DISCLAIMERS: 'Castle' is the property of Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC Studios Productions. No copyright infringement is intended. The story is the property of the author and may not be archived without my permission.
TITLE: In a Castle Dark or a Fortress Strong
SUMMARY: Castle and Beckett are faced with the aftermath of a horrible ordeal that threatens to rip their family apart.
RATING: T for subject matter. The rating might change later.
A/N #1: This is my entry for the 2014 Summer Ficathon. It is the prequel to 'A Bright, Shining Hope.'
A/N #2: In 'A Bright, Shining Hope,' I wrote about the quest to add a new baby to the family. I also wrote about the trauma that Castle and Ariel suffered at the hands of Jerry Tyson and Dr. Kelly Neiman. This story will cover the period between the accident and the release of Castle's first true-crime book about his ordeal with the serial killer and his accomplice. The story will be told in three parts and some of it will be told in flashbacks.
A/N #3: The title comes from a line in the Gordon Lightfoot song 'If You Could Read My Mind,' which is one of my favorite songs.
IN A CASTLE DARK OR A FORTRESS STRONG – PART I
Chapter 1: Aftermath
December 20th – 5 a.m.
Kate Beckett Castle had only meant to close her eyes for a second. It was just she was so tired and she'd been waiting for so long. Alexis had fallen asleep in one chair and Martha had fallen asleep in another one. She had checked in on the kids' right before midnight. Jenny Ryan had assured her that both Ariel and Jack were sound asleep. Kate had then talked to Kevin, who had also assured her that the kids were fine. After making arrangements to have them picked up as soon as she had some word about Rick, Kate had hung up and gone back to the waiting room.
She didn't want to go to sleep. If she went to sleep, she'd miss any news on Rick. But her eyes were so heavy and it was so cold in the waiting room. "Mrs. Castle? Mrs. Castle?" She forced her eyes opened at the sound of her name being called.
All three women awoke when they heard the male voice. Kate looked up into the face of a doctor standing above her, dressed in surgical scrubs with a mask dangling from around his neck. "How's Rick? Is he okay?"
"Your husband is out of surgery," the doctor sat in the chair next to Kate as Alexis and Martha quickly gathered next to her. "However, he's far from out of the woods. His heart and lungs were severely bruised in the accident, so for right now, he's requiring a ventilator to breathe."
"How long will he be on a ventilator?"
"I don't know. That's going to depend on him. I'll know more when he regains consciousness. Right now he's going to be transported to ICU."
"When can we see him?"
"As soon as he's moved, I'll let each of you in one at a time to visit him. I'm sorry, but for right now the visits will need to be very brief."
"Thank you," Kate whispered as he got up and walked away. She then embraced her mother-in-law and stepdaughter as all three of them cried tears of relief. "I need to call my father, Capt. Gates and the boys to let them know Castle's condition."
"Darling, why don't you wait until after you see Richard?" Martha suggested.
"Kate, I'll pick the kids up and take them to our apartment after I've seen dad," Alexis offered. "I'm sure that Ariel in particular is probably still terrified. They'll be more comfortable in familiar surroundings."
"Thank you, Alexis," Kate managed a tremulous smile.
Kate felt guilty for not thinking more of her small daughter after the boys had rescued her. At first the terror of what Tyson and Neiman were possibly subjecting her to had overridden common sense. Kate had wanted to go out there and search for her, stopping only after Gates had finally convinced her to let the boys handle it; that her place was with Castle. She could still remember Castle's frantic words to her as they were loading him on the ambulance.
"He grabbed her, Kate. Tyson grabbed her! She was screaming for me and there wasn't anything that I could do! Kate, you have to find her! Tyson's going to kill her to punish me if you don't! You have to find her!"
"Rick, we're going to find her." Her eyes found Capt. Gates standing by Castle's wrecked car with the boys and CSU.
"Kate, if he hurts her—"
"Ma'am, we need to get him to the hospital," the paramedic informed her.
"Kate—"
"Can you give me just two minutes?"
"One would be better. We need to go!"
Kate ran over to her team. "Tyson took Ari! I have to go and find her!"
"Det. Beckett, we'll find Ariel. You go with your husband," Gates ordered her.
"Sir, he wants me to find her."
"And you're wasting precious time standing here arguing with me, Detective. We've got witness statements and we know what to look for. Get out of here! Don't make me tell you again."
Kate ran back over to the ambulance, climbing in the bus and sitting at Castle's feet. As if sensing that she was there, he opened his eyes, but instead of being grateful that she was there, he became agitated. "Kate, why are you here? You have to find Ariel. Tyson's going to kill her, Kate."
"Rick, Rick, listen to me," she saw his blood pressure spike as the monitor began letting out a series of warning beeps. "Gates ordered me to come with you. Kevin and Javi are going to look for Ari. They're going to find her and then they're going to send Tyson and Neiman back down to hell where they belong."
