A/N: So it is Friday. You can't even imagine my disappointment when I realized that we were not a few days from a new episode but, in fact, 10 days. Well, actually, I suppose you know exactly how I felt. You probably all feel it too.
DISCLAIMER: This is where I tell you, yet again, that I do not - and probably never will - own Castle. Andrew Marlowe does. Sigh...
This one is for Lexi, who kept me going and reassured me that it was a good story.
The place is deserted. Not just quiet, but completely and utterly empty. He hears nothing but the sound of three sets of feet - his, Ryan's, and Esposito's. Other than the soft thumping of their shoes, there is nothing to hear.
It looks like a scene from a children's movie - one of those scary places portrayed by everything being grey. This place has no design or colour to it - it's just grey.
"Are we sure that this is where she was?" he asks, because he really hopes they have made a mistake.
Ryan nods solemnly, "One hundred percent."
Castle's stomach clenches, but it does not release like it normally would. His heart pounds so fast and so hard that he does not know how it hasn't exploded yet.
If this is where Kate was, then there is not a single doubt in his mind that she was kidnapped or injured somehow. This is not a date location. This place looks like a murder scene - just without the blood or people. It looks like a horror movie.
A flash of anger passes through him. How did she not notice? Why didn't she get help before it happened? How did she let it get this far?
But the anger is gone as quickly as it came. Castle doesn't know the whole story. He doesn't know what happened to her or if it was even possible for her to fight.
There's a mumble from the men beside him and Castle snaps out of his trance, "What?"
"She's not here bro," Esposito tells him. "There's no sign of anyone being here in a while."
"Nothing?" Castle asks desperately.
"There aren't tire tracks or blood marks. There's nothing around here that suggests anyone has been here recently," Ryan frowns. "But we know she was. She was here, her phone said that much. That and the fact that she's been gone for over twelve hours is more than enough to get Gates on board. We'll find her."
Castle wants to believe the man, he does. But he's a mystery writer - he thinks worst case scenario, he dreams up nightmares for a living. He wants to believe Ryan so much. He wants to think that everything will be okay and that Kate will come home and be fine and everyone will be happy. But the realistic part of his brain is meshed with the novelist part, and all he's able to think are the scary thoughts.
He nods anyway, trying to make is convincing. But his hesitation was too long and the boys notice.
"Hey, we'll get her back bro," Esposito says as he puts a comforting hand on the writer's shoulder. "None of us would make it without her. We'll get her back, no matter what."
Castle sighs. He knows they'll got to extraordinary measures to find their girl. He knows how hard they will work and the danger they would put themselves in for her. "What if we're too late?" That worries him. If they're too late and she's dead and the boys put themselves in danger still. He wouldn't survive losing her, but if they got hurt because of it, he doesn't know what he would do.
"Castle." Ryan scolds him. "Positivity around here, please? You have to believe it Castle. If you don't believe it, how are the rest of us supposed to?"
Castle shakes his head. The side to side movement quickly becomes up and down and he's nodding, "No, yeah. You're right. We have to believe we'll find her alive. We have to."
"'Atta boy," Esposito grins lightly. The grin doesn't reach his eyes, like teasing usually make it, but it's warmer than anything Castle's seen all day. And it helps.
He smiles back - his first smile since she left for the date, "Okay. Let's go back to the precinct. We've got some tracking down to do. And we gotta figure out who this Dave guy is."
The boys nod in unison and they climb into the cruiser. The ride back to the precinct is fast - the gumball swirling on the roof. They don't notice it though. They're deep in conversation about this elusive 'Dave' that Beckett was with.
"Dave is obviously not his name," Kevin says. "But fake names tend to have some meaning or reason behind choosing that name. We might be able to use that somehow...I don't know."
"Bro, I know," Esposito says. "It's like everything we've ever learned as detectives has just disappeared from our brains."
"Yeah, well," Castle frowns, "make sure you tell Kate that when we find her. Tell her she can't get kidnapped again because it affects your detective skills."
"Castle," Javier says. "I didn't mean it - you know I -"
"Yeah," Castle nods. "Sorry. Lack of sleep, pounding headache, missing girlfriend...it's messing me up a little."
"Understandably," Ryan adds before any more heated words are exchanged.
The car ride is silent after that - quiet, but the lack of noise is just so damn loud.
He thinks he knows what the precinct is like when it's a busy day and the squad room is crowded. But he has no idea. The amount of traffic in the room is more than double what it was for the Triple Killer or when there was a threat of a dirty bomb. Those cases involved the city, the people they protect. But this one is about them - this time, it's one of their own. This time it's Beckett.
Lanie is sitting in his chair when he goes over to Kate's desk. She tells him she couldn't sit in her desk and he understands. He stands next to her - he can't sit in her desk either.
It seems like the entire precinct is gathered into their little room for a briefing. Gates stands in front of the hoard of people and explains the situation, occasionally asking one of the boys or Lanie to clarify details. Lanie holds up her end well, keeps with the story of Kate meeting her for coffee after a date. If Castle didn't know better, he is pretty sure he would be believe her.
The room is silent as Gates speaks. For cops, they sure know how to shut up when it's important.
"We are going to track her down and get her back," Gates finishes up. "I don't know what happened but something doesn't add up here. We are not going to stop until we figure this out. If you find anything, run it past Detectives Ryan and Esposito. They're the lead investigators for this case, got it?"
The room nods and disperses. The crowds split and officers go to the desks they've been temporarily given. Castle recognizes some of them from around the precinct. He can see Radcliffe and another cop called Johnson. Next to Johnson is his partner and best friend, Donaldson.
The craziness and constant buzz of chatter returns to the floor. It's a comfort, in a way, the normality of it all, and how everyone is working on finding Kate.
He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know how to help. He can't. He just sits and watches as everyone roams around. He watches Lanie fret to Esposito. He watches the boys do everything they can. He watches people rush past him. He watches Gates call Esposito and Ryan to her office. He watches their animated conversation through the window. He watches Lanie try not to cry. He just watches. Because what else can he do?
Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Please review!
And I hope you did like it. Ummm...I have a chapter written that will be about Kate and what's going on with her. I don't think it will be the next chapter, but probably the one after. So for all you wanting a Kate chapter, it's on its way. I promise.
Reviews make me update quicker.
xo Sarah
