A/N - Not only am I going to acknowledge kimmiesjoy and Charlie O'Kelley, I am dedicating this story to them. Without them, this would be just another unfinished bunny. Thanks sooo much ladies for the beta work, the theorizing, and helping me to remember how much fun this is.
Disclaimer - Yeah, Riiight!
Summary - This story will be three chapters, last will be posted before 'Hunt' airs. Chapter 1 picks up pretty much where 'Target' left off.
The FBI agents are busy transferring information from one computer to another. They talk fast and pace the loft as they phone superiors, relay information, set up wiretaps and GPS.
They forget Castle, they ignore Castle.
He uses that to his advantage, shoves his phone into his pocket and signals his mother. She follows him into his office and he tells her he is going back to the 12th. He waits for her to leave and then opens his safe to retrieve his passport. 'Just in case' he thinks to himself and then slips out the door and back to the precinct, to Kate.
"Castle!" Kate shouts when she sees him step out of the elevator. "We just watched the video and the tech team is trying to get a more precise location but, as of now, all we know is she's in Paris."
"God, she looked so scared, Kate. So scared. I recorded it... Should I email it to you or something?" He asks her as he opens up the saved video.
"We already have it, Castle. The techs at your loft emailed a copy here."
"That's right, you said you had already seen it. I'm sorry I just..." Castle drags a hand across his face, pressing at the dark circles under his eyes, "I can't think straight right now."
She places her hand on his forearm and gives him a reassuring squeeze. "Let me make you some coffee."
"No, let me do it. I'll make enough for everyone." and with that, he slips off to the lounge.
Kate returns to her seat and dives back into the file she abandoned on her desk when Castle exited the elevator, but after reading the same line for the tenth time, she glances to the windows of the break room and notices that Castle isn't at the coffee maker.
Easing away from her desk she makes her way closer until, staring through the blinds, she notices he is coffeeless and watching the recorded Skype session in the dimly lit room.
It breaks her heart to see him hurting, witnessing the slow fall of his tears as he hits replay over and over, but she says nothing.
She walks in, grabs a few napkins from the condiment area and makes her way to his side. "I'm sorry, Castle." She whispers as she holds out the tissues to him. "I don't know what I can say or do..."
Their fingers brush as he takes the napkins from her outstretched hand and dries his eyes. "I just want my little girl back." His finger hovers over 'End' but he can't bring himself to do it, to stop watching the video that both hurts and comforts him.
"I know," Kate's voice is tender in a way he's never heard from her before as she drops to her knees in front of him, "and I can't honestly promise you that this will end the way we hope it does but I do promise that I will do everything I can to bring her back to you safely."
With a sad smile, Castle takes his partner's hand and gives it a squeeze. "Thank you."
Kate uses Castle's grip on her hand to tug him closer and kisses him chastely on the lips. "I need to go back out there," she motions her head towards the bullpen "they should be almost finished with the trace."
He releases her hand and moves over to the couch. "Go, I'm going to try and get some sleep."
She watches as he folds his jacket up into a makeshift pillow and then stuffs it under his head. "I promise to wake you...if we find her."
Exhausted and worried sick, Castle moans out an approving sound and rolls over. "Um-huh..."
Unable to sleep, Castle lays there in silence as Kate leaves and he listens to the sounds of the precinct. He overhears someone announce they've narrowed it down as far as they can and he sits up.
"Somewhere in the 17th district." The voice says and Castle brings his phone to his ear, booking the next flight departing for Paris as he sneaks out the door opposite the bullpen and heads down the stairs.
He recieves his ticket confirmation and departure time just before reaching the lobby. Checking his watch, he realizes it's going to be close, he has to hurry. He pockets his phone and steps outside the precinct to flag down a taxi.
"JFK as fast as possible." The writer says as he waves a wad of cash at the driver.
The tires squeal as they pull away from the curb. A small huff of laughter escapes as Castle reads the Driver ID, Noah Andretti. "Any relation to Mario?"
