Chapter 29
Castle drew in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. Turning his head he focused on the woman beside him. Immediately his lips stretched into a wide grin as he watched Kate sleeping. She was sprawled on her stomach with her head turned towards, her face was partially concealed by a curtain of hair. Slowly he reached over and brushed her hair away from her face. He did it as gently as he could because he did not want to wake her. Thankfully Kate did not stir.
He was not surprised that she was fast asleep. Especially after what they had done after getting back to her apartment. The thought of what they had been doing all hours of the morning made the smile on his face deepen. He could have lain there just watching her sleeping. He enjoyed watching her at the precinct as she did paperwork but he loved watching her as she slept.
The low growl in his stomach reminded Castle that his body was in need of replenishment. No doubt Kate would be famished too. There was only one thing for it. The least he could do was make breakfast for them and bring it to bed, he thought to himself.
As slowly and carefully as he could, Castle slowly lifted up the blanket and got out of bed. He gently draped the blanket over Kate and then turned around commencing the search for his boxers and t-shirt that had been thrown on the floor. Finding the garments he quickly put them on and made his way out of Kate's bedroom.
He had been enough times at Kate's apartment to know his way around her kitchen. It took him only a couple of minutes to gather ingredients and implements to start breakfast. When ever he stayed over night he usually made pancakes for her. In addition to the pancakes he also decided to make scrambled eggs and some bacon.
Before he started on with the cooking he moved over to the new coffee machine and switched it on. He had bought it for Kate a couple of weeks ago when her old coffee machine had upped and died. It was one present that he had given Kate which she did not complain about. Castle had not forgotten the morning her coffee machine had died. Kate had stomped into the bullpen and had all but bitten the heads off Ryan and Esposito in response to their 'good mornings'. On seeing that exchange, he had flown out of his chair straight to the break room practically shoving aside the detective at the espresso machine and quickly whipped up an extra strong cappuccino which he brought to her desk. The day was saved, just. When he got the chance he ordered her a new coffee machine.
A short while later Castle placed the breakfast plates on the tray beside the two mugs of coffee. He picked up the tray and slowly returned to Kate's bedroom. He found Kate was awake, no doubt she had been awoken by the aroma of his cooking. She had sat up in bed. She had managed to find a t-shirt to put on. She greeted Castle's return with a warm smile which he could not help but return. He set the breakfast tray on her night stand.
"Breakfast in bed," Kate mused, glancing at the breakfast tray. "I could get very used to that."
"I'm sure you could." Castle grinned. He leaned down and kissed her. "Good morning."
"Good morning." Kate replied with a smile.
Straightening up Castle reached over to the tray and picked up a coffee mug and passed it over to Kate. He got a grateful nod of the head.
"I was thinking we could spend the entire day in bed." Castle suggested as he reached for his own coffee.
Kate took a sip of her cappuccino and then looked up at Castle.
"Have you forgotten?"
"Forgotten what?" Castle said with a frown.
"You invited my parents over to your place for dinner this evening?" Kate said arching an eyebrow at him.
A small sign of alarm spread across Castle's face as he realised that he had forgotten all about the dinner.
"Obviously, you did." Kate pointed out.
"It's understandable, my mind was otherwise occupied all day and night yesterday." Castle said defensively.
"Uh-huh."
Castle took a sip of his coffee and walked around the bed to what had become his side of the bed.
"Well, we can at least spend entire morning in bed." He suggested, hopefully.
"What about the shopping, you said you had to do some shopping for the dinner?"
"We can do that after lunch." Castle suggested.
"I'm looking forward to hearing some more lurid tales from your childhood, Castle."
Castle frowned down at her grinning face. On more than a few occasions when Kate had dinner at his place and stayed over his mother relished telling tales about him when he was a kid. The most embarrassing stories seemed to be dredged from his dim dark past much to his chagrin and embarrassment. Kate and Alexis enjoyed hearing the tales. If that was not bad enough Alexis would provide one or two anecdotes as well to gales of laughter.
He could only imagine what other stories his mother would come up with now that she was going to have a slightly larger audience. He shuddered at the thought. Sometimes it seemed that she had an endless supply. He would be the first to admit he had been no angel when he was young but he did not think he had gotten into so much mischief when he was a kid. At least he did not think so.
Castle was about to put his mug down on the night stand when the phone started ringing. He reached over, picked it up and answered it without looking at the Caller ID.
"Castle..." He said in a too cheerful tone of voice as she looked at Kate. All of a sudden a fearful expression appeared on his face. "Ah...uh...Captain Montgomery..."
Kate was suddenly alarmed. She stared up at Castle wide-eyed.
"Beckett's phone? I...uh...this is my phone...Oh you called Beckett...oh...um...yeah...hang on."
Kate shot Castle one of her lethal glares as she snatched the phone from his outstretched hand. While their immediate families knew about them as did Lanie, they had chosen not to publicise the change in their relationship to those at the precinct just yet.
"Captain, sir..." Beckett said. "Yes sir..."
Castle watched Kate carefully as she spoke to the Captain. Her face had taken on a deep red hue and she ducked her head.
"We'll be right there, sir." Kate said and then disconnected the call. She set her phone beside the breakfast tray. "We've got a case."
