Richard Castle couldn't blame him at first. He knew better than anyone the effect Kate Beckett had in men. So when she caught the eye of a barista at the coffee shop closest to the precinct, he thought nothing of it. Kate didn't even seem to notice him. At first.

It was innocent. The new barista, Owen complimented her eyes. She thanked him but paid no attention to it. Neither did Castle, something he deeply regretted now. But men were always throwing themselves at her. What would make him think anything out of the ordinary?

The next day the barista had her order memorized and waiting for her even if that meant he had skipped other customers to get hers first. Castle was slightly irritated that Owen had memorized her drink order. That was his thing. But he took comfort in the fact that Owen didn't grab her a bear claw. Amateur.

But the next day flowers arrived at Kate's desk. Castle felt the prickle of jealousy but kept reminding himself that Kate barely seemed to notice. He knew she wasn't impressed by flowers or materialistic things. He prided himself on knowing her better than Owen. Probably better than any man.

Then the constant phone calls at the precinct started. They got so consistent that Beckett had to unplug the landline phone on her desk. The receptionist started to sigh in annoyance every time she had to deliver another message left by Owen. Still, Castle felt nothing but pity for the poor guy. Kate's appearance had turned his world upside down when he first met her. He understood that primal need to be near her, to be the cause of a smile on her face. After all, wasn't her appearance what drew him to work with her in the first place?

Then Owen started showing up wherever Kate was. If she stopped at an ATM he was behind her in line. When she went to work out he was lifting weights. Even at her local bodega he had come in while she was picking up a late night dinner.

But two days ago was when things changed. He saw the gift box in the trash the minute he got to Beckett's desk. When he'd asked about it she told him to leave it alone. She was so stern that he was terrified to cross her. But he knew her well enough to know that tough cookie exterior was crumbling.

When she went to the bathroom he couldn't resist, his overprotective nature kicking in. There, inside the gift box was lingerie that even made him blush and a note that simply read "soon."

Castle felt his anger boiling over.

"Beckett—" he started when she returned. She immediately knew the reason behind his tone.

"Dammit, Castle! You looked! I knew you wouldn't respect my wishes…"

"I won't apologize for worrying about you. And this… I mean, this is bad…"

"I've had persistent men before," she rolled her eyes. There was something in her delivery of the sentence that made him wonder just how many persistent men she'd had. And how persistent.

He felt that overprotectiveness boiling over again.

"How about a mid-morning pick me up? Coffee and a bear claw?" He tried.

Kate wrinkled her nose in a way that Castle found endearing. "Actually, I might skip the coffee…"

"Because of Owen?" He pressed gently. He knew if he came at her too strongly her guard would go up. He'd spent two years trying to break down those walls and he wasn't trying to take steps back. "We can go somewhere else," he offered.

Kate shook her head. "I'm not afraid, Castle," she lied, "but even thinking of coffee makes me think of Owen. I just need all this Owen noise to quiet down. Does that make sense?"

"What if we get your mind off things? My mother and Alexis went to the spa, on my dime of course… you could come by tonight we'll have dinner and maybe some wine?"

Kate smiled the first smile he had seen from her in days. She nodded softly. "That would be great."

When she arrived at his doorstep he immediately noticed she was wearing flats instead of heels, something that never happened. She wore a white sweater that clung to all the right places and maroon corduroy pants. Her hair was in a messy bun. But more than that, he noticed her eyes were red and puffy. The tip of her nose was red. She'd been crying.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? What is it?" Castle wrapped an arm over her shoulders and lead her into his lavish home.

Kate shook her head. Although she kept her head down to avoid eye contact, he noticed the few tears that fell off her cheeks.

"Kate, please. You've gotta let me help you. Whatever it is—"

"He was in my house, Castle."

"Owen?"

Kate nodded. "He… touched stuff… he took things… my things… it's…" she trailed off, sobs taking over where words had failed.

"What did he take?" Castle asked, his voice icy.

"He took photos of my mom and me," she choked out. "Those are… they're personal… I can't—"

"I know," Castle pulled her into a hug. She didn't fight it, she almost instantly burst into tears, collapsing in his arms. "He stole… he stole…"

"What is it?" He watched as she but her lip nervously as if she didn't know whether to tell him or not.

"He stole all my undergarments," her face was bright red as she spoke, embarrassed to admit it. "My bras, my panties, they're all gone."

"You're staying with me," Castle said sternly. "No arguments. You aren't going back there."

"Okay," she agreed after a long silence.

That's when Castle knew without a shadow of a doubt.

Kate was afraid.