed the tears away and got up from the sofa. She smiled softly before she opened the door, seeing that it was Castle.

"Hey, Castle."

"Hey." There was silence for a bit. "Where's Josh?"

"Oh he's in Africa. Out saving the world."

"I um, brought you some..." He brought the flowers he was holding in her line of vision. "I just thought after everything...you might want...here."

She couldn't help but smile. This sweet man was here trying to make her feel better. She couldn't send him home or tell her to leave her alone, not when he was just trying to make her feel better. "Thank you. That's very sweet. You wanna come in?"

He didn't hesitate. "Sure."

She stepped aside and let him in. He closed the door behind him and she went to go get something to put the beautiful flowers that he had gotten for her in. As she did, he was talking about how he could sneak into the precinct and get her mother's file for her for them to do their own investigating outside of the precinct. She couldn't help the small smile that graced her face.

"What?"

"Come on, Castle. I gotta show you something."

She headed over to the shutters and opened them, revealing her own murder board to him.

"You know, I sometimes forget that you live with this everyday." She just nodded. "Josh know about this?"

She smiled. "No." She was tempted to say, "Just you," but she refrained.

"When did you start?"

"Over the summer. When you were in The Hamptons." She left out the part where she did this because she wanted to keep her mind off of him and Gina.

"And how far have you've gotten?"

She told him what she knew and then they went into her mom's files. Seeing if they could find anything that didn't make sense then, that made sense now. He went through the old pictures that she had and she went through the documents.

"I don't get to see you in action?!"

She smiled. "Trust me, Castle. It wasn't pretty." She never pictured herself smiling while going through old papers and pictures that her mother had, but sure enough, Castle was here making her do just that.

"Oh, now I have to see it." She had never been so glad that she didn't have any videos or pictures of her ice skating. He then found something. Pictures missing from the exposures, something that she had never noticed before.

"What is it?"

"An empty street."

She went to her computer, with the exposures in hand, so that they could get a better look at these photos. When she saw what it was, she couldn't believe it. "Castle, this is where my mom was murdered. I don't understand. These pictures were developed a week before she was killed."

"Why would she be taking photos of that alley?"

"I don't know. I always thought it was a convenient place for the killer to attack. It was dark, it was secluded..."

"What if there was more to it than that? What if she was looking into something that happened in that alley when they killed her?"

"I'd have to go into the old archives and reports and Captain Montgomery won't let me back in the precinct right now."

"I'll go." With that, he got up from his seat.

She couldn't do anything to stop him, knowing that he would say that he wanted to go and get these files, so she didn't say anything. She watched him leave and then looked back at the flowers he had gotten for her. "Be careful, Castle. I can't lose you too."