It had taken almost three hellish, anguish filled hours before they located Ari and that was only because Kate had remembered the watch. The silly, high-priced gadget Castle had bought their daughter for her fifth birthday had been the one thing that had helped pinpoint her location. Kate would've laughed at the irony if she wasn't so tired and worried sick about her husband.
***CCC***
Kate had insisted that Alexis and Martha go in one at a time to see Castle first. The doctor had been firm about the 10 minute time limit. Both women had come out of the glass-walled cubicle with tears streaming down their faces. Standing outside looking in, all Kate could see of Rick was a bed and a bunch of machinery. She remembered waking up after her shooting to the sight of all of the machines keeping her alive and the memory was terrifying.
"Kate?" Alexis came out of the room, blowing her nose into a tissue. "Do you think that I should call my mom?"
"Sweetie, that's up to you. But, I should remind you that you of all people know what she can be like."
"I'll go and get the kids."
"Alexis, why don't you go home and get a few hours of sleep, first? I'm sure that Brian's anxious to see you. Jack is asleep at Helen and Ari's safe at Kevin and Jenny's. There's no reason to wake them up."
"Okay. Call me if there's any change," Alexis reached out and embraced Kate.
"I will."
Martha had gone to freshen up, so Kate took a deep breath and walked into the ICU cubicle, stopping short when she got her first look at Rick. His broken leg was in traction, there was a ventilator tube coming out of his mouth, there was a sling over one arm. But the worst damage was to his face. He'd suffered several severe lacerations from broken glass and slamming against the steering wheel. They'd had to shave his head in several places to stitch his scalp. She'd seen pictures of concentration camp survivors who'd looked better than Rick did at the moment. A nurse was checking his monitors and noticed that Kate was trying to decide what to do. "I'd say that it looks worse than it is, but that would be a lie. But please don't be afraid to touch him or to talk to him. My name is Kerry, by the way," she smiled pleasantly at Kate.
"I'm Kate. And thank you for not giving me a load of bullshit."
"Well, a lie isn't going to make you feel any better. He's stable, at the moment. If you need anything, come and get me."
"Thank you, Kerry," Kate sat down at Castle's bedside and took his uninjured hand in hers. "You'd like your nurse, Castle. She's nice and not too bad to look at. Giorgio is going to have a fit when he sees what they've done to your hair."
Castle was dreaming and it wasn't a pleasant dream. He could hear Kate's voice, but he wondered why she was here. Why wasn't she out there looking for Ariel? Why didn't she understand that 3XK had Ariel? Somehow he doubted that Tyson and Kelly Neiman were going to take her to the zoo or Central Park.
The snow was making visibility and traffic a nightmare. He was glad that he'd left Jack with his mother although the toddler always had a blast at his older sister's ballet school. All of the girls doted over the little boy with the brown hair and laughing blue eyes. But it was way too cold to get him out. He'd spoken to Kate right before leaving to pick Ariel up at school and they'd made arrangements to meet somewhere for dinner once Ariel got out of ballet.
They were stopped at Fifth Avenue and East 123rd Street waiting for the light to change. "Daddy, why is the Flatiron Building like this?" Ariel never tired of looking at the landmark. It was one of her favorites in the city.
"It's an illusion, baby," Castle told her, just like he did every other time she asked. "We'll look it up on Google when we get home. What do you want for dinner when you get—"
His sentence was stopped short by screeching tires and a crashing impact that sent Castle's Mercedes hundreds of feet up the intersection. He could hear Ariel's terrified screams from the backseat. "Daddy, what happened? Daddy, are you okay?"
The pain was worse than anything he'd ever felt. He fought to stay conscious, but he felt so sleepy, so warm. He knew that he needed to get Ariel out of the car. Then he felt a blast of cold air from the backseat and figured that someone had read his mind. "Ariel, can you hear me? Go with the person who's helping . . . you. Do you remember mommy's phone number at-"
Suddenly, he heard Ariel screaming again, but this time it was a primal scream of terror. "Daddy! Daddy, help me! Leave me alone! Let go of me! Daddy! Daddy! No! Don't! Leave me alone!"
"She's a fighter, Castle, but then I knew that she would be," Castle turned his head, screaming at the knives of pain that radiated through his skull and tried to free himself when he saw Tyson yanking Ariel out of her booster seat and tossing her over to Kelly Neiman, who'd been standing next to the car.
"No! Tyson, let her go! No!"
The monitors began beeping crazily as Castle's eyes snapped open. "Rick?" Kate's eyes met his. But instead of being reassured by her voice, the beeping intensified. "Rick? Castle, its okay. You need to calm down. Ariel's okay, Rick. Do you understand me? Kevin and Javi found her. She's okay."
"Mrs. Castle, it's time for you to leave," she heard the doctor's voice behind her.
"Rick, I have to go. I'll see you in a little while."
Kate left Rick to the care of the medical staff while she went out into the corridor. She pulled out her phone and saw that she had a text message from her father: 'Checking on Rick. Call me when you can.'
She walked down the hall, and dialed her father's number. "Hi, Katie. How's Rick?"
