A/N: First, I'm really sorry for taking so long to update. It has been a very busy week. Second, I just want to thank everyone who has supported this story and takes the time to tell me so here or on Tumblr. You guys are awesome and I love you! Third, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this - which is probably because I stayed away from this story for a few days - but I really hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.

Someone Like You

Chapter 21

It had been two weeks since Tyler had dropped the bomb on him. Rick spent the first week trying to decide what to do with that information and whether he should tell Kate and break his promise to Tyler or just take matters into his own hands. He found himself at a crossroads and he felt like whatever he chose to do, it would always be a lose/lose situation. It had been consuming him, this anguish of not knowing what to do. Every time he looked at Kate, he felt like the worst person in the world for keeping something so important from her.

After a week, it was starting to take a toll on him. It was worrying him so much that he had actually had nightmares about it, mostly featuring Tyler getting kidnapped and Kate blaming him for it. The boy hadn't mentioned anything else since Mother's Day, though, even after Rick asked him about it when Kate had taken Alexis with her to get a manicure. They had been doing a lot of those girly activities together lately and he was so glad to have Kate in their lives and that she was such a great influence on Alexis. That, in turn, just made him feel even more guilty about what he was hiding from her.

When the tenth day after the bombshell rolled around, Rick made up his mind. There was a way to take care of it without worrying Kate and without breaking Tyler's trust. He would just have to take matters into his own hands, so the first thing he set out to do was to find the best private investigator of New York City. The guy charged a fortune, but Rick figured it was worth it. Anything was worth it if it would keep Tyler and Kate safe. Because, in all honesty, this wasn't just about lying to her by omission or betraying Tyler's trust anymore. At this point, four months into their relationship, he loved that little boy and would do anything in his power to protect him. If he had to spend a few extra grand to do so, then so be it.

Detective Adams was hired the next day to dig up all he could on Dr. Josh Davidson. Rick asked him to pay special attention to his whereabouts around the time Tyler left school and if he was still hanging around. Four days later, Adams gave him a preliminary report with pictures and Josh's every move documented. The bastard only went to Tyler's school once in those four days, but according to Adams, he would only stay long enough to see Tyler and then leave. In the back of his mind, Rick thought that maybe he just wanted to check on the kid. After all, he was his flesh and blood, even if the doctor had been a total jackass by abandoning Kate after getting her pregnant. So, whatever his motives were, it still didn't make what he was doing right. But he understood the need to see if your child was safe and healthy.

"Hey, you with me?" He heard Kate's voice and blinked, startled. They were on their way up to the homicide department after interviewing their current victim's parents in Brooklyn.

"Sorry, yeah. Spaced out for a second." He offered her a small smile and she squeezed his hand.

"Are you okay?" She searched his eyes with hers, concerned, and he nodded. "You seem to be spacing out a lot lately."

"Just didn't sleep all that well last night, that's all." He reassured her and leaned in to press his lips against hers in a sweet kiss.

"Are you sure?" she insisted, touching his chin, making him look at her. He felt horrible for having to lie to her face like this.

"Yeah. I just need to catch up on sleep, love. Don't worry about me."

"Alright." She squeezed his hand one more time and the doors opened on their floor. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" she said quietly as they walked towards her desk, waving hello to Ryan and Esposito, who were going through the victim's financial records.

"And I love you for that." He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them affectionately, earning a smile from her. "Do you still want me to go pick up Tyler today?"

"If you don't mind, yeah." She sat at her desk and put away her purse in the bottom drawer.

"Of course I don't. I have to take Alexis to an appointment after school, though. He can come with us. It'll be good to have him there to distract her."

"It's her last checkup, right?" She looked up at him and he leaned back on his chair with a sigh.

"Thank God." He covered his face with his hands and closed his eyes, saying a silent prayer for his daughter.

"I can meet you guys at the hospital later if I get out of here at a decent hour." She suggested and he smiled at her with a nod, telling himself that hiding from her the files that were currently in his laptop at home was for her own good. He would deal with this on his own and Josh would not bother two of the most important people in his life anymore.

"Hey, boss? We got a hit on the APB." Esposito interrupted his train of thought and he followed Kate when she stood up and walked over to his desk.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus on what the Hispanic detective was telling them, but he found himself having a hard time focusing on his words.

He was doing the right thing, was the mantra in his mind. He was doing the right thing.

"Hey, Ty. Ready to go?" He asked as soon as he found the boy in the crowd of kids at the school's entrance. Kate and the boys had gone to check out a lead on their current case and he was kind of bummed for having to miss out on this, but he had to take Alexis to her last doctor's appointment. "Hey, what happened there?" He pointed at Tyler's skinned knee. I was already a little swollen and the skin raw. The blood seemed to have coagulated already and someone had hastily put a Band-Aid on it.

