CH34

THIS IS WHERE WE START GETTING A HEAVY DOSE OF SCI-FI. JUST AS THIS STORY IS TAGGED AS BEING. I HOPE EVERYONE TOOK NOTICE OF THIS TAG BEFORE THEY STARTED FOLLOWING THIS STORY.

Kate is home and in a nice hot tub of water filled with her favorite bubble bath. Kate did not want to go to Castle's house. Her condition would just upset Alexis and she wanted very much to avoid that. Kate was in DEEP with Castle's little girl, and she knew it. In the middle of her book and taking a sip of wine, Kate stopped. She knew she loved Alexis very much. And if she showed up tonight it would only frighten her. And that was something Kate just would not do. Though she did miss being in Castle's arms tonight.

Putting her book down along with her glass of wine. 'Castle's arms'. Oh what was she going to do? Here she was all alone in her own apartment and all she could think about was Castle and Alexis. She missed both of them already. What she could be doing in Castle's bed right now. The plans they had made together for Thanksgiving and the trip after. Not to mention the trip to Munich in a couple of months.

Kate sooo wanted to go there and spend time with them. Away from work. Away from all the dead bodies. Just unwind and have some fun. Popcorn, Mickey Mouse ice cream ears, Splash Mountain, Expedition Everest, even Peter Pan with Alexis at her side.

Suddenly she had the need to snuggle up close to Alexis and hold her close and sing and tell her stories.

"Oh GOD. When did I go soft?" Kate Beckett is a hardnosed take no prisoners homicide detective. She is NOT soft!

But I am soft. And I want to be soft. I only want Castle hard. Ok, ok, only a certain section of him. And that stupid voice has been quite for a long time lately.

"OH, What am I going to do?" Splash as her hand hit the water in the tub. "OH, great. Now I get to clean the floor." Damn Castle. This is all his fault. If he wasn't so damn good in bed and have such a cute daughter, she wouldn't be in this mess.

"But I am in this mess. And I want Alexis in this mess with me."

Maybe I can adopt Alexis and drop Castle down some volcano somewhere. But then who would I make love to and love me back? Especially the way Castle does. And the breakfasts, lunches, dinners, trips. Like the one to the pool, the Zoo, and all the other places. And the upcoming dinner with them and her father.

Introduce Castle and Alexis to her father. And try and explain to him what these two meant to her.

"Yea, I've gone soft. …. And I like it."

However Kate left her phone in the kitchen, plugged into the charger. And was missing a phone call that she can't hear.

The water was beginning to get cold so Kate got out and grabbed a towel. Wrapped it around herself and took her empty wine glass to the kitchen to rinse out and put in the dishwasher. Just as she was leaving the kitchen her cell phone rang.

"Beckett"

"Good evening Detective." A very soft and pleasant voice spoke to her. A voice she had not heard for some time now.

"Yes." Not sure what to expect.

"You need to get dressed detective. There are 3 men presently entering the lobby of your building. They are there to kill you detective.

"NOW!?"

"Get dressed and be ready to run detective. NOW! detective. And leave your cell phone where it is." And the call ends.

Kate drops the phone on the counter and runs into the bedroom and throws her towel on the bed. Yanking open drawers she puts on her panties, some yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Skipping the bra, thinking she had no time. Gets her service weapon out of the nightstand and starts putting on her boots, when she hears a noise in the living room.

'DAMN, they were already here'! Finishing with her boots grabs her weapon and chooses a place that hopefully works out best for her.

"BECKETT?" That was Castle's voice.

"Castle?"

She can hear someone coming down the hall and steps into the bedroom where Kate is all set to shoot him. "CASTLE! What are you doing here?"

"Come on Beckett, we have to go." And grabs her and heads for the bathroom.

"Castle, we can't go in there. There is no way out! It's indefensible."

"Doesn't matter, we're not staying."

"Castle there is no way out from in there. No windows."

"We don't need one." And Castle closes the bathroom door and points his left hand at it and suddenly the door flashes white in color.

"Come on Beckett." And starts to step towards the door.

