AN: You know the drill. R&R it gives me warm fluffies. Warm fluffies help me write more often. I do have an excuse this time though, been back home in NZ for three weeks over Christmas. But better late than never right?
08672241
Encouragement
2015
Kate sighed heavily; leaning back at her desk. It had been a long day. She had just closed a case and was filing all the paperwork that went with it. It was now four-thirty and she was craving a coffee. She scolded herself as she was supposed to be cutting down now that she was drinking for two. She decided that it was time to go home. Ryan and Esposito were out working a fresh case; she would join them on it tomorrow. She said goodbye to Gates before heading downstairs to her car. She couldn't believe she was having a baby with Castle. Everything in her life was finally working out. She got into her car and checked her phone.
She smiled as she read a message from her husband.
"Hey beautiful, I've found the perfect house for our new family, can't wait to show you when you get home. Lay off the cravings, I'm cooking your favourite for dinner. C u tonight."
As Kate drove home she began to notice a dark vehicle following her. She thought perhaps she was paranoid so she tried to lose them by turning down some side streets. Kate thought it had worked as she found herself alone on the outerskirts of town. She exhaled deeply and decided to pull over and switch the car off for a moment; just to be sure. It was at that moment that the dark vehicle slammed into the side of Kate's car, shunting it across the road and into a ditch. Her head slammed into the steering wheel. She groaned and tried to sit up. Kate could feel the wetness in her hair and began to taste the blood as it ran down the side of her head to her lips. Before she had a chance to think four men broke into the wreckage of her car and lifted her out. They all wore masks and dark clothing. Trying to remain calm was near impossible; even with her many years of police training. They all carried guns; heavy duty ones at that. If they wanted her dead it would be done in an instant. Kate was forced into the back seat of a car alongside the four men. She shook the hair out of her face and cut straight to business.
"What do you want?" She slipped her hand into her coat pocket and prayed she could work her phone without looking at the screen. The men didn't respond.
"What is this about?" She tried again, voice firmer this time. Her phone still had Castle's text open on it so she hit the call button. The men remained silent. A man in the front passengers seat turned and spoke.
"My employer only wants to ask you some questions. As long as we have your full co-operation you have nothing to fear."
"I hope you realise you've kidnapped a police detective of the NYPD. You can tell William Bracken that if anything happens to me that my people will bury you." Kate threatened.
The man in the front smiled. "Well we can't have that." He signalled to the others who knocked Kate out cold.
When she woke she was tied to a chair. She immediatly tried to wriggle but there was no budging. She was locked down tight. She looked around, the room was dark. She was unsure if she was alone or not, but she decided to go with the former. Kate tried desperately to reach for her coat pocket; it was futile.
"Looking for this?" A shadow spoke from a chair just deep enough into the shadows that Beckett couldn't see them; but she recognised the voice. It was Bracken. He held her cell phone and hit a button so that the screen lit up in the darkness. "I couldn't have you making any more calls to your boyfriend now could I? Oh wait...its husband now isn't it? I suppose congratulations are in order."
"What do you want?"
"Ms Beckett; I simply want to clear up this mess quickly so that we can all go home. It is information I seek; information that you have. You give me that information; you get to return home unharmed. It will be like none of this ever happened; your husband will have his wife back. Or perhaps I should have questioned him...Mr Castle; wasn't it? I suppose that can still be arranged."
"You hurt him and I will kill you." Kate spat quickly. "Castle has nothing to do with any of this."
"Now now; there is no reason we can't do this cordially."
"We had a deal."
"And I'm afraid that deal has outlived it's usefulness. You see; when I become President I can't have this come into the spotlight."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you had my mom killed."
"Zero, Eight, Six, Seven, Two, Two, Four, One. The file; Ms Beckett, where is it?"
"Go to hell."
"When my assistants here are encouraging you; I hope you remember that I tried to be civil." Bracken stood up and left the room.
Beckett couldn't tell where he went but assumed he had gone somewhere to watch. The encouragement came hard and fast. They began by braking her left leg. The beating then moved to her chest, she closed her eyes when she felt the ribs shatter. She was crying now because she knew she was going to die. There was no way out of this; there was no file. Would they go after Castle next? Or Ryan? Or Esposito? Her Dad? Lanie? Alexis? Martha? Two hours passed; the men would question her, and when they didn't hear the answers they wanted they would beat her some more. They were very good at this; prolonging the beatings long enough so that she wouldn't pass out; perhaps she wouldn't die; not until they wanted her to. The water torture came next. Somewhere in the middle of the icy water Kate gave up. She let go; hoping death would take her then. But it didn't. Her captors made sure of it. Three hours passed and as Kate tried so hard to pass out Bracken slapped her across the face.
"I do apologise for the rude awakening but...there are some friends of yours desperately trying to get hold of you. Shall we take their call?" Bracken dangled her phone in front of her so she could see that it was Castle calling. He walked back to his chair and placed the phone onto the table next to him before answering the call. This was her one chance. If she was going to die she was going to bring Bracken down with her. Kate knew she had to implicate him and she hoped like hell Castle was at the precinct by now and her team were recording his phone.
"You're finished Bracken. You kill me and my people will release the evidence we have on you into the public eye. Your career will be over. We have the money trail that connects you to all of those mob kidnappings; the money you used to finance your first campaign. We can nail you for electoral fraud to begin with...conspiracy to commit murder will fall into place aswell. I'm not afraid of you and the fact that you're here in person means that you are. You are very afraid of what I know...and what I can prove."
To her despair Bracken remained silent. A different man approached holding a metal pipe. "Those are fighting words Detective Beckett. Let's see if your as brave once the night is out."
