6 – Lights

Summary: AU – Rick takes his five year old daughter to see the Christmas lights at Central Park, but loses her in the sea of people. However, Officer Beckett is there to help.

Rick laughed inwardly as his young daughter pulled him along the cobbled street with all her might, her consistent babbling under her breath as endearing as ever. He took in the appearance of the five year old, the LED reindeer antlers that they had bought from a stand earlier almost slipping from her pigtails with every bouncing step she took, her thick red coat completely encompassing her in warmth, one mitten covered hand clutching his, and the other her toy monkey.

"Come on, Daddy! Be quick! Need to be home before Santa!" She squealed happily, Castle now slightly regretting the decision to bring them to the walking tour on Christmas Eve, though he knew it added to the magic of the night.

He stopped suddenly, making Alexis look up at him with a curious look, "Well then, we'll be much quicker if you jump up onto my shoulders."

The girl's face lit up, her Dad knowing that she loved seeing the world from so high up, waving at all the people that passed her. Without a moment's hesitation, she lifted her small arms up towards Rick, who swiftly but cautiously placed her atop of his broad shoulders, keeping a tight grip on her ankles over her red, laced up boots, Alexis' laughs fuelling his energy as he scurried through the large crowd.

"Oh God, a guy with socks and sandals just walked past me. That's not okay. Ever."

Officer Kate Beckett attempted to stifle a laugh at the comment that came through the radio that was perched on her shoulder.

Another voice sounded, "It's Christmas, Espo. If people can allow those awful sweaters, than surely you can overlook that." Ryan's voice reasoned, but she could tell by the tone that he was smiling.

"Guys," Kate spoke up as her gloved hand pressed the button on the side of the device, "Hate to rain on your parade, but we are supposed to be looking for potential weapons or suspicious activity, not judging fashion choices."

Javier's voice crackled through the radio, "The only crime-worthy thing I've seen is the eggnog that's being sold. It looks like puke."

"Is it being sold by that bald, old guy wearing the black overalls? If so, I'm sure it'll be coming back up as puke too." Ryan shivered.

"Not a conversation I want to be having." Beckett deadpanned, scrunching her face up at the thought.

Suddenly, Beckett heard some exclaims of 'Hey! Watch it!' and 'Calm down!' and 'What the fuck, man?' chorusing from behind her. She whipped her head around to survey the scene, her eyes scanning the compacted crowd.

Her focus landed on a man, who couldn't have been much older than thirty, pushing people aside frantically, his gaze trained on the ground. Kate abandoned the conversation with the boys, who were now debating whether cranberry sauce at Christmas dinner was absolutely necessary or not, as she approached the man to chastise him for his behaviour. But once she walked closer, she noticed the panicked expression on the man's face, who looked like tears were going to spill over his cheeks at any moment.

She tapped his shoulder lightly, making him jolt upwards.

"Excuse me," She greeted, "Is everything alright?"

He exhaled a large breath, his hands shaking as he ran them through his hair, "Alexis." Kate's eyebrows scrunched in confusion, until he continued, "My daughter. She's five. She's gone. I lost her."

The quiver in the man's voice made her heart drop.

"Okay," She said feebly, "I'll get my team on it."

It seemed as if it was only at this moment that he registered the badge pinned to the jacket of her uniform, and he seemed to relax slightly, but was still tensed and frantically whipping his head around.

"Where did you last see her?" She questioned, trying to fumble with her notepad and pen with her gloved hands.

It took a while for him to recognise she had said something, but he soon replied, "By the carousel. She got on, and I waited on the side-lines for her, but when the ride stopped, a worker walked her and the other kids over to the other side, which must have been where the exit was." He relayed quickly, not stopping for breath as Beckett noted down his account, "By the time I had ran over to that side, she was gone."

Kate nodded as he finished his retelling, but he continued to ramble, "What if someone took her? They were just waiting by the exit, knowing that kids would get off there?" He shook his head quickly, "Oh God, I can't lose her. I can't."

The officer finally intervened, "And you won't. We'll find her."

He nodded mutely, but the look on his face didn't seem very convinced. Much like her own face didn't when the police in January of 1999 promised they were going to find her Mother's killer. She suddenly felt a rush of hurt and sadness, but still felt all the more compelled to help the desperate father that was standing in front of her.

"What does your daughter look like?" She prompted.

He answered without hesitation, "Ginger hair. It's up in pigtails. Blue eyes. She's in a red peacoat that has black buttons on it. She's wearing navy blue jeans and red boots. And brown mittens with cats on them. Oh, and I bought her some flashing reindeer ears from the stand by the entrance, so she might still have them on. She's forty-two inches tall, at least she was at her last check-up."

"I think I have enough information." She attempted to joke, but he only replied with a small 'sorry' making her instantly regret her statement, so she continued on, "You said her name was Alexis?"

