A/N to set up Part III:

We're finally to the part I've been building towards! Please assume they have warrants for everything, I didn't always mention it to maintain the pace of the story.

Just a reminder - this went AU after Linchpin so Always did not happen and Maddox did not confront Smith.

Let the intrigue begin . . .

Part III

Chapter 35

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Martha flitted around the apartment directing the young men whom she had charmed into helping her paint her new (and Kate's former) apartment that evening. Her phone buzzed and she answered it flippantly, expecting it to be Alexis needing her Gram to talk her down from finals week jitters.

Without bothering to look she answered, "Hello, Darling."

"Hello, Martha."

The masculine voice evoked memories of a lifetime ago and her heart started pounding a tattoo. She stiffened and placed a hand over her chest to try to stem the beating.

"Daniel?"

She caught the attention of Detectives Esposito and Ryan, along with his nephew, Patrick O'Riley, while the less observant volunteers kept painting. She feigned a casual smile and motioned that it was nothing as she slipped into the hallway.

She paced the floor as the man continued.

"I hear congratulations are in order."

The voice was as smooth and commanding as it had been over forty years ago.

She responded uncertainly, "Well, I hardly would have known where to send an invitation."

There was a pause. "It's so good to hear your voice, Martha."

After a significant pause she replied, "It's been a long time . . . How long have you known about him?"

His disappearance had been a natural consequence of their fly-by-night relationship, but she had hoped that he hadn't willingly neglected their son all this time. She laced the silence that followed with a bit of righteous indignation on Richard's behalf.

He carefully responded, "Martha, there were circumstances . . ."

She translated that to mean that he had been married. "Still, you knew about him and did nothing for four decades?"

There was a pause as he let the accusation roll over him.

"It was for the best. Honestly, I expected a knock on my door or a phone call at some point. He has to have resources and I figured in his line of work his curiosity would have led him to me years ago. I never saw any indication that he even tried."

Martha asked, "You've kept track of him?"

"I have kept an eye on him, yes." She couldn't formulate a response. "It's time, Martha. I need to see my son."

"Daniel, I'm sorry but you are nothing more than a ghost to Richard, a shadow in a little boy's dream. I wish you well, but I think as far as Richard is concerned, you'll find you are too late."

"Even so, please give him this phone number. I am giving you a chance to talk to him first. If I don't hear from him by Monday I'll have no choice but to call him directly."

There was silence. Martha mulled over what he had said. "Is that some sort of threat?"

He answered carefully, "I am certainly not threatening him, but there is a concern. I'm sorry, Martha, but I will only discuss it with Richard."

She couldn't stomach being manipulated, especially by a man who had abandoned her son, her compassionate, sensitive boy who spent his childhood dreaming of ways to rationalize this rejection. It was too much.

"You have not earned the right to dictate terms. Richard has not sought you so please respect his privacy. If you want to tell me something to pass along, I will do it, but I think you overestimate my power to influence Richard to contact you."

His tone softened as he pled, "Martha, for what it's worth, I am sorry. I would leave you both alone but it is for Detective Beckett's safety that I'm calling, or is it Detective Castle now?"

She ignored the question, feeling that explaining Kate's surname was completely irrelevant. "Please, Daniel, they've been through enough, and they are on their honeymoon. I'm hardly going to contact them and demand that they return home because of a vague threat passed along by a questionable source."

"They should be safe until they return Saturday night."

Martha felt a chill. "How do you know their travel plans?"

"I'm sorry, I just can't give you answers right now. I will give you a chance to talk to Richard, but this information cannot wait. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I'm sure you'd rather inconvenience them with the details of my existence than risk a tragedy so soon after a wedding."

She placed a hand on her heart as she fired questions relentlessly. "What kind of threat is this? A stalking fan? A prisoner released that Kate had put away? Please, Daniel, tell me what is going on!"

"You need to trust me. I know I haven't earned it, but please let me do this one thing for him."

There was an earnestness in his plea that reminded Martha of all this man had missed. She replied with a sigh, "I will see what I can do."

"I am sorry . . . for so much more than this intrusion."

She weighed her words carefully before replying, "Daniel, I've had Richard in my life all these years. I have no regrets."

"I always will."

She hit 'end call,' then pressed the phone against her forehead. That voice had uncoiled insecurities that she had long since buried. When she ran through the content of the call in her mind she knew that however sincere his regrets, he had forced her hand. She had to go along with his request in case the danger was real. She took her time calming herself as not to arouse suspicion then she reentered the apartment as her charming self, giving the performance of her life.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

The day after The Castles returned from their honeymoon there was a knock at the door. Kate, with Richard's arm caught around her waist, welcomed his mother with a beaming smile.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Castle, aren't you are looking well. How was the honeymoon? Wait, I really don't want to know."

Rick kissed Kate's hair, "It was fantastic, but too short. We should have tried to schmooze Gates for more time."

"Castle, you're lucky she didn't kick you to the curb considering this." She flashed her ring finger. "If you were on the force you'd be off the team for good. I don't know how you managed to talk her into allowing you to keep 'shadowing' me. " She used air quotes for emphasis.

