A/N: I hate putting these things in the beginning, but this one needed to be here. A word of warning the next few chapters are extremely short, but it was necessary for the flow of the story to have them split up like they are, so be patient, we'll be uploading the next few chapters quickly because of the shortness of them. Please enjoy the next few chapters and as always keep the wonderful reviews coming! And as an added note, those of you who read Like Father Like Son well, a lot of elements from that fic are going to start playing huge roles in this fic so keep your eyes out for them!

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"Alexis, I need you to think very carefully."

Beckett had arrived not 10 minutes after Castle's call. This drawing was the first contact they had had with M since the original phone call. It was both him mocking them saying 'look how close I can get to you', and also the first piece of this twisted story he wanted the team to weave with him.

"Did you see anything out of the ordinary today?"

"No, everything was normal." She was looking at the table, tears in her eyes. This felt like an interrogation. Her dad was hovering behind her chair while Beckett sat across the kitchen table opposite her.

"Anyone you didn't recognise?"

A shake of the head.

"Did you leave your backpack with a friend or in a locker at any time?"

Another shake.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone hanging around?"

"No! I told you I didn't!" Alexis exploded, her eyes throwing daggers.

"Alexis" her dad chided quietly from behind, taken aback by her petulant tone.

"You think I don't feel bad enough that I was that close to the guy and I didn't see him? That I could have done something to stop him, or saw what he looked like, something to help Rome?"

"Pumpkin, I'm glad you didn't see him. He is a dangerous man. If he thought you had seen him, he probably would have taken you too."

Beckett had sat back, watching the pair. She understood how Alexis must be feeling, and she agreed with Castle that it is a good thing that she didn't see him. She couldn't bear the thought that his daughter could have been taken too, though of course there was a small part of her that wished the girl saw a flash of someone; a lead.

"Alexis, it's fine. It is not your fault at all. I know you want to get Rome back but getting angry and upset at yourself is not the best way of doing that. Take some deep breaths." The detective soothed.

Alexis folded her arms onto the top of the table and lay her head on them. Castle and Beckett glanced at each other over her head. Castle was gently rubbing circles on Alexis' back, distraught that this man got so close to his daughter, and that she was in such a state.

After a moment, Alexis sat up; far more composed than she was.

"Ok, sorry, you're right" she whispered at Kate, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"No need to be sorry, I have to ask these questions that's all."

Alexis nodded at her and glanced back at her dad. He leant down and placed a kiss on her forehead. She suddenly snapped back to the detective.

"Wait, I do know something! We were given the letter at the start of last period and the paper was definitely not in my bag then, I would have remembered seeing it!" Alexis looked excited, and pleased that this could help, that she had remembered this piece of information.

"That's great Alexis, really great!" Beckett shot Castle a smile.

"So that means he must have been in the school between 2pm and 3pm" he was nodding at Beckett to confirm.

"I'll get the boys to go down to the school and see if we can get any surveillance footage. With any luck, we could have got this guy on camera." Standing up from the table, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and started making the call.

Castle pulled Alexis into a hug. "Good job, pumpkin, good job."

Xxx

"Espo, it's me" Beckett said into the phone as she turned from the table, giving the father and daughter some privacy.

"Yo, where are you? You rushed out of here like a bat out of hell!"

"Listen, I can't explain right now but it's about Rome"

"Castle's kid? What about him?" she could hear the confusion in the detective's voice. Kate paused for a second and ran a hand through her hair; part exhaustion, part frustration.

"He's been kidnapped" she puffed out. It wasn't because she didn't want to tell him, of course not; she just hadn't said the words outright to anyone yet. Saying it made it real. Saying it made more people involved. Saying it turned it into a case. Saying it made Rome a victim.

Through the phone she could actually hear the detective drop a mug, shattering over the precinct floor.

"Shit! What the hell?!"

"I know, I know," she sighed, needing to fence off a rush of questions she didn't have the answers for. "We can't get into the details on the phone, right now I need you to go to Alexis' school and get surveillance footage from there. We may have gotten lucky and got this guy on camera."

