AN: I know this is a super short chapter, but I keep hitting dead ends with this fic and it's been awhile.
"You told me to come here?" Rick asked the boys before he reached their desk.
"Yeah," Ryan looked at his partner, making sure it was okay. "He won't speak. The only thing he said was that he wanted Katherine to question him."
"You've got to be kidding me. You know we can't put her in there. He should know that for crying out loud!"
"We know, bro," Esposito replied with his head down.
Rick began pacing in front of them, covering his face with his hands. Every ounce of anger he ever had was now flowing hot through his veins. There was no way he could get rid of it without confronting the unnamed bastard himself. Before he could think reasonably, he was heading toward lockup.
"Whoa, Castle. Wait," Esposito yelled, getting out of his seat to chase him. He reached Rick right before turned the corner and grabbed his shoulder. "We want to do the same thing you do, bro."
Rick clenched his hands into fists. He threw them into his pockets and turned toward Esposito.
"We didn't call you here so you could take him out. We could have done that ourselves."
"We called you because we need your help telling Beckett about this," Ryan said, walking next to Esposito.
"I can't tell her this. Anything but this."
"You know how to handle her when she breaks down. It would be better if you did," Ryan replied.
"Fine. I will tell her… just not now," Rick turned on his heel and headed toward the elevator. "I'll tell her when I think it's time."
"Castle, that could be years," Esposito yelled after him.
…..
"Dad?" Alexis yelled as she walked into the loft.
It was 7pm and she was surprised that there wasn't dinner already made. Her dad usually makes sure there's dinner made when he knows she's going to be late. She found this really strange.
She walked toward his office and peaked her head through. Her dad had his head on his desk, holding onto a big glass of, what she guessed was, alcohol. He still had his pajamas on from this morning and it didn't look like he showered at all.
"Dad…?" she asked nervously.
He slowly lifted his head up and smiled at her. He waved for her to come toward him. When she did, he wrapped his arms around her in a big bear hug.
"Dad, how long have you been drinking?"
"Not long."
"And why aren't you dressed?"
"I didn't feel like doing anything today."
"Come on," she sat on his desk. "What's going on?"
"The guy wants to speak with Kate. The guys want me to tell her about it and… I can't."
"You should tell her, Dad. It's not like she's going to run in there and confront him. And if she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to."
"I know, Pumpkin. It's just… she's been doing good the past two days. I really don't want her spiraling down."
"Look at you," she took the cup from him. "You're spiraling down too and it's only because you want to protect her."
"Only?"
"We all know you have a thing for Beckett, Dad. It's really obvious that you want to protect her from getting hurt, but maybe you should tell her. Will it hurt her? Possibly, but she needs to know what's going on. She deserves to know. You know that."
"I do…"
"So, stop drinking, get cleaned up, and pull yourself together for crying out loud," she smiled.
"Okay. I'll go shower and make dinner for us. I'll tell her tomorrow."
"No. I'll whip us up some of my famous mac 'n' cheese."
"You sure?"
"You look like you need it."
He pulled his daughter in for another tight hug. She's always so smart and he never understands where it comes from, but he's glad she always knows what to say.
"Thanks, Pumpkin."
"No problem."
…..
Small knocks were coming from the apartment door. Kate thought it was someone else's door being knocked on so, she continued her workout. She absolutely hated what her pregnancy did to her. Never in her life did she image herself to have this much body fat.
The knocking didn't stop. Instead it got a lot louder. She sighed and dropped down from the bar. She grabbed her towel on the way to the door. Immediately upon seeing Rick through the door, she frantically tried to get rid of the sweat. Once she opened the door, a big whiff of coffee hit her nose.
"Hey," she said breathlessly.
"Were you…"
"Trying to work this weight off? Yes," she walked back into her apartment. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. Thought I'd visit you since Alexis and mother are shopping. Where's Alyvia?"
"She's with my dad for the day. He wanted to spend time with her," she smiled.
"There's something I need to tell you."
The serious tone in his voice made Kate's throat go dry. She hesitantly took the coffee out of his hand.
"Should I sit?" she nervously asked.
"That might be a good idea."
They both sat down next to each other on the couch. She slowly faced him and tried to figure out what was going on.
"H-h-he's asking for you."
AN: Thoughts?
