Kidnapped Ch.2
Walking into the house, Alexis gently placed her keys in the tray next to the door. Looking around the loft, she found her father asleep on the couch. Walking over to him, she gently took the case file from her father's grasp and set it on the coffee table. Opening the file herself, she felt tears prickling in her eyes.
A picture of Kate Beckett smiled back up at her. Her hazel eyes sparkled and her brown hair tumbled around her shoulders, framing her face. Her lips were curled up into a small grin. Holding back the tears, Alexis closed the file again, and went back to her room.
Collapsing straight into bed, Alexis curled up into the fetal position, hugging the small bear that Kate had given her a couple of months ago. Kate's mother had given the small bear to Kate when she was younger and now, Kate had given it to her.
Tears started falling uncontrollably as her whole body shuddered. Kate had been the first woman that her father dated that she cared for so much. Her father had once said her own mother was more like a 'crazy aunt with a credit card'. Alexis had no idea what that meant when she was younger, but now, she understood. A mother was someone whom you knew that you could always fall back on, and that they would always be there for you. She had been wary of Kate at first, building up her own walls against her, preventing her from getting into her heart, but Kate was a stubborn woman as well. She took down the wall brick by brick until Alexis finally let her in. Kate was not just her stepmother, she was her friend, her sister, and most importantly, someone she loved.
Alexis had been so happy when her father and Kate had finally gotten married. Kate had promised that she would be there for her, but now, Alexis needed her more than anything, and no one knew where she was.
Opening his eyes, Richard Castle jumped up as he awoke, as he could not feel the case file in his arms. Fearing that he had lost the last thing that connected him to Kate at the moment, he looked around frantically before spotting it on the coffee table next to him. A little weight was lifted off his shoulder for a moment before the reality of Kate's disappearance sunk in again. Unconsciously, he began to rub his silver wedding band, fingering the small inscription of the word 'Always' on it.
He looked around and noticed the small telltale signs that told him that his daughter was home. Getting off the couch, he headed upstairs to his daughter's room, and found her fast asleep on her bed. Her swollen eyes and the tearstains on her cheeks told him that she had probably cried herself to sleep. He looked down the hallway to the bedroom that belonged to Kate and himself. After a moment, he tore his eyes away and headed for the chair next to Alexis's bed. He had refused adamantly to put a foot in their bedroom ever since she had gone missing.
Sitting down on the chair, he took another long look at his daughter. Black rings were forming under her eyes, and she had gotten thinner and paler. Even in her sleep, her legs were twitching, as if she was running away from something. Just then, she began to whimper and moan, and her arms started thrashing around. Shaking her gently, Rick quickly woke her up and she stared up at him, her blue eyes pleading
'Have you found her?' Alexis asked in a whisper, with a hint of desperation in it. It reminded him of the day when Alexis begged to have her mother there for her seventh birthday. In that moment, Rick could see the little girl that was still in there. Shaking his head, he pulled Alexis close, as he hung on desperately.
'I want her back, daddy. I want Kate back,' Alexis told him, calling him daddy for the first time in almost eight years.
'I do too, kiddo. I do too,' Castle answered her, wishing desperately that Kate was right next to him, safe and sound.
Throwing the phone onto his table angrily, Javier Esposito covered his face with his hands. It had been three days, and they have exhausted every single lead that they have.
He looked at the framed picture on his desk of them all. The photo had been taken at the Old Haunt on Kate's birthday a couple months ago. Kate and Rick had just gotten married, and all of them were smiling at the camera happily.
He had been so happy when Kate finally married Rick Castle. To him, Kate was his little sister, and it was his job to keep her safe and happy.
He had not gone home since they had found out that Kate has disappeared. They had gone over all surveillance footage in the parking lot, and the only image they have of the attacker was a low quality photo of a man with a ski mask on. Her phone records and bank accounts were all triple checked, and her actions leading up to the kidnapping were all thoroughly checked, but there was absolutely nothing in it that gave them any idea of the identity of the kidnapper.
He turned away from the picture and looked at the little evidence that they have gotten from the parking lot once again. A small sound opposite to him alerted him of someone else's presence and he looked up, and found Kevin sitting down on his chair and looking at the photos of the crime scene for the umpteenth time.
'What are you doing here, bro? I thought you went home to Jenny,' Esposito asked, and Kevin shrugged.
'Right now, Kate needs me more. Jenny knows that and told me to come back here,' Kevin answered, his eyes focused on the pictures in front of him.
To Kevin, Kate was his older sister, someone who supported him at all times, and someone that he could talk to about anything. When he was first transferred to the homicide department, Kate had been the one who taught him, and he owed everything to her.
Both heads looking down at the work in front of them, they focused on reexamining the evidence once again, determined to find something that will allow them to bring Kate home safely.
Lanie wrung her hands together as she walked around the morgue, trying to imagine what she would do to Kate once they found her: slapping her first for making her worry endlessly or giving her a bone-crushing hug. The image of Kate lying on a slab in her morgue crept into her mind, but she pushed the thought out, refusing to accept that for even a second.
She looked at the result sheet in her hand. Kate had come to her four days ago, asking her to run a test. She had been overjoyed when Lanie told her that the test was positive, and that she was going to have a baby. She can still clearly see Kate's excited expression in her mind, and even though she was by no means a religious person, she could not help herself and sent a prayer up to the sky, hoping that it would be answered.
'Please let Kate and her baby come back to us safely.'
A/N: Normally, I would only upload a new chapter on Monday. However, fortunately for you all readers out there, I have to assist in a residential camp on Monday, and there is no internet there, so I decided to upload this chapter earlier.
A massive thank you for all of you that reviewed this story. I hope that you will all continue to review this story and enjoy it as well :)
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms will be much appreciated, but no flamers please.
This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat for betaing for me, and to Project 66 for reading over the plot for me.
Zoe tabbycat