"I have my ways." He winked at his mom who knew that Gate's mother was a fan and Rick had been quietly working that angle for months. "In fact, I think I'm her favorite. I suspect she just treats me badly in public as to not make the rest of the class jealous."

Kate replied dryly, "Yeah, Castle, I'm sure somewhere she has a chart with all our names and your column has the most gold stars."

"Oh, Kate, I'm sure you're a close second, well, third, it would be hard not to give Ryan a gold star every time he batted those baby blues, but you definitely have Esposito beat."

"Wow, you know how to make a girl feel special."

Realizing that Martha was still on the threshold, Kate stepped back and motioned her into the loft. Even though for months she had stayed at Kate's old apartment more often than not, the younger woman felt awkward treating Martha as a visitor in her former home. It occurred to her that this was the first time Martha had knocked and not just used a key and announced her presence. "Come in. How were things while we were away?"

"Well, I am finally settled in my new place, which is lovely, Kate. I've taken the liberty of painting a few rooms. Aside from that, Alexis has decided to work full-time at the morgue over summer break, which I'm sure has nothing to do with a certain respectable Irishman who recently transferred to the 12th.

Kate could feel her husband bristle so she placed a calming hand on his arm. He answered suspiciously, "Funny, when she stopped by earlier she praised the educational merits of working in the morgue, not the merits of Ryan's nephew."

"Really, Richard, can you blame her?"

"What? Why wouldn't she tell me?"

Kate chimed in, "Maybe because you nearly made Ryan Jr. wet his pants when he asked your permission to date Alexis. Let me repeat, Castle, he asked your permission to date her. The kid makes Ryan look like a criminal, so I'm not sure who would be good enough if you don't approve of him."

"I gave my approval, but that doesn't change the fact that he's twenty-two! Alexis is just a teenager."

"Oh, you're one to speak about robbing the cradle! Should I remind you of how old I was when you were twenty-two?" She pinched his side.

"Okay, when she's thirty and he's thirty-three I'll be totally fine with it. Until then he gets the stink eye!"

"You realize that he's probably the only young man in New York who would respectfully cower in the face of your stink eye. That alone should earn your good opinion." In reality, Rick more than approved but O'Riley always seemed to carry a fearful respect for him. No matter how approachable Rick was, Patrick just hadn't been able to relax in his presence, and the others played this up as Castle intimidating him intentionally.

Rick turned to his mother expecting her to throw in her two cents. Instead he recognizing the polite smile she now wore as a façade. Their eyes met and she gave a slight shake of her head. They had been roommates for so long that they had mastered the art of subtle communication, especially when it came to keeping things from his daughter. However, the dynamics had changed. Kate was his wife and he was not interested in keeping anything from her.

"Well, for now the stink eye remains. Mother, I think we need some wine."

Kate motioned the older woman farther inside, "Can you stay for dinner, Martha?"

She hesitated, eyeing the two who were ignorant of what was to come. "Perhaps I had better. I'll get the wine, I think we'll need it."

As Kate set the table, she sensed the change in mood and became hyper-vigilant of nonverbal cues. They had been away for two weeks and anything could have happened in that time. She sat, her hand on Rick's knee as her mind started going through the possibilities, anything from her dad having health issues to a death at the 12th. She felt his hand cover hers in support.

Martha noticed a slight tremor in Kate's hand as she raised her fork. Her son tried to conceal his concern as he stole glances at his wife. Their hidden hands were no doubt clasped in solidarity. Martha chastised herself for worrying the young woman who had once been given life altering news. She reached over and touched Kate's arm. "I'm sorry, Kiddo, I forget how perceptive you are. Everyone is fine. Of course you would be thinking the worst." She turned to her son then continued, "I do have something I need to tell you, Richard, and I wish the timing was better, but it seems it can't wait."

"Okay . . . "

"Son, you have been so patient and content over the years to let me keep my secrets, but it's time."

She kept her hands busy to distract herself. Meanwhile Kate shifted her hand to cover her husband's.

He answered with a strained gentleness, "I don't need to know, Mother, really, I've made peace with that years ago."

"No, you do need to know." She sighed. "I have never been a model parent, and I don't know if I should have told you the truth from the beginning, or let you dream up fantasies for as long as you did. Regardless . . . here we are." She took a long sip of wine. "I got a call from him while you were away." Her son pushed food around his plate, which she recognized as an avoidance behavior from childhood. "He wants you to call."

He cleared his throat. "That's really not necessary."

"Actually, Richard, it is."

He put his fork down and straightened. "Why? Is he dying and needs a kidney? Does he need money? Is he on death's door and want closure? I don't wish him any harm, but I certainly don't owe him anything."

He hadn't yelled, but Kate had never heard Rick talk to his mother so sharply. She didn't want their marriage to start with a family conflict, but there was nothing that she could say into the scene unfolding before her.

"It has to do with Kate."

Silence.

Martha shifted her gaze to the younger woman who was floored by the unexpected twist.

Castle shook his head. "What does he have to do with Kate?" Under the table he turned his palm up to twine their fingers together.

