A/N: I can't thank you enough for all the wonderful feedback I have been receiving. It truly is an inspiration. This chapter was harder to write, mainly because I wasn't sure how much dialogue I should have used, if I wanted to use any. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. More to come soon, so stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Castle will always belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC.

Chapter 3

The day of Montgomery's funeral arrives. Since the night that Montgomery was killed, Kate hadn't been sleeping well. She had nightmares every night. But, Castle had been right there to comfort her. Last night was no different. In fact, Castle thinks that Kate had never fallen asleep. Sure, she had been in bed with him, but he doesn't think she ever fell asleep. As Castle comes out of the bathroom after his shower, Kate is putting on her dress blues. Castle is wrapped in only a towel as he walks over to where she is getting dressed to wrap her up in his arms. He whispers in her ear, "Kate?"

She turns to look at him. "Mhm?"

"You look exhausted. Did you sleep at all last night?"

Kate shakes her head. "No, not really." She takes a breath, "I would close my eyes and try to sleep, but all I could picture was that night."

Castle nods. "Honey, why didn't you wake me?"

She lets out a sigh, "because, you needed to sleep. Today is going to be a long day."

"Kate. Today is going to be a rough day for all of us. I just want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. Don't feel bad if you have to wake me, or to interrupt me while I'm writing." He takes a breath, "You and Alexis will always come first in my life. Writing is a hobby that just happens to be my career."

She looks up into his eyes and sees that he meant every word. She leans into his chest, "I'm not ready to say goodbye." A tear runs down her cheek.

Castle hugs her tighter to his chest. "I know, honey. I don't think any of us are. You have me and the rest of the precinct to lean on."

Kate can't help but think about Roy's daughters. Another tear runs down her cheek. "Castle?"

"Yeah, honey."

"What's going to happen with Roy's girls?"

Castle releases her from his chest to look at her. "What do you mean? They still have Evelyn."

"Well," she takes a pause. "They're not much older than Alexis. How are they going to continue growing up without their father?"

He gives her a peck on the lips. "Honey, that's not what's really bothering you. There's something else you're thinking about. What is it that's really on your mind?"

She lets out a sigh, "how will they be able to get married without their father? Roy should be here to walk them down the aisle. They've been robbed of that opportunity." Kate has to wipe the tears away from her eyes. "It was hard enough for me to get married without my mom, and I can't imagine what it would have been like if my dad wasn't here to give me away."

Castle takes hold of Kate's hand and walks her over to the bed so they can sit down. He rubs circles on Kate's back. "Oh, honey. It won't be easy for them, but they will find a way. They are strong young women. Roy and Evelyn raised them well." He lets out a small sigh, "If anything, whenever the girls are ready to get married, I think Evelyn should be the one to give the girls away. But, of course, that's just me."

Kate nods her head and puts her head on Castle's shoulder while she wipes away more tears. "I know how hard it is to lose a parent, so I know what they're going through and it's not fun."

"Of course not, Kate." He kisses the top of her head. "It's never fun to lose anybody you care about. But, just look around at all the people that care about you. They'll be here for you as someone to lean on, someone you can talk to." Castle takes a breath. "The girls are going to be fine, Kate. It'll take some time, but they'll be fine." Castle looks at his watch to check the time. "Kate, we need to get going soon and I still have to get dressed."

They both get up off the bed. Castle goes into the bathroom to get dressed while Kate goes back to the closet to grab her hat. She stares at her hat for a little while. "Castle?"

Castle answers from the bathroom. "Yeah, honey."

"Who is driving? Me or you?" She places the hat on her head, then walks over to the mirror to look at her outfit.

As Castle walks out of the bathroom he is buttoning up his black dress shirt. "I'm not sure. I was actually thinking that maybe we can use the car service. That way neither one of us has to drive."

She turns away from the mirror to look at him. "We can do that?"

