Disclaimer: Castle belongs to Marlowe and ABC….

Chapter 10 The Visitor

A/N: Thx for all the reviews on the last chapter. I'm a little nervous for this one

Castle hesitated in front of the plain white door leading down into the basement. With Kate asleep, he had quickly grown bored and the Indiana Jones part of him had taken hold. He had discovered the food cellar on his previous trip down, but had not wandered around any further.

Now he was set on exploring the dark dank basement wanting to see what treasures could possibly lay hidden.

Perhaps there was a secret lair behind that one closed door at the end of the hall which he hadn't gotten to on his last visit. A secret lair with all kinds of spy equipment. After all, if this was his father's hang out, it wouldn't be too far off base.

Then another thought hit him. His father was not a nice guy. Maybe it was his "interrogation" room. That idea was a little less exciting and a lot more probable given his father's chosen profession. In that case, he wasn't sure he was in any hurry to investigate.

He would need to go down there again soon though, if only to bring up some more food for breakfast. But perhaps it would be better to wait for Tim in the morning. That way there would be someone to watch over Kate.

Speaking of which, concussed patients weren't supposed to sleep for too long without be woken up. He decided he'd better go check on her.

The first thing he noticed as he walked into the room was the sheen across Kate's forehead. Her hair was plastered to the sides of her face and her shirt was almost soaked through. She was moaning slightly and he was afraid she was going to hurt herself further if she continued writhing about the bed.

"Kate," he called to her. Pushing gently back on her shoulders to keep her still. "Babe, it's ok. I'm here. You need to wake up for me." He spoke in a reassuring tone, trying to gently rouse her from her nightmare without further damage. He stroked her hair away from her face and behind her ears, cradling her face in his palm. "Kate, wake up, honey."

Slowly but surely, Kate eyes flickered open. They were glassy and he could tell she was still half way between dreamland and wakefulness.

"It's okay. It was only a dream." He offered trying to soothe her back to reality.

"Castle?"

"I'm here."

"Hurts." She shut her eyes willing the pain to disappear. Her head felt like someone had it in a vise grip and was slowly squeezing her brains into pancakes. She'd had concussions before, but this one was a dousy.

"Ok, hold on, be right back." Castle returned with a glass of water and the rest of Kate's medication. That fact that she didn't fight him on it and the fact that she had only taken the other half a short while earlier, spoke to the amount of pain she was truly in.

"You'll feel better soon." He assured, hoping it was true, but worried none the less.

"Don't go. Stay please." He didn't like the pleading tone of her voice. It wasn't like Kate to beg for anything. And that worried him. Maybe he should get her back to the hospital. He didn't answer her though, only nodded his head as he leaned in and kissed the top of her head.

Kate's breath evened out and she was soon fast asleep again. Beside her Rick watched as every couple of breathes her lips formed a little pout. She was adorable. She would still think it creepy if she knew he was watching her sleep but he couldn't help it. He couldn't take his eyes off her. God, he loved her. And seeing her hurt was killing him bit by bit. If he could take away her pain, transfer to himself he would.

A creaking noise startled Rick from his reverie. He looked at his watch. No way it was Tim yet. It was much too early. He slowly got up trying his best not to jostle the bed and wake Kate. He made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him. The living room was empty, but in the kitchen he found the source of the noise.

"Hunt."

"Richard, good, you're here." Was the terse reply.

"Obviously, you saw the car in drive way." Castle was a bit perturbed at his father. Some part of his story was still not sitting well with him and he needed to get to the bottom of things.

"Where's Kate?" Hunt asked. If he noticed his son's demeanour, he didn't mention it or simply chose to ignore it.

"In the bedroom." Castle stated flatly.

"Okay, well we don't have a lot of time. We need to get moving." Hunt declared with his usual take charge attitude as if no one ever questioned his demands.

"You've got passports, right?"

"Wait. What? No way. Kate's in no condition to move right now." Castle staged whispered. He wanted to keep his voice down so as not to wake her, but it was growing increasingly challenging.

"I'm afraid we don't have a choice." Hunt simply replied unaffected by his son's opposition.

"Look, Richard, there is more at play here than you realize. You have to trust me on this, we have to move." Hunt urged.

"Trust you? Right. As far as I can throw you maybe. I told you we aren't going anywhere at the moment." He had to remind himself to keep it down.

"I can't protect you if you won't listen to reason." Hunt contended.

"What reason? What's really going on here? This isn't about some mob hit is it? This is about you. I was right. You are behind all of this." Castle replied. The horror of what he was realizing hitting him full force.

"Believe what you want, Richard, but I only have your best interest at heart. Everything I've done until this moment, I've done to protect you." Hunt tried for sympathy but could tell it was not working.

