Author's Note: Okay, so I got this idea and I just couldn't let it go. I have no idea if anyone else will be interested in this piece at all, but when I had the idea to combine two of my favoritest things in the world- Castle and Vampires- I just couldn't not write this story. So yeah, this story takes place in the beginning of season two, episode 6- Vampire Weekend, obviously- and it goes AU very shortly into the Ep. It's based on the premise that Crow actually was a Vampire and some of our Favorite Castle characters get turned. I know, lame, but like I said, I couldn't not write it! Don't Hate!

Lanie Parish prepared to remove the stake from the boy's chest. She loved her job- she loved the routine, the checklists and she loved finding those elusive little details that led to the capture of a killer. But it still amazed her, the things that people did to each other. This boy on her slab had barely begun living his life and someone had ended it with a wooden stake through his heart.

Castle walked into the room then and saw what Lanie was preparing to do. "Woh woh woh…" he called, holding up a staying hand, as he rushed toward her.

"What is wrong?" she demanded, her typical attitude fully in place.

"If he's a vampire and you pull that out," he informed her, no hint of joking in his voice. "He comes back to life."

"If he does, then we can all go home early."

She brushed him off and got a good grip again on the stake. The sound the stake made coming out of the boy's body was truly sickening, but Lanie was used to it. Castle on the other hand was looking a bit sick. To distract the poor guy, Lanie said, "See, Castle? There's no such thing as real vampires."

"You keep telling yourself that," Rick challenged, the seriousness behind his joking well masked. "And when he's reanimated, I'll just tell you 'I told you so.'"

Lanie rolled her eyes, not bothering to make a reply to that, and she turned to set the disembodied stake on a tray.

Castle, though, continued to study the body. He was staring so hard, he thought he saw the body move.

"Lanie, look!" Castle called urgently.

She turned to him, panicked and asked, "What?"

"The body just moved!"

Lanie scoffed. "Very funny, Castle."

"I'm serious!" As he watched and as Lanie turned away again, the corpse's chest rose and fell in a quick gasping breath. "It just moved again."

"Knock it off, Castle," she said, not bothering to look at him again. "You're not as funny as you look."

"Lanie, please," Rick said in a new tone, totally ignoring her jab. It was a tone that scared Lanie more than the start she'd received when Castle had barged through the door moments ago. "I saw the chest move. And look, the wound was definitely bigger a minute ago."

Lanie turned to examine the body again, not noticing any odd movements. She reached for a measuring device and held it to the wound.

Lanie frowned. "That can't be right," she muttered. She turned back to the stake and adjusted the device around the tip of the wood. Then she removed the stake and held the measurement over the wound. The hole was smaller than the stake by only millimeters, but enough to make Lanie repeat, "That can't be right."

As Lanie and Rick watched, the hole closed by another millimeter, healing itself at a rapid pace.

Both of them leaned closer to watch the wound close up even more, quickly removing all signs of trauma around the edges.

They had leaned so close to the body that when they finally looked up at each other to confirm what they were witnessing, their noses were nearly touching.

Crow's hand suddenly shot out, clamped around Lanie's neck and the woman was just able to think- in the midst of a wave of panic- this guy's amazingly strong for a corpse.

"Lanie!" Rick called, reaching out to claw at the hand cutting into the woman's throat.

Rick struggled to free her, feeling helpless as he watched his friend fighting for air. He barely managed to peel back a single fingertip, when the corpse's other arm shot out and slammed into Castle's chest, sending him flying across the room.

The crack of his skull hitting the tiled walls echoed through the ominous silence of the room.

Despite the pain- the throbbing ache in his head- Castle fought his own body to get back to Lanie- to help her.

He dragged himself up and moved toward the table, at the same time the corpse sat up, drawing Lanie's limp body onto the table with him.

Crow's corpse buried its face in the crook of Lanie's neck, and totally ignored Castle, who was now approaching from behind. Not knowing what else to do, Castle grabbed the heaviest object he could find- a grotesque looking saw- and bashed Crow over the head with it. But all that Castle succeeded in doing was displacing the guy's head by mere inches and eliciting a growl from the animated corpse.

When Crow finally released Lanie's body, the crack her head made as it hit the floor made Castle wince.

Crow's terrible, glowing purple eyes turned toward Castle and narrowed in anger. He lifted his hand to the back of his head- to the spot Castle had hit as opposed to the spot the tombstone had hit the night before- and when his fingertips came away bloody, Crow growled again.

"You'll pay for that," Crow promised, swinging his legs over the edge of the stainless steel bench. "In blood."

Crow hopped to the floor, completely oblivious- or uncaring- to his nudity, and began stalking toward Castle.

Rick barely noted that the gaping chest wound was nearly gone now- just a small pinkish spot of puckered skin on the boy's chest- before he realized he should run now.

But a glance at Lanie's inert body on the floor made him pause. She needed him- she needed medical attention- and Castle couldn't just abandon her with Crow. There was no way to get to her, though, except through Crow.

"What have you done to her?" Rick asked and was a bit proud of himself when his voice didn't crack.

Crow's intent gaze finally flickered away from Castle, a flash of guilt quickly crossing his face. "I needed her blood," he said. "And now I need some of yours." The guilt was totally gone now, as Crow advanced again on Castle.

Trying to think quick but unable to think of a better plan, Rick darted around Crow, desperate to get to Lanie.

But Crow was faster.

The boy's hand flashed out in an invisibly quick movement and the next thing Castle knew, Crow was choking him and pulling him closer.

Rick wasn't dumb. Shocked, yes. Surprised, in pain and scared? Yes, yes, and hell yes. Even though, in the real world, it shouldn't have been possible, Rick knew Crow really was a vampire. And he was about to steal Rick's blood, as quickly and as painfully as the boy had just taken Lanie Parish.

*.*.*.*

The morgue was silent, nothing moving, the two lone occupants barely even breathing.

Suddenly, Billy Idol's voice began belting out Hot In The City. But no one jumped at the sound; no one moved to answer the phone call.

Instead, Richard Castle lay on his back, stretched out over the stainless steel table usually reserved for the dead. His pants were missing, as well as his shirt, leaving him naked save for his dark boxer briefs. Although, Crow had been kind enough to leave behind the wallet- minus cash, of course- and phone that Castle had been carrying in his pockets. Crow had also been kind enough to relocate ME Lanie Parish from her uncomfortable, crumpled position on the floor. Fully clothed, Lanie's body was nonetheless draped over Castle's, her head pillowed on his chest.

And that was how Detective Kate Beckett found them, an hour later.