Author's Note: Hey! I hope you guys didn't die over the past couple of days. I do hope I still have the three hundred-something readers I had for TLLOM, and hopefully, some more. I know you're all antsy about Quinn, but chilly-chill, my lovelies. I am still a sucker for happy endings.
Chapter One: I Want My Baby Back
It had been an hour since they found the note. Without any shadow of a doubt, the worst hour of their lives. Their little girl, their baby, was missing. Alongside a maybe-murderer who merciless took her away. Rick had been holding Kate's hand for the entire hour, and they couldn't care less about who saw it. There were no more leads. At least, not now. They had uniforms on Madison's house, but everything else was absolutely circumstantial. As far as the NYPD was concerned, Edward Davenport took his daughter, as was his right. But Kate knew he wasn't her father. Madison would never cheat. She also knew the bastard wasn't picking up the phone. They didn't know where he lived, they never did. There was nothing they could do, except for what they were already doing.
"Ryan, run background checks on Davenport. I want to know who he is, where he is, and what he wants." Kate said. She didn't need anyone to tell her he was the bad guy. There was no need to tell her they didn't really know anything, either. She wasn't thinking straight, and she wouldn't be, not until she had Quinn back.
"I'm on it." Kevin started typing furiously. Even though Quinn was not his daughter, he loved her. She was his honorary niece, his little kitten, his first experience with children. He loved her.
Nothing found. It read on the screen, in big black letters. Nothing found. There was no Edward Davenport. How would they find them?
"Beckett!" Esposito called. He accompanied uniforms through the search, and found something rather incredible. "I found a letter." He said "From William Richards to Evgeny Dimitriev."
"E.D." Kate said "That's him."
"Well, it says here that William Richards had a quite hefty bank account in Brazil. Ev… Eug… E.D. was claiming he wanted some of the money in order to keep his mouth shut."
"What did he say?" Kate asked, still maintaining her tight grip on Rick's hand.
"He denied. He said this is a ridiculous threat. He said he had nothing to hide, and he could tell anyone he wanted." Esposito said "He wasn't getting any money."
"Shit." Kate said.
"Hey Espo, he showed us a paternity test to get Quinn." Rick said, finally finding a voice to speak. "Can it be fake?"
"It's possible." Esposito said "But if the kid's dad is dead, how are we gonna prove it?"
"We can exhume the body." Kate said, getting up from the table and letting go of Rick's hand. She always did that, every time she thought she knew something. Got up and started walking around, plotting theories. "Compare DNA. If Billy is Quinn's biological dad, we can prove he was lying."
"It'll take a while."
"No. I know someone who can help us." Rick said.
…
"I am so sorry to hear this, Rick." James Bailey told Rick. He was a well know judge, who went to boarding school with Rick. "What do you need me to do?"
"I need a court order to exhume a body."
"What? What for?"
"If we can prove the deceased is Quinn's biological father, we can prove Davenport was lying. We can get her back."
"I'll see what I can do. Give me a day, okay?" James said.
"Thank you, Jame." Rick said, getting up from one of the large leather armchairs in James's office.
"Anytime."
…
"Lanie, I need to ask you a question." Kate said, entering the ME's office. She was used to it, but seeing all of those dead bodies, the Joe and Jane Doe's, the shattered dreams and broken hearts, it was all too much. She squeezed the pair of rings hanging from her neck and walked towards the bed where Lanie was standing near.
"Oh, Kate…" Lanie said, sympathetic. Truthfully, while they were all hurt, they knew Kate had lost everything. No one was really sure if she could handle more pain, more grief. But they didn't know what to do, so showing compassion was as far as it got.
"No. Don't." Kate said, holding a hand up. "I need to ask you a question about DNA tests."
"Okay."
"How long do they take? I mean, going as fast as possible, and using your ME contacts."
"Well, normally, forty-eight hours."
"Crap."
"But we just got a new machine, and it takes up to half an hour." Lanie finished "It's a NEC machine. I'd show you, but I doubt your interest in it."
"Thanks for that." Kate said "And the other stuff too."
"My pleasure." Lanie said "And Kate, if you need to talk…"
"I know. Thanks." Kate walked out of the room the same way she came in. Worried sick, but with a tiny bit of hope. In reality, she didn't know what to expect. She would find Quinn, of that she was sure, but how would she be? Hurt? Shaken? Hungry? Or worse, dead? No, she couldn't think about it. But one thing she knew for sure: Davenport would pay, and he would know pain.
…
Kate was sitting in the couch, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the big glass window that was part of the living room. She'd been crying for the past two hours or so, and Rick knew better than talking to her. But he had a limit, and that was it. He was going to talk to her, and it wouldn't take a minute more.
"Kate, you need to eat something." He said, offering her a plate with a small sandwich. When he got no response, not a bodily reaction or a vocal one, he proceeded "Kate, you need to sleep." Again, no answer. "Kate, please. Talk to me."
"And say what, Castle?" She finally gathered the strength to say something. She didn't know how, but she didn't feel anything but pain. She hadn't slept for almost twenty-four hours. Hadn't eaten for about the same time. She didn't shower, or changed clothes. She didn't comb her hair, or took off her shoes. She didn't do anything but grief. Pain was scattered all over her face. Her eyes were swollen, her lips were a light shade of pink, that unhealthy tone you see on sick people. Her cheeks, red. Her hair, a complete mess. But she didn't feel any of that. She just missed Quinn, and so much. "Say we need to pull ourselves together? What for?" She yelled "If we can't have her, I don't want to live." She said, as tears rolled freely through her face. "I don't want to!"
"Don't say that." Rick said, sitting next to her on the couch and hugging her as tight as he could without hurting her. "We are going to get her back. Everything will be alright." He couldn't be more aware of the empty promises he was making. He was making them to himself, too. They would get her back. God, they had to.
"I can't…" Kate cried, her face buried in his chest.
"Shh. I love you, Kate. I love you." He said, uttering the words he usually did to keep her calm. He was trying to calm himself down as well. And he hoped his love for her was enough.
Author's Note: There you go, my loves. Chapter one of Seasons in The Sun. Don't forget to drop a little review to state your pretty (or not) thoughts. Thanks!