He gave a nod, but he still looked absolutely terrified as his eyes continued to rake over the surroundings, his whole frame shaking, and she was sure it wasn't completely due to the cold evening weather.

"Hey," She said softly, drawing his attention back to her, "We'll find her, Mr. Castle."

He nodded once more as she began to speak into her radio, informing the other officers of the situation at hand.

After about fifteen minutes, Castle felt like he was going to throw up.

He heard a man's loud voice on the tannoy system informing the guests in the park about a five-year-old ginger girl and where to return her, but he knew it was a lost cause, the festive music and laughs and chatter infinitely louder.

Multiple police officers were now scattered around the grounds, some of them periodically checking in with Beckett, and even though he couldn't quite make out coherent words, he could understand the disheartened tone of voice that always came through.

He felt like the ground was turning into quicksand beneath him, like his throat was closing up rapidly. He couldn't help his mind whirring through all the possibilities; and only a minority of them ended happily. Rick tried to focus on the relief he would be overwhelmed with when he and Alexis were reunited, the face she would make when she opened her presents tomorrow, the Christmas movie marathon they would have in a fort of blankets and pillows, chocolates and popcorn in full supply.

But then, he threw himself to the other side of the spectrum. A Christmas without Alexis. A Christmas at the police station. A Christmas sorting out funeral details.

Before he could stop himself, a mix of a gasp and a sob erupted from his mouth, causing Officer Beckett to whip her head around, halting in front of him.

With one look, she could easily determine what the doting father was thinking of.

"Hey," She said as she approached him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm to make his eyes connect with hers, "We'll find her." She reiterated once more.

He scoffed, "Stop saying that!" Kate jerked backwards slightly at his raised voice, "Don't promise me anything. Don't give me hope." Her features softened as tears began to well up in his eyes, "Please."

"Okay," She replied meekly, "I won't promise anything about your daughter." Castle nodded, his lower lip still trembling, "But I can promise something about me." His eyebrows furrowed as she spoke, "I promise that I will try my hardest to find her. I can promise that."

Rick gave a small smile, and though it was obviously forced, Kate appreciated the effort.

After a few seconds of silence, her voice piped up once more, "Come on, let's check around the food trucks again, maybe someone's spotted her."

He followed her through the masses of people, his eyes still focused on looking for a small flash of red hair.

After interrogating the fifth hot dog vendor, Kate sighed in despair, rubbing her hands together for warmth, though she knew the chill running through her veins was more do to the idea of a missing little girl, rather than the temperature.

She turned to walk back to Castle and inform him of the news, but by the look that donned his face, he already knew the outcome.

Suddenly, a few whimpers sounded from her right. She looked over, but multiple guests were clouding her vision as they walked around aimlessly in no particular pattern. She inhaled deeply, then began to run.

"NYPD!" She shouted, "Clear the way!"

The bodies obeyed her instantly, crashing into each other as they hurtled away from the officer. The crying seemed to be getting louder, but she still had no idea where it was coming from.

"Alexis?" Castle shouted from right behind her as he followed her path, "Alexis!?"

A small, weak voice rose from the garden to their left, "Daddy?"

"Alexis! Where are y-"

Kate gasped in relief as she saw the girl standing up on shaky legs as she emerged from behind the bushes, her mittens covered in dirt and her hair straggly from being caught in the brambles. In an instant, the father was on his knees in front of the child, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame as they both cried.

Alexis attempted to speak through wheezes, "I got of the ride and you weren't there so I walked around to where you were but you were gone and then I kept walking but there were so many big people that I didn't know what to do and I didn't know where to go so I just hid because I was scared and I didn't know where you were and-"

Rick hushed his daughter as he stroked her back soothingly, "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm here now. It's all okay."

Kate felt like she was intruding, so she retreated slowly from the two, mumbling into her radio that the girl was safe, the words filling her with a strong sense of comfort and ease.

She began to slowly return to her original position, until she felt a light tapping on her shins. Kate glanced down to find Alexis staring back up at her with a smile, which contradicted her pink, tear-stained cheeks.

"Thank you for finding me, Miss…" She began.

"Kate." She supplied, "I'm Kate."

The girl paused for a moment as if she was contemplating the name, then a larger grin took over her features, "Kate. Thank you a lot, Miss Kate."

Beckett extended a hand out to the girl, who gladly took it, "I'm glad you're safe, Alexis."

"Me too," She admitted, "I didn't want to miss out on my presents. Daddy's been keeping secrets about them for ages!"

A laugh bubbled up in Kate's throat at the girl's optimism, which in turn caused the girl to giggle too.

Suddenly, the father's voice boomed from behind her.

"You called me Mr Castle."

Beckett paused, a small questioning hum leaving her closed mouth.

