So my plan was always to do the Bracken take down set in this universe, but I figured that I needed to do the Simmons episode to make things flow better. Now the time line of this series is getting a little confusing even for me. I know I put 4 am seven years after 2am, so I would make this roughly about a year and a half after the wedding story. The wedding story was set a few months after the last chapter of 2 am. I'm not sure if this helps or making things more confusing! :D. Anyways I hop you enjoy this.

"This is heaven." Beckett sighed snuggling as close as she could in her husband's arms. They were lounging on the couch, her back against his chest both reading their perspective books. She pressured her husband into letting her read the latest Nikki Heat novel while he chose the latest Patterson book.

Smiling, Castle placed his reader aside so he was free to wrap his arms around her midsection, "What? Not working and spending the day with your husband?"

"No, No. Not that."

He looked up wounded, "No?"

"No, that's not- I mean not only that." Twisting, she looked back at him with a warm smile, "It's 2 o'clock in the afternoon. I'm in my PJs. And we are reading, something I never get to do."

Castle tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, "Because you haven't taken time off since…" He caught himself before he could finish the sentence. They were having a blissful moment. There was no need to drudge up memories they would rather forget.

"There's no work." Beckett defended herself acting like she didn't notice the slight hitch in his voice, "No goals than to waste hours on end doing nothing."

"Well, we don't have to be just doing nothing." Grinning like the chester cat, the writer wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Mother is out for the day."

"What are we waiting for?" Laughing, she untangled herself from her husband and started towards the bedroom. They only got a few feet before her phone came to life.

Castle groaned, nearly bowling her over, "Worst timing ever."

Back tracking to pick her cell up off the coffee table, Beckett checked the ID before pulling it to her ear. "Beckett." She did her best to concentrate on the captain's voice and not her husband's actions in front of her. It took great restraint not to punch him when he gestured to his watch before pointing to the bedroom. "Sir, I'm not actually on call today… Oh Okay. Give me twenty minutes…. Yes sir."

"Oh, come on!" Castle deflated. Trying to keep his displeasure light and humors, he dragged a hand through his thick mane of hair. They'd been unconsciously trying to get pregnant again. Something that wasn't actually verbalized since they lost the second baby. It seemed they were at the point that if they were to conceive again then so be it. If not there were other options they could take. "So we got a case?"

"Umm... no." Beckett corrected leading him into the bedroom to change still unsure of how to take Gates request. Her first thought went to Alexis. Had something happened to her? Or Martha? Her mother-in-law went to the acting school early this morning and that was the last either of them heard from the woman. What about Jeremy? The young man was still in the academy, but that didn't mean something terrible could've happened. "She just needs to talk to me. Maybe about finally signing up for the Lieutenant exam I've been pushing off."

"And that couldn't wait?"

Beckett shrugged, "She wanted me in now. I'll be back in a couple hours." She took a moment to give him a smacking kiss, "We'll pick up where we left off."

Castle pouted, "Promise?"

"Promise."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Oh, Lanie." Surprised to see the ME, Beckett held the door until Lanie joined her. "What are you doing here? Esposito has today off, doesn't he?"

"Took Ryan's shift to give him the afternoon to spend with Jenny since her parents have the twins." Lanie pressed the button to the homicide floor. "You still up for dress shopping this weekend."

Beckett suppressed a groan. As maid of honor, she was obligated to let Lanie drag her from store to store for what she needed for the wedding. With every flower and every dress that her best friend dragged her to look, it made Beckett more and more grateful that she chose a shotgun wedding. All of this planning did nothing but exhaust her and it wasn't even her wedding. "Name the time and place."

"You look like you're going to the dentist." Lanie pointed out. "Can you at least pretend to enjoy it on Saturday?"

"I'll do my best."

The elevator chimed and the two women stepped out only to freeze at the massive amount bustling around the bull pen.

"Yo, Beckett!"

Beckett caught sight of both Esposito and Ryan down the hall clearly annoyed with all the action going on. "Hey-." Her head whipped around, "Is that the Deputy Commissioner? And aren't you suppose to have the afternoon off, Ryan?"

The Irish detective shrugged obviously not pleased about the fact he wasn't with his wife. "I got called it. Something is going on."

"That's an understatement." He watched his soon to be wife bypass them, casting him a soft smile, before disappearing into one of the conference rooms. "There's been more brass through here than a marching band."

"What's going on?" At least she wouldn't be breaking any bad news to her husband.

"Detective." Gates poked her head out of the work room seeking out the trio. She pointed, "Beckett."

Uh-oh. Giving the boys a weary look, Beckett complied with her boss's request. A man waited in the office. "Sir?" The hairs on the back of her neck stood for some reason. Her day was about to get very interesting.

"Detective Beckett, Captain Fowler - head of Narcotics." Gates introduced and let the captain take over.

"Thank you for coming, Detective." Fowler started glancing towards the door, "What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room."