"What have you done? What's going on? I need you to be square with me for once in my life and tell me the truth." Rick challenged.

Resigned, Hunt began his tale. It was apparent his son would not be deterred and the sooner Richard accepted the situation, the sooner they could get going.

"About a month ago, chatter started on the street that there was something big going down. Apparently, the local crime families were up in arms over some recent disappearances. According to my source, they were freaking out, thinking it was 1987 all over again, only this time the kidnappers weren't asking for ransoms, people just vanished. As you can imagine, everyone was very paranoid. Speculation was someone was getting rid of the competition, trying to gain market share, you could say."

"Let me guess, The Cardanos were suspect numero uno?" Hunt nodded.

"The situation was too tense already and no one wanted to come out and accuse Vinnie straight out, but when news of your little dinner date and the topic of conversation came to light, let's just say it added fuel to the fire."

"How so?"
"Barbosa, was the next victim."

"So you thought they were going to come after me to send a message to the Cardanos?"

"Word on the street was that Vinnie was in cahoots with the police, feeding them information to get rid of his competitors, and given your association, you can guess what the conclusion was. You were being painted as public enemy number one. I knew I had to act fast before they got to you."

"So it was you." Castle stated in horror. "There was never a third car. You ran us off the road, drugged and kidnapped me and then left Kate knowing she was critically injured. She could have died." Castle was appalled. He knew his father was callous but this went beyond anything he had ever expected.

"Given what little I knew at the time, I did what I had to for your protection."

"And you thought causing a near-fatal car accident was the best approach?" Castle sassed.

"Don't be melodramatic, Richard. It was never my intention to hurt her or you. I was trying to gain on you, to signal you to pull over. But Kate kept speeding up and then the car went off the road near a ditch causing it to flip. I hadn't foreseen that happening. I only meant to force her to pull over where I hoped to convince you to come with me willingly. I would have then arranged it so the local authorities declared both of you dead -victims of a horrific car crash. No one would have been the wiser and you both would have been safe until this whole thing blew over." Hunt offered by way of explanation.

"And if we had refused?" Hunt didn't answer the question but only continued with his justifications. Although Castle didn't think he truly wanted to know that answer anyway. His father was ruthless and nothing would have deterred him in his quest. Apparently nothing had.

"I needed to keep you off the radar, while I figured out what was going on. This thing went much deeper than we originally thought. All families, no matter what nationality, were being targeted. Tension on the street, meant tension in the bureau. Authorities wanted this resolved before it escalated into an all-out war the likes of which no one had ever seen. That's why I was called in." Hunt stopped his tale, and walked over to the kitchen table, pulled out a chair, flipped it backwards and sat down. He motioned to Castle to take the other one, but Rick refused signaling he preferred to stand.

"I'm sorry about Kate." Hunt began once again. "There was no other way. I could tell she was injured and trying to move her was going to be impossible. I knew you would never agree to leave her, but it was your life I believed to be in danger at the time, so I implemented plan b... You know the rest." Castle was flabbergasted as Hunt concluded his story.

This was unbelievable. His father's tale was so farfetched it would make a plot of his novels look plausible. What kind of fantasy world did his father believe he lived in? Was he really so far removed from reality that he thought his actions were acceptable? Worse yet, justifiable? But somethings was still not making sense. He was positive there was more to this story.

"What I still don't get is why would set me free in the first place, after all the trouble you went through, especially if you still believed me to be in danger?"

"I came upon some additional information that made me believe I may have misread the original threat, and I couldn't leave you locked up while I went in search of answers. I didn't know how long I would be gone. I had to trust you'd be smart enough to stay off the grid."

"What information?"

"A new hit request for Katherine Beckett, and Senator William Bracken and just recently added, Richard Castle. Someone's cleaning house, Richard, and not just in the mob. Worst of all they've figured out you're not dead."

"What?" Castle's jaw dropped.

"From what I could gather, the orders originated in Washington." Hunt stopped giving Rick an opportunity to absorb the enormity of what he was relaying.

"I thought it was over. I thought this was behind us." Castle declared.

"Well, it appears there are some who are of other opinion. Word on the street was that Mr. Bracken had some vital information that others didn't want to get out, least of all shared with the authorities. With the presidential race in the horizon, they needed this whole fiasco with Bracken done with before it could be tied back to anyone else. We know Bracken used the drug trade to finance his campaign, therefore, any ties needed to be eliminated. Then, there was some rumblings about some file you two were purported to have in your possession that was causing further worry. The situation is escalating, Richard. There are some serious people after you and Beckett. " Hunt concluded.

"And the park?" Castle asked already knowing the answer.

"I needed to get the two of you out of town until I got a handle on what was going on. Especially with the new rumblings circulating that you were still alive and asking questions. I knew that if I told you about Bracken angle, given your past history, you'd try and take a run at him to get answers and that would not have boded well. You would have played right into their hands. I told you enough of the story to scare you into action, but not into foolishness."