"I gathered as much." Castle replied.
Kate threw aside the blanket and quickly got out of bed. Castle's eyes widened with surprise on seeing Kate was wearing only a t-shirt. She started heading for the bathroom. Castle set his coffee mug down on the night stand and started following Kate. The detective paused, turned around and stopped Castle with a firm hand on his chest.
"We'll shower in turns." She informed him.
"It will be quicker if we share." Castle said in a hopeful tone.
"I don't think so, stud."
"Hey, it wasn't me who left their phone on my side of the bed."
"And it wasn't me who answered my phone when the Captain called."
Kate glared at Castle again before she disappeared into the bathroom and closed the door. Castle did not hear the door being locked which was a good thing but he was not about to push his luck trying to get in. He saw that she was a little angry at him. He could live with that. It was not as if he did it on purpose. He turned from the bathroom door and decided to make himself useful by making the bed and clearing the breakfast tray.
XXX
The drive to the crime scene was a very frosty experience, rather than sit there getting the cold shoulder Castle had pulled out his phone and called his Mother to inform her that dinner had to be cancelled because he and Kate had caught a case. His mother was understanding about it. Then the next call he made was to Johanna to break the news. Johanna Beckett too was understanding. Castle had promised that he would make it up to her.
"That's taken care of." Castle chirped as he put away his phone.
Kate cast a glance in his direction but did not say anything. She turned her attention back to the road.
"I'm only partly responsible for this situation, Kate." Castle said.
"Yeah, I know." Kate sighed. "It's just I didn't want the captain to know about us in this way. There are Department regs about partners being romantically involved."
"What could he do?" Castle asked unable to hide his concern.
"They could force you to leave or shadow someone else."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
He had not considered that. Then again he had never been one for regulations.
"Well that explains why you're grumpy." He said in a low voice.
"I'm not grumpy."
Kate pulled the car into the curb and switched off the engine then got out of the car. Castle quickly followed.
"Yes, you're grumpy." Castle insisted. "I told you we should have stopped by that coffee shop."
They crossed the street making their way to the building where the crime scene was. Already present were a few marked police cruisers as well as number of unmarked cars.
"You're grumpy." Castle stated.
Reaching the side walk in front of the apartment building Kate stopped and turned on Castle.
"Oh, you want to see grumpy?" She said. "How about the cover art for your new novel."
"Nikki Heat cover art?" Castle replied, looking a little confused. "That's only available to..."
All of a sudden Castle's face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree as he realised something. At the same moment Kate realised what she had just confessed. A horrified look appeared on her face. She turned on her heels quickly marched off.
"Oh my God. You subscribe to my website!" Castle exclaimed excitedly. He set off after Kate to catch up to her. "Wait a minute, are you CastleFreak1212? CastleLover45?"
Kate entered the lobby of the building.
"You do realise that most people would be creeped out by crazy anonymous fans." Kate said, casting a glance in Castle's direction.
"Like you, you mean?"
Kate glared at him but continued walking to where a small group of uniforms were standing by the foot of the stairs. She started climbing up the stairs with Castle on her heels.
"So what do you think of your alter ego, Nikki?" Castle said. "Pretty sweet, huh?" Castle was grinning.
Kate stopped climbing the stairs and glared at him. She took a menacing step towards him.
"Sweet?" She hissed. "She's naked!"
"What's wrong with that? I've seen you naked."
"I don't want the rest of the world..."
"She's not naked, though." Castle interjected.
Kate arched an eyebrow in Castle's direction.
"She's holding a gun strategically." He said carefully.
Kate stared at him for a moment and then rolled her eyes. She took another step closer to him.
"Castle, I don't want the whole world to know about us." She said in a low voice.
"Yeah, well we're doing a pretty good job with that."
Kate let out a sigh as she stepped back and resumed climbing up the stairs.
"I'm still going to find out who you are on my website." He called out to her.
"In your dreams, Castle." Kate replied.
"In my dreams you're..."
Kate reached the top of the stairs and looked down at him waving a warning finger at him.
"Finish that sentence, Castle and that is all you're going to have to keep you going on cold winter nights."
"Boy, you can be really mean when you don't have your morning coffee, you know that?"
Kate was the first to reach the apartment where a uniform was standing guard. She gave the man a nod of greeting before she entered the apartment. Castle was right behind her having rushed up the remainder of the stairs and down the hallway.
Kate and Castle found the apartment filled with uniforms and Tech people, it was bustling like any active crime scene they had been to before. Captain Montgomery was standing a short distance away talking to a couple of people. On seeing Kate and Castle he broke off from the group and came over.
"Sir? What's going on?" Kate inquired.
"I could ask you two the same thing." Captain Montgomery replied with a smirk.
Kate opened her mouth to say something but the captain held up his hand forestalling her. The smirk vanished from Montgomery's face.
"That's a discussion for another time, Detective." He said. "Two year old girl, Angela Candela, reported missing by her parents about eight o'clock this morning."
Kate nodded her head as she took in the information. She was grateful to the Captain for getting down to business.
"Where'd they find the body?" She asked.
"They haven't found her yet." Captain Montgomery replied. "She was abducted. Father was in the other room painting."
