Chapter 13
Short chapter but things are winding down. Glad I had time to update this chapter to use Villante's name.

They managed to get checked out with minimum of fuss. Castle supposed a small hospital did have some perks, and one was it easy leaving it. Nobody was around that Sunday morning. Kate told him not to get used to it because the neighbors had already called and reporters were staking out their DC place.

"That's why I think it's a good idea to pack our stuff up and head to the Hamptons and let you convalesce by the beach," Kate said. Castle, who was in the passenger seat, was surprised. He would love to head to his beach house, but he was sure she wouldn't be able to stay away from her job too long.

Before he could ask, Alexis, who was sitting in the backseat with Martha, added, "Oh, that's a great idea. I could call Pi and have him join us."

"Pi?" Castle asked.

Alexis had already pulled out her phone. "Oh yeah, he's my new b-, uh, friend. He's great, you're going to love him."

Castle had turned almost completely around and stared as she looked for his name in her phone. "And his name is Pi? What kind of name is that?"

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Dad, please. I met him when I went to Costa Rica this summer. He's wonderful."

Martha looked like she was hiding a smile. "He's been watching the loft for us."

"You left him in our home alone?" Castle said, looking at Kate to see if she knew anything about this. She was barely containing a grin.

"Dad, it's okay. It worked out. We needed someone watching the loft while we were away and he needed a place to stay for a few days."

Castle laughed sarcastically, turning around to face forward. "So he's homeless too? Great, he could have sold all our furniture right now."

Martha leaned forward. "It's okay, Richard. I met the young man. He's a free spirit, very much like me."

"Oh, well, that's comforting." Castle shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Why don't you just drop me back in that cave on the way?"

Kate smacked him in the arm. "Castle, stop it. I'm sure he's fine. Alexis has always picked great guys in the past, right?"

"Yeah, right," he barely admitted.

They drove for a little while in silence. Alexis, who wisely realized calling Pi right might not be the best idea, was busy texting him. Martha went back to reading her book, and Kate was concentrating on the road. Castle looked over at her. He loved it when she concentrated. She looked better than yesterday but something still seemed wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Thinking about the Hamptons he decided he needed to bite the bullet and go ahead and find out how much time she had left to devote to him. "So, when do you have to go back to your job?"

Kate glanced at him, her eyes not quite making eye contact. He sensed he wouldn't like her answer, but she'd obviously dropped everything to find him and be with him. He just hoped he could get a couple of more days. "I'm sure they are anxious to have you back."

"Actually, I'm-I'm not going back," she said it so quickly Castle almost didn't let it register.

"What do you mean?"

Kate took a deep breath and she glanced at Martha and Alexis in the backseat, who were doing their best to not listen to the conversation. "I quit."

"You quit!" Castle was shocked. "Why?"

She didn't answer, forcing him to guess. "Because I was kidnapped? Kate, God, I didn't want you to quit your job for me."

She held onto the steering wheel with her left hand, and reached out with her right, taking his. "It's okay."

It wasn't though. "Kate, I never wanted you to have to give that up. The opportunity was so great and you were enjoying it."

"I wasn't, Castle," Kate said, squeezing his hand.

"You weren't?" He thought of the last time he saw her, about how unhappy she looked leaving the apartment, but he had assumed it was because she couldn't tell him what was going on.

Breathing in, Kate kept her eyes on the road. "This job was exciting and new and it certainly had perks, which I admit I completely loved. The resources we had and working directly with the attorney general, you can't help but feel proud doing it.

"But there was a definite shift in priorities on how to get the job done. You know, I became a cop to give families of victims' closure and help them through their tragedies. That wasn't the case here. We rarely had direct contact with the people affected, and it was frowned upon if we reached out to them. I hated that."

Castle held her hand with both of his, stroking it. He had no idea. She always was so good with that side of things, where others would struggle. "I wish I had known."

"That was another issue," she said, glancing at him again. "I was so used to sharing my day with you. Even though you weren't going to be around, I didn't think I'd have to keep so much of my job quiet from you. I hated that and I know you did, too."

"I understood—"

"I hated that you had to. And much to my own shock, I realized how much I had depended on bouncing ideas and theories off of you, even when you went wild on your side."

Castle wasn't going to let her get away with that. "Hey! Those wild theories kept us going even when we hit brick walls."

She chuckled. "I know, and it wasn't really the place for them with Villante, my boss. I got some funny looks."

Now he was astonished. "You tried my theories?"

"A little," she was blushing. "But every week it seemed like it was taking more effort to go into work. I tried to tell myself it would get better, that I just needed to get over this early staged hump, and everything would click.

"When you went missing I was surprised at how they rallied around me. I was very grateful for it. Turns out it was protocol. It seemed too coincidental that you would be taken and we had just finished such an important and dangerous case."

It took all of Castle's restraint not to ask about that. How much danger was she in? He tensed just thinking about it.

"But once it was obvious Smith had only been about you, that changed things." Now there was an edge to her voice and Castle noticed she was gripping the steering wheel harder. "They pulled out, quickly. Of course, I wasn't expected to follow. They were very understanding of what I was going through on a personal level, but once this became a simple kidnapping, well, they needed to let that go back to the regular FBI team and local authorities so they could focus on the high priority cases."

Castle wisely continued to remain quiet. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kate. "I know, on a rational level, they were right. I've seen the cases they have worked. Calling them important is low balling it. But when I was told about the cave in and thought we had lost you, I just … I realized this job wasn't going to be enough, that it hadn't been enough, and I'd been kidding myself."

She glanced at him, sniffing, but she smiled. "I think it's a miracle I got a second chance."

"Yeah," was all Castle could say. Kate didn't pour her heart out like that very often, especially with Alexis and Martha in the backseat, but something told him she must have already shared all of this with them beforehand. He thought back to the cave and how his conversations with Royce, Roy, and Johanna all talked of Kate's job. Sitting now in the light of day with the people he loved most in the car, it seemed surreal. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kissed the back of it like she did his earlier. "I think we both got our miracles."

Sorry this one was so short. Please review anyway.