"Castle?" Kate is not understanding. The door is now white and Castle is stepping towards it back out into the bedroom they just came from.

"No time Kate." And Castle grabs hold of her with one hand and drags Kate behind him.

Kate gets dragged 'Thru'? the door and finds herself in another room. Looking around she spots everything that reminds her of another place. She has been here often. It is her Fathers living room in his apartment.

"Castle?" Not understanding at all.

"Go wake up your dad and get him dressed. We can't stay here long." Castle pleads with her sounding scared and hurried.

"Castle what is going on?" Totally confused.

"We don't have time for me to explain. Please Kate, go wake up your father and get him dressed. Just trust me for a little longer. Now go!" And Castle gives her a little push to get her moving.

Not understanding, but does what he says anyway.

Entering her father's bedroom, Kate starts to shake him awake. "Dad you have to get up and get dressed." Shaking him again.

"Katie?" Still a little asleep.

"Come on dad, time to get up and get dressed."

"Katie what are you doing here?"

"Get dressed dad." And Kate grabs him and pulls him out of bed.

"Ok, ok. Getting dressed."

"Almost done Castle." Kate calls out. And Castle steps into the room.

"Katie who's that?" Jim is just as confused as Kate is, was, or still is.

"He's,…. He's, my boyfriend dad." Kate really would like to have found a different time to break it to him.

"BOYFRIEND!"

"We have to go." Castle tells them, and points his left hand at the now closed bedroom door Castle had just come thru, and it flashes white.

"WHAT THE,…." Comes from Jim.

"NO TIME." And Castle pushes Jim into the white door, and grabs Kate's hand and pulls her behind him.

Just as Kate is about to go into the light, she can hear the front door crash open. And then she is standing just inside Castle's front door of his house. Standing next to Castle and her father.

"Pumpkin, can you come down here, please." Castle calls out.

Soon Jim sees a little girl come down the stairs, with long bright red hair and a somewhat pale complexion. Kate however has seen Alexis lots of times over the last few months.

"Pumpkin can you take Mr. Beckett here up to the living room and keep him company. He's Kate's father." Castle explains.

"Hi Mr. Beckett. It's a pleasure to meet you." And she hold out her hand.

Jim, bewildered offers up his hand and shakes. However Alexis does not let go and starts to pull him up the stairs. "Come on Mr. Beckett, it's alright. You'll be safe here." And continues to pull.

Jim turns to look at his daughter. "It's ok dad, Alexis will look after you."

Taking his daughters word for it, he allows Alexis to lead him upstairs. Once they are out of sight. Kate turns on Castle and hits him in the chest. "Castle, what the hell is going on? And how did we get here?"

"I'll explain later, but we need to go get Kevin, Jenny and their newborn baby now." Lifting his left arm at the front door.

Kate however grabs his arm. "You'll explain now Castle." Kate tells him in a tone of voice that leaves little room for negotiations.

"We don't have time Kate. The people that came crashing into your apartment and the one's that just crashed into your father's are going to be after Ryan and his family, followed by Javi and Lanie next. And if you want them to live, we have to go now. Please Kate. Trust me just a little longer. PLEASE!" The sound of Castle begging is unmistakable.

Kate is so conflicted. She loves Alexis, is sure she is falling in love with Castle. That voice on her phone has never been wrong. She doesn't want anything to happen to her friends or their families.

Castle takes her silence as an ok for now and lifts his left arm, and soon his front door flashes white and Castle steps thru with Kate in tow. And in an instant Kate finds herself standing in a room she has only been in a handful of times. It's Kevin's and Jenny's living room.

"Go get Kevin, his wife and their new baby. Please Kate, we don't have much time. We still have to go get Javi and Lanie. Before they do."

Kate does not know who they are Castle is referring to. But the voice said kill, and it is her friends they are talking about. Putting some faith into Castle she goes in search of Ryan and his family.

"I'll be right here Kate." Castle tells her just before she disappears.

A few minutes later She's back with Kevin (with weapon in hand), Jenny holding the baby and the baby bag over her shoulder.

