Author's Note-I just thought I'd give some insight into how I work for the people who are new to reading my stories. I don't really have a set posting schedule. When it's written and edited to my, slightly obsessive, satisfaction, then it will go up. Obviously reviews, as they do for most writers on here, motivate me to go faster, but that's up to you. Read, review, enjoy. NYLF xx
"Sorry about that." Kate smiled to the uniform as she walked back into the room. She waited until Castle followed her in before closing the door and returning to her seat. "Nevaeh, where is your mama now?" Nevaeh shrugged.
"Don't know." Her lower lip trembled and she sank her teeth into it gently to try and control the movement.
"Okay, when did you last see her?" Kate asked gently.
"She went to the place she goes, yesterday afternoon and didn't come home." Nevaeh told them shakily. Tears welled in her sapphire blue eyes before she buried her face in her hands, letting her long golden hair conceal her face. Castle couldn't help but smile to himself at how much the action reminded him of Kate.
Kate looked to Castle, silently asking the best way to proceed, when he only shrugged, the same helplessness she was feeling reflected back at her through his eyes, she leaned forward slightly and softened her tone even further.
"Nevaeh, you said that she went to the place she goes. What do you mean by that? Do you know where this place is?" She shook her head without looking up.
"My mama said that little girls didn't need to know where it was. That it was her problem and that she didn't want me to ask again." Kate nodded.
"Okay. What usually happened to you when she went there?" Nevaeh lifted her head slightly to watch Kate carefully.
"I don't understand the question." Kate smiled gently.
"Did you go somewhere; did someone come and stay with you?" Nevaeh shook her head.
"No. Sometimes I was at school but usually I just stayed at home. I had to be real quiet and mama was always home before I had to go to bed." Kate smiled.
"Okay, do you have an family aside from your mama? Grandparents, aunts, uncles? Someone you can stay with until we find your mama?" Kate asked, already knowing the most likely answer. No one tells their kid to walk into the police station and ask for a detective if they have someone else to go to. As expected Nevaeh shook her head.
"No, mama never said anything about anyone else." Kate nodded and sat back in her chair for a moment, sorting through her options in her head. Before she could do anything else, she had to ask the question burning on the tip of her tongue.
"What about your father?" Castle's eyes snapped to her. Nevaeh shook her head slightly.
"Mama always said that daddy loved me but he didn't live with us. Don't even know his name." Nevaeh looked sheepishly at the adults. "I'm not very good at this, am I?"
"Nonsense, you're doing fine Sweetie." Castle smiled and Kate nodded.
"You're doing really well Nevaeh. Okay, here's what we're gonna do." Kate smiled and tried to sound as positive as possible. "You're gonna stay in here alright? I'll have someone stay with you and get you some lunch, given the time." Castle smiled as Nevaeh's face lit up at the prospect of food, he wondered how long it had been since she last ate. "Castle and I are going to go talk to my team and see if we can try and get some more information about you and your mama and then we're going to start trying to find her okay?" The young girl nodded. "Good girl. Now, I am going to be just out there alright." Kate pointed to her desk, which you could see pretty clearly from the window behind Nevaeh. "If you need me, you can just ask whoever is sitting with you to come get me. Okay?" The little girl nodded once more and granted Kate the tiniest of smiles. "Okay." She turned to Castle who nodded and stood, taking his non-verbal cue.
Once Kate had found someone suitable to sit with the seven year old, a young female uniform by the name of Leah Hill, she and Castle made their way back to her desk, the former trying to work out how to explain this to not only the boys, but also their captain.
"Ryan?" Kate called as soon as she was at her desk.
"Yeah?" Ryan answered, looking up from the mountain of paperwork they were each supposed to be working on today.
"I need you to look into Hannah Tyler for me." Ryan immediately typed the name into his computer.
"Who's Hannah Tyler?" Esposito asked, reading over his partner's shoulder.
"She's uh..." Kate faltered, not entirely sure how to explain the situation to them. Both boys looked up at their boss' stumble.
"Beckett?" Ryan prompted.
"She's the mother of the little girl in the Interview Room." Castle provided.
Kate sat down heavily, dropping her head into her hands.
