Castle 1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own this, clearly, I'm just putting my spin to the story.

She'd received the phone call an hour ago and was only just now walking up to the building. It had been a horrible start to the day, the phone call had come in at 7am; stating the address and that this one was defiantly interesting. That wasn't the bad part, in fact 7 was classified as a sleep-in. Some cases Kate caught had her stumbling around her apartment at 3, in the rush to get ready; after only getting home at 11 the previous night.

No, it was the stomach cramps that tore through her body, causing her to stumble and nearly fall in the rush to have a quick shower, that was the first hint that the day wasn't going to be the best.

It got worse when she realized she didn't have enough of those annoying, much needed products to last her the day. On the way down the street to the store, a man in a rush out of a overpriced cafe, (probably late for work), knocked into her and spilled his coffee all over her new blouse, burning her skin; and without so much as a sorry scrambled off leaving her muttering curses at the world.

So now Kate was walking up the steps of the building trying to hide the damp, coffee stained blouse with a wrinkled jacket, that she had found in the boot of her car; wishing dearly that she could just go home and hide under her covers.

Knowing that it just isn't possible, she looks up at the old, run down double storey building and sees a sign that tells that it is a home for orphans run by a Mrs H. Francis. How this is where orphans are put astounds her. Putting it all aside, she takes a deep breath and steps inside.

Upon seeing only a pair of uniforms at the base of the stairs, she assumes that the body is upstairs. Flashing her badge and receiving the confirmation nod, Kate starts up the stairs, taking note of every single detail. The simple details that are seen before the tarnishing that is the body is so important. It is what gives insight into the atmosphere of the place, because no matter how much the people involved try to hide it, the darkness always comes into the light. A contradiction in its self, but that's always been the way she's seen it.

Photos of those inhabiting the orphanage reside on the wall next to the staircase. It immediately hits her that one is missing; one right in the middle. It's been freshly removed and in a hurry, the photos that would have been it's neighbours are slightly skewed and the nail that was holding it up it just barely in the wall. Making a mental note to inquire about the missing photo she moves on.

Reaching the top, Kate is met with a corridor going perpendicular; hearing noise coming from her left she heads that way but not before she looks back wishfully at the front door.

The door to where the noise is coming from is closed, which hits Kate as slightly weird, but she dismisses it and opens the door. Inside is a large room that is obscured from her view by the forensic team and her own. Confused by their stationary and quiet behaviour she taps Esposito on the shoulder, who jumps, startled by her appearance and turns to face her. As he does she gets a quick glimpse of the room and she understands. Pushing him aside despite his objections, Kate finally sees the room in its entirety. The room must have been used as a study and work room for the kids as desks line the outside, but what grabs her attention is the The door to where the noise is coming from is closed, which hits Kate as slightly weird, but she dismisses it and opens the door. Inside is a large room that is obscured from her view by the forensic team and her own. Confused by their stationary and quiet behaviour she taps Esposito on the shoulder, who jumps, startled by her appearance and turns to face her. As he does she gets a quick glimpse of the room and she understands. Pushing him aside despite his objections, Kate finally sees the room in its entirety. The room must have been used as a study or work room for the kids, as desks line the outside, but what grabs her attention is the line of small bodies lying in a pool of their mingled blood. Nausea rushes up and threatens to over come her when she sees that they have been ordered in what looks like age, holding hands with one another. The girl on the end, which she assumes is the oldest also has her hand out as if someone is missing from the line. Kate quickly brings up the memories of the photos on the wall and works out that for every accounted photo there is a child lying in front of her.

Through all of this she hadn't realized that she had crept forward and was now at the foot of a little boy who was first in the line of ten. Staring at his little face with blond curly hair and wide piercing eyes she wonders how (not for the first time) anyone could be so heartless and remorseless to murder and then arrange anyone, particularly innocent children.

