Chapter 25

"I know I shouldn't blame him and he has been through so much but I have lost every friend I had not to mention my boyfriend and all because he couldn't leave this alone." Alexis huffed out frustratedly as she paced back and forth across the office. Doctor Franklin simply nodded and didn't say a word, she knew that some times all you needed to do was let someone vent so that was what she was letting the teenage girl do at the moment. It was clear that she had been through more then anyone her age should have to be through and she was not comfortable talking to her family but she needed someone to listen to her, so that is who the doctor decided to be. "I know he didn't ask for any of this to happen but at the same time how could he have not seen it coming?!" Alexis demanded as she continued to pace the room while running her hand through he red hair, she then turned to face the doctor. "I mean I saw it coming from the first day he started following her around, I knew he was going to get shot, I have been living in fear every time my cell phone rang for the past three years. I saw it coming so why didn't he?!" Alexis almost yelled this last part and then she quickly turned away from the doctor and faced the door leading into the office. "Why couldn't he just stop?" She asked and a tear slid down her cheek.

"It's not easy watching someone you love risk their life." Doctor Franklin said gently. "It's okay to be angry about it, you have to let yourself feel the anger, if you keep it bottled up it will hurt you and those around you."

"But how am I supposed to go on if all I want to do every time I see my dad is slap him and yell at him?" Alexis asked brokenly and she turned to face the doctor. "Also I know he was helping people so how do I have the right to be angry at him for doing that, I mean he saved lives so if I get mad at him for doing that aren't I wishing those people dead?"

"It doesn't work like that." The older woman explained and Alexis slowly sat down in the office chair that was turned away from the desk to face the chair the other woman was seated in. "You are not wishing for anything bad to happen to anyone you just wish we lived in a world where your father didn't have to risk getting hurt in order to help people. You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"Okay." Alexis said after giving what the older woman said some thought. "How do I stop feeling guilty?"

"I want you to say it out loud, I want you to say that you have nothing to feel guilty about." Doctor Franklin instructed.

Alexis took a breath and when she spoke her voice was shaky. "I...have...nothing to feel guilty about."

"Good, try it again." Doctor Franklin said a moment later.

"I have nothing to feel guilty about." The redhead repeated this time more firmly.

"Very good." Doctor Franklin said with a small smile. "I want you to repeat that to yourself every time you have one of these negative thoughts about yourself, okay?"

"Okay." Alexis nodded and then after thinking for a moment she asked another question. "I know this may sound selfish considering everything that is going on but how am I supposed to deal with being here?"

"It's not selfish at all. Your whole life has been thrown into turmoil by something out of your control, it's only natural that you would be a little frightened." Doctor Franklin replied.

"That's not exactly what I meant, I mean this going to sound petty because we are safe here but I am bored and I have a feeling the negative thoughts I am having will take over since I have so much free time." Alexis said as she stood up and started pacing once again.

"That is not an unreasonable fear." Doctor Franklin said and then after giving the matter a few seconds thought she continued. "Maybe you should look for a way to turn this problem into an opportunity."

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked as she turned to face the woman.

"Well at the moment any amount of time spent here cut off from your friends and your normal support system seems overwhelming right?" Doctor Franklin asked and Alexis nodded that this was true so the doctor continued to explain her idea. "But when you get older and you look back on this time it will seem like a comparatively short period of your life so maybe you could try and have some life experiences here that you can't have in New York, the type that will stay with you the rest of your life."

"Life what?" Alexis asked as she gave the doctor a look that seemed to indicate that she was not averse to the general idea, she was just unsure how to apply it to her life.

"Well there are all sorts of things, start looking around and find something that interests you. It should be something you are doing for yourself, something that you are interested in, and that you are doing because you like it." The older woman explained.

"Well There are a lot of animals and birds here that we don't have in New York, and I have never really walked in the woods unless you count some of the trees in central park." Alexis said thoughtfully after she had given the mater a moment's thought.

"That's the spirit." Doctor Franklin said smiling. "The key is to remember that most problems also come with an opportunity and to be open to the new opportunities that life sends your way. I will not pretend it will be easy but if you work at it things never turn out as bad as we think they will in our darkest moments."

"Okay, thanks." Alexis said a moment later and for the first time since the older woman had met her the redhead's mood seemed to lighten a little.

"Well I think that is enough for today, I will seem you in a couple of days and see how you are doing." Doctor Franklin said as she slid her notepad into her briefcase.

