Unscathed
Chapter 2:
"Put these on her."
Kate swallows, stooping to pick up the zip ties Tyson tosses into the truck, his gun leveled on Alexis. They're in front of a tiny log cabin, and from what she can see around it, they're in the middle of bumble-fuck nowhere.
"Sorry," she says softly as Alexis holds her wrists together.
Kate quickly closes the tie around the teen's pale, shaking wrists, pulling tight. They can't break their way out, not while Tyson has that gun. He'll shoot one of them in an instant. She can't face Castle and tell him Alexis is dead, and she's rather sure Alexis won't recover if Tyson kills someone in front of her.
"Now yourself."
Kate looks to Tyson. "What?"
"Tie yourself. She can pull it tight with her teeth."
Kate and Alexis exchange looks. Damn. Kate was hoping he'd just tie Alexis—which was an idiotic expectation. She needs to get herself together.
She clumsily holds one end of the long zip-tie and wraps the other around her wrist. Alexis reaches out with her tied hands, and together they manage to secure the tie, incapacitating Kate to the fullest.
Well shit.
"Out of the truck, ladies," Tyson simpers. "Beckett first."
Kate glances at Alexis and does as she's told, watching as Tyson holds the gun on her as she hops down and stumbles. Alexis follows, a little steadier on her feet. She looks so small, in jeans and a light tee shirt, her hair in a messy braid. She's just a kid.
"Walk," Tyson directs, bumping the gun again into Alexis' spine, and indicating for Kate to walk ahead of them toward the house.
She feels so helpless. She can't fight, she can't yell. She turns her head, searching. They're on about an acre of land, at a small, single-story log cabin, surrounded by forest. The drive behind them looks long and winding. It certainly felt that way in the truck.
They're screwed.
"In," Tyson commands as she stumbles up the steps and onto the porch.
She looks over her shoulder, meets Alexis' eyes with what she hopes is confidence, and turns the doorknob.
The inside of the house is dismal. A small kitchen across from the door, a sitting room to the side and one room off the kitchen that must be a bedroom. It's dark and dank, hardly ever used, she thinks. There are cobwebs across the rafters on the ceiling, molding dirty dishes in the sink.
"To your left, Detective," Tyson commands.
She turns and opens a door, swallowing hard at the sight of a flight of narrow dark stairs. Alexis stumbles into her back and Kate shudders. This…is the start of a very bad horror film.
She reaches up the wall and finds a light switch. The iron door at the bottom of the stairs does little to dull her impending feeling of terror.
She feels as Tyson bumps the gun into Alexis—the jolt that passes from the girl and into her own body.
She descends, slowly, careful with her unsteady feet. Shit, she really did a number on her head. She reaches and awkwardly turns the handle of the door, noting the hatch in the middle—to give them food. Shit.
Tyson pushes them through the doorway and they tumble inside, falling into an awkward pile of limbs in the middle of what Kate realizes is a single toilet bathroom. There's a lone, too-narrow window at the very top of the wall, illuminating the space with dim light from under the porch.
There's a toilet, a sink, and a single roll of toilet paper. And nothing else.
"Here's how it's going to go," Tyson begins, lounging in the doorway as Kate fumbles to help Alexis to her feet.
They huddle together. It's already cold, and it's the middle of the day.
"I'm going to go make some calls while you settle in here. Get acquainted with your new home."
"So you're just leaving us here?" Alexis pipes up as he turns to leave.
He revolves, his face dangerous, eyes wide—the picture of insanity unhinged.
"That's right, Miss Castle. I'm just leaving you here. If you play nice, you might get some food tomorrow. If you don't, well," he scratches his nose with the muzzle of his gun. "I guess we'll see, won't we?"
Alexis steps closer to Kate and together they watch as Tyson steps back and closes the door with a bang. Kate hears a lock click. There isn't one on the inside of the door. It locks from the outside. Like a prison door.
They listen as he traipses back up the steps, and then the sliver of light beneath the door goes out. He slams the door at the top of the stairs, and they're alone.
Kate spins around, looking for something, anything, to help them get out of here. But the sink can't be dismantled without tools, the toilet is no help, and unless they get really creative, that roll of toilet paper is no use.
"What do we do?" Alexis whispers.
Kate turns back and meets the girl's eyes in the dim light. Soon, it'll be pitch black, and freezing. And they're down here for the night.
"Okay," Kate manages, squeezing her eyes shut, thinking. "Okay. Zip ties. Tighten it at much as you can, and maneuver the clasp between your hands."
Alexis nods, and they both take a few seconds to situate their ties.
"Now bring your hands up over your head, and slam them down, elbows just beyond your waist, like this." Kate demonstrates, flinging her arms down toward her stomach, her elbows brushing her waist as they sail past her body. The tie snaps between her wrists and falls to the floor.
