Castle: Locked out

Chapter 2

"Don't you want to go to the Police Department?" He asked, as if he wanted to get rid of me.

"No. I want to eat lunch with you." I say sternly but smile. Why was he doing this?

"Ok, then." Castle said annoyed. He looked down at me, and narrows his glance.

"What's the matter?" I ask, and touch his shoulders in worry. He quickly shakes me off and doesn't look me in the eyes.

"Nothing. Now let's eat lunch." He turns to leave at waves at Espo and Ryan.

I hurry up to him: this was not him... What was going on?

"Oh, ok then. You want to play this game?" I ask him rhetorically. I hated this already.

"What game, Kate?" He stresses his voice and I can see anger and sadness in his eyes. I immediately regret my stupid question.

We walk a few meters in silence, when I've had enough. Where was my beloved Castle?

"You know what? I'm going to work, because you are being... not yourself!" I snap and turn around.

"Wait! Kate!" He says, and hear him coming back; my Castle.

"Yes?" I say hopeful and softly. But suddenly his expression changes back and he just shakes his head and turns to leave. 

I do the same, and hurry up the cold streets of NY.

---

"Beckett!" Gates snapped at me as I walk into the room. 

I turn my head slowly and answer in a careful voice: "Yes, Sir?" My eyes were low, and my body was slumming down. 

"In my office. Now!" Her sharp voice gave me a headache, and as I hurried down to her office I realised that I missed Castle already.

"We can't have Castle involved in this case." She said, suddenly soft and understanding.

"Why?" I reply worriedly. 

"Well.. Lanie has found something. Something you should talk to her about." Why was Gates suddenly so careful and nice?

"Ehm. Ok, then," I pause and glance behind me; I felt like Castle was near me, and I didn't know why.

"Sir." She corrected me, and all the sharpness was back.

"Sir." I repeated, and quickly flew out of the room.

---

Ring. Ring. Ring. 

I look to my phone, Castle's name keeps flashing up, but right now I didn't want to talk to him. I also hadn't had the courage to go to Lanie; I have been dreading it all day. 

"Beckett, we have the info about Claire." Ryan pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Ok, what are they?" I ask distanly.

"Well, she is 21 years old. None of her family and friends have an idea who could have killed her. She works in a small coffeeshop in Manhattan, not far from her and Alejandro's apartment." Ryan quickly reads off his notes from his papers. His hands fly up and down the board as he writes it on the white board.

"Isn't that young to be married?" Espo interupts.

"Yeah, yeah. Just because you are a life-long single." Ryan joked, and looked down to his wedding ring.

" 'Cause its just the best possiblitly?" Espo let his head hang to the right, and punched Ryan slightly in the shoulder.

I try to tune out everything as I point to Ryan and say: "Well, can you question her co-workers? I'm going to go down to Lanie." With that said I turn around and run to the elevator.

"Beckett?" Ryan calls me and I know what he must think: something is wrong. Well, it was, but there was no chance that I would tell him or Espo. Nothing against them, they were like my brothers, but I had the feeling I should keep quiet. 

---

The elevator doors slide open, and I flashback to all the wonderful moments in this elevator. Castle and me standing so close that we are nearly touching, and we could feel the electric tension between us. 

But now, without Castle it was just an elevator. Just. an. Elevator.

The doors slide open again, and I step into the dark hallway.

"Lanie?" I call into it, trying to banish the darkness.

I could here her light voice from somewhere, and I run to her.

"Kate!" I see her voice reach for me. 

"God, Lanie. I'm so worried. What's going on?" I ask, being torn between shouting or crying. 

"Kate. It is going to be ok. Just sit down." She points to one of the steel stuhls standing against the white unpersonal wall.

I nod and let my body sack together on the chair. 

"Claire is Castle's daughter." 

Lanie's voice echoed to my head, but the message wasn't arriving on time. Alexis was Castle's only daughter. Alexis is Castle's only daughter. I kept chanting it in my head, but I couldn't hide the truth from myself.

"How?" I ask, but Lanie just raised her eyebrows and pointed at the DNA strands. 

My body started shaking, and my sight began to blurr. My Castle. My love. Why? 

"Kate!" Lanie began to shout and shake my arms, but I wasn't listening or responding. I was away. Away in a place where everything was dark. Where I could hide from the biting truth.