"Ouch…ou…ou…ouch…"

"Castle, will you knock it off?"

He'd waited for that gorgeous smile to reappear before giving up on the theatrical display that was his attempt at reaching for another glass of wine.

Surely, he was hurting all over after the events of the day. But he wasn't hurt enough to spend some quality time with the woman that complimented his life in ways he could have never imagined, whether she was aware of it or not.

Sprawled out on the expensive couch, with a plethora of pillows around to keep him as comfortable as possible; the writer had patiently endured Alexis' fussing until it was time for her to go to a movie with friends, a fortunate event that would give Castle some much needed one-on-one time with a certain detective.

"Sorry…sorry, I was just trying to get more wine…to…you know…ease the pain."

"You were the one who signed the AMA form. They could have taken you in and have you checked out. Especially your head.", she teased in return, joining in on a sip of cabernet.

"You know, you have the strangest way of showing affection. Rough around the edges, and yet the subtleties of your caring aren't overshadowed by your brusqueness of your outer shell. I like it."

His cheeky comment earned him another sideways glance and Castle chuckled, desperately trying to push the frightening memories of the crash out of his mind.

Sure, sure, they were all laughing about it now, but things could have easily turned out different.

Heartbreakingly different.

Still, a man was dead and a killer left at large; none of which made him feel any better about the situation.

The only bright light he'd seen shine through the terror-filled last few hours was that the team was once again coming through for one another, Ryan eagerly volunteering to stay with Esposito for the night to make sure he was alright, and Beckett…well, Beckett spending some time with him.

Perhaps it had taken that sudden, unplanned brush with death that had helped them all come to realize what truly mattered at the end of the day.

It had also washed away some of the resentment that he'd been harboring toward her when it came to the development of their relationship. While he had treated it like a tender blossom and slowly inched his way into her life, she'd more than once brusquely pushed him away, acting as though they barely knew one another.

And yet all of that was gone when she came to the scene of the accident, the love and relief in her eyes so obvious that it had set those negative feelings in the back of his mind to rest.

Beckett's phone ringing brought him out of his subdued state of reflection, and he looked up in time to meet her worried glace as she held the cell to her ear.

"Beckett?"

He could make out bits and pieces of the words being said on the other line, all of them going along with a certain detective's obvious disappointment.

"Thank you very much. Yes, we will. Please send that info over to my department. Thanks."

With a heavy exhale, she pushed the phone back into the rear pocket of her skintight jeans, then shook her head in unspoken ire.

"The plate CSU was able to decipher from the traffic camera footage came back to a vehicle that was stolen eight months ago from the east side of town. The original owner said somebody stole it right out of his driveway. I guess that puts us at a standstill."

"Mhm."

Letting the new information sink in, Castle took another sip of wine, allowing the liquid to sit in his mouth for a moment as he struggled to vocalize the question his busy brain had already formulated.

Did it seem logical for somebody to steal a car and then use it to lure unsuspecting women into his lair, knowing that police would be looking for it? Or was the theft a convenient cover-up to the nefarious crime, putting the past owner into the crosshairs of their current investigation?

Noting the creases in Beckett's forehead and the rings forming under her eyes, he decided to leave the question unsaid for tonight, giving the team he cared so much about a few hours of much needed rest.