"Kidnapped from her home?" Castle said, shocked.
A frown settled on Kate's face as she looked at the activity taking place in the apartment.
"If this isn't a murder, what am I doing here?" She asked.
"The Feds specifically requested you to be on the task force."
"The Feds?" It was Castle's turn to be confused.
Kate glanced at him. "The Feds have jurisdiction over child abduction cases." She informed him.
Castle nodded his head in understanding and looked over to the Captain.
"Then what am I doing here?" He asked.
"Because I like pissing off the Feds." Captain Montgomery said with a grin. "And you think outside the box. That's something the Feebs rarely do."
Castle nodded his head feeling rather pleased with what the Captain had said. He looked at Kate and saw the hard look that had settled over her face.
"Sir, who's the Special Agent in charge of this?" Kate asked.
"Beckett, it doesn't..."
"Sir, who?" Kate demanded.
"Sorenson."
Castle saw Kate close her eyes momentarily before she shook her head. He was suddenly very curious.
"Who's Sorenson?" He asked.
"I thought he was in..." Kate said slowly.
"In Boston?" Captain Montgomery said, finishing the question for her. Kate nodded her head. "Not anymore, he's here."
"Who's Sorenson?" Castle said, getting a little perturbed that he was being ignored by Kate and the Captain.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Montgomery asked fixing a look at Kate.
Castle watched as Kate ducked her head a moment as if she was taking a deep breath. Slowly she lifted her head and looked directly at her Captain. She shook her head.
"No problem, sir." She informed him.
"For what it's worth, that missing little girl doesn't care about your history, nor do her terrified parents." Captain Montgomery said in a low voice. "They just want their baby back alive."
Kate nodded her head in understanding. The Captain's phone started ringing, he excuse himself and walked away to answer the call. Castle stared at Kate, there were a number of questions he wanted to ask her but the look on her face told him that he would not be getting any answers right now.
Kate moved towards the living room and Castle followed her. He saw a tall fair haired man dressed in a black suit who was seated on a couch opposite what were obviously the distraught parents. He excused himself and rose from the couch and approached. Castle cast a glance in Kate's direction and found her looking nervous, she was biting on her bottom lip and obvious giveaway. The man smiled at Kate.
This must be Agent Sorenson Castle thought to himself. Looking from the agent to Kate he came to the conclusion that the two of them had a history. A close history if he was observing correctly. His curiosity was very piqued.
"Hello Kate." Sorenson said, with a smile.
"Hello, Will." Kate replied. "How long have you been back?"
"A few months."
Kate nodded her head slowly. "Something wrong with Boston?"
"Fresh lobster gets old fast." Sorenson said with a grin. "You look good."
"Thanks, I feel good." Kate smiled. She glanced at Castle and her smile deepened. "Agent Sorenson, this is Richard Castle."
Sorenson shifted his gaze from Kate and looked at Castle with a thin smile on his face.
"The famous novelist." he said crisply, almost dismissively.
"Writer of wrongs." Castle quipped.
The thin smile faded from Sorenson's face, the quip failing to amuse him. There were not too many FBI agents he had come across who had much of a sense of humour. Sorenson turned to look at Kate again.
"So, Captain Montgomery filled me in on your little arrangement. And I have no problem with it, as long as it doesn't interfere with the investigation." He informed her.
Sorenson then directed his gaze to Castle and shot him a stern look that basically said step out of line and you'll be kicked to the curb.
XXXX
Castle had not been able to sleep and that was why in the pre dawn hours he was sitting on the couch in his office looking through photographs of the Candela's apartment. Photos that CSU had taken and a few more that he took himself with his phone.
He had been tossing and turning for hours until he had finally given up. He had not be able to sleep partly because of the case and partly because Kate was not beside him. He had not realised until now how difficult he found it to get to sleep when she was not there.
The case been bothering him. The first suspect they had looked at turned out to be nothing more than a disgruntled employee who had been fired by Theresa Candela and had made no secret of his hatred for Theresa. Castle had to watch the interrogation of the suspect from the observation room because Sorenson had asserted his authority and banned him from sitting in on the interrogation. Castle had thought it rather petty but let it go. As Castle had watched through the window he quickly realised that the suspect was not the kidnapper. He said as much when Kate and Sorenson had emerged from the interrogation room. That observation of his only created another butting of heads with Sorenson. It ended with Kate asking him to go home which Castle did.
A talk with his mother had Castle returning back to the Candela's apartment with the possibility that the kidnappers might be the birth parents. Little Angela had been adopted. Castle saw the impressed look on Kate's face when he told them of his theory. Sorenson begrudgingly accepted it. The birth mother was brought in and questioned but it turned out that she knew nothing. During the interrogation it was discovered that someone had forged her signature to get information about the daughter she had given up for adoption.
So the birth father was arrested. At the car detailing place while Kate was speaking to the birth father, Castle and Sorenson searched the birth dad's car and during that search, he and Sorenson butted heads again. Sorenson made no secret that he had requested Kate's presence on the task force because he wanted to get back together with her. Castle so much wanted to tell Sorenson that he was too late just to see the smug confident smile wiped from his face but he didn't say anything. And it killed him not being able to tell him that Kate was with him.
