He's lost. No, Richard Castle isn't lost physically or lost in his thoughts, he's lost emotionally. He's searching for solid ground. It used to be Beckett and facing the gritty crimes by her side that let him feel everything would work out for the best. That's gone and he's adrift. Writing was another life line, but Black Pawn just stomped all over that outlet, so he's trying to outrun the darkness some other way. Without conscious thought he finds the next best antidote.

He's shown up unannounced and gained access to Beckett's apartment - Jim Beckett's apartment. There are more lights on this time. Castle distracts himself from the newest letter laying on the table with his name on it by appraising Jim's living environment. It's small, but for a single man in New York City it's upscale. It's obviously not the place he shared with Johanna because it lacks a woman's influence. If he had to guess, the Staunton chess set was a gift from his wife. It looks like teak and has exquisite carvings - probably done by hand. All the other personal touches have to be things Kate gifted to him over the years to soften the craftsman lines and minimalist furnishings. There is a couch pillow with a fish embroidered on it, a very good original painting of light filtering through an oak tree, a candle with river rock pressed into the sides, and a lap blanket with a leaf pattern. The photo album he saw during his last visit is obviously in the process of being transformed. The pictures have been duplicated, enlarged, cropped, and a few have been adhered to those special papers Alexis likes to buy.

Oh, Kate's father is studying him. Jim looks so much better than last time but he's just as quiet. Rick can't decide if it is a comfortable solitude between men or he is waiting for Castle to take the lead. "I hope Alexis hasn't over stepped any boundaries with her desire to preserve your family photos."

"I appreciate and value her efforts. Her obvious enthusiasm is the only thing keeping me from accusing you of putting her up to it. She seems to be one of many regular visitors keeping my evenings full." His eyes narrow and bore straight into his Castle's brain.

Evidently Detective Beckett learned interrogation skills at home. Castle faces her father, "Guilty as charged. If it's too much, tell me, but you're not going to be abandoned while you're going through these hard times." Castle takes a breath, warns the lawyer what comes next, "Beckett has a team she works with: Ryan and Esposito. Ryan is engaged."

Jim nods. He knows about her coworkers from cases she shares and he met them at the hospital.

"I laid a guilt trip on Ryan to come spend time with you tomorrow night. The real reason I want him to come is for you to do a pre-nup for him. I think his future wife is a nice girl, but no one can guarantee a lifetime of happiness. I'll pay whatever it takes to cover the fees, but I'm conniving a way for him to get the legal document in place."

The attorney mentally processes the request, recent events, and what he knows about the man standing in his kitchen. "I'm going to assume Mr. Ryan doesn't know of any reason to have a pre nuptial agreement, but someday he might inherit something and you want his future to be safeguarded."

"I plead the fifth." He watches her father mentally exploring all the implications. Damn. He didn't count on Jim being so perceptive. He was so despondent last time that Castle didn't take time to craft a story to disguise his motives.

"Rick, I'll be happy to help out anyone you send my way. There will be no legal fees for helping one of my daughter's friends. That being said, I suddenly want to have a serious conversation with you, but I'm as much afraid of scaring you away as I am of overwhelming you. It looks like you are having a harder time of things than I am."

"Today was a rough day." He and Jim have seen each other at their worst, so it is kind of nice not to fake it.

"Want to talk about it?"

Where does he start? What good would talking about it do? The author shrugs, "What do you do when you feel everything slipping away?"

"Play chess."

That's as good of a metaphor as any other. You have to play the game of life, work towards a goal, deal with loss, and be ready to change course... . Oh, Jim is serious! He watches the man stride from the kitchen to settle in the armchair and move the chess pieces back to starting positions. He waves Rick to the couch so they can be comfortable while they strategize.

"What makes you think I play?'

"Katie said you went to boarding school. Every boarding school I ever heard about is pretentious enough to teach their students chess."

Rick laughs. It eases some tension and lets him shrug off the weight of the world even if just for a moment. Jim is right. Every one of those places were pretentious in some way, and they all emphasized chess and other "cultural refinements." He settles in. It's been a while since he played; his last game was against one of his mother's suitors. He beat the man handily, so this is as good of a distraction as anything else. "I didn't know you played."

"I grew up playing. It changed my life."