"He's in ICU. They have him on a ventilator because his lungs and heart are so badly bruised. He was awake just now, and I told him that Ari's safe, but I'm not sure how much he comprehended. The doctor's with him now."
"You should go home and get some rest," he calmly suggested.
"I can't leave him, dad. He looked so scared just now. I can't leave him," she repeated as her voice choked up.
"I know, but you have to take care of yourself and those babies. Are they okay?"
"I called Jenny at midnight and said that Ari was asleep. I haven't had a chance to check on Jack. Alexis is going to pick them up later this morning and take them to hers' and Brian's apartment."
"Call me if you need anything."
"I will. I love you."
"I love you, too."
She hung up and saw that the doctor was exiting the ICU cubicle. "Doctor, how is he?"
"He's sedated and will sleep for a while. You should go home and get some sleep yourself."
"When can I see him again?"
"Mrs. Castle, you can visit him every hour for 10 minutes, but he's still under anesthesia, plus I've just sedated him. I don't expect him to regain any state of consciousness for at least 12 hours, possibly much longer. His body is trying to heal. Now, I can try to find you an empty bed here in the hospital, but I think you'd be much more comfortable in your own bed. We have your number on file and I'll call you if you need to come back up here."
"Fine," Kate sighed, too tired and bedraggled to argue.
***CCC***
Two hours earlier at the Ryan household
"Mom? Mama? Mommy?" Jenny Ryan opened her eyes to find her six-year-old daughter Colleen standing beside the bed.
"Colleen, what's wrong?" She looked at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was almost four in the morning.
"Ariel's crying."
"Jenny, what's going on?" Kevin sleepily rolled over.
"Ariel's crying. Okay, Colleen. I'll be right there," Jenny swung her legs over the side of the bed and grabbed her robe. She went to Colleen's bedroom across the hall, where she'd put Ariel the night before after her and Kevin had brought her home. At the moment, Jack was staying with a neighbor in Castle's building. The little girl was lying on her side, crying in her sleep. "Ariel? Ariel, its okay. You're safe. Nobody's going to hurt you."
Kevin had gotten out of bed after his wife and was now standing in the bedroom doorway, watching her attempting to comfort the little girl. She had been practically catatonic the night before when they'd brought her home. He could still remember how it had felt when she'd literally collided into his and Javi's arms seconds before the car Tyson had been driving blew sky high into the New York night. Her screams had been ear splitting while he'd tried to convey to Gates over his cell phone that she was okay.
But once her screams had stopped, no other sounds left her mouth. She wouldn't speak, she didn't cry. She just stared blankly into space, doing whatever she was guided into doing with the personality of a robot. "Jenny, let me try," he walked over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. "Ariel, its Uncle Kevin. Auntie Jenny and I brought you to our house the night before. Do you remember?"
"Daddy," she cried out in her sleep.
"Your daddy's going to be okay, sweetie."
She rolled over and faced him, her eyes bleak with misery. "Did that bad man and bad lady go away?"
"Yeah sweetie, they're gone."
"Did you and Uncle Javi shoot them?"
"You know what? It's really late and I'm thinking that your mommy will talk to you later on. Would you like some hot chocolate? Do you think that would help you go back to sleep?"
"I want my daddy," her lower lip quivered as huge tears rolled down her face.
"I know, sweetie. I miss your daddy, too," Kevin fought back tears of his own. He tentatively reached out to rub Ariel's back, not wanting to startle her. As he rubbed her back, he began to softly sing an Irish lullaby to her as Ariel's eyes finally began to drift closed. He stayed at her bedside for several more minutes before finally leaving the room and returning to his and Jenny's bedroom, where Jenny was lying with Colleen, who was fast asleep.
"Did she go back to sleep?" Jenny kept her voice low.
"Yeah. Jenny, that poor baby experienced stuff that no child should ever have to experience. I don't know what's going to happen to them . . . if Castle . . . if he doesn't pull through."
Kevin began to sob as Jenny reached out and pulled him into her arms. "Kevin, it's okay. Rick's tough. He's going to be his old self in no time."
As Jenny held her husband, she prayed that her words were true. She knew that as far as Kate was concerned, the sun rose and set on Richard Castle. She'd never met a couple more committed to each other, except for her and Kevin.
A few hours later, Kevin got up to the sound of the alarm and got up to shower and dress for work. He checked his cell phone after he'd finished dressing. "Alexis is going to drop by later this morning to pick Ariel up. She said that they got to see Castle for a short while earlier this morning."
"Is Kate still at the hospital?" Jenny asked.
"Knowing Beckett, yeah. I'll try texting her when I get to the precinct. Are you sure that you can handle this? If not—"
"Kevin, I'll be okay."
"Uh, don't ask her any questions. I'm sure that Gate's is going to want to question her, so we don't want her being coached."
"Okay," Jenny nodded.
"I have to go. I'll talk to you soon," he kissed her before she walked him to the door.
Within an hour, the three kids were up. "Mom, I'm hungry!" Three-year-old Liam announced.