A strangled groan startles her out of her musings and she turns to find Castle staring at the line with tears welling in his eyes. When he notices her looking at him with concern, he points to the fourth in the line, turns and strides out of the room. She knows his struggling to keep his emotions underhand, the stiffness in his shoulders give it away. Wondering what had set him off ( yes child cases are particularly hard but he has dealt with it before) she looks back toward the line, ignoring Esposito's questioning look. What she finds is a girl of about 12 with the exact same hair as Alexis and the same vivid blue eyes. Conflicted over whether to follow or give him space, her decision is taken from her as Lanie walks in. Kate turns into full cop mode and asks where she has been; she's usually halfway through the observation by the time Kate turns up to the scene. Lanie responds with a "Girl, don't even get me started or we will be here all day." And starts forward toward the line. Her face softening as she sees horror in front.

Kate turns her attention to the forensic team who have meanwhile gotten started on the grueling task of documenting the scene. And once she sends Esposito and Ryan to canvassing the area for cameras and witnesses she her self heads downstairs to where Mrs Harriett Francis is waiting to have her statement taken.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own this, clearly, I'm just putting my spin to the story.

Previously: A strangled groan startles her out of her musings and she turns to find Castle staring at the line with tears welling in his eyes. When he notices her looking at him with concern, he points to the fourth in the line, turns and strides out of the room. She knows his struggling to keep his emotions underhand, the stiffness in his shoulders give it away. Wondering what had set him off ( yes child cases are particularly hard but he has dealt with it before) she looks back toward the line, ignoring Esposito's questioning look. What she finds is a girl of about 12 with the exact same hair as Alexis and the same vivid blue eyes. Conflicted over whether to follow or give him space, her decision is taken from her as Lanie walks in. Kate turns into full cop mode and asks where she has been; she's usually halfway through the observation by the time Kate turns up to the scene. Lanie responds with a "Girl, don't even get me started or we will be here all day." And starts forward toward the line. Her face softening as she sees horror in front.

Kate turns her attention to the forensic team who have meanwhile gotten started on the grueling task of documenting the scene. And once she sends Esposito and Ryan to canvassing the area for cameras and witnesses she her self heads downstairs to where Mrs Harriett Francis is waiting to have her statement taken.

Mrs Francis turned out to be a sprightly little old lady who had opened the orphanage some 50 years ago and totally adored kids. She was quite devastated to say the least.

She, however, wasn't to keen on giving any information and Kate was getting increasingly annoyed. Just as she was about to try another tactic when Castle walked in and suddenly it was a whole different story, she was talking non-stop about this and that. Sadly, very little of it was relevant to the case. Looking across at Castle; thankful that he seemed to be better, she coughed lightly. It got the desired effect and Castle started asking her about the kids upstairs, whether she had noticed anything out of the ordinary and other of the usual questions.

Just as Castle was finishing up, Kate took the opportunity to ask about the missing photo. At first Mrs Francis was confused about it but once Kate had shown her the wall above the staircase, she got a wide eyed like and burst into tears. Through her sobbing Kate managed to get the message, Amelia the girl in the photo had been with her since her adoption had failed to go through 16 years ago and of utmost importance she had been home at the time as far as Mrs Francis was concerned. It also wasn't like she would leave as she was a very responsible girl and was often left in charge. Kate was pretty sure that she had been taken by however had committed the horrendous crime. When asked whether there was another photo of her the answer was negative; Amelia had never liked photos and would always destroy the ones she found. She had finally given in the day she got her scholarship to Stanford, unbelievable for one so young and the only copy had been the one on the wall.

Kate could tell by Mrs Francis' body language that any further questions would have to wait for another time. Getting up, she thanked her for her time and cooperation and asked her to give her a call if she thought of anything that might help whether it be about Amelia's whereabouts or potential suspects.

The drive back to the 12th was silent and somewhat awkward, and Kate had no idea whether or not she should breach the subject of the Alexis lookalike. Once again the choice was stolen from her when Castle opened his mouth muttering "I'm fine, it just scared me a little, you know, she looked..." He broke off, chocked up.