"Sure. That's what the car service is for It's why I pay them." He finishes buttoning up his shirt and walks over to Kate. "Kate, it's going to be a long day. You didn't sleep last night and we're both going to be emotional. I think it's best if neither one of us drives. I can call Eduardo right now and have him pick us up." Kate nods and walks out into the living room, while Castle finishes getting ready.

Ten minutes later Castle's car service arrives downstairs. Both Rick and Kate look around to make they have everything they're going to need before leaving the loft. After Castle closes the door to the loft behind them he locks the door. The two of them walk down the hall toward the elevator hand in hand. The ride down to the lobby was quiet. Neither one of them knew what to say, if they wanted to say anything. They reach the lobby and walk out the front door still holding hands. Eduardo opens the door for them before they reach the car. Eduardo tips his hat at both Rick and Kate. Kate thanks him before she gets in the car. Castle pats Eduardo's shoulder and gives him a smile before he climbs into the back of the car.

While riding in the car on the way to the church Kate reaches over to grab Castle's hand. She looks over at him and gives him a teary smile. "Thanks for being here with me."

He returns the smile and squeezes her hand. "Always."

On the way to the church, Kate moves closer to Castle and curls into his side. She rests her head on his shoulder while still holding his hand. It takes about 20 minutes to get from the loft to the church. Eduardo gets out of the driver's side to open the back door to let Rick and Kate out. Rick and Kate were greeted outside the church by detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito, Dr. Lanie Parish, and Kate's father Jim Beckett.

As the group was finishing up giving each other hugs, the hearse, carrying the casket of Captain Roy Montgomery pulls up in front of the church. The casket was draped with an American flag. Castle, Kate, Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie turn to look at the car. Each of them hold their breath, bracing themselves on what is going to happen next. Neither one of them is prepared to say goodbye to a dear friend and mentor.

Lanie and Jim walk up the stairs toward the entrance of the church while Castle, Ryan, Esposito, Kate, and two other officers walk to the back of the hearse. Evelyn and the girls get out of the car that was following the hearse, to watch members of the NYPD and a best-selling author remove Roy's body from the vehicle. As the team carries Roy up the stairs, Evelyn and the girls walk close behind.

Inside the church there was a sea of dark blue, from the cops wearing their dress blues, with specks of black from mourners who were not members of the police force. During the service, Kate sat close to Castle holding his hand while her hat was layed in her lap. Lanie sat close to Esposito and linked her arm with his. It was a beautiful service. A few people were able to share their favorite stories of Roy. Some stories brought tears to people's eyes, while some other ones were light-hearted and had received a few chuckles.

When the service was over, Roy's casket was rolled back out into the lobby of the church. The family followed behind, along with the members of the 12th precinct that Roy had worked with. The 6 pallbearers carried Roy's casket down the steps toward the hearse. Once they reached the bottom, the 6 of them carefully placed the casket into the back of the car. The hearse and the car that Evelyn and the girls are riding in, head for the cemetery. Eduardo pulls around to the front of the church after the two cars had left.

Castle sees Eduardo get out of the car to come around and open the door for them. "Hey, Eduardo. I was going to call you. How did you know the service was over?"

"I found a parking spot and waited in the back of the church. Once it was over I walked back to get the car."

Castle gives him a nod. "Well done, Eduardo."

Eduardo nods. "Thank you, Mr. Castle."

Kate and Rick climb into the back of the car and head for the cemetery. On the way to the cemetery Rick looks over at Kate. "How are you doing, honey?"

She lets out a sigh. "As good as I can be, I guess."

Castle wraps his arm around Kate's shoulders to pull her close. He kisses her temple, "I'm right here Kate, if you need me, whenever you need me."

She looks at him and gives him a small smile. "Thanks babe." She gives him a soft kiss on the lips and then curls into his side. "I didn't see Alexis or Martha there. Didn't they say they were planning on coming?"

"Yes, they did. They were there. They chose to sit in the back. I saw them as we were walking out of the church." Kate mumbles something, but Castle couldn't quite make out what it was. "Look, honey, you're emotional right now. You're in an emotional daze, which is probably why you missed seeing them.

