Castle and Beckett: Always

Chapter 32

It had been three weeks since Kate went to see Dr. Burke for the first time, and today was the day she was going back to work. Castle groaned when the alarm went off that morning, and Kate didn't blame him. She got out of bed, and went to go feed the twins. Once she fed them, she pumped some milk into a few bottles, so her dad could feed the twins while they were at work. She walked down the stairs to see Castle cooking pancakes and dicing fruit. Kate smiled when she saw what he was making, and went into the bedroom to get dressed. After they ate, her dad, Jim, rang the doorbell. He was today's babysitter. Kate showed him where everything was, and her and Castle left to go to the precinct. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Beckett walked straight to Gates' office to retrieve her badge and gun. Once she got them, she sat down at her desk and began filling out some paperwork that was left there. "Hey Beckett," called Ryan from the breakroom. "I just got a call about a case."

At the crime scene.....

"Hey Lanie," said Beckett. "Hey girl, how are you doing?" asked Lanie. "I'm alright, but I miss my children already," she replied. "I completely understand," Lanie replied sympathetically. "Do you have a cause of death for me?" Kate asked. "Yeah, the gsw to the chest. He bled out in seconds," said Lanie. "Victim's name is Josh Green. He works at the law firm down the street," said Esposito. "Alright, you and Ryan head over there, Castle and I will run phones and financials," said Beckett. "Okay," he replied.

At the precinct.....

"Why do we have to run phones and financials?" complained Castle. "Well, incase I start having flashbacks again, I don't want to be killed if the killer is at the law firm," whispered Kate. "Oh, that's good thinking," said Castle. "Sorry for complaining." "That's alright," she replied. Esposito and Ryan came over to Beckett and sat down. Just as they did, Ryan's phone rang and he stepped aside to take the call. "The law firm said that our victim took the last two weeks off from work, and they have no idea who could have killed him. I had them give me a list of all the cases he worked on in the last year incase it's relevant," said Esposito. "Good idea," replied Beckett. "Can I see the list?" "Yeah," replied Espo and he handed it over. She took the list and put in under the suspect column on the murder board. Ryan came back and said, "That was Lanie, she said that she found cuts on our victim's back. They were made by this." He put a photo of a scalpel on the murder board not thinking about how it might affect Kate. When she saw the photo, Kate fell to the floor and started violently shaking. "Ryan take down that photo," ordered Castle. Ryan quickly took it down and put it under a few stacks of files. Kate was having a really bad flashback and began to scream drawing the attention of everyone in the precinct. Gates came out of her office to see what was happening at the same time as Castle pulled Kate up into his lap and tried to calm her down. She was still screaming a little, with tears streaming down her face, and her eyes clamped shut. Castle pressed his lips against Kate's instantly calming her down. Kate stopped shaking, screaming, and crying instantly when she felt his lips on hers. She opened her eyes and saw everyone in the precinct looking at her including Gates. Kate blushed and felt like she wanted to die in a hole. Castle helped her back in her chair and she started to shuffle papers trying to get people to stop looking at her. Gates went back into her office, and Ryan said, "Sorry Kate I wasn't thinking." "It's okay Kev, you didn't know," she replied. "So what were you saying?" "Our victim had injuries on her back sustained about four hours before she died," said Ryan. "Alright, so he was probably held hostage somewhere. Let's look at Josh Green's credit card records to see where he might have been when he was taken," said Beckett.

"Detective Beckett, a word," said Gates as she poked her head of her office. Kate took Castle's hand and said, "Come with me." He nodded and the two of them walked hand and hand into Gates' office. "Sir?" asked Beckett after she walked in and shut the door. "Sit down," Gates said. Once they were seated she said, "Explain to me what happened out there." Kate didn't answer she just looked Castle in the eyes and he could tell she wanted him to talk. "Ryan put a photo of a scalpel on the board, and she started having flashbacks of when she was abducted and tortured," said Castle. "So it has happened before?" asked Gates. "Yeah probably about thirty times," answered Castle. "Detective under these circumstances you shouldn't be working," said Gates. "Sir, please let me continue to work. I neeeed to be here. It is the only way I'll be able to heal," begged Beckett. After about thirty seconds of silence Gates spoke and she said, "I will let you continue to work cases, but you CAN NOT do anything but work from your desk." "Okay, thank you sir," said Beckett as her and Castle stood up to leave. "Mr. Castle can I speak to you for a second?" asked Gates. "Yes sir," said Castle. Kate left the office and sat down at her desk. "Is she in therapy?" Gates asked. "Yeah, she has been since the day after she was released from the hospital," replied Castle. "Truthfully, do you think Beckett is okay to work from inside this building?" Gates asked. "I think she will be fine. I believe that getting back into a routine will help her move on like after her shooting. Kate has improved a lot, she just needs a little more time. I mean a few weeks ago, she freaked out over a pen," said Castle. "I know you care about your wife, so I want you to let me know if you ever feel she shouldn't be working," said Gates. "Yes sir," replied Castle, and he left her office, and sat down next to his wife.