Hey guys … this is my first Caskett fan fic. I've been following as a reader for a little while so now I've decided to write one myself. I've been working on this for weeks now but I'm not quite sure about this chapter. I've proofread it over and over … made changes but I'm still not convinced that it's right, so here we go … What happens when Castle gets kidnapped! Will Beckett, Esposito and Ryan find him in time? Will Kate finally say those 3 words before it's too late? Will Castle survive this or will he die in the process!
Chapter 1
Unanswered
It was a normal workday for Kate Beckett. There were the usual murders, evidence and witness statements, and all that paperwork that she just hated but, it was part of the job description. But, this workday turned from normal to unusual and scary. It was a clear morning and as usual, Castle would bring in coffee for the woman he loved … just to see a smile on her face. Nothing meant more to him then to see Beckett happy and she was. Finally she was … and it was with him. That morning, she had received a call of a body drop in uptown. As usual, she'd call Castle to inform him of the murder, but for some reason, when she called him to meet her at the crime scene, he never picked up. It was unlike him … so she called once more and again, no answer. A few more times, leaving messages … until she made the call to the loft hoping he would answer but instead it was Alexis …
"Hey Kate! If you're looking got my dad, he left to meet you at the crime scene!" With a lingering silence, Kate responded … "Alexis, I never called him until a few minutes ago. And this murder was reported no more than 20 minutes ago! When did he leave?" Alexis responded, "A couple hours ago! Wait, are telling me that you never called? Because I could have sworn I heard him speaking to you!"
Kate's heart stopped wondering what the hell was going on! "Alexis … I swear, I never called your father." Silence eliminated through the phone until Beckett finally broke it … "Ok, Alexis … don't panic! I'm sure it's a misunderstanding." Although Kate was trying to calm Alexis down, she was having a hard time convincing herself. There was no way Castle would disappear … not like this. Alexis responded, "Kate, what if something did happen? What if …" Kate cute her off before she could finish, "Sweetheart … don't think that way! I'm sure your dad is fine. We just have to stay positive."
All Kate heard were sniffles coming from Alexis. The thought of Castle missing was the last thing she ever thought could happen … especially after everything they've been through to be together. Alexis finally spoke up, "Kate … please … please, just find my dad and bring him home."
"I promise you Alexis … I will find him. Stay strong ok?" With that said, Alexis knew in her heart that she could trust Kate to find her father and bring him home. "Thank You Kate!" Alexis said with a little hope in her voice and they said their goodbyes.
Kate … the strong, willful and hardworking detective that she is, would do whatever it takes to bring home the man that made her feel whole again. Something she hadn't felt since the day her mom was murdered. He made her feel complete and the thought of never seeing him again, never really telling him how she felt … those three little simple words … I LOVE YOU, would be the biggest regret of her life.
Moments later, she arrived to the crime scene. The first thing she did was scan the area for Castle, she was hoping that this was just a nightmare and she would find him amongst the crowd, but nothing. Walking past the police tape, she headed towards Lanie who had since been examining the body for a cause of death and gathering whatever evidence that she could find that the killer left behind. As she approached with gloves in hand, Lanie looked up and said, "Finally! Girl, where have you been? And where's Castle?" She mentioning of his name brought back that phone call she had with Alexis. A worried look appeared on her face and Lanie then knew that something was wrong. Lanie stopped and took her by the hand, "Hey Kate? Are you alright?" Beckett didn't know how to tell her best friend … one of the most important people in her life that she trusted … that Castle may be missing.
She took a deep breathe, trying to control the tears that were welling up inside and responded, "Lanie … Castle's missing! I called him this morning to have him meet me here but he never answered. I called several times, left messages!" Lanie said with a concerned look on her face, "Did you call the loft? Maybe he's there!" She shook her head in disagreement, "No Lanie … Alexis picked up and told me that Castle left over two hours ago to meet me at a crime scene that never existed. I never called him of any sorts until after I received the call of this one. I looked everywhere to see if he was here and he's not. I'm trying to convince myself that this is just a nightmare and he'll walk past that police tape with two cups of coffee and greet me like always." Unable to control her emotions, Kate broke down and all Lanie could do was pull her aside to a secluded area and hold her best friend.
Just over two hours ago ….
Castle woke up that morning to the delicious smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs. Emerging from his room towards the kitchen, he'd been greeted by the gorgeous red head … his daughter Alexis.
