Chapter 2

A/N: Whew ok I told myself I really wanted this chapter up before Christmas so I'm happy I got it up. My goal is to try to put up a new chapter every 3-4 days. But depending on what is going on then it might be a little later sometimes. Also I'm on winter break right now, and the second week of January I'll be heading back to college so I'll get more busy but I hope to keep the 3-4 days thing. Also if there are any typos then it's my bad. So sorry in advance! Ok enough of me talking… let's see who is behind door number one!

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters but if I did then we wouldn't be on hiatus right now...

"Senator Bracken…?" Kate stared at the person on her door step, mouth agape.

"Katherine Beckett, nice to see you". A sly smile growing on the senator's face.

She tried to mask her uneasiness, "wish I could say the same."

Smirking, "May I come in?"

"No"

"I don't think this is a conversation for the hallway"

"I think we are just fine here"

"It pertains to your mother"

Kate looked at him, a little shocked and angry that the man that killed her; was standing at her doorstep. She didn't want to let him in but if it was about her mother then she thought any information would be important. She subtly reached in her pocket and tried to dial Castle without making it obvious while he walked past her into her apartment.

"No reason to hide your call Katherine. Mr. Castle may come over. In fact I'll call him myself."

"No thanks. I think he'd rather hear from me" Eyeing him curiously.

"That is if he answers your call." The senator turned from her and looked around as she dialed Castle, suspicious at his snide comment and how accurate it was considering how he hadn't answered her first call. It went to voicemail once again. She left a quick message saying she needed him right now, it was an emergency, and that there was somewhere uninvited at her place. She quickly pocketed her phone looked up to the senator.

She turned back to the man standing her in the middle of her living room, "Make it quick". She replied hastily.

"Now, now there is no rush, let's get comfortable shall we?" He shifted towards the couch

"NO. Just say what you came to say and get out" She was angry. She was trying to move past her mother's murder, and move on with Castle and she didn't need him coming in and ruining everything that she had worked for.

"Well then I'll get right to it. Your mother is a..."

There was a loud pound on the door. Kate stood looking at the senator for a second longer seeing if he would continue. When he made no intention of saying another word she walked over to the door, and opened it to see a flushed Castle, breathing heavily. He stepped in as soon as she opened the door.

"I was close when you called, ran here as soon as I got your message, what's wrong? Are you o...?" Castle finally saw the other man in the room and stopped dead. He turned from the senator to Kate.

"Nice to see you again Mr. Castle"

"What are you doing here?" Castle stepped ahead of Kate and closer to the senator.

"I'll ignore that question and pretend you don't already know Mr. Castle. Anyway as I was telling Katherine here, your mother is still very much alive." He finished speaking, looking Kate straight in the eyes like it was the easiest thing he's ever said.

She looked at him with disgust, "You liar" Kate spat. She hurtled towards him but was stopped abruptly when Castle grabbed her around the waist. Bringing her body flush against his holding her back, as she fought tears. "How dare you come here and tell me that. GET OUT!"

"Now Katherine don't you want me to explain. It's not like I have better things to do then come here and lie to you." He was looking at her calmly, didn't flinch when she got close to escaping Castle's arms.

This time Castle spoke, "you have five minutes."

"She faked her death. I know it looked exactly like your mother but that's science for you. The campaign she was working on was dangerous. There were some bad guys looking towards her shutting down, because of the commotion she was making. Your mother knew she was in some real danger, so it was either die trying to finish what she started and possibly lose her family or quit. I assume you think your mother was not a quitter so she decided to fake her death. It was to protect you and your father, but at the same time she could continue working on the campaign from undercover." The senator was looking at her with steel eyes, not once did his sentence falter nor did he avert his eyes from Kate's. "There is no reason for me to lie to you Katherine. She's out there, and I need you to help me find her."

Kate's heart was racing; she was still trying to process everything he had just said. Her mind flashed back to that day in the alley, she had seen her mother lying on the ground, she was sure of it. They had held a funeral for her. She and her father cried and cried over her, and here is this guy telling her that she is alive. No. Her mother would not cause that much pain for her and her father. She would not do that to them. She wouldn't…

"I think you should leave now." Castle's voice pulling her from her thoughts.

