If you know what is going on in the case just skip the overview.

Quick Case Overview:

Mrs. Azoulay, a flight attendant, was found murdered in the park by Mr. Bush, a homeless man. They canvassed the area and found the murder weapon. It was a tree branch with a piece of Mrs. Azoulay's hair on it. Her phone and wallet are still missing but they found on her a disk with flight schedules and hotel reservations. They questioned Mr. Flyer the man who gave out the flight schedules but he claimed not to know Mrs. Azoulay personally. They question her co-workers: Mr. Rodgers, Mrs. Pryer, and Mr. Webb. Then they asked her ex- husband, Mr. Turner and his girlfriend, Tracey

Mr. Rodgers was Ms. Azoulay's friend. He claimed to be at the bar with Mrs. Pryer the whole night. Mrs. Azoulay invited Mrs. Pryer to share a hotel room with her when she found out Mrs. Pryer didn't have a place stay. Mrs. Pryer confirmed that Mr. Rodgers was with her in the bar. Mr. Webb, the pilot had nothing to add because he didn't really know know her.

Mr. Turner had met up with Ms. Azoulay at around eight the night she was killed. They were in the same park and after an accidental kiss they both shared. They said their goodbyes and walked away. A few minutes later Mr. Turner was seen on a store's surveillance camera arguing with his girlfriend.

Tracey was suspicious with the way he was that week so she followed him to the park. She identified Mr. Rodgers near the park and showed them that there might be holes in his story. Kate pushed Mr. Rodgers until he finally confessed that Mrs. Pryer was too drunk to notice him leave the bar and admitted that he was indeed in the park watching Ms. Azoulay because she looked nervous about meeting her ex in the park. He claims that he didn't kill Ms. Azoulay and he didn't say he was in the park because he knew it would look bad. Mr. Rodgers was the last person that they know of to see Ms. Azoulay alive. Without solid evidence and a full confession the charges against him would never stick in court. Castle pushed Kate to look into the hotel on the disk. Castle was hoping that maybe someone like Mr. Rodgers had a reservation for a room there.

Several kisses later Kate looked at her watch and said,"I have to go. Its getting late and tomorrow I have to wake up early. That reminds me, did you have a chance to look at the papers I gave you?"

Castle shook his head no. "I thought you said you were going to look at it tonight," She said, upset that he wasn't being responsible.

"The night isn't over yet. Don't worry I still have tons of time left."

Kate shook her head in disapproval and said with anger, "This isn't on of your books where you could procrastinate. This is serious. I can't believe your doing this to my case."

Castle couldn't make sense of the sudden mood change but knew from experience that he would have to approach this with caution."Will it make you feel better if I got the papers from my office and looked them over right now?" Castle asked. Castle breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her mood lighten from the suggestion. They both made way for his office. He opened the door and spotted the shining smart board. Shit! He forgot to turn off the damn thing. He lunged for the off button but there was no point. From the look on Kate's face, he knew she saw it all.

"Castle, what the hell is that"

"It's a smart board," Castle joked, using his humor to try and lighten the mood. But Kate rolled her eyes in response and grew even more impatient with him.

"Seriously! Castle, what was my mother's case doing up there?" Kate said a little confused. She didn't understand why he would hide something like this from her. She knew what she saw and his hesitation wasn't making it any better. "You told me not to look into the case because there wasn't any new evidence. Who was that guy at the top of the screen?" she asked coldly, searching his eyes for information.

She had caught him off guard. He never had the chance to make the perfect speech that would soothe her. He never thought she would get a glimpse of this before his theories and suspicions panned out. Castle stood there for his first time at a loss for words, trying to come up with a perfect explanation. Anything that would get him out of this mess.

"Look, it was your mom's case up there and there isn't any new evidence for your mom's case." Castle said slowly. Her eyes were still shooting daggers at him and he was forced to continue, "Honestly, I don't know who that man is."

"You don't know who that man is?" Kate scoffed," Then why the hell is he up there? For decoration? You know, I thought we were partners. I thought you would tell me when you found something, anything, even if it is small."

"Kate, please–" he wanted to beg her to stop asking questions.

"Goddammit, Castle! Who is the new man up there? Is he another clue in my mother's case?" she asked, growing impatient by his lack of words. This time no words were needed because his body language gave it all away. She could see him squirm and a look of betrayal flashed across Kate's face. She knew she hit it dead on. The squirming had confirmed it. Why wasn't he giving her straight answers and why was he hiding information from her?