"Marlowe Prep right? Got it boss"

"Oh and bring it here, we have to keep this out of the precinct, at least for as long as possible okay?" she added just before she got a murmur of confirmation. Then he hung up.

If there was one thing that Beckett could count on was the boys to do first and ask questions later. She would let them in on what was going on; they were the best detectives and they were her team. But the first forty eight hours of a kidnapping were critical; she could explain as they were going through the footage. Multi-tasking.

Popping her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, Beckett glanced up and took in her surroundings. During the brief conversation with Esposito she had wandered into Castle's office.

The last time she was in here, he had read aloud to her from one of his books; that carefree smirk on his face when she had berated him for bringing her over under the pretense of sharing his research into the Jamaican ritual killing. She allowed herself a brief smile, remembering how she was secretly thrilled that her favourite author was reading his books to her. She missed that man now.

What with their, well, what would she call it…falling out? No, too tame. Betrayal of trust? Closer. End of their partnership? The consequence of the hurt he had caused anyhow. Well, the point is that it had been a while since he had made her laugh or roll her eyes at his immaturity, or have her on the verge of blushing at some sexual innuendo that would pop out of his mouth with no warning.

None of that man child was present. Now he was a distraught father. He had aged before her eyes. He may have hurt her by looking into her mother's murder, but this situation had the potential to hurt him beyond repair. No parent should outlive their child. Beckett squeezed her eyes tightly and shook her head; Rome wasn't dead. He would be fine. She would make sure he was fine. He better be damn fine.

"Hey"

Kate jumped and swiveled towards the door. Castle was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, a weary look on his face.

"Hey, that was Espo," she waved her phone in his direction. "He and Ryan are on their way to Marlowe Prep to pick up the video footage."

Castle nodded and moved fully into the office.

"They are bringing it here, we are going to have to keep this out of the precinct for as long as possible if we don't want the FBI involved" she told him quietly.

He brought glistening eyes up to her face.

"What are his chances?" he asked softly.

"Castle-"

"I, I just need to know. As a writer…every situation…I have to know. He is a ten year old kid who is going deaf, he's resourceful, but…it all comes down to the fact that he is only ten, how can he protect himself if he can't even hear? What if the kidnapper, this M guy, gets frustrated with him…Rome doesn't understand what he wants…god what if…" Castle's voice trailed off,

Beckett wouldn't have lied to him, but the thought did cross her mind to do just that at the sound of his quivering voice, barely holding it together. The chance of getting a kidnapped child back safely was much larger during the first 24 hours. Though this guy wasn't some opportunistic punk looking to make a quick buck with ransom demands; he was twisted, had this planned. Kate had no idea Rome's chances.

"Remember that little girl Angela?"

A nod.

"That was a special case; a different case. She came home."

"She was kidnapped by her aunt. Both me and Meredith are only children." Beckett frowned, was that a joke? But Castle hadn't finished. "This is some crazed man. An obsessive fan. God, why did I become a writer? Why couldn't I have just gotten a normal job at a bank, as a teacher? Why a murder mysterywriter?" He wasn't angry; more like resigned. Kate would rather he was angry. Determined angry.

Not defeated, not yet.

She moved closer to gently lay a hand on his arm.

"I will do everything I can to get him back. Wewill do anything, I promise." Another Beckett promise. These were racking up now and it was paramount that she kept them to both little Castle and Castle himself. Not only would he never forgive her if she screwed this up, but she wouldn't forgive herself.

"You can't promise that." Castle's head hung low, looking where her hand lay on his forearm, but not seeing. She had forgotten how he knew her. He had spent the past year observing her, her mannerisms, her voice, her body language; he knew she didn't make promises.

Kate sighed.

"I know."

Again Castle brought his eyes up to hers and she gave him a grim smile, more or a slight turn up of her pressed lips. It must have reassured him in some way; he appreciated the attempt or her honesty.

