The clock read 3:28 a.m. Kate Beckett's temples were throbbing.

She massaged them with a grunt, huddled up in what used to be her fiancé's bed. Papers were strewn about on the mattress, the manuscript resting in her lap. She squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath; this was probably the most maddening thing she'd ever read.

Shuffling feet caught her attention, and Kate looked up to see Alexis wander into the room with a pair of mugs. She gave Kate a soft smile, handing her one of the mugs before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Getting anywhere?"

Kate sipped at her mug, taking a moment to enjoy the warmth. Hot cocoa was a godsend at this point. She sighed and placed her mug on the nightstand. "I wish." She puffed a strand of hair out of her face. "This is like working at the Attorney General's office all over again."

The one thing Kate didn't miss about her federal job – well, aside from the constant moral compromising she was subjected to – was how reports were written. The overuse of words, the constant doublespeak, the realization that half of what was written would probably be redacted…just because.

The intel Cross said was at the end of the manuscript for Molten Heat was much the same way. She was only on the third page, and already she'd had to stop and re-read almost every sentence. Uncle Sam needed to hire better writers.

Sadly, the only good one she knew of was nowhere to be found – if he was even alive.

"The money Castle dropped off to pay for smashing that SUV," Kate mused, flipping through the pages, "it traces through several off-shore accounts, with an origin in the Ukraine. Rankoff's name is all over it."

Alexis frowned, taking a sip from her mug. "How did no one notice this until now?"

Kate sighed. "If Dmitri Rankoff is still connected to the Brackens, he probably paid off the right people to make sure we never did." She jotted a quick note in the top corner of one of the pages. "I mean, it's one thing for the NYPD to never tie Rankoff to the kidnapping, but you'd think the feds would've found something."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Except the feds never really took the case seriously. The FBI was here for, what, three days? Then they just shrugged their shoulders, said dad just left, and went back to D.C."

Kate let Alexis' words stew for a few moments, allowing herself time to again bitterly think back to the ineptitude of the FBI when Richard Castle first disappeared. Then a light bulb seemingly went off inside her head; Kate shot Alexis a questioning glance, nearly knocking over the mug of hot chocolate as she grabbed for her phone.

Alexis frowned. "What? What is it?"

"What if it wasn't ineptitude?" Kate's fingers frantically pushed at the numbers on her screen before she placed the device to her ear. "What if…?" She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought; fortunately for her, the line picked up at just that moment.

"Special Agent McCord."

Kate activated speaker phone and placed the device on the bed. "Rachel, it's Kate. Kate Beckett."

There was no answer. Kate checked her phone to make sure the line hadn't been disconnected before she heard a click on the other end. "Detective." Was there a hint of a smile in McCord's voice? "I was told to expect a call."

Kate's frown deepened. "Let me guess…a guy named Cross."

"He called himself Hunt," McCord corrected.

Alexis rolled her eyes and mouthed, Pick a name and stick with it.

Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes as well. For a guy who spent so many years absent from his son's life, this Cross, or Hunt, or whatever the hell his name was today, sure made a habit of swooping in and upsetting everything. Who was this guy? And what was he after?

Kate wanted to believe he was just looking for his son, but she couldn't trust that.

"So I guess you know why I'm calling."

"Your fiancé." McCord's tone gave nothing away. Kate knew she was less than enthralled with Richard Castle when they first met – though in fairness, it was because he meddled in a sensitive case he had no business knowing anything about. Shadowing an NYPD cop was a far cry from shadowing a federal agent.

Kate and Alexis shared a confused glance. McCord was silent for several moments, and all the duo in the bedroom could hear was a series of clicks and a door being slammed shut. Static overtook the line before it went silent. The detective and the redhead locked eyes again, and Kate was about to grab her phone when McCord finally spoke again.

"I've secured this line, but we only have a minute. Truth is, I've been tracking Mr. Castle since his abduction. Dead end after dead end after dead end…but when Mr. Hunt put me on the trail of Rankoff, the pieces started fitting. I can't tell you whether your fiancé is dead or alive, Kate – frankly, I'm not optimistic – but if you want answers, accompany Mr. Hunt to Japan."

Kate's frown deepened, her fingers interlocking with Alexis'. "You mean to tell me you actually trust hi—"

McCord cut her off. "I'm out of time. Japan. Go."

The line went dead.

Kate sighed, tossing the manuscript to the floor and staring at the ceiling. She felt Alexis shift next to her, until the redhead placed her head on the detective's shoulder. Kate, almost on pure instinct, leaned against Alexis, their fingers intertwined. Alexis was the closest thing she'd probably ever have to a child at this point; hell, she'd been hours away from being her stepmother.

They'd grown distant in the months since Castle's disappearance, but the video messages, and the slow trickle of bread crumbs that pointed to potentially solving this mystery, brought them closer. Kate knew Alexis didn't really have anyone since Martha's death, and if Kate were being honest with herself, she didn't really have anyone anymore.

So it seemed fate that the duo bonded like this, and it was only natural that it revolved around the most important person in their respective lives. Sure, they had lives of their own; before this break, Kate was always working a case, and it felt at times as if Alexis practically lives in the library at Harvard. But at the end of the day, when all of the noise fell silent and all of their responsibilities were through, their minds drifted back to the same place. The same person.

"Kate?"

Giving Alexis' hand a squeeze, Kate forced a smile. "Yeah?"

"It's gonna be weird, isn't it?" The redhead looked up at Kate. "If we find him alive."

"Probably." The detective heaved an exhausted sigh, closing her eyes. She really didn't feel like fighting off tears right now. She'd done enough crying over the past three years. Now, she just wanted to get this done, find out once and for all what happened to Richard Castle.

"I mean…as bad as this sounds, him being dead is the simplest answer. If he's alive, then…what was he doing? Why couldn't anyone find him? Did he try to reach out to someone? If not, why? If he's alive, how does he fit in our lives again?" The detective fell silent, starting at her hand intertwined with Alexis'. She felt her fingers tremble.

"Does he still fit in mine…?"

"Hey…" Alexis sat up, taking Kate's hand into both of hers. She ran her thumb along Kate's finger, and for a moment, the detective had a flashback. "Don't sell yourself short. You two have, like, the eternal love. The kind they write stories about."

She smiled when Kate arched a brow, trying to ignore the tears burning the edges of her eyes. "Remember the night we first met? At the bookstore after one of his readings? I saw the way he looked at you even then, and I knew there wasn't a power in the 'verse that was gonna keep the two of you apart."

Kate squeezes Alexis' hands in response, a tear spilling out onto her face. She wiped at it with her free hand, gasping a ragged breath and silently cursing the redhead for making her cry again. "Even when he got back with Gina," Alexis continued, "I knew it was only temporary."

Kate looked down, starting to cry. It wasn't quite the ravaging sobs of the other night, when she saw the video for the first time, but the detective was tiring of the habit of crying over the love of her life in the presence of his daughter. Not that Alexis minded…how could she, as she wrapped her arms around Kate for a hug?

"If he's alive," she whispered in Kate's ear, "and we find him, I guarantee you two'll find your way again. I mean, you've beat all the odds to this point, right?"

Kate sniffled, wiping her nose with her left wrist before managing to give Alexis a sad smile. She kissed Alexis' forehead and pulled her in for a tighter hug. "Always…"

"Then I guess we're off to Japan."


Thanks to everyone who's still hanging around, reading each chapter! Your support is amazing, and it makes me feel welcome, even though I'm still relatively new to this fandom. Please keep reading and offering feedback!