Beckett nodded, "Understood, sir."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Castle moved along the wall, staying low to the ground as possible. The smaller he was the smaller the area his opponent had to try to hit. Trying to judge where that person might be was a bust. Looks like he was going in blind. Readjusting his grip on his weapon, the writer leapt out from the safety of his hiding spot shooting blindly. He stumbled and sprawled face first on the ground. Well, he never was known for his grace and agility.

"Gotcha!"

The vest he wore buzzed and blue lights started dancing. Groaning, he let his daughter gloat in the form of a victory dance. Pride and a bit of back pain kept him down. "I request a do-over!"

"Why?" Alexis danced circles around him, "Because you tripped? Not my fault you're losing your eyesight at your old age."

Castle huffed and pushed himself into a sitting position all while trying not to show an ounce of pain. Dammit to hell and back. He recently got over a sprained knee that happened a bit before his birthday, and he was in no rush to be immobile any time soon. "I'm not old." There were days he felt it. He couldn't help but wonder if he had it in him to raise another child. He was pushing into his forties now and things were starting to creak and ache. Not the best condition to be chasing a toddler around the house. Maybe… Castle shook the memories from his head.

"Come on, old man." Alexis offered a hand to help him up. She didn't like the crease that formed between his brows, "What's wrong?"

Scoffing, Castle tried to play it off, "I'm wounded that my daughter things I'm old."

"You're a horrible liar, dad?"

Sighing, he started to rid himself of his gear, "I was just thinking if there is ever another little Castle running around the place."

Alexis followed her father's lead and relieved herself of her vest and goggles, "Are you two trying again?"

Again. The word echoed in the writer's head making pain shoot straight to his heart. As if one miscarriage wasn't enough for them to handle, the universe had to make them go through it again. He was starting to think that the universe was trying to tell them that maybe having a baby wasn't in the cards for them.

"I don't know if that's the exact way to put it." Castle started, "I think we are at the point that if it happens, then it happens. If not then we've talked about the possibility of adoption."

"Yeah?" Alexis's heart ached for her stepmother's anguish over the two miscarriages and the fact it seemed like motherhood was turning out to be no more than a fleeting thought for Beckett. However, Alexis found herself delighted that wasn't stopping her from being a mother to a child that needed it. "I think that's a great idea. Kate will be an amazing mom and we already know how great of a dad you are."

"It's still just talk at this point." His attention shifted to his ringing cell phone and smiled at the picture that popped up. "Well hello, Mrs. Castle. I was starting to think that I'd need to launch a rescue mission to save you from Gates' clutches."

Smiling, the redhead pressed her ear as close to the phone as she could, "Hi, Kate!"

"Alexis," Pleasure flooded the detective's voice, "What are you doing there?"

"Kicking Dad's butt in laser tag." Alexis informed.

"It was an unfair match." Castle whined.

"You're just saying that because you tripped over your own feet."

"The floor tripped me." Castle retorted with a frown, "It hates me."

Laughing, Beckett broke through their banter, "Don't you have class tonight."

Alexis loved the fact that Beckett cared enough to know her class load and days. "Got cancelled so I figured I'd come bother you and Dad to try to charm you guys out of a dinner."

"I should be back in time for dinner." A bit of rustling came through before Beckett spoke again, "I've got to go. Love you both!"

She hung up before Castle could say anything. Curious, he placed the phone back on the counter. "I wonder what Gates wanted from her."

Alexis knew that look on her father's face. If she didn't distract the man and soon, he would find an excuse to leave the loft only to end up at the station looking for answers. He was a writer after all. "C'mon, let's make something from scratch! I'm in the mood for some homemade chicken pot pies."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Beckett started her day, she sure as hell didn't figure it would end with having a gun shoved in her face multiple times. Now, she was locked in a damn hotel room with nothing but her wits to try to figure a way out of this mess. She'd been lucky once with getting rid of the button wire before Harden could detect it. Flying by the seat of her pants was only going to work for so long. They were bound to find out she wasn't who she was pretending to be. Soon they were going to make her for a cop.

Looking around the room for something to pop out at her, Beckett silently wished that she'd ignored her boss's call this morning. She should be having dinner with her husband and stepdaughter. Laughing at nothing until her belly ached. Not in some hotel room with death and fate waiting for her on the other side of the locked door. It was no use. Short of breaking the window and jumping, Beckett had nothing. All she could do now was leave something behind. Something for the team to find if, god willing, they were able to trace her earlier phone call. And more importantly something for Castle. Something for her husband to know just in case.

After finding a pen and paper, Beckett took a moment to collect her thoughts before starting to write.

Dear Rick,

I don't know how much time I have even to write this letter. What I do know now is that I'm in this and the only way I'm going to make it out alive is to see this through. I'm sure everyone is looking for me and if they figure out I was here CSU is going to search this house. They're going to look for blood and they will find it, which will lead them to this letter.

