A/N: Wow...reviewers...thank you so so much! What great feedback to the last chapter! I wasn't sure how the thoughts and images in my head would translate into writing but I guess it was alright :) Your comments and feedback have given me new energy and the ideas are really flowing now! I hope you like this next chapter...think of it as a little calm before the storm ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Andrew Marlowe does...he's seriously The Man! "Scared to Death" was hilariously scary, and the whole cast was so fun! I haven't laughed and screamed at the same time that much before. Top 10 ep for sure :)

Johnson. Kate knew instantly that somehow, Johnson must have slipped past the Hartford police and made his way here. She had no idea how he knew where they were, or how he got there, but she knew unequivocally that Johnson had found Paige. Kate had no doubts that after her adventure earlier, Paige would not have wandered off on her own, and since none of the other kids were missing, she couldn't come up with any other reasonable explanation for her disappearance.

Rick, Don, Anita and Liz fanned out away from the bridge calling for Paige. Kate, still shaken and in pain from her rescue of Alexis, remained behind to keep the other kids calm, or at least as calm as was possible after all the excitement over the last hour. She paced at the edge of the clearing, scanning as far into the trees as she could, looking for any sign of Paige, hoping that she would turn up and that Kate's worries would be proven unfounded.

She had no real proof on which to base her line of thinking, but after a couple of years of developing her cop instincts, she knew she didn't need any. It was something that she sensed deep down in her gut, and it caused a wave of mixed emotions to flood through her. On the one hand she felt regret that she hadn't been there to stop Johnson, especially after being so diligent in surveying the area as they had walked to the bridge. At the same time, she was so relieved that she had been there to save Alexis from what would have been a fatal fall. She knew that there was no real way that she could have known that Johnson would find Paige out here in the wilderness and that blaming herself wouldn't help anyone. So, she focused on what she could do.

After a few minutes of waiting and hearing Paige's name being called in the distance, Kate turned to the other kids, hoping one of them had some information that would help them find the missing girl. If she could just get a lead, some kind of a clue as to where they might be heading, maybe she could use it to track Paige's movements.

"Kids, can everyone come and gather around? I need to ask you all some questions." Kate said as calmly as she could, not wanting to incite any more fear or panic in the group than was already present. "Does anyone remember seeing Paige after she crossed the bridge?"

As she scanned the crowd, most of the kids were shaking their heads. Taylor spoke up quietly, "After she got off the bridge, Alexis...fell..." she looked up hesitantly at her friend who was standing so close to Beckett they were almost touching. Clearly Alexis was still recovering from her own traumas of the day, and with Rick out in the forest looking for Paige, Alexis sought solace from Kate. Taylor continued, "We were all watching the bridge."

"Are you sure no one saw Paige wander off? Or maybe did you see anyone else around?" Kate was hoping beyond hope that one of them had noticed something, anything, that she could use to find Paige.

After scanning the group and getting no positive responses, her eyes fell to Eddie. The look on his face was different from the blank stares she was getting back from the other kids, like he was trying to work something out in his memory. Moving through the crowd, she knelt down, still cradling her injured arm, and spoke quietly to him.

"Eddie, did you see something?" She waited patiently while Eddie continued working through his thoughts. "Eddie?" she finally asked again, bringing him out of his head and back to the present.

"Um...I'm not sure." His response was far from convincing but Beckett knew this was not a suspect to be pressured into sharing what he knew. He was just a scared little boy who needed reassurance. If he got pushed too hard and turned defensive, she knew he would have a much harder time remembering whatever it was he saw. And despite the fact that she felt like they were using up valuable time, she knew she would have to be patient with Eddie if she wanted to get anything out of him.

She dropped her tone even lower and smiled at him gently, "Eddie, remember when you figured out how the pink elephants game worked?" He looked up at her, a proud smile coming to his lips.

"Yes. And Mr. Castle couldn't figure it out."

She smiled back at him, at the memory. "That's right Eddie, Mr. Castle couldn't figure it out. You were pretty smart figuring it all out on your own. I was really proud of you."

"Thanks," he replied now blushing a bit from the praise.

"Eddie," Kate continued, "I think maybe you saw something earlier and now you're trying to figure out what it was. Does that sound right?"

He looked up at her, nodding. "Yes. I think so."

"Do you remember what it was you saw?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, that's okay Eddie. Maybe we can figure it out together."

