season premiere

"I want to know what's going on, Jackson. I don't want more lies or more coverups."

"I don't understand. I called Rick to talk to him about the wedding. He never answered, nor did he call back."

"I checked the timing on that message. It was after you knew he was gone."

"I was with Alexis when she made that call, Jackson. I was out of it, but I remember her doing it."

"I swear I don't know what happened."

"That's funny. Somehow your swears, your promises, don't mean a damn to me. I want to know what the phone call was about."

"I was looking for him."

"And you thought we were, what, lying to you? It was a joke?"

It was obvious she didn't believe him.

"Of course not. I wanted to help, but you know why I can't."

"Let me make this crystal clear. I like you about as much as you like me. This isn't about me. It's about your granddaughter and the nightmares she still has. It's about Martha, if you ever gave a damn about her at all. And it's about your son. Not your go-to-guy for when you don't want one of your 'friends' involved, not your experiment, your son. He almost died. If I ever, ever, find out you had any part of this, you better run. You better stay hidden. Cause whoever did this to my family, I'm going to kill if it's the last thing I ever do."

Jackson stared. "I think we're done here. Goodbye." He stood and walked away.

She muttered under her breath, rubbing her neck. Something told her Jackson was involved somehow. She looked at her dad's watch. She'd been gone much longer than she thought she would be.
***********
Castle finished giving his statement and then headed back out to see if Kate was there.

She wasn't there, but Ryan was. He slowly approached Castle.

"Ryan?"

"Listen, man..." He paused. "We didn't mean that. Earlier."

"Yeah, you did, you wouldn't have said it otherwise. How could you think that of me? Have I ever given you any reason to think I would do such a thing?"

"No. We, I, didn't. I guess...I saw what Beckett went through. I saw what the evidence said. I just...We know you would never hurt her, but she was hurt anyway. And we couldn't make it better. She was working on making it better for Martha and Alexis, but no one was making it better for her. And we couldn't find you. And then it looked like you, doing all these things, and having no explanations."

Castle sighed. "I don't remember anything, but I do remember this. I thought I would never see Kate again when that car pushed me off the road. I thought I would never see my family, and it scared me more than anything else. If that doesn't show you what I wouldn't do, I don't know what will."

"I get it. Not because of that, but because...I started to ask you what you would have thought, if it had been Javi or me in your place, but I know the answer to that. You shouldn't have to expect any less from us."

"Thank you."

He nodded. "That being said, Beckett's the closest thing either of us have got to a sister. We're always gonna protect her." Only this time, they couldn't. That was what hurt most at all.

"Fair enough."

"So are you headed out?" Ryan tried.

"No. I need to talk to Kate. Where is she?"

"She still hasn't come back from tracing that phone call."

"Tell her to call me when she gets back then. I need to deal with Alexis now."

He nodded. Castle left and took a taxi home. Alexis was on the couch, watching a zombie movie and eating cereal when he got home.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course, Dad." She turned the movie off.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I shouldn't have been so rude this morning. I should have realised you were scared."

"I saw the car."

"Car?"

"Kate was with Gram, Lanie and me when she got the call. She took off. The guys were behind her and Gram and I, we were behind them." She got out her journal with the picture of the wreck. "It was on fire. I remember Gram holding her arm around me. I remember Esposito and Ryan together. I remember...I remember Kate in her mom's wedding dress, slipping down the hill, trying..." She couldn't finish.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry."

"And after she was shot a few years ago...I'm scared, Dad. I don't want to lose my parents."

"You won't darling."

"You can't promise that, Dad. Even if you were to quit working with the guys and Kate, she couldn't quit being a cop."

"I know babe."

"I'm scared, Dad. I don't want to lose our family or have it fall apart."

"We won't."

She leaned her head against him, closing her eyes.

"Love you honey."

"Love you too, Dad." She still wasn't happy, but she knew the truth. Even if her dad quit, Kate never would.

"Now, what do you need me to do?"

Kate parked her car near the door, tired, frustrated. She wasn't sure she could handle another fifteen years of finding out what happened to Castle, making them pay, as she'd done with her mother's murder. She knew she should be at home, but she would be going crazy just sitting there, waiting for someone else to provide the answers she needed. He grinned when he saw she wasn't being careful. It was easy. He took the shot, but the bullet missed her by an inch.
***********
Ryan and Esposito had been coming out of the precinct, taking a break to get lunch and clear their heads. Esposito knocked Kate down and Ryan called inside for backup, then called Castle without saying a word to Kate about it.

"You okay Beckett?" asked Ryan.

She nodded as Esposito let her up, using his military training to comb for the shooter, but whoever it had been was already gone.

"Let's get a inside before they try again," said Esposito.

She nodded, cold although she could feel his protective embrace around her, like a big brother.

"Did you get hit?" He checked her carefully to make sure she was okay.

"No. No, I'm okay."

"Maybe Lanie should check you anyway," said Ryan worriedly. Their friend had been through enough lately, she didn't need anything else.

"We should get back to work."

"You need to go home and rest."

"I'm okay, Ryan."

"Still. Do you want me to call Castle? He wants to talk to you anyway."

"No!" She said a little too quickly.

"Okay. But he still wants to talk to you. I don't know what about though."

Ryan looked at his partner, trying to mimic that he'd already called Castle. Espo nodded imperceptibly.

"No. Otherwise I'll call Castle to come and talk to you here."

"Statements can wait Kate. Go home and be with your family," said Esposito. 'I'll drive you there."

Esposito helped her to his car, drove her home and then even went as far as taking her up to the front door of Castle's loft, just to make sure she went in.

"I know you, remember. Go in, close the door and then I'll leave."

"Of course you do. And besides, Castle wants to look after you."

"And you. He will never stop worrying about you."