Disclaimers: If only.

Summary: Rick and Alexis revisit the scene where Alexis was held captive while Martha spends quality time with Ariel.

Chapter 15: Revisiting Paris

It was a bitterly cold morning. Rick and Alexis were sitting in a small café down the street from the George V, where they were staying. Alexis was staring over her father's shoulder at the cold gray Paris street outside of their window. "Did I tell you that I talked to Sara?" She took a sip of her café au lait. Castle knew that she was of course talking about the other young woman who'd been kidnapped with her.

"Really? How is she?"

"She sounded really good. She's getting married next summer."

"Wow, that's great."

"How come she can move on and I can't?"

"Trauma affects different people in different ways, Alexis. I think this is going to help. I think it's going to help us both."

"Can I ask you a question?" Her father nodded. "Has Kate ever thought of going back to that house? The one where Josh held her?"

"I know the one that you're talking about. We don't talk about that, Alexis. You know that."

"Well, doesn't that make her something of a hypocrite?" She stopped Rick before he could object. "She thinks that it's a good idea for me to come to Paris and torture myself, but she isn't willing to do the same thing."

"Alexis, are you angry with Kate?"

"No. I'm angry at both of you. Right now I'm just angry at everybody. I don't want to be here!"

"Alexis, listen to me. Please? Let's forget the bad memories of Paris for a few minutes, okay? What do you remember from the very first time you ever came here?"

"Seeing the Eiffel Tower. But, when I called you that morning and you told me to run, when I ran out on that roof, that was the first thing that I saw. I didn't understand how I could be looking at the Eiffel Tower when I didn't even remember getting on a plane."

"They drugged you. Both you and Sara. They said that you were both being brought to Paris for transplants. That got you through customs and to that office building without any questions being asked. It was all very carefully thought out. What else to you remember about the first time your mother brought you here?"

"The Arc de Triomphe. I remember thinking that it was huge. Mom took me to Chanel," she smiled for the first time since they'd arrived in Paris. "I think that I was the only girl in my first grade class to wear a dress to school from the House of Chanel."

"I was so angry when I saw that dress. I remember telling your mother that she had no idea how dirty a six-year-old could get during a regular school day. You should've seen the look on the man from the dry cleaner's face when I took it in to be cleaned. He must've thought you were the most spoiled kid on the planet."

"Can I ask you something? Do you ever wish that mom had stuck around so that you could've raised me together? I know that you're happy that Kate's in the picture with Ariel."

"Pumpkin, even if your mother had stuck around for another year, maybe two, in the end the results would've been the same. Some people aren't meant to be parents, and your mother just happens to be one of those people. She's great at being your friend, but I can't imagine her having to deal with some of the stuff I've dealt with over the years. I haven't even handled some of that stuff the way that I should have."

"No, but it's still been fun," Alexis continued smiling. "Well, sitting here isn't going to get us any closer to our destination. I guess that we should probably get going."

Castle knew the signs of panic from two years of dealing with Kate. This was one reason why he wasn't anxious to talk about what Josh Davidson had done to her the summer before Ariel was born. Kate was making great strides in keeping things under control. He had no desire to return to panic attacks, flashbacks, and recurring nightmares.

He'd rented a car and they drove to their first destination. Alexis had managed to unlock the door to the room where she and her friend Sara were being held. She'd then found a phone and called her father on Skype after a call to 9-1-1 failed to go through. He looked at her as they sat in the car staring at the building. "The gendarmes have already spoken to the owner of the building. He's going to meet us in the lobby and allow us to go upstairs. Are you ready?"

"I think so," she looked pale, but under control.

They got out of the car and into the building where the owner of the building approached them. "Monsieur Castle? Mademoiselle Castle? I'm Monsieur LaSeurre, the owner of this property," the old man told them in perfect English.

"Thank you for allowing us to come here," Castle shook the man's hand. "We'll try to be as quick as we can."

Since Alexis wasn't sure which floor she'd escaped from, she was more than happy to let her father lead the way. They took a rickety elevator up to the 10th floor and stepped off. Alexis took several deep breaths after they stepped off of the elevator. "The room where we were held was down this way," she led the way down the hall and to the room where they'd found themselves. "It was freezing cold. I kept telling Sara that I knew that they weren't going to kill us because they kept us fed and reasonably well taken care of."

