Whew! Hope you all survived that and didn't feel like you were on a soap opera. Those shows always seem to use the 'holy crap I have a sibling' plotline… of course, what with all the sex going on in those things, it's not unlikely.

AND DID YOU SEE CASTLE TALK ABOUT "CASKETT" ON "MURDER, HE WROTE"!? I LOVE THIS SHOW MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF!

"What does this mean?" Beckett asked.

Alexis had gone to get something to eat from the cafeteria at the insistence of her father. Eddie still wasn't awake yet, but the three of them were still waiting outside of her room.

Castle sighed. "I don't… I don't know. It's crazy, but it's true."

Normally, he'd be cooking up theories, speculating about the voice on the phone, and why Eddie was sent to him, and all the rest but this was too close to home. This was surreal and alarmingly similar to something he himself would write. Well, maybe not the related part, but the CIA connection was definitely in the cards, Hell, he'd written an entire series about an undercover agent!

Beckett leaned against him. "Do you think she knows?"

"Eddie? I don't think so." Castle said.

Beckett remembered something. "Hey, remember when she first came into the precinct,"

"And she had on that disguise? Yeah. That was pretty good." Castle said.

"When she took off her contacts, and she still had the wig on… she looked like you." Beckett said. "She had those big blue eyes and the darker hair… and I thought that she looked like someone, but I didn't know who." She thought for a minute. "Viola actually looks a lot like you, too. You have the same eyes and nose. Her hair is a bit lighter, though."

Castle didn't quite sigh, but his shoulders slumped a little like the air had gone out of him. "I always wanted a sibling, and a father." He confessed. "I always wanted to give Alexis a sibling, too, but that didn't work out. Now… it turns out I had a sister, but it's too late to get to know her. She's gone. And my dad…" He snorted.

"But it's not too late with Eddie." Beckett swiveled a little in her seat. "Rick, I thought it was too late with you. When my dad was an alcoholic, there were times when I thought it was too late to repair his health or our relationship. But I was wrong about both things. My dad's alive and healthy and we're here, in this, together. She's hurting; Castle – I know because I was hurting. I hurt for years. I actually don't think I started to really heal until you came along, because until then I just locked it all away, I didn't face it. But you helped me to do that. Forget you dad, whoever he is. And we can mourn for Viola, but that's beyond our control. There's a girl in there who needs a family, who needs love and to know that it's not the end of the world. You can give her that; I know you can. It's not too late with her."

Castle kissed her, quick and firm. "I really don't know what I did to deserve you." He said, a little wondering.

Beckett smiled, a little embarrassed.

"Hey – uh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Alexis asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Nope!" Beckett said cheerfully. Her eyes widened. "Oh God please tell me that's coffee."

Alexis grinned. "Yup. Fresh batch! I got down just as they were finished brewing it. It's not the best, but it's got caffeine."

They sipped their drinks and ate the coffee cakes that Alexis had brought them. Beckett was just downing the last bits of her coffee when Dr. Benson returned.

"She's awake, and ready to receive visitors." The doctor said with a smile.

Eddie was propped up in the bed, an IV drip and other tubes, including one filled with blood, going into her body. There was a mechanism standing by the bed with several tubes snaking out and under her hospital gown, and when she shifted, one could see the tubes going into the right side of her chest.

"Hey there, freak." She said when she saw Alexis. Her voice was tired but her eyes were bright and alert. Her hair was damp with sweat and pulled back out of her face, which was pale and looking as tired as she sounded. "The docs told me you called 9-1-1, saved my life."

"Well I'd have no one to insult if you weren't around." Alexis said, perching on a chair next to Eddie. She was joking, but her voice was a little too serious. She'd been genuinely scared for the girl, and having Eddie alive and well was great, but seeing all the tubes and machines keeping her body breathing and her blood pumping was almost as frightening as watching her bleed out on the sidewalk.

"Is it true?" Eddie asked. She was looking right at Castle.

"Is what true?" He asked, even though he already suspected what she would say.

"The doc said that I was lucky my uncle shared my blood type, or… well, it was a close call. I lost a lot of blood." Eddie shrugged. "So you're my uncle?"

Castle let out a breath. "Apparently."

Eddie looked over at Alexis, who nodded her head ever so slightly. This had been the connection they were looking for. Alexis could see the thoughts flicking through Eddie's brain as she put the pieces in their proper places, an invisible chessboard in her head.

"I guess this means I could make a case for becoming your permanent guardian." Castle said slowly. "Or even adopting you, if you wanted."

