City Slickers

A/N: Thank you for your patience. Here is chapter 12. :)


Chapter 12

Castle sat on the front step of the house as the sun began to dip towards the horizon. He could feel his heart sink with it. The temperature was dropping fast and so was his faith. Espo was right; he knew that. If they left now it would be dark before they even found her, if they didn't get lost themselves. They had no way of knowing what shape she was in, or where she was. It was safe to assume that she had taken her normal path between the homestead and the reservation, but then again so had Javi, so why didn't he see her?

Think Castle.

Rick pushed himself up off of the step and began to pace in the shallow snow. He had traveled the route a couple of times, what had he seen? He had seen Kate talking with his daughter. He had seen the way her hair fell down her back framing her face. He had seen her smile…

Focus Rick.

He sighed. It had been a well-worn path. Traveled frequently. It was a few miles between the settlements. There were trees, and more trees. A creek. A few rocks…

Castle brought a hand up to rub his forehead and growled. This was not helping. He needed something.

He turned back towards the homestead and started up the steps to find Esposito in the house. Javi knew this terrain as well as Kate did, he knew how she thought. He would be able to tell him where she would go. Rick clomped up the steps, shivering as his body remembered exactly how cold it was outside and his heart sank a little bit more.

The front door banged open and Gina stormed out, Amanda Stevenson scurrying along behind her.

"We are leaving. There is nothing you can do to stop us!" Gina called over her shoulder and Rick turned to see Esposito leaning against the door jam.

"Pardon me, Chica," Espo began slowly as he pushed himself off of the frame with his shoulder and sauntered out to the deck a step. "But a storm is threatening and there won't be another train for weeks, if that soon. You are stuck out here whether you like it or not. If you try to get to Denver, in this weather, you will die."

Rick's head swiveled from the deputy to the two women, his eyes wide as he saw his, now, ex-fiancé swell with anger.

"With the cabin picked over the way it is, it isn't safe for you all to be out here. Now we are going to go back to town. You three," Espo paused to look at Gina, Amanda, and Ashley. "Will find a way to help out."

Amanda's mouth opened to protest but Espo cut her off again. "If you are here eating the little food we have and taking up space in the warmth, you are going to help. I don't care who you are or where you came from. You eat, sleep and breathe with us, you are one of us. That means you help. There is no place for egos or solidarity out here. It's not ever man for himself. We do that; we die. Now let's get back to town. We'll take the wagon, it will be quicker."

Castle watched as Javi handled the women. He would have stepped in and taken over. He knew them, he knew their kind, but he couldn't. There was too much already. His chest felt like it was going to break as the panic ripped through him. He was useless against the sinking sun and impending night. The darkness was winning and he couldn't let that happen.

The three New Yorkers physically deflated. Espo pulled the wagon up to start loading the luggage and the few supplies they had scavenged into the back. Once the women were settled, Ashley lifted himself up into the back of the wagon. The boy had been quiet the entire trip since they had seen Alexis, barely saying a word. Rick had noted it, but it wasn't a priority at the moment. The priority was getting a search party together.

Castle lifted himself up into the front seat of the wagon as Esposito settled in behind the reins.

The silence was palpable. He had so many questions itching to make their way off of his tongue, past his lips and out into the air. Where was she? How many people would they be able to get for a search party? What did Espo think happened?

A wolf howled in the distance and Castle stiffened. Wolves? Of course there were wolves. Rick swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. His chest felt tight.

"Do you think she is still alive? Do you think she will make it through the night?"

His questions were quiet, for Esposito's ears only, as the others sat silently in the wagon bed, on top of the supplies and luggage.

"That depends," Espo replied quietly, his gaze never wavering from the pounded path in front of them. "What does she have to fight for?"

Castle felt his eyes flutter closed and he felt the bile rise in his throat. He wanted to be able to say that she had him to fight for, to win for. His mind wandered through the little he knew about her life. Her mother, her child, husband. They were all gone. He had given up on her too. He could have fought, waited a little bit longer before moving on. He could have told Gina that the wedding was off the minute she had shown up on his doorstep. Instead he had hesitated. He had done what society would have wanted. He had toyed with her, pulling her in before pushing her back out again. He had taunted her heart.

This was his fault.

He should have let her know that she could live for him, that he would be waiting when she finally made it home. Instead, he had chosen Gina.

His eyes drifted closed and he let out a deep sigh.

"She'll fight for her life, hombre. She always has, she always will. She's too strong to give up because her heart is broken. It hasn't stopped her before." Javier's voice was soft. "The question is, how hard are you willing to fight to get her back? Because it will not be easy."

Castle cracked his eyes open and turned his head to look at the man sitting next to him. "I would do anything for her."

Javier nodded slightly, his voice becoming harder with his next words. "Prove it."

