Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.

Writer's note: Everyone, I'm truly sorry for not updating in so long, I've been extremely busy lately with more than a handful of mid-term tests and school projects to finish. Also, I traveled in the middle of last week and there was no internet where I went.

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Chapter Four: New Prospects

Eleanor cried for days as she and the other kids were prohibited of going to the park or any place else. She longed to see and be with her Daisy again, and to be true, she longed to go with her and never come back. Nevertheless, as much as she wanted to be with her Flower, she was divided by the loyalty of the other kids, who suffered and deserved to be free just as she.

Nathan had cried yesterday. Boss had hit him hard with the belt, for not wanting to get in the van to meet whoever was supposed to give him their name. Nathan didn't trust boss, didn't trust Aubrey, didn't even trust Lenny* (Leonard Jayden), the driver who sometimes turned on the radio and let them listen to smooth jazz instrumentals or classical music. Eleanor was enchanted by the piano.

She also didn't trust any of them when they said that it would be good for Nathan, that he would have a real home, a last name. Boss was untrustworthy, lacked humanity and had dark, empty eyes that scared Eleanor to death, or near death. Henry and Cassidy had been hit too, because they tried to defend Nathan. Eleanor, Elisabeth and Grant were also severely punished without dinner nor breakfast. The third floor, sanitorium-like apartment had never been so cold, so tense, so full of hate and desperation. Eleanor was scared boss would get even more mad when he found out that Nathan broke a lamp while enraged. She was truly scared they'd take him away, forever, and Nathan was her brother, everyone here was each other's family, even though they didn't quite know what it was like to have one. They'd never been or seen one before, only by far and superficially. Eleanor quietly longed for a nice family to feed her and her brothers and sisters, as she inhaled the scent of simmering, thick, brown gravy with mashed potatoes and roast beef. They never got to eat that stuff, only smell. In exchange, Aubrey made them soup everyday. Soup for lunch, soup for dinner and oatmeal for breakfast. Eleanor hated soup and hated oatmeal, very, very much.

….

It'd been two weeks since Kate Beckett last saw Eleanor. She'd been going to the park on every break-time she got, even Rick would go with her, both ready and discretely equipped to track down whoever looked after Eleanor and the other group of kis, or at least follow them home in order to keep a special eye on the children's welfare.

"Kate, maybe they weren't even from New York, babe, it was spring break after all!" Castle tried to reason with her once they arrived at her apartment, Kate falling exhaustedly into a chair, slipping her shoes off. He massaged her neck and shoulders, placing sweet kisses down her spine, making Kate all tingly and warm.

"I'm glad I have you Castle, really…" Kate had tears in her eyes as Castle turned to face her, his hands moving to lay on her lap. "Thank you for everything, for supporting me, for loving me, for being you…" He shook his head and placed chaste kissed to the back of each of Kate's hands. "Maybe this whole ordeal with Eleanor has kept my attentions away from you a bit, God who am I kidding! I've been a terrible, neglectant girlfriend. I'm sorry…"

"Love, you're only human, and I don't think you've been neglecting me. I have a daughter Kate, I know what it's like to love someone like you already love Eleanor. I just don't want you to get your heart broken if Eleanor is found and with a good family or if—God forbid, you never find her." Kate nodded.

"I just keep hearing my mother's voice over and over in my conscience, telling me, no, pleading with me to help Ellie, because she's in trouble and she needs me… It wasn't just my mom telling me, Rick, I've been telling myself that for a while. I felt it somehow when Eleanor and I first met, I still feel it and my female instincts certify me that Eleanor needs her mother, she needs me!" Castle just stared at her.

This had been the first time Kate openly admitted maternal feelings towards Eleanor, a fact that Castle had already detected and somehow feared. He loved Kate, obviously wanted to be with her, wanted her to love him, wanted her to be happy with him, wanted her to have his babies (in plural).

Never once did he want to see Kate heart broken again, like she was when she failed in catching and punishing her mother's killer and only putting herself in danger. That had been his fault. In sum, he didn't want to encourage her on this procure for Eleanor, a child he believed was beautiful, intelligent and special enough to make Katherine Beckett fall head-over-heals in love with her, which was already saying much.

"I love you" He said, burying his head in her womb and placing a kiss there. "And if you want a baby so badly, I' be glad to help you make one. Or two" He said as an afterthought and Kate just smiled, laughing like she hadnt done in a while.

"I'm sorry, sorry I laughed…" She said with cheeks flushed and her green eyes shining brightly. "I'd love to have a baby with you Castle, but first, I need to make sure Eleanor's okay. A baby we have will never make me forget her or replace the feelings I feel for her." Castle nodded understandingly. "But I do want to have a baby… so maybe we should start practicing?" She said her voice soft, resembling a child's.

…..

The next three days in the precinct were spent with lots of research on Kate and Castle's part as they began looking for babies the same age and colouring on the missing people system. They had found out that four children now between ages two and four were kidnapped from the Bellevue Maternity and Children Hospital. One child resembled Eleanor perfectly, the same cleft chin and big turcquoise eyes. The parents were Sally Germaine, a nurse and Kenneth Ewing a handsome, blue-eyed lawyer who broke-up a while after their baby's disappearance. The father had quit looking once the first year passed but Sally, had jumped into campaigns and signed-up into organizations and government lists in hopes of still finding her daughter who would now be three and a half, exactly Ellie's age. The other chidlren came from different backgrounds. The youngest little girl had been going for a medical check-up with the pediatrician when the mother was stunned on the back of her neck and the child quickly taken from her arms. The baby, Kimberly remained unfound and her mother who was single died three days after the baby was taken, she hadn't recovered from the strong concussion.

One of the two other children, a little boy of now (if he were still alive), three was robbed from the nursery, when the nurses were switching places. Less than three minutes was all it took for someone to evacuate the hospital with a three-day old baby. The mother had entered severe depression afterwards and two-years later committed suicide, the father was nowhere to be found.

The last child, also a girl, Emma Hollis had also gone for a check-up with her mother, the little girl was eight months old and was suffering with a cold. The parents also never stopped looking for her, despite having had another son two years later.

These weren't very unique stories from the department, but It was almost the same amount of children Eleanor had listed to Kate, that she lived with, and some of the ages matched. Two four-year olds, three three-year-olds and one two-year old.

Castle, who loved a good story, couldn't help but agree with Kate that this could have a connection to Eleanor, and it was also a pattern. They needed to find this child not only for the well-being of the children, but that of the remaining suffering parents and in stake of a very good story.

...

Thank you for reading!