The birth dad was brought into the station and interrogated. Once again from the observation room Castle could tell that he had not kidnapped little Angela. If he had done so, the guy would not have been still working at the car detailing place. Castle was sure the birth dad was not the kidnapper. In the end the birth dad alibied out and he was a dead end.
Castle was also still feeling partly responsible for the debacle that was the money drop. He knew it was not his fault that the kidnappers had set up the flash mob to throw the FBI and police off the scent. Certainly no one blamed him for what happened, not Kate and not even Sorenson. At least he had enough presence of mind to put the cell phone in the bag before he set it down by the shoe shine stand. All the same he blamed himself for not being observant enough, for not seeing who had actually taken the back pack that contained the ransom money when all that commotion had started up. He could not help but feel that he had let that little girl down.
Kate had sent him home after they had lost the signal from the phone. Losing the signal from the phone had been unexpected and had cast a despondent mood over everyone. He had wanted to stay to do what he could, lend his support. Find some secluded spot and wrap his arms around Kate and assure her that they would find Little Angela. He did not get the opportunity because Kate had told him that there was nothing he could right now and to go home to his family. Very reluctantly he agreed.
He had gone to bed before midnight but his over active mind was working overtime and would not let him sleep. One moment he was thinking about the case, going over every little detail he could remember and the next he was fighting off his feelings of guilt over the money drop failure and then the moment after that he was wrestling with the pangs of jealously he felt towards Sorenson.
Kate had yet to tell about her and Sorenson, admittedly the opportunity had not arisen for that to happen because the priority was to find the little girl but wrestling with his jealousy that particular point was not important. From his own observations he could tell their relationship had been serious before Sorenson had left for Boston. And Sorenson had made no secret that he wanted to get back together with her. It bothered Castle that he had left the two of them back at the Candela's apartment.
When he was not wrestling with his jealousy he was thinking about the little girl, Angela. His fertile imagination conjured up images that he tried to banish as quickly as they appeared. He could not help but wonder if they had missed something.
So in the end rather than go mad he got out bed and walked into his office and booted up his laptop. He sat down on the couch and started to go through the photographs, hoping and praying that he might find something that would lead them to finding little Angela alive and well. He had been going through the photographs for the past hour.
There was a part of him that wanted to find a clue that might break the case just to show up Sorenson. It was a churlish thought but he did not like the FBI agent all that much and he could tell that the feeling was mutual. Castle was sure if Sorenson had his way he would have booted him from the case from the very first morning of the case. The only reason he was still helping on the case was because of Kate.
"Hey, Dad." Alexis said in a sleepy voice.
Castle was startled by the sound of his daughter's voice. He turned to look in the direction of the door to his office and saw Alexis standing in the doorway dressed in her pyjamas. He smiled.
"Hey, pumpkin."
Alexis moved away from the doorway and came over to the couch sitting down beside her father.
"What are you doing up so early?" Alexis asked him.
Castle turned his attention to the laptop screen and shrugged his shoulders.
"Can't sleep without Detective Beckett?"
Castle glanced at his daughter and saw the small knowing grin on her lips.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He said.
"Uh-huh." Alexis nodded her head.
"So, what are you doing up so early?" Castle asked, rapidly changing the subject. "Stressing about finals?"
"American Literature is today. I was having nightmares about Hester Pryne." Alexis confessed with a sigh.
Castle smiled a little as he nodded his head. "Ah. The irony for you, is not getting an 'A' would cause you shame." He chuckled.
"So, what are you doing?"
"Looking for a white rabbit." Castle informed her.
"Lewis Carroll or The Matrix?"
"I'm not sure yet." Castle murmured.
Castle scrolled the screen to another photograph and began to study it. Alexis leaned a little closer and studied the photograph on the screen.
"What did Detective Beckett tell you about taking photos at a crime scene?"
"I don't know, I wasn't listening." Castle replied.
Alexis smiled and shook her head at her father's response. She had not forgotten that first time when he had taken the file containing the crime scene photos from Detective Beckett's desk and Beckett having to arrest him and having to bail him out. It seemed that her father would never learn, she thought to herself.
"See all the stuffed animals on the bed?" Castle said.
Alexis looked at the photograph of the bed that was covered with numerous stuffed toy animals. She smiled.
"It looks just like mine used to." Alexis said in a low voice. "Remember when I had all those animals?"
Castle looked at his daughter and the smile on his face deepened.
"If by 'remember when' you mean Monkey-Bunkey, who has been washed so many times he looks like road kill now, then, yes." He said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Alexis said with a straight face.
"Then you won't mind, next time I see him, if I throw him out."
Alexis suddenly became very animated. She reached out to her father and grabbed him by the ear, giving it a twist.
"Don't you dare!" She warned.
"Ow, ow, ow, I wont, I wont." Castle shrieked.
"Okay." Alexis said. She released her hold on his ear.
Alexis turned her attention back to the laptop as Castle brought up another photograph. This one was a close up photograph Angela Candela holding a bunny rabbit.
"So, do you think the bunny has something to do with the case?"
"Maybe...I don't know." Castle said.
Alexis leaned to her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then rose from the couch.