"I was running during recess and this older kid pushed me and I fell." He said with a shrug and Rick crouched down to his level, making him look at him.

"Are you okay, though? Did someone take care of this for you?" He asked, concerned, and Tyler shook his head.

"I just washed it and put this on it. My friend gave it to me." He pointed at the Band-Aid and Rick searched his eyes, trying to determine if he was telling the truth. "I'm okay, Rick. Really." He offered a small smile and Rick nodded, standing up.

"Alright, kiddo. Let's go pick up Alexis. Do you mind going to the hospital with us? It'll probably be really quick and we can get your knee looked at while we're there." He put his arm around his shoulder and led him to the car.

"Sure. Is mom meeting us there?" He climbed into the backseat and put on his seatbelt after throwing his backpack on the car floor.

"She said she'd try. It all depends on how the case goes, like usual." He grinned at the boy through the rearview mirror and he nodded. "We can go grab something to eat afterwards, how's that?"

"Awesome." Tyler responded and started telling him how his science teacher had taught them something really exciting today.

Rick listened intently as he drove to Alexis' school, always finding Tyler's stories entertaining. The boy sure had knack for storytelling and was always fun to listen to. After picking up his little girl, they made their way to NYU Medical Center. He was so relieved that this was Alexis' last checkup and after today – if everything went well – she would be in the clear and healthy and that nightmare they had suffered through back in November would be finally put to rest.

They walked into the hospital's reception area and Alexis was quickly ushered in for her checkup. Dr. Sanders, the pediatrician who had overseen her treatment, was happy to see her and they were immediately chatting like old friends. Rick interrupted and asked if she could get a nurse to take a look at Tyler's knee or at least clean it up properly and the doctor told him to sit Tyler on one of the empty gurneys and she would send a nurse in soon.

Alexis was taken to do her final head scan while Rick waited in the emergency ward with Tyler. The boy had leaned back on the gurney, but Rick could tell that his knee was bothering him as a grimace appeared on his young face every time he moved.

"Does it hurt much, buddy?" He asked, pulling a stool to sit next to him. Tyler shrugged. "You know, you don't have to look so tough and strong all the time." He said knowingly and Tyler bit his bottom lip.

"It hurts a little. But it's not as bad as before." He sighed and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "This kid, Elliot, he's been picking on me lately."

"He's the one who pushed you?" Rick put his elbows on the bed and rested his head on his hand, turning to look at him.

"Yeah. He's a bully and thinks he owns the school. He found out mom is a detective so he's been making fun of me because of that. Said that it's not a woman's job and that we're all screwed." He sighed again and shook his head. "I got angry today and told him to shut up about my mom. He pushed me and I fell."

"Just ignore him, Ty. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Your mom is amazing at what she does and you should be very proud of her." He smiled at him and Tyler nodded.

"I know that and I told him that, but he wouldn't listen. I can't let him talk about my mom like that, right?"

"Next time that happens, you tell someone in charge, a teacher. Alright? Don't let him do that to you."

"Alright." He agreed and seemed to relax now that he had gotten it out of his chest. "Hey, there's going to be a Yankees game next week. I was wondering if maybe we could go?" he said timidly and Rick smiled at his sudden mood change. "I haven't been to a game in forever." He added for good measure and Rick chuckled.

"I'll try to get us tickets, but we have to clear it with your mom first." He acquiesced and Tyler nodded excitedly.

"Oh, she loves the Yankees. I'm sure she'll love it. Maybe we could surprise her?" He suggested with a grin and Rick ruffled his hair.

"I like the way you think, Mr. Beckett." He offered his fist and Tyler bumped it with his own. "I'll see what I can do." He said conspiratorially when the nurse approached them.

The young woman cleaned Tyler's knee – Rick held on to his hand when the boy grimaced at the sting the peroxide caused – and put a bandage on it. Tyler put on a brave face, but from the death grip on his hand, Rick knew it was probably quite painful. The nurse tried to shamelessly flirt with him during the entire time she was there and it was all he could do to not roll his eyes at her pitiful attempts. After instructing how they should clean it, she left, but not before slipping a piece of paper with her phone number into his hand. Rick threw it out the second she was out the door. Once upon a time he may have enjoyed the attention, but now that he had Kate and she so completely had his heart, this kind of behavior just repulsed him.

"She was totally flirting with you, wasn't she?" Tyler's playful voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to look at the grinning boy.

