A/N: just a quick one shot I needed to get out of my head before continuing my other fics.

I know Castle's father gets a lot of hate but this fic offers him some compassion. So in caution this is A/U


Castle has conflicted feelings for his father. He had first hand experience of what happens when Jackson's cover is blown. As a father, he understands. He knows that he would do the same for his kids, even if it killed him. No communication, no relationships. To anyone. As a father he can sympathize. But as a son? As a son, he needed a dad.

He would never see his father again. He would never get to ask all the questions that ran through his head. He was a writer. He needed the whole picture, needed to hyper-fixate on every detail, but he never could with this.

Jackson Hunt was what some would describe as "tough as nails". With his job, you had to be. Any weakness would be used against you and he slipped. They found his granddaughter and they found his son. The son he spent years avoiding to protect. He was willing to give it all up for Martha. He planned to leave the CIA, but life did not favor Hunt. He was bound to a life on the sidelines. His job trained him to be cold, but no amount training would be strong enough to fill the emptiness that haunted him. He loved his son and his family so much that he would give his own life. He loved them so much he would do anything to keep them safe, to keep them happy. He loved them so much he made sure they would never be given the chance to love him.

It was harder now that Richard knew who he was. Seeing the pain in his sons eyes, the pain he caused, broke him in a way that torture could never touch. So he played with fire.

The first copy showed up soon after Paris. Casino Royale. Jackson told him he wouldn't find out if he survived. Not officially, at least. The book, a welcomed unofficial sign to let his son know he made it, that he thought of him, that he meant it when he said he was proud of him. Always.

The second copy was delivered during Castles time in Thailand. The significance unknown, the book tossed to the side while more pressing manners were dealt with. A sign his father was still keeping track of him. One that wouldn't be brought up for another five years.

Rick kicks himself anytime he thinks about it. He hates that he didn't tell Kate or Alexis or his mother what it meant. Jackson Hunt left a sign that Rick was alright. He cared enough to worry about his fiancé and daughter.

The third copy arrived the day they brought his second daughter from the hospital. Wrapped in pale yellow paper and left sitting in the middle of their kitchen counter.

Castle's heart dropped when he opened it. A slip of paper nestled within the first two pages. Two words typed center page, creating a balancing game between the required distance and the sentiment that meant the world to the family Rick built for himself.

Lily.

Always.

The color draining from his face caused Kate to shoot him worried look. "You okay, babe?" She questioned him while shifting their newborn so she could reach for his hand. "Casino Royale." He lifted the book to show his wife. "Who do you know that has such a fixation on Ian Flemming? Someone sent a copy almost identical to that one while you were gone". Kate trails off, his missing time still a difficult conversation topic. "Shit" Castle mumbled, "Kate, I need to tell you something". So he told her about the man in the library when he was just a boy. The book that was handed to him that day unknowingly being the only connection he would have with his father until his own daughters life was at risk. The book that would be the only piece of Jackson Hunt his family would have.

The fourth copy arrived unexpectedly. Castle had hoped for it. He expected it when they brought their twins, his sons, home from the hospital. His face dropped at the empty counter that greeted them. Three years had passed since Lily was born. Three years creating too many possible scenarios for Castle's overactive imagination.

It came two weeks later. Sent to his PI office, his assistant letting him know a package had been dropped off. Copy number four, wrapped the same way his daughters had been. It wasn't until the paper had been peeled away that he realized this wasn't just copy number four. It was also copy number five. Each book hugging a piece of paper with the same typed coolness. The words that would only melt the Castle family.

Jake.

Always.

Reese.

Always.

His father had sent a book to each of his youngest children. A bold move even with the package drop off locations being different. His wife questioned why. Why would he send signs now? Why did he wait so long? But Rick knew. His father risked everything to get him that book when he was eleven. He didn't know the meaning behind it until Paris. The only significance Casino Royale held on his life seven years ago was the one that helped spark his interest in being a writer. After Paris, the significance of Casino Royale was everything to him.

The sixth copy surprised him. He didn't expect to hear from his father again, him and Kate agreed that their four kids completed their family. Castle assumed his father would fall off the face of the earth once again. But the sixth copy arrived in a new location. A location that Rick spent years dreading having to go to. It showed up at the venue. The pale yellow paper now replaced with an elegant white. A copy of Casino Royale. A new copy. Something new for his oldest daughter on her wedding day. When Alexis cracked open the book to pull out the accustomed typed sentiment, Rick new it was the last. The middle of the page displaying the words he knew would be there.

Alexis.

Always.

But it was different this time. This time the two words were handwritten with careful penmanship. He knew it would be the last. He knew he would never hear from his father again.

And he was right.