"I'll leave you to it, Dad." She said and left the office.
Castle stared at the photograph. He remember the other photograph he had seen, the framed photograph he had picked up when he had been in the little girl's room when the FBI Tech had removed the wire he had worn during the ransom money drop and he had been talking to Kate.
A frown began to form on his face. He brought up other photographs of the stuffed animals in the room. He could not find the white bunny rabbit. The one that Angela was clutching in the photographs taken of her. Where was the bunny rabbit? To make sure Castle went through the set of photographs and the result was the same. There was no sign of the bunny rabbit.
Castle closed the lid of his laptop and set it on the couch and he jumped to his feet. He dashed into his bedroom and quickly got dressed. The question that was going around in his head was, where was the bunny rabbit?
XXX
Castle jumped out of the cab before it came to a complete stop in front of the Candela's building. Even in the pre dawn darkness he could still pick out the unmarked police cars and several Fed mobiles that were parked on either side of the street. He did not bother to check to see if there was anyone sitting in the cars. He leaned towards the driver and practically threw the large denomination bill at the driver. Without waiting for the change Castle turned and raced into the building.
He managed to slow down to a more sedate pace as he approached the front door of the Candela's apartment. A uniform from the 12th Precinct was standing guard at the front door and he greeted Castle with a smile. The uniform nodded his head when Castle silently motioned if he could go in.
The lights in the Candela's apartment had been turned down but Castle could see Agent Sorenson was in the living room sitting on the couch leaning towards the coffee table where he was reading something. Over in the kitchen area a couple of FBI tech people were seated tapping away on their laptops, probably playing some video game to keep them awake, Castle thought uncharitably.
Castle found no sign of Kate. He wondered if she had gone home to her apartment. He turned and made his way to Angela Candela's bedroom. The door was open and he peered into the bedroom he found Beckett sitting on the rocking chair fast asleep. There was a small frown marring her sleeping face. Castle had no doubt she was worried about the missing little girl.
As much as he wanted to wake Kate and tell her what the had come up with he decided that he would let her sleep. Over the past couple of days she had not gotten much sleep. She had been pushing herself almost beyond the point of exhaustion. So determined was she that this time the missing child would be found and returned to her parents.
With one final glance at Kate, Castle turned his attention to the reason he was in the bed room. His eyes focused on Angela's bed and studied each stuffed animal but there was no white bunny rabbit. Quietly as he could he dropped to his knees and crawled into the room searching for the bunny rabbit.
"Castle?" Kate said sleepily.
Castle paused in his search under the bed and turned to look up at Kate.
"Ssh, go back to the sleep."
"What are you doing, Castle?" Kate asked, coming fully awake.
"When Alexis was little, she had a stuffed monkey that she could not live without." Castle informed her. "One time we went on vacation, she forgot to pack him. I bought another one, but she knew that it wasn't Monkey-Bunkey."
A confused expression appeared on Kate's face as she looked at Castle. "So?"
"So..." Castle rose to his feet and picked up the framed photograph of Angela that he had looked at that afternoon when he had been in the room. He showed the photo to Kate.
"There's two more pictures of Angela clutching the bunny out there." He added. "So where's the bunny?"
The confused look on Kate's face slowly evolved into a frown as she thought over what Castle had posed.
"You think whoever took Angela knew he well enough to take the bunny too?" She said after a moment. Castle nodded his head rapidly, pleased to see that even though half asleep her mind was still razor sharp. Kate responded with a shake of her head. "But we already checked the Candela's list. Couple of teenage babysitters, a cleaning lady...They were all cleared."
"Only, not all babysitters are teenagers." Castle replied, speaking from personal experience. "Sometimes, they're people close to us. Sometimes...they're family."
The frown on Kate's face disappeared as what Castle was saying registered.
"When did we lose the signal on the phone?" Castle pressed.
"Right after we told the Candela's we were tracking it." Kate announced.
Castle smiled at her and nodded his head. With a determined glint in her eyes Kate hauled herself out of the rocking chair and got to her feet. She took a step towards the door when she stopped turned around and moved up to Castle. Putting her hands on either side of his face she pulled him to her and gave him a big kiss on the mouth.
"Good work, Castle, thank you." She whispered, when she pulled back.
Before he had a chance to respond Kate was already walking out of the bed room. He quickly set off after her. Kate walked over to the living room. Sorenson had gotten to his feet. A frown appeared on his face when he spotted Castle.
"What's the Writer Monkey doing here?"
"Theresa's sister, Nina. You got an address?" Kate demanded, ignoring Sorenson's remark.
Sorenson replied that he did but wanted to know why Kate needed the name. Without hesitation Kate told him Castle's theory, deleting the little story about Alexis and Monkey-Bunkey. Sorenson immediately scoffed at the theory even casting a snide look in Castle's direction. Kate did not back down and fought hard until the FBI agent finally relented and then walked over to where the tech people were sitting.
Kate turned to look at Castle with a triumphant look on her face.
"Thank you again, Castle." She said.
"How about thanking me the same way you did a moment ago?" Castle asked with a hopeful look on his face.
"Perhaps later." Kate replied, shaking her head but a small smile remained on her lips.