Eddie started to say why the hell would I want that but shut it. It wouldn't be fair to take any residual anger out on Castle. He'd been nothing but kind to her, taking her in on the cryptic words of a stranger. Well, maybe not a stranger, if her just-thought-up theory was correct, but still. She had no right to snap at him.

"Would… would you like that?" She asked.

Castle thought for a moment. "You've been a great girl since I've met you. You're not crazy, or plotting to kill us in our sleep as far as I can tell. But I don't think that we should set anything in stone yet. Let's get you out of this hospital, and get you settled in a school and all, and then we'll talk."

Eddie nodded. It seemed fair.

"You could go to my old school." Alexis suggested.

Eddie's glare was quick and sharp. "No." She said firmly.

That was clearly the end of that.

"So how do you feel?" Beckett asked. When she'd been shot, she hadn't wanted to talk to anyone for days. She'd felt shut in her own little world, questioning all of her motives and life choices. She'd been a coward, and scared, but she'd eventually manned up and made the decision to turn away from her mother's murder and focus on herself.

Of course, she'd then delved right back in nine months later, like an alcoholic that feels they can have a drink after a year of being sober. That had not gone too well.

She wanted to make sure that Eddie was okay emotionally. Being shot, especially by a sniper – a hidden enemy, one that you can't see or even realize is there – made you feel helpless, hunted, like an animal instead of a human. It was degrading and frightening, and Beckett didn't want that for this girl.

Eddie shrugged. "I feel fine, I guess. I mean, it sucks like hell to be hooked up to this stuff, and I'm super tired, but other than that it's all good. I just wish…" She paused. "I'd kind of like to punch that frog-humping sonofabitch."

Alexis burst into laughter at the unusual, colorful curse. Beckett and Castle looked a little shocked that it was coming from this tiny, pale blonde teen, but Castle had to fight hard not to grin.

Eddie looked up at the adults. "It's gotta be the same one who hit my mom, right? He's after me."

"You'll be safe here." Beckett promised her. "And we will figure out who it is and why."

Alexis and Eddie exchanged a look. To tell or not to tell?

Given the recent turn of events, it didn't look like they had a choice.

Eddie took a deep breath. "We don't know the who yet, but I think I know the why. But I'll need my chess set."

:::::::::::::::::::::::

"Okay." Eddie had her chessboard, the pieces all in place, on the end of the bed. Castle, Beckett, and Alexis were all gathered around it, with Alexis moving the pieces as Eddie directed.

"So this is what I know." Eddie said, pointing out different chess pieces. "Alexis got me some stuff about Joanna Beckett's case, and the files my mom had have some stuff, too.

"Now, my dad was on the trail of something – the person behind all of this. He worked in politics, so he must have heard or saw something that made him curious. Those people killed him and made it look like an allergic reaction."

"Even though nobody saw him eating and no food was found in his mouth, esophagus or around his body." Alexis put in.

Eddie gave her a look for interrupting, but continued without comment. "Exactly. I don't know when or how, but my mom found out. Afraid for her life, she ran, leaving New York."

"Until two years ago, when she came back." Alexis said. "We think that the man on the phone told her about what was going on with Kate–"

"When we moved back she said she had something to do, but she didn't know how." Eddie interjected. "She must have wanted to help you."

"So now Maddox is after you," Beckett said to Eddie. "Because you have the file."

"He must've killed the guy I talked to." Castle said. "Montgomery's friend."

"We'll have to try and find out, see if there were any suspicious deaths that might be him." Beckett agreed.

"We now know why the guy I spoke to sent me to you – we're family." Eddie said.

Castle nodded absently but didn't say anything. Why was it that this man, this person that he had never known, was suddenly foisting a niece that he also had not known about onto him? What was this guy's endgame? And why hadn't he even spoken to Castle? According to Sophia he was the one who helped Castle get into the CIA as a consultant, and apparently he'd been trying to help or protect his other child Viola (some success that had been) and now, he was trying to get the whole family together. Yet through all of this, not once had he shown his face or dropped him a line. Nothing.

He wasn't quite sure what to feel about that. Anger? Disappointment? Sadness? Resentment? If Castle were to be entirely honest, he'd say that he was just plain confused. And a bit lost. He felt like he was back in school, watching all of his classmates bring their fathers for career day. He was the only one who'd brought his mother and while he loved her presentation and never regretted that, he did feel the separation. It wasn't like he had chosen to bring his mother instead of his father – it was that he didn't have a father to bring. And that had stung, just a little. He made his living out of creating mysteries, and now out of solving them as well, but the greatest mystery of his life had never shown any sign of being resolved until now. And, now that it just might be put to rest… he didn't even know where to start.