"Mario, sir?"
"Mario Andretti the race car driver. The way you drive... Nevermind, just get me to the airport."
He barely makes it to the airport in time, no fault of Noah's, that kid does an awesome job navigating the streets of New York City. Lunch hour always makes it more difficult to get around whether you're driving or walking and it never fails, when you're in a hurry, something always goes wrong.
He finally gets up to the ticket counter and the lady finds his information on the computer, asks to see his passport, and then hands him his boarding pass. "Your flight is boarding now, Sir. Gate 12."
Before being allowed any further, Castle had to empty the contents of his pockets and walk through a scanner. "Sorry," he mumbles to the security guy when the alarm sounds "Forgot my belt."
He retrieves his belongings from the plastic tray as soon as it clears the machine and then power walks toward Gate 12.
Castle unfastens his seatbelt as soon as the announcement echos through the cabin. He flags down a flight attendant and asks for a double whisky. It's gone before she can even turn and he orders another.
Three drinks later, the young woman next to him powers up her iPad and selects a movie. It's one of Alexis' favorites and Castle closes his eyes as the familiar opening scene lights up the screen. He can't bear to watch it and he thanks God that the woman has headphones in so he doesn't have to hear it.
The alcohol, the hum of the plane, and the fact that he has to keep his eyes closed, lull his worried mind and allows his exhausted body to rest. He sleeps peacefully for the first few hours but then the dreams come.
It's late spring. He can tell because they are all dressed light and everything is in full bloom. Kate is by his side and she's holding his hand as they stroll through Central Park. They stop and Kate tugs on his hand so that he falls with her onto a blanket on the grass, nearly knocking over the picnic basket. He kisses her and murmurs against her lips, "Pretty romantic of you, Detective, setting all this up."
Kate shakes her head and pushes him off of her. "This isn't for us, we're just crashing it."
"Isn't that illegal?" His eyes darken as he leans in for another kiss. "I'd hate to spend my first night home in jail."
She allows him to deepen the kiss but reluctantly pulls away before hands start to roam. "We'll finish this later, stud, but first, there's someone you need to meet."
"I'd rather take you home and make up for three weeks of..."
Kate jabs him in the ribs to silence him, her eyes and head nod alert him of someone approaching behind him. He turns and sees a young man toss a frisbee out into the open field. "Castle, that's Max."
Max must have heard Kate say his name because he turns and makes his way closer, holding out his hand. "Mr. Castle, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."
He shakes the boys hand politely and then catches a glimpse of someone running towards them. "Alexis?"
"Daddy!" She cries out as she hugs him tight. "You're here."
And then there's nothing. No picnic in the park, no Kate, and no Alexis. He's alone in a fog...
It rises from the ground beneath him and swirls up, covering his face. "Alexis?" He calls, his hands reaching out in front of him.
"ALEXIS!" He shouts loudly, waking himself up with a jerk and startling the people around him.
He breathes hard and a flight attendant kneels at his side, patting his hand soothingly until he releases the death grip he has on the armrest. "Bad dream, hon?"
He doesn't answer, can't catch his breath enough yet, so Castle just wipes his hand over his face and takes the bottle of water she offers.
"We'll be landing soon so go ahead and buckle up."
The rest of the journey remains a blur and just under nine hours after he left New York Castle is standing on the streets of Paris.
He has no real clue where to begin his search. Out of habit, he reaches for his phone, intent on Googling the area. "Dammit," he curses as he once again pockets the device. "I can't use that. Think Castle, think!"
He spots a kiosk with hundreds of maps and makes his way towards it. The maps confuse him, mostly focusing on the tourist attractions and the ones that don't are in French.
"I need a map of the districts," he informs the attendant. "In English."
A scoff of laughter comes from a man behind him. "No such map here."
"Can you tell me where to find one?"
"No," The stranger tells him as he folds his newspaper. "but I may be of some help to you. Which district are you interested in?"