"How about pancakes?" Jenny suggested as the little boys' eyes instantly lit up.
"But it's not Sunday," Colleen chimed in.
"But, we have a guest. Ariel, would you like some pancakes?"
Instead of answering, Ariel walked over to the living room window and pulled back the curtain, staring out at the snow-covered ground. She sat down on the floor, pulling the curtain around her as she continued staring outside.
"Mom, why is she acting so weird?" Colleen asked her mother.
"Colleen, that isn't nice. Go get dressed and help your brother get dressed while I make breakfast."
Sitting in front of the living room window, Ariel clenched and unclenched her fists, one of which held a dirty stuffed rabbit. Both hands hurt from scrapes she'd gotten when that bad lady had thrown her out of the moving car. She had gauze wrapped around her leg from road rash suffered at the same time. She also had cuts on her face, but she didn't know where they'd come from.
Ariel Castle loved the Flatiron Building. She loved it more than the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. She especially loved it when she was going to her ballet school, because if she was lucky, they would have to stop for the red light and she could stare at her favorite building in wide-eyed awe.
She was watching the snow blowing by her window while staring at the landmark. She heard the screeching tires, but she didn't pay much attention because you always heard car horns and brakes screeching in the city. But suddenly, something hit the car so hard that it shook; her daddy's window shattered and the car moved out into the middle of the street where other cars almost hit them.
She tried to unbuckle the straps on her booster seat, but they wouldn't budge. "Daddy?" Her daddy wouldn't wake up and there was blood running down the side of his head. "Daddy? Daddy, wake up!"
"Ariel?" Daddy's voice sounded funny, like he was very tired. "Ariel, are you okay?"
"I . . . I think so." She was about to say something else when her door was suddenly yanked open. She turned to see who had come to help her. "Hi. Are you here to help me?" She remembered asking the man who was standing there with a lady. "You should help my daddy first. I think he's hurt."
"Don't worry about your daddy," the man took out a huge knife and slashed through the straps on the booster seat. "He's not going anywhere. But, you need to come with us."
"Are we going to call my mommy? She's the police."
"We know all about your mother, now shut the fuck up," the man sounded like a monster as he grabbed Ariel from her booster seat and thrust her toward the lady standing with him. "Kelly, take the brat!"
"No! Let go of me! Daddy! Daddy, help me! No! Leave me alone! Daddy! Daddy!"
"Ariel!" Her daddy turned his head toward the backseat to see what was going on.
"She's quite the fighter, Castle, but I knew that she would be," the bad man said as he and the bad lady quickly made their way toward the crowd that had gathered, all the while Ariel was screaming as loudly as she could, just like her mommy and daddy had taught her to do if she was ever in danger.
Two men and another lady tried to stop them from taking her, but the bad man pulled out a gun and aimed it at them. They then made their way up to a car. The bad man pointed his gun at the lady behind the wheel, screaming bad words at her as the lady quickly got out of her car and the three of them got in, the bad man tossing an opened duffel bag onto the seat behind them.
"Ariel," Ariel turned around to find Jenny standing next to her. "Sweetie, why don't you come and have some breakfast? Alexis sent me a text a little while ago. She's going to be here in about an hour. She's going to take you and Jack to her house. She said your mommy will be there later."
Ariel didn't say anything. She just turned back to look out of the window. Jenny stood for a few minutes more before deciding to leave the little girl in peace. She'd known Ariel since the day she was born, and she'd watched the normally happy-go-lucky little girl become an old soul overnight.
Ariel stared out at the white landscape, not really seeing anything. She processed what Aunt Jenny had just told her as only a small child can. Aunt Jenny had said that mommy would be coming to Lex's house, but she hadn't said anything about her daddy. Tears began streaming down her small face. Her daddy had been bleeding so badly. She'd never seen so much blood.
***CCC***
An hour later the doorbell rang. Jenny answered it to find Alexis and little Jack standing there. "Alexis, how's your dad?" Jenny hugged the young woman.
"I talked to Kate a little while ago. She said that he's still heavily sedated and hasn't awakened again. Is Ariel ready to go?"
"Alexis, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jenny looked from Alexis to her 23-month-old half-brother standing at her side. "Jack, come with me. Liam is in the playroom with his Lego's."
Jenny took the little boy out of the room, returning alone a moment later. "Is everything all right? Is something wrong with Ariel?" Alexis asked, following Jenny into the living room.
"She's been behind that curtain all morning," Jenny kept her voice low as Alexis strained to hear. "She refuses to come out and she hasn't said a word. She had a nightmare earlier and we managed to get her back to sleep, but since then . . . I'm worried."
"Well, Kate did say they think that she witnessed everything. That's a lot for an adult to process. I'd hate to imagine what it would be like for a five-year-old. I'll see if I can talk to her." Alexis walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside, kneeling down beside her little sister, who was still in pajamas she'd borrowed from Colleen. "Ariel, how would you and Jack like to go to my house? You can meet the puppy that Brian got me for Christmas. His name's Rook, like in daddy's book. I was going to make some chicken noodle soup for dinner. You can help me, just like you always do. Would you like that?"
