A/N: split shifts at work means I have hardly any time to write, I can literally get about 600 words out before I need sleep, which is why it's taking so long to get new chapters up, I am sorry!
Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it's nice to know you're still with me and I'm so sorry if I didn't reply to you personally, like I said work has been crazy busy, I'm literally home for like 3 hours a day before I have to go to bed again, but please know I really do appreciate it!
"Oh, just give me two seconds," Kate said to Castle, hanging back in the bedroom whilst he went ahead into the kitchen to make a start on coffee and pancakes.
She was going to put on an awful lot of weight if she wasn't careful, Castle seemed to have this incredible metabolism which meant he stayed in his constant shape, just the way she liked him, all muscly and safe. Not that she would ever in a million years admit to him that being in his arms made her feel safe, she had to maintain her reputation as a strong, independent woman.
Her cell had began to ring just as she was about to follow Castle out of the room, so she hung back to answer it. "Beckett." Silence. Nothing, not even a rustle from the other end. "Hello?" She said, brow furrowing in confusion but there was still no answer. She pulled the phone away from her ear to check the number, noticing that it came up as unknown. That was odd, she couldn't think of anyone that would be calling her from an unknown number, she had the precinct saved in her phone book. Shaking her head and dismissing it as a prank, Beckett cut the call off and headed out into the kitchen to join her boyfriend. God it was still weird calling him that.
"Who was on the phone?" Castle asked curiously as she picked up the mug of coffee he'd made for her.
"I don't know, there was no one there," she replied. "Probably just the wrong number or something," she added hastily before she could worry him.
"Oh really?" He questioned. "Because didn't the same thing happen yesterday afternoon?"
Shit. Beckett didn't know he'd overseen that particular incident, she thought he'd been too wrapped up in the video game he was playing at the time. But he was right, the same thing had happened yesterday, in the afternoon like Castle said but also yesterday morning, whilst Castle had been taking a quick shower. In all honesty, the first call had completely slipped her mind when she saw him come out of the bathroom wearing nothing but a small white towel to preserve his modesty. Needless to say the towel hadn't remained in place for long once she'd got her hands on him. And like she'd thought, Castle had been playing his game when the second call came through and she didn't realise he'd been paying attention to her.
"Probably just someone trying to play a practical joke, Castle," Beckett brushed off, willing him to drop it. 'Now, what are we having for breakfast?"
"It's not nothing, Kate and I don't believe for a second you think it's just someone playing a joke. So why don't you stop pushing me out and tell me what it is you're hiding?"
Beckett was spared from making up a cover story by her cell ringing once again - but this time she recognised the caller ID.
"Hey Ryan, what's up?" She asked, pretending to ignore Castle as he murmured something about this 'not being over.' It wasn't that she was necessarily against telling him but like she'd said, it was probably nothing, she didn't need him making a big song and dance over it.
Castle was worried about her, it wasn't like Beckett to so blatantly lie to him, probably because she knew she couldn't get away with it, he just knew her too well. But now she was definitely trying to hide something and he really didn't like it, she had a tendency to take on the world - he was still trying to get her to realise that she didn't have to do it all alone, he'd be there with her the whole way. It seemed that for now there wasn't much he could do, but once they'd dealt with whatever Ryan was calling about, he'd make sure to bring it up again until she gave in and told him what she was hiding.
"That was Ryan," Beckett announced unnecessarily as she cut off the call. "They've got a potential lead on Maddox's location - and Gates is out of town on a conference in San Diego so we can go into the precinct, see what they find."
The next time Kate's cell rang, it was Charlie - and she didn't sound happy.
"Kate?" Charlie hiccuped into the speaker. "Where are you?"
"I'm at the precinct, why, where are you?" Kate replied, mouthing 'Charlie' to a curious looking Castle.
"I'm at yours and Castle's loft," Charlie said. "Wait, why are you at the precinct, I didn't think you were a cop anymore?"
"I'm not," Kate told her. "The buys called, said they had info on Maddox's whereabouts and Gates is in California on some conference so Castle and I came in." They had been a little worried about word getting back to Gates that they'd been here, but the welcome reception from the other deceives and officers had soon put a stop to that. Words of encouragement and praise had been passed around and Beckett knew their secret was safe.
"Oh, okay," Charlie said and Kate could hear how much that had upset her sister. "I'll um, see you later then."
"No wait," Beckett said quickly, before Charlie could hang up. "What did you want?" Call it some weird twin sense thingy, but Kate could tell Charlie wasn't right.
"Oh uh..just you know, wondered if you were about for a chat but if you're busy then it can wait."
