Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. If I did, Alexis would've been kidnapped a while ago. Seriously, I've been waiting for an episode like "Target" from at least the second season.

Forgive me if Kate sounds incredibly selfish! It's just how the story turned out.

Enjoy!

Beckett stands in front of the murder board in shock. Of all the things she expected from Alexis' kidnapping, role reversal was not one of them. She is trying to be strong for Castle, but a part of her wonders how to keep the steady flow of reassurance. The detective sighs as she contemplates how the writer had dealt with her grief for years. It had not even been a week and she was already contemplating defeat.

He must have caved at some point!

Then the detective turns around and stares as Alexis' picture pinned to the board and realizes that the girl in front of her is Castle's reason. With all he had to put up with, Alexis was his hope. The girl was everything to the writer, as well she should be. She was his baby girl.

Unable to stare at the young woman's smiling face, Beckett decides to sit at her desk facing away from the problem at hand. However, her new problem is she now has to deal with Castle's chair. As she mulls over the days' events again, she realizes Castle never touched her hand when he took his coffee. He simply grabbed it and left. Deep inside, aside from worrying about Alexis, the woman knew her boyfriend's nonexistent touch was what bothered her most.

Every time they exchanged a cup of coffee the couple had at least let the other's fingers ghost past his or her own.

Always.

Part of her wondered if this was just her boyfriend's way of dealing with loss. She had run away numerous times to deal with problems shutting people out along the way. However, as she thought about her boyfriend's actions the detective realized the man was simply dealing with the possible loss of his daughter. Like so many times before, the writer was acting like a parent. He did not want to be cold to her and may not be fully aware of his actions, but part of her still wished for the touch of his hand on her own as he grabbed the coffee. It was their own little way of telling the other they loved each other. After so many years she was unsure she could live without the one thing that seemed to be a huge constant in her life for the past four years.

Deciding her fears were irrational and a tad selfish, the detective grabbed her coat and left the precinct hoping tomorrow would be a little better than today.

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