"Castle, I get it, you don't have to explain it to me.." She didn't have a chance to finish the sentence as the had arrived at the precinct and Castle all but jumped out of the car, tripping as he went. Following suit Kate got out and rushed around to see if he was okay and help him up. He ignored her held out hand and stalked off brushing the back of his pants as he went, totally oblivious to Kate's somewhat hurt expression; which she had failed to keep off her face. Thankful he didn't see it, even though it hurt her even more that he didn't even bother to turn around. She promptly shook herself, pulled her thoughts back and settled to let him get away with it.

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she was called into the tech-room where Esposito, Ryan and Tory were waiting with surveillance from an ATM across the street. Castle was once again camera footage showed no one entering or exiting the building other than Mrs Francis on her way to the shops, however there was evidence of tampering. Even Tory looked impressed by the work that had obviously been done to hide the evidence. There was however one piece that clearly gave the footage away as being tampered with and that piece was a still shot of what Kate could only assume as being Amelia with a blind covering her facial features and the words "Find me Kate!"

AN: Sorry for the short chapter, I'll try make the next one longer; no promises though.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will

Previously:

_As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she was called into the tech-room where Esposito, Ryan and Tory were waiting with surveillance from an ATM across the street. Castle was once again camera footage showed no one entering or exiting the building other than Mrs Francis on her way to the shops, however there was evidence of tampering. Even Tory looked impressed by the work that had obviously been done to hide the evidence. There was however one piece that clearly gave the footage away as being tampered with and that piece was a still shot of what Kate could only assume as being Amelia with a blind covering her facial features and the words "Find me Kate!"_

Kate had no idea how to react; somehow they knew she would get the case that was the only explanation. Someone obviously had seen the recent article featuring photos of both herself and Natalie Rhodes, under the guise of Heat Wave being made into a movie. Getting Tory to analyze every single aspect of image, she also sent Esposito to the kids school to get details about why they would be targeted. Ryan she sent to look into photo and bank details. She herself headed back to her desk to look through the kids' background information.

Two hours later they hadn't gotten anywhere and Kate was about to go grab lunch for her team, when Castle walked in carrying bags of what smelt like Chinese and a coffee. Handing her the coffee he rushed past her into the break room where he was quickly followed by both Esposito and Ryan.

He was ignoring her, and she really couldn't deal with it anymore. The coffee did help though. She never could understand how his coffees always tasted better than when she got them herself. Taking her first sip, she decided to go join the boys for lunch. Castle seemed to have gotten his emotions under control and he and the boys were joking around as usual; though he seemed to be ignoring her to such a degree that the others wouldn't find anything suspicious. Halfway through her Chow Mein, she got the expected call from Lanie. Putting the rest aside, she grabbed her jacket and called out "Hey Castle, you coming?" and strode toward the elevator without waiting for an answer. Just as the doors were coming to a close Castle's hand shot through stopping them in their tracks. Hopping in beside her, she realized, he was avoiding even looking at her.

All the way to the morgue he was silent and determinedly staring out the window. Having had enough, right before entering she pulled him aside and even though she really wanted to pull his ear to force him to look at her she acknowledged that it was probably not really appropriate. She instead settled for grabbing his chin and forcing it up until his eyes met hers. With this done she said "Castle, I understand that the scene was hard for you, I get it and I would totally understand if you wanted to sit this one out and in fact I would rather it if you don't or can't pull yourself together. I can't deal with your mood swings when someone has made this case personal. I mean they are putting the blame on me through that photo; if I don't solve it and find Amelia then the media will see it as my fault. And yes the media is already involved; it is pretty hard to hide the fact that 10 children have been brutally murdered and that one has been taken. Okay? So make up your mind either you walk back out of here until this case is over and we put this behind us or your change your mindset and actually be a help rather than a hindrance. However, if you want to stay but can't handle seeing…what's inside then you can wait out here for me." And with her rant complete she pushed through the doors.

