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Chapter Sixteen

"Every second," she replied. "Then I'll tell you mine."

"Well," he started. "The very next second I thought about how much I'd like to escape, then the next second, then the next. Then, after about two-thousand seconds of much the same…" he paused for suspense, revelling in storytelling mode. "The madwoman showed up, showered my cheeks with sloppy kiss and demanded I call her Mrs Castle." Beckett fought a growl and dug her nails into Castle's hand as she clenched it tighter. After this whole ordeal she was feeling rather possessive. It seemed Castle was sharing her sentiment. "She's not the woman I'm going to be calling Mrs Castle," he muttered. "I'm saving that name for…" he broke away with a blush, electing not to finish that sentence.

"Third time's the charm," she breathed and he almost jumped from the hospital bed in shock. He figured she had grasped where he was headed with that last statement, he had just expected a completely different reaction – like yanking her hand from his and running from the room. He had definitely not expected her to gaze at him, her expression open to him, longing pooling in her eyes. He struggled to sit up, to move himself towards her. She mimicked him, leaning in towards him, her mouth dropping open slightly, her gaze unfaltering. He took a shaky breath, aware that the room was abuzz with electricity. Here in this hospital bed he was about to get his moment with Beckett. Being held captive by a madwoman was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Apart from Alexis that was. It was as if his thoughts betrayed him, for at that moment when he reached his free hand up to brush along Beckett's cheekbone as they oscillated closer to one another, his daughter stretched and let out a loud yawn.

"Dad?" Alexis sat up, her eyes searching the dim room. "You're awake? You're awake!" she exclaimed, jumping from the cot. Castle's fingers lingered a second longer, Beckett's cheeks clouded in a slight blush, before he dropped them and let his head fall back to his pillow.

"I'm awake, sweetie. Come give your Dad a hug. I missed you," he smiled broadly, interrupted moment with Beckett or not, he was ecstatic to see his daughter. She didn't need to be told twice, already moving to the other side of the bed and crushing her body to his, kissing his forehead gently. He managed to maintain an awkward grip on Beckett's hand as he hugged Alexis, unwilling to lose the contact for even a moment if it gave her a chance to bow out and back away yet again. He had to keep the connection, it was just so tangible, like she was finally willing to admit she reciprocated his love. He wasn't going to miss that opportunity for the world, he was not letting go of her hand until she decided to do so, and for the moment, she seemed just as willing to keep her fingers tightly wound in his.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she sighed. "Seriously, I'm going to have the doctor install some sort of GPS tracker in your arm. You too, detective. We can't keep losing you guys," Beckett wasn't entirely sure if the girl was being serious or not, but she was flattered to be included nonetheless. Castle chuckled beaming at his daughter.

"I don't see why we'd bother considering we'd have you too look for us." He turned to Beckett with a grin, "I should have named her, Nancy, I'm telling you."

"Dad," Alexis rolled her eyes. "I'm no Nancy Drew."

"Oh, but Beckett told me that you were pertinent to the case. Apparently I'm being replaced at the precinct by the younger and more efficient Castle model," he said with a grin, pride echoing in his every word.

"Fair enough," she joked. "Dad, I'm sure I was more of a distraction. I'm just lucky Beckett let me hang around," she added seriously.

"I'm lucky Beckett lets me hang around too," Castle stated with a wink in Beckett's direction. She raised her free hand to stop him from continuing.