Castle took in a startled breath and felt his hand clench in his pocket, the small doll and the little wooden wolf Kate had carved months before squeezed in his fist. He felt the pit in his stomach begin to fill.

She would fight for her life. They would find her. Then he would fight for her; prove that he loved her.

She deserved better than him and so he would have to become more.


The hotel was still buzzing with activity when they returned. The group trudged through the doors, exhaustion finally threatening to take over as they looked around. A line was forming in the dining room, boasting that dinner was ready to be served. Castle felt his stomach growl, but pushed it down. There wasn't time to eat. They had to find Ryan, Montgomery and a map. They had to form a search party and get together supplies. They had to tell Mr. Beckett that his daughter was lost somewhere in the wilderness.

"Javi!"

Castle turned to see Lanie Parish rushing towards them, as well as anyone could through the crowded lobby, wiping her hands on her apron as she approached.

Esposito opened his arms and the short woman ran straight into them. "You're back. I was starting to get worried. The next storm will be here soon."

Lanie pulled back and glanced around, confusion etched on her face as she took in the sight of the people around her. "Where's Kate?"

Castle stiffened. Javier shifted next to him, his words soft as he leaned to talk into Lanie's ear. "We don't know, chica. She never made it out to the reservation."

Lanie took a step back, a hand coming up to cover her gasp. "Oh, no."

She took another step back before turning an running back the other way, yelling out as she went. "Kevin, Roy, Jim, Jenny, Alexis! Back hall now!"

Javier made his way over to the desk in the lobby and pulled out a couple rolls of paper before motioning for the others to follow him through the hotel.

It was time to come up with a plan.


"Ring around the rosie. Pocket full of posies. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down."

Sarah made a little "umph" noise as her body collapsed onto the dirt ground and Kate's eye cracked open. The little girl grinning at her from her position sprawled on the ground, hands behind her propping her up.

"Hi, Momma! Did you sleep good?"

Kate let out a small groan. "Well. It's 'did you sleep well' not good."

Sarah let out another giggle. "You're so funny, Momma. Correcting my grammar at a time like this."

Kate shook her head. Lifting a hand to wipe at the dirt caked onto her face, she attempted to sit up against the wall. She whimpered slightly. She could barely feel her leg. It was so cold, her teeth chattered as she reached down to feel her toes. They were starting to turn blue. Her fingers pinched at the lower digits and the tingling shot up through her limb, jabbing her like thousand of little pins and needles.

She let out a hiss followed by a whimper. She swallowed the scream as the tears streamed down her face.

It hurt so badly.

"The sun's rising, Momma," Sarah whispered in her ear. "They will be here soon. You have to get the fire going again so you can stay warm. It got too cold last night, Momma. You're lucky."

Kate's eyes fluttered shut and she let out a sigh as she slumped back against the wall. "What does it matter? They're not coming."

Sarah rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "They're coming. You have to have faith. You've made it this far; you just have to make it a little longer. You have to fight Momma. Fight for your life. It's worth it, trust me."

Kate sighed again, struggling to shift in her seat, get a leg under her. She bent her good knee slightly and her body shook as she tried to stand. The pile of wood she had gathered was just off to her left. She only had to make it a few feet to get to it. Those few feet seemed so far away as she gazed down the cave. The sticks were floating farther and farther away.

Her body went limp again and she sank back against the wall again. She shook her head. "No, baby, I'm sorry. I can't anymore. It hurts too much."

Sarah stood, rising to her full height as she placed her fists on her hips and puffed out her chest, her chin jutting out in defiance. Her perfectly braided hair fell over her shoulders and her floral dress, without a smudge of dirt on it, hung loosely off of her body.

"No!" she shouted and Kate's eyes popped back open, drifting shut slightly. "You are not going to quit. You don't quit. You're upset about Josh? About Rick? Well, you know what? Screw them! You deserve better. You deserve more than some guy that is going to leave you for some society bitch."

Kate's eyes grew wide as she watched the eight year-old manifestation of her dead daughter spout expletives at her, screaming at the top of her little lungs. She sat up a little straighter as Sarah's rant died down and the girl deflated to kneel back on the ground next to her.

"You shouldn't be fighting for them, you should be fighting for you, for me. You need to fight for Emily," Sarah continued, softer.

Kate's eyes narrowed. Emily? She didn't know any Emily. "Who's Emily?"

Sarah's serious face broke into a wide grin. "My sister, silly! You're going to get out of here and become all strong again. Rick is going to come to his senses and break up with Gina. He is going to grovel at your feet. You will make him sweat for a little while. It wouldn't be any fun if you just take him back right away. But then you will give in and you two will get married and you will have a baby named Emily. At first you will be mad, I'm not sure why. Then you will be happy and you will live happily ever after. The end."

Kate couldn't help but smile at the little girl. "Happily ever after?"