There on slab after slab were 10 little bodies, it was heartbreaking. Cases with kids involved were always harder and this one even more so. Hadn't these kids faced enough, the struggles of not having families, the tormenting feelings of not being wanted or the loss of their families? Lanie had her back to her washing her hands. Turning to look at her she launched into her spiel of information.

Taking notes, she was so focused on the task at hand that she didn't hear the doors open, it was only when Lanie's tone changed and she said "Hey Castle, what took ya so long?"

That she realized he had entered the room. To which he replied "Oh, you know, books to write, people to see, thought s to think" the last said with a meaningful glance towards her.

Slightly annoyed that she hadn't noticed, she quite harshly said "Do you have anything else?" and then seeing Castle's upset face (obviously he thought she didn't want him there; which was the complete opposite) she added "sorry this case is getting to me" and to ensure he understood she gave him an apologetic smile.

It seemed that Lanie had left the most important piece of information once again for last; as there on 12 year old Allies arm was another message. There written in the inside of her arm were the words

"10 little bodies dead in a row,

one is missing.

Who? You should know,

Soon there will be 5,

and then another.

This one will join the first,

and then they will be together"

Creepy much?" Castle's voice broke through her reading it through for the tenth time. It didn't make much sense in the reasoning of it. Yes, it was clear that he meant to kill again and that he would take another. But the line about them being together, that had her stumped; why would they force two people together that didn't know each other. That gave her a thought. Calling Esposito she sent him off to see if there was anyone in Amelia's life that someone would want to set up with her, as well as past boyfriends, love interests, crushes and the like. Ryan she sent out to find out if the psychopath had already acted and search for cases of five people being murdered.

Once she got off the phone Castle spoke up "Where to now, Beckett?"

"Back to Mrs Francis' to see if she can give any insight into all this."

Two hours later back at the precinct Kate was updating the whiteboard. Yes, whiteboard, no matter how much Castle pushed murder-board, it always seemed insensitive. Mrs Francis didn't have any information on the next target, however she had managed to find a photo of Amelia as a four month old. In it showed a smiling little chestnut haired baby, lying flat in a crib with a teddy bear bigger than her laying beside her. Mrs Francis said it was the only one that she had managed to protect from the whirlwind of a twelve year old Amelia who decided that she hated all photos with her in it. Mrs Francis never had found out what had happened to provoke the frenzy and where the photos disappeared to. It wasn't much but at least they had something to put up other then the haunting photo of her with a blindfold covering her features. She also added the time of death and images of Allies arm, as well as other relevant information that she got from Lanie. Just as she was finishing up Ryan and Esposito arrived back from their assignments.

Turning to give her full attention to them she noticed Castle walking out of the break-room holding two coffees. Handing it to her, he leaned back on the desk next to her. Once the boys realized they were waiting for them they jumped into their spiel. Esposito started "Found no past boyfriends, but plenty of people wanting to be, supposedly she was the kind of girl everybody wanted but was to afraid to ask. The girl who everybody thought was out of their league leaving her feeling like she wasn't good enough. Anyway, there wasn't any obvious stalkers, no real enemies, everyone seemed to have something positive to say about her. I also asked for a photo but she has managed to avoid any photos being put in the school systems either. None of her friends had photos with her either. Amelia seems to have managed to have not had a photo taken of her since she was 12 and those she had a friend hack into the system and delete."

Ryan then jumped in with "So basically you got nothing?"

"Did you get any better? This girl is a ghost."

"Yeah, actually I did. The 21st got a call not ten minutes ago with a report of a homicide of a family of five. I asked them to let us know if anyone was missing from the family and if so if it would be alright if we took a look as it might be related to ours. They said yes. So there Esposito!"

Before Esposito could retaliate she jumped in with a "Good job guys"

and added 'family of five?' to the white board.

Sending the boys back to work she went back to her desk to look over the recent calls that Amelia had made, waiting for the 21st to call.