Alexis nods and does the same as Kate rubs at her wrists. The tie on Alexis' snaps and the teen smiles at her. Kate immediately steps forward, inspecting the girl's wrists, turning her to feel the small of her back.
"You okay?"
Alexis blinks, turning back to look at her. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."
Kate nods, squeezing her shoulder before moving to the door. There's no handle. She sighs and drops her head, a hand planted in the middle of the door.
"Okay, we're down here for the night," she says softly. She looks up and meets Alexis' eyes. "You should drink something."
"What?" Alexis says.
"From the sink. Don't want to get dehydrated."
Alexis bobs her head, then glances at the toilet. "I—"
"Go ahead," Kate says, trying to look reassuring. "I'll stand in the corner, eyes closed."
Alexis considers her. "Hands in your ears?"
"Sure," Kate offers, giving her a strained smile.
They used to be so comfortable with each other. Well, at least she thought they were, back before her shooting. Little Castle was always so warm and happy. And yes, the situation is different, but this could be less awkward. This should be less awkward. She should be able to give the kid a hug.
She moves to the corner and plugs her ears, turning to face the wall and humming. She faintly hears Alexis laugh a little. Kate then turns her mind off, counting to get her heart rate down, to control her breathing. She's still jittery from the sight of Tyson's .45. But she needs to be calm. She can't let her stupid PTSD get in the way. He's not an assasin, he's just a maniac. And they're going to get out of this, somehow.
(…)
She can hear Alexis' teeth chattering.
"Alexis," she whispers.
They're both huddled against the wall, too cold to sleep prone on the floor. The girl is a few feet away. It's pitch black, but Kate's eyes have adjusted a bit; Alexis' form is a hazy lump to her left.
"Cold," Alexis admits.
"Come here," Kate insists, listening as Alexis hesitates, then shuffles over until their shoulders connect. Kate wraps a tentative arm over the girl's shoulders. Alexis tenses, but slowly relaxes, resting her head against Kate's shoulder.
"Have you slept?" Alexis asks.
"No," Kate admits.
Alexis nods. "Do you think Dad's noticed I'm missing?" she asks a few mintues later.
Kate glances at her watch, but realizes she can't read it in the dark—the face too old to have an LED light. "Probably," she says. It must be past midnight now. "I'm sure he's worried sick."
Alexis sighs. "He's going to go crazy."
"I know," Kate says. "I know."
"And—Esposito and Ryan will help, right? They'll notice you're gone too."
"Maybe," Kate hedges. It's unusual for her to leave without a word, but they didn't have a case today. It could take a bit. She doubts Castle will ask after her if she's not there, and not answering her phone.
"Dad'll figure out you're missing too," Alexis decides.
"Will he?" Kate says, the thought coming free.
Alexis shifts. Kate figures she's looking up at her, though she can't see. "Why do you say that?"
"Your dad hasn't been around much these past few weeks," Kate admits. "Writing," she adds feebly.
Alexis scoffs. "Right." They're silent for a few minutes. "You could have called him."
"Hmm?" Kate manages, her throat suddenly tight.
"If you want him around, you should call him," Alexis explains.
Kate feels her chest unclench. She doesn't mean this past summer, just these past few weeks. "I…got the impression the 12th wasn't really his cup of tea right now," Kate tells her. "Didn't want to bother him."
"Please," Alexis says, her voice a bit harder. "If you're unhappy with dad's behavior, you should tell him. It can't always be his job to come crawling back."
Kate stills and takes a deep breath. "You're right," she decides. "But he has to want to come back in the first place."
"You—seriously? You seriously think dad's, what? Over you?" Alexis lets out, her voice above the careful whisper they've kept. She pulls away, her knee still brushing Kate's, but her shoulders free.
"He—there was a flight attendant," Kate tells her, feeling suddenly defensive. "An uncomplicated flight attendant."
"Oh my God," Alexis lets out. Kate figures she's in for it. "Really?"
Oh. "Ah, yeah. Sorry? That may be breaking your dad's confidence a little?"
"He really…jeez. That's just sad," Alexis mumbles. "But it—but it's still not okay. He may be bad at it, but he's—you hurt him. You can't expect him to just keep getting knocked down."
"I know," Kate says softly. "I didn't mean to. I don't even know—I don't know what I did. I mean, I know. But I don't know," she mumbles. She's not sure if it's the phantom image of Alexis' glare, or the possible head injury, but she's feeling small, inadequate, inarticulate.
"You don't…I'm sorry. You don't know what you did?"
"No," Kate tells her honestly. "Your dad just started acting strange. And I get that he's mad, I think. Or upset. I don't—you know, he's called me hard to read, but he's pretty tight-lipped when he wants to be."
Alexis lets out a small sound of disbelief. "You don't know," she repeats.