Jim chuckles because Rick is begging for the story without saying a word. Now he understands how Katie feels. "I grew up in a small rural town that was poor, but we had a principal who insisted everyone learn the game. The students loved that we got to play games instead of learning 'school stuff.' We started with checkers, learned chess, studied matches and learned to hold information in our minds. There was a university town nearby that held competitions so we got rankings before we were even out of elementary school. It was an early indication I had some brains and that landed me scholarships. Otherwise I'd still be a kid doing menial labor in a Midwest town going no where."

"You're going to kick my ass, aren't you?"

Jim quickly demurs, "I'll never kick a man when he's down. This is just a friendly game to pass an evening. White or black?"

"I don't want anything to do with black pawns."

"Isn't Black Pawn the name of your publisher?"

He's too tired to hide how deeply the day's events hurt, but he doesn't need a pity party. He reveals the barest facts, "The publisher has taken a position I never thought possible. They want me to do things to Nikki Heat that aren't right."

Jim sits up taller, straightens his spine, "How can I help? I don't know who your representative is, but I'm a partner in a rather large firm with some very good legal minds. Say the word and I can bring a lot of resources to bear on the problem."

"I don't want you to worry about it. I trust my guy - Theo Milmar. It'll work out somehow."

"Rick, I get the impression you don't worry about the little stuff, so if this is bothering you it's a big deal. I don't want to push in, but I'd like your permission to check in with Mr. Milmar and offer whatever support he might want. You've shown a lot of compassion for me and my family, and I'm here to do the same for you."

Castle is stunned at the outpouring concern and solidarity. No one except Alexis has jumped to his defense in a very long. Well, a certain detective finally appreciated his unique approach to solving cases... never mind. He blinks a few times, then tries for nonchalance. "Of course you are welcome to contact him, but I don't think what's going on is really a legal matter. I've been a bad boy by ignoring the new boss so they want to slap my hands and teach me a lesson."

He motions for Rick to make the opening move. "I hope Mr. Milmar is starting from a stronger position than that. You are an established best selling author so if a new executive is making a power play, it doesn't bode well for your future business relationship."

The writer makes the standard opening, moving his white pawn out two squares. "I am nothing but a well-placed pawn in so many ways."

They trade basic moves. Jim accesses everything about the man across the board. Obviously there are life and death struggles in play, he knows that as well as anyone. He also knows a kindred spirit when he sees one and Richard Castle is a person who needs to share some of his burden or risk going under. He decides on the indirect approach. The attorney moves another pawn. "I used a canary site right before I left work. There was a lawyer who had a more than passing interest in how Katie was doing and where she was in her recovery. I played it the way you suggested - I'm an overwhelmed father - and we tried the city and the cabin, but she didn't need her 'old man' trying to baby her. Since then she tried inpatient care but couldn't stand all those people telling her what to do, so the latest is she moved to a handicap friendly house with private nursing."

"Tell me about this guy." Rick moves a knight, giving his pieces more options.

"He made inquiries to our firm last year and we would have been foolish to let him get away. He brought several high profile clients with him, but the interesting thing is the timing. He reached out to the firm right after Katie shot Joanna's killer." Jim's voice is steady; he watches Rick knowing the whole sordid affair.

"I'm so very sorry, Jim." He may be a best selling author, but he doesn't have the words to convey the depths of sorrow at his role in the fiasco. He slides out another white pawn in a weak attempt to move forward.

"I'm not sorry. If that man hadn't been killed, Katie would be visiting him in prison every week trying to get the hit man to talk. You both survived it - if not unscathed, at least unharmed. I'm thankful, Rick, for everything." He needs to keep him talking no matter what topic he brings up.

Castle blinks hard a few more times. He fingers the bishop, "What would you do to the man behind Johanna's murder? If you could do anything to him, what would it be?"

"I've already forgiven him not because he deserves it but because I no longer wanted the wound he inflicted to have power over me. If I got to be judge and jury I'd simply treat him like the animal he is and banish him to the jungle where he belongs." Jim's knight jumps onto a square occupied by Rick's pawn.

"After the game, I'll need the details on your coworker." This could be huge. If this is an attorney who works on behalf of Bracken's interests, Castle can have a hacker steal all kinds of information. It's another lead that only he can exploit. He can continue to make amends. He scans the board and plots a few ways to attack, then makes a move.

"I've already prepared an affidavit for you to pass along the proper channel." Jim pushes another pawn into the fray.

Castle wasn't expecting a good evening but he's having one. Neither man has to pretend everything is all right and the game is difficult enough to keep his mind from racing. Rick is especially enjoying playing against Jim: his moves are decisive and quick, and he keeps up conversation instead of frowning at the board. He's been fine with all the nosy questions so Castle risks another, "Are the bottles of alcohol still being delivered?" He's finally able to move his rook.