"Is mommy going to be there?"
"Yeah, she said she'll be there this afternoon. She said that Gram's going to stay at the loft with you guys. It's always fun when Gram's there."
"Is daddy going to be there?"
"Ariel, daddy got hurt, remember? He has to stay in the hospital until he gets better."
"Mommy had to stay at the hospital when she had Jack."
"Yes, she did. You're very smart to remember that. I brought you some clean clothes to wear to my apartment and I can fix your hair the way that your mommy does. Would you like that?"
"Daddy will be home tomorrow." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.
"We'll see," Alexis thought it best not to argue, but not to lie to her, either. "Come on, let's get you dressed."
***CCC***
Lanie Parish's apartment – 3 a.m.
Lanie sleepily rolled over, reaching out in her sleep for Javi. Her eyes snapped opened when all she felt was emptiness. She sat up, looking around for her sometime sleeping partner. "Javi?" She called out before getting out of bed and exiting the bedroom. She finally found Javi sitting at her small dining table with a bottle of tequila and a glass in front of him. "Javi? Are you okay?"
Javier Esposito didn't answer. His mind was on what had happened the evening and night before.
He and Kevin had been coordinating with units to try to find the car that Tyson had stolen shortly after the accident that had critically injured Castle. Kate was torn between wanting to be at the hospital with Castle and out on the streets looking for her daughter. "Beckett, every unit in the city is looking for that car," he assured her repeatedly. "Tyson's not going to get away."
"He already is getting away, Javi!" She screamed at him. "Why didn't anybody try to get Ari out of the car right after the accident? I know people look the other way in New York, but certainly there had to be one good, decent person who saw that there was a child in that car!"
"Someone was trying to get to her," Kevin stared at the floor. "Tyson grabbed the woman and threw her to the street. She suffered a broken arm and facial lacerations. She told LT that she heard Ariel crying for . . . crying for her daddy."
"Why isn't anybody calling in with tips?" Kate paced the corridor as Martha and Alexis attempted to calm her. "It's been an hour . . . wait. Oh my god!"
"Kate, what's wrong?" Alexis asked, watching Kate pull her phone out and dial.
"Helen, its Kate . . . I don't know. There's no word. Helen, I need for you to do something for me. Go upstairs to Ariel's bedroom. On her dresser is a Hello Kitty jewelry box. Can you look inside and see if there's a watch inside of it? It will be . . . light pink and the watchband will have little hearts on it. I'll hold on while you look." Kate paced with the phone to her ear while she waited. "Hello? It's not there? Oh, thank god. I have to go!"
"Beckett, what's going on?" Javi asked.
"I'm so stupid!" She ran a hand through her hair. "Castle bought Ari this watch for her birthday. We even had an argument about it. It has a GPS tracker in it. I told him that she didn't need some high-tech gadget to let us know where she was because if she wasn't with us, then she was with someone that she knew. He argued back that with her starting school, we couldn't be too safe. She's wearing the watch."
"Are you sure?" Javi asked.
"It's not in her jewelry box and she's meticulous about putting her things away. If it isn't in there, then she's wearing it. I've got the information saved on my phone. Castle's never going to let me live this down when I tell him about it." She brought up her notepad and found the information regarding the phone.
"We'll call this in," Kevin said after both men wrote down the coordinates of the watch. "We'll keep you posted, Kate. I promise."
"Beckett . . . Kate, the next time you see us, we're going to have the little Chica with us," Espo squeezed Kate's arm.
"Just be careful doing it," she implored them.
Neither man spoke after they returned to the car and called the coordinates of the fancy GPS watch in to Gates, who passed the information along to Tori Ellis, the 12th Precinct's Computer/Video Tech.
Within minutes, Espo's cell phone rang. He put it on speaker so that Ryan could hear what Gates had to say. "Ryan, Esposito, we're following the GPS coordinates. Right now, they're heading Eastbound on the Long Island Expressway."
"Please tell me that the tracker is moving," Espo said.
"It is moving. I'm going to pass the coordinates to air support. Hopefully a chopper can get their exact location. I'll keep you posted."
"Okay."
What followed during the next 45 minutes was akin to something out of an action movie. A chopper spotted the stolen car on the Long Island Expressway and kept them in sight as Tyson desperately tried to get away.
Ryan was driving like he was at Indy as he fought to catch up to Tyson and his accomplice. They were four car lengths back when they heard tires screech and cars swerve out of the way. "What the fuck?" Espo exclaimed when they saw a body fly out of the car ahead of them. "Ryan, stop the car!"
"What the hell?"
"That's Little Chica! Stop the fucking car!" Espo threw his door open and jumped out before Ryan had a chance to react.
Ryan stopped and leaped out after his partner who was already running up the street. Up ahead he could see Ariel lying face down in the roadway, unsure if she was alive or dead. "Ariel! Ariel!" He was relieved when he saw her head pop up, but instead of focusing on him and Espo, she focused her attention on the car she'd just been thrown for. "No, Ariel! Don't look at them!"