"I—I've already, well I thought I explained about the summer. He could be mad about that. A little late, but I guess," she stammers. God, she shouldn't be talking about this with Alexis.
Then again, what else are they going to do?
"You don't think lying is enough?" Alexis asks, her voice cold. "You want to add the not calling too?"
Lying? Ly—shit. Oh, oh, no. "Alexis," she starts, feeling her chest pulling, a flare of pain around her scar. "What do you mean, lying?"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously," Kate says firmly. "I didn't say anything to your dad about lying about anything."
"You…didn't?"
"No," she says. "Who told you this was about lying?"
"Gram," Alexis mumbles. "She said dad had…oh."
"Had what?" Kate urges. Yes, they're trapped. Yes, there is a serial killer above them, but in this moment, nothing matters more than figuring out just what the hell is wrong with Castle.
"That dad overhead something, and you'd been lying. But I didn't realize that he hadn't told you about it. I thought—I thought you'd told him you heard him say he loved you."
"He told you about that?" pops out before Kate can stop it.
"Gram did," Alexis admits after a moment. "But you remember."
"I do," Kate admits, to the wrong Castle, in a basement, with a maniac above them. "I have since the beginning. But I—I was scared, and I made a stupid choice, and I didn't know how to undo it the longer it got."
"So you've been too scared to tell him, and he found out anyway, and got fed up?"
"Yeah," Kate manages. That's exactly what must have happened. But why didn't he just tell her?
Hah. That's rich, she thinks. She can't be mad for his not telling her, not after what she did, can she?
But still. If she could have just explained…
"Why didn't you tell him?" Alexis asks softly.
"When?"
"After you got back. I get…I mean, I don't get it, but gunshot wound kind of earns you clemency, you know?"
Kate lets out a startled laugh. "I guess."
"But when you came back, and got him to go back to the precinct. Why didn't you tell him? What were you so scared of then?"
Kate peers through the blackness toward the sound of her partner's kid's voice. Alexis. Smart, lovely, bright Alexis.
One of them should know, at least. If she doesn't make it out of this, at least Alexis could tell him.
"Your dad—your dad is the best thing that's ever happened to me," she admits, the words tumbling out, words that have been sitting on her tongue for months as she healed, as she tried to get better, to be better, for him, for them, for his kid. "And I guess I wanted to be less…screwed up, so we could—so when we tried, I was well enough to go the distance. I think it would kill me to fail him. I guess I already have."
She looks back at the floor. "I didn't mean to hurt him," she adds. "I just didn't want to—because I do. I feel the same. But I couldn't lead him on, and I wanted to be ready when I told him. I didn't just want to give him a false start."
"You love my dad?" Alexis whispers.
Kate laughs out a hollow sound. "Yeah."
"Oh my God," Alexis mumbles. "You guys are awful."
"What?"
"You really think he wouldn't have forgiven you if you'd said, 'hey, I heard you in the cemetery, and I got scared, but I love you too. Wanna get married and ride off into the sunset'?"
Kate coughs. "Um."
"Okay, not like that," Alexis says, giggling a little. "But—why didn't you just say something?"
"I didn't know he knew," Kate protests. "If I'd known that was why, I would have, but he just…gave up. I get it now. Well," she adds. "No, I guess I don't?"
"Gram says he thinks you don't feel the same way," Alexis explains, sounding over-patient, like Kate might be a bit dense. But give her a break, she just found out her partner's been…wait.
"What?" she gasps.
"Well, you didn't tell him, and he found out in an investigation," Alexis offers.
"But I—he thinks—your dad is an idiot," Kate manages.
"Takes one to know one."
"Thanks," Kate mumbles, covering her face with her hands. "Oh God. No wonder he's been weird."
"Yeah," Alexis agrees, scooting back to sit next to her.
"Damnit," Kate murmurs. "I—"
"I think starting with 'I love you,' will probably do pretty well," Alexis says cheekily.
"Okay, Lindsay Lohan," Kate grumbles. "I get it."
Alexis laughs and leans into her. "I'm sorry," she says a few minutes later.
"Why?"
"Because I may have fed the fire. I didn't know. So, I'm sorry."
"Hey no," Kate says quickly. "Your dad is your first priority. I'd do the same. You don't have to check facts to hate a woman for him. You just hate her."
"I never hated you," Alexis says. Kate waits. "Okay, a little. But you've done so much good stuff for him too, for us. I just—I don't like it when he's like this."
"I know," Kate says, patting Alexis' leg. "I'm sorry."
"Don't," Alexis says softly. "You faced down the 3XK for me."
"Didn't do much good," Kate says with a sigh.
"Yeah, but better with two," Alexis decides, wrapping her arm through Kate's. "Warmer with two."
"Yeah," Kate agrees, shifting to put her arm back over the girl's shoulders. "Let's get home to your dad."
"Deal," Alexis mumbles into her shoulder.