The boys turned to Castle, shooting him curious looks, but he shook his head tightly and they got the message. They quickly got to work while Castle crouched beside Kate.
"Kate?" He gently touched his hand to her knee cap, stroking his thumb across her thigh. "What do you need me to do?" Kate shrugged, leaning on her elbows and turning to face him. He wasn't all that shocked to see tears building in her eyes.
"I, I don't know Rick." Castle squeezed her knee gently before standing and pressing a kiss to the top of her head, so grateful that everyone now knew, so he could provide this tiny comfort for her.
"Okay, well I'm going to go make you a fresh coffee, as yours will be cold by now. Then we'll talk, okay?" Kate nodded, smiling gently. "I think you should come over tonight." She nodded again.
"Sounds good." Castle returned her smile.
"I'll even leave you alone to have a bubble bath." Castle's smile grew as Kate laughed softly. He squeezed her leg once more before making his way over to the break room to make them both coffees.
"Yo Beckett." Esposito called a few minutes later.
"What've you got?" Kate asked, gripping her coffee mug tightly as if to ground herself.
"Hannah Tyler's got a record."
Kate and Castle both stood and made their way over to the boys.
"Solicitation and drug possession mostly."
Kate sighed as Ryan summarised it for her.
"That poor little girl."
Ryan nodded.
"Yeah, looks like she did everything she could to keep Nevaeh happy and safe though. There is no mention of children's services." Kate nodded. "Did she say why she was here?"
"Her mother told her if she ever needed help and she wasn't there, she was to go to the police station and ask for me. Hannah didn't come home last night." Both the boys nodded before the elevator chimed, drawing everyone's attention.
Castle grabbed his wallet from his jacket and greeted the Pizza Boy, taking the box from him once he had given him a healthy tip on top of what he was owed. They exchanged smiles before Castle turned back to the group, pizza in hand.
"I'm presuming this is for the little one?" Kate nodded.
"I told Hill to order it for Nevaeh's lunch. I thought she could use the calories." Castle smiled, loving this maternal side that was coming through. "We're going to ask Nevaeh some more questions and make sure she eats lunch, are you two set?" She asked the boys, receiving nods from them both.
Kate and Castle entered the Interview Room and the former relieved Hill with a 'thank you' and a smile.
"Hi." Nevaeh greeted in a tiny voice.
"Hey Sweetie." Castle smiled warmly as he sat opposite her, Kate putting the pizza on the table between them before taking her own seat beside Castle.
"Is that for me?" Nevaeh's eyes widened as she flicked her gaze between the adults and the box. Kate nodded, sliding the pizza closer to her.
"Course. Go ahead, dig in." Nevaeh smiled brightly and opened the box grabbing a slice before looking up at Kate curiously. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just..." She filtered off, feeling shy all of a sudden.
"What's up?" Kate asked cautiously.
"I didn't know pizza was supposed to be warm that's all." Kate's eyes slipped closed on their own accord. She looked over at Castle who was watching the little girl before him with such protection for her in his gaze; you would have thought she was his own flesh and blood.
Nevaeh made short work of her lunch, only checking every so often that it really was all for her, while the two adults kept a close but unobtrusive eye on her.
"Kate?" Nevaeh asked, after finishing her last slice and cleaning her mouth and fingers with a napkin.
"Yes Nevaeh?" The young girl suddenly found her hands very interesting. "It's okay, you can ask me anything; never be afraid to ask." Kate assured her gently.
"Have you found my mama yet?" Kate hesitated for a second before shaking her head.
"Not yet no. We are still gathering information. My team will have asked people to look for her by now though." Nevaeh nodded. "Was there something else?" The little girl opened and shut her mouth a few times before looking up at the adults from beneath her impossibly long eye lashes.
"What happens if you don't find her?" She asked in a shaky, minuscule voice.
"Why don't we just concentrate on finding her, before we think of worst case scenarios huh?" Castle asked softly, injecting just enough positivity into his voice to make the little girl smile. Nevaeh nodded.
"Okay Mr Castle." Castle laughed.
"Rick's fine or you can do what Kate does and just call me Castle. No need for the title." Nevaeh nodded, her tiny smile growing ever so slightly.
"Okay, Castle."