This story follows my previous multi-chapter fic "Changes," but isn't directly related. I'd LOVE for you to read that one first, but if ya don't, there are three things you should know: 1) Montgomery's replacement is Rachel Maddox, who hates Castle. I didn't know enough about Irons yet. 2) Castle and Beckett caught her mother's killer. Castle killed him, actually. 3) Castle and Beckett are an item now.

The first few chapters are in flashback structure, and it jumps around in time. I've put the dates at the top of the sections to make it more clear. I'm not as happy with this one as I am with "Changes," but I thought I'd post it anyway. I'm also no 100% sure about the rating...I may up it in coming chapters. I welcome your criticisms as always!

As always, I don't own the characters (except for Maddox and Davis, obviously). If i DID, we damn sure wouldn't have to wait 4 months between seasons!

CHAPTER 1

September 21, 2012, 12:53pm

Richard Castle was experiencing an odd sense of deja vu. He was sitting on the wrong side of the interrogation table being questioned about a murder for the third time since meeting Kate Beckett. Only this time the view was significantly worse: Beckett wasn't doing the interrogating.

''I didn't kill him" Castle insisted for what seemed the thousandth time that day. He leaned forward, propping his forearms on the table and looked directly into the eyes of Captain Rachel Maddox. The bitch. Montgomery's "replacement."

Maddox had been itching to interrogate Castle, or just generally to torture him in any way she could. She wouldn't let Beckett question Castle, insisting that their relationship would interfere with Kate's ability to do her job. That was a joke. There was no one more professional than Detective Kate Beckett. Anyway, she was so pissed at him that Castle wasn't even sure they had a relationship anymore.

"You threatened him just over twenty-four hours before his body was found" said Maddox, rising from her seat and pacing the floor of Interrogation 1. "I have six witnesses who say you assaulted the victim and threatened to kill him. 'You come within three feet of her and I swear to God I'll kill you' is what they heard you say."

"Did they happen to mention why I said that?" Castle shot back, his anger building.

Maddox smiled wickedly. "Oh, yes. He was kissing Detective Beckett. Can't have that, can we?"

"Not when she was trying to push him off and he wouldn't take the hint, no. If she had been…an active participant, well, that's a different story."

The expression on the Captain's face said quite clearly that she didn't believe him. "So you must have been pretty angry when he came back to see Detective Beckett. I mean, after you had told him to stay away or you'd kill him."

"No, I wasn't. She was fine, so I was fine."

"You didn't confront him again later that evening?"

"No. I did not."

"You are the registered owner of a thirty eight caliber handgun, correct?"

Castle smirked. "I think you're well aware that I am, Captain. Since you sicced your IA buddies on me the last time I used it." Maddox stiffened. Castle had shot the man responsible for Johanna Beckett's and Roy Montgomery's murders with his .38 Colt, and Captain Maddox had seen this as the ultimate opportunity to throw Castle out of the precinct permanently. But since Castle hadn't done anything illegal and Beckett had sworn she wouldn't work without him, he remained an unofficial member of the twelfth precinct's homicide division.

"Just answer the question" Maddox snapped.

Castle let out an exasperated sigh. "I own several guns, and all of them are locked in my safe. Or they were until you had them sent to ballistics. Other than that, they've been in my safe since the last time I went down to the shooting range."

"You didn't take the .38 with you last night when you went to see the Mr. Davis?"

"I. Didn't. See. Davis last night. Not after he left the precinct.'' Even in his anger and frustration, Castle couldn't help but notice that Maddox wasn't nearly as skilled at interrogation as Beckett. Then again, who was?

"You told Detective Beckett that you were with your mother from eight until twelve last night" said Maddox. She stopped pacing and leaned against the table next to Castle. It was supposed to be an intimidating stance, but it fell far short. "But you weren't, were you?"

"Like I told you before, I went shopping and-"

"Right. At Tiffany's." It was the Captain's turn to smirk. "We haven't been able to verify that you were there past nine thirty."

"That's right" said Castle, speaking as if he was talking to a small child. "Because I wasn't shopping after nine thirty. I went, home, changed, and went for a run."

''At that hour of the night? Don't you think that's a little dangerous, Castle?"

"Not really."

Maddox stood. "Well, you just make yourself comfortable. We'll have ballistics on your weapon back soon. Then we'll know for sure."

Castle took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair, leaning back in his seat. Maddox smirked again, making Castle want to punch her, and strode out of the room. She closed the door sharply behind her and left Castle to his anger and frustration.