"Thank you," he muttered. The honesty then. As a cop helper, and because of his real job, he was well aware of the procedure of child kidnappings, and of gruesome endings. She wasn't going to handle him; mainly because he wouldn't let her.

However he needed reassurance and for her to let him know she was there, taking the reins and making the decisions while he was toeing the line between father and cop.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- x-x-x

Espo and Ryan had arrived within the hour with the footage from Alexis' school, grim smiles and wordless shaking of hands; 'we are here for you'. Condolences weren't required; that would be defeat.

They were there to tackle the case head on, like any other case. They were acknowledging the personal aspect before getting down to it. Getting wrapped up in who the victim was would do nobody any good.

With the footage projected onto the makeshift murder board they had constructed in Castle's office, the detective's had gathered round to review it.

Castle was in the kitchen with Alexis, trying to shield her as much as possible from this, but Beckett knew that that was not going to last long. Especially as the footage they were looking at was of her.

Ryan sidled up to Beckett and leaned in.

"Shouldn't we get the FBI involved? We are homicide detectives; we don't handle kidnappings"

She turned to him, and could see how concerned he was. She knew he wasn't suggesting it because he likes to stick to procedure, but a general worry that they wouldn't solve this.

"Ryan, no. This guy knows what he is doing. Look how close he got to Alexis at a private, supposedly secure prep school. He will know if we get anyone else involved."

"But, I still think we should get someone with training involved, surely that would be what is best for Rome" he started to reason.

"No." Castle had come into the office, a determined, set look on his face. "We do this alone. I am not jeopardising my son by bringing in the Feds."

Kate raised her eyebrow at the commanding attitude; nothing like she had witnessed an hour ago in this very room. Ryan stepped back and nodded, though Kate noticed he didn't look convinced. "Especially if Sorenson is on the team" Castle muttered as he moved closer to the screen.

Beckett shot him a confused look,

"What?" and was surprised when Castle ever so slightly blushed.

"Nothing" he rushed out and turned back to the footage.

Beckett kept her gaze on him for a moment longer, trying to read into that statement. Whatever, she didn't have time to unravel it.

"Have you seen anything yet?" he asked Espo.

"Nah, just a lot of well-dressed preppy students. Seriously bro, how much does this school even cost?!"

"Not enough apparently if someone can just waltz in and get into my daughters bag. You would think that some of the tuition would go towards security" he glowered.

"It isn't that easy Castle, even the security guy you hired didn't see anything out of the ordinary so we may be looking at someone who works at the school" Ryan countered.

Castle's face grew even darker.

"You think a teacher is behind this? Someone that kids are supposed to trust?"

"We don't know, but we are looking now," the detective waved a hand back to the security footage, directing their attention back to the job in hand.

5 minutes of footage.

20 minutes of footage.

40 minutes of footage.

Nothing.

Castle let out a frustrated sigh.

"I'll go make some coffee", and got grunts of appreciation in return. He opened the door to his office and startled as Alexis jumped back, a guilty look on her face though her chin raised ready for a fight.

"Alexis-"

"I know you told me to go upstairs, but I can't Dad, I just can't. That is me you are looking at; someone who got to me and I want to be involved. I can help Dad please!"

Castle shook his head forcefully,

"No Alexis" he said feeling more like the child than the father, not the first time in Alexis' life he felt that way, since she was about four she always acted more like the parent and he the child.

That role reversal had changed only slightly when Rome was born and as he grew older, he was the child that Alexis had only partly been, reminding Castle that he did need to grow up, at least a little bit, he had to be the parent for his kids, instead of the other way around.

"Dad I'm at this school Monday through Friday, I know who belongs and who doesn't I know pretty much everyone and if someone was there and they aren't normally there wouldn't that be better than someone who doesn't know the staff picking through the video?"

Castle made a face as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully he hated to admit she was right, hated to bring Alexis into this, but he had to remember, Rome was her brother she was already involved, whether he liked it or not.