"Okay, thanks Doctor Franklin." Alexis said as she turned to leave the office.

"You are welcome and remember you have nothing to feel guilty about and don't let the negative thoughts take root." Doctor Franklin replied and with that she stood up and made her way over to the office door and followed Alexis out of the the office and into the house.

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Richard Castle was very glad he had gotten an all terrain wheelchair at that moment, he had been informed by his still unhappy mother that Kate was in the back yard, so that was where he now found himself, and if he were in any other wheelchair he would be stuck but luckily for him there were not many places his chair could not go.

He had spotted Kate and was about to make his way over to her when he saw something else, and it made his blood run cold and then boil over with rage. Sorrenson, that snake. He knew he was here to make a play for Kate, but he didn't think anyone would be so low as to do so when they knew he was talking to a head shrink that he had set up the appointments with. Well it was time to sort him out, Castle was not about to let this go on. Deep down Castle knew Kate would never cheat on him but the reasonable part of his brain was not the part that was controlling his actions at that moment, at that moment he wanted nothing more then to deck the jerk. By the time he made it over to Sorrenson about ten feet from one of the sheds he had at least come to his senses enough to know that would not be possible in his current state, so he would have to settle for telling the bastard off. That was poor compensation for how rewarding it would have been to feel his fist connect with the rat's eye, but it was yet another one of life's little pleasures that had been denied him because of his condition.

Sorrenson must have heard him coming because he turned around to face the writer. "Hi, Rick how are you doing today?" He asked as if talking to an old friend, the truth was he and Richard Castle would never be friends and he knew it but he saw no reason not to at least try to smooth things over. Still one look at the writer's face told him this had been the wrong approach, he was mad and the attempt at a half hearted, friendly welcome had only made him more angry.

"Listen to me Sorrenson." Castle said sternly and this drew the special agent's full attention and he was about to say something but Castle didn't give him the chance. "I know you came here to win back Beckett but it will not work. She is with me now and if you knew anything about her you would know she would never cheat. I know I don't deserve her but that is the way things have played out, be an adult and deal with it. Your childish attempt to play hero will not get her back." Castle said sternly and his face was turning red.

"Look I am going to tell you what I just finished telling Kate, I am not here to get her back." Sorrenson said and he himself was getting angry. "I could see the last time we had met she had chosen the rich playboy who she had been a fan of for years, I made peace with the fact that I can't compete with that."

"Oh yeah, then why are you out of all the FBI agents out there here?!" Castle demmanded and it wasn't much of a question but Sorrenson answered it any way.

"Because the FBI wanted someone the two of you knew and I was not assigned to anything and I still think of Kate as a friend." Sorrenson explained as he became even more angry.

"You really expect me to believe that you have no interest in Kate when you are sneaking around behind my back?" Castle shot back.

"Kate and I are adults and like it or not we do have history, I was not sneaking around your back and I know you don't trust me but you should at least trust Kate." Sorrenson rebuffed.

This gave Castle pause for a second, but only for a second before he responded. "I do trust her but I don't see why I should trust you."

"Is this a good enough reason?!" Sorrenson demanded and he reached into his pocket and pulled a photo out of his wallet. It was of him standing next to a happy looking woman with red hair, Sorrenson had his arm around her and she was showing off a ring that had a diamond on it. "Her name is Stacy." Sorrenson explained a moment later as he calmed down and held the picture closer to the writer's face so he could get a good look. "She's a high school teacher, she is the best thing that ever happened to me, we are expecting a child is seven months and we are engaged."

This seemed to take the wind right out of Castle's sails and when he spoke next he was calm and quiet. "Oh, I'm sorry." Was all Castle could say and then as the special agent replaced the photo in his wallet Castle looked up at him with a puzzled expression on his face and asked a question. "Why did you take this job? When Merredith was pregnant with Alexis I hovered over her so much she threatened to get a restraining order, I wouldn't think you would want to leave her."

"I didn't." Sorrenson began to explain a moment later. "I worry every day but Agent Shaw is on another job and there was a lot of pressure for me to take this job. It got to the point where they offered me my choice of assignments after this, so I will not have to leave Stacy after she has the baby. I really don't want to repeat the mistakes I made with Kate." The man confessed as he looked away from Castle.

"I see." Castle responded and he was surprised to find himself softening a little on the man who was standing in front of him. They would still never be friends and he didn't like the fact that he was using this case to advance his carrier, but he had been where this man was before, worrying about the book tours he would have to take once Alexis was born and now he could at least understand where he was coming from and they had some common ground. "Well try not to worry, with kids things almost never go as bad as you think they will." Castle said a moment later trying to lighten the mood.