Kevin enters his own living room right behind Kate. "Castle, what are you doing here? Beckett, what is going on?"

"We have to go Ryan, they will be here soon and Kate and I have to go get Javi and Lanie still. Oh, no cell phones you two. Nothing they can use to trace where you are"

"Go. Where are we going. Who will be here soon." As Kevin drops his cell phone on the sofa.

Castle does not answer. He is convinced they do not have the time. He just lifts his left arm and points at the front door, which quickly flashes white. "What the hell Castle?"

"You first Kate. I'll push these 3 right behind you and then bring up the rear." And Kate still showing some trust in Castle walks into the white wall and disappears.

"HOLY SHIT!" Kevin does not believe. "You two are next. Go on, it's perfectly safe. Kate is on the other side waiting. I'll be right behind you. I promise."

Ryan is not so sure about this. "Kev!?" Jenny asks. Not sure what to do. And totally lost in all this.

Kevin has trust in Beckett and Castle has started to be a good friend with all his visits to the precinct.

"It's ok Jen, I trust Beckett and she went first. Willingly. Come on." And Kevin takes his wife hand and steps into the light.

Castle is right behind them. Now they are all standing in the entrance foyer of Castle's house. "Come on up guys. Let's get you settled while Beckett and myself go get Javi and Lanie. " And starts walking upstairs. Followed by Kate. Ryan and Jenny wait not sure what to do. None of this makes any sense. But soon they follow and end up in Castle's living room.

"Kevin, Jenny. This is my daughter, Alexis. And hopefully you know Kate's dad, Jim. Alexis this is Kate's partner at work, Kevin and his wife Jenny."

"Hi." Alexis calls a little timidly.

"I'm going to leave you all in my daughter's hands for the moment while I take Kate and go get Javi and Lanie. You're perfectly safe here. I promise. And I'll do my best to explain as soon as we get back. But we have to go. Don't have much time.

Come on Kate, we need to go."

"Guys, … I need to, ….. I mean ,…. I'll be right back. I hope." And Kate takes off after Castle down the stairs to the front door.

Castle is already waiting for her. As soon as she arrives at his side, he lifts his left arm and points at the front door, which quickly flashes white and walks into it. Not pulling Kate behind him this time.

Kate however only pauses a moment before walking in after him, and ending up in Lanie's living room. Kate has been here many times in the past.

"I'll wait for you here. Get them dressed out here and then we go. I really don't know just how much time we have. So it needs to be quick." Castle tells her.

Kate is only mildly surprised to find Javi in bed with Lanie, Both sound asleep. Oh payback was going to be a bitch for Lanie. Kate was already smiling at what she was going to do to her friend for holding out on her all this time.

Not sure how Javi was going to take this, Kate decides to wake Lanie first and let her wake Javi.

"Kate." Lanie is still half asleep. "We got a body drop?"

"Not yet." Kate tells her. Though there may be one soon if Lanie clams up on her about her and Javi. Really soon.

Finally waking up enough. "Kate, what the hell are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"You need to get up and get dressed Lanie. Wake Javi and meet us out in the living room."

Lanie turns and looks at Javi still sleeping then at Kate, with an 'I'm soooo dead look' on her face.

Kate for her part has interpreted that look, "Yea, you and I are going to have a little talk. But first get dressed and me us out in the living room."

Lanie starts to get up, "US?" Oh this walk of shame is going to be Epic.

Finally dressed, Javi and Lanie step out into the living room. "CASTLE?" They say together.

"We'll talk later. For now we have to go. No cell phones!" And Castle lifts his left arm and the front door flashes white. "What the hell Castle?"

"You first Kate. I'll push these two thru and be the last one." Watching as Kate walks into the light.

Javi and Lanie's eyes go wide. "Castle?"

"In you go guys. It's perfectly safe. And they may bust thru that door any second. So move." And Castle starts pushing.

Once thru Castle steps thru. Unknown to him at the time, it was just 10 minutes later when 3 men came crashing thru the front door to find no one home.