"Yes, with a bit of variation. They are coming to the office now, delivered usually around lunchtime, are larger bottles and of much better quality. I assume whomever is behind this is hoping to plant seeds of doubt among the staff about my sobriety instead of actually tempting me to consume them. It's backfiring, though, because I've been donating them to our 'celebration fund' and a few people have commented on what a tower of strength I am!" Jim shakes his head knowing the truth, but illusions have their uses. He nudges the black king one space over.

Rick brings out the most powerful piece on the board - the queen - and takes the fight to his opponent in an unexpected bid to throw off Jim's game. "Joanna was quite a catch from what I know about her. How did a rural boy from the Midwest finally win her over?" He boxes in the black bishop and sees the surprise when Jim realizes he'll lose it in a few turns.

"I couldn't catch Jo. She was prepared to wait as long as necessary to sort out the men in her orbit. Johanna watched and evaluated. My career was taking off so I had to decide how ambitious I wanted to be. Would I focus on work to the exclusion of my personal life? Was I going to let the success go to my head and become an arrogant ass? Most of all, was I going to stay true to my convictions no matter what?"

"I admire that Johanna held fast to her convictions and lived life on her own terms. Even with my imagination it's hard to contemplate how much the world lost when she was killed."

Jim can't ignore it any longer, "It's hard for me to imagine how much more the world would lose if they killed Katie. I am so very grateful for everything you are doing to keep my daughter safe. I'd like to pay you back and take on all the costs." Jim makes a neutral move and waits to see if the heartsick man owns up to anything.

"No. This is my responsibility."

"Rick, give me a reason that takes priority over my responsibility as her father? I won't accept any nonsense about her being your muse and this goes above and beyond what a partner does. You've done the hard part of arranging all the details and getting her to a safe place and I am so very appreciative. The least I can do is cover the expenses."

"Because this is all my fault... ." Rick winces, looks down to hide his distress. He doesn't deserve Jim's compassion when he's exploiting their tragedy for inspiration and reopened the rabbit hole of Johanna's murder. He's the one who set the dominos falling.

"This is not your fault! You are not responsible for Kate's shooting or her actions but you get full credit for getting through to her. No one could have talked her down back then when she was all riled up - I've seen her stubborn, willful, maddening temper too many times in the past. Even though you didn't change her mind, she still listened to you."

Rick barely shakes his head, suddenly mute, and reluctantly claims the bishop.

"Katie called me at dinnertime - on the anonymous phone you gave me. We had a really good talk and I think she is finally on the right path to heal both physically and emotionally. I'm going to share some of my observations with you. Katie has faced up to things. She is willingly in hiding. She is sitting on the sidelines not investigating. She made a vow to prioritize people instead of this vendetta. She's trying her best to do what she's been told and lay low. Why the change? What made her take on the gut wrenching issues during the intense counseling sessions at the rehab center? The catalyst for this new improved version - it's you."

That snaps the heartsick fool's head up.

Jim pushes further - for both their sakes, "I'll betray her confidence a little more to share that she really wants to talk to you but you haven't called her and she doesn't have your burner number. I am guessing the letters she's written to you aren't having the effect she hoped. I've got another one for you so I think she's really committed to finding the right words to reach you and fix whatever mess she made."

Bamboozled? Flummoxed? Nothing can describe the jumble of emotions. He's fighting an evil empire but mostly what he's been doing is licking his wounds because the queen of the castle supposedly shunned him. But she's been reaching out to him and he's been ignoring her. That's a new twist in their relationship. Nothing is as it seems if the damsel in distress and her father are acting like he's some knight in shining armor, but he sold his sword and is weapon is a pen.

They're both content to leave that discussion as the final part of the game play out. They trade pieces and both file away tidbits of information to ponder later.

It takes longer to conclude the match than either thought. Jim prevails but praises white's strategy, "You're an unconventional player. I enjoyed the game and winning was a real challenge. It also gives me an insight into just how sneaky you can be." The older man beams at Rick.

He meets Jim's eyes. Oh, wow. It feels surprisingly important to have gained his respect. It refills a little bit of what he lost when he walked away from the NYPD. Something solidified between the men and they relax a little more with each other. "I hope we can play again sometime."

"I'd like that, but even without the pretext of a match, my door is open to you. And no matter what happens Rick, you are always welcome here."