Hello everyone,

I surprised myself by finishing the next chapter so soon, but I'm sure you don't mind :D

Enjoy the quick update.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Chapter 6

Kate took a deep breath before knocking on the door. She had kept sitting in the coffee shop long after Lane had left, and thought about her conversation with her best friend. Even when he wasn't there, when he tried to remove himself from her life, Castle still played a huge part in it. And even though she should be angry with Ryan and Esposito, Kate couldn't stay mad at them for trying to help.

If she'd be honest with herself, she would have done the same thing. Castle had proven himself to be trustworthy, that she could rely on him to have her back. She could always count on him. Yet, after he had resigned from following her she didn't know how things would play out. Apparently he wanted to avoid her at all costs, not even saying goodbye to her in person. Kate was afraid that their meeting would end up uncomfortable and awkward.

But how could it be uncomfortable and awkward after all they'd been through?

After weighing up the pros and cons, Kate had decided to go over to the loft and speak to him in person. Maybe the confrontation with the writer would finally shed some light on everything. That was exactly where she was now, standing in front of Castle's door and waiting for him to open it.

She was just about to knock again, when the door was opened and a confused redhead was staring at her.

"Detective Beckett?"

"Hi Alexis." Kate greeted Castle's daughter.

"How are you doing?"

"Better than a few months ago."

"That's good to hear."

"Could I speak to your dad?"

Once again confusion found its way onto the face of the teenager in front of Kate. Had she missed something? Was there something she should know?

"My father isn't here, Detective."

Okay, maybe she should have called before coming to the loft. She had considered the possibility of him not being at home. But just briefly, opting to try her luck anyway. "Do you know when he'll be home tonight?"

Alexis shook her head. "I'm sorry, but he won't be home any time soon."

"What do you mean? I thought he went to Paris with you?" she asked, confused.

"And he was there with me. But he didn't fly back home with me."

That certainly was something she'd have never guessed. Castle stayed in Paris? Why? Was he doing research? He loved New York, loved to spend so much time with his family. So why didn't he come back home? Alexis seemed to notice the flood of questions shooting through her mind.

"Why don't you come in? Maybe I can help you."

Kate followed Alexis to the living room. "That's nice of you, but I'm afraid you won't be able to help me. What is your dad doing in Paris?"

"Oh, my dad isn't in Paris anymore. While I flew back to New York, he took a flight to Bordeaux. From there on he took a train to a small place at the French border."

"And what's his plan there?"

Alexis rolled her eyes as she thought about her dad's plans. "He's going to walk the Way of St. James. He planned the whole trip. Whatever you need my dad for, you have to wait for the next six weeks until he'll be back."

Castle walking the Way of St. James? Where did he get that idea from? Did he end his shadowing because of that? Would he come back to the precinct after ending his journey? Might have his goodbye really been just temporary? Maybe she had misunderstood everything.

New hope flared up in her, running wildly through her body.

It had to be like that. Castle wouldn't have been able to leave like he did. Not without talking to her personally. He surely knew that she'd start rehabilitation after being released from the hospital, giving him time to live through such an adventure.

Even though Kate didn't like the way he had left without telling her anything about it, she could work with that new possibility.

He'd be back in a few weeks.

Was that the reason why he wrote her the letter? Explaining to her why he did what he did?

"Does that mean he'll come back to the Twelfth when he's back?" Kate asked, needing confirmation. Something, anything that wouldn't already drown the new found hope as soon as it had come up. But at the same time she was fighting this hope, trying to reclaim her cool exterior.

She was a grown woman who'd be perfectly fine without him. She had managed well before he had stepped into her life.

But was that want she really wanted?

Did she want to live like that again?

"I'm afraid it doesn't look like it, but I don't really know his plans that well."

"Alexis, darling! Guess who- Oh, Detective Beckett! What a pleasant surprise." Martha entered the loft and hugged Kate tightly. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Kate smiled.

"To what do we owe your visit?"

"She wanted to speak to Dad."

"Oh. Didn't he talk to you before he flew to Paris? He told me he'd inform you of his plans beforehand."

Kate shook her head. "No, he didn't. He left me a letter, but I haven't read it yet. I was a little busy with recovery and all." Kate deflected. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to find out that she just might be afraid to read that stupid letter.

His letter.

To her.

"Do you know if Dad will return to the precinct when he's back again, Gram?

