I hope you don't mind I named the baby Jade… I just liked it better this way.

I also hope you like this chapter, it's a bit dramatic.

Enjoy!

Chapter 6

It was 8 p.m., and everyone was still in Brennan's room. They'd eaten something in the canteen but had returned after that. Suddenly, Booth jumped up.

"Booth? What's wrong?" Brennan asked.

"We have to call Max. I'm sure he'd like to know he has a granddaughter." Booth was already taking out his phone.

"Way ahead of you, Booth. I already called him when we were on our way to the hospital," Angela said.

"He was busy, but he's going to visit sometime this week," Brennan added.

"Oh." Booth put his phone back in his pocket and sat down on the chair next to Brennan's bed.

"My dad." Kate said suddenly. "I haven't called him about what's going on. I don't think he even knows I'm here. I- sorry, I have to call him. I'll be back soon." She walked out of the room, Castle in tow.

The second the others couldn't see them anymore, Castle wrapped his arms around Kate's waist from behind and pulled her back to him. Kate turned around in his grip and wound her arms around his neck. She gave him a sweet kiss but pulled back when he tried to deepen it.

"I'll only be gone for a few minutes, I'm sure you can handle that." Castle raised his eyebrows at this.

She rolled her eyes and leaned closer to his ear. "But whatever we can do here, we can do better tonight. Back at the hotel. Just the two of us, no chance of someone walking in on us." She pulled back, turned around and walked towards the doors, swaying her hips a little more than usual.

Castle shook his head. "That woman… She's going to be the death of me." He walked back towards the room. "But what a lovely way to go."

Xxx

"Hey, dad," Kate said to Jim.

"Katie! Been a while since you called. How about we meet tomorrow for lunch?"

"Well, that's not exactly possible."

"What do you mean? Are you on a honeymoon after you and Rick secretly got married?"

"Dad!" Kate exclaimed. She could hear her father chuckle.

"Just kidding. What is the real reason?"

"I- we're in D.C. Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, Castle and I. It's… Do you remember 3XK?"

"I sure do. What does he have… He's the reason you're there, isn't he?"

Just then, Kate heard a sound. Or so she thought. She turned around, but didn't see anyone.

"Kate?"

"Oh, sorry dad. Yeah, he is. A woman was found murdered, but there'd been a fire, so there were only bones left. A forensic anthropologist, an FBI agent and their team worked on it, and when they figured out it was 3XK, the called us. He's strangled two more women since we got here." She grew silent.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

How did he know that?

"He, uh… He left a note. Two of them, actually. They were addressed to Rick. He threatened to hurt him or someone close to him. And… Dad, I can't lose him. I really can't. The past year has been wonderful, but it's not enough. I want more than a year with him. Hell, I want forever with him. If he dies…" Tears escaped Kate's eyes at this thought.

"Don't you dare going there. You're all great cops, and I'm sure you'll catch this guy before he comes near him. Just don't give up, Katie. You've never done that and you're not going to do it now. Now go back and catch the bastard."

"Thanks, I will."

"One more question, though. A forensic anthropologist, an FBI agent and their team? Is the anthropologist by any chance Temperance Brennan?"

"Yeah, she is. She just got a baby; we're at the hospital now. But… how did you know? Do you know her?"

"No, but I do know her books. Listen, I have to go. Don't come back without catching the bastard, okay?"

"I won't."

"Good. Love you."

"Love you too, dad. Bye."

Kate hung up. Again, she heard a sound. But before she could turn around to see where the sound came from, she received a blow to the head. She fell to the ground and then everything went black.

Xxx

After 20 minutes, Castle got worried. He motioned for Lanie to step outside with him.

"Look, Kate had a sort of breakdown earlier," he started. Lanie stared at him in shock and started to speak, but he held up his hand and continued. "It was nothing major, but it could be she's having one again. I figured she might need a close friend. Maybe she just went to use the bathroom, but I don't want to take any chances."

"She went outside, right?" Lanie asked and Castle nodded.

"Maybe we should start there. Kate's not a person to run inside where everyone can see her while she's crying."

Together they walked outside. It was still pretty light outside, which was convenient. Castle expected to either see Kate still on the phone or otherwise sitting on a bench. But what he really saw was not what he'd expected: her cell lying on the ground with blood next to it. It wasn't much blood, but his heart sank anyway. He staggered backwards, away from the blood, until he bumped into Lanie.