This is your letter, Babe. I pray that you'll never have to read it. That I can say all of these things to you in person. That I can tell you how much I love you. Or how you truly changed my life. I meant it when I said that the moment I met you, my life became extraordinary. When I look forward, you're always there. Always my constant. My touchstone. I never want to leave you, Rick. I wish I could redo this entire day and pick the outcome that has me in the safety of your embrace. You and Alexis are the best things in my life. I wouldn't trade a single moment we've had together for anything in the world. If this is my last words than please tell Alexis how much I love. Tell her how proud I am of the woman she is becoming. Tell her I'm sorry that I couldn't see her become a doctor. A wife. A mother. Tell her I'm sorry for letting her down.

I love you, Richard Castle. Being your friend, your partner, your wife, your soul mate and mother to your daughter has been the single greatest thing I've ever done with my life. I love you with all my heart.

Always

Knowing she didn't have much time, the detective quickly skittered across to the room to the small air vent she managed to pry open. She folded it after putting her husband's name on it and placed it inside. She already went around the room leaving small droplets of blood in a trail to the letter. If anything was to happen to her, Beckett needed it to get to Castle. Needed him to know just one last time how much he changed her life. How much she loved him and their family. Hearing footsteps spurred Beckett into action to get the vent closed and on her feet before the door opened.

Harden's gaze swept around the room seeking to find something out of place to confirm his suspicion. When he found none he glared at Beckett, "Mr. Jones wants to see you."

Beckett kept her eyes leveled as she followed the man out the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo

Castle knew something was wrong. The moment the elevator door opened he just felt it. Felt the icy fingers of dread sink into his heart. That feeling only grew when he rounded the divider and found his wife's desk empty. Even her jacket was gone. His gaze zeroed in on the two male detectives, "You've been avoiding my calls." He stormed across the bullpen, "I know something is wrong. Kate wouldn't go this long with returning my calls."

Ryan casted a quick glance in his partner's direction, but didn't speak.

Esposito casted his gaze downwards.

A chill ran up the writer's spine. He seized Ryan by the man's vest, "Where is my wife?" He demanded with no plan to let the Irish detective go until he got some type of answer.

"Dad!" Having finally caught up, Alexis tried to pry her father's fingers off Ryan, "Let him go."

"Mr. Castle." Gates voice broke the tension quickly building, "Why don't you and Alexis come into my office."

Slowly, Castle released his friend with an apologetic look while his daughter placed a soothing hand on his arm. He let her guide him to the Captain's office fighting the urge to get sick. This wasn't supposed to be happening. He was supposed to be sitting at the dinner table being ganged up on by the women in his life. He wasn't supposed to be feeling terror ice his veins. God, was this what Beckett felt that night the cops showed up at her door after her mother hadn't shown up for dinner?

Alexis squeezed Castle's arm trying and failing to give him a reassuring smile before turning her attention to Gates. "Where is my mom?"

Hearing his daughter refer to Beckett as mom snapped Castle out of his haze. In the almost two years of marriage, Alexis only referred to her stepmother as mom only once. That's how he knew Alexis was just as frightened as he was. "What happened?"

Gates took a deep breath before explaining everything from the phone call to where they were now in locating the detective. She hated that with each word the writer deflated. "Traffic cam footage caught a white van heading away from the Wyndmark right when she was abducted. We think she was in it and we're trying to track it down. There are reasons for hope here."

"I'd love to hear it." Castle remarked trying to remain calm.

"First of all, they didn't make her as a cop. They think she's Elena Markov, which buys us time."

Alexis didn't see the so called hope in the captain's explanation. "She's pretending to be Elena when she doesn't know who Elena is? She can't keep that up forever."

Gates nodded in understanding, "Hopefully she won't-." She trailed off when Ryan poked his head in with news that none of them wanted to hear. Face grim, Gates lowered herself into her chair, "Do we know where she is?"

Ryan frowned, "No. Building's locked down. We've got teams going through but there's no sign of Elena."

Shoving a hand through his hair, Castle began to pace, "We still have no idea who this woman really is."

Fowler took this moment to join them in the office with a mixed expression. "I'm afraid we do. Security video shows her leaving her room alone and the officer's throat was cut in the same exact manner as the murdered drug dealers. Same angle, same left handed stroke, favoring the carotid."

"That's what those text messages meant about packages being delivered. She wasn't a courier for the ring." Gates concluded.

"She was their contract killer." Fowler confessed.

Alexis whirled on the police captain with a look that could kill. "A contract killer?" Ryan shifted towards Alexis most likely to hold her back if her anger turned physical. And the redhead was coming close. Cop or not, the man put her stepmother in a deadly situation. "That's who Kate is out there impersonating and you didn't know?

The male Captain squared his shoulders, "And just who are you?"

"I'm Kate's daughter." Alexis proudly informed. "And you are the idiot that sent her out into god knows what. Do you have any idea what's going to happen to my mother when the real Elena shows up?"

"Alexis-" Gates tried to intervene, but it was no use.

Fowler looked to the writer, "We're doing everything we can to find her."

Castle's face darkened with fury, "That's not enough! We have to find her before she gets killed."

Gates held up a hand to silence the argument when her phone began to ring. "Gates." There was a long pause before she spoke again, "Where?"