"Alexis, how'd you manage to get out?" Castle asked as he watched Alexis checking out the room.

"Sara had bobby pins in her hair. I used two of them to pick the lock. I told her that you'd taught me when you were doing research for one of your Derrick Storm books."

"Yeah, I did," he smiled at the memory. "I'm glad that knowledge came in handy."

"So am I. After I got the door unlocked, we both started to go the same way, but I told her that it was safer if we split up. I was hoping one of us could find help," they stepped out into the hall as she began to walk down the corridor. "Most of the doors were locked, but I found an opened office door and that's where I found the phone. I tried 9-1-1 first, but all I got was this weird tone. That was when I tried your number."

Castle remembered that call like it had happened yesterday. He'd been half-asleep when the call had come through on Skype. Seeing his beautiful daughter appear on his phone screen had been the most welcome sight ever. But he remembered how scared she'd sounded, how alone. He longed to beam himself up to her like a character on 'Star Trek.' He just wanted to make everything better like he had when she was little and scraped her knee in the park.

"When I heard them looking for me and you told me to run, I dropped the phone and ran this way," she left the office where she'd found the phone and headed down one corridor and down another toward an exit. "I opened the door and I was on the roof."

They stepped onto the roof into air that felt like ice. Castle wrapped his coat tighter around him while he watched Alexis. He hadn't said anything other than to ask her a couple of questions. "When I saw the Eiffel Tower, I thought that I was in some kind of a nightmare. I ran over and looked down to the street. It was early, so there weren't too many people around. I screamed for help and that was when someone grabbed me."

"What happened after you were grabbed?"

"Uh, I don't remember," she turned to face him with tears running down her face. "I don't remember!"

Fighting back his own tears, he walked over and embraced her as tightly as he could. He could feel her shaking while she sobbed. "It's okay," he whispered into her hair. "You're doing great, sweetie. Let's get out of here and go back to the hotel."

***CCC***

"Have you heard from Richard?" Martha asked, watching as Kate finished getting ready to go to work.

"I had an email from him this morning. He said that they went to the office building where Alexis was originally held. He said that she held up pretty well. He said that they're going to go to the house he rescued her from later today. At least I guess it's today. The time difference has me all confused. In any case, he'll be home tomorrow. I have to go. I'll call you at lunchtime and I should be home by five."

"You don't have to worry about anything. Ariel and I had a perfectly wonderful time yesterday and the same will be said for today."

"Okay," Kate smiled, hugging her mother-in-law and kissing all over her daughter's smiling face. "Have fun with gram."

Ariel turned toward her grandmother and patted her face. "Did Richard ever tell you that Alexis did that same thing when she was a baby? The patting thing?"

"No, really? How funny," Kate smiled. "Have fun."

"Your daddy did it, too," Martha whispered to her granddaughter when the door closed. "You, my dear, are a true Rodgers. Or, as your father would put it, a true Castle."

"Dada!" Ariel cried out happily.

"Dada is in Paris with your sister. He'll be home tomorrow." Martha sat down on the sofa, settling Ariel on her lap before picking up a photo album and picking it up. "We're not about to watch those silly shows that your daddy has recorded for you. You're much too young to have your brain fried by TV. This is your daddy when he wasn't much older than you. You look exactly like him."

"Dada!" Ariel slapped at the page.

Martha reached over to the end table and picked up a framed picture of Rick, Kate, and the two girls that had been taken shortly after Ariel's birth. "Oh, sweet Ariel, you're such a lucky little girl to have a mommy and daddy who love each other so much. Your sissy didn't have that. Look at how happy they look."

Ariel struggled to turn herself around and pull herself to a standing position with her grandmother's help. "If you keep pulling yourself up like that, you're going to be walking before anybody knows it. Then we're really going to be in trouble around here, aren't we?"

***CCC***

"So, how is it going with Mrs. R. taking care of the baby?" Ryan asked, parking himself in Castle's empty chair.

"Well, I haven't found my daughter duct-taped in a closet, so I guess it's going okay," Kate laughed. "Give Martha a stack of soundtracks from musicals and she can keep Ari entertained for hours."

"Have you heard from Castle?"