September 18, 2012, 4:35pm

Detective Kate Beckett sighed in frustration. They had been working their current case for four days, and were no closer to finding the person responsible for the murder of Melissa Jones, aka Kandi Johnson. Kandi was a stripper and part-time prostitute until someone, and Beckett would have given her eye teeth at this point to know who, had stabbed her in the chest and left her in an alley in Hell's Kitchen. They had spoken to her boss and co-workers at the strip club, her pimp, her roommate and several clients. Every suspect had alibied out.

A large, warm hand covered Beckett's briefly, giving a squeeze before it disappeared to its original position, propped on the jean-clad thigh of its owner. Beckett glanced to her left where her partner mirrored her stance on the edge of her desk at the NYPD's twelfth precinct. He didn't look at Beckett but stared straight ahead at the murder board, deep in thought.

They had a strict "no touching at work" policy, but somehow Richard Castle could always sense her mood and knew when Kate needed his support, rules be damned. He was always subtle about it, a light squeeze of her hand or palm placed on the small of her back momentarily, a hug when no one was around. It was just enough to let Beckett know that he was there for her, that he understood. They had to be careful. The captain was still itching for the chance to kick Castle out of the precinct for good, and if Maddox witnessed the slightest bit of PDA their unorthodox partnership would be terminated.

It wasn't as if their relationship was a secret. Everyone at the twelfth precinct knew, Kate's father and Rick's family knew, and outside of work they were very much the happy couple. They endured near constant ribbing from Lanie, Esposito and Ryan. Well, Ryan more so than Esposito and Lanie, since Kate and Rick could always answer those two with teasing about their own relationship. Nonetheless, Kate and Rick were vigilant in their adherence to policy while at work, no matter how fantastic the sex was the night-or morning-before. And it always was fantastic.

Castle shifted slightly next to Beckett-for they were always "Castle" and "Beckett" at work-and spoke for the first time in several minutes. ''What about the brother?"

"Brad Jones?" Beckett asked. "You think he would've killed his own sister? What's his motive?"

"Anger" said Castle, adopting the tone he always took when he was about to spin a theory. "Say he found out what his little sister was doing with her life. He's upset, he wants her to stop. He confronts her, she tells him it's none of his business. In seeing her carelessness, he's overcome with rage. He snaps. Takes the knife from the drawer and stabs it into his sister's chest because he can't stand for her to keep doing these things to herself. He sees the blood on his hands and realizes what he's done. So he cleans up after himself, sneaks her body out of the apartment and leaves her in the alley, thinking that if we find her there we'll assume one of her…customers killed her."

"Sounds like a good theory to me" said a voice from a few feet away. It was a voice Kate hadn't heard in years, but identified before she even turned around.

"Matthew Davis!" she exclaimed, rushing over to the man and hugging him tightly. Matt lifted Kate off the ground slightly, giving her an enthusiastic squeeze before returning her to her feet.

Kate pulled back and held Matt at arms length, looking him over. Except for the deep tan and a few new wrinkles he had changed very little in the last five years. His brown hair was still cut short, his dark eyes held the same clever gleam, he was still broad shouldered and fit, slightly shorter than Kate was with her heels on.

"Kate Beckett, you look fantastic" said Matt with a broad smile.

"You too, Matt. California life agrees with you."

"What's it been, five years?"

"Close to it" said Beckett with a bright smile. She sensed Castle's presence just behind her shoulder. "Matt, this is my partner, Rick Castle."

"The author" said Matt, shaking Rick's hand. Rick was standing slightly closer to Kate than their established work distance, and Kate had to force herself not to roll her eyes at his possessiveness. But it was kind of adorable, too. "They won't let you have a cop for a partner, Kate?" asked Matt with a wink.

"They forced this one on me, Matt" said Kate, grinning at Castle, "but he's grown on me. Castle, this is Matt Davis. He was a detective at the Twelfth my first two years here."

"Taught her everything she knows" said Matt.

Kate punched him lightly in the shoulder. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did the LAPD finally kick you out?"

Matt chuckled slightly, looking at his feet. "No, but you know how it is, I couldn't stay away from New York for too long. I've just been hired by a private security firm, so I'm gonna start makin' the big bucks. Thought I'd come by and see if you were still hanging around this dump." Kate shrugged and nodded, but Matt's smile faded. "I heard about Montgomery, too. It's a damn shame."

"Yeah" said Kate sadly, thinking that Matt didn't know the half of it. She glanced at Rick, who gave her an understanding smile. Castle, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito were the only ones who knew the truth about the Captain's betrayal, the real reason for his death, and it was going to stay that way. "We still miss him around here" she said.