"Little Chica!" Espo was already running between the stopped cars on the expressway toward the terrified child. "Ariel! Little Chica! Run to me! Come on, baby! Get up and run! Now! Don't look at the car! Look at me! You need to run!"
It took her about 30 seconds, but she finally got to her feet and ran as fast as her little legs would carry her. "Uncle Javi! Uncle Kevin! Uncle Javi! Uncle Kevin!"
Esposito watched Ryan running toward Tyson's car with his gun drawn as he watched Ariel continuing to run up the roadway toward him. Suddenly, she ran into him so hard that she almost knocked him over. His arms wrapped around her, holding onto her tight as she kept repeating the same words over and over into his ear. Words that filled him with terror. "Ryan, get down! The car is going to blow!"
Both men threw themselves to the street as a roar filled the air and the car carrying Tyson and Neiman blew hundreds of feet into the air. Espo hadn't seen an explosion like that since Afghanistan. After several minutes, he managed to disengage Ariel's thin arms from around his neck so that he could look at her. She was bleeding from her hands and a few places on her face. She was crying and screaming as Ryan called Gates. Espo could barely hear his partner over Ariel's hysterical screams. "Sweetie, its okay. You're okay now," he pulled her back into his arms, feeling her arms and legs wrapping around him as he slowly rose to his feet. "We're going to take you to your mommy."
"Javi, you and Kevin found her. You gave Beckett her baby back," Lanie put her hand on Javi's forearm.
"She's always been our mascot, Lanie. Part Castle and part Beckett. Beckett brings her to the precinct and we'd always find something to get into, like a couple of kids," he said as Lanie couldn't help but smile. "That little girl is gone now. I don't know if she's ever going to come back."
"I know that Ariel's been horribly traumatized, but Kate can talk to people who can help her deal with that. I do think a lot is going to depend on Castle. But, you and Kevin were both Ariel's and Kate's heroes."
"I wasn't a hero, Lanie. I was just doing my job."
"That little girl and her mother aren't going to see it that way. And I'm sure Castle won't see it that way when he hears about it. Come on, let's go back to bed."
***CCC***
The Castle's loft – 9 a.m.
Kate unlocked the door and removed her coat. Looking around the living room, the train set and the brightly decorated Christmas tree seemed to mock her. How could it be the most wonderful time of the year when her husband was lying critically injured in the ICU at New York Presbyterian and her five-year-old daughter was severely traumatized? Her phone buzzed and she took it out to look at it. She had a text from Alexis: 'Going to pick Ariel up at Ryan and Jenny's. Will bring her & Jack to my place.'
Kate thought for a moment before sending a response. 'TY, Alexis. Am going to try to get some sleep. Will try to pick them up around 3.'
She heard footsteps on the stairs, and looked up to see Martha descending the stairs. "How's Richard?" She came down and embraced Kate before giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"He's still sleeping. Oh Martha, he looks so awful," Kate's voice broke and tears immediately came to her eyes.
"I know that he doesn't look like his ruggedly handsome self right now, but darling, he's alive. Right now, you need to just focus on that. My assistant is going to take over my acting classes until Richard is out of the woods so that I can be here to help you with the babies."
"Thank you so much, Martha," Kate gratefully hugged the older woman. "I'm going to take a shower and grab some sleep. I'm going to pick the kids up at Alexis' later this afternoon."
After showering, Kate walked over to their bed and crawled in, hugging one of Castle's pillows to her chest, inhaling his familiar scent. Her thoughts drifted back to a couple of nights before and she found herself smiling at the memory.
December 17 – 9 p.m.
Kate unlocked the door and entered the loft, expecting to hear the sound of Castle in his office on his laptop. Instead, she smiled at the sight that she was met with instead. Castle was asleep on the sofa with Jack tucked up into his side and Ari sprawled on his back. Both kids were also sound asleep. The sight never failed to make her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Castle had told her that he called it a puppy pile when he'd fall asleep with the kids like that.
He was such a wonderful father. With the craziness that had been going on in the last year with the reappearance of Tyson, he had proven how protective he could be. And while he was more of the 'fun' parent than Kate was, he could be the bad cop when the occasion called for it.
"Hey, little man," Kate carefully lifted Jack into her arms as the little boy rubbed his eyes and quickly settled against his mother's shoulder.
Sensing that Jack was being moved, Castle sleepily opened his eyes. "Hey," he whispered drowsily.
"Hey yourself. Be careful moving, you have a child on your back. I take it that they begged you to stay up again," she tried giving him a stern look, but one look at his blue eyes and she melted. "Bring Ari up to bed. I've got Jack."
She never knew how he managed to wake up and get their daughter without waking her, but Ari never once stirred as he moved and gathered the tiny girl up in his arms, carrying her upstairs to her room. Kate walked into Jack's bedroom, full of Spiderman and Cat in the Hat characters and carried him over to his crib, lowering him into it and carefully covering him as Jack rolled over onto his stomach. She stroked her fingers through his soft hair before quietly leaving the room and going next door to Ari's room.