"I'm going to hold you to it, Detective." Castle said, smiling. "And all the rest of you."
Kate rolled her eyes at the author before she moved and joined the FBI people in the kitchen. Castle strolled into the kitchen a moment later, trying hard not to smirk.
XXX
Castle had been silent as he sat in the back seat of Sorenson's car as they pulled up the front of the little park. There had been a number of things he had wanted to say just to merely relieve the tension that hung thickly in Sorenson's car. Wisely he refrained from voicing them. They would not have been appreciated. Yet the remarks were not for Sorenson or the FBI agent sitting beside Castle. They were for Kate who sitting in the front seat. Castle chose to remain silent.
Just as they were getting out of the car, Esposito called in to advise that had taken up station at the back gate of the little park where Nina Mendoza and Angela Candela had gone to. Sorenson ordered every one to move in and he led the way into the park with Kate right behind him and Castle a couple of feet behind her.
Castle spotted Nina Mendoza sitting on a park bench watching little Angela as she played among some playground equipment. Nina saw the FBI people and the cops approaching and rose to her feet. Her head turned to the back gate as if she was thinking that was a possible way of escape but that gate was blocked by Ryan and Esposito. Castle saw Kate stride directly towards the little girl.
While Sorenson and the boys arrested Nina and led her away, Kate's attention was focused solely on little Angela. The hard look on Kate's face vanished as she broke into a smile as she bent down to pick the little girl up. As a father himself no one was more relieved to find Angela Candela alive and well than Castle.
Something tugged at Castle's heart as he watched Kate talking to the little girl in a gentle voice and a bright smile. Little Angela responded with a shy smile which deepened when Kate collected the bunny rabbit from the bench and gave it to her before they headed back to the car.
Reaching the car the father in Castle asserted himself.
"Hey, Sorenson, have you got a booster seat?" Castle said.
There was a smug look on the agent's face that came from a successful finding of a kidnapped child, arresting a kidnapper and a case that was about to be closed. He looked at Castle.
"I didn't think you'd need it." Sorenson quipped.
Castle ignored the barb and motioned to little Angela resting in Kate's arms.
"I was thinking of Angela." Castle replied. "We don't want the Feds to be breaking any laws now, do we?"
In the end Kate got in the back seat of Sorenson's car with Angela in her arms and Castle sitting beside her and put the seat beat over both of them. The ride back to the Candela's apartment was filled with the sound of a child's laughter as Castle now in his element made the little girl laugh by making funny faces at her. The same kind of funny faces that used to make Alexis laugh when she was a little girl. A couple of times he caught sight of Kate smiling at him.
XXX
Castle finished the last of his phone calls and was feeling rather pleased with himself. The idea had come to him while he had been sitting in the bullpen while Sorenson and Kate were in the interrogation room questioning Theresa Candela. It had been a brilliant idea. A stroke of genius, he thought to himself. Sorenson still refused to have Castle sit in on the interrogation. A spiteful response from the FBI agent, Castle thought, considering it had been Castle who had given them the lead that eventually found Angela. Castle was able to show magnanimity in the face of the agent's spite. Angela was home and that is all he cared about.
He could not keep the smile from his face as he slowly made his way to the bullpen and to Kate. He spotted Sorenson sitting in the chair beside Kate's desk. His chair. That was enough to remove the smile from his face. He was all ready to walk over and subtly reclaim his chair. But looking at Kate and the FBI agent together something told him that they needed a moment of privacy. Castle ducked into the empty conference room and hovered in the doorway where neither Kate or Sorenson could see him. He was not above a little eavesdropping.
Castle could not help notice that Kate looked more than a little tired. That was not surprising this case had exhausted all of them.
"So, now that's over...now that I'm back..." Sorenson said slowly, hopefully. "I was...thinking, maybe we could give it another shot?"
Castle nodded his head he had been right Sorenson, he had wanted Kate on the task force so that he could get back together with her. He had been sparring with Sorenson almost from the moment they had laid eyes on each other. They had been like a pair of rams butting heads in a battle for supremacy. Castle hated how confident Sorenson was, thinking that he would get the girl again. Castle hated it even more that he could not wipe that smug look from his face simply by telling him that the girl had already moved on and was now with him. How dearly he wanted to tell him that. He did not though because Kate was not ready for the world to know about them just yet.
Castle stared at Kate holding his breath,watching and waiting for her response. Kate finished what she had been writing and slowly looked up at Sorenson.
"And when you leave again?" She said in a low voice.
"You come with me." Sorenson said in a confident tone.
Kate regarded Sorenson for a moment and then shook her head.
"Think about it." Sorenson urged as he rose to his feet.
"Nothing to think about, Will."
Sorenson paused and looked down at Kate. The confident smile that he had been wearing on his face slipped.
"It's the Writer Monkey, isn't it?"
Kate did not answer his question turning her attention back to the paperwork on her desk. That was answer enough for Sorenson. He nodded his head before he turned and walked out of the bullpen.
Castle let out the breath he had been holding and waited a moment before he emerged from the conference room and quickly settled himself in his chair. Kate glanced at him before returning to her work.
"Nice guy." Castle said cheerfully. "But I can see how it couldn't work."
Kate put down her pen and looked across to Castle.