Castle studies the man for a moment, wondering if he can trust him. Dressed in all black he looks like a businessman but he could just as easily be a murderer. Deciding that his daughters life is more important than his own, he proceeds to tell the man where he needs to go.
"The 17th district is about forty minutes from here. I can take you there."
Time being of the essence, Castle accepts his offer and the mystery man motions to his waiting car. "I don't have any Euros, I forgot to exchange..."
"Good thing I'm not doing this for money then, huh?"
Kate eases the door open to check on her sleeping partner and immediately realizes he's gone. "Damn!" She turns on her heel, muttering under her breath as she dials Castle's number.
Ryan and Esposito notice her raking a nervous hand through her hair and biting her lower lip as she punches out a text. "What's up Beckett?
"Castle's gone." Kate mumbles quietly.
"Maybe he went back home to Martha."
"Yeah," Ryan agrees, "He went to be with his mother."
Kate raises her eyebrows,"We all know he's halfway to France by now."
"Chill, Chica." Espo mouths, pulling her deeper into the quiet, uncrowded hallway. "We can call ahead and have him detained."
"And have him blame us if Alexis isn't saved? He will hate us if we try to stop him and she..." Kate cuts herself off, not wanting to even think about the possibilities.
"Ok, so we don't call the authorities." Espo grimaces,"Try his phone, call Martha to see if she's heard from him."
The female detective scowls at them. "You think I haven't already tried calling him? His phone is off."
"Ok then, call Martha, see if she's heard from him while Ryan and I check passenger lists."
The ringing of a phone has everyone ready to hit record and begin a trace but then Martha waves them off when she recognizes the number as Kate's. "It's Detective Beckett."
"Kate, darling," The Castle matriarch answers "any news?"
"Is Rick there with you Martha?"
"No, he raced out of here soon after Alexis called. I figured he was coming to you."
"He did, he was here but... is this call being monitored?"
"No, I told them it was you and they went back to their coffees. I'm in Richard's office now."
Kate breathes a sigh of relief. "He's gone. I left him alone for a few hours... I thought he was asleep, and now he's gone."
"Oh dear lord, you think he's..."
"Yeah," Kate interrupts before Martha's tone alerts the agents. "but we aren't gonna stop him, Martha...we can't do that to him."
"I understand and I agree. He'd never forgive us."
"Fake a smile and make up something for the FBI if you have to. I'll call back as soon as I hear anything."
Castle mentally goes over the details of the past week as they ride silently toward the 17th District.
He beats himself up for not keeping a closer eye on her, for letting her move into a dorm and hang out with people he'd never met. She may be an adult but she'll always be his baby girl and just the thought of never being able to hold her again..."
The man beside him clears his throat and Castle realizes he's crying. He wipes his eyes as discretely as possible and then addresses his new friend. "I'm sorry, I never even asked your name."
"It's Knight," The man nods at Castle. "Alexander Knight."
"A good samaritan, dressed in black and going by the name Knight. Are you the Batman?"
Knight laughs, "I wish! He has way cooler toys than I do."
"What I wouldn't do for some of that kind of technology right about now..."
"You in some kind of trouble?" Knight asks his passenger, noting his look of distress. "I know a guy."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"No, I couldn't ask you to get involved in this, you don't know me or what I'm doing. It's best if I handle this alone anyway."
The car slows to a stop and Knight gives Castle a look that he can't really interpret. "You're Richard Alexander Rodgers, you changed your name when your first book was published, and you're here to rescue your daughter."
Castle feels the panic start to rise, a burning fear that takes hold of him and won't let go. He yanks repeatedly on the door handle but it won't budge.
Knight must have anticipated a negative reaction and locked the doors.
"Let me out of this car!" Castle glares at the man that just rambled off his life like he knows him, his white knuckled grip on the door handle doing nothing.
"Just calm down and listen. I can help you. I want to help you."
"I don't believe you." Castle panics and elbows the window trying to break the glass "How do you know me? You could be behind all this... Why should I believe you?"
"I'm your father."
TBC