"Like partners?"

She laughed lightly at the connection Eddie made, "Yeah, Eddie, just like partners. You know, when I'm working a case, I always have a partner that I talk to about the clues. We try to put all the pieces in place together. But out here, I don't have a partner. Do you want to be my partner Eddie?"

"Really? Okay." Eddie seemed to be relaxing a bit, which Kate knew would help him to remember what he saw.

"Great. You know sometimes, when I'm trying to figure out the clues it helps me to close my eyes and take a deep breath and walk through the scene again. Can you try that Eddie?"

Eddie nodded his head and closed his eyes, his lips pressed tight together like he was trying really hard to concentrate. Kate knew the less he tried, the easier it would come to him so she started guiding him through the scene.

"Okay, take a deep breath Eddie, and let it out. Relax your shoulders and picture in your head what you saw. Everyone was looking at the bridge. Paige walked past everyone after she crossed. Where did she go?"

Eddie took another deep breath and then started to speak, quietly at first but gaining confidence as he went. "At first she was watching with everyone else. We were all scared for Alexis."

"Okay Eddie, that's really good. Then what happened?"

"Then Paige got really sad. She was standing right beside me and she kept saying 'Oh no, Alexis, oh no' over and over again. I tried to tell her it would be okay because you and Mr. Castle were there and I just knew you were going to save her. But she wouldn't stop. And then she got up and walked away. I think she was too scared to look anymore."

"Where did she go Eddie?"

"She walked into the forest. I saw her sit down on a big rock and her hands were over her face. I think she was crying."

"Okay, then what happened?"

"Well, I looked back at the bridge, because that's when you almost dropped Alexis and everyone was talking about it and they were all so scared. I was really scared too, but I knew you wouldn't let go. You're a cop so you're really tough and strong."

Kate smiled at the description of her that Eddie gave, so sure of his impressions of her. "Did you see Paige again Eddie?" Kate didn't want to push him too hard but she could tell there was something more he hadn't said yet.

"Yes, after Mr. Castle pulled you both up and you were on the bridge, I was going to go and tell Paige that you did it and that Alexis was okay. But she wasn't sitting on the rock anymore."

"She wasn't? Where did she go?"

"I saw her walking away from us with the ranger."

"With the ranger? What ranger?" Kate looked at him in confusion, but his eyes were still closed as he remembered.

"Um...I don't know. It wasn't the same rangers that were at the climbing activity."

"How did you know he was a ranger, Eddie?"

"He was wearing the same uniform that they did."

"But you're sure that he wasn't David, the ranger that helped us with the climbing?"

"No, it wasn't him. It was a different ranger. He was shorter and his skin was darker, like the people I met when my family went to Mexico for vacation."

"Okay, Eddie, you're doing really great. Now, just one more question, did you see where they went?" Kate was mentally crossing her fingers that Eddie could remember so she would know in which direction to start her search.

"Yes, I remember." Eddie opened his eyes and turned to look over his shoulder. He pointed as he said, "They went that way." Kate looked in the direction that Eddie was pointing. She couldn't see anything but trees, but she knew that they were heading back towards the lake. Because they were on the other side of the bridge now, Kate didn't know what the terrain was like or where Johnson might be taking Paige, but she at least had a general direction to start her search.

Looking down at Eddie with grateful relief, Kate lifted her uninjured arm and put her hand on his shoulder. "Eddie, that's awesome. You are a great partner."

He smiled back at her and at the kids around him who were all smiling too. Kate looked up and realized that while she and Eddie had been talking, all the other chaperones had returned from their search, empty-handed as Kate had known they would be. She saw that they were watching her with curiosity, but impressed by how she had so patiently worked with Eddie to get his memories out.

Kate stood in a huddled circle with the other chaperones while the kids sat talking quietly in small groups. She knew she was going to have to share Paige's story now and hoped they wouldn't be too angry with her that she hadn't mentioned it sooner. Honestly, she was really only concerned with what Rick would say.

"Before I left New York," she began quietly so the kids wouldn't hear her, "I was working on a murder investigation. We don't have a lot of time now, so I'll spare you the details, but we have learned that the woman who was murdered is Paige's biological mother. She was murdered by her ex-husband, Paige's real dad." She paused for a moment to let the information sink in. Kate looked up at Rick whose reaction was killing her. She could see that he felt betrayed that she hadn't said anything to him, despite several conversations in which she could have told him everything. He had even offered to help her work through the details of the case, but she had refused to share the information she knew.