Lanie jumped at the sudden touch and turned around. She was facing Castle's back now.

"Watch it, writer boy!" When Castle didn't reply or turn around, she walked in front of him. She was surprised at what she saw. His entire expression was hollow, and a bit sad.

"Castle, what's wrong?" He didn't look at her. In fact, he seemed to be staring at a point behind her. She turned around and followed his gaze. Her hand flew to her mouth when she saw what he was staring at.

"Oh my god, no. No. Kate…" She turned back to Castle. "I'm going to warn the others. Don't go anywhere and keep your eyes open." Then she rushed inside.

Just after Lanie went inside, Castle seemed to be able to move again. He walked towards her phone and sat on his knees. Tears formed in his eyes and soon they rolled over his cheeks.

"No, this can't be happening. I can't lose her. Not after everything we've been through. Not now we're finally together. God, if he hurts her…"

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Ryan, Esposito, Cam, Lanie and Booth came towards him. He didn't bother to wipe his tears away. He didn't care if it was unmanly.

Cam and Lanie went to get some stuff out of the car, Ryan and Esposito went to look for witnesses and Booth was on the phone. After he was done, he walked towards Castle.

"Castle, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna need to ask you some questions, okay?"

Castle nodded.

"What was Beckett going to do outside?"

"She was going to call her dad. She'd forgotten to tell him she was here."

"Okay. Did you see anything?"

"No, I didn't go outside with her. I wish I had. God, if I'd just gone with her…"

Booth put his pen and pad away and put his hand on Castle's shoulder. "This is not your fault. If you'd been outside, he would have taken you too, or worse. We're going to find her, I promise."

Just then, Cam walked towards them, holding an evidence bag with Kate's phone in it. "Guys, she called her dad 15 minutes ago. They couldn't have gotten far." Booth took his phone and walked away. Castle couldn't hear what he said, but he could guess.

"I'll have someone call her dad to inform him of the situation," Cam said.

"I'll do it. I don't want him to hear this from a stranger. The last time a strange cop called him, he was told his wife had been murdered. I don't want him to think Kate is already dead. Because she isn't."

Cam nodded in understanding, patted him on the shoulder and walked away to see if she could collect more evidence.

Castle took out his phone. He took a deep breath, and then dialed Jim Beckett's number.

"Jim Beckett."

Okay, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"Hi, Jim. It's Castle. Rick."

"Oh, hey, Rick. How are you doing?"

"I- this isn't really a social call. It's about Kate."

"What do you mean? Is she okay?"

"Kate's gone. Abducted." Castle's voice broke as he said the last word.

"What? No, no, no… I just talked to her. She can't be gone. She can't be…"

"I'm so sorry, Jim, I really am. I wish I'd been standing next to her. I should've been." Castle ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Rick. I know you would do anything to save her and that's enough for me. Just promise me you'll find her."

"I will, Jim. I definitely will. I'll call you or let her call you when we've found her. Just hang in there."

"I will. You do the same." And he hung up.

Castle walked over to a bench nearby and sat down. He put his hands in his pockets. That's when he felt it. A small velvet box. He'd been carrying it around for a while now, but he hadn't really thought about it when he was going to ask her. He'd just been waiting for the perfect opportunity. He realized now that that opportunity might never come. He knew he shouldn't think like that, but he couldn't help it.

He saw Ryan and Esposito approaching Booth and he jumped up, with just the tiniest bit of hope. But before he could join the three of them, he saw Ryan and Esposito shaking their heads after Booth asked them a question. Castle stopped dead in his tracks, but right there and then he decided he wasn't going to give up. He was going to fight and he wouldn't stop until he could hold Kate in his arms again.

Xxx

The first thing Kate noticed when she woke up was the pain in her head. It felt like she had been hit by a truck. She wanted to feel if there was a bump, but she was tied to a chair. Great. She also noticed it smelt like cherry trees. Yoshino, if she was correct. She blinked a few times before entirely opening her eyes. She appeared to be in some sort of a warehouse. Then she saw him. Jerry Tyson, grinning at her.

"Ah, detective, finally awake, I see. Took you long enough." He came walking towards her with a knife in his hands. Then he just stood in front of her, toying with the knife.

"Oh, come on Jerry. You won't stab me to death. You prefer strangling."