	4. Chapter 4

_Previously: _

_"Yeah, actually I did. The 21st got a call not ten minutes ago with a report of a homicide of a family of five. I asked them to let us know if anyone was missing from the family and if so if it would be alright if we took a look as it might be related to ours. They said yes. So there Esposito!"_

_Before Esposito could retaliate she jumped in with a "Good job guys" _

_and added 'family of five?' to the white board. _

_Sending the boys back to work she went back to her desk to look over the recent calls that Amelia had made, waiting for the 21st to call._

The call came in just as most of the other teams of detectives (who had closed their cases for the day) were glancing at the clock every two seconds to see whether they could officially sign off for the day. She had been sitting at her desk for the time period in-between reading and rereading the information she had in the hopes of finding anything helpful. It had gotten to the stage that she could have recited it almost word for word. Hearing it ring she picked it up before the ring could end and said her usual 'Beckett'. The person one the other side of the line introduced himself. "Hey, it's Duncan from the 21st, about the case we just caught."

"What do you have for me?"

"Boss thinks it fits your case parameters, and is wondering if you wanted to come have a look either tonight or early tomorrow morning. I think he would happily hand this one over to you…it's quite…you know horrific. More kids dead, what is the world coming to?"

"Alright thanks, I am about done for the day over here so I might come by on the way home. What's the address?"

After getting the address Kate hung up and gathered up all the paperwork and grabbed her coat. Seeing she was packing up Ryan and Esposito followed suit. Castle had already left an hour before to prepare for a TV interview.

The apartment building on 157 West 57th Street was incredible. It must be one of the most expensive buildings to live in in all of New York. Just to get in the door she had to show her badge, as well as name the lead detective who was then called to the elevator up to the 75th floor, she was stuck with how much a juxtaposition the two scenes were. Perhaps they weren't related at all, though she never did believe in coincidences.

They were waiting for her to have a look before they got Perlmutter to take the bodies back to the morgue. Depending on the outcome of her looking the scene over, it might be Lanie awaiting their arrival.

Stepping through the lavish front door she was overwhelmed by the space in front of her. She thought she had seen it all when she had stepped into Castle's loft for the first time; but this place made his seem...well like hers. Not that her apartment was bad, it was actually pretty amazing for her price range, it just wasn't anywhere near the same league as his. Her amazement at the penthouse was ruined by the blood trail leading around a corner.

Following it, she entered a grand dinning room. At the table sat the family of five staring glassy eyed at the one empty chair. Once again the sick bastard was alluding to the fact that someone was obviously missing. Strangely they had all been killed differently. The mother had her throat slit, the father strangled, the eldest of, at her guess, around 12 had had her arms slit until she had died from loss of blood and last identical twins of about 6 had had been stabbed in the chest multiple times as if the murderer had lost his temper and snapped.

Getting the run down from Perlmutter, she looked around the room taking in every detail. There is a family portrait on the west wall, in it they are all smiling and laughing, including the now missing boy. The stark difference in the two scenes is horrifying. Why would anyone target what looked like a perfectly happy family?

She was broken out of her musings by the lead detective's deep resounding voice "So...what do you think? You going to be taking this one off my hands?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is our guy. How about we get Lanie to take a look to see if she can get any evidence that links them and if not we work it out from there?"

"Sounds like a plan. Names Daniel Vanderbelt. Call me if you need anything. I'll have them send all the evidence we packed to you. See you around Beckett. Have fun with this one."

As he had been speaking the bodies had been prepped for travel. Deciding that it would be valuable to see into the lives these people had been living, and well it wasn't everyday that she had the chance to see one of the most expensive apartments in New York; she started looking around.

