(Untitled)

[trigger_man]

Ever since Jack got back from visiting Beckett's New York--to find that more time had passed in the bar than in her world, not that that really made much difference to him--he hasn't been spending much time in the bar itself.  New York had been sensory overload everywhere he looked, and while he'd been able to bottle up his reaction to it most of

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[fanofthegenre]

It's still cold outside the bar - and why wouldn't it be? The weather's still imitating Scotland, after all.

Beckett blinks through plumes of her own breath fogging the air in front of her as she notices a figure coming out from the woods.

"Didn't know you were into night runs."

[trigger_man]

Jack spots her as he comes out of the woods, and if he wanted to he couldn't really pretend he didn't see her.

Surprisingly--and somewhat worryingly--he doesn't want to. Which probably means he should back away, but he doesn't want to do that either.

"Quieter out here now and I wanted to get outside for a bit," he says, trying to catch his breath. Damn, he's out of shape.

His eyes narrow a little, picking up on something not quite right about the way she looks. She looks a little tired and worn out. Could just be a hot case. Could be something else.

"How're you?" he asks.

[fanofthegenre]

"I don't blame you," Beckett admits. "Sometimes it's nice to have that quiet."

The only problem, she's now realizing, is that too much quiet means she's left alone with her thoughts. And right now, that's not something she should probably be doing.

She manages a tired smile.

"Doing alright. Work's the usual amount of stress, you know how it is."

[trigger_man]

"Yeah, I do," he says, though he can tell she's lying. Not that that he hasn't made a habit of downplaying his state of mind; more like turned it into an art form.

Something tells him that this isn't the usual kind of stress, though. That maybe this time, he should push it, even if it means getting involved.

"I also know sometimes it can be more stressful than usual though, the kind that makes it hard to sleep at night."

[fanofthegenre]

"Nothing I can't handle," she assures him. That's another lie. If she allowed herself to dwell too long on the subject, she'd almost be scared of how easily those are coming to her these days.

"They serve you up the difficult cases right alongside the easy ones. It's just a part of the job."

Beckett's jaw clenches for a fraction of a second.

[trigger_man]

It might only be a fraction of a second, but Jack catches it as he's already looking for a reaction just like that one.

"And this one was a particularly difficult one." It isn't a question.

[fanofthegenre]

She draws in a breath.

"The vic - he had a particularly distinctive set of stab wounds. One was precise enough to kill, the rest were just decorative to try to cover tracks. We traced the hitman's MO to a set of cold cases spanning back over a ten-year period."

Beckett's voice doesn't waver, but her eyes don't meet Jack's.

"Including my mother's."

[trigger_man]

"Jesus," he says, under his breath. "Did you get a suspect from the new case?"

[fanofthegenre]

"We did. His name was Coonan. He was a contract killer with a front in politics. He provided us with a name in exchange for immunity. Turned out the information was false. He pulled a gun on Castle when we confronted him at the precinct."

Beckett speaks in clear, even tones. Out in the distance, she swears she can almost see a demon bunny or two scampering about at the forest's edge.

"I shot him."

[trigger_man]

"Kate..." He hesitates for a moment, then slowly reaches out and lays his hand on her arm. "By the sound of it, you didn't have a choice. Did you find out why at least?"

[fanofthegenre]

"No. He died before he could give me a name."

He may catch her looking down at her palm. The memory of blood there is still strong.

"It was quick. She probably barely felt any pain."

[trigger_man]

"I'm sorry, Kate," he says, softly. "I know how much you probably want them brought to justice."

He remembers all too well how much he wanted to hurt the people responsible for Palmer, Michelle, and Tony's deaths. How much he wanted them dead by his own hand.

He just hadn't been able to imagine where that trail would end.

"Knowing that she didn't suffer is something at least," he says. Even knowing that doesn't really help, though. Teri had died quickly; it hadn't changed the fact that she was dead.

[fanofthegenre]

"Coonan was just the hired muscle," she goes on, her hand clenching into a tight fist.

"Someone else put out the hit on my mother. Someone wanted her dead that badly that they paid him to - "

Beckett stops herself from finishing that sentence - one, because she doesn't like where it's going.

And two, because she's starting to feel an all-too familiar lump in her throat.

[trigger_man]

Jack steps a little closer, so he can shift his hand from her arm to her back.

"You'll get whoever's responsible, Kate. Now that you've found Coonan, there's another chance to find something new."

[fanofthegenre]

Her lower lip begins to tremble. She presses the back of her hand against her mouth in an attempt to cover it.

"Goddamnit, Jack. I - I can't - "

[trigger_man]

"It's okay," he says in a near-whisper. For a moment he pauses, uncertain, before he gives in to the instinct that he can't ignore, much as he knows he probably should.

"Come here," he says, gently pulling her toward him in a hug.