"I'm sensing some kind of déjà vu here. But you're right. I'm not going to kill you. Yet. What's the fun in that? No, I'm going to keep you around for a while." He squatted in front of her and stroked her face. "You know, first I only intended to take you so I could hurt your precious writer, but maybe…" Before she knew what was happening, he gave her a kiss. It was very short, but still disgusting. She spit in his face.

"You'll never have me. Never."

Tyson wiped his face. "Give it time, Kate, give it time." Then he turned around and walked out the door, leaving her alone.

Xxx

Seriously, there was not much they could do. Ryan had already checked if Tyson owned any other buildings, but, as expected, that was not the case. Booth and Esposito had done some more canvassing, but no one had seen anything. Hodgins hadn't found anything either. Cam went home to Michelle and told everyone else they should get some sleep as well.

Sleep. Yeah, right. As if he could sleep right now. Castle was lying on the bed in the hotel room, not wanting to sleep at all. Wait. Home. Daughter. Alexis. He should really call her, hear her voice. He took his phone off the nightstand and called Alexis.

"Dad? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Alexis said, sleepy but with a hint of irritation.

Castle looked at the clock on the nightstand. Oops, 1 a.m.

"Dad? Is everything all right?" Her voice sounded worried now.

"Actually, pumpkin, no. Everything is not all right. Kate was abducted earlier this evening." Castle's voice broke again, just like earlier when he had called Jim.

"What? No, no, not Kate. That's not possible. I- she" Alexis started to cry and Castle's heart broke into a million pieces at the sound of his daughter crying.

"Dad, you have to get her back. You have to. I love her; she's the only real mother figure I ever had. I can't lose her, dad. If she dies…" Alexis began to sob again.

"We'll get her back alive. You have my word on that Alexis. I'll get her back home safely, and then you can tell her what you told me. She'll be glad to hear that."

"You really think that? I mean, I- I love her like a mother, but d- does she love me like a daughter?"

"I don't think that, pumpkin, I know. She adores you, but she's still not sure if you really see her as a mother figure. Really, tell her when she gets back."

"She's still not sure even though after what I said after you asked her to move in?"

"No. I mean, she knows you like her, but… Let her explain when she's back."

"When?"

Yes, when. I'm going to bring her home. Don't worry about that. Now, go back to sleep, okay? It's late. I'll call you when we have her."

"Okay. Night, love you, dad."

"Love you too, pumpkin. Night." After he hung up, he walked towards the window, staring at the stars.

* Flashback *

That day, they had moved Kate's stuff into the loft. Now, she was sitting on the couch, reading a book. She was about to turn the page, when two hands covered her eyes. She sighed.

"Castle!"

"Come with me, please?" He pleaded.

"To where, exactly?"

"It's a surprise. And yes, I know you don't like surprises, but you'll like this one, I promise."

"Fine. But maybe you can remove your hands for a minute, so I can put away the book."

He did as she told. She put her book away and walked back to Castle. He immediately put his hands back over her eyes. He led her into the elevator, and they went… up? Shortly after they entered, they had reached the rooftop. Together, they stepped outside and Castle removed his hands from Kate's eyes. In front of them was a picnic cloth surrounded by dozens of candles. On it was a bottle of wine and 2 glasses. The sky was bright so they were able to see the stars.

Kate turned around to Castle. "Rick, did you do this?"

Castle nodded. "To celebrate you moved in."

Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a sweet kiss. "Thank you," she whispered against his lips. She pulled back and they went to sit at the blanket. Castle poured the wine and handed Kate one of the glasses. She sat down between his legs and looked up at the sky while sipping from her wine.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?" Kate said after a while.

"Not as beautiful as you," Castle replied, not missing a beat.

"Sap."

"Ah, but you love me anyway." He put his now empty glass aside.

Kate just finished her glass as well and turned around, also putting her glass aside. The flames from the candles reflected in her eyes, making them shine even brighter. Then she straddled him and put her arms around his neck.

"How 'bout I show you just how much I love you?" She planted her lips on his as she leaned forward to push him down and made love to him under the bright sky.

* End of flashback *

Castle smiled as he thought about the wonderful night they'd had. As he looked up into the sky once more, he hoped that wherever Kate was, she was able to see those exact same stars.

I suck at writing abductions, so don't worry, there won't be too much chapters with Kate missing.

I hope the last part made up a bit for the lack of Caskett in this chapter.

And Castle will get his perfect opportunity somewhere in this story, I promise.

Please let me know what you think!

-xxx-