"I think that the chance to keep you girls out of this has passed." Beckett said carefully. "Castle, what do you think?"

Castle snapped out of his reverie. "I agree, but we don't want them taking any risks. Maddox just tried to kill a teenage girl, it's clear that he'll stop at nothing."

"We'll be careful!" Alexis said.

"I am not missing out on this." Eddie insisted.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other.

"So, we're all in on this?" Castle said slowly.

Beckett nodded. The girls grinned.

"This is going to be so much fun…" Eddie said, rubbing her hands together.

"Says the girl who got shot…" Alexis grumbled.

::::::::::::::::::::::

"Finally!" Eddie declared, stepping into the loft. She'd been discharged that afternoon and was given a clean bill of health. "I never want to eat a bite of hospital food again."

"It wasn't so bad." Alexis disagreed.

"You didn't have to eat it for three meals a day." Eddie pointed out. She flopped contentedly onto the couch. "It feels so good to be out!"

"Why don't you go change into some clean clothes?" Castle suggested. Beckett leaned against the wall, folding her arms and smiling as she watched him try and herd the girls around.

"I hate to be the spoilsport, Castle, but we do have to get going." She reminded him.

"Oh! Right." Castle grinned at her. "You two be good and don't burn the house down. We should be back by eleven."

Now that Eddie was out of the hospital, everyone was taking a break. Alexis had gotten the night off from all of her activities and civic duties and was going to have a movie night with Eddie, while Castle and Beckett had a night on the town.

"Have fun!" Alexis said.

Eddie yelled something from upstairs but it sounded like she was halfway through putting a shirt on and so it was too muffled to make out. Castle and Beckett headed out the door, his arm on the small of her back. It was their first real, well, date since they'd gotten back to New York City, and Beckett was a little worried. What if someone they knew saw them? What if they ended up on Page Six the next morning?

But then Castle kissed her just below her ear and murmured about how much he'd been waiting to do this, and Beckett couldn't help but lean into him as they made their way towards the elevator. Screw Page Six. She was going to have a fun night out with her man.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

Alexis danced around the kitchen as she prepared the sauce for the dinner, swinging her hips and singing along with gusto to Christina Aguilera's Candyman. Upstairs, Eddie was trying to brush the various snarls out of her long blond hair, which had not gotten washed or really cared for the entire time she was in the hospital.

Neither girl heard the front door open.

Alexis twirled the wooden spoon in her hand, opening the fridge and reaching inside. When she straightened up and closed the door, a hand covered her mouth. Alexis tried to scream, wiggling frantically, but she felt a slight prick in her lower back and she was gone.

"Hey, 'Lex?" Eddie called as she came down the stairs. "I was thinking…" She trailed off. The music was still playing but Alexis was nowhere to be found.

Eddie's instincts went onto high alert. She quickly went over to the kitchen, snagging two wicked sharp knives from the holder. She held them in her fists with the point down, ready to attack anyone who came at her, and went into a boxing stance. She slowly walked around the island, her eyes roaming over the apartment, trying to see if anyone was there. She saw nothing, but the alarm bells in her head did not cease.

She nearly tripped over something on the floor. She looked down and nearly fell out of shock. Alexis was lying peacefully on the floor, out cold. Eddie leaned down and felt for the girl's pulse. It was steady. But when she tried to gently shake the redhead awake, Alexis didn't stir.

Eddie stood up again, turning so that she had a foot planted on either side of the unconscious girl's body, straddling her and protecting her from any potential threat. She looked around the apartment again. She still saw nothing.

As she turned her head to the right to look towards the stairs, the person that had attacked Alexis came at her from the left. Eddie turned back but not in time to stop them from grabbing her wrist and twisting it. To her credit, Eddie did not drop the knife she was holding, but rather brought the other one up to stab at the man. It was a man, about five foot eleven, with short dark hair and in his mid thirties. He dodged Eddie's attack and twisted her arm completely behind her back. Eddie kicked back and up, nailing him in the stomach and giving her the chance to twist back around and try stabbing him again. This time she managed to cut his right arm, the one holding onto her. The man gave a surprised grunt of pain. He moved more quickly than Eddie had thought possible, grabbing her other wrist as she moved to stab him again, twisting and turning her so that now, both arms were pinned behind her back. She bucked, unable to kick without losing her balance, and tried to butt him with the back of her head. She didn't even realize that she'd been injected with something until the room tilted slightly and everything – colors, sounds, her sense of touch – became dull and muted. Blackness closed in on her and she collapsed on top of the still unmoving Alexis.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Home invasions were not generally his style. Sniping, using his gun to get in quick and then get out – that was his game. But lately he'd had to get more up-close and personal with his victims. Take Smith, for instance. He'd had to break every single one of the guy's fingers to get the information he needed. Tough old bastard.