Kate nods her head slightly. "Will they be coming to the cemetery?"

"As far as I know, yes." He takes a breath. "I know that Evelyn wanted to keep it somewhat small. You know, just having it be family, the force, and a few close friends. Evelyn told me that it was ok to invite mother, Alexis, and your dad."

She's surprised. "My dad is coming to the cemetery too?"

Castle shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know if he is actually going, but I did tell him he was invited." He lets out a sigh, "look, today is a rough day for all of us. I think it'll be good for us to have our family there by our side to help us through this. Roy was our friend. We'll need other people that we care about and who care about us, to be there for us through this difficult time."

A tear rolls down Kate's face. She didn't even know it was there until Castle wiped it away. "Thanks babe. I suppose you're right. We will need all the support we can to get through this. It won't be easy, that's for sure." She lets out a sigh, "and it certainly won't be easy to go back to work. It just won't be the same without him."

He hugs her tighter. "I know Kate. I know."

They arrive at the cemetery around the same time as everybody else. Eduardo goes to open the back door to let them out of the car. As soon as she gets out of the car Kate puts her hat on. Kate and Castle walk hand in hand to where everybody has seemed to gather. Eduardo just waits at the car until he's needed. Kate gives Evelyn a hug, since she didn't get a chance to do it back at the church.

Martha, Alexis, and Jim arrive at the cemetery together. Martha walks over to Castle while Jim walks over to talk with Kate. Alexis decides to go talk with Lanie and the boys. Martha asks Castle, "How are you doing kiddo?"

Castle gives Martha a hug. "I'm doing ok, mother. I could be better, though."

"Of course darling. Roy Montgomery was your friend. You played poker together."

He lets a tear run down his face. It was hard to tell he had any tears in eyes, because of the sunglasses he was wearing. "Yeah. Playing poker and being at the precinct will never be the same."

Martha rubs her hand up and down Castle's arm. "I'm sorry kiddo. How's Katherine doing?"

Castle lets out a heavy sigh. "She's hanging in there. There's a part of me that feels like she's not letting her real emotions out. She's trying to be strong, like she needs to show the world how tough she is, just because she's a cop."

All Martha could do was nod. She was about to say something when the minister said he was ready, and has everyone take their seats around the burial site. A drum cadence begins as Kate, Castle, Ryan, Esposito, and the other two pallbearers retrieve the casket from the hearse. The cadence continues until they have set the casket down at the site. Once the casket has been set down the 6 of them take their seats. The minister then begins the burial service.

At one point in the service the minister asks Kate to come forward to deliver her eulogy. Kate stands up from her chair and Castle gets up with her. They walk up to the front together. Kate stands at the podium while Castle stands off to the side. He's there for support in case she ever needs him while she's giving her eulogy. Castle looks around at the scenery, then looks back over at Kate. Kate pauses in her speech to make eye contact with Castle. She returns to giving her speech and Castle looks away. As he is looking out over all the other headstones, something catches his eye. He can't quite make out what it is at first, but then something clicks in his brain and he reacts quickly.

Castle barely makes contact with Kate to tackle her, before the sound of a gunshot reaches his ears. He feels a little bit of pain, but he doesn't know what it is. Was it the impact of hitting the ground? Was it the impact of tackling Kate? Or was it both? The friends and family of Roy Montgomery duck for cover when they hear the sound of a gunshot, with some of the women screaming.

With Castle tackling her to the ground, Kate gets the wind knocked out of her a little. She is laying in the grass with Castle still on top of her. She taps his shoulder, "Castle, you can get off of me now." He doesn't respond. "Castle?" Still no response. Kate can feel something warm on her body and pushes Castle off of her. She puts her hand where she felt the warmth and blood gets on her gloves. She looks over at Castle who seems to be fighting for air. Both Kate and Castle have fear in their eyes. Kate has tears streaming down her face when she touches Castle's torso and gets more blood on her white gloves. "RICK?!"

To Be Continued