She sat in their usual booth at the diner they would regularly meet at, holding the ceramic mug tighter than necessary. Her hands had been shaking uncontrollably since she left the loft. She could feel the crosshairs on her - every stranger in the street seemed dangerous, walking toward her too fast, standing too close, their stare lingering just a little too long. She knew, logically, that she had been imagining all these things... that the lingering PTSD from her shooting had been awakened by the current situation.

The bell positioned above the door signalled that someone had entered the facility. She smiled as the familiar face approached her.

"Hey, Dad." She rose, wrapping her arms around her father, softening into the comforting embrace. He could feel the subtle shaking of her body.

"What's wrong, Katie?" Jim asked as he sunk into the booth across from her.

"What? I can't just want to see you?" she tried to ease his suspicion.

"In my experience..." he didn't need to finish his sentence. They were still repairing their relationship... outside of their scheduled dinners and bi-weekly phone calls, she only ever reached out when she had something on her mind - usually to do with her mother's case... or Castle.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"You have no reason to be sorry, Katie. I'm just glad you gave me a second chance. God knows I didn't deserve it." He reached out and placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. She couldn't help but smile at the small gesture.

"You put in the work." He had more than earned her forgiveness - she just wished she was able to let go of the hurt more easily.

She had often wondered what their relationship would be like today if she had. She was proud of the relationship they had... proud of how they had managed to overcome the obstacles thrown their way. She was proud of her father's determination to fight his demons, and how he had managed to keep them at bay all these years. But she couldn't deny that she was pained by the fact that they used to be so much closer than they are now.

"Coffee, sir?" The waitress placed a mug in front of Jim, holding up the pot awaiting his answer.

"Yes, thank you." He smiled and she poured the liquid into the cup. He removed his hand from his daughter's, holding the mug to warm himself. Silence fell over them, until the waitress walked away. "So... are you gonna tell me what this is about?"

She considered how best to approach the conversation - deciding to just dive in.

"I found him, Dad." She didn't need to specify who she was talking about.

Jim had known this day would come, eventually. He had made a vow to himself to be ready... he wouldn't let her down, not again. "You've arrested him?"

She sighed, staring intently at the coffee in her mug.

"There's a problem." Jim assumed.

"I don't have the proof I need." She began picking at the nail of her thumb, nervously.

Jim frowned, confused. "What do you mean? How did you find the guy if you don't have the evidence?"

"It's... it's a long story." She wasn't about to waste time recounting everything - the details didn't matter... and she wasn't about to put a target on her fathers back by giving him the information. "There's a lot that I can't tell you. Please, just trust me when I say it's for the best."

"Was Castle helping you?" He thought back to his conversation with the writer, not long before Kate's shooting.

"He was..." she continued, cautiously. Her father's interest in Castle's involvement confused her.

Jim wasn't sure if her answer comforted him or angered him. After their conversation that day, he was sure they were on the same page... that Castle was going to try to encourage her to stop chasing this. And when he last saw him, that day in the hospital, he could see the devastation... But at least she had someone looking out for her.

"Not anymore?" Perhaps Castle had tried... perhaps he was wrong in assuming this man was enough to stop her.

"That's... also, a long story."

He recognised the flicker of hurt in her eyes... the loss. "Katie..." he sighed.

"I don't need your judgement." She snapped.

"He cares for you." He pushed back.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I didn't realise you guys were such good buddies."

"You don't need to be a mind reader to see he cares, Katie. You care about him too... Why do you fight it?" He placed his hand over hers, again.

"I'm not here to talk about Castle..." she pulled her hand from under the warmth of his and began fiddling with the buttoned cuff of her jacket. Jim nodded, accepting that she needed to continue on with what she had actually come here to do. "I... I went too far."

"Talk to me... whatever it is, I'm sure we can fix it."

"No... not this time." She watched as her father processed.

"I don't like it when you get all... stoic... like this. Just tell me what happened." he didn't bother to hide the concern in his voice.

"There was... a man. He was keeping me safe... he had evidence against this guy. He reached out to Castle and told him that if he could keep me from investigating, then they wouldn't come after me." She sunk as far back into the booth as she could, trying to create as much distance between them as possible. He simply nodded slowly, processing her words.

