A/N: I am back from ny all to brief vacation. Enjoy!

Mercy Hospital
Derek

Time seemed to slow down for Derek as he pressed the first button on his detonator. He was rewarded with a deep rumble and the very foundations of the hospital seemed to shift and shake. Then he pressed the next three buttons to detonate three large smoke grenades he had hidden in the ventilation shafts around this wing of the hospital. He moved to catch up to Alexis and her bodyguards. The corridor was in chaos, much like the streets in Iraq after a car bombing, he mused. It was simple to ease up beside Alexis. As they passed his final surprise he moved to shield her as he pressed the final button on his remote detonator. The small shaped charge behind the cleaning closet door exploded outward. Stunning the two cops and creating even more confusion. The blast knocked him into Alexis and they went down. He quickly jumped up and helped Alexis to her feet.

"This way Alexis we have got to get you safely out of the building."

"What about my Dad?" Alexis protested.

"The hospital staff will know what to do. But your father will be worried for your welfare let's take care of that."

He moved her into the stairwell and away from her protectors. She started to protest. Derek was amazed and proud of the fact that she recovered so quickly. Removing the Ether soaked cloth from a bag in his pocket; he quickly clamped it over her mouth.

"I'm really sorry about this sweetheart, but it is the only way" he whispered to her as she struggled. "Sssh, come on Alexis, it's all right. Everything is going to be OK."

He held her rock stead until she succumbed the Ether. He gently picked her up and carried her down the stairs. Across the hallway from the stairwell door was a storage closet where a gurney was already waiting. Gently he put her down careful to cover her with a gown and a sheet. He momentarily considered whether he should remove her shirt to make her look more like a patient being moved, but decided against it. In the confusion there should be no need. Timing his entry into the hallway to coincide with a mass of screaming patients, he moved out into the chaotic hall. Flowing with the screaming masses, it is easy to exit the hospital.

After milling about outside for a few minutes to make sure there was no alarm for a missing teenager. He picked up Alexis and moved her discreetly into the back of the van he had prepared for their getaway. He gave her a mild sedative to keep he asleep for the journey. He drove all over Manhattan making sure he was not followed. When he was finally sure that they were not being followed he made his way to the abandoned warehouse.

He took a very groggy Alexis up to the room that he had prepared for her, and gently laid her on the bed. Knowing that she would not yet understand that he had liberated he from the evil influence of her corrupt biological father, he regretfully handcuffed he to the headboard. It would be a long road for her recovery, he thought.

"Alexis, honey, you need to rest it has been a long day." He leaned over to kiss her forehead. Groggy as she was she still tried to move out of the way.

ICU
Aftermath
Everybody else

It took hours to sort out what had happened, but it was evident early on that Alexis was missing. Her two bodyguards were found dazed out in the hallway leading for the Cafeteria to the ICU. The remains of a cleaning closet door covered them both. The search immediately began to find Castle's daughter. The entire hospital was searched top to bottom. It took a long time to look through the damaged areas. Bomb sniffing and Cadaver dogs were brought in to search but thankfully neither team found anything.

Beckett got a full report from the bomb squad. There had been one pipe bomb and three large gas grenades hooked up to a remote detonator. There was also a small charge place on the door which stunned the two cops following Alexis. The Bomb Squad said it was a miracle that no one was killed. The pipe bomb which had been the most powerful blast had torn through the Physical Plant, wrecking several industrial washers and dryers and heavily damaging an air recycling unit. The surgical suites and the ICU were on a separate ventilation system so those patients were safe from the smoke and debris. The bottom line was the person who planted the bombs knew what they were doing.

Kate Beckett was beside herself. Fear, Panic, and Worry warred for possession of her mind. She wanted to lash out, to blame someone. Intellectually she knew that the only person to blame was Dominic Strom, but emotionally she wanted, no need to lash out. Her warring emotions were threatening to make her fly apart. She felt responsible for the Alexis' kidnapping. She felt like she somehow had failed Castle. She needed to find a release for the pent up rage that was going to burst forth and hurt someone if she kept it in much longer.

"Hey Beckett," Esposito interrupted her pacing, "We caught a break. Security caught the dirtbag on tape. They are currently going through the last few days of footage to see how long he has been stalking the hospital"

"How the HELL did he get access to the hospital" Beckett fairly screamed.

"He was dressed as an EMT. With his background as a corpsman he had no trouble blending in. as a matter of fact he helped with that bad bus crash this morning and saved some poor schmuck's life."

Beckett was confused. "He tried to kill Castle and Martha, he kidnaps Alexis but he saves someone's life?"

"What can I say he's a man of contradictions."

"And if he is killing people, why kidnap Alexis? Why not just kill her too?"

"I believe that I can answer that question" A dark suited man said from the doorway

Beckett and Esposito looked over at the new visitor.

"I am Alton Briggs, I am a profiler on loan from the FBI, apparently the D….."

"The Director is a Fan, we know." Beckett and Esposito said in unison.

Briggs smiled "Mr. Strom is a driven man. He believes that his is Derek Storm."

"Tell us something that we don't know" Kate snapped.

"He looks at Alexis Castle as his rightful daughter. He believes that Richard Castle is unworthy of having a daughter when he, Dominic, does not. The drunk driver that deprived him of his family has been replaced by Castle. Once he read the book where Derek Storm was killed he transferred his rage to Castle. So in his mind Richard Castle was responsible for all of the pain in his life. Dominic will keep Alexis safe and he believes that she will eventually accept that he, Strom, is actually her real father."

"What happens if she refuses to play along?" Esposito queried.

"Then He will kill her……" Alton replied.

A/N: If have a question or comment please feel free to PM me. I am alway glad to talk "shop" as it were.