Now, he didn't really need to get any information. His mission was simple: Kill. The blonde girl knew too much, and the redhead would serve as a warning for her meddling father and the detective.

Unfortunately for him, when he got into the loft he realized that someone had beaten him to it. The lights were all still on, and there was a kind of sauce currently burning on the stove. Two kitchen knives lay on the floor, one of them covered in blood.

Maddox viciously kicked over a kitchen barstool. Son of a bitch…

He searched the entire house to be certain, but his first assumptions had been correct. The girls were gone, and he'd missed them by no more than a few minutes.

Maddox left the same way he'd come in. His employer was not going to like this.

:::::::::::::::::::::::

"We're home!" Castle called, opening the front door. He froze.

Beckett came up behind him to see what he was staring at. When she saw the knocked over stool, the lights all on and the knives on the floor, she was seized with a great, primal fear. She pushed past Castle and ran into the kitchen. Her movement seemed to bring him to life.

"Alexis!" Castle called, dashing up the stairs. "Eddie! Alexis!"

Beckett noticed the remnants of something in a pot on the stove, now burnt beyond all recognition. But it was the red, sticky substance on one of the knives lying on the kitchen floor that made her throat seize up.

Castle ran back downstairs. "They're not here."

Beckett pointed to the knife, words beyond her.

"I'll call." Castle said, pulling out his phone and dialing the police.

There were two times in Beckett's life when she had felt this afraid and this helpless. The first time had been when she was nineteen, and her mother had died. The second time had been a little over a month ago, when she'd been clinging to the edge of a roof by her fingernails, crying out for her partner.

Now, she was nearly trembling with worry. She didn't even realize that she was crying until Castle hung up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tightly. Beckett gave a strangled half-sob, her throat so tight that each breath was choking her. She felt how stiff and taut Castle's body was, his own fear tangible in the air. They stood there, holding onto each other, until the doorbell rang and the police arrived.

They sat on the couch, Castle refusing to let go of Beckett's hand. She didn't mind – in fact, she settled in so that he could wrap his other hand around her waist, anchoring her. He was always her anchor, and even in his own terrible state of mind he never stopped keeping her grounded.

Beckett was in such a state of shock that she didn't even realize who the investigating officer was until she heard a familiar voice say,

"Kate?"

Beckett looked up and into the face of the man she once thought that she'd marry.

"Will?"

Will Sorenson looked slightly uncomfortable but overall concerned. While he hadn't always been the best boyfriend, he had always wanted what was best for Beckett – even if he didn't always know what that was – and if she was happy, then he was fine.

He smiled gently at her. "Hey. I'm, uh, sorry about this."

Beckett shook her head. "You just do your job." She said. Castle squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back. If Will noticed the movement, he didn't comment on it.

"So, let's get the facts straight. The missing girls are both female and teenagers, right?" Will asked.

"Yes." Castle answered. "Alexis is eighteen, and Eddie will be eighteen at the end of July."

Will nodded. "Can you give me a description?"

"Alexis has red hair, and Eddie has blond hair that's on the long side – you know what, I have a picture." Castle let go of Beckett's hand to pull out his iPhone. He scrolled through and showed Will a picture. It was of Eddie and Alexis, standing in the hospital lobby, grinning fit to burst. It had been taken just that morning.

"Great. I'll take that, if possible." Will said.

"Of course." Castle nodded.

"When was the last time you saw the girls?" Will asked.

"Earlier this evening, around five." Castle said. "We dropped them off from the hospital and went out on a date."

"Hospital? Are either of the girls injured?" Will inquired.

"Oh, God, Castle, Eddie's breathing." Beckett breathed, turning to him. "She can't exert herself too much, they said that she still needs to take it easy…"

"Was she in some kind of accident?" Will asked.

"She was shot, just a couple of weeks ago." Castle explained. "The bullet pierced her lung. The doctors said that she shouldn't do anything that would cause heavy breathing or other lung exertion."

"Do you have any enemies? Anyone who'd want to do you or the girls harm?" Will asked.

Castle and Beckett looked at each other. If it were Maddox, the girls would not be missing – they'd be dead. The thought made a shiver run down Beckett's spine.

"We don't know anyone who would kidnap the girls." Castle said.