"They just missed Maddox, he must have left not a minute before they got there. I'll be at the loft in twenty," Kate promised and she heard Charlie's sigh of relief. She might be trying to put on a brave face but Kate could see right through it, Charlie obviously didn't want to say much over the phone but it was clear something was wrong.
"Everything okay?" Castle asked once their call had ended.
"I'm not sure," Beckett admitted. "Charlie's at your place, said she wanted to talk to me but didn't say why..she sounded upset though so I'm going to go and see if she's okay."
"She's at our place," Castle emphasised with a pointed look, "and okay, I'm meeting Alexis for lunch, you go and check on Charlie and ask who she needs me to beat up."
Kate rolled her eyes at him. "She's not 15 you know. And besides, I'm the one with the gun," she pointed out with a grin.
Eighteen minutes later by Beckett's timing, she had parked her police cruiser in it's spot near Castle's - their - apartment building and was in the elevator to meet Charlie. It wasn't often Beckett women admitted they needed someone to talk to so Kate was a little worried at what was up with her sister.
The second Kate saw Charlie sat on the doorstep, tears streaming down her face, she began to think it might be a good thing that she had a gun - whoever had made her sister cry like this better have a damn good explanation.
"Charlie?" Beckett called out as she hurried down the hallway to the apartment.
"Hey, Kate," Charlie replied, glancing up and smiling weakly. "Thanks for coming. I know you're busy-"
"And I'm also your twin sister, don't you think I know when something's up? Come on, let's get inside and I'll make us a drink while you tell me what the hell is going on." Castle would be proud of how calm she was being when all she really wanted to do was demand to know who had upset Charlie so she could hunt them down.
Settling down on the couch with a hot chocolate and marshmallows each, Kate looked to her sister, about to explode from having to wait for an explanation for so long. "What the hell is going on, Char?"
"It's Ethan," Charlie sobbed out. "We had a massive argument and I think I screwed things up bad.."
Welcome to my world, Kate thought to herself. "Oh honey, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think! Do you wanna tell me what happened?"
Charlie thought for a moment before nodding. "I stayed at his last night and then he left for work early this morning. Once I was up, I headed back to my apartment but left my cell at his by accident. I found out later that he'd been trying to call me and was worried when I didn't answer." Charlie took a deep breath and continued. "Anyway, I did some washing and dusted the place down a bit before heading back to Ethan's. I was going to make his favourite for dinner and I wanted to see what I needed to go out and buy first. But when I got back, he was already there, pacing a hole in the goddamned floor..I mean seriously, I'm not a kid, I just forgot my phone! So then he asks where I've been and why I wasn't answering..god, he was so angry with me..I tried to explain but he said it wasn't good enough, said I knew how anxious he was over this whole Maddox thing and that he even hated leaving me in his bed when he went to work and yet I went out and didn't even tell him."
Kate wanted to say that Ethan had a point, she knew Maddox had to be getting angry by now that he wasn't getting anywhere, Ethan was crazy about Charlie and Beckett was in no doubt that the guy would be in pieces if anything happened to her sister. However, she didn't interrupt, she just let Charlie carry on.
"So of course I tell him he's overacting and it wasn't like I was purposely ignoring him, I just left my cell on the kitchen counter for crying out loud! But that..well me defending myself just made him more angry and he starts saying all this crap about how I obviously don't care about myself as much as he cares about me and that I should have at least text to say I was going out because he worries about me whenever he isn't with me..god, he drives me crazy sometimes Kate, he's so freaking panicky about everything!"
This time Beckett did interrupt. "Charlie, the man is crazy about you and only a couple of weeks ago you were taken hostage by the man who tried to kill me - how can you expect Ethan not to worry?"
"You're supposed to be on my side," Charlie grumbled, a sure-fire way of knowing she thought Kate was right.
"I'm not taking sides," Beckett explained. "From what you've said, Ethan may have overreacted slightly but I think you did too. The man just wants to keep you safe, Charlie, nothing wrong with that." It didn't go unnoticed by Beckett that what she was saying to Charlie was exactly what she needed someone to say to her every time Castle did something to protect her that she got angry with.
"I just..I've never seen him like that, Kate," she whispered. "What if he never talks to me again?"
Charlie could give Castle a run for his money when it came to being over dramatic, that was for sure. "Don't be silly," she laughed. "He just needs some time to cool off and then the two of you can talk and have incredible make up sex."
That put a grin on Charlie's face. "Thank you, Kate," she said sincerely. "I literally didn't know what to do after the argument and this is just where I ended up."
"Anytime, sis," Kate smiled. "You know that."
Beckett's phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out with a smile, expecting to see a lovey-dovey text from Castle; what she saw instead made her blood run cold.
'So close and yet so far, better luck next time Beckett!' It read, and it came from an unknown number.
A/N: thoughts?
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