I Dream of You

Summary – This has been done before but after reading the spoilers (such as they were which wasn't much) about Castle's father returning in season 6 (yeah, James Brolin), this plot bunny popped into my head. It's probably not going to be more than a couple of chapters but sometimes these stories take on a life of their own so you never know.

And yeah, I should be finishing up my other fanfics, and I hope to do that this weekend.

Disclaimer – Don't own Castle. ABC and Marlowe do. Just writing for fun.

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Chapter 1 – You're Real and You Speak English

Beckett sat back in her chair, running her hand through the crown of her hair and glancing at her now empty coffee cup. She pursed her lips together as she looked at Espo and Ryan's empty chairs, half wishing they were still here so one of them could get her coffee like they had been doing the last 3 months.

The boys had finished their paperwork early and offered to stay, but she sent them home since their recent cases had taken up so much of their time, Ryan to his family and Espo to wherever he went.

Beckett was fine with that, coming in early, leaving late, being alone – burying herself again in her work as she pushed the reality of her world to the back of her mind, putting one foot in front of the other just to get through the day.

She was even seeing Dr. Burke again, trying not to let the wall that had been so carefully torn down creep back up.

She still wasn't sleeping well, but she knew from past experience that she would someday, but just not now, though it was getting better. She spent less time staring at the ceiling of "their" bedroom before drifting off into a fitful sleep and then waking with a jolt when she realized again he wasn't there.

"Hey, girl," said Lanie as she walked over to Beckett's desk, careful not to sit in the empty chair to the left – the one always reserved for Castle – the one someone had tied a tiny yellow ribbon to.

"Hey," Beckett replied, looking up at her friend with a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I know why I'm here so late, but what brings you here?"

Lanie shrugged as she perched on the side of Beckett's desk. "Just got a call that Gates needed to see me. I didn't know that you had a body drop."

Beckett frowned and stood up, discretely stretching before reaching down to pick up her coffee cup. "Not that I've heard yet."

"You want me to get that for you?" Lanie asked quietly.

Beckett shook her head. "No, I've got this," she replied, gripping the cup determinedly.

She walked towards the break room and paused at the door – it had only been in the last couple of weeks that she had stopped avoiding it altogether and could actually walk inside now without her hands shaking. The top-of-the-line espresso maker Castle had bought for the precinct reminded her too much of him and the fact that he was gone – had simply vanished without a trace on the flight back from LA three and a half months ago and there had never been any solid leads as to his disappearance.

Gina had sent him out on business the week before, disrupting their plans to look for wedding venues, and he had apologized profusely in his text that morning, saying that finding the perfect place would now be his number one priority, just as she was.

Beckett waited for him at passenger pick-up, watching as passengers joyfully greeted loved ones, and then texted him several times when he never came out. She finally parked the car, went in, and had him paged but that didn't work either.

Her next step was to call Gina and ask her if he had been delayed, perhaps missed the plane and didn't want to tell her, but she said no, she was sure he had been on the plane that morning.

She then called Martha and Alexis to make sure there hadn't been a mix-up – that Castle wasn't trying to trick her by making her come to the airport and then beating her home and setting up some elaborate and romantic gesture to make up for the last-minute trip.

They both assured her that, no, Richard/Dad hadn't planned anything like that – but they might suggest it to him the next time he was in the dog house.

After she hung up, she visited airport security, pulling out her badge and getting a copy of the passenger list. Yes, Richard Castle had a seat in first class. A check of the boarding passes confirmed that he had been on board the plane when it took off.

But when they watched the video of the passengers leaving the plane, he wasn't there and no one disembarking matched his description.

They interviewed the crew immediately, and, yes, Jacinda confirmed that Castle had been in first class. They talked for a minute before the flight took off and then briefly again an hour later when she brought him a drink.

At one point, he had gotten up to go to the restroom and she didn't remember seeing him again after that, but the last hour of the flight had been very chaotic. Several of the first class passengers had been very demanding and they hit turbulence about 30 minutes out from New York, so all of the flight attendants were busy and didn't notice if he had returned to his seat or not.

Impossibly, Castle had simply vanished mid-air and there was no trace of him.

Beckett reached up to start the espresso machine and then paused, listening to the silence. The bull pen normally hummed with life, even this late at night, but now, it was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

She unfastened the security strap on her gun and carefully moved to the door and then froze, understanding the silence now as the few people there just stood and stared.

Castle was by the elevator door, a dazed and confused expression on his face; an older gentleman about the same height with white hair and white beard stood beside him, with a hand gently gripping his arm.

Beckett quickly stepped back into the break room as Gates' voice boomed across the area.

"Mr. Castle, are you all right? Where have you been?" she demanded as she walked over to them.

"Captain, if we can talk in your office?" the older gentleman said as he guided Castle to the chair next to Beckett's desk and sat him down. "Son, I'll be right back," he reassured Castle who still looked uncertainly at his surroundings.

Beckett turned from the door and crossed her arms tightly against her chest, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to get her emotions under control. She took several deep breaths, unlocked her arms, and turned back around, only to find Castle standing inches away from her, invading her personal space.

"I dream of people," he said in a raspy voice, half-frowning at her as if trying to make sense of everything. "There's a young girl with red hair and an older slightly crazy woman. But mostly I dream of you."

He studied her intently and then placed his palm on her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, wiping away the tears. "We walk on the beach, and then sometimes we do other things," he said with a half-smile and shrug. "And before I wake up, you say 'Come back to me,' and I say 'Always.'"

Beckett studied him in return, the longer hair, the days-old stubble on his chin, the scars that hadn't been there before – one above his left eyebrow and the other on his throat below his Adam's apple. "I'm right here," she said softly.

Castle paused, blinking in surprise. "You're real and you speak English – I can understand you."

Beckett nodded. "Yeah, I am."

The half-smile turned into a real smile as he used both hands to cup her face. "Kate," he said finally, breathing out her name before drawing her to him and tenderly kissing her lips.

The kiss grew more passionate as he held her tightly as a drowning man would hold onto a life preserver.

They finally broke the kiss when they heard someone clear their throat behind him. Gates and Lanie stood in the doorway.

"Detective, Mr. Castle, perhaps you'd like some place more private?" suggested Gates. "I think you have some catching up to do."

Castle frowned at them and then looked down at Beckett again as he held her to him, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Beckett – you are not going to believe where I've been and what happened," he said finally, the words gushing out as if a dam had broken inside of him and his world was normal again now that he was home.

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