"You noticed that, huh?" he chuckled when Tyler gave him a knowing, laughing smile. "She doesn't hold a candle to your mom, though." He assured the boy, who nodded in agreement.

"Well, my mom is really awesome." He agreed and Rick laughed, holding out his hand to help Tyler off the gurney.

"She absolutely is and we love her for it, right?" He put his arm around Tyler and put him on his feet on the floor. "How's the knee?"

"I'll live." He answered with a mock tortured look and Rick laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Come on, squirt. Let's go check on Lexi." He started walking in the direction of the reception area and only realized that Tyler wasn't following him when he reached the counter where the flirty nurse was already eyeing him seductively. "Tyler?" He turned around and found him looking in the opposite direction of where they had come from. Walking back to the emergency ward, he touched his shoulder. "What's wrong, Ty?"

"It's him. The guy I told you about. The one who made mom cry that day." Tyler whispered and Rick followed his gaze until he spotted Josh talking to another doctor near the elevators.

Shit.

"Let's just go find Alexis." He tried to steer Tyler towards the reception area, but Josh had already looked up and seen them. "Tyler, come on." He said more firmly when Josh started making his way to them. He couldn't let this happen. Kate wasn't here; she was the only one who could decide anything about this and she wasn't here. Jesus, what was he supposed to do?

"Who is he?" Tyler asked, a mix of fear and curiosity showing in his eyes.

Josh stopped in front of them and opened his mouth a few times, but apparently didn't know what to say. The awkward silence stretched on as the doctor looked at Tyler with wide eyes and Tyler looked from him to Rick in confusion.

"Is he okay?" He finally asked Rick, who glared at him, arm firmly wrapped around Tyler's shoulder.

"I don't think it's any of your business." He said coldly and Josh looked down, embarrassed.

"Daddy!" He heard his little girl's voice and turned to the sound, finding her being brought back to the emergency ward by Dr. Sanders.

"Hey, pumpkin." He smiled at her and let out a sigh in relief when Tyler ran to her side. He turned back to Josh. "Stay the hell away from him and Kate." He hissed at the doctor. "I'm onto you and if I find out you've been stalking Tyler again, I'll get a restraining order against your ass. You have no right to do what you're doing now."

"He is my son." Josh said firmly, but Rick shook his head.

"You gave up that right when you walked out on Kate. Stay away from them." He glared at him and walked away, making his way to her daughter's side. Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull himself together before facing the kids and the doctor's verdict about his little girl. "Hey, sweetheart." He kissed Alexis' forehead when he reached the bed she was sitting in. Tyler had climbed on it and was sitting next to her, skinned knee apparently forgotten.

"Hi, daddy. Dr. Sanders says I'm free to go." She greeted him with a bright smile and Rick found himself mirroring her, relief washing through him.

"Is she in the clear?" He asked the doctor and she smiled at him with a nod.

"Healthy as a horse. There is no damage at all and she has recovered completely." She told him and he shook her hand enthusiastically, feeling his throat close up with emotion.

"Thank you, Dr. Sanders. For everything." His voice shook slightly and he cleared his throat, blinking away the tears.

"You're very welcome, Mr. Castle. Lexi, I'm going to miss you, sweetie." She smiled at the redhead and turned back to Rick. "A nurse will bring you her scan in a minute and then you guys are free to go." She said and Rick shook her hand again before she left.

"I think this calls for an ice cream celebration. What do you guys say?" He suggested and both kids nodded excitedly. "Alright, let me just call Kate and see if she can meet us somewhere."

He pulled out his phone and realized there was no signal where they were. Shrugging, he decided he would just call her when they left the hospital. He pulled a stool to sit down next to the bed Alexis and Tyler were on and distracted himself for the next few minutes by listening to his daughter recount what she had learned in school today. His mind was still running at full speed, especially after seeing Josh. He had to tell Kate about this and he had to do it soon. This was her life; she should know what was going on. He was going to tell her. Tonight. Now he had photographic evidence and the private investigator's report. He would show everything to her and she could decide what to do.

Soon, a nurse appeared with Alexis' test results and they were finally able to leave. Holding onto his daughter's small hand and Tyler walking by his side, he led the kids to the hospital's entrance. Just as they were crossing the reception area, he looked up and saw a man that looked awfully like Esposito. The man turned around and Rick recognized Kate's partner. He felt his blood freeze in his veins when he saw a red stain in his clothes.

"Esposito!" He called out and the detective turned to the sound.

"Oh, man, thank God. I was trying to call you." He said breathlessly when he reached them. "It's Beckett."

A/N: Let me know what you think? And please don't kill me.