"I'm afraid that he didn't plan to return."

"Why not?" Right now, the exact thing she'd been afraid of was happening. The new hope of Castle's return was crushed. How did this man manage to sneak into her life, show her how things could be, and make it hard for her to imagine life continuing without him in it?

Did not even want to imagine it!

He had improved her life in so many ways. Gotten her out of her shell, snuffle at life.

Martha glanced at Kate sympathetically, and that was the moment she knew that Martha knew something. "What is it?"

The red-haired woman sighed resigned. "Well, Richard feels guilty about what happened to you."

"Guilty? He isn't responsible for what happened."

"And I've told him that, but he didn't listen."

"Is it because of what happened at the hospital?" Alexis asked, hearing for the first time that her dad felt guilty about the shooting. She knew that those words of Dr. Davidson had hit him deeply, but not that he was still haunted by them.

Martha threw a confirming glance to her granddaughter. But Kate was just getting more confused. She was clearly missing something here. "What exactly did happen at the hospital?"

"There had been a fight." Martha started. "Between Richard and Dr. Davidson."

Castle and Josh? She had known all along that those two couldn't stand each other, but engage in an open fight? Castle and Josh were too peaceful to harm someone without reason.

Just once she hadn't been able to watch over this kindergarten drama, and everything erupted in chaos. "What happened between those two?"

"Dr. Davidson accused my dad that he was the reason for everything that happened. That it was his fault that Montgomery's dead. That it was his fault that you almost died."

"I've told him that it's not true, that you'd never blame him for-"

"Of course not." Kate interrupted Martha.

Martha raised her hand trying to calm down the Detective. "Still, the seed of doubt has been planted." Martha continued.

"Is that the reason why he did this six-week-trip?" Did he want to distance himself? Was he searching for absolution?

"I'm afraid it is. Though he tried to claim something else."

"Is there a way to get in touch with him?"

"Not that I know of. He won't be in an area with constant cell phone reception. The only way to keep up with his progress is through his postings on his homepage, and he's lucky if he can make them out there."

"Postings?"

"Dad wants to post his daily experience on his homepage for everyone to follow his progress, giving everyone the chance to be somewhat with him on this journey. If he can pull it off he'll even upload short videos now and then. It's like a travel diary."

"And he'll be gone for six weeks?" Kate asked again.

"That's his plan for now."

Six weeks. She had to wait six weeks until she could clear up things with Castle. It was long, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She'd just have to endure it.

Concerning the file of her mother's case, she'd just have to wait until he was back. She knew the most important details of it, and that had to be enough for now. She could work without them for a while.

As Castle woke this morning he noted surprised that he wasn't feeling any pain from yesterday's activity. He had been pretty sure that he'd feel every muscle in his body, and not be able to walk to his destination for the day, especially since he even had trouble walking up the staircase in the cloister. It had taken him forever to climb those ten stairs.

Good thing that no one saw him like that – at least no one who recognized him. He would have never lived that one down.

The first thing on his agenda was breakfast, his stomach already grumbled at the thought of food. After breakfast he'd start his six and a half hour walk to Zubiri, an extensive breakfast would strengthen him for that walk. Rick had already bought some snacks for his hike to Zubiri at a little shop near the cloister. It wasn't a big shop and there wasn't a huge assortment, yet it was somewhat of a highlight in this place for Rick.

Just like yesterday, the path led him right through the mountains again, and much to his dismay his shoes were still a little wet. But he'd have to suck it up, seeing that he hadn't brought spare shoes with him.

Castle glanced up and noted happily that no clouds were in sight today. However the sun was burning everything up, and even when he had read about this he was rather surprised that such weather extremes could be found here. He'd have never thought that the sun would burn down onto him after yesterday. After all it had rained endlessly, and even the best umbrella would have given in quite quickly. And now midsummer had broken out today. Though Castle would certainly not complain, preferring to walk in the sun rather than through the rain.

Unlike yesterday the path wasn't just stony and cold but green with a lot of trees, giving him a beautiful view, especially now when he could really see where he was walking to. The green shone with all its glory, a rich color that was a nice scenery for someone who normally just sees the city life, and just sometimes going to the park. But this place was so much better than the city park, some animals rushed through the trees on both of his sides, not caring for the people that pass by.