It was even larger than she first imagined, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a small library, two studies, a games room, immense kitchen and living room and of course the beautiful dining room were all included. Seriously the place was massive for a relatively small family. She soon found herself standing in the missing boys room. Looking around she saw a stack of school books on his desk, all with the name James on the front. Flicking through, she saw that just like Amelia this kid was exceptionally smart. He had multiple pre-med books, advanced maths, English, the works. Glancing around the room she was struck by the mass amount of photos of him and his friends covering the walls. He was the exact opposite in that account to Amelia. It was then that she was overcome with the realization. No it couldn't be...it just couldn't could it? It was impossible, that had happened years ago and she had left it behind. No one else knew about it. Expect for him.


	5. Chapter 5

Previously:

_It was even larger than she first imagined, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a small library, two studies, a games room, immense kitchen and living room and of course the beautiful dining room were all included. Seriously the place was massive for a relatively small family. She soon found herself standing in the missing boys room. Looking around she saw a stack of school books on his desk, all with the name James on the front. Flicking through, she saw that just like Amelia this kid was exceptionally smart. He had multiple pre-med books, advanced maths, English, the works. Glancing around the room she was struck by the mass amount of photos of him and his friends covering the walls. He was the exact opposite in that account to Amelia. It was then that she was overcome with the realization. No it couldn't be...it just couldn't could it? It was impossible, that had happened years ago and she had left it behind. No one else knew about it. Expect for him._

She went home in a daze, not paying attention to anything; really it was amazing that she got there in one piece. Memories of 16 years ago flooded her mind, stealing all other thoughts of looking after herself. She collapsed in a heap on her bed, wishing for it all to go away.

She spent the night drifting in and out of sleep; the small amount of time spent asleep was riddled in nightmares that jolted her awake and covered her in sweat. She was thankful when 5am came around because she could convince herself that it was a sensible time to get up.

Taking a much needed shower, she tried to persuade herself that the previous day was simply full of coincidences. That of course didn't work no matter how hard she tried. By the time she got out of the shower, got dressed and applied makeup in the attempt to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes; food was the last thought on her mind and she was resolved to head into work and find something, anything that would prove her traitorous brain wrong.

She had worked for a good hour or two before Esposito and Ryan walked in.

"Hey Beckett, you go home at all last night?" Rolled off Ryan's lips.

"Yeah, remember we left at the same time last night?"

"But you were heading to a crime scene, who knows how long you were there." Esposito jumped in.

" I wasn't there that long" And at seeing the doubtful glance they shared added in an annoyed tone "seriously I was home before 9. Okay guys, how about you do some work yourselves?" Which she emphasized with a glare.

They nodded in a chastised way and walked off to their desks. Maybe she had been a bit harsh on them but seriously she could look after herself. That meant she wasn't going to apologize, hadn't they learnt not to bug her when she obviously wasn't in the right space of mind to answer them properly, really they asked for it. Thinking Castle would be heading in soon she stalked away from her desk towards the ladies room.

Yep, just as she thought, she looked like a zombie; great now she's thinking like Castle as well. Her cheeks are washed out and no matter how much makeup she put on this morning the circles under her eyes are still apparent. Hopefully Castle won't notice...yeah right he always notices and then he will get in her face about it and she really can't handle that today.

By the time she has convinced herself to go out there and face the music, Castle has already arrived and left a steaming cup of coffee on her desk, as well as a bear claw. Glancing around she's a bit disappointed not to see him, though she will never admit that; really it's probably a good thing that he doesn't see her before she's at least revived herself with the amazing cup of coffee.

Sitting down at her desk she takes a sip of coffee whilst going over the case files for another time. Halfway through she hears Castles booming laugh break out from across the floor and seconds later his wandering his way towards her, giving friendly hellos to those sitting at the desks in the distance between them. She determinedly stares at the file in front of her, so as to not let him see her face. She knows that it is pointless, but hey can't stop a girl from trying.

He sits down in his chair and it squeaks loudly, she knows his trying hard to keep quiet and allow her to finish, what he thinks is important, because otherwise she would have looked up and said a quiet hello like usual. She continues to stare down with her hair providing a barrier between them, allowing her to hide the fact that she is hiding from his gaze. He is obviously finding it hard as he starts fiddling with everything and anything that is within his reach and what he hopes won't make her angry with him.

