Martha opens the door to the loft, Alexis standing nervously behind her. "Jim, thank you for coming so late. We wouldn't have called but… we just didn't know what to do."

"It's no problem, Martha. Any news on Rick?" Jim Beckett enters the loft and looks from one redhead to the other.

"No, the FBI thinks that he chose to walk away, that he planned the whole thing. They're giving up. But Kate…" Alexis pauses, not sure whether the detective's current actions are due to her frustration at the situation or if it implies that she is starting to feel the same way as the FBI.

"He wouldn't do that; he's a good man. They will find him," Jim places a comforting hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"Katherine is in his office. Let us know if there is anything we can do," Martha tells him, putting an arm around her granddaughter's shoulders and leading her in to the kitchen.

Jim nods and heads toward the office, unsure of how he can make this any easier for his daughter but knowing that he isn't going to allow her to follow the same path he did. He knocks lightly on the door before entering, "Katie?"

The detective is curled up on the couch in Castle's office, a mostly empty bottle of whiskey clutched in her hand. "Why are you here?" she asks, not bothering to look up at him.

"Martha and Alexis called me. They're worried about you," he says softly, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

"I'm fine. Go home."

"Drinking isn't going to bring him back, Katie."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Kate finally looks up at him, her eyes red and tear tracks covering her cheeks.

"I know that it hurts, Katie, but drinking isn't going to fix this."

"I don't think you have any right to be lecturing me about this," she takes a sip from the bottle in her hand.

"You saw what my drinking did, Katie, how it took over my life and ruined our relationship for years. Don't do this to yourself," he reaches for the bottle but she maintains her strong hold on it, preventing him from taking it away. "Alexis told me that the FBI is dropping the case. You're the only hope of finding him. Do you think you can do that drunk?"

"I can't do this, Dad. I don't know how to do this without him. It just… it hurts so much, and I just want it to stop," she wipes at the fresh tears on her cheeks.

"You may think that drinking will help the pain, but it won't, Katie. It will still be there, and it will just get worse if you don't deal with it properly."

"I just want him back," she closes her eyes, letting the tears leak from her eyes.

"So go find him and bring him home."

"He was running away from me, Dad. He used the money for our honeymoon to have the SUV that ran him off the road destroyed. He didn't want to marry me."

Jim pulls the whiskey bottle away from his daughter, setting it out of her reach on the end table beside the couch, then wraps his arm around her and pulls her to his chest. "I saw the way he looked at you. It was the same look that I had on my face every time that I looked at your mother. He loved you, Katie. He waited for four years for you to realize that you felt the same way, he put himself in danger everyday just to follow you around, and he has written six books to show the world how he feels about you. He wouldn't just walk away."

"He's been missing for almost two weeks; if he didn't run away, he's probably already dead," she says bitterly.

"His mother and daughter are depending on you to find him. And if he is dead, don't you think they deserve to know what happened to him? You spent fifteen years chasing your mother's killer so that we could have some closure, Katie. Don't they deserve the same?"

"All that matters is that he isn't going to come back."

"What if it was reversed? What if you were the one that disappeared on the way to the wedding? Would Rick just give up on you like this?"

"No, he wouldn't, but he's a foolishly optimistic idiot… That's part of why I love him," she buries her face further into his shoulder, unable to stop her tears.

"Maybe you being an optimistic idiot too is what will bring him home safe."

"And what if I fail?" she whispers. "I miss him so much already, Dad. What if he is gone?"

He has no answer for his daughter, does not even want to think about the darkness she will fall into if her fiancé is gone. He just holds her as she sobs, her tears soaking his shirt. After several minutes, she quiets down and pulls away from him.

"Don't give up, Katie. I'm sure Rick is out there right now trying to find a way back here to you."

She nods, wiping the tears from her face. "I'm so sorry for all of the awful things I said to you after Mom was killed, that I called you a coward for drinking instead of dealing with it. But… I know that pain now; I know why you started drinking."

"No, Katie, what you said helped me get sober, to deal with my problems and be a better father for you. I just don't want you to go down the same path."

"I… The bottle was almost gone already, Dad; I've only had three sips maybe."

"I thought you didn't like whiskey."

"Castle does. I thought it would bring me closer to him, give me some sort of insight as to where he is."

"Martha said that she saw you crying in here with a bottle of wine a couple days ago."

The detective hesitates before nodding, "We opened it after we arrested the senator. There was maybe two glasses' worth left in the bottle. I'm in control of this, Dad."

"I thought I was in control too, Katie. I never thought I was an alcoholic until I got sober."

She pulls back to look him in the eyes, "I'm fine, Dad. As fine as I can be without Rick here. But I'm going to find him; I'm going to bring him home."

"Are you sure you're okay, Katie?"

"Yes, I'm just going to head to bed and try to get some sleep so I have a clear mind tomorrow when I go through everything again, figure out what it is that we're missing."

"If you need anything, you can call me anytime., Katie."

"I know, Dad," she kisses his cheek before getting off the couch and opening the door to Castle's office.

"Be careful, Katie," he hugs her before heading out of the office. She shuts the door behind him, unable to face Martha and Alexis at the moment.

"Is she okay?" Alexis asks, following Jim to the door with her grandmother.

"No… but she'll get through it. Just… let me know if this continues to happen. She doesn't need to make the same mistake that I did when Johanna died," he requests.

"Of course," Martha pulls him into a hug before opening the door to the loft for him. "Hopefully we see you under happier circumstances next time." Jim nods, then heads out the door.

"Gram, is she going to be okay? She's our only hope of finding Dad, and she… she just has to be okay," the younger redhead hugs her grandmother.

"I don't know, dear. I can't imagine what she is going through right now. But she can't give up on him; no matter what the evidence says, he did not run away from her, from us."