I had to protect it, my secret, I could feel it low in my belly. It was solid and fist sized below the waist band of my trousers. Though it was still deep inside and not big enough for others to see, I was aware of it with every movement I made. I could feel it when I pushed my hand above my pubic bone. A reassuring bump that allowed me to focus my thought and efforts.

My baby.

I was 12 weeks pregnant. Nobody else knew. And I spent every day more scared that my captors were going to realise that there are two of us in this cell.

Flashback – six weeks earlier

It had been a normal morning, well as normal as life ever was when you worked with Richard Castle. And, of course, when you were dating Richard Castle. We had been together for 6 months; ever since I had come to him in the rain after nearly getting killed trying to find justice for my Mom's killer.

Our relationship had been going great. At times this surprised me as I had never found it easy to be with another person. My previous relationships had always stumbled after a few months when I found that I couldn't commit to them as much as they were hoping. When things began to get serious I was never able to give as much of myself as they wanted, could never let them behind the wall I had built to protect my heart and stop myself from getting hurt.

It was different with castle though. By the time we took that final step from partners to lovers our lives were so interconnected, our emotions so invested that this was already the most intimate relationship I had ever had. He was my best friend. Castle had spent three years slowly digging his very own tunnel behind my walls and my sessions in therapy had weakened the resolve that held them there. The emotion that I felt that first time we made love had been like a bomb to bring down the weakened barriers still remaining between us. They had laid in tatters ever since.

And I had never felt better. It was still a struggle sometimes, and I still felt the urge to bolt when things got too much, when I felt too much. But Castle had been a pillar of stability through everything and I trusted him with my heart.

We weren't living together yet although I spent nearly every night at the loft. The night before I last saw him had been like any other. Dinner was followed by unwinding with Alexis on the sofa and we spent an hour looking at hotels in Napa for a weekend away we were planning.

The next morning I showered and dressed quietly after getting a call at dawn about a body. I gave Castle a long, warm, skin tingling kiss. He was still half asleep and his hands lazily wandering as we broke apart, a dreamy sleepy smile on his face. He had a meeting with Black Pawn that morning but we had made plans to get lunch later that day.

And I had another stop to make on my way to the crime scene. I had been aware that my period was late for the past few weeks, but work had been stressful and this had happened before. I was spending more and more time at the lost and living with other women had a way of screwing with my hormones and changing my cycle. I had been on the pill since I was 17 and was diligent in taking it but it had been a few weeks now and something in my body was nagging me that there might be more going on. The changes in my body were subtle, but I couldn't ignore them anymore. I would buy a test. Just incase.

'I love you', I whispered as my lips left his. Not realising it may be the last thing I ever say to him.

Present Day

My head shot up as I heard footsteps outside my cell door, and I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped by arms around them.

'Ka-ty', I heard the mocking voice echoing down the metal corridor along with the slow footsteps. The face that had tormented me for four long weeks appeared through the reinforced glass panel of the door. He sneered and opened it, kicking the empty plate to the side and crouching down so he was inches from my bruised face. He prodded me in the shoulder with the gun he held in his hand.

'Good news Katy, we've docked and now you get to meet the Boss. And if you think I've been giving you a hard time here the last few weeks then you are about to learn what real pain feels like'.

Before I could even see if coming he pistol whipped me across the face, a pillow of pain bloomed across my cheek and shot into my jaw. Blood filled my mouth and I spat it out along with a piece of tooth on his shoes.

He chuckled sadistically, stood and turned back towards the door. I had learned on to pick my battles and this wasn't the moment to antagonise him. He wasn't behind my kidnapping he was just a lackey, and there were a dozen more outside that door who would wade in if I tried to fight him now.

And I wasn't just fighting for my life anymore.