The Root of All Evil

A/N: Once again, I apologize for the delay but here is chapter 14 :) Only one more chapter to go! But keep your eyes peeled for Story 4 in this saga: Carnivale... coming soon! :)

As always, thank you all for your kindness and support. It is loved. To all my new readers, welcome to my little universe, I hope you like it here ;). Those of you who have been here with me from the beginning, thank you, you know how honored I feel to have you still with me.

Chapter 14

Alexis took a deep breath as she pushed open the swinging doors to the jailhouse. Demming looked up from his perch at the desk as she stepped into the dim room, his eyes trained on her, questioning as he sat back, his legs propped on the desk, arms crossed over his chest, as he waited for her to speak.

"I would like to speak to Laura, please," she stated, her voice more steady than she felt.

Laura looked up from where she was sitting on the bench in the near cell, a flicker of a smile crossing her face when she saw her friend standing in the doorway. Both of their gazes turned to Demming and he sighed as he pushed himself out of his chair and walked to the cell, opening the cell door so that Alexis could step inside.

"I'll be right outside. Just call when you're finished."

"Thank you," Alexis whispered as she stepped inside the cell and the door slammed shut behind her.

"Hi," Laura greeted with a small wave as she scooted over on the bench, making room for Alexis to sit next to her.

"Hi," Alexis replied as she sat, turning her body slightly to face the freckle-faced girl. "How are you doing?"

Laura nodded, her hands wringing in her lap. "I'm okay. Olivia came by to visit me earlier. Sheriff Beckett said last night she would be by later, maybe tomorrow, to talk."

Alexis nodded, her head bobbing a few times too many. "So you and Olivia are getting along well then, even after the cattle drive?"

Laura dipped her head, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. "Yeah, we are."

"Good. Good. I'm glad you're making friends out here."

"Friends, right, that's what we are," Laura responded, her eyes flickering to the far corner of the cell and to the ground before looking back, straight forward to the desk sitting outside the bars. "Olivia and I are friends."

Alexis' head cocked to the side for a second, her eyes narrowing slightly at her friend's strange response before shaking her head to clear her thoughts, as Laura continued to stare straight ahead.

"Laura, what happened? With your father?" Alexis asked softly after a moment, when Laura continued to stare blankly, lost in thought.

Laura's eyes flickered back over to her, darkening slightly. "I don't want to speak of it, Alexis."

Alexis sighed as she leaned forward, reaching out to grasp her friend's hand in her own.

"Please, Laura," she pleaded. "No one will tell me anything and I need to know. I just want to help you and everyone is shutting me out. Please, I want to help make it better."

Laura turned to look at her, her eyes weary, face drawn, looking far too old for her eighteen years. She studied Alexis' eyes, reading the motives in their depth before dropping her gaze down to their joined hands and nodding slowly. "He used to touch me, to make me do things with him."

Her voice dropped off when Alexis gasped. "What about your mother, didn't she try to stop it?"

Alexis' mind whirled, trying to image if… her father… no, never. No one should ever…

Laura swallowed the lump in her throat. "She didn't know and if she did she never did a thing to stop it. But I was okay, I got away, I came here and I was happy. Finally… But when Eustice told me that he was here and that he did the same thing to Kate…"

"He did what?" Alexis interjected, aghast.

"She… she didn't tell you…" Laura's eyes widened again. "Oh, Lord. I shouldn't have… Alexis you can't say anything. Please."

Alexis turned to stare out the bars as she remembered how Kate had flinched when her father had touched her when they had rescued him from the cave, how she had run, her tear stained eyes when they had returned from the stream the night before. She had put on a brave face, smiling and laughing with her and Daniel while Alexis' father had attempted to cook supper over the fire, but the hesitation, the wall, had there, the sadness, and Alexis had ignored it.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she willed herself not to cry.

"Sheriff Beckett will be all right," Laura said, soothingly, giving Alexis' hand a squeeze. "She's strong, she'll get through this. Both of them will, they love each other."

Alexis nodded, choking down a sob before turning back to her friends, reaching out her arms to wrap around the other girl's shoulders in a hug. "I'm the one that's supposed to be comforting you, remember."

Laura patted her on the back. "You're here. That helps. I promise."

"It could be worse," Castle offered as Kate stepped over another pile of charred remains, and into the center of what used to be the living room.

She turned to him and arched an eyebrow. "Really? How?"

"Well, I, well," Castle stuttered as he stripped off his hat and scratched his head. "It's bad."

"Bad, Castle? It's completely gone. It cannot be salvaged at all. That is worse than bad," Kate huffed.

"Well, we can rebuild it."

Kate quirked her eyebrow again, motioning at her body. "We? Castle, the last time I was pregnant my father hesitated to let me lift the nails to build my cabin, this time I would be lucky if he even let me on the property while it is being rebuilt."

"Well, then," Castle argued, plopping his had back down on his head and stepping over what used to be the wall to stand by her side, holding out a hand for her to take, guiding her out of the rubble. "Your father, myself, Ryan, Esposito and, hell, maybe even Daniel will rebuild it."