"Kate, I'll answer all your questions, but I need you trust me when—"

"TRUST YOU? I think you're the one with the trust issues. If you trusted me you would have told me about the man on the board," she screamed, insulted and angry with the way he was acting. She quickly stormed out of the room and, before he could follow, grabbed her coat and scarf. She rushed out of the door, pausing and looking up for a second when she accidentally brushed her shoulder against a startled Alexis. She needed to get out of there fast. Needed some space and a quiet place to think, so instead of waiting for the elevator she rushed down the flights of stairs.

As soon as she hit the sidewalk, she finally allowed the threatening tears to stream down her face. The pouring rain had matched her crappy mood. She headed for her car with her keys in hand as the rain washed her tears from her face. She banged the steering wheel in frustration. How could she have been so stupid to think that Castle was the perfect man. She was so stupid for coming out here tonight. She should have drove straight home. Kate listened to the sounds of the rain falling on the hood of her car. They were as therapeutic as it had been earlier that night. Then a gut-wrenching feeling curled up in the bottom of her stomach. She had an amazing time tonight and wouldn't give a million dollars to take it back. Although Castle held many flaws she still could honestly say she still cared for him deeply. She made her way home, got into her apartment, and cried herself to sleep wondering what Castle's excuse was for keeping her out of the loop.

Castle lay restless in bed rolling from side to side. How could the night turn from perfect to disaster? He couldn't believe that she had said the three words, "I love you" just moments before only to have it crushed minutes later when she stormed out refusing to listen to him. He knew that she wouldn't be happy with him for keeping this information from her, but he always thought that he would be ready with good answers to her questions. He always thought that in the long run she would understand his reasonings, but he never got to explain himself. Women! he thought to himself frustrated, but Kate wasn't just any woman. Unlike his previous relationships, he was determined to make things work. This time he wasn't going to run away from the problems, but he was scared she was going to run from him. Castle dialed her number for the second time at one last attempt to reach her, but was left disappointed when his call went straight to voice mail.

Castle dozed off for a few minutes but awoke in a panic with sweats from his horrifying dream. It was the tenth time he has had that nightmare since Kate got shot. He watched the shocked look appear on Kate's face as the bullet hit her in the chest. They both fell to the ground in slow motion as he tackled her, trying to protect her. He placed his hands on her chest, trying to stop the dark red blood from oozing out of her chest and all over the freshly cut green grass. The sounds of the ambulance rushing over and the EMT's feet pounding on the grass. They pushed him away as they placed her on the gurney, taking her away from him. He didn't know if he would see her again alive. He would try running after them but his feet would refuse to move. They had taken her away. The woman he loved was gone. He ended up in the hospital and every time the doctors would come out saying, "she is dead."

The feeling of losing Kate never left Castle's mind. During the day he was able to mask those horrible feelings by touching her and seeing her breathe, but at night he had nowhere to hide those feelings and no one to hold. He laid there, watching the clock move closer and closer to six-thirty as his speeding heartbeat slowed down.

He got up and rummaged through his closet looking for a shirt he was in the mood to wear. His hand landed on a crisp red, wine colored button down shirt and a black suit jacket. Once he was dressed and had breakfast he kissed his worried daughter goodbye. When Alexis saw Kate run out last night she asked him what he had done this time to screw things up. "We just had a little argument," he told Alexis, "don't worry, everything will be okay." But she looked unconvinced. Even now, he could see the worried look in her eyes reflect in his eyes.

He headed out to the nearest Starbucks. If there was anything that could change Kate's mood, it was coffee. He headed for the precinct holding two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag filled with different types of bagel sandwiches because he was still unsure which type she preferred.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked lowly but sharply when she saw him him get off the elevator and head towards her desk. She was surprised to see him because she really expected him to come up with a lame excuse of why he couldn't show so he wouldn't have to face her after their argument. She looked around to make sure that everyone was concentrating on their own things.

"I came to bring you your daily cup of coffee," he said, placing the large cup of skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla on her desk. "I also promised you that I would look through these," he said, handing her a pile of pages that was marked in several places with a bright pink highlighter "and look what I found." The excitement shone all over his face.

Kate took the papers warily and glanced down at the papers before her, hiding the disbelief she felt. The fact that he was true to this small promise even after they fought had brought her some relief. Looking down, she saw that two areas were highlighted: one was the name for a booked room and the other had a billing name.