"There was a man?" He all but begged for clarification.

"He's dead." She said, bluntly. Ripping the band aid, she supposed. "And that file was destroyed."

Still processing the information, the seconds felt like minutes and a minute felt like an hour. The silence was unnerving... but she would allow him however long he needed.

He could tell she was avoiding saying the words - but it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what she was trying to say. The file was gone, her protector - whoever he was - was dead... and now, they would come after her. A fate he could not... would not accept. But she seemingly had.

"Well... I'm just not too sure how we can fix this, Katie."

"I'm fixing it." She said, gathering all the confidence she could manage. "I just... I wanted to see you first."

Jim forced a chuckle. "That's not very reassuring, I'm sorry."

She leant forward and gathered his hands in hers, making sure she had his full attention.

"I can end this. I can find the evidence I need - sooner or later he's going to slip up. But if I'm going to be there when that happens, I need to somehow convince him that this file still exists."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Her silence spoke volumes, and the heaviness in his stomach grew tenfold. "Katie... please tell me you have a plan."

"I have a plan. I just... approaching this guy is risky."

"Then don't do it." The worry in his voice was thick. She wondered if, maybe, it was a mistake meeting with her dad... telling him what was going down. He had accepted her job was dangerous and he was learning to live with that - had it really been necessary to bring all this worry on him... just in case she didn't succeed. After all, ignorance is bliss. She could have just gone ahead with all of this...

But she had come this far, she wouldn't turn back now.

"I'm a sitting duck. If I don't do anything, it's just a matter of time before it all catches up to me. They could have someone waiting outside this diner for me, right now, for all I know." Again, she was avoiding the words, but he knew what she was saying. "I didn't want to unload all this on you. I just..."

"Wanted to say goodbye?" His eyes refused to meet hers.

"I just wanted to tell you I love you. And I'm sorry that I couldn't let go."

Finally he looked at her, his eyes shining through restrained tears. He was mad... so mad. She had walked away from all this... why did she have to go back? If she had just left it alone, she wouldn't be in this situation right now.

But then, it's not as if she had anyone who had shown her how to use healthy coping mechanisms. Her mother had a tendency to throw herself into work, too. And he... well, he'd drown his problems with a nightly bottle of bourbon. So he would bite his tongue. All he could do now was pray for a miracle... pray that she had the sense to think this plan through... pray that she had backup...

Pray that this wouldn't be the last time he ever saw her...

"Can I see what evidence you do have?" his shaky voice broke through the silence.

"What?" she had underestimated her father's need to know... he had never been interested in the smaller details of the case - after so long, all he had wanted to do was move on. He wanted that for both of them.

"The evidence... you obviously have something if you were able to figure out who was behind this. I just feel like I deserve to know... especially if he is going to take the last good thing I have."

She felt the guilt stab through her chest - she knew that was his intention... but that didn't ease the feeling at all.

"It's... it's not safe. I mean, I thought you would understand that." she tried to change his mind. "They're cleaning house... getting rid of anyone who knows anything..."

"I'm just visiting my daughter... I mean, unless they've bugged your apartment, how will they know that I know anything? Either I'm already on their list, or they'll have no idea - it's not like I'm going to go after them." she tried to think of an excuse, any excuse, but her brain had stopped working altogether at this point. "Let's go."

He finished the last mouthful of coffee from his mug, and began to slide out of the booth.

"Um... it's not at my apartment." she started. Jim stood at the end of the table, hand out to help her up. She grabbed it and he pulled her out of the booth.

"I figured you wouldn't feel safe leaving it at the precinct." he justified his assumption.

"Uh, no. It's not there, either... Castle has it. And... well, I'm not exactly a welcomed guest right now..."

"Well great. His place isn't far from here..." he turned and walked away - not giving her a chance to argue anymore. But she wasn't going to argue... she was too confused as to how... and why... her father knew where Castle's loft was.

She tossed some cash on the table - enough to cover their coffee, plus a tip - and followed her father out into the street. He had somehow managed to get a park on the street right outside.

"Lift?" he offered. The alternative would be walking, so she accepted, and off they went.