Kate rolled her eyes at the way he said 'Daniel', like the young man was the scourge of his existence. "Daniel is a nice young man, you thought very highly of him when we met him at our wedding."

"Yes, well, that was before he was courting my daughter. Now, he is the enemy."

"Castle!" Kate admonished, swiping at his arm with her free hand. "Be nice to him. He loves her."

Castle froze, halfway to their destination and turned to look at her with wide eyes. "Love?"

Kate's mouth opened and closed silently as she realized her mistake. "Well, he might, probably, he… Ah, Hell, Rick. He loves her. He is probably going to propose."

"How… how do you know this? It's only been a month and he, she, she's too young to get married!"

"She was betrothed to Ashley and you didn't seem to mind," Kate argued back.

"Mind? Of course I minded. I just kept my opinion to myself. Besides, that was before she wanted to go to university and Ashley was from a good family…" His voice trailed off as his eyes went wide and he clamped his lips shut, his gaze shifting to Kate who was staring at him with arms crossed over her chest, and lips pursed. "I… I shouldn't have said that."

Kate took a step towards him, the expression still pasted to her face, arms still crossed over her chest. Castle winced. This was how it was going to end, not in a cave with a crazed escaped criminal, not in a gunfight or even from influenza. It was going to end right here, with an idiotic comment from him and a glare from her.

"I'll… I'll get to know him. Have him over for supper. I'm sure he is a perfectly nice young gentleman. He can help work on the homestead. Maybe we can build another small cabin for them or for your father. Jim was saying that perhaps we would like the large house now that the baby is coming. Speaking of the baby, I have something to show you. Did I tell you today how beautiful you are, because you are, very beautiful, practically glowing. In fact…"

He was silenced by the gentle press of her index finger on his lips and the sight of her shoulders quaking as she help in her laughter with pressed lips.

"Now," she started after a silent moment, both of them standing in the middle of the charred remains of the Beckett Homestead, her finger still curled at his lips, their eyes locked. "What is it that you needed to show me?"

He smiled, kissing her finger as it slid slightly and curled around his bottom lip. His hand came up and grabbed hers away from his face as she shivered slightly, her own lip caught between her teeth. "Come on, it's this way."

He held their joined hands up as he guided her around the piles of half burnt items, ignoring her glare as he helped her over the wall and led her to the barn. He glared at her when she moved to help him slide the barn door open and she huffed out a breath as she folded her arms over her chest again, her forearms resting against the growing baby bump— he could swear that is was bigger than it was the day before— but she stepped back, allowing him to move the heavy wooden door by himself.

The horses were lined up in their stalls: Whisper, Bucket and Bandit, all staring at them with wide, lazy, black eyes. Bandit blew out a breath, his lip flapping and Castle took a step out to skirt around him. He wasn't allowing that beast to get the drop on him again; it was too humiliating to be pick-pocketed by an animal. Kate nuzzled Whisper's nose and the horse nipped at her hair as she watched Castle's skittish movements with an affectionate expression.

"Damn horse," he mumbled under his breath as he tugged her forward again and she let out a chuckle as she passed Bandit, giving him a pat on the nose.

He rounded behind her as they approached the far end of the barn and hesitated briefly before placing his hands gently over her eyes. Her body stiffened momentarily before she forced herself to relax, his words, his voice mumbling in her ear. "Is this all right?"

"Yes," she forced out as she nodded her head resolutely. "It's fine. Just keep talking to me. Please."

"Okay," he murmured again, his voice low, soothing as he bent his head down so his lips were mere inches away from her ear. "Just take a couple steps forward."

"There you go," he coached as she shuffled forward, her arms stretched out in front of her to guide her path. "Now, I know you know about the cradle but your father and I have a couple more surprises for you. Turn to your left."

She turned slowly, her boots twisting on the dirt floor.

"Take a few more steps forward."

She huffed. "What is 'a few'?"

Castle chuckled softly, his rush breath brushing past her ear. "Four."

She nodded and took four defined steps forward.

"Now turn to your right."

She let out another huff, getting visibly annoyed with the whole exercise but turned without complaint. He placed a gently kiss on her temple before letting his hands fall to his shoulders, allowing her to see the sea of nursery furniture surrounding them.

"Castle," Kate gasped, eyes wide as she took in the perfectly sculpted and polished crib, dresser, and bassinet surrounding her, along with a new chest, the name plate left blank. "How? When?"

"Whenever we could sneak away," Castle answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Kate took a step forward, reaching her hand out for a crocheted blanket, a rainbow of colors, which was draped over the side of the crib.

"Alexis made that," Castle voiced and she turned to face him as she clutched the blanket to her chest, wetness pooling in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered a hand reaching out to take his.

"This time," he stated, definitely, taking a step towards her, reaching up with his free hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "Everything is going to be perfect. I promise."

"You don't know that…" she shook her head.