" I'll call for a warrant on the room, go down to the hotel, and just like he left a big trail here, hopefully he is dumb enough to leave some evidence as well." she said to herself but knew Castle heard her.

She knew he would pick up on the word "I" and not "we". She looked up at Castle with an ice cold look. He stood there with his mouth open, about to say something and then he shut it quickly. He may have found the clue that would end the case, but she was still upset with him. She still needed time away from him and she was about to tell him to go home.

"I brought you something else," he said opening up a brown bag, "I wasn't sure what type you would like so I bought. "he pulled out a few bagels wrapped in white paper and continued, "tuna with lettuce, cream cheese, eggs, and cheese with tomatoes."

Esposito walked up to them and looked from Kate to Castle. Kate had her killer eyes on, but seeing the food Castle brought, Esposito cut in and asked, grabbing a bagel from Castle, "You got us all breakfast?"

"Actually that's for..." Castle started.

"Me." Kate said, taking the cream cheese bagel from Esposito. Castle was always thoughtful and she almost felt bad for what she said next, "Castle came to bring us breakfast and to say sorry. He has to leave for the rest of the day. "She made sure to avoid Castle's face. She would cave and let him join them if she saw the look on his face. Focusing her eyes on the pages before her, she said to Esposito, "You could have one of the other bagels and once you have picked a bagel we're gonna take a ride to the FTowns Hotel. We may have something to go on now." Esposito mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he took the bag from Castle and headed over to his partner.

"Come on, Kate, You gotta let me come with you! I was the one who gave you the clue," Castle whined with big puppy dog eyes.

"You're not gonna go away are you?" she asked, sighing loudly in resignation. "You could come as long as you promise not to talk."

"Okay," Castle said as a wide smile spread across his face. Kate lifted her eye-brow and smirked at him. "Starting now." He pinched his thumb and pointer fingers together and swept them across his lips as if he was pretending to zip them.

They all left the precinct and headed for the hotel. Castle was tempted to speak during the long ride, but he didn't want to add any more reasons for her to be angry with him. Was singing talking? he thought to himself but then he thought better of it. Castle settled for humming Shut Up and Drive by Rhianna and enjoyed receiving the annoyed eye-roll from Kate.

"I'm sorry, Detective, but I can't give you the key to that room unless I see a warrant," The woman at the desk said.

Beckett looked at her phone, frustrated that the call with the warrant hadn't come through yet. She was promised that she would have it in a few minutes, but a few was now close to fifteen. Jokingly Beckett said to the receptionist, "The warrant is being processed right now. Can't you just bend the rule this time and give me the key?"

"I would love to do that for you, but my boss is hardcore about the rules. You being part of the police, I thought you would understand and respect the rules."

Defeated, Kate dialed a number on her phone once again and impatiently demanded for an explanation on why it was taking so long to receive the damn warrant. Seconds later, they all piled into the elevator with the key to the hotel room.

Mrs. Azoulay's second hotel room was just as spotless as her first one. Beckett wandered into the bathroom at one last attempt to find something. Just when she was about to give up, she looked under the tank of the toilet lid. She had hit the jackpot. She picked up the items with her blue colored gloved hands and placed them in plastic bags that Castle held wide open. A man's white shirt, and a small black jacket that held a wallet and a cell phone were all stuffed together in a red puddle of water. Now with the new evidence, there was only one other person who had access to this room, the man who paid for it.

Back at the precinct they reviewed the surveillance tape that showed Mr. Flyer running to the room at nine with a small black jacket in hand, wearing a white shirt with a big blood stain on it. His coat was tugged close to his body, but the stain remained visible. The items found in the tank behind the toilet matched the ones on the screen. They only had to wait a few more minutes before Mr. Flyer showed up.

"I don't understand why I'm here. I already gave you all the information I know about Ms. Azoulay," Mr. Flyer said, taking a seat in the chair opposite of Beckett.

"We are just going over the events of the night, trying to piece everything together. Just to get this straight, how well did you know Ms. Azoulay?"

"I told you I didn't know her".

"If you didn't know her, why were you paying for her hotel room at FTowns Hotel?" Kate said, showing Mr. Flyer the highlighted billing paper with his name on it and the room reservation with her name on it.

"Those have to be wrong. There must be a mistake somewhere, "Mr. Flyer said nervously, shaking his left foot.

