The intent is that this will be a series of one-shots to unpeel layers from either the "Beckett Onion" or the "Castle Onion" - - some chapters might be interconnected while others stand-alone.

Each chapter will focus on an item that one of them owns / holds dear.

I am always open to suggestions... but it must be something that actually appeared in the show.

This one is for my Muse. :)

Chapter 1 - "The Elephant in the Room"

"Are we ever going to talk about it?"

Her voice was soft, quiet. His fingers continued to dance lightly up and down the length of her bare left arm as his lips traced the back of her neck, her shoulder, her upper back. Shivers rushed along her naked spine.

"Hmmmmmmm…" she heard him hum as he nibbled at the lobe of her ear.

She continued to stare forward as he pressed himself against her back. She felt his hand ghost along her hip and glide across her bare stomach.

"We should… talk about it… the elephant in the room," she breathed heavily as he gently kissed the edge of her jaw, his hand crawling up the side of her hip towards her heaving chest.

"You really want to?" he whispered as his tongue swiped the edge of her ear. "Right now?"

"I'd like to know…" she exhaled as she felt him spoon behind her, warm and aroused.

Castle groaned slightly, but resigned himself to cuddling up behind her as he looked across his bedroom, his gaze paralleling hers.

"There's not much to tell, really. I just liked it."

Kate hummed quietly before continuing, "That's it?"

"That's it."

He heard a faint, disappointed sigh escape her mouth.

"Why?" he whispered gently into her left ear as he played with her sex-tussled hair.

"'Why' what?" Beckett hummed.

"You just sound so disappointed."

"Well, not everyone hangs an enormous photograph of an elephant in their bedroom. I just wondered what it meant to you."

"My decorator suggested large photos for those walls. I liked the lion, and the elephant was paired with it as a set," he mumbled slightly as he kissed the top of her head, the fingers of his left hand tracing light circles along her abdomen.

They lay still for a while, silently cocooned, a silky sheet draped over their legs, his muscular body curled around her smooth back as they rested peacefully on their sides, only the sound of their breathing filling the space.

Castle slowly shifted, moving his right arm slightly to prop himself up on his elbow, his head coming to rest on his hand. His left swept lightly along her naked torso, warming her very core.

"Did you know that in certain religions, elephants are venerated and revered for their prowess in battle?" she muttered.

"Do you know how sexy it is that you used the words 'venerated', 'prowess' and 'revered' all in the same sentence?" he replied as he swept her hair away from her neck, his lips trailing across her throat and up her jaw line.

She smiled softly as she exhaled, succumbing completely to her own desire. She brought her hand up to gently caress the side of his face before she turned her head slightly to face him. Her extensive vocabulary, her intelligence - they were such a turn on. He smiled hungrily and leaned in, his mouth meeting hers. She melted into the soft flesh of his lips, the taste of his tongue. The kiss was tender yet heated, her hand cupping the side of his face as his fingers stroked gently across her supple skin under her chin.

Her body turned itself towards him, legs tangled, chests pressed up against each other… the two of them completely engulfed in their own passion, lost in each other.

The need for air eventually befell them. Slowing the intensity, Kate pushed back slightly, whispering softly between chaste pecks, "They're more…" (kiss) "than that…" (kiss) "to me." As Castle leaned in to kiss her again, he was halted by the sensation of two fingers against his lips.

"In Asia," she began softly, eyes meeting his, her voice steadying itself as she calmed her heavy breathing, "the elephant represents strength and wisdom, while in Thailand, the white elephant specifically is a symbol of good fortune."

He locked his gaze on her. He knew she was about to reveal something to him. Peel back yet another layer of the Beckett onion. 'A mystery I'm never gonna solve,' he thought to himself as he smiled gently, urging her to continue.

"When my mom was murdered, I fell apart," she began, her eyes traipsing across his solemn face. "Dad lost himself, and I didn't know which way to turn. I started reading a lot to escape."

A small smile formed on his lips, his eyes crinkling at the sides.

"About six months after her death, I came across a book about Buddhism. It was very enlightening…"

"Very punny," he muttered with a sly grin.

"Shut up," she smiled, playfully slapping his chest. "Anyway… I became quite intrigued by the philosophy, but more so by the symbolism of the elephant. Strength, wisdom, good fortune… everything that was lacking in my life."

Castle's hand skimmed lightly along her arm until it found hers. He delicately traced the inside of her palm, lacing his strong fingers between hers.

"I later discovered that the elephant was also a symbol of military might during the conquests of Alexander the Great… a symbol of power," she whispered as she watched their fingers twine with each other. "That's when I became enamoured with the majestic creature. They represented everything I wanted to be. Everything I'm still trying to be…"

Castle said nothing as he pulled her naked body flush with his, holding her close. Holding her tight. She'd fought one hell of a battle. And she'd won the war...

"They never forget." His voice was quiet. Timid. Almost unheard.

But she heard him.

She glanced up, her eyes getting lost in the depths of his, her face inquisitive.

"They say elephants never forget," he repeated softly. "Things stay with them. They remember. Like you."

She continued to gaze at him, as tears began to well in her eyes. But she said nothing.

"You never forget. You remember everything, " he continued, his fingers smoothing a loose strand off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. "It's made you who you are…. Everything you've ever done, everything that has made you wise yet playful, everything that has given you strength or made you weak, everything that has haunted you and healed you… That's what makes you spectacular. That's what makes you challenging. That's what makes you intriguing. That's what makes me…"

He was unable to finish his thought as his mouth was silenced by hers - desperate, hungry, and full of love and adoration.

'That's what makes me love you,' he mused to himself as the two of them fell over the edge together, creating a memory they would not soon forget.

So there you go... Judge away. ;)

Again, if you have an item idea that I could build a story around, feel free to let me know.