"Mommy?" Ari called out sleepily as Kate walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"It's late, chunky monkey. You have school in the morning."
"Daddy let us sleep while we watched the Christmas tree lights. We watched Snoopy."
"Daddy's the best, huh?" Kate looked at Castle, who simply grinned. "Go to sleep, baby girl."
Castle was in bed a little while later when Kate came out of the bathroom and climbed into bed beside him, reaching for him. "Its mommy and daddy time," her lips came over his as he pulled her in closer.
Kate fell asleep to the memory of Rick's hands on her body, his lips moving over every inch of her.
***CCC***
Alexis' and Brian's apartment
At Alexis' apartment, Jack chased after the black Lab puppy that Brian had gotten Alexis as a gift. The little boy was oblivious to anything being wrong in his world. Alexis knew that was best. He wasn't quite two years old and he wouldn't understand, anyway. As far as he was concerned, his daddy was on another of his trips. This was something he was familiar with, even as young as he was.
Alexis wished that the same thing could be said for her little sister. Ariel petted the puppy when it came romping over to her, but other than that; she showed no interest in it. Her eyes were unfocused and she would just sit on the sofa or on the floor, staring off into space. Alexis knew that she needed to try to engage her somehow. "Ariel, I was going to make some bread in the bread machine. Would you like to help me?"
"Where's my mommy?"
"She went to your house to sleep for a little while. She'll be here at three o'clock. Do you want me to call her?"
"Why isn't she with my daddy? He'll be scared if he wakes up alone."
"The doctor wanted her to go home and get some sleep. Do you want to help me make bread?"
"Lex, if my daddy's dead, you can tell me."
"Ariel no, daddy isn't dead," Alexis knelt in front of the little girl, with the strange mixture of her dad's and Kate's eyes.
"He's dead and you're all lying to me," she said, her chin set determinedly. "If he's not dead, then take me to see him."
"Well, the room that he's in right now doesn't allow kids to visit. Maybe you can see him in a few days when he's feeling better."
"I want to see my daddy!" Ariel shouted at her sister before getting up and storming from the room.
Alexis glanced over to Jack, who was playing with Rook, unaware of his sister's outburst. "Jack, are you hungry? Would you like grilled cheese for lunch?"
The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully. Ariel eventually came out of Alexis and Brian's bedroom to sit on the sofa and stare blankly at the TV. Jack took a nap after lunch, but was once again awake and playing with Rook. Shortly before three, the doorbell rang. Alexis opened the door to find Kate standing there. "Mommy!" Jack ran and threw his arms around his mother's legs as she stooped to lift him up.
"Hey, little man," Kate kissed his cheek. "What have you been doing?"
"Playing with puppy!" He squealed happily.
"I see you've got a new friend," Kate knelt down as the puppy trotted over. "Alexis, he's adorable. Ari, what do you think of the puppy? Ari?"
"She's not talking much," Alexis said.
"Jack, why don't you play with the puppy while I talk to Sissy?" Kate got up and walked over to sit next to Ari. "How's your leg? Does it still hurt?"
"Where's my daddy?" Ari looked at her mother.
"He's still in the hospital, baby. He misses you and Jack."
"I made chicken noodle soup and homemade bread for dinner," Alexis said. "We can eat as soon as Brian gets home."
"We don't have time for dinner," Ari stood up and pulled on her mother's hands. "We have to go see my daddy."
"Ari, Ari, stop," Kate tried to pull her closer, but Ari resisted. "Baby, you can't see daddy right now. Why don't we go and change the bandages on your leg and your hands?"
"I have gauze and Neosporin in our bathroom," Alexis offered.
"Thanks, Alexis. Come on, Ari."
Kate led Ari into the bathroom and lifted her up onto the vanity. She first unwrapped the thin layer of gauze around Ari's hands. The right hand was more scraped up than the left one, but both of them were covered in road rash as was one leg. She noticed that Ari had a dirty stuffed animal clutched in her hand; a stuffed animal that Kate had first seen the night before when Ari was being examined in the ER. She prayed that Tyson or Neiman hadn't given her daughter the stuffed toy, because if they had, she'd burn it the first chance she got. "Are you hungry? Jenny texted me and told me that you didn't eat breakfast. Did you have lunch?"
"I'll eat when I see my daddy," Ari declared stubbornly.
Kate felt like screaming. Why didn't Ari understand that she couldn't see her daddy right now? And if she did see him, she wasn't going to like what she saw. "Ari, I know that you want to see your daddy, but you just can't right now. I'm sorry. Asking me repeatedly and having a tantrum aren't going to get you your way this time. I'm sorry."
An hour later, they all got ready to sit down for dinner. Alexis placed Jack in the high chair that she kept at her apartment and looked over at Ariel, who was once again sitting on the sofa. "Ariel, come and eat dinner. You have to be starving."