"Really?"
"Sure." Castle nodded his head.
"Huh."
"Handsome, square jawed, by the book..."
"And that's a bad thing?" Kate questioned, amusement dancing in her eyes.
"Yeah, he's like the male you." Castle informed her. "Ying needs Yang, not another Ying."
Kate arched an eyebrow in Castle's direction.
"Ying-Yang is harmony." Castle continued motioning with his hands. "But Ying-Ying is...a name for a panda."
Kate nodded her head slowly, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Any more wisdom, Obi-Wan?" She asked.
"Nope." Castle replied. "That's it for today."
Kate nodded her head.
"What say we celebrate with dinner?" Castle suggested.
Kate rose to her feet and started gathering her things.
"I can't Castle."
"Oh, why not?"
"I was thinking of dropping by my Mom's place."
"Ah, family time."
"Yeah."
Castle also got to his feet and moved to pick up her coat from the back of her chair and hold it open for her to put her arms through the sleeves.
"Only, it's just that you're going to be all alone when you get there." Castle added as he helped her into her coat. Kate turned to look at him, shooting him a questioning look.
"You see, even as we speak your mom and dad are wending their way to the loft after having graciously accepted my invitation to dinner."
Kate stared at Castle with surprise.
"I rescheduled the postponed family dinner." Castle explained. "After this case I thought we all needed a gathering of family, I hope you don't mind."
Kate continued to stare at the man standing beside her. Suddenly her surprised expression transformed into a warm beaming smile. The urge to kiss him was almost overpowering but she
managed to restrained herself remembering that they were both standing in the middle of the bullpen. Instead she gave him a nod of the head.
Grabbing her purse from off her desk they started walking for the elevator.
"You wont have time to make dinner, Castle." Kate informed him, glancing at her watch.
"I've ordered take out." Castle informed her. "I've got Chinese and Thai food on its way, Italian from Paolo's, one or two other things. I've even ordered some Nigerian beef stew."
Kate shot Castle a look.
"You mean the cow's foot stew?"
"Yeah, I want to see if mother and daughter have the same reaction." Castle chuckled.
Kate rolled her eyes and shook her head. The smile on her face grew a little deeper.
The elevator arrived with a peal of the bell. The doors opened and they stepped in and turned to face the doors. The moment the doors closed Kate turned to Castle and jumped him, kissing him for all she was worth.
XXX
"I'm a very good cook." Castle insisted, trying not to look affronted.
Diner had finished a short while ago as evidenced by the empty plates and the near empty takeaway cartons around the table. However the conversation and laughter had not waned now that dinner had finished and no one wanted to get up from the table as they were comfortable where they were. The subject of Castle's culinary abilities was now the topic of conversation, thanks to his daughter Alexis.
"You have been responsible for a few disasters, dad." Alexis retorted.
"Like what, darling daughter of mine?" Castle challenged.
"Have you forgotten the great Thanksgiving Turkey disaster?"
A startled looked appeared on Castle's face. He watched as Alexis turned to look across the table to where a smiling Johanna and Jim Beckett were sitting.
"A couple of years back Dad, had forgotten to defrost a turkey the night before Thanksgiving." Alexis said. "So in a panic he came up with the brilliant idea that it would be faster to cook the turkey by deep frying it."
"Oh no!" Johanna laughed. Martha and Kate joined in the laughter.
"Oh, yes." Alexis smiled as she nodded her head. "Thankfully the only thing he managed to burn were his eyebrows."
Another peel of laughter swept across the dining table. Even Jim joined in the laughter.
"Thankfully they grew back." Castle said.
"And they're finally matching." Alexis added, smiling at her father.
Castle grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows individually. That brought on more laughter.
For most of the evening Castle had been the butt of the jokes and stories that his mother and daughter had wheeled out to entertain their guests. And he was more than happy to be the butt of the jokes. Kate had contributed a few silly things he had done while they had been working a case. Even he had gotten into the spirit of the evening by telling a few jokes about himself.
"So Johanna," Castle ventured once the laughter had died down. "How did you like the beef stew?"
"It was the best cow's foot stew I have tasted, Rick." Johanna volleyed back.
Castle had not expected that response from Kate's mother. He looked at Kate and narrowed his eyes.
"You told her?" He asked.
"I might have mentioned it." Kate shrugged.
"Jim and I have been to that Nigerian restaurant a couple of times." Johanna said. "We've tried the cow's foot stew."
"I see." Castle grumbled.
"So, this child kidnapping case..." Jim said changing the subject, casting a look at his daughter.
"Ah, yes." Castle interjected, nodding his head. "A sad tale of a loveless marriage where an unhappy wife wanted to punish her self centred spouse, and a little girl caught in the middle."
"We found little Angela." Kate said and then smiled as she glanced at Castle. "Thanks to Castle."
Kate smiled a little more when he gave an 'aw shucks' shrug of his shoulders. She gave him a squeeze of his hand. They had been holding hands under the table for a little while, not caring if anyone had noticed.