"Who did they replace him with?" asked Matt, glancing toward the office formerly occupied by Roy Montgomery.

"Rachel Maddox" Castle offered. "Formerly with IA. And my biggest fan" he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be used to people not liking you" said Matt in a tone a bit too sharp to be taken as joking. Castle look taken aback, though he disguised it well, and Beckett was equally surprised. Her fling with Matt had ended on fairly amiable terms, and had been over for ages. There should be no need for the animosity toward her current boyfriend. But Matt's bright smile returned as he brought his attention back to Kate. "I don't remember her. Is she okay? I mean, not that anyone could come close to measuring up to Montgomery, but…"

Kate shrugged. "She's more interested in politics and protocol than supporting her staff, but we're getting used to...living with her."

Matt nodded. "Well I see you have work to do, so I'll get out of your hair. Wanna grab a drink with me, catch up?'' he asked.

"Sure. How's tomorrow night?"

"Perfect. Good luck with the case" said Matt before turning to Castle and saying a bit stiffly. "Nice to meet you, Rick."

"Same to you" said Castle, bewildered. He watched Matt go with a confused look on his face.

"He's just being overprotective" Kate defended, though she wasn't entirely sure herself. "Come on. Let's grab the boys and go talk to our vic's brother."

September 18, 2012, 10:47pm

Rick rolled onto his back a few hours later, breathless. Kate turned into his side and draped a bare leg over Rick's thigh as her hand traced across his chest. "Tell me something" she said, sleepy and content. "Was that you gloating because you were right about the brother, or you marking your territory because of Matt?"

"Are you complaining?" Rick asked, glancing down at the gorgeous head resting on his shoulder, the dark waves fanning out over his pillow. Truth be told, it was a little of both but more of the second. He didn't care for the way Matt Davis looked at Kate: possessive, slightly predatory, and filled with lust.

Kate leaned up and kissed him lazily. "Not complaining at all, just curious. I might have to keep Matt around if this is the kind of treatment it gets me."

"I'd rather you didn't" said Rick. "You wouldn't want to give him the wrong impression. I'd hate to have to hurt the guy."

Kate laughed softly. "You think you could take him, Ricky?" she mocked. "He's a trained detective."

"If it came down to it…" he answered, only half joking. "I don't want to, but if he forced my hand I'd have to take action. I had to work to hard to get you here to let you go." Rick started to kiss Kate again, but pulled back quickly as her comment struck him. "Actually, I'm a little hurt, Detective. Do you really have so little faith in me?"

"Not at all. You could kill him with one hand behind your back if you chose to, Big Rick."

"Cause I'm so manly and strong?"

"Cause you're so manly and strong" Kate agreed, sliding onto Rick's chest and kissing him throughly.

"That's what I thought" Rick replied, breaking the kiss only briefly and watching her face break in to that breathtaking smile before returning his lips to hers. They pulled apart after a few moments and Kate rested her head on his shoulder once again. "So what's the story there?" Rick asked, curiosity outweighing animosity. Kate was, after all, in his bed, laying on his chest. Matt was no threat.

"We worked together for about two years when I first became a detective" said Kate, tracing random patterns across Rick's chest again. "He was good, very smart, but looking back I realize he wasn't as good as I gave him credit for at the time. I was just green, you know, and he was…"

"What?" asked Rick. He wondered if he really wanted to know what Matt was, but he was curious all the same.

Kate sighed. "Keep in mind that I'm currently in your bed, laying on your chest, and I love you" she said, eyes twinkling even in the dim light of Rick's room.

"Well, when you put it that way…" said Rick with a smile.

Kate returned the smile and kissed Rick's cheek. "Matt's a really good looking guy" she continued, "and he's sweet, and talented in many ways." Rick glared mockingly at her. "Though not nearly as ruggedly handsome and sweet and talented as you are, Dear" Kate amended jokingly before going back to her story. "We dated briefly, maybe a month or two, before I broke it off. He moved to LA a few months later. Matt was really into surfing and wanted a taste of the California life. We were still friends, but we just lost touch after a while."

"I'm glad you two have the chance to reconnect" said Rick. "Not connect, connect, just…you know. Catch up." He grinned.

"That's too bad," said Kate thoughtfully, "I was planning on taking him home tomorrow and letting him make wild, passionate love to me."

Rick narrowed his eyes at her playful smirk. "Oh yeah?" he said, flipping them so that Kate was pinned beneath him, laughing. "I'll show you wild and passionate." Kate laughed again, the musical sound Rick loved filling the room, and for the next several minutes they forgot all about Matthew Davis. It was one of the last times they did so for quite some time.

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