"I just worry I am not ready." Sorrenson said turning to face the writer and Castle could tell it cost him a lot to admit that. "I mean it's not like we were trying and it came as a shock, but now I wouldn't wish it away, I am just not sure how I will handle this. You were lucky, you were ready and your girl seems to have turned out alright, I don't know if I can do that."

"Hey, I wasn't ready either." Castle said a moment later, he didn't know why but he felt the need to reassure the man. "I have no idea how Alexis turned out the way that she did, after everything I put her through and people joke that she is the more adult out of the two of us but it did take a lot of work on my part."

"I wish I was sure I would know what to do when the time comes." Sorrenson replied.

"Well all I can tell you is do your best and don't give up, that is all I ever did." Castle said a moment later.

"Alright, thanks." Sorrenson said as he turned to face Castle and then he added gravely a moment later. "Hey don't tell Kate about this. We both know she tends to put the weight of the world on her shoulders and I don't want her feeling guilty about my being here. This was my choice and I figure it is better to miss a few months now then miss them later and maybe have to hit the road once the baby is born."

"Okay, you got it." Castle said and then added. "Congratulations, Will."

"Thanks, Rick." Sorrenson replied and with that Castle turned his wheelchair around and went off to find Beckett.

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The Golden Dragon was a fancy Chinese restaurant in the best part of what old timers would call China town and while it was true that the Chinese gangs still ran most things here in the modern day and age calling it China town for any other reason didn't make much sense. There were several high rise hotels and apartment buildings around the restaurant as well as many other high class businesses.

As Cauldwell drove himself and detectives Ryan and Esposito down the street he knew they were all bracing themselves for what had to be done, none of them liked it but it was their only shot at closing this case and making it out alive so he saw no reason to feel bad about it. It was at that moment that he spotted a limo pulled out front of the restaurant and a Chinese businessman of average height and weight was being escorted out. "Anyone else get the feeling they were warned we were coming?" Cauldwell asked the car and then added. "Be ready for trouble." The two detectives nodded that they understood and then Cauldwell gunned the engine of his car and pulled it sideways in front of the limo so between his car and a car that was waiting to pull up to the curve behind it the limo was boxed in, and and the detectives jumped out of the car.

"Federal agent, freeze!" Cauldwell yelled loud enough so no one could miss what he said.

"I have nothing to say to you." The older man shouted back, and the four body guards pushed him closer to the limo.

"Mister Wie?!" Cauldwell called out.

"Yes but I told you I have nothing to say to you." The man called back.

"We have a few questions for you and I don't think you want to get into a shoot out with federal agents." Cauldwell advised and at this the man stopped and looked at him. He had a hard piercing gaze that Cauldwell guessed worked well on other gangsters and people who owed him money but it did nothing to Cauldwell and Ryan and Esposito drew their guns and pointed them at the bodyguards, Cauldwell continued. "The last thing you want is the FBI down here so you can come with me and answer my questions or you shoot it out with us and make national headlines, it's your choice."

Wei seemed to consider this for a moment and then he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but he didn't get a chance, he was cut off by a noise that sounded a little like a car backfiring that echoed against all the buildings and seemed to come from one of the taller buildings in the area. "Sniper!" Esposito shouted and everyone dove for cover. Everyone that is except Wie, his head exploded spewing brains, blood, teeth, and bone all over the sidewalk. "Shit!" Cauldwell cursed, their best lead had just died and they were pinned down by an unseen sniper. Even if they survived this they were now in a life or death battle with no way to win, The Tongs had literally become a dead end and it didn't matter if it was right now or the next day Cauldwell was pretty sure they would be joining Wei soon.

Well hope you enjoyed that and it was worth the wait, sorry to keep you waiting so long but I should be back on top of things now. To everyone who has commented on spelling mistakes in past chapters, thank you and I am not ignoring you I just have not had time to go in and edit them yet, I hope to do that this wednesday and sunday. Thanks you guys help me be a better writer.

Sorry this chapter was a little weak after making you wait so long, things should really pick up in tomorrow's chapter.

Thanks again to everyone who favorites, reviews, follows, and reads, you guys are the reason I write, thanks for your support. You guys are the best.

Oh and thanks again to Caskettfan5 for your amazing beta work, you are the best.