"Pumpkin," he started to say

"Please dad, I need to feel like I'm doing something to help. Let me look at the footage, let me help my brother please."

He was so reluctant to do this, it went against everything in his being as a father. He had to protect his children; he had failed one of them he couldn't let the other one be hurt too.

But Alexis had a point she would be able to recognize someone from the school better than anyone. Time was critical and it could take them hours to go through all the footage, the clock was already clicking, they not only had to get to Washington Square to find the next piece of the puzzle, Castle also had a first chapter to write of the kidnapper's damn story, worst of all, they were nearing the twenty-four hour mark of Rome's kidnapping.

He hated to admit it, but they needed help on this. Watching the video, a teacher or an aid who was out of place wouldn't look out of place to Castle or the team, but Alexis would know if that teacher was always there at that time or if it was out of the ordinary.

"Alright," Castle sighed, he was also remembering her reaction to Beckett's questions, her outburst, blaming herself wishing she could have seen whoever put Rome's drawing in her bag, He took her by the hand and guided her into his office. Beckett, Ryan, and Espo looked up in surprise, exchanging a look with one another. Beckett seemed to understand Castle's reluctant reasoning and she had to agree with him, this might be their best option, but like Castle she was hesitant to let Alexis put herself in the middle of this.

"It would have been around two, maybe half past, I know it wasn't in my bag before then, but I was in the hallway near my locker, my bag was on the floor." Alexis explained to the detectives, Ryan skipped through the video till he reached the time frame Alexis had given them.

There were so many students and teachers passing through the hall that it was tough to see Alexis' bag, even for Alexis herself, she was an inch from the screen straining to see anything out of the ordinary.

The closer to the screen she got, the more concerned Castle became, he didn't want this, this was exactly what he was trying to avoid; Alexis getting so wrapped up in this that she would blame herself if she was unable to give them an answer. He had to put a stop to it.

"Alexis," he started to say, ready to pull her away if need be, but Alexis' face twisted into a confused look and Castle paused

"Mr. Carlson?" she mumbled to herself,

"Alexis?" Beckett asked gently "did you see something?"

"Kind of," Alexis replied she pointed to a teacher hovering nearby her. Castle recognized her friends; he saw Lauren and Paige, as well as Jason the security guard, standing not far from the girls, at a distance where his presence wouldn't be questioned, but still close enough to protect his charge. All three of the girls had their backs to the teacher that Alexis had pointed out, a man in his early twenties, who could have been a high school senior he looked so young.

"Who is Mr. Carlson?" Castle asked, he knew all of his kids teachers at least he thought he did.

"He's a TA, he started last spring, as a student teacher, he came in for the last few weeks of school."

"I don't remember him," Castle admitted "how come you never mentioned him?"

"He was in Rome's class not any of mine. He was offered the TA position for this school year, only part time because he's still going to school for teaching."

Ryan looked at Alexis carefully

"You seemed surprised to see him Alexis," he pointed out

"I am," she explained "I don't understand why he's in our wing,"

"Why?" Espo asked

"Because, he's a TA in the fifth grade, he works in Rome's old teacher's class, Mrs. Frazier, the elementary and middle school teachers rarely ever come to the high school wing and Mr. Carlson, he has no reason to. I don't think I've ever seen him in our wing before this, and besides, most TA's don't work on Friday if there's a long weekend, at least I didn't think so. But I didn't even notice him today standing there." Alexis paused, she turned to Castle, her eyes filling with tears "I think it was him."

Castle reached forward and pulled her close, holding her tight as she began crying steadily. He looked over at Beckett, Espo, and Ryan, before turning his attention to the paused video, a clear image of this Mr. Carlson, his eyes on Alexis' bag, as if he was just waiting for the opportunity to move in on it.

Something caught Castle's eyes as he stared at the image, his eyes filling with rage at the TA, but it was what was in Mr. Carlson's hand that made his stomach drop, a white piece of paper, the same shape as the drawing Rome had done.

Xxx