Ariel reluctantly got up and came over to the dinner table, sitting down in her usual chair and staring at her mother. Kate glanced at Ari and quickly looked away. At the moment the look on Ari's face was too much like Castle's when he got angry. The look she'd seen on his face for the first time after he'd 'interrogated' Doug Stevens when Alexis had been abducted. "Ari, did you help Alexis make the bread this time?"
"I'm not hungry! I want my daddy!" The little girl got up so fast that her chair fell over as she ran back to Alexis' bedroom.
"Oh Ari, I want your daddy, too," Kate's eyes filled with tears as she took several deep breaths to keep her emotions together.
"Brian, can you keep an eye on Jack?" Alexis motioned for Kate to follow her from the table. Once they reached the kitchen, the young woman looked at her stepmother. "Kate, she thinks that daddy's dead. She thinks that he's dead and we're all lying to her about it."
"Oh my god. Did she tell Jenny and Kevin that?"
"Jenny said she barely spoke while she was at their house. Kate, I know that she can't see dad right now, so how are you going to convince her that we're not lying to her?"
"Let me go and talk to her." Kate went into the darkened master bedroom and saw Ari lying with her back to her. "Ari?" She sat down and put her hand on her daughter's back. "Ari, please turn over and talk to me." After several minutes, Ari finally turned over and faced her mother. "Sweetie, I know that you want to see your daddy. But right now the doctor's want him to rest and get better."
"The bad man and bad lady made him dead, didn't they?"
"No, sweetie," Kate fought to keep her voice steady. "Your daddy isn't dead. He has a lot of boo-boo's, even more than you have. He has a cast on his leg and on his arm. I bet that when he gets better, he'd love for you to do some of your pretty drawings on them."
"He's really not dead?"
"Ari, I would never, ever lie to you about something like that. In a few days, when he's feeling better I'll take you to the hospital to see him. Okay?" Ari finally nodded her head. "Now, I'm hungry and I'd like it very much if you'd come to the table and eat dinner with the rest of us."
Ari followed her mother back to the table and even managed to eat most of her dinner. Watching her at the table, Kate made a mental note to contact Dr. Burke in the morning to see what he recommended in how to deal with a child experiencing trauma. The parenting books didn't have chapters on what she was facing right now.
It was after seven when she walked into the loft with the two kids. After bathing them, she helped them into bed. Ari went right to sleep, so Kate went into Jack's room where the little boy was standing up in his crib. Smiling, she walked over and scooped him into her arms, settling into the rocking chair with him. She rocked slowly, smelling soap and baby shampoo as Jack settled against her. "Daddy on trip?" He looked up at her, his blue eyes so much like his father's.
"Yeah, daddy's on a trip. He'll be back in a few days. It's time to go to sleep," she kissed the top of his head.
"Tree, mommy."
"No, we're not sleeping downstairs tonight. Come on, it's time for bed. Sissy's already asleep," she got up and laid Jack down, covering him with his blanket. "Goodnight, sweet boy."
Kate walked downstairs, practically sagging from exhaustion. "Katherine, before I forget, Capt. Gates called and left a message for you to call her. She said that it can wait until morning, but she does want you to call her back."
"Thank you, Martha. It's probably just loose ends with the case. Uh, can you keep an eye on the kids? I'm going to go to the hospital to see Rick."
"Katherine, you look like you're about to drop. Why don't you call and check on him? You can visit him first thing in the morning."
"I suppose you're right," Kate rubbed her face before getting up and going into their bedroom, taking out her cell phone to call the hospital. "Yes, this is Kate Castle. I was calling to check on the condition of my husband, Richard."
"Yes, Mrs. Castle," the nurse on the other end answered. "He's still unconscious, but his condition is still critical but stable."
"Thank you. You'll call if anything changes?"
"Oh yes, of course."
"Thank you," she hung up and immediately called Capt. Gates. "Sir, it's Beckett. You wanted to talk to me."
"Det. Beckett, I really didn't want to have to do this, but we're going to need to talk to Ariel."
"Why? When?"
"We have so many differing witness accounts of what happened. Ariel is the only person who can give us an eyewitness account of what happened between the times of the accident to the point where she was thrown from Tyson's vehicle."
"Sir, she's barely speaking about anything. All she keeps saying . . . she just wants her daddy," Kate's voice broke.
Gates' heart felt like breaking as she listened to her normally strong detective. "If I didn't have to do this, I wouldn't. But we need to put this to bed. 1PP wants this wrapped up."
"I'll bring her in the morning. I have to go and see Castle in the hospital, and then I'll swing back by here and pick her up."
"All right, Kate. Get some rest."
Kate ended the call and threw herself onto the bed, sobbing. Was it possible that Tyson was going to continue torturing them even from beyond the grave?
A/N #4: Sorry that this went on so long, but it was hard to find a good stopping point. Not all of the chapters will be this long.
A/N #5: I want to thank my Unmuse Chuck for the title. Even though we're no longer together, you will always be my Unmuse and my go-to guy.
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