An undercover case plunges Kate into the violent world of a Russian drug ring. How will it affect her blossoming relationship with Castle?

Rated T for language, violence, and sexual situations.

I own nothing and won't make a dime off of this but it was certainly fun to write. Thank you to Andrew Marlowe and company for making these characters come alive in my head.

*Special thanks to my incredible beta team of NathanFan, Whatarushh, and Lady Brenlis. Without you this story probably wouldn't exist and it certainly wouldn't be as good. Thank you!

Chapter 1-

...

The first thing she remembers is the feel of him on top of her in the van. The sharp pain as his knees dug into her thighs, pinning her down. How her arms felt like lead when she took a swing at him. The strange sound her head made as it fell back hitting the metal floor. Then it all went black.

There was the vague sense of falling. Stairs? She can't quite recall, her mind still fuzzy. But now she's aware of a shooting pain in her legs and a loud voice piercing through her headache.

"Katya baby. Enough nap time. Prosnut'sya."

Consciousness slowly filters back as she realizes the voice is speaking a mix of English and Russian. The case! She's working the case. Her eyes pop open at the thought and her world spins . Where the hell is she? Why was she so damn dizzy and why can't she pull her hands down from above her head?

"There's a good girl. Papa's missed you." The tone completely belied the friendliness of the words.

.

***Two days earlier***

Where was that oregano? Rick Castle was searching through his kitchen trying to locate the errant spice. He hated when his mother cooked. Actually he usually appreciated the effort but he could never find anything afterwards. Why she was still cooking in his kitchen after moving in with Chet was a mystery he wasn't going to try and solve. Especially when what he really needed was oregano.

"Aha!" he said aloud to no one. The spice, sitting next to a bottle of sherry instead of its assigned place on the spice rack. He was making his famous chicken cacciatore for Kate tonight. With a heavy caseload, Alexis diligently studying for midterms, and mother's frequent visits, the evenings spent at his place had been few and were usually family events. Although he liked it when she spent time with his family, Castle found himself really looking forward to some alone time with his favorite detective in the comfort of his own home.

Answering his phone, "So are you on your way?" He saw it was her before answering and couldn't keep the giddy anticipation out of his voice. What he heard on the other end was anything but giddy.

"No and I'm sorry."

At least she managed to sound almost as disappointed as he felt hearing her words. "A case?" He sighed. His voice sounded a bit pathetic even to him but he wanted her here.

"Sort of. Its actually an old case and I'm afraid its coming back to haunt me in ways I never expected."

.

***2 hours before dinner***

Kate Beckett sat at her desk finishing up her paperwork as quickly as she could. Rick was making dinner tonight, at his place. With non-stop cases, they hadn't had a lot of time to spend together recently and she was looking forward to the casual time alone as much as he was. Of course she was a little more reserved about showing it. Then again there were times that a ten year old could be more reserved than Rick Castle but she had to admit there were days when she found it charming. Castle always seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve. She was only just starting to realize that she might be holding a piece of it.

Shaken from her daydream, an officer she didn't recognize headed into Capt. Montgomery's office. Not that unusual. Just enough to get her focused on finishing her paperwork, until she noticed both men glancing at her through the window. Now what was that about? Esposito wandered over and sat on the edge of her desk. He watched the office as he spoke to Beckett.

"What do you think that's all about?" he echoed her thoughts.

"I don't know." Beckett responded, her curiosity was equally piqued.

"They've looked at you three times already and Montgomery doesn't look happy. What did you do?" Half teasing her.

"Got me but it looks like I'm about to find out."

Esposito looked over to see Montgomery opening his door and calling for Beckett to come in.

"Sir?"

"Shut the door," was the only response. His brow furrowed in a way that made Kate wary. "This is Lt. Casey. "

Kate and the Lieutenant shook hands. "What can we do for you today Lieutenant?" She straightened her shoulders trying to quell any signs of anxiousness. Silently wondering why he was here and what this had to do with her.

"Casey came in to talk to me about a previous case you worked on Beckett. And how they may need your help to close it, again."