Anita was the first to speak, clearly incensed by having been left out of the details. "So that's why you're here. I knew there was some reason other than just a new NYPD program. I just knew it. I can't believe you didn't tell us. You put us all in danger." Kate's gaze turned hard to Anita, she was pretty much done with the woman's insensitivities.

"No, actually, as I said when I got here, I came because of the new program. I just found out that Paige was adopted yesterday. I had no idea when I came here that my case was in any way connected with anyone here."

"Some coincidence." Anita voiced her disbelief harshly.

"Look, this isn't getting us anywhere," Castle stepped in to shut Anita down. Kate was surprised that he had her back on this given how he had just looked at her and in his eyes, she could see that he was still angry. Castle was also a bit surprised at his statement, but he was also a father who had very recently discovered what it felt like to have his child go missing. He recognized the seriousness of what Beckett had told them and knew that they would need to act quickly if they were going to find Paige.

Kate spoke again. "I need you all to go back to the camp. You'll be heading in the opposite direction from where Paige and her father are heading so you should be safe. When you get there, I need you to call Trooper Jones and let him know what's going on. Tell him the general area where they're headed and he can send some units to secure the camp site."

"Wait, where are you going?" Rick asked concerned.

"I'm going after them. I've got to leave now or they'll get too far ahead. I don't know where they're going but I've got to try to find them."

"Kate, that's mad, you'll never find them." Castle was in total protective mode at this point and seemed intent on making sure that no one else was put in danger, his anger all but forgotten.

"Castle I have to go, it's my job. And if I don't start looking, they'll disappear, and Paige's adoptive parents will never see her again. I can't let that happen."

"Well then I'm going with you," Castle said firmly.

"No, you're not. You're going to go back to camp with everyone else." Kate replied just as firmly. This wasn't some Monday night ride-along, it was real, dangerous police work and she was not about to let him be put in harm's way.

"Kate, you're injured. You can barely move your arm. You'll be a sitting duck out there if the guy sees you. I'm not letting you go by yourself."

"Look Castle, I appreciate your concern, but I need you to go with the others. I'm not letting you put yourself at risk. You have a daughter who needs you, right now especially."

Not wanting to cause any more of a scene than they already were, Castle grabbed Kate by the arm and excused them from the group. He guided her away so they could speak privately.

"Kate," he started but that was as far as she was going to let him get.

"No, Castle. You don't get to do this. I told you earlier, when I'm working, I need to focus on my job. It's going to be hard enough getting through this as it is, I don't need to be worrying about you too. I need to know you're safe."

Castle looked down at her trying to figure out the best way to convince her that he was coming too, when a small quiet voice spoke up, "Daddy, what's going on? Where's Paige?"

Castle removed the hand that was still holding Kate's arm and looked down at his little girl. "Hey sweetheart, everything's okay. We're just going to go and find her."

Kate looked at Castle pointedly, about to reiterate that she was not going to let him go with her when Alexis spoke again. "Daddy, you're not going too are you? I really don't want you to go." Her bottom lip started to quiver and the tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh baby, come here." He bent down and took Alexis into his arms as she cried quietly into his shoulder. Rubbing her back he added soothingly, "It's okay sweetheart, everything is going to be okay."

"Castle, you need to be with your daughter," Kate said quietly as he looked up at her, torn. He nodded finally in assent, but he definitely wasn't happy about having to make the decision at all.

Kate walked away, allowing Castle and Alexis some time to be alone. As she neared the other chaperones, Don broke away and stepped up to her, speaking quickly and quietly. "I think I know where they're going." The look on his face made Kate stop in her tracks. It was pure guilt, and it shook Kate to her core.

"What? Don, do you know something about this?" He looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact, hesitant to come clean. "Don." Kate started more sharply and he looked up at her in fear. No need for patience with this witness like she had needed with Eddie. Don was a grown man and he clearly had some information that would help her track down Johnson and Paige. "Tell me. Everything."

"Yesterday, when I was in town waiting for the bus to be fixed, a guy came up to me. He said he was looking for a ride out of town and heading in a direction that wasn't far from the camp. Asked if I would take him. I didn't want to at first. He looked a little shady and school policy is that we never let people on the bus who aren't supposed to be there. I tried to tell him no, but he kept pushing."