Placing a kiss on her cheek, "Mmm … I just love the smell of pancakes in the morning. Good morning beautiful!" Alexis smiled and replied, "Morning dad! Thought I'd make breakfast! No need to thank me!" Castle smiled while taking a bit of his food, replying "Sweetheart … I thank you anyway!" Within minutes, breakfast was interrupted by the ringing sound of his cell phone. Looking at the caller ID with a smile, he answered "Morning Beautiful" indicating that it was indeed Beckett on the other end of the phone, Alexis returned to eating her breakfast. As Castle ended his call with Beckett, he gracefully gave Alexis another kiss on the cheek and as he did, she asked "Another murder?" Castle replied "Yup!" While heading to his bedroom, "Another day, another murder! Meeting Kate at the crime scene!"
Within minutes, he was ready and heading out the door. Walking towards the nearest coffee shop to retrieve his usual pickup for the day. He thought he'd take a shorter route so he began to walk through an alley when all of a sudden; a black unmarked van stopped and out jumped two men. Castle reacted in defense, but he wasn't fast enough. One of the guys stabbed him right in the stomach, causing Castle to collapse and with the butt of their riffle, knocked him out cold. He was dragged back to the van … and sped away in the early hours of the morning.
Back at the crime scene
After consoling her friend, Lanie looked Kate in the eyes and said "Have you reported it yet?" Beckett shook her head with tears still in her eyes. She finally responded, "A missing persons report can't be filed until after 24 hours. Lanie, I need to know that he's ok!" She sighed before she continued, "I never told him that I loved him! And if something has happened to him …" Her voice caught in her throat, with tears running down her cheeks. Lanie responded, "Kate, You can't work this case in you condition. You need to go and report this to Gates now! Ryan and Espo will take over. Maybe this is just a little misunderstanding but you won't know until you look into it yourself and report it."
Lanie was right … Kate had to know if this was a misunderstanding and she even told Alexis that but if it wasn't then she needed to take action and find Castle before anything happens to him. With response teams on sight, and with Ryan and Espo taking note of every possible lead they could get, Beckett thanked Lanie and made her way to the precinct to find Gates and see what she could do to help her get Castle back.
A few hours later
Castle woke up in a huge building that looked like a warehouse, tied down to a slab. Arms were spread out; his shirt was removed with only his pants and shoes on. Wincing in pain from the stab wound he received trying to defend himself he slowly took a deep breath, not knowing what the hell was going on; he called out "Hello! Hello can anyone hear me!" there was no answer.
Footsteps slowly began to approach him. Fearing what or who it could be, Castle took a deep but slow breath and to his surprise, this person was none other than 3XK … the person that he knew wasn't dead months prior on the bridge because no body was found. He even tried to explain to Beckett but she was convinced he was dead. Castle's eyes widened with fear, "What the HELL!" With a smile on his face, 3XK responded "Hello to you too Castle! Long time no see!" Castle just looked at him; no words could describe what he was feeling.
Jerry Tyson … better known as 3XK was known for his killing spree … slowly walked up towards Castle, "What … nothing to say?" Castle stared at him with so much hate, finally saying "What now! What are you gonna do now? What do you want from me?"
"Well … what I've always wanted since that day at the motel … REVENGE! You see Castle … you are the most important thing in Kate Beckett's life. Not to mention your daughter and mother. What I want …" He just smiled, laughing in the process before he continued "what I want … is to see you suffer, tortured and what not!"
Castle looked terrified. He had expected something to happen, but nothing like this. Tyson was gonna kill him and there was nothing he could do about it. Tyson implicated to do what he was meant to and that was the kill Castle … not right of way, but slowly, and he was gonna enjoy it. Tyson maintained his distance for now but before leaving he looked at Castle and said, "That stab wound looks painful! There's more where that came from!" Turning on his heels, he walked away leaving Castle alone in his thoughts. All he could think about was his family. Getting out of this alive and getting home to his mother and daughter the people that meant so much to him but the one person that really stuck in his mind was Kate. The love of his life … the woman that made him see things much differently since the day he met her. He wasn't gonna give up now! He wasn't gonna leave Kate behind … not after she had worked so hard to knock that wall down from within her. The one thing that shielded her from every letting anyone love her. She had finally let him in and he wasn't gonna let that wall resurface … not again. Tears welded up in his eyes, whispering to himself, "I Love You Kate! I love you!"