"We both know that these aren't wrong. We searched the hotel room and found the phone Ms. Azoulay used the night she was murdered. along with her wallet and your bloody clothes," Kate said, watching his face grow pale.

"I want a lawyer now," Mr. Flyer said with a resigned look on his face.

"If you're straight with me and tell me what happened that night, I will tell the DA that you complied and make sure they cut a deal with you to lessen your sentence," Kate said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice. She needed him to talk more and she wasn't getting anywhere at the moment.

"You can't promise me shit like that!" Mr. Flyer exclaimed, screwing his eyes with scorn.

"The DA will listen to me as long as you confess and tell me everything," Kate said in a firm and measured voice, holding his eye contact. Kate wasn't sure if he would talk. He kept glancing away from her piercing, hazel green eyes but then tried to stare her down. Kate has been in many staring contest and this one wasn't any different. When he finally couldn't stare back, he glanced down and coughed into his arm. He was ready to talk now and minutes later she had his full confession.

Mr. Flyer always observed the way Ms. Azoulay interacted with other men, especially Mr. Rodgers. He used to think Mr. Rodgers was a threat, but a year went by and that relationship never blossomed. Mr. Rodgers was never part of the competition, but when Mr. Turner returned to the picture, the pot was stirred. Mr. Flyer showed up at the park and hid behind a tree just in time to see Ms. Azoulay share a kiss with Mr. Turner. He waited until Mr. Turner was gone from sight and then he confronted her about the kiss and she denied it. The bitch lied straight to his face and in anger, he accidentally slammed her hard into the tree branch. Her body instantly went limp on impact so he took off her jacket to cover her bloody head, picked her up wearing his fuzzy gloves and carried her over to the rocks.

Full of smiles, Kate walked to her desk. They had done it. Solved another complicated case in just a week and now it was time to dive into the paperwork.

"Here," Castle said, placing a mug of coffee on her desk, "I know you're busy with paperwork now, but now that the case is finished you think we could get off early and talk about last night?" he searched her eyes as they briefly met his. Waiting for her reply, his mind went into overdrive, wondering about the worse possible answers she could answer. Her body language showed she held conflicting feelings but her eyes were hard like a wall. She was distancing herself from him once again always running away just like she had done this summer in the hospital and his heart sank low in his chest. He couldn't let her run from him again and he was going to put up one hell of a fight if she tried. "Kate, you have to hear me out."

"Not here," was all she said before she returned to her papers.

Kate could feel the intensity of Castle's eyes on her as she filled out her paperwork. It was nerve wreaking to have him stare at her the whole time.

"Don't you have something else to do?" she asked him slightly annoyed.

"And miss out on all this action?" Castle said, receiving an eye-roll from Kate. Then he added in a more serious tone, "there isn't any other place I'd rather be." He loved watching her work. The expressions that ran across her face as she wrote was adorable. He could write a whole story based on them and the best expression was the bitter sweet smile she wore when she neared the end of the report. He loved watching her do paperwork. Hell he would sit here all day and watch her, if she would let him.

"Are you sure about that?" Kate said, as a soft smile spread across her face and she raised an eyebrow at him. With the case closed she felt the weight of it lift off her shoulders. She could relax and breathe and maybe that is why she just flirted with him. Tensions between them were released and she preferred the way he was looking at her now more than the way he was staring at her earlier.

"Only if you're there with me," Castle returned, raising his own eye-brows at her with a glint of hope in his eyes. He would do just about anything or go anywhere as long as she was with him the whole time. Kate shook her head, knowing this time she was to blame.

"Once you're done with the paperwork you could leave for the rest of the night. You did a good job on this case," Captain Gates said, causing them to break eye contact and Captain Gates exited just as fast as she appeared.

"I'm done," Kate said a few minutes later. "Let's get out of here, get something to eat, and then we'll talk." She had to admit, she loved seeing his eyes light up at the suggestion of getting dinner together. She was still mad at him for keeping her out of loop, for not telling her who the man was on the board, but she was curious to know how much he knew. She would do almost anything to progress on her Mom's case. She will bring justice to her mom. She was supposed to be getting over her mother's murder in therapy, but at the moment all those hours were thrown away. There was hope again.

They both packed up and went to get some take out. Martha was going to be at the loft with a few of her friends so they took a cab to Kate's apartment. They needed a quiet place to talk in private. They sat in silence as they ate, picking up the vegetables they liked from the other's plates and bumping hands as they reached for the fries that sat in the middle.

