Disclaimer: This characters belong to their respectiver owners. Andrew W. Marlowe (Castle) and Hart Hanson(Bones). They are not mine. The only thing that belongs to me is my clmusy writing.
A/N1: So sorry for the delay. Please don't hit me.
Kate was perched on one of the bar stools in Castle's kitchen watching him moving around and getting their breakfast ready. She could almost feel the taste of Castle's delicious coffee in her tongue. Sliding down her throat.
That's when she heard hesitant steps coming down the stairs. Turning her head, she saw Brennan cradling her daughter close to her chest and hesintantly making her way torwards them.
"Morning." Kate greeted politely recieving a nod as answer.
"Hey, Tempe! You're up! Want some breakfast?" Rick asked cheerfully behinde her.
"I would like that if you don't mind."
"Grab a sit, then. Did you got any sleep last night?"
She only hummed at the question, making no real answer.
"Well I take that as a no." he sounded almost disaproving. "Anyway, just sit and eat up. Both of you."
Placing to plates full with eggs and bacon in front of them, Rick turned again to the stove to finish fixing their pancakes.
The little girl in Brenna's arms that hadn't made a sound since she got downstairs, making Kate believe that she was asleep, made her presence know by raising her tiny, chubby arm to Brennan's plate.
Brennan chuckled and grabbed her tiny hand, preventing the girl of grabbing the plate or the food in it.
"No, no. Don't do that Christine. It's hot." the girl's mother whispered at her. So much love in her words that made Kate's heart clench. She reminded of the time when her mother was still alive. The sunday brunches.
A plate get set on the table took her out of her reverie. The sweet smell of pancakes spread trough the air while Rick set the different toppings on the counter.
"Castle." Kate warned seeing him open the whipped cream can and the chocolate syrup. Armed with one on each hand, prepared to spread them trough his pancakes.
"What?" she looked at the toppings and then at him, giving him a pointed look. "Oh, come on, Kate. Why can't I put what I want in my pancakes?"
"Because last time I let you do that you ended up with a stomach ache and I had to hear your whinning all day."
He pouted at her. "Spoilsport."
Kate gave him a smile and pointed to the toppings that he was still holding. "Put down one of them, Castle."
He made a face that made Kate laugh, but obeyed. Putting down the whipped cream. He spread chocolate around his pancake twisting his wrist and stiking his tongue out in concentration.
Kate lifted one eyebrow at him, but decided to eat instead of trying to figure out what the hell Castle was doing.
"Voilá!" Castle exclamed. Kate lifted her head to look at him. He was proudly showing off the flower that he had draw with the choclate topping.
Kate pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile from him, but failing when he present little Christine with it, making the baby girl clap her hands and bounce on her mother's lap and then try to reach for it.
Castle chuckled and took a knife and a fork from the top drawer and started cutting his pancake into little pieces.
"What are you doing?" Temperance asked looking a Castle cut expertly the pancake.
"Cutting a pancake. Jezz, Tempe. I thought you were the crazy smart one." he teased with a smile.
"Why are you cutting it?" Brennan continued.
"Because, from my experience babies choke if you give them big pieces of food."
"Isn't that for you?"
"I can share. Don't worry." he smiled and then made his way to on of the bar stools, sitting down and pushing the pancake that had been made to little pieces torwards him. "Okay, come here to eat, little one." he said extending his arms, asking for Brennan to pass the little girl.
Unconsciently, Brennan held the girl a little tighter. Unwilling to let her go.
"Oh, come on, Tempe. You seem exhausted and besides I have previous experience with cute little girls. You eat and I feed her, than she's all yours again." he gave her a fatherly smile. The ones he usually gave Alexis.
Brennan frowned, but passed him Christine who Castle promptly sit on his lap and started to feed while he babytalked and made funny faces that had Kate stiffling a laugh every once in a while.
Brennan seemed to relax upon seeing how easily Christine warmed up to Castle, giving him those adorable smiles and babbling at him.
"I left him." Brennan declared out of the blue.
"What?"
"Booth, I mean. I just left him and I don't know if I can keep this up. Not after an all summer hiding and running."
Rick was sitting on the couch while Brennan was sitting on one of his comfy armchairs. They were just sitting with the TV on some scifi show that neither of them was really watching. Something about dinossaurs, Rick didn't really know.
Kate had gone to the precinct a couple of hours ago and he decided to stay in with Tempe and Christine.
"Why did you run, Tempe? I never saw you run from anything. You usually take the bull by the horns."
"I don't know what that means."
Rick chuckled. How could he not.
"It means that you always face the situation. You never run. You throw yourself at your problems tenaciously. Stuff like that. For what I heard you beat the crap out of a mexican gang lord and made him run to his momma. What are you running from Tempe? Maybe I can help."
"I'm beeing acused of murder."
Murder?! What?!
"You what?"
"There's this serial killer that made me look like I assassinated someone. Someone that I, in the eyes of the law, had reasons to murder. So I ran."
"You left Booth, because otherwise you would be arrested." he stated. "Oh, Tempe. You can't stay out of trouble. Tell me all about it. Maybe I can help, somehow"
And so she did. She told him about the case. About how he managed to forge a video tape to incriminate her, how he managed to get rid of his ankle monitor and murdered the guy. She told him all about him.