"I'll give you time to think about it. Here's my number." He pulled out a card from his jacket pocket and Castle took it from him, still holding Kate against him. "Think about it".

Those were his last words and he was gone. Just as fast as he had come in, he was gone. Changed her life forever, like it was the most normal thing he's ever done. Once the door was closed Castle let go of her waist, and went to lock the door. Kate couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth. She couldn't think, she felt light headed, and then felt her knees give out. Castle got back to her just in time to catch her from falling to the ground. He held her back and reached down to grab behind her knees. Scooping her up and carrying her into her bedroom. He gently laid her down and tucked her under the covers. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead and started to walk towards the door. She grabbed his wrist as he was turning, "Will you stay?"

"Of course" He replied easily. He walked to the light switch and turned it off, the only light coming from the window. He walked back around her bed and lay down next to her. Turning towards her and wrapping his arms around her, enveloping her in a tight hold. It was then that she let go everything she had been holding in. She sobbed into his shirt and Castle ran his hand up and down her back trying to soothe her. She didn't know how long they had being laying there, but Castle never loosened his grip on her. His was whispering words to her that she never fully heard, but she made out an "I love you" just before she slipped under and she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she reached over to Castle's side of the bed, and found the sheets cold. She lifted her head up to see multiple trays of food on a table that Castle must have brought in. She was looking around when Castle came in with two cups of steaming coffee. She smiled as he handed her one, "I wasn't sure what you might want so I made everything you had, even heated up some leftover Chinese that was in your fridge". He smiled timidly at her as he sat down on the her side of the bed next to her.

"It all smells amazing thank you Rick". She took a sip of her coffee as Castle cleared his throat.

"Do you want to talk?" He asked while looking at that floor.

She reached over and cupped his cheek, turning his head towards her. "Yes I want to talk, but after we eat."

"Alright" He smiled at his got up to hand her some food.

He sat back down and as they ate they talked, mostly about meaningless stuff but something to lighten the current mood. Something to put a smile on both their faces.

Once they were done and Castle had taken all the dishes and leftovers to the kitchen, and come back he cleared his throat.

"So… I need to tell you something" He looked at her nervously. "I knew. I knew that your mother was alive. Remember I went home yesterday morning to get something for Alexis to take it to her at college, he was at my doorstep. He told me everything. He said he would tell you. I didn't bring it up because I thought you would need to hear it from him. I feel like I lied, Kate I'm so, so sorry, I'm s…"

Kate swiftly moved across the bed and put her lips to his. Silencing him with a kiss, "It's ok Castle. You were right. Even though I would have rather heard it from you, you were right. I needed him to tell me, for me to believe it."

"So you believe what he said. You believe your mother is still alive and she faked her death?"

"I'm not really sure what to believe yet. But… I have you and you won't let me drown in this. We'll do this together. It'll be hard, because it's my mother's case, and for 19 years I've believed she was dead. But, if there is the slightest chance she is alive then I want to find it, and her."

He leans back in for another kiss, "Of course I won't. I'm here and we'll do this together."

She smiles and stands up, "Ok then. Time to get moving; we've got some investigating to do."

As they stand up and Castle quickly wraps his arms around her waist and whispers in her ear in between kisses on her neck, "So I guess that marathon is still out of the question?"

She laughs and turns around, smacking him in the chest lightly, then leaning in close to his ear whispering, "Maybe later". She pulls back and winks, sauntering out of her bedroom and into the bathroom. "Right now we can check out the shower if you want."

He quickly dashes off after her with an excited and giddy grin on his face; as they are both start laughing. He knows he'll do anything to get her mind of it for right now, to be able to put a smile on her face as much as possible until he might not be able to do it later.

A/N: Ok so I hope nobody is upset with the choice I made for who was at the door. I honestly had a really hard time deciding. I was originally going to just have an ex-boyfriend of Beckett's show up but after reviews and thinking about it I decided it would be silly and I didn't want the story to go in that direction. And thank you again for all the reviews, they meant a lot to me and I hope I can keep writing something everyone enjoys. I'm trying to improve at writing but I'm a work in progress so hang in there. More reviews are always welcome as well as suggestions and comments. So thank you all for reading and I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

P.S. More surprises are coming! ;)

~Rachel