Disclaimer- I do not own Castle or any of its character except for my own creations, Max and Alyssa
Kate was shaken awake early the next morning by Harden.
"Try these on and wear what fits", he ordered, shoving a few different pairs of gray gym shorts, plain white tank tops, and sports bras at her.
"Why"?
Harden shoved her toward the bathroom. "Just do it"!
Kate tried everything on and found two of everything that fit her. She kept one outfit on and took the rest back out to the bedroom.
"Keep what fits and I'll take the rest back".
She gave him what didn't fit.
"Follow me", he ordered.
She followed him down a few hallways and then down into a dark basement.
He led her into a room where several young men and women all dressed like her, except that no one was wearing a shirt, were using counting machines to count enough money for a bank.
"What is this"?
"Shut up and take your shirt off".
"What"? No.
"Do it"!
She pulled her shirt off reluctantly.
"No one wears a shirt down here, so we can make sure they don't walk out with any money".
"I wouldn't take anything, I don't want any dirty money"!
"I know, but we can't show anyone special treatment".
"Now get to a station".
"I'm not working for him".
"Fine, but then you don't get anything for your baby".
"No clothes, diapers, formula, food when it's older, or prenatal vitamins".
"And I guess this means you want to deliver it all by yourself without a doctor".
Someone suddenly hurried over to them. Kate recognized him as Max, who had tried to talk to her yesterday.
"Leave her alone, Harden".
"I'll show her what she's supposed to do".
Harden punched Max in the face and he staggered back.
"Haven't you been warned enough about overstepping, Max"?
"Stop"!, Kate shouted. "I'll do it".
She still didn't entirely trust Max but she owed him for standing up for her.
Max took her over to the station next to his and showed her how to use the machine. They started counting money. Kate looked at Max and saw that he now had a black eye. She noticed that he was fairly good looking with brown hair and light green eyes.
"Thank you", she said quietly.
"No one should mistreat a woman, especially a pregnant one".
"I'm just used to looking out for myself".
"Well, I used to be, I mean", she told him.
"I did have someone who cared about me and protected me".
"What happened"?, Max asked.
"I finally accepted him and we spent the night together".
"Then I was taken away from him and brought here".
"Why hasn't he come looking for you, if he cares about you".
"He was asleep and I had a habit of running away to hide my feelings, plus they let me call my dad and tell him that I was going away for a few years to find myself again".
"He would have told Castle if he asked about me".
"He must hate me".
"If you ever make it back to him, I'm sure he'll understand".
"You didn't leave by choice".
"Alyssa has stood by me through everything".
"She hasn't once told me that she wants to leave me and get out of here, even though it means being locked up all day".
"She sounds as amazing as Castle", Kate smiled.
"Castle"?
"Richard Castle, the author".
"Alyssa has one of his books, I think it's called Heat Wave".
"Yes, that's his book, he based the main characters on us".
"That's cool, he must really care about you then".
"Yes, he does or at least he did", she said sadly.
"The only thing I want is him and for him to meet our baby", she said, rubbing her belly.
"I'm sure you will find a way and until then, I will help you anyway I can", Max promised.
"I spoke to Vulcan yesterday and he agreed that you could spend a few hours a day with Alyssa when you aren't working".
"Thank you", Kate said in surprise.
"Please don't get yourself in anymore trouble on my account though".
"I'll try, but I can't stand by and watch you be mistreated anymore, than I could for Alyssa".
"You remind me of Castle, you're too good of a man for this".
"I couldn't do anything better anyway if I got out. I never got to go to high school and graduate. Vulcan had me working for him at 15. I never had a chance. I met Alyssa at a party Vulcan allowed me to go to one time".
We saw each other and were just drawn to each other. But we both got too drunk and I made the mistake of coming back to late and bringing her back with me. Vulcan was furious and locked her up both to punish me and to use her against me".
"It sounds terrible", Kate said sympathetically. "How long has it been"?
"Two years. I was 23 then and she was 21. I'm 25 now and she's 23".
The guard at the end came over then.
"No more talking, you're here to work", he snapped.
They worked in silence for the next few hours until they let them have a break to eat lunch. They were allowed to put their shirts on after they left the room.
Max and Kate sat together to eat. They were only given half an hour to eat and then had to get back to work. They worked for a few more hours and then Harden came and told everyone that they were done for the day.
He led Max and Kate to Max and Alyssa's room, which was a few doors down from Kate's. He unlocked the door and locked the door again after they went in.
A young woman was laying on the bed and she looked up when Max came in. She sat up quickly when she realized someone else was with him.
Kate looked at her. She had long curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She looked young and innocent, and reminded her of Alexis.
"Who's this", the woman asked.
"Alyssa this is Kate, Max told her, Kate this is Alyssa. Vulcan agreed to let her spend a few hours with you everyday when she's done working".
"He actually did something nice? When did hell freeze over, I must have missed it".
Kate couldn't help laughing.
"So why did you get brought here"?, Alyssa asked.
"Someone ordered him to keep me here, but I don't know who"
"We are lucky compared to her, Alyssa. They took her away from her boyfriend after their first night together and she just found out she's pregnant and she's all alone.
"That's terrible, Alyssa gasped, I can't even imagine that being me".
"I just try not to think about it much. I know he must hate me and believe that I walked out on him".
They sat and talked for a few more hours. Kate enjoyed having company. She knew she could trust them. She had to have someone to talk to so she didn't go insane and they were very nice to her.
After dinner, she was taken back to her room and locked up alone once again. It was a little better since she had gotten to spend time with other people, but it was still so lonely.
The next day passed the same and all the days after that until a couple months later. Then a unexpected surprise shocked all of them.