Castle also noticed that there were no other people walking the path he was on right now, he was alone just like yesterday. Though maybe he took the wrong path, seeing that the hand-painted yellow arrows on trees, fences, stones or streets which were marking the Way of St. James were particularly hard to recognize.

He walked through some Basque villages. The houses were built in a quite interesting way, letting his thoughts jump towards the fairy tales he had read to Alexis when she was little. Thousands of ideas ran through his head, thinking of ways to integrate the architectural style of the villages into his next book. If it wouldn't be so far from home, Castle would walk this path through the forest more often, enjoying a sunny day without any worries. He'd leave them at home while he would be out here.

As he walked on a wonderful arranged high route some time later, Castle saw some birds circling high above him in the sky. They were too far up in the air to tell what kind of birds they were, and he really hoped that they weren't some vultures that saw him as a meal.

Since the trees had cleared out he walked directly in the hot sun, no shadows of trees to walk under and it honestly was too much. His clothes clung to him, sweat dripped down his face. He felt like he was sitting in a sauna. Adding to the heat he found himself in, his muscles started to ache and after a few more minutes he had to slow down his pace.

Not wanting to completely overexert himself on his second day, he took a break at the next village he encountered. Luckily there was a little bakery in which he could sit down and eat and drink something.

Feeling well enough after his snack and a cold refreshing drink, Castle continued his way to Zubiri. A mile further down the path he came to a small barn with a cattle watering place in front of it, in which new mountain water steadily flowed. Castle took this as a chance to refill his water bottle. After that he held his head under the cold stream. It wouldn't matter if his hair was styled as if he was on a gala or completely soaked. No one was here to see, or even recognize him. And even if there should be someone around, he didn't care. The cold water just felt too good on his skin.

After a quick look to his left and right to make sure that he was still alone, he took off his shoes and put his feet into the cold water, enjoying the coolness of the mountain water working its magic on his almost reeky limbs. That was exactly what he needed.

He couldn't help but wonder what Beckett would say if she saw him like this, could almost imagine her eye-roll. However he was sure that she would be quickly joining him after such a hot day. After all she wouldn't be Beckett if she wouldn't be able to surprise him from time to time.

Glancing at his watch he sighed, knowing that he had to leave. Quickly drying his feet and putting on his shoes again, he began his two and a half hour walk uphill, wishing he'd remained at the cattle watering place. Though as much as he hated the way up the mountain, the descent to Zubiri was far worse. Two hours of pure hell. Even his guide warned him that the descent was very sheer and nothing for normal tourists. Castle hadn't really thought about it much, had been used to sheer descents from yesterday, yet he was completely mistaken.

The whole time he was on his way down to Zubiri he often stumbled and he should probably be lucky that he didn't fall and break some of his bones. Yesterday he had been happy to have his wooden staff with him on the descent, but now he had to admit that he wouldn't have made it down in one piece without it.A few times he stopped and looked around, confused, searching for any sights that he was still on the right path since it didn't really look like an official path of the Way of St. James. He had absolutely no idea where to step to next, had to even climb a few times. This descent was a total exercise for the whole body and his mind.

To say that he was relieved when he reached Zubiri was an understatement. He had thought that yesterday had been rather exhausting, but his hike from Roncesvalles to Zubiri brought him to his limits.

But that was okay. He had prepared himself for some hard days. He had wanted a challenge and he got just that. Every day was a new adventure.

The Puente de la Rabia, a medieval pilgrim bridge, led the way to Zubiri. Even often called as the rabies-bridge. His imagination went into overdrive as he thought about the many reasons as to why the bridge was called that. Thousand scenarios rushed through his mind which were certainly worthy to be in any of the thrillers he had read in his life.

As he entered the pilgrim hostel, Castle was surprised when he saw a playground for kids. He couldn't imagine that many children used it. The Way of St. James was certainly nothing one would do with kids in tow, especially not with the descent he'd had to weather to even reach Zubiri. He had a lot of trouble getting safely down to the village, and he believed it would be impossible with kids. And even if they could make the descent, Castle hoped that there still wouldn't be many children coming here. It was strenuous enough for adults. The Way of St. James just wasn't meant for kids.

Castle went through his routine of getting his stamp, finding his bed for the night and writing some of his expressions of the day onto his homepage, before lying down. His destination for tomorrow would be Pamplona. Until then he was going to get some much needed rest to recharge his energy.

Until the next time. Take care, guys.