I am so sorry for the long gap between chapters, real life has been a little... Tricky. I'm currently relaxing after a cross country road trip this week while preparing for a second similar length trip next week (15 hour round trip for both), along with preparing to help family move house and a rubbish cold. I've also hit a period of writers block with this plot, which means what happens after the next chapter will probably change depending on how it is recieved by you lovely people. To ensure that I'm not going to have a similar gap between chapters, I will be posting the next chapter tonight as well.

DISCLAIMER - the people that own Castle are the people that own Castle, I am not one of those people.


'Gates is pissed,' Ryan looked at his phone as Kate padded into the kitchen area a few hours later, 'Jenny tells me the phone was lighting up constantly overnight.'

'She can wait,' Esposito shrugged, handing Kate a mug of coffee Castle had made for her.

'who can wait? ' Kate sipped at her drink, a blissful look in her face.

'Gates is trying to contact us,' Javi shrugged his good arm, 'we didn't exactly get to tell her why we disappeared yesterday.'

'and I'm guessing last nights TV appearance didn't help,' Ryan shrugged, his mouth full of breakfast, 'maybe we should have read her in?'

'dude!' Esposito glared at his partner, 'we don't know if she is safe man! For all we know, she's a plant from Bracken.'

'what about using the video link?' Kate yawned, 'have one of Clara's men deliver a laptop to the 12th and we speak to Gates that?'

'sounds good,' Clara announced her presence, 'I'll have Dom set that up for whenever you are ready.'

Alexis scurried into the kitchen, 'Where's dad?'

'it's six thirty in the morning,' Kate answered, 'so he's still in bed. What is it?'

'I've found something,' Alexis pointed over her shoulder, 'the intern that set you up, there's a photo of her working at Bracken's last election HQ!'

'what?' the room stood as Alexis motioned for them to follow her, the group scurrying across the open space to where the papers were sprawled over a room, 'I wanted to help, so when I woke up at three and couldn't sleep, I decided to come and see if I could find anything.'

'how much coffee have you had?' Ryan pointed at the mugs on the table.

'too much,' Alexis waved his concern away, 'I used a secure computer and did a google search for her name and one of the first images to pop up was this one,' Alexis pulled the image up onto the big screen at the end of the room. The image showed a slightly younger Bracken with his arms around two of the members of his election team, 'look behind him, the girl holding the folders.'

'holy shit!' Kate stared, 'it's her!'

Esposito ruffled Alexis' hair, 'you might have just given us the link we needed chica!'

'why didn't we think of doing a simple google search?' Ryan scoffed, wondering why they'd not thought of such an obvious move.

'too obvious?' Esposito shrugged as Kate stepped towards Alexis, a confused frown on her face.

'why aren't you hating me?' Kate meekly asked 'I've treated your father horribly, you should be hating me for it.'

'I did,' Alexis muttered as Ryan followed Javi quietly out the room, 'for a while I did hate you, I hated the fact my father would follow you anywhere you went, I hated that all it seemed to take is you ringing and he'd be out the door before the call was over. It always used to be me and him and for a while it was him and you.'

'I'm sorry Alexis,' Kate started, but stopped when the redhead raised a finger.

'I loathed the fact that he was so willing to put his life on the line for yours.' Alexis groaned, 'he freaking tried to jump in front of a bullet for you Kate!'

'but then I saw how your,' Alexis winced, 'Hiding hit him, I saw the light fade from his eyes. You have no idea how close I was to trying to trick your father into revealing your location so I could track you down and tear you a new one.'

'Then you came back,' Alexis continued at a whisper 'And I saw it.'

'saw what?' Kate asked.

'The fear in your eyes Kate,' Alexis answered, 'I saw how scared you were when he was in that bank when you thought no one was looking. Then yesterday. Your explanation. Watching you with Kevin. Just everything Kate, and I felt bad for hating you.'

'don't,' Kate pulled the girl into a hug, 'You were right to hate me.'

'I don't anymore,' Alexis curled her hands round Kate's shoulders, 'you are good for him. He's become a better man, better father since meeting you. You should tell him you love him Kate.'

'I did,' Kate blushed.

'about freaking time,' Alexis smiled softly, 'take care of him Kate. Please.'

'I will Alexis,' Kate found herself with the redhead wrapped around her.


'your daughter isn't the only one to find something overnight,' Dom looked at Castle as the group crowded around his computer set up, 'I've spent a few hours digging into Miss Harrison's bank accounts and something popped.'

'this here is the account that is listed in the files as being the one that paid Coonan to kill Mrs Beckett,' Dom pointed at the screen, his finger moving to a separate screen, 'the account appears again as giving Miss Harrison around half a million last week. I don't have enough data for this Maddox prat, but I would hazard a guess that the same account gave him money.'

'who owns the account?' Kate asked nervously.

'William Bracken,' Dom replied simply, 'or at least it's got his name on it.'

'got him,' Castle grunted, 'got the bastard.'

'almost,' Kate sighed, 'we need to prove that Bracken used the account to give out the money. He could still claim that someone else created the account to frame him.'

'how do we do that?' Castle frowned.


'dammit,' Alexis muttered to Paula as the two women turned down the corridor, 'why can't they put freaking directions in this place?'

'are you two okay?' Alexis turned to find a Stoneclad employee behind her, 'it's too easy to get lost in here, took me a month to work everything out.'

Paula sighed, 'Alexis is trying to find the medical storage room, I'm trying to find my room.'

The man stepped up to Alexis, his hand pointing down the corridor, 'take a left, then a right and follow to the end,' Alexis hissed as something pricked her neck. Staring at the man in confusion, the redhead's eyes rolled up into her head as the man lunged at a startled Paula, 'sorry Ladies.'