Kidnapped Ch.21

Coming out of the clothing store, Alexis and Kate took a look at each other and grinned. They frequently had what they called 'girl time', where they would hit the shopping malls nearby and return home loaded with shopping bags. This was the first time that they had had another 'girl time' ever since Kate had been kidnapped.

Alexis dragged her into the next store, taking no notice of Kate's protests that soon stopped as she noticed the delicious aroma of freshly made smoothies. Immediately, she relented and allowed Alexis to order a smoothie for both of them.

'We aren't going to be able to do this for much longer, right?' Alexis sighed softly as they waited for their drinks to arrive.

'What do you mean?' Kate frowned slightly. She had no idea why Alexis would think that. She adored these shopping trips every bit as much as Alexis did, and she had no intention of stopping them anytime soon. She ignored the waiter as he placed their smoothies in front of him.

'Well, when… when the baby arrives, you are going to have to spend more time with cookie, right? I mean, cookie really is your baby, and… and I'm not. I'm just that awkward daughter that Dad brought with him into your marriage,' Alexis muttered, stirring her drink around, and Kate could not believe her ears.

'Alexis Harper Castle, do not let me hear that again. You are my daughter as well, and after cookie arrives, you will be a fabulous big sister to cookie too. When you need me, or simply just want another 'girl time', I will definitely come with you. Do you understand?' Kate told her fiercely.

Shuffling closer, Alexis wrapped her arms around Kate as she hugged her tightly. She had been so afraid that Kate would ignore her and focus all of her love on cookie. Deep down, she knew that the jealously was illogical and ridiculous, but she simply could not rid herself of these insecurities. However, now that everything was cleared up, things look brighter and happier. Heck, even the shopping bags felt lighter.

'Thank you, Kate,' Alexis told her sincerely, and Kate smiled down at her and ruffled her hair, paying no heed to her squeals and complaints as she rearranged her hair.

'Anytime, Lex. Now, I think we've got enough clothes, so where shall we go next?' Kate told her, affection shining through her voice.

'Shoes,' Alexis answered at once without a single moment of hesitation.

'Come on, then, what are we waiting for?' Kate laughed as they headed for the large array of shoe stores in the shopping mall, smoothie in hand.

The gnawing feeling in his stomach reached a feverish pitch as he watched the interactions between the mother and daughter. His hands clenched around the camera in his pocket, but he could not bring himself to take it out. He had washed his hands of this business years ago. If it had not been for the massive leverage that his old schoolmate had over him, he would definitely not be doing this now.

Shaking his head, he attempted to clear the emotions that were clouding his mind. A fantastic contract killer like him would not let emotion blur their judgment, and he had always pride himself on being able to separate his personal business from his professional one, but on this important job, he just could not do it.

He thought of his own wife and son, back home, ignorant of what he was, and what he was about to become yet again. He could tell that the target was pregnant, and she had that glow of impending motherhood around her. His mind flashed back to the time when his wife was pregnant with his son, and how protective he had been of her. He could only imagine how the target's husband would be like after he heard that –

Mentally slapping himself, he forced his train of thought to stop, and took out the camera, his jaw set in stone. Quietly, in the shadows where no one could see him, he began to compile his collection of pictures of his target, Katherine Houghton Beckett-Castle.

Lying in bed that night, Kate smiled as Castle came out of the bathroom, and climbed into bed beside her. Instinctively, he leaned over to Kate and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and slid down a little to place another soft, feather-like kiss on her abdomen.

'What are you doing?' Castle asked, as Kate continued reading the thick stack of sheets next to her.

'I'm still trying to figure out what my mom was trying to tell me,' Kate answered, frustration evident in her voice. 'I mean, I know the kind of code my mom is using, but I have no idea which episode this was taken from. There were plenty of different episodes that she could have chosen, and I can't solve this code just because I'm too stupid to figure that out.'

'Kate, calm down. We're going to crack this code,' Castle soothed, her but Kate was on a roll.

'This is not like Mom. She likes to have everything organized, so it has to be in here somewhere,' Kate groaned, her eyes scanning the pages furiously. Gently taking the papers out of her hands, Castle placed them back on the bedside table, unaffected by the glare that Kate was currently sending in his direction. After being on the receiving end of that look for years, he had become immune to it. Never more would he be threatened by that glare… 99.999% of the time, anyway.

'Kate, let your mind relax. You are too worked up over this. Sometimes, if you let your mind relax, the answer will come to you,' Castle told her slowly, treating her like a child, and Kate huffed indignantly. She looked down as she sulked, but burst into uncontrollable chuckles as she noticed Castle's newest bright pink boxers.

Pink!

That was the answer to everything. Kate sat up so quickly that it took her a moment to adjust. 'What's wrong?' Castle asked, surprised by her sudden quick movement.

'I know what episode it was from,' Kate answered. Digging through the papers, she looked about desperately for the particular script that she was looking for. Pulling the diary over to her, she began comparing the numbers to the one episode that she was currently holding in her hands. A slow smile broke out upon her face as she looked up, the light that had been missing from her eyes so long returning.

'I've got it,' Kate smiled, triumphantly.

A/N: Yep, it's Monday, and yes, here is another chapter for you all. I hope that you are enjoying this story. A massive thank you for all the favorites, alerts and most importantly, REVIEWS! They are what keep me going as I write, and they are what motivate me to update regularly, as I love to hear from you all

As usual, PLEASE REVIEW! Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.

This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat, who sacrifices so much of her precious studying time to help me beta. (But let's be honest… 'Studying' = reading notes with your phone/iPad/computer right next to you. Am I right or not?)

Zoe tabbycat