Resolved to get it over and done with she looks up at him and says "Hey Castle" waiting for him to say something.

His pupils widen, but he doesn't say anything. Espo and Ryan must have warned him about her obvious bad mood. She is thankful for his silence, but a small part of her is saddened by the fact that he is letting her poor appearance go. Just as she was about to go back to reading the case files; for real this time, when his hand reached out and covered hers, startling her and forcing eyes to meet his penetrating gaze. He only rested his there for a few seconds but that combined with the emotions he was portraying with his eyes, told her he was very concerned about her and that he was there for her in whatever way she needed for him to be. She held his gaze unwavering hoping he got the message, the hidden thank you. He always could read her like a book (ironic how she was always reading his), answered with a nod of his head.

Their intent staring at each other was broken by Ryan's light cough. She jumped back as if burned and quietly asked "Ryan, what do you have?"

Ryan saw it as it was, an apology and started speaking "Was looking into James phone records and I found he had been calling the same number repeatedly, with no answer. The first time he called, the person answered; but they only talked briefly. Whatever was said obviously didn't satisfy him as he had continued to call right to the time of his abduction. I am currently looking into who was on the other end, but came up with some difficulties as it is a private and blocked number that has recently been shut off. Hopefully something will pop so, but don't hold your breath."

"Thanks Ryan, in the meantime can you look to see if Amelia had called this number as well. This might be the connection between the two." Nodding his head he turned away and headed back to his desk. She meanwhile said "Castle, can you look over these files, I need a fresh perspective on them."

"You mean crazy theories?" He replied with a hesitant smile.

"Really anything would be better than what we have presently. I'm going to go...um...look into something. Call me if you need me."Grabbing her jacket and heading towards the elevator, she really hoped that what she was looking into turned into a false lead.

She took her car and drove. It seemed to take forever to get there. Walking up the same steps she had 17 years ago she reflected on how much had changed. Back then at the mere age of 17 she had just lost her mother a few months before. Her Dad had been burying his sorrows in the bottle and she had struggled through the past few weeks of her schooling career. She had been doubting whether she was going to go to onto college, but even if she did she knew she wouldn't; couldn't become a lawyer like she and her Mother had planned. The weeks following her Mothers death she lost herself, merely going through the motions at home and at school. She tried to ignore the fact that her life had been changed forever. At times though it all rushed back and she took her emotions and got rid of them only way she knew how. It wasn't the best way she knew that, but she couldn't stop. Her actions are what led her this dark manky building far from Manhattan and the life she had known at the time.

Stepping inside she couldn't believe she was right back here, when she had told herself never again.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the late update, life has gotten in the way and I have only recently got back on track. Hopefully this won't happen again but I can't promise anything; I only hope you will continue to read. So once again sorry and enjoy, the story is finally coming into shape.**

_Previously: _

_She took her car and drove. It seemed to take forever to get there. Walking up the same steps she had 17 years ago she reflected on how much had changed. Back then at the mere age of 17 she had just lost her mother a few months before. Her Dad had been burying his sorrows in the bottle and she had struggled through the past few weeks of her schooling career. She had been doubting whether she was going to go to onto college, but even if she did she knew she wouldn't; couldn't become a lawyer like she and her Mother had planned. The weeks following her Mothers death she lost herself, merely going through the motions at home and at school. She tried to ignore the fact that her life had been changed forever. At times though it all rushed back and she took her emotions and got rid of them only way she knew how. It wasn't the best way she knew that, but she couldn't stop. Her actions are what led her this dark manky building far from Manhattan and the life she had known at the time. _

_Stepping inside she couldn't believe she was right back here, when she had told herself never_ _again. _

It was in nearly the exact same condition as it was back then. It was quite shocking, but oddly comforting. The tiny entryway had the same multicolored rug that she had vomited all over that fateful night. It had taken many hours of scrubbing to get the stain out, but she had thought she at least owed Jason that. Knocking on his office door she couldn't believe that these were the circumstances that had her retracing her steps. The quiet "Come in" caused tears to well in her eyes. Pushing it all behind her and silently cursing her emotions she opened the door a crack. "Hey, Jason..I..um.."