"He claims that she's in danger." Two incredulous stares met her, and this time she addressed Kate, who looked nearly ashen. "He didn't say more than that. Whether this is a credible threat, or what basis he has for thinking this . . . I just don't know, Darling. I tried, but Daniel said he'd only talk to Richard." She turned to her son. "If you don't call him by tomorrow, he'll contact you. You deserve to hear what little I know of him from me first, and that is why I came tonight. I am sorry the timing is so poor."

Kate seemed to calm herself, but only just.

Castle spoke with a forced steadiness, "So, his name is Daniel?"

"Yes, Daniel Sutton. We had a bit of a tryst when I was in a production of Much Ado About Nothing." She smiled wistfully at the memory. "He came to three performances before getting up the nerve to talk to me, or that was his story anyway. He was in LA on business. We made that evening count, but I woke up alone, no explanation, no contact information, and all I was left with was Richard. I hadn't so much as heard Daniel's voice since then until the other day."

"How did he find out about me?"

"I would say the internet, you do favor him and he could have linked you to me easily enough and done the math, but it sounded as though he had been aware of you for longer than that."

He broke contact with Kate's hand to clasp his mother's arm.

"Mother, what kind of business was he in?"

Martha was taken aback by the urgency in his address.

"He wasn't specific. He said he was a government employee in . . . logistics or something equally as bland. All I knew for sure was that he said he traveled a lot with his job. He was charming and handsome, and the best date of my life, beyond that I honestly don't know. I even tried to look him up on My Face, not that I would have friended him, but none of the Daniel Suttons seemed to fit his demographic so that was a dead-end. I tried to Google him as well, but it came back with too many responses, all across the board. I guess I should leave the investigating to the professionals and their volunteer consultants."

Kate was impressed that her new mother-in-law had done so much legwork, yet she had to stop herself from pressing her for even more information. Castle was running point and she was there to have his back so she kept her hand on his thigh in support and kept quiet.

"Could he have been CIA?"

"Really, Richard, you're over forty years old. As much as you want to have him be an astronaut, explorer or spy, I'm afraid he's just a typical man with a conventional job."

"Mother, this is important. Could he have been CIA? There is a reason I'm asking."

Martha was silent for a few minutes. "Well, as unlikely as it seems, I suppose he could have been. He wasn't specific about much in the short time I knew him. He did say on the phone that he'd had no choice but to leave. Hypothetically speaking, he could have left on an assignment." She looked apologetically at her son. "I truly am sorry I don't have more answers for you."

Rick got up and started pacing. He slid his hand through his hair several times, and then walked into the study to gather his thoughts alone.

Kate looked at Martha, touched her arm and asked, "Are you alright?" Rick being that tense with her had to be heart wrenching.

"No, but that's hardly the issue." Remembering their conversation over a year ago she gave a weak smile and added, "At least you finally can fill in the blanks from my one-woman show."

"I'd rather it not be like this."

Martha placed her other hand atop Kate's. "Well, we are all called into account at some point and this had been a long time coming. I just wish I knew what was going on."

"I can't imagine that there's anything to worry about, but we'll get to the bottom of it. Rick will be okay, just give him some time to digest this."

She nodded and stood then gathered her things and headed towards the door. "Well, I'll leave him in your capable hands. Nothing like a mother-in-law to put a damper on your new life together. Oh, I detest being such a cliché!"

Kate put a hand solidly on her shoulder, "Martha, you're anything but conventional and we're both lucky to have you."

The older woman couldn't help the overflow of emotions and as she pulled Kate into a hug and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for dinner." As she turned to leave she pleaded, "Please . . . just be careful." Kate gave her final assurances then closed the door and turned her thoughts from Martha to Rick.

Kate could handle interrogations, she could calm a sobbing witness, but she had very little experience how to approach Rick Castle in this introspective of a mood.

He was leaning over his desk when Kate found him. She stood behind him and wrapped her arms around his abs. He stilled, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over hers.

"What are you going to do?"

He turned to embrace his wife properly then replied, "I'm going to call Daniel Sutton and ask why he thinks you're in danger. If the threat is credible, then we'll handle it."

"And . . . "

"And, that's all I can think about right now . . . " He paused to kiss her slowly, and she was thankful for the chance to communicate all she was feeling since her jumbled thoughts were too scattered for her to settle on the right words. She massaged her fingers through his hair and his hands worked up and down her back. When they broke apart he continued, "well, that and taking both of our minds off of long-lost fathers and death threats. I'm open for suggestions . . . "

It was as though they both knew they were heading into battle and needed to feel that they were going into it united before inviting an unknown adversary into their midst. Kate slid her hand down Rick's arm and pulled him towards their bedroom. He stopped her, and suavely said, "Allow me," as he swept her off her feet literally and carried her over the threshold. "I've so dreamed of doing that!"

She just shook her head, but instead of teasing him about being such a girl, she kissed his cheek and was content to let him carry her. "I was never much for fairy tales and here I have my very own Prince Charming."

"Well, here's to happily ever after . . . "

With that they postponed a much harsher reality for a bit longer.