Oh my gosh, if I had realised how long it had been since I had last updated this; I would have had plenty of chapters up by now! Hope y'all enjoy this chapter!

Lynne xo

Castle watched from his staircase as CSU swept his loft, picking up sheets from the almost invisible floor and dust for prints along any surface they could find. They all looked the same, dressed in blue jumpsuits while the large white letters traced on the back of their jumpsuits declared their profession; not that the silver cases gave anything away. His floor eventually became visible again while boxes lay in the centre, packed full of bagged sheets. Castle watched as one of them ripped his couch apart while his glasses slid down his nose and Castle frowned. Would he get to recognise any part of his house when all this torture was over and done with? He watched as another investigator shuffled past him, holding plastic bags with some of Alexis' belongings.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Castle asked, standing up and stopping him dead in his tracks.

"My job" he replied with attitude in his voice and shot Castle a dirty look. Castle stared him straight on and clasped his hands as the investigator turned to continue on his way when Castle stopped him again and he turned around.

"Why are you taking things from my daughter's bedroom? I want to see what you're taking!" he insisted. He agreed to let them look in her room, but not to take stuff from there and grew agitated at the investigators ignorance.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you touch anything sir"

"It's my house, my daughter and our belongings; I have the mayor and best cop on speed dial. So if you don't-"

"Hey, just give him the bags to look at Stewie" Beckett came up behind the investigator, making him jump on the spot and arched her brow at the small man who just stared at her. He almost reluctantly handed castle the bags and wandered off in the direction of Castles office. Beckett turned her gaze back to Castle who sat back down on the staircase; holding the bags one by one up to the light.

"You have me on speed dial?"

"Yeah, Number 3" he nodded, tilting his head towards one of the bags while Kate smiled at his answer. She found it strange since he was number 2 on hers but she wasn't complaining. She noticed how interested he had become in the bags and sat down next to him; he then passed her a curious look.

"Anti-depressants?"

"Alexis was suffering from depression?" she couldn't help but ask and he exchanged a similar confused look until Beckett took a closer look at the capsule of pills. She squinted toward the tiny print and glanced to Castle who had his lower lip upturned.

"Does the name Ashley ring any bells?"

"Hey! That's Alexis' boyfriend" he rested his head on his clenched fist and she raised her brows while tilting her head.

"So…Ashley's anti-depressants were in Alexis' room; either she's taking prescribed drugs that are meant for Ashley or hiding them for Ashley"

"With all due respect Kate, My Alexis wouldn't"

"Don't worry Castle, my queries were aimed more towards the latter possibility" A smile came to her lips and he nodded in understanding while he looked at the other plastic bags with keen interest. If Alexis had Ashley's drugs, who knows what else Ashley could have given her to stash away?

"I got this for her 16th birthday, you know" he seemed proud as he showed her the silver necklace and she smiled at how happy it made him feel. You didn't have to be a detective to see that was genuine love in his eyes, she loved that type of Castle who under his 9 year old persona; was a caring father and loyal partner and friend at the end of the day. She noticed how expensive the necklace was, she guessed a couple hundred but with an incoming like his, it was bound to be. Her smile faded when a major imperfection came to her eyes while Rick failed to notice it until she pointed it out to him. "It's broken"

"She was wearing this necklace this morning, she wears it every morning. He must have…" his jaw dropped at the thought that stayed at the front of his mind and he shook his head. He just wanted this to be all over, he just wanted his Alexis back in his arms and in view where he could never let her out of his sight again. Ok maybe not completely out of sight, just enough to make sure nothing like this would ever happen again. He wasn't even sure if he should call Meredith at this stage especially when she hadn't seen Alexis in months and when she was on the other side of the country.

"Her kidnapper ripped it from her neck"

"Y-you might be able to get a partial print from it if-if-if-" She clamped her hand over his and he suddenly relaxed. He knew she thought he was getting too excited over a possible lead towards his daughters kidnapping case and it wasn't healthy…none of this was.

"Listen to me Castle, we'll find something that will crack this case wide open and I'll get Alexis home to you. I will, right now I want you to go upstairs, grab a sports bag and pack whatever you need. I have a spare room back at my place you can stay there as long as you want to" she added, studying his face carefully until he nodded and stood with the help of the railing and dragged himself to his bedroom at the end of the hall. She watched after him, walking in slow footsteps while his arms hung limply by his sides. She leaned against the wall and let her head fall into her hands while she massaged circles into her temples.