At the precinct
As soon as Beckett arrived to the precinct, she made her way to the Capitan's office. Knocking, she waited for a response and as soon as she got it, she walked in. Gates looked up from her desk with a confused smirk on her face and said, "Detective Beckett! What are you doing here? I thought you would be at the crime scene." Kate didn't respond and so Gates continued, "Detective … is everything alright?
Where's Mr. Castle?" Beckett finally responded trying to keep professional as possible without showing any emotion, "Sir! I need your help on a possible kidnapping. The reason why Castle isn't with me is because he's the one that's missing. I called his phone this morning to have him meet me at the crime scene but he never answered. It's not like him to ignore my calls. I even called the loft and I found out from Alexis that apparently I called him this morning about a crime scene that never existed. Sir, I never made that call!" Gates could see the worry in Beckett's eyes even though she's trying very hard to keep it together. Gates removes her glasses and rises from her seat and as she's approaching Beckett, she responds, "Detective … you do know the policy of missing persons … that a victim cannot be reported until after 24 hours. Now this happened just a few hours ago … are you sure that this is accurate? That Mr. Castle is nowhere to be found?"
Kate thought about it before answering, "Sir, with your permission, if I may, PLEASE …" Kate was about to lose it but controlled herself. "I promised his daughter that I would do whatever I could to bring him back! He's my partner and as his partner, I will do whatever it takes." Gates walked closer towards Beckett, and she could see that there was more to this than she was telling, but she knew it wasn't the right time or place to ask such questions so she thought it over, "You have my permission Detective and if you need anything … don't hesitate to ask." Kate nodded her head as a thank you and turned to walk out but before she could, Gates stopped her "Detective?" She turned to face her, "We will find him and when we do … we're gonna have a long talk!" Kate looked at her in shock "Sir!" Gates wasn't fooled by any of it, "Detective, it's obvious to me that you and Mr. Castle have something more than just a partnership but I'm not gonna get into it right now. All you need to focus on is finding him, and bringing him home. Now can you do that? Can you stay focused and not let your emotions get in the way?" Kate nodded and responded, "Yes Sir!"
Gates gave her a slight smile and nodded, "Good! Now … knowing that there are camera's around Rick Castles building, I'm sure you'll find something. Look into his normal routine." As soon as Kate was dismissed, she headed to her desk and started making phone calls to his ex-wives and his publicist Paula.
Back at the crime scene
Lanie examined the body for anything else that she may have missed. That's when Espo and Ryan walked up to her. She looked up from the body and they responded, "What do we have?" Lanie looked back at the body, "27 year old Male, cause of death was a 38 caliber to the head, close range. Name is James Christianson. Other than that, I won't know much until after the autopsy. Did you guys find anything?" Espo held up a bag, "A backpack fool of books. It looks like attended Columbia University. His phone and keys are still in tacked so there's nothing indicating a mugging but we won't know until we check into his background. "Lanie nodded and continued, "OK well if and when I find out more information, I will call you. I'll see you guys back at the morgue."
Once Lanie had her M.E. Assistance's load the body in the van, Ryan and Espo thought they would get some information out of her about what she and Beckett were talking about and why Beckett was not herself. Ryan asked first, "Hey Lanie is everything alright with Beckett? She didn't seem like herself this morning." Lanie looked at the boys who seemed concerned and she knew that if she didn't tell them what was going on, that they would eventually ask Beckett and she was in no condition to be put in that situation.
She pulled them aside and gave them the bad news, "It appears that there's been a kidnapping." They both looked confused so she continued, "It's Castle. If you'd noticed this morning, he wasn't present. Apparently he got a call from Beckett this morning indicating a murder that never existed. She called him more than once but there was no answer. She called the loft and that's when Alexis explained this fictional crime scene. That's why I told her to leave this case with you two so she could ask Gates for approval and look into the kidnapping herself." They were shocked to hear of this news. Espo finally spoke, "Why didn't she say anything?" Lanie sighed, "Because she's not in her right mind right now! This happened a few hours ago guys and she needs to find him. It all may be a misunderstanding but if not than she needs to be the one to do this and if she needs you guys, be there for her Ok?" The boys nodded in understanding and Lanie continued, "Look, I've got to head back to the morgue. I'll see you both later." Lanie made her way to the van, leaving the boys to do their job.
Heading back to the precinct, Ryan and Espo knew that they couldn't leave Beckett to do this on her own. After all, Castle was their friend too so they did what they had to do … not only as friends and partners, but also as brothers.
Ok so tell me what you guys think! I'll be back with chapter 2 soon. Thanks!