"Katie! Come on in. Look who's all grown up." Apart from her father Jason was the only one with the rights to her nickname. Stepping inside she got a better look at years had been kind on him and in fact he looked almost the exact same. The same crazy grey beard and hair (though there was probably a fair amount more white scattered through it), the same type of brown suit and quite disgustingly large glasses.

"What brings you back after so long? Not that I'm complaining mind you." He said in his posh British accent after she had taken a seat opposite his with his desk in between.

"Can't I just be here for a visit?" she replied not wanting to actually begin the much needed conversation.

"Katie... I think I know you better than that. After you got back from the hospital and started packing your belongings I knew you wanted to shut this part of your life out forever. So I ask you again, what has brought you back?" His quiet, calm voice calling her to respond truthfully.

"Well, I guess you need to know who I am today to understand that. After I left I signed up for the police academy, wanting justice not only for my mother but for myself, as well as helping others getting the justice they so deserve. But as you know you can only choose one path in the once you get off the streets, so it was either getting justice for those like me or those you lost someone just as I lost my mother. I of course choose the later because...well because she was my whole world and whilst what happened to me was horrific it didn't effect the people I loved as much. I started homicide and have been working it ever since. A few days ago I got a case; a really terrible case and the guy behind it had murdered a whole heap of kids and kidnapped one. He left two messages one calling me to find her and the other alluding to another crime. He made it personal and I originally thought it was because of the press that occurred when the Nikki Heat movie was announced. Right Nikki Heat is..."

"Katie just because you left didn't mean I didn't care what happened to you. I followed you as much as I could." He cut in with a small smile.

"Right... anyway... the girl who was taken name is Amelia and she's 17. I didn't think much of it, but you know, I couldn't not think about it as well. Then yesterday the second crime occurred and a boy was taken. He was also 17 and his name is James. I thought it was to much of coincidence; so here I am. To my knowledge you are the only person who knows what happened other than the people who did it to me."

"Yes Katie, I didn't speak a word to anyone. Though Miss Romeonsurre was quite insistent."

Chuckling quietly she replied "Lily never could stand not knowing. It would drive her insane when I came back from a day out and not tell her a word about what I had done all day."

"Ah yes the illusive days out at the hospital and clinic." He responded with a smile on his face. His smile dropped shortly after though."So you believe that Amelia and James are...?"

"Yes, I mean what else could it be? I just have no idea who would do this or even why, but once I saw the photo of him with his adoptive family then I knew. I can't hide from it anymore. I just don't know how to tell everyone at the precinct, they have no clue about any of this."

"My dear, if what you believe to be true is; then you must face it fully, including diverging the details of 17 years ago to your close friends and coworkers. And I will be here for you if you need me; just as I was back then."

"You're right. Um...thank you for this and then. I don't even think I thanked you back then and it was due to you that I was able to become the person I am today. So thank you."

"It is no problem, you are like the daughter I never had."

Standing up he motioned for her to copy. Once she had he walked around the desk and gave her a tight hug. They stood there hugging until the emotions were to great and she had to pull away. Staring at her feet she pondered when would be the best time to break the news.

"Katie, you will be fine, be the strong independent woman I know you to be." And with that Jason walked out, leaving her to her own devices.

Taking a few minutes to regroup, she walked back out of the place she had stayed for eight months. Not for the last time. When this was all over she would have to come back. She was wrong to hide away from the past, no matter how painful. Jason was an important part of that and she should never have left him behind. Heading out she sent a group text to Castle, Lanie, Esposito, Ryan, Captain Montgomery and her father inviting them all out that evening to talk. Thinking she may as well get it all over and done with in one sitting.


End file.

Castle