"What about the mob threat? Are they coming after me too, now that they think I'm alive?"

"I don't believe they are a threat any longer. Sal Cardano was reported missing two days ago, it appears they aren't immune either. And the suspicion is off Vinnie. Plus with all the disappearances lately, the families are busy enough now try to quell the panic in house. No, the threat is worse now, Richard. It's coming from someone with very deep pockets and a great motivation not leave witnesses. "

Hunt paused again. Castle let out a huff of breath as dragged his hand through his hair. He turned his back to his father and braced his arms against the kitchen sink, his shoulders hunched in tension. Could this get any worse? Might as well add a serial killer to the mix just to make things interesting. Rick thought.

"Still," he began turning to face Hunt once more. "You could have contacted us by some other means, told us what was happening. I would have listened to you." Castle insisted. He didn't doubt his father's intentions, it was just the way he had approached things that was still causing him heartburn.

"You are my first priority, Richard. I couldn't take the chance of a meeting and having it compromised. Or worse, having you refuse my course of action. Time was of the essence. I believed you were in eminent danger then and now more than ever." Hunt argued.

"Well, Kate is my first priority and there is no excuse for what you did to her, to us, to my family. You just left her there and made her believe she was responsible for my death. And Mother and Alexis, your actions put them through hell. It's not acceptable." Castle asserted.

"I'm just a father looking after his son, and a father will do anything to protect their child. But you know that already, don't you?" Was the man seriously comparing them? The gull of him. He was infuriating.

"You are not my father." Castle punctuated his statement pointing his finger at Hunt. "You gave up that right 40 years ago. I don't need or want your protection. So leave." Castle asserted as he stepped forward forcing his father towards the door. He clenched his fists, fighting the impulse to slam Hunt against it. This whole situation was crazy, but it stopped here. Time to reign in the madness.

"Don't be an ass, Richard. I know your feelings are hurt. But who do you think is going to get you out of this mess? Tim? Darren? "Hunt asked.

Castle's eyes widened at the knowledge that his father had found out about his allies.

"Yeah, and if I found out about them so can they." His father replied as if reading his thoughts. "The stakes have been raised, if you're smart, you'll keep them out of this." Hunts stated as he reached for his back pocket and for a brief instant Rick thought his father was going to pull a gun on him.

"Relax," Hunt stated flatly and instead of wielding a weapon he pulled out a newspaper.

Castle looked down at the today's headline and felt his world tilt on its axis.

Former Senator William Bracken Found Dead.

"Bracken's dead…" now they're coming for you. It didn't need to be said. The writing was crystal clear.

Castle was momentarily speechless as a thousand thoughts tumbled through his mind.

"Now do you understand? It's no longer safe here. It won't be long before someone puts two and two together and finds this place. There are some unsavory people that know of my connections to you now, especially after all the questions I've been asking lately. It won't take long for that information to get into the wrong hands. We need to leave. I need to get you somewhere safe."

We'll never be safe. The words from the past echoed in his mind. One thing was for sure, running was not the answer. He was tired of playing the pawn in someone else's chess game, it was time he took control.

"Thank you for the warnings, and for all your efforts so far." No matter how misguided they may have been. It was true that he still was very angry at the course of action his father had taken even if he did understand his motives.

"But, I think I'll handle it from here on out. Your assistance is no longer required. Consider whatever duty you thought you had towards me fulfilled. You can go now." He declared pointing to the door.

Hunt gave his son a sharp look and shrugged his shoulders.

"You may need this." He said handing Castle the piece from his ankle holster." As he made his way out he turned and addressed Rick once again.

"Richard, I hope you know what you're doing. I don't like this, but I'll respect your wishes and leave. You know how to contact me."

Given his father's previous actions, his acquiescence seemed almost too easy. But Castle took the victory unquestionably. And almost believed he saw some remorse in the old man's eyes as he turned back once more before stepping out of the house, almost, but not quite.

Castle made his way slowly back to the bedroom, hoping that the shouting hadn't roused Kate. Of course that was not the case as she was sitting up in the bed with a look that would have scared most innocent men into confessing to any crime for which they were accused.

"How much did you hear?" Rick enquired. Seeing the expression on Kate's face though, he knew it was pretty much a rhetorical question.

"Enough. Do you think he's telling the truth?" Kate replied.

"I do." Castle responded.

"Okay," Kate nodded accepting Castle's statement.

She had surely drawn the short stick as far as father- in- laws were concerned, but that didn't mean she had to sit back and accept it.

A/N I must have rewritten this chapter ten times. I'm still not 100% satisfied, but I don't think I can do better. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and were able to follow along.