"Before, when you were talking to me," Rick began to walk closer to Kate, his hand still clasping his daughter's tightly, "You said 'Mr. Castle' I never introduced myself."

The officer pursed her lips with a shrug, "I patrol the streets. Can't help seeing a book store display once in a while."

Castle smirked at the sight of her reddening cheeks, "Well, now that I know you're a fan," The word prompting an eye roll from Beckett, "How about you join us for some hot chocolate?"

Kate felt Alexis pull on their clasped hands as she silently jumped up and down a few times, but Castle's eyes stayed firmly on Beckett's as she contemplated an answer.

"I'm more of a coffee kind of girl..." She began to reject, but Rick was quick to intervene.

"Then how about a peppermint mocha?" He quipped, a twinkle in his eyes that almost rivalled the lights situated above him.

"Fine."

Both Castles looked at her with widened eyes at her acceptance, but didn't wait long enough for her to retract her answer as they calmly walked over to the café.

Kate felt warm for the rest of the evening. Warm because of the coffee that was placed between her slowly thawing fingers. Warm because of the heated interior of the café. Warm because of the pleasant conversations she was partaking in with a rambunctious father and his somehow calmer five-year-old. Warm because of him.

However, both the adults knew that the evening would soon be coming to a close, though neither of them wanted to speak up about leaving.

Luckily, the youngest of the three stepped in.

"Daddy, what does it mean when the little hand is on ten and the big hand is on six?" She asked, her eyes squinting at the wall clock that was rimmed with tinsel.

Rick smiled as he explained, "That's half past ten."

"Is that close to midnight?" The girl enquired.

"It's about an hour and a half away."

Alexis' eyes looked to the side, as if she was thinking profusely.

The father decided to help his daughter out with an easier measure of time, "About the length of a movie."

A loud gasp fell from the girl's lips, "We need to go home! Santa's coming soon!"

Kate chuckled good-naturedly at Alexis' comment as Rick exaggeratedly groaned.

"I'm sure Santa won't come until we're home." He reasoned as he attempted to convince the child, but she shook her head.

"Not just home. We both have to be asleep for Santa to come."

"Ah, yes, of course." He replied, throwing a wink in Kate's direction.

The Castles both stood up, Alexis wriggling her coat on hurriedly, almost knocking over the now empty mugs due to her tenacity.

"So…" Rick started, making Kate's stomach flutter with anticipation.

"Yes?" She prompted.

He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, before shaking his head minutely, Kate looking up at him from her side of the booth in confusion.

"Thanks. For everything."

Kate shrugged, "It was nothing."

"No, really, I can't thank you enough for helping me find her." He said earnestly, the two looking over at Alexis as she tried to put her mittens back on, her tongue poking out in concentration.

Kate inhaled deeply, pondering her next move. Rick's eyes never wavered from hers as he waited patiently. She bit her lip nervously under the intensity of his gaze.

Their silence was once again interrupted by Alexis.

"Come on, Daddy!" She groaned, thrusting his coat into his hand.

"I should… go." He finished, leaving the words unsaid as he placed enough money to pay the bill on the table top.

"Yeah." Kate agreed, trying not to feel remorse.

The Castles began to stroll over to the door, Beckett's gaze never leaving their backs as she shrunk back into the couch seat of the booth, her hands running through her hair in frustration.

Rick paced quickly to keep up with his over excited daughter, but he couldn't help but feel a small amount of melancholy as they exited the park. He shook his head as if that would shake off the feeling, but suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He paused to turn around (emitting a whine from Alexis) as he was once again met with the sight of the Officer.

"I was thinking," Kate began, wringing her hands together in a nervous motion, "Maybe we could meet again when you're not under a curfew?" She asked, a small smirk appearing.

Rick's smile increased tenfold as glanced down at the piece of paper she had handed to him, which had scrawled writing informing him of her name and phone number. He looked back at her silently until she started to squirm uncomfortably, making him realise he hadn't given a response.

"Yeah!" He answered with a bit too much enthusiasm, "I mean, yeah, I guess." He said with less gusto, trying to redeem himself, even though Kate was smiling at his antics.

"Alright then." She concluded with a curt nod as she tapped his hand that held her number, "Don't leave me hanging, Writer-boy."

"Wouldn't dare to do so, Officer." He answered back teasingly.

Beckett parted ways with the Castles once more, unconsciously twiddling her hair as she walked to her patrol car which was parked by the sidewalk.

However, she wasn't yet far away enough when she heard Alexis' voice ring through the night air, "I like Kate. You should make her your new girlfriend."

Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following. You're all wonderful! Oh, and Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

A joke to get you in the holiday spirit;

Q: What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?

A: A Christmas quacker!

(I know these jokes are getting worse, shhh. Embrace the awful.)

Lou xo