Staring at the inside of the elevator doors, Kate allowed a small sigh to fall past her lips before pulling the lower between her teeth, giving a small, nervous nibble. Not normally the one to feel this much in the way of nerves, Kate took a deep breath and braced herself. She felt that she needed this, and it was beginning to feel like no matter the preparation she took, she still had the deep feeling of not being quite ready. However, it was not in her nature to give in, and having being held back for the past three months, Kate was ready to dive back into her work, her life…Even if it meant a small struggle at the beginning.

As the elevator came to a slow stop, Kate lowered her head and waited for the doors to open before taking a step out, sucking in a breath, and forcing a smile onto her lips. It may have been a small smile, but it was in fact there. As her head lifted to the sound of hushed voices and the scuffling of feet, she allowed her eyes to scan around the area, stopping on each member of her team as they gave her a small smile, and nod. Esposito gave her the goofy smile, the one she had only ever seen once before, and she was beginning to hope it didn't mean what she though it did, when around the corner a tall black figure emerged.

"Beckett." Castle's voice came in a slightly surprised tone, as if he didn't expect her to be there. Her eyes fell on the two cups of coffee in his hands, and she raised a brow, slightly surprised by how glad she was to actually see him still at the precinct. "I... Hey! You're early, aren't you?"

"If I'm early, Castle, who is that for?" Nodding in the direction of the cup, Kate felt a lightness settle in her stomach. The thing she was most afraid of hadn't presented itself, and she felt like things may just be able to fall back into place.

"I… it's for you obviously. I just, didn't.. Hey!" Kate began to feel the awkwardness in his voice, but decided to push the question away as she clasped her hand around the take-out coffee cup that Castle was now holding out to her.

"Thank you," She flashed him a slightly more genuine smile, which felt less forced. "So, where are we? Anything new happening?"

"Not yet," Ryan piped in as he stopped just behind her. "Esposito and I just closed the Coleman case about an hour ago."

Flashing her gaze over to Ryan as he spoke, Kate moved fluidly over to her desk, laying her jacket over the back of the swivel chair and placed the cup of coffee down, before lowering into the chair and fixing her eyes back on Castle. She watched as he strode over and slipped into the seat beside her desk. He was watching her, closely. Probably trying to work out if it was actually a bright idea for her to be back at work. It wasn't up to him. Kate thought to herself as she dropped her gaze and worked on looking through some papers that were on her desk from the day before the shooting.

"I knew you were back today. " Castle mumbled as he turned to face her. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Castle." Kate's hair fell down around her face as she spoke, acting as a door to shield his gaze from her expression, which she guessed probably showed pain, loss and a sense of fear.

Sitting back in his seat, Castle turned back away; deciding now would be a good time to shut up. This made Kate happy. She knew how much he could pry, and she knew that once he started, he wouldn't stop. He'd continue on until he managed to break her down. She wasn't ready to be broken down and analysed. All Kate wanted right now was to get on with her job.

The silence that followed was soon broken by the ringing of the phone. Kate and Castle both looked over in the direction of Ryan who had answered first and was now jotting down some information on the pad in front of him. "No problem. We'll be there in a few." Replacing the receiver, he lifted his head and looked over at Kate. "We have a murder."

"Who and where?" Kate spoke softly as she stood from her chair, grabbing her jacket and slipping it on as Ryan and Esposito made their way over.

"Female, Caucasian, 23. She's a receptionist at a law firm." Ryan relayed off the information as the four of them made their way out of the bull pen, stopping only for a brief moment as Kate suddenly remembered her coffee before dashing back for it.

"I blame the pen." Castle interrupted the small silence as Kate returned, gaining him raised brows and three shaking heads as they all stepped into the elevator together, ready for their first crime solving mission in three months as a full team.