"Kate, please hear me out and give me a chance to speak before you leave me," Castle said when he finished his food. Kate was in middle of taking a bite and all she could do was shake her head in agreement as she chewed.

"The day I told you to stop looking into your mother's case was the same day I received a phone call from the mystery man on my smart board. Ryan tried putting my sketch through a face recognition program, but nothing popped up. It's like he doesn't exist."

"You told Ryan about the man and not me?" Kate asked with a hurtful look on her face.

Castle stopped, shocked with himself for slipping about Ryan. "You said that you were going to let me finish," Castle said and he waited for her to nod before he continued. "The man warned me that if you look into your mother's case then they will kill you and I can't lose you, but he never said that I couldn't look into it." Kate's mouth opened. He could tell that she was going to argue with him so he quickly added, "I promise that when I do have real evidence we will bring these men down together, but right now it's just a mystery man who is helping us, protecting us from whoever is out there."

"I think I have done a good job at protecting myself over the years. I don't need someone else out there protecting me while the man who put out the hit on my mother gets to live scot-free."

"Seriously?" Castle asked as his voice rose, "Did you seriously forget what happened to you this summer? You're not an iron wall! You need someone out there looking out for you and protecting you."

"I am a detective. I know how to use a gun and fend for myself. Sometimes I'm going to be put in danger and what are you going to do then?" She was so pissed at him. Who did he think he was?

"I can't stop you from looking into your mother's case, but if you do I don't know if I could stay around and watch you throw your life away. I love you too much and I can't bear the thought of losing you. Not again. Those hours I spent in the waiting room were hell for me. I didn't know if you were going to make it or die on me." He blinked back a tear as he reviewed the painful memory and he watched her expression soften. "I'm not going to lie those three months without you in my life were the worst days of my life. I knew that if I told you about the man right away then you would try to find him and then they would kill you. I might be selfish, but I need you alive. I don't think I would be able to live if something bad happens to you. I need you to stay away from the case for now. At least wait until new evidence presents itself and when it does, we will go after them together." He could tell she wasn't happy with what he was telling her. He knew she was expecting more from him and that is why her next move surprised him even more.

"Okay, I will stay away for now," Kate said, biting her bottom lip. She didn't agree with everything he said but deep down she knew he was right. She sat there trying to prevent the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She hastily wiped away the tears that escaped from her eyes but more fell in its place. He had given her a reason to move forward

Castle lifted his hand to her face and gently rubbed his thumb along her cheek-bone. "Thank you!" he whispered and a small smile tugged at the corner of Kate's lips. Kate leaned forward bringing her lips to his, placing three soft lingering kisses there. He pulled her closer to him, but this time he nibbled lightly at her top lip and his tongue licked the opening of her mouth. Her tongue eagerly greeted his as she moved her hands to his head and ran her fingers through his smooth hair. Their tongues brushed, neither trying to take control. Just enjoying the moment.

When the kiss ended, Kate held onto his hand and said "I love you." She wasn't ready for the night to end yet. Still holding his hand, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it.

"I love you too," Rick said, pulling her closer for another kiss. Rick didn't want to leave her now, but he knew not to push her. As always, he was going to respect her so after the kiss he got up to leave. "I should go and save Alexis from Martha and her friends."

"Rick, please don't go," Kate said. "I know it is a lot to ask but do you mind staying?" He stared at her blankly and she wasn't sure what was wrong. "Castle, are you alright?" she asked with concern seeping into her voice.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," he said, returning his attention to her.

"Can you stay and call Alexis so she doesn't get nervous when you don't go home?"

"Yeah, of course I'll stay. You don't have to ask me twice." He knew he had pushed his luck to the max and tonight he was blessed.

"I already asked you twice," Kate said, as a big smile spread across her face. She turned on the TV to find something good to watch as Castle called Alexis. Moments later they both settled down on the couch and she nestled against his body, laying her head against his shoulder and lazily drawing circles with her fingers against his skin. Kate sighed into his shirt. This was a long week and she already had an idea of what she was going to have to speak about in the next therapy session.

Thanks for reading. I may have rushed the ending there but I'm going out of the States for a while so I won't have time to write.

I really just wanted to get out how I thought their secrets would be revealed and their reactions. Hope you enjoyed it.