"This guy, did he say what his name was? What did he look like?"

"No, he didn't say his name. He was about five foot eight, dark brown hair, looked maybe Latino, but it was hard to tell, it was getting dark and the lights at the garage weren't good." Kate matched this information with the description Eddie had given her moments before. Finally some clues she could work with.

"Okay, so what happened?" Kate was getting impatient and she knew she had to get going if she was going to have any chance of finding Paige.

"So after I said no a couple of times, he pulls out this picture and hands it to me." At this point, Kate noticed a visible shift in his composure. His shoulders slumped and his eyes became moist with worry. "The picture was of my daughters. They're twins. It's their graduation picture from my desk at home. He had been to my home. He said if I didn't want anything bad to happen to my girls, that I needed to drive him back to camp with me. He said that if I did, then everything would be fine, but that if I told anyone, that he had a partner watching my house who was waiting for his call. He said he would burn my house to the ground with my family in it. I'm so sorry Officer Beckett. I didn't know what to do. I swear I didn't know he was Paige's father. I didn't know he was going to take her." Kate considered his information. She wished he had made a different choice, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"You said you think you know where he's taking Paige?"

"Yes. Before we left the garage he used the phone to call someone. He was talking quietly but it sounded like he was trying to arrange a place where he could be picked up. I heard him say something about getting to a radio. There are only two radios that I know about around here. The one at our camp, and the one at the ranger's station."

"Okay, where's the station?"

"It's up on the ridge on the opposite side of the lake from where we had our lunch today. The direction Eddie pointed was towards the lake, not our camp, so they must be going to the ranger's station. Here look," Don held up a map and pointed out the key landmarks Kate would need to know if she was going to find them. She took the map from him and put it in her back pocket.

"Okay, Don, listen to me very closely. I can't tell you what the NYPD is going to do once they hear what happened, but you have an opportunity, however small, to start to make things right. You need to get these kids back to the camp and then you need to tell Trooper Jones everything you just told me. Do you understand? He'll call my captain back in New York and they'll get a detail on your house and make sure your family is safe, but you've got to tell him everything okay?" Kate knew it wasn't protocol to let an accomplice walk free, but given the circumstances, her number one priority had to be to find Paige. And she didn't believe that Don was actually any kind of threat. He was just a father who was trying to protect his family.

"Okay. I will. And Officer Beckett, for whatever it's worth, I'm so sorry. I hope you can find her."

"Me too."

Don left to get all the kids ready to go and Kate turned to find Castle standing behind her. She wasn't sure how much he had heard, but at this point she figured it didn't even matter, he just needed to get the kids safely back to camp. "Castle, please don't argue with me." She said, a tone of resignation creeping into her voice. She willed away her exhaustion and stared at him.

"Okay. I won't."

She looked at him in surprise, figuring he would be much more stubborn about it, but as her eyes trailed down, she saw Alexis with her arms locked around his waist. Clearly Kate wouldn't have to convince him because Alexis already had.

"Alexis, honey, can you go and stand with your friends and I'll be there in a minute?" She looked up at him hesitantly but he gave her a reassuring pat on the head and gently guided her away. Looking back at Kate now, he dropped all pretenses. "Kate, listen to me. You're tired and you're hurt. If you come with us, no one will fault you for that."

Ah, one last effort to keep her safe. Sorry Castle, it's not going to work.

"Castle, I'm going to get her back. It's my job." She said simply.

He looked back at her, the resignation showing clearly on his face now. He was giving in. No more arguments. "Okay. But Kate? Don't do anything stupid, okay? You've basically asked me out twice this week and I fully intend to take you up on those requests." He smiled as best he could, though it never quite reached his eyes.

"Hey, it's going to be fine Castle. I do this for a living remember? I can handle myself. Tell Jones I'll mark my trail so he can find me."

Before he could second guess himself, and before she could stop him, he leaned in and slowly, deeply kissed her on the lips. Then, just as quickly, he put his arms around her back and squeezed as tightly as he dared given her injuries. As she curled her good arm around his back, he whispered into her ear, "Kate, please be safe. Please come back to me. I don't want to lose you. Not when I just found you."

She melted at his words and let him hold her tight to his chest, even though it caused searing pain to shoot down her arm.

Finally she started to pull away from him, "Castle..."

"Go," he said quickly before he could take it back, and she turned and walked off in the direction of the lake.