Kate screamed as he beat her. This time it was only a few hits. Bracken had hung up her phone.
"That should have been long enough for them to run a trace."
Kate looked at her captor; confused as to why he would let the police track their location.
"Believe it or not Ms Beckett but I am somewhat of a romantic. By the time your team get here your life will be drawing to a close. I am not adverse to allowing your husband the privilege of seeing you one last time. Of course it will be too late for you...but I guess that's the way it has to be."
2026
"I'm sorry what?" Castle blinked a few times; dumbfounded at this child on his doorstep.
"You didn't know about me; did you?" This was a very upfront child.
"How old are you Ricky?" Castle's head was spinning. His name was Ricky.
"I'll be ten in a few months."
"You'd better come inside." Rick opened the door. "Does your Mother know you're here?"
"No..."
"What do you mean no? You can't just run off; it's dangerous."
"You don't understand...Mom...doesn't want me to know about you."
Castle's head was racing. He tried to think who he could have impregnated...ten years...this didn't make any sense. He sat the boy down on the sofa and tried to brake this to him as gently as possible.
"Look; Ricky, I think there's been some kind of mistake."
The boy shook his head in protest. "I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I brought you this." He pulled a piece of paper from his backpack. "It's my birth certificate. I had homework from school. I had to write about someone that I wanted to meet; if I could choose anyone. I wanted to meet my dad. But I didn't even know your name and Mom told me I wasn't allowed to know. But I found this hidden away where she keeps important stuff. She thinks I don't know where she hides things." Ricky explained away as Castle stared at the paper in disbelief.
Richard Alexander Rodgers
Born To
Nikki Katherine Rodgers and Richard Edgar Castle
On the 21st day of March 2016
Nikki Rodgers...Castle was utterly confused. That name was too co-incidental to be real. It couldn't be. Castle didn't have to think it over for much longer as the boy's mobile began to ring.
"You have a cell phone? You're ten years old!" He exclaimed.
"Mom says it's for my own protection. She says she always needs to be able to get hold of me. This is her now...oh boy am I in trouble." He answered. "Hello...Mom; it's ok calm down...I can't tell you where I am but I'm ok, I promise."
Castle was motioning with his hands that he wanted to speak to the woman on the other end of the phone.
"Mom look; there's someone here you need to talk to." Ricky thrust the phone up at his father lighting fast before she had a chance to protest, or hang up.
Castle took a breath. He could hear a woman's voice coming through the receiver. "Richard Alexander Rogers you are in so much trouble when I get my hands on you." The voice was unmistakable. He could never forget that voice. Castle froze. He didn't know what to say. She snapped him out of his silence. "Hello? Is anybody there? Ricky?!"
"...Kate?" He breathed into the phone. Time stopped. He didn't want to know the answer in case it was the wrong one. But he was sure.
"Who is this?" She asked, there was concern and fright in her voice, she was worried about her son...their son.
"It's me." He offered.
"Castle?" Her breath hitched in her throat.
Castle hung up the phone. He was in shock. He sat back down on the sofa. He tried to let it sink in. Ten years he had believed she was dead. Ten years he had spent trying to move on. She had been lying to him for ten years. They had a son. How was any of this possible?
The phone rang again, this time Ricky answered it. When he hung up he told Castle that his Mom was coming to pick him up. Castle turned and looked at his son.
"What exactly has your mother told you about me? About why I haven't been around?"
The ten year old shook his head. "She would never talk about you. If I asked, she would say that I was too young to understand."
"Ricky do you like video games?"
The child nodded.
"My bedroom is through that door." Castle pointed. "How about you go play my Xbox until your Mom gets here? The child obedientaly left to find Castle's gaming console while Castle himself went to his liquor cabinet. It had been a while since his last scotch, but he figured now was as good a time as any. An hour and a half later there was a knock at the door.
Castle had been pacing up and down his living room for a while and he wasted no time answering the front door. He was a little suprised to find a blonde haired woman on the other side. He studied her for a long moment. Her blonde hair was long and straight; eyes were bright blue instead of the hazel he remembered. But it was her. That much was evident.
"Kate?" He whispered.
She hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry Castle. I'm so sorry. If there had been any other way...you wern't supposed to find out like this."
Castle's body went from relaxed and comfortable to stiff and rigid within seconds. He stepped away from her. "I wasn't supposed to find out at all. I buried you Kate. Ten years ago I buried you. Don't you think you owe me an explanation?" He was angry now. He had every right to be.
"I can't; Castle I'm sorry. We can't be here, I need to get Ricky home where is he? Ricky?!" She called.
"He's in my room playing Xbox, I trust you remember where that is?" He spat snarkily.
Kate marched into his bedroom...their bedroom. It was just as he had left it. "Ricky, come on, we have to go." She switched the television off. "I can't believe you pulled a stunt like this; you are in so much trouble."
"Mom no!" He protested. "I'm not going anywhere. I want to stay here with Dad."
"Ricky no, please don't make this harder than it already is. We are going home." She argued.
"Kate!" Castle cut in.
Ricky looked at his mother with a confused look. "Why did he call you Kate?"
She turned to look at Castle. "It's Nikki now; ok. You can't call me that anymore."
"What the hell is going on?!" He demanded an explanation.
She looked at him with a shocked expression. He was yelling at her.
Castle lowered his voice. "Please...just stay, I can help you, just tell me what's going on." He moved a little closer to her and she hesitated at the intimacy. His anger and confusion melted away. He put his hand to her cheek and lightly caressed it. "Please...please; I can't lose you again." He whispered.