"Yes. You deserve to be a princess, Momma."

Kate laughed softly, crooking her finger so that Sarah crept a couple of inches closer to her. "I'll let you in on a little secret, baby. I named you Sarah because it means princess. I wanted to have a strong princess for a little girl. And you know what?"

Sarah shook her head, eyes wide?

"You are."

Sarah's face broke into a wide smile. She opened her mouth to speak when her head whipped around to look at the mouth of the mine.

"You hear that Momma? Hoof beats. It's about damn time. They're coming Momma!"


Castle had insisted on accompanying them. All of the other men had tried to talk him out of it, saying that the terrain was tough. It wasn't safe, but he had insisted. They had poured over the map all night, arguing about the different routes, looking at the landmarks. The women had dispersed to go about their various duties. Gina and Amanda had been put to work helping Lanie and Alexis. Castle could have sworn that Alexis had smirked when she had been informed that she could tell Gina what to do, but he just shook his head and had focused back on the map.

There had to be something there, a clue.

Think like Kate. What had she told him?

"You have to be careful out there, Castle. It's dangerous, even just traveling between the town and the outside settlements. There are wild animals, thieves and other criminals. Bandits will kill you. Wolves don't give a second thought to if you have a family. If something happens to you, you need to find shelter: something that will protect you. There are caves along here."

Castle watched her as she pointed to the map she had laid out in front of them, when they had been planning the trip to the reservation, before the army had attacked. When they had just been planning on going so he could meet Little Bear.

"Caves are good. Safer. There's also an abandoned mine. I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation spot, they shut it down because it is unstable, but it would do in a pinch. The point is, that you need to find shelter. Got it Castle?"

Castle peered back down at the map. The triangle formed by the town, reservation and army camp.

"There." He pointed at a spot on the map. "She's probably there."

The other man peered down at the page.

"The mine? No, she wouldn't go there," Ryan protested.

Castle shook his head. "It's the most central location. If she got hurt, lost her horse, it would be the easiest shelter to get to. If she is in this area, she would be in the mine."

The others exchanged a glance before Esposito let out a slight nod. "He's right. It would make the most sense. We'll hit it first. If she's not there, we will try the caves next. After that, it will be the army camp."

The group fell silent. It was there: the silent question. What if she wasn't any of those places?

No one answered.

Ryan glanced out the window. The sun was starting to rise. The supplies were gathered. They had food, water and blankets. Guns were loaded. "Let's go."

The snow was starting to fall harder as they approached the mine. The wagon was starting to get more and more stuck as the powdery snow continued to fall. The wheels couldn't get traction, and kept slipping and sinking. They had discussed ditching it, but they would need it when they found her.

Fresh wolf tracks patterned the ground and Castle gulped.

Wolves. Coyotes.

His hand dug into his pocket and grasped the little wooden figurines in his fist.

She could fight off a wolf.

He nodded. She would be fine.

The mouth of the mineshaft was dark, menacing. Esposito went first, his revolver drawn. Ryan and Montgomery went next. Castle followed at the rear.

"Beckett?" Espo called quietly as he made his way into the dark. "Can you hear me? Are you in here?"

The remnants of a small fire glowed red, dull.

Castle let out a small grasp when a bare foot came into view and his eyes traveled up the bare and swollen leg to the body attached to it.

She was lying slumped against the wall, her head lolled to one side. Eyes closed. Her hands were limp at her sides, one holding a flat stone. The knife was bloody on the ground next to her and her revolver was lying next to the dying fire.

Her lips were blue.

Castle ran forward, around the rest of the group, falling to his knees at her side.

"Kate? Sweetheart? Can you hear me?"

He patted his hand against her cheek; her head lolling limply will the motion. He put his hand against her chest. He couldn't feel anything. He slid it down to her stomach.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt it rise slightly. She was breathing.

"She's alive!" He called and his words echoed down the shaft, followed by a rumble.

He glanced back at the other men, his eyes wide and they looked back with mirroring panicked expressions.

As quickly as he ever moved, Castle scooped up the woman from the ground and ran towards the mouth of the mine, the other's rushing behind him.

The rocks started to fall as they cleared the mouth and Castle let out a breath as he sank back down to his knees, Kate's body cradled against him.

Espo glanced toward the cave and then back towards them. "Way to go, hombre."

Castle let out a shaky smile. "Well, you know, gotta make it interesting."

The others shook their heads as Montgomery came over to him and helped to lift Kate up into the back of the wagon. She let out a groan as Castle climbed in next to her and piled blankets on top of her.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly and he smiled down at her.

"Hey," he greeted softly.

She stared back up at him for a second before swallowing, her eyes falling shut again.

Her mouth moved slightly and he leaned down, his ear an inch away from her lips, to listen to what she was trying to say.

"It's about damn time."