Will nodded, closing his notebook. "I'll get everyone I know on this." He said, standing up. "I really am sorry. We'll do everything we can to find them, I promise."

Castle nodded distractedly, and Beckett gave Will a sad smile. "Thank you." She said.

He nodded and headed out with his team.

Once the pictures had been taken, everything documented, and the statements finished with, the apartment was empty once again. Without a word, Castle led Beckett back into the bedroom, where they promptly collapsed onto the bed. Beckett sobbed and sobbed, frightened beyond belief for the girls. She'd known that she'd cared about Alexis – she had always liked the girl, even from the beginning. Eddie had been an enigma at first but she had grown on Beckett, and even if she'd hated the girl her need to protect and give justice would have overrode any personal feelings. But this fear, this bone-deep, gut-trembling phobia that she couldn't control, had taken her completely by surprise. She felt for all the mothers she'd had to interview like she never had before. She remembered them and wondered how long they'd sat, staring out the window or at the phone, hoping for it to ring but dreading that it would.

Those were her girls, damn it. They had better be safe, wherever they were, or she swore to God that she would hunt down those responsible and kill them as painfully as possible. Judging by the fierce way Castle held her and how tightly clenched his jaw was, he was thinking the same thing.

They didn't say anything the entire night, just lying there. Castle finally broke down and cried at one point, and Beckett raised herself up and pressed her lips to his cheek, their tears mingling and covering both their faces. He finally fell asleep sometime in the early morning, and Beckett curled into him, letting him wrap himself around her in his sleep. She stared out into the darkness, helpless against the fear uncurling and winding through her chest.

For the first time in a long time, Beckett prayed.

::::::::::::::::::

"Alexis!"

The redhead mumbled something. Her head hurt, and her limbs felt unnaturally heavy. She wanted the voice to go away and leave her alone.

A finger poked at her ribs. "Alexis! I know you can hear me! Wake up!"

Alexis turned fitfully and cracked an eye open. Eddie's face swam into view. She looked about as bad as Alexis felt.

What the hell happened? Alexis thought, but when she tried to say it, the words came out more like "Wha th' hell hipnd?"

"Yeah, your speech is gonna be weird at first. This stuff makes you really numb and sleepy." Eddie said, shrugging.

Alexis slowly raised herself up onto her elbows, squinting and blinking at the light. She wondered if this was what a hangover felt like.

"Where are we?" She asked, her tongue managing to obey her brain and form the words relatively well.

"In some kind of bedroom. There aren't any windows – that light making your brain hurt is coming from the ceiling. I actually think we're in some kind of industrial building, although why they made it up like a bedroom…" Eddie trailed off. "You're not paying attention to a word I say, are you?" She asked.

Alexis glared groggily at her.

The door to the room opened, and a man stepped in, accompanied by two other men. One of them had a bandage on his upper right arm. Eddie saw it and grinned cockily, guessing where he'd gotten it. The first man to enter the room was clearly the one in charge. He was tall, with darker hair and large, piercing blue eyes. Those eyes matched the ones belonging to Viola Baker, Richard Castle, and Eddie Baker.

"You're awake. Good." The man said.

Alexis blinked, confused. "What?" She asked.

Eddie, however, was more in control of her body by this point, and strode right over to the guy, decking him right in the nose. The two bodyguards made to grab her, but the man waved them off.

"It's fine, it's fine." He assured them.

The two men glared at Eddie but backed off.

"What did–" Alexis cleared her throat. "What did you do that for?" She demanded.

"He's the one who knocked us out." Eddie snapped. "And he's the one who couldn't be fucking bothered to actually make a physical appearance in his family's life. Thank to you, my mom is dead!"

"What?" Alexis repeated. Her brain was definitely not up to speed right now.

Eddie made an exasperated noise. "For all of your trophies, 'Lex, you aren't always that smart."

Alexis glared.

"Lex!" Eddie flung her arms wide. "He's our grandfather!"

Alexis stared at the girl, looked over at the man with eyes just like her father – the man who was not denying the accusation – and promptly vomited.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to warn you. That happened to me, too." Eddie said.

Alexis kept retching but managed to glare at her cousin all the same.

This chapter is dedicated to the extremely helpful fbobs, who not only has given me detailed feedback on each chapter but suggested the 'family crime solving' scene to me. So if you think it's cheesy, blame him.

Just kidding. All cheesiness is failure on my part.

Oh, and that line about alcoholics? That is actually an honest-to-God paraphrase of a line in a deleted scene from the season four finale "Always". I just couldn't resist.