And then she told him how her dad had convinced her that running was the best solution. How he took her and Christine to somewhere safe. How he one day a couple weeks back, when the two of them were in Texas, he just disapeered. And how she needed his help.
Castle knew that asking for help was a great deal for Tempe. She was an independent woman that always assumed that she could face the world on her own. And most of the times she could. But with this psycho, she needed his help.
Once he had joked that he was well verse in psychotic methodologies. Joked it was an ocuppational hazert. Right now he dind't felt like joking. Tempe was like the sister he never had.
"What about your brother?"
"I wasn't going to bother Russ. He has a wife and two little girls. I'm not about to let them get hurt."
He nodded. Of course she wouldn't
"Don't worry Tempe. I'll get you out of this one."
"You're my last hope, Rick."
And just that. The desperate, pleading tone of her voice convince him that he was going to take her out of this one. He was going to make it right again. He could do that for Tempe. He would do that.
Rick was in his study trying to figure out a way to get Tempe out of this one when his pone rang.
After a quick look at the caller ID he answered it.
"Castle!" Beckett snapped.
"Well, hello to you too. What's up?"
"What's up?! Well, you forgot to mention that your friend was a wanted criminal. That is what's up!"
"Wow, wow, wow. Tempe is not a wanted criminal. She was framed by this psycho guy." he defended.
"It doesn't matter! In the eyes od the law she is a criminal."
"Why are you so mad at me?"
"Because you are an accessorie now. You're harboring a wanted criminal. What were you thinking?!"
"First of all Tempe is not a criminal. She didn't murder no one. Second, she's family. That's what I had in my head. Besides I didn't know the police was after her."
Beckett went silence.
"Kate, are you going to give Tempe to the cops?"
"I am the cops, Castle. Don't you get it?! I like Temperance. I really do. But you gave a cop knowledge of a fugitive. What do you expect me to do?"
"Wait."
"What?"
"Just wait. Don't call this in. I'll figure a way to fix it. I'll fix it."
"Castle. You're not a cop. There's nothing you can do."
"Tempe's family. You take care of your family. I'll fix it. Give me something. Some time. A week maybe?"
"Castle, I can't-"
"Then you'll live Christine motherless. Is that what you want to do, Kate? Give me a week."
Oh, this was a low blow and he knew it. He hated himself a little bit for doing that.
Kate was silent for a while.
"No. I'll give you forty eight hours, Castle. That's all you get. No more, no less. You hear me?"
He sighed. He would have to work with that. He could make it in fourty eight hours.
"Okay. I can do it."
"And Castle."
"Yes?"
"I won't be going to the loft in the next fourty eight hours."
"Kate-"
"No. You wanted time. You got time. I can't be near doctor Brennan. I'm a cop. I can't. I'll have to report it."
"Okay. Okay, but after that you'll come back, right?" he hated it. Right now he hated the all situation. Tempe in trouble to her neck. Not beeing able to see Kate for the next fourty eight hours, but above that he hated the insecurity in his voice. The slight hitch of panick when he asked if she was coming back. This was the first real thing in the way of their relationship. This would make them or brake them.
"Of course." and just the softeness in her voice quieted his heart.
Of course.
Kate was in this with him. All the way.
"I love you." he blurted out.
He heard the slight hitch in her breath. Oh, shit. He didn't mean to- He really had to stop blurting out stuff like this.
"Me too."
Oh.
It wasn't quite the words but it was the closest she ever came to actually saying it.
"I know." he reassured her. Because he did. He knew that she loved him. Even if she wasn't quite ready to say it.
"Bye, Castle."
"Until the day after tomorrow detective."
Before the line went dead he heard her laugh and roll her eyes.
Yeah, he could hear her roll her eyes. So he put the phone down with a silly grin.
Kate would be roally pissed at him after all of this was over. But Tempe was family too and if there was a thing Castle knew is that you take care of your family. No matter what. No matter how bad it gets or how much trouble you get yourself into. Family always comes first.
Family comes first.
And with that he knew what he had to do next.
He had to tell Booth. Tell him that Tempe and Christine were okay.
The thing is, he couldn't just call him. Psycho guy was lord and master of technology. That was his home field.
He had to meet Booth in person. He'd fly to Washington. Bring Booth here, since he couldn't take the girls there. He was FBI. He was a dad. He had spent an entire summer without Tempe and Christine and Castle knew just too well how that felt like. Not beeing able to see the person you love for the summer. Not even knowing if they were okay.
He was going to bring him here. Make it okay for him and for Tempe again. Make it right. Get her safe.
Because family comes first.
A/N2: So, there ya go!
And I'll try to make this come faster someway. You all have to thank to the royall boring-ness I was having in my Geography and History classes. They allowed me to write most of this chapter and the beggining of the next. So yey!
And I want to thank to all of you who reviewed and asked for this next chapter. And if I ever spend this much time without updating don't hesitate in kicking my ass.
Previously I said that reviews were like sunshine and double rainbows. Thanks to Shannon Jethro Gideon Snape now I know that reviews are like Nathan Fillion cooking me dinner and giving me a shoulder rub. So I stand corrected. Thank you for indulging me.