CH3

He was right, nothing was going to stop her from finding out how to get home. Castle needed her, wherever he was. She needed him too. Sure, she was thrilled to have her mother alive, her dad sober, and her friends alive and well, but she realized long ago that life without Castle was a life she didn't want to live.

She was still searching for anything that she could think of that would lead her to Castle. She searched things ranging from the characters in his books to landmarks. She searched what she could of police officers, thinking maybe he was working at the precinct. She searched his Hamptons address (which she found out didn't exist). Anything she could think of, she was trying. Kate was losing hope, but at least Will was here helping. He didn't know Castle, but he was at least spitting ideas at her like, "Try where he went to school."

She was getting nowhere. It seemed to be that Castle really didn't exist in this timeline. Just as she was about to give up looking, her phone was ringing at her desk. "Beck…", she stopped herself. "This is Kate."

"Kate!"

Her eyes widened. "Castle?!"

"Kate, you have to keep fighting."

"Castle, where are you?"

"I can't do this without you."

"You don't. Castle, tell me where you are. I'll find you." She didn't hear anything from the other line. "Castle?!" She fiddled with the phone line to see if she could get the connection back. "Rick?!" Nothing. The line was dead.

She hung the phone up and quickly looked at the caller ID. "Out of area". She looked at Will. "Do you think you could find out what number that is for me?"

"I don't know, Kate." He hated telling her that, but he didn't want to lie to her either.

"He's here somewhere. He knows who I am. I have to keep looking."

"Kate, wouldn't you two be together if he knew you?"

"Not if he's been missing."

"If that were the case he'd be showing up in missing persons, which he's not, or there would be some kind of record of him somewhere."

"Different country? That would explain the out-of-area."

"Kate, you're grasping at straws here."

"I can't give up on him, Will."

"I'm not asking you, but I am reminding you to think like a cop. Think logically."

"If I was thinking logically, I wouldn't be believing I'm in an alternative universe. I need to think like him."

"Like Castle?" She nodded. "Alright, how do we think?"

"Like anything is possible."

"So, we should find a psychic?"

She thought about it. Yeah, Castle would probably start there. "Maybe. It sounds ridiculous, but…"

"Anything is possible."

"Do you know any? I remember Castle and I worked a case once with a psychic and…" She stopped. "What?"

"Nothing, just…I'll never tell Josh this, but the way your face just lit up…I've never seen that look before. Not even when we were dating."

"We dated?"

"Briefly."

"Why didn't it work out between us?"

"Because you always put your career first. Not a bad thing, Kate. Just not what I wanted."

"And Josh is ok with that?"

"Well, he's hardly around himself so it would be like the pot calling the teapot black." Yeah, that sounded about right. "But, let's backtrack. Let's go find you a psychic."

She found Penny Marchand. At least she knew that she wasn't a fraud. After all, she did tell her about Castle. Sure, she referred to him using his middle name, but she'd take what she could get. She was desperate and she had to think like Castle, so she ignored all of the "this is ridiculous" thoughts that were making themselves known. Will and Kate entered her store and rang the bell.

Penny came out from behind a beaded curtain and said to Kate, "You don't belong here."

"Excuse me?"

"You, you're not supposed to be here. He is looking for you."

Well, this might actually work. "I need to find my husband. I need to get back to him."

She motioned for them to follow her and to sit when they reached the back room. "I don't know how you got here, but you can't give in to being here."

"Give in?"

"You need to keep searching for a way home."

"I was hoping you'd help me with that."

"I can't help you, but just keep looking for him. You'll find him. Don't stop looking."

"I don't know where else to look. He called me…"

"Keep listening for his voice."

"And what do I do when I hear it?"

"Listen to him. He'll help you find him."

Kate and Will exited Penny's store with more questions than answers. "I don't get it, Will. I'm supposed to keep looking, but the only way to find him is by listening to him."

"Well, what would Castle do?"

"He'd grab me a coffee while we figure this out."

"Well then, let's go get a coffee."

AN: I am so sorry this chapter is later than planned. My husband and I both got sick (and still are) and I haven't had the right mindset to proofread. I apologize if there are any errors that I did not catch. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always, thank you for reading.