Kate was amused to see Castle needed little encouragement to tell the story of Angela Candela's kidnapping and she was happy to let him tell the story. He was the better storyteller anyway. She saw that it did not take him long to draw his audience into the story. Looking around the table she saw that her mother and father were listening avidly but so where Martha and Alexis. Kate was surprised at seeing that. She imagined that Martha and Alexis would have listened to his storytelling countless times and would have been used to it but here they were eager to hear about the case. The looks on the faces around the table were similar to the looks she saw on the faces of Ryan and Esposito and even Captain Montgomery when Castle wove a story for them in the precinct.
It did not escape Kate's notice that Castle in telling his story he did not mention Will by name. She found it curious and could not help but wonder why. She put away that thought as Castle came to the end of the story.
"Well, I am so glad you found the little girl." Martha declared.
"Yes, thank God you found her." Johanna agreed, nodding her head.
"And all because of a missing bunny rabbit?" Jim asked.
"The missing bunny rabbit clue." Kate said.
"I like to call it, the Monkey-Bunkey theory." Castle said proudly.
"Dad." Alexis warned her father.
"Don't worry pumpkin." Castle chuckled. "No Monkey-Bunkey stories tonight. I'm saving them up for another time."
Alexis tried not to look relieved. Castle looked across the table to Kate's father.
"Everyone on the investigation team were single and didn't have any kids, so it was something that they would easily miss." Castle explained. "Being the only parent on the team, I realised how important a bunny rabbit or..."
"Dad." Alexis warned again.
"...other stuffed animal is important to a little girl."
"That it is." Jim nodded his head, looking at his daughter a knowing smile on his face.
Castle glanced at Kate and saw her face starting to colour.
"Is this a family story for another time?" He asked.
"Most definitely." Kate replied in a low voice.
"I look forward to hearing it."
It was Alexis when she got to her feet and excused herself from the table that was catalyst for the ending of the dinner. Johanna and Jim exchanged a silent look and then announced that it was getting late and they had to be going. Kate and Martha saw Kate's parents to the door. Castle commenced to clear the table.
"Darlings, we must to do this again, and soon." Martha said happily.
"We definitely will, Martha." Johanna said. "I'll call you soon so we can catch up for a coffee."
"I look forward to it." Martha replied.
"Thank you for a wonderful evening." Jim added.
Kate hugged her parents goodbye and then closed the door and turned around to find Martha smiling at her.
"You have such delightful parents, dear."
"Thanks, Martha."
"Now I must take my leave." Martha announced. She stepped up to Kate and pulled her into a hug. "Goodnight, my dear."
"Night, Martha."
Kate watched as the actress swept up the stairs to her room. Kate turned and made her way to the dinning table. She started to gather up some empty plates.
"What are you doing?" Castle asked as he returned from the kitchen.
"I'm helping to clear up."
"No, no, no." Castle said.
He stepped up to Kate and started to remove the plates from Kate's hands, placing them back on the table.
"Castle."
"I'll clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher." Castle informed her. He put his hands on her arms and slowly turned her around pointing her in the direction of his office.
"Castle, I want to help."
"Kate, you're tired. I can take care of this chore."
Kate looked over her shoulder wanting to glare at him but found she did not have the energy to do it. Castle was right, she was tired. The look on his face told her that he was not going to brook any argument from her. She gave him a nod of her head and walked off.
XXX
Castle switched off the light as he emerged from the bathroom to find Kate already in bed. For a moment he thought she had fallen asleep. He would not have blamed her. It had been a very long day and he was feeling very tired. He could only imagine how tired Kate was. As his eyes adjusted to the the dimness of the bedroom he saw a pair of luminescent hazel eyes gazing steadily at him. A smile rose to his face as he quickly moved over to his side of the bed and got in.
Kate shifted closer to cuddle him, draping an arm across his chest while he draped an arm over her shoulders holding her close to him.
"Long day." Castle remarked.
"Yeah." Kate sighed. "Castle?"
"Mmm?"
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For tonight, for everything."
"You're welcome, Kate."
They lay there in silence for a few moments. Castle thought Kate had fallen asleep and he was certainly drousy.
"Six months." Kate said suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Six months, what?" Castle asked.
"Sorenson and I, we dated for six months."
"I wasn't asking."
Kate lifted her head from the crook of his arm and looked at Castle.
"You weren't asking very loudly."
"I know, I'm like a Jedi like that." Castle chuckled.
Kate smiled at him before she returned her head back in the crook of his arm. Castle was curious about the relationship but those questions could wait for another time.
"You were a natural with Angela today."
Kate nodded her head, acknowledging the compliment. A small smile tugged at her lips as she remembered how he made the little girl with his silly antics. The smile faded away.
"Have you ever thought of having more kids, Castle?" Kate asked in a low voice.
"Yeah. But it would have to be with the right woman."
"Oh, anyone in mind?"
"There's been one or two candidates in the past."
"Uh-huh."
"But right now there is one I really have my eye on."
"Is that a fact?"
"Yeah, this badass brunette with the most gorgeous eyes."
The smile returned to Kate's face on hearing that. She leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth.
"Night Castle."
"Until tomorrow, Kate." Castle replied as he kissed her softly on the forehead. "Sweet dreams."
XXXXX
There you go, another chapter. Let me know what you thought of this effort by dropping me a line. I'd love to hear from you.
Con