"I do," he reassured. "Because after everything that has happened, this has to go right. We deserve for this to go right. You deserve it, Kate. You just have to have the faith. You've done unimaginable things, things that no one should have to ever do, to protect this child, our child. So, this time, everything is going to be perfect. We'll rebuild the homestead before the baby is born and everything will be wonderful for her. For all of us."

She glanced around the tack room, taking in the handcrafted furniture and hand-sewn gifts. Her eyes flickered to the corner and Sarah waved back with a wide smile, her pigtails flopping over her shoulders as she bounced on the balls of her feet. She nodded at Kate, her eyes twinkling in the light. This time, everything was going to be perfect, this baby had her older sister looking out for her.

Okay.

"Okay," she sniffled, nodding her head, looking back at him with a watery smile. "I can have faith."

Kate lay curled in the bed, facing the side, one hand rubbing her small belly methodically as she stared through the dark window into the night outside. An owl hooted in the distance and grass crunched as animals stalked their prey outside. She listened carefully to every step, every movement.

A leaf crunched and her hand twitched.

She felt an arm wrap around her middle, pulling her slightly away from the edge of the bed, a hard body press into her back. A sigh resounding in her ear; a warm breath brushing past her cheek.

A soft snuffle of a snore came from the straw mattress on the floor where Alexis was sleeping. The girl had been quiet when she came back in from visiting Laura in the jail. She had simply stared at Kate when she had entered the small cabin and saw her step-mother seated on the bed, hairbrush in hand, working her way through the knots that had built up in her hair. Without a word Alex had stepped over and enveloped her in a hug, crying softly into her neck. Rick had looked up startled from his seat in the rocking chair in the corner, a book open on his lap. Their eyes met over the girl's shoulder and they knew: Laura had told Alexis… everything…

Another leaf crunched and Kate clenched her hand into a fist, her eyes pressed shut. She would not do this. It was a deer; it was always just a deer.

The arm tightened around her middle.

"Go to sleep, Kate," the breath mumbled in her ear. "It's over, it's all over. You can sleep."

She let out the breath she had been unaware she had been holding and a pair of lips, his lips pressed a soft kiss behind her ear.

Slowly her fist unclenched, her fingers uncurling, flexing and bending to return the flow of blood. Her palm ached from where her nail had dug into her flesh and her eyes fluttered open to stare into the night. His arm loosened slightly, relieving her from the welcomed pressure. She took a deep breath as she flipped over to face him so that their noses brushed against each other. She strained to find his bright blue eyes through the darkness.

"Say something, Rick. Talk to me. I can't see you, I need to hear you, please," she whispered as her fingers trailed down the side of his face, gently caressing his cheekbone, the strong line of his jaw, fluttering over his slightly parted lips. His lips pressed against her fingertips in a quick kiss before starting to move, mumbling a story.

"I'm going to take you to Denver, once everything is settled, just the two of us. We haven't had a Honeymoon, you know. Really, we could go anywhere you wanted. Savannah, San Francisco, New Orleans…"

"No, Denver. Denver would be nice," Kate whispered back.

"Yeah, it's far enough away but close enough so that we could be back before the baby is due," Castle conceded and Kate nodded against her pillow. "We'll stay in a fancy hotel, one of the overly extravagant ones with the deep claw-foot tubs you are in love with but would never admit to liking."

A gently smile broke across her face as she bit into her lower lip. He knew her too well.

"And we can find toys for the baby," Castle continued. "And clothes. Little lacy dresses or a small cowboy hat."

"Or both," Kate chimed in.

"Or both," Castle conceded. "I'll buy you real coffee and as many lemon cream puffs as you want."

Kate's lips broke into a full smile as she suppressed the giggle threatening to escape. "Lemon cream puffs? Really?"

"I do recall that you were fond of them in New York, even dressed like one to show your utter devotion to them," Castle teased, his mouth smiling against her fingers as they curled at his bottom lips.

"You're mean."

"No, I am a handsome, some would say downright debonair, and charming man. And I'm…"

"You're alive."

Castle paused as Kate interrupted his statement. "Yes, yes I am. I'm alive. I'm here."

Kate sniffed slightly as she traced her fingers back up his face to tangle her fingers in his hair, pulling his head forward to rest against hers. "And you're mine."

"I'm yours, always."

"Always," she murmured in reply before she pressing her lips against his, firmly in the darkness. She heard his gasp of surprise, followed by his moan of acceptance, as his hand traced up her side, to rest against her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair, holding her to him gently. Her stomach clenched as the tip of her tongue darted out to flick his lip, requesting entrance and her body moved into his, melding together as his lips parted and a hot tear rolled down her face.

"I love you," she whispered, her voice choked, as she pulled back slightly, tipping her head so that she could breathe and their foreheads were once again pressed together.

"Thank you," he whispered in reply, the love and gratitude pouring from his every word. "Thank you for loving me and allowing me to love you."

She nodded against him as she drew in a shaky, water logged breath. "Always."

"Always."