"Are you okay Dad?" Johanna asked. He dry swallowed, hoping it would help him take the leap. He had every intention to tell them.

"Girls… I." Castle mumbled. They listened carefully, not wanting to miss the phenomenon. He stared back at them, their smiling faces and loving eyes. It was heart wrenching. Then he paused. "I'm sorry. Could you take me out for a walk?" He hated himself.

"Of course." Johanna said. Alexis waited till she left to speak.

"Lanie said you were talking about mom?" Alexis asked, even though she knew the answer. She was fishing.

Castle replied, "Just talking about the past." About the past catching up to us he thought.

"And she said we could handle it, that we were tough. Do you have something to tell us?" Alexis asked. She was always the most perceptive. In another universe, she would've made a great detective. She could've been Kate's real daughter. Heaven knows the two acted like they were.

"Here you are dad." Johanna said. She wheeled the chair up to his bedside, not noticing the tension between them. They held each other's gaze, neither blinking. Alexis knew he was hiding something.

"Could you help me into my chair?" Castle said. He broke the silence, but didn't blink. Alexis decided to let it go. For now. It took the two of them to lift their father into the lightweight aluminum wheelchair. Johanna decided to push him around, even though he insisted on doing it himself. She wouldn't have it.

After Alexis had gone off into the world, Johanna became the new 'daddy's little girl.' The two were attached at the hip. Rick can still remember little Johanna getting jealous every time he paid too much attention to Kate, but it couldn't be helped. He loved to hear his little girl fight for his attention with her baby talk. Now she was fighting in courtrooms, verbally slitting the throats of every criminal that came her way.

"Well at least it's a beautiful day." Johanna said. They exited using the back automatic doors, heading towards the park in hopes for a nice afternoon stroll.

"Turns out the safety was on the whole time." Alex said. The two shared a chuckle.

"They must've been quite a pair." Kate said. Alex smiled by reflex, remembering his childhood.

"They were the best thing for each other." Alex said. He remembered all their little food fights, and laser tag battles. All those family vacations spent hand in hand and late summer picnics in the park. "They were really in love. The way they looked at each other, it was undeniable. She was his everything." Alex can't help but think back to the argument he had with his father. He didn't mean to yell or get angry, he just wanted everything to go back to the way it was. But then again, could it?

"Alex?" Johanna said. Kate was about to speak when Johanna and company arrived on scene.

"Johanna, Alexis, Dad, what are you?" Alex said. Seeing his father out in the open was an event of its own.

"We came to visit Dad, but what are you?" Johanna replied.

"I'm sorry I asked him to come visit me." Kate said. Castle was taken aback by her voice. How long had it been since he last heard her voice? Since he was last able to stand in front of her? Well not stand.

Alex quickly responded, "This is Kate," answering all their silent questions. "Kate um." He needed a moment to think. "You know I never actually got your last name."

"I don't have one." Kate said. She went on to explain, but took a moment to enjoy their puzzled faces. "I don't remember, and all I get is 'your name is Katherine, but you prefer Kate' in the morning." Kate just shrugged it off. "It doesn't really matter, I won't remember the next day anyway."

"Why won't you remember?" Johanna asked. She was immediately met with a hard nudge from her older sister. The two began to converse silently as if talking on a different frequency. It was obvious to Alexis that Kate had dementia or Alzheimer's, but Johanna never assumed. Assuming in her business was dangerous so she stayed away from it.

"It's okay." Kate said, settling their dispute. "I have Alzheimer's, and before that I suffered from amnesia."

"The irony." Johanna began, but stopped midway. She learned to hold her tongue unlike her brother.

"Well it's still a pleasure to meet you... Kate" Castle said. He held out his hand for her to shake.

"The pleasure is mine. It's not everyday you meet the master of the macabre." Kate said, shaking his hand. "Not that I would remember." He smiled as she reciprocated. They were mesmerized by each other, neither looking away, just long enough for Alexis to notice. There was something so familiar about this Kate, but no one she knew came to mind. Something didn't sit right with her, and it just nagged at her memory.

Kevin woke up from his nap, quite energetically. He jumped onto his master's lap, but quickly jumped off, feeling the tug of his leash. It happened so fast, everyone stood frozen from shock.

"Dad, are you okay?" Alex asked. He quickly pulled back on the dog's leash, ensuring the retriever that he had done something wrong. Kevin whimpered only because the leash had hurt his throat.

"I'm fine. Didn't feel a thing." Castle said.

"Stop the tough guy act. Look you're bleeding." Kate said. She pulled out a napkin, and put pressure on the wound. "You need first aid."

"I'll go get the nurse." Alex said. He quickly jumped to his feet, taking Alexis with him. Kevin took this time to yank his leash free from the bench. As soon as he wasn't confined, Kevin sprinted after a flock of birds in the distance.

"Kevin!" Johanna yelled. She struggled, not knowing what to do. Surely her dad was more important, but the dog was getting away. "Dad, I"

"Go. I've got him." Kate said. It reassured Johanna in her decision to toss her heels and chase after the retriever. "Does this hurt?" She said, putting more pressure on the wound. Their eyes were locked on each other. They were stuck in space, unmoving, everything unspoken, lingering. Her eyes flicked to his lips, only for a moment, and then back to his eyes. They forgot about the wound on his thigh, they forgot everything. It was only them, existing. "Have we met before?"

Castle felt his throat dry up like so many times before. Only Kate could make him lose his words. He wanted to tell her everything. Tell her that they were married, and that these were their children. And when it all came too fast, he could hold her and assure her that everything would be all right. But it wouldn't. Because tomorrow the sun would rise, and she wouldn't remember a thing. So he answered "No I don't think so," ignoring the love still lingering between them.

Enjoy!

Please Review.

Tell me what you think.

(There might be some cute Caskett things next chapter) no promises

Also I've been thinking of adding side stories, as background on the children. Let me know if you think I should.