"I got an email earlier this morning. They made it through the first part of the journey. He's going to take her to the house where she was rescued from sometime today. He'll be home late tomorrow. I can't wait to see him."

"Is he ever going to come back here?"

"I don't know, Ryan. I can't see him following me to crime scenes with our daughter in a sling. Someone would report me to DCFS."

"But, just think of what she could share for her first show and tell," Ryan teased.

"That's a frightening thought."

When Kate walked in the front door of the loft that evening, she could see how exhausted Martha was. "Why do I not remember Richard having that much energy?"

"I think it's because you were younger then," Kate smiled, walking over and sitting down.

"I couldn't even blink. One second she'd be here and then a second later she'd be over there. She's fast."

"I'm sorry," Kate tried to keep from laughing, but soon they were both laughing.

***CCC***

Rick and Alexis were sitting in the rental car in the driveway of the house where the rescue had taken place. They'd been unable to gain access to the inside, but had decided to come anyway. Alexis remembered being dragged by her father through the house, as her father literally bowled over men who were trying to kill them.

"It doesn't look as scary as I remember."

"Somehow bad things never do," he looked at her.

They got out and walked up to the house, peering in the windows. The interior of the house was now devoid of furniture or other decorations. Rick walked over and tried different doors and windows, but they were all securely locked. "Let's go meet mom for dinner," Alexis looked at her father.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I've seen everything that I need to see. Kate's right. They were just buildings."

"Do you feel better now that you came back?"

"I don't know. I guess time will tell."

They had dinner that night with Meredith at Maxim's. Rick was catching the red eye back to New York later that night. When he got back to the hotel, he Skyped Kate, even though he knew that it would be early in the morning in New York. He grinned when he saw her on his computer screen with Ariel. "Hi, Kate. Hi, sweet pea. She's up early."

"Tell me about it," Kate groaned. "How's Alexis?"

"I don't know. Parts of it were rough for both of us."

"I'm sure that it was. We miss you."

"I miss you two, also," his grin was huge.

"Ari, say 'hi' to dada," Kate tried to focus the baby's attention on the computer screen. "He'll be home this evening. Rick, I'm going to leave her with Martha when I come to the airport. They're forecasting snow flurries and I don't want to get her out in that."

"Kate, I can call for a car—"

"Not a chance," she argued. "You've been gone for three days and I'm not waiting one second longer to see you than I have to."

"I need to finish packing and say my goodbyes to Alexis before I leave. I'll see you later in the evening New York time. I love you."

"I love you, too."

When the connection ended, Rick finished packing his clothes and his computer before leaving his room and going to the suite Meredith and Alexis were sharing. "Thank you for coming with me," Alexis hugged her father tightly.

"You're very welcome, kiddo. Listen to me. Have a good time with your mother. Kate and I will meet you at the airport on the second. Enjoy New Year's, but don't enjoy it too much," he smiled at her. "I'll see you in a few days. I love you."

"I love you, too. Have a safe flight."

"You, too. Meredith, have fun and be careful," he kissed his ex-wife on the cheek.

"Be careful going home, Richard."

***CCC***

Kate was smiling broadly when she saw Castle walking toward her in the baggage claim area. He pulled her into his arms, lifting her off of the ground as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You better not be planning any trips for a while, because as much as I love homecomings, I hate putting you on a plane."

"I'm not planning any more trips anywhere without you and our daughter. God, I missed you," his lips crushed down on hers for a kiss that left her breathless and moaning into his mouth before they parted for air. "Let's go home before we get arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior."

"Yeah, I can see the headlines now. 'Writer and his Muse Busted for Having Sex in the Baggage Claim Area at JFK.' We'd never live it down."

"I thought you told me if I ever called you my muse again, you'd break both of my legs."

"Oh, that was before, Castle," she grinned at him.

"Before what?"

"Before you inspired me."

"Wait? Aren't I the one that should be inspired?"

"Take me home and I'll show you how inspired you make me," she kissed him again, her breath hot against his mouth.

"Please let my bags be the first one off," he kissed her once again as the world seemed to melt away around them.

A/N #2: I'm saving the New Year's chapter for my M-rated follow up to this story. I just don't think that there's any way I can write a sanitized version of that one.

I can be found on Twitter Caskett1960.

The S-6 spoilers are getting very interesting. 21 more days!