"Alexis, I couldn't have done it without you. I'm so glad you were there," sincerity rung in her every word. Alexis lit up with a smile and leaned across her father to pull Beckett into an awkward embrace. Castle oozed contentment. The relationship between Beckett and Alexis had suffered some rough moments in recent times and it had troubled Castle immensely. Watching them hug right in front of him filled him with such a sense of joy. He didn't want to intrude in their moment, but he wanted to be a part of it all the same. Using his free hand he wrapped it around the both of them and attempted to crush them to his chest. It was all awkwardness but so comfortable and comforting to have his women lopsidedly straddling his hospital bed. He decided to test his luck and planted a kiss on both their cheeks. Alexis giggled before righting herself and Beckett quickly kissed him back. He was so tempted to move his face at the last second and accidently have her lips meet his, instead of his cheek, but it was a simple moment – not a romantic one, so he opted for some semblance of self-control. Alexis sat back down beside her father's bed, smiling gently at the sight before her. They both seemed so happy. She kind of felt bad for waking up and disturbing them, but she'd been kind of aware of the conversation going on around her and didn't fancy it going too far whilst she was in the room. Plus, she'd been really excited to see her dad. She had after all, been insanely worried about him. She half wanted to leave him alone with Beckett, but the urge to hear the rest of his story was too much.

"So Dad, tell me all about it," Alexis asked, concerned.

"I was walking home…" he started as Alexis shook her head and cut him off –

"I sort of heard that part, keep going from where you were up to," her admission caused both the adults in the room to blush slightly at the knowledge that Castle's teenage daughter had been listening to their conversation in its entirety. "It's not like you said anything entirely untoward," she giggled. Castle's expression softened and he smiled at the giggling girl beside him.

"I'm going to have to get you earplugs for sleeping," he smirked.

"Now that's disturbing. I think it's time you got back to the story," Alexis groaned as Beckett slapped Castle's forearm lightly. Castle opened his mouth to continue as Beckett's phone sounded. She read the text with a slight groan.

"Apparently I have to go into work this morning," she should probably give Castle and Alexis some quality family time together as well she added to herself as an afterthought.

"Don't go, Beckett, you'll miss the story. Tell Gates to stick it…" Castle whined.

"Hey," Alexis cut in, her tone stern. "Don't you dare say anything about Gates." Beckett bit back a giggle.

"Are you kidding me!" Castle exclaimed. "You really have replaced me at the precinct; you've got Gates on side and everything." At that Beckett exploded into fits of laughter.

"Dad," Alexis sighed. "Although she does a great job of hiding it, Gates is actually genuinely concerned with your wellbeing."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Castle grizzled. Alexis patted his shoulder, somewhat sympathetic and somewhat frustrated.

"She helped us find you…"

"She also didn't fire me for looking for you behind her back," Beckett interjected, eyes bright at the surprise on Castle's face. "I've got to go, but I'm sure Alexis can fill you in on how she was instrumental in solving the case of missing Richard Castle. I've just got to do some paperwork, I should be back in a couple of hours to take your official statement." Castle glanced at her hand still locked with his.

"I don't want you to leave," he whispered, eyes still glued to their hands. The tone in the room changed instantly. Alexis leaned back further into her chair and away from the bed, not wanting to intrude on her father's moment with his detective. Beckett leaned further towards Castle and gently caressed his brow.

"I know," she sighed. "I can't wait to close this case though. We'll have time afterwards for everything else."

"Everything? Promise?" he murmured, running his free hand along her arm. His fingertips leaving a burning trail in their wake.

"Yeah, Castle. I promise," with that she leant down and brushed his forehead with her lips. She untangled her fingers from his, glanced at Alexis with a smile and then she was gone. Castle's empty hand felt wrong, he wanted the weight of Beckett's fingers between his. He glanced at his empty hand, fingers still flexed like she was there, his brow furrowed. Alexis sighed and leaned towards him.

"She loves you Dad, you know that, right?" she queried gently.

"Did she tell you…" he choked out, shock clouding his face. Alexis shook her head.

"No, not in so many words. But I know she does. You should have heard her when that woman called," Alexis reasoned. Castle spluttered –

"The madwoman, she called Beckett?" he gaped, breathless. Alexis nodded.

"Sure did. She was spouting some nonsense about you were hers," Alexis crinkled her nose in disgust, this was her father after all. "But, Beckett without hesitating for a moment, just said, he's mine, and kept repeating it over and over to the woman." Castle wanted to leap from the hospital bed and find Beckett. But she'd promised, they'd close the case and then talk about everything. He was so ready to give his statement.