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Urgent Care

Third Installment in the Medical Attention Series: New York City was in a state of panic but he couldn't think about that right now, all he cared about was making sure his family was safe. S3 AU

Chapter Three

Twenty hours.

It had been twenty hours since she had seen her family. The precinct had been chaotic all day. Between constant ringing phones and staring at the murder board, all hands were on deck trying to find a clue or a lead before the second murder turned up.

Time was ticking by and they were no closer to finding where he was or warning his next victim. The crime scene had been clean, eerily so; not that Tyson hadn't been meticulous in the past, but this was to a new degree. No prints. No fibers. Nothing. Her frustration with the lack of new evidence had left her drifting down into the records room and pulling all the old case files. There had to be something they'd missed the first time around.

Montgomery found her hunched at her desk around nine that night. She was obsessing over the old files when he placed a concerned hand on her shoulder and ordered her to go home for some rest. With a promise that the others could handle it, he practically pushed her in the elevator, but not before she shoved the copied case files into her bag to study at home.

When she finally made it back to the loft, Kate was a little surprised to not find her husband at home with the kids, finding Alexis in charge of the sleeping siblings instead. She was so wrapped in the case she had completely forgotten that tonight Rick had a Black Pawn meeting and cocktail mixer with some executives and the press to discuss his next book.

Some wife she was.

Tossing down her bags, she chatted with Alexis for a bit while their dog curled up by her feet. Kate tried her best to focus on the conversation and to not allow her mind to drift back to the case. It was a losing battle; the case had weaved its way into every last thought. Luckily before Alexis noticed her lack of participation in their conversation, she started yawning and decided to retreat to her room for the evening.

Taking a deep breath, Kate sank down into the couch cushions, trying to ease the weight of the day from her body. It didn't work. There was no possibility of relaxing with this case heavy in her thoughts. Seeing the coast was clear, Kate reached for her bag and pulled out the files to take notes, studying every detail.

She became so engrossed in the files that her mind started to weave an anxious tale of all the ways Tyson could somehow get to her by hurting Rick.

Maybe sleep would be a good idea; she was getting paranoid.

"Mama?"

Kate's head popped up from the paperwork in her lap to find her wide eyed daughter toddling into the room. The dog jumped up to greet her with a quick lick and Charlotte answered with a sleepy smile. She should be sleeping, but true to form, she seemed to have snuck out of her 'big girl' bed again. Kate smiled to herself as she watched the child shuffle in her footed pajamas towards the area in front of the couch that she'd turned into a makeshift conference table. Shoving the papers onto the pile in front of her, Kate held out her arms for her to join her on the couch.

"Charlie, what are you doing up, Sweetpea?"

"Mama. Cuddle." The girl yawned and crawled over more paperwork to get into her lap while Chewy walked in a circle before flopping down beside her. He meant well but he was hardly a guard dog by any means. Kate turned her attention back to her child as she curled up in her arms.

"You just don't want to sleep knowing that Daddy's not here," she whispered, brushing a kiss against her crown as soft rings of her daughter's laughter filled the room. She was such a happy baby.

Kate pulled Charlotte closer against her chest, holding her tighter than she would have on most days. She couldn't help it tonight; worry crept into every single action over the last 48 hours - ever since the body drop. Any noise made her jump and she could barely keep down any food, her nerves were messing with every part of her life.

Her thoughts drifted back to Rick. She knew he was safe there, but it didn't quell the panic twisting in her mind about the possibility that Tyson was watching him - watching their family. He should be home soon and maybe then the knot in her stomach would ease and she could breathe deeply again.

Not likely.

She wouldn't fool herself. Knowing that he was still out there, still hurting innocent lives, safety wasn't possible until Tyson was in custody.

"No sad, Mama," Charlotte sighed, nuzzling closer into the soft cashmere of her sweater as another yawn slipped from her rosy lips.

"I'm not sad. Just working on a case." The reassurance was weak, but it was the truth.

She wasn't sad.

She was terrified, motivated, enraged - a whole slew of other emotions - but not sad. A lead. That was all she needed, a glimmer of hope in an almost hopeless situation. Tyson rarely slipped up, and any clue was intentional, but he wasn't perfect in his psychosis. There were moments in the last case that had allowed her to piece together his identity as the true Triple Killer.

All she needed was another breadcrumb like that. The odd sock.

Squeezing her daughter in another hug, she pushed off of the ground and walked them over to the couch. She'd wait until Rick was home and then she could continue investigating, but there was no way of getting through anything now, not with Charlotte cuddled on her chest. The last thing she wanted was for her little girl to inadvertently see a picture from one of the crime scenes. She was careful to keep those images away from her kids.

It was scarring enough for grown adults to have up close encounters with the murder victims, but it could be life changing for a small child. Liam already asked too many questions about her job. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge was never quenched, but she kept the answers vague in a goal to keep her children's innocence intact for as long as possible.

"Mommy?"

Her son's voice pulled her from her thoughts as he crawled onto the couch next to them. She loved moments like this, with both of her children near, but she prefered those moments during the day, not hours past their bedtime when they should be asleep.

"Not that I don't love the late night hugs, Buddy, but what's wrong?"

Liam nuzzled closer into her side and she adjusted a bit to wrap her free arm around him, trying to soothe the concerned expression from his face by gently rubbing his back.

"I heard Charlie," he mumbled with a yawn, his voice still laced with sleep. "I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"How brotherly of you," she said, smirking into his temple before smearing a kiss against his skin. "She's fine. Just waiting for Daddy to get home."

"I sleep better when we're all home."

"Me too. He should be home soon and then we can all get some sleep."

He was quiet, hugging her tighter as he spoke. Guilt spiraled through her thoughts, knowing that when she had to work long hours because of intense cases, it bothered Liam more than he'd ever admit. She hated being away from her kids for extended periods of time, but every hour spent trying to find Tyson was time well spent. In the end, it was all to protect the people she loved from his psychopathic master plan.

"Mommy?"

"Hmm?" she hummed the response against the top of Charlie's head before turning back to look at her little boy.

"This is a bad one, isn't it?"

She sucked in a breath, frozen for a moment to decide what to say. In the end, she took the same approach with him as she would've wanted.

Honesty.

"Yeah, Buddy, it's a bad one."

The soft creak of the front door closing jarred her into consciousness. Blinking back the sleep from her eyes, she looked down to find both kids passed out, cuddled on her lap. The battle of her will to stay awake had apparently been lost.

"Hey."

Kate craned her neck toward the voice and found Rick standing by the coat closet, pulling off his black dress shoes. She noticed the time on the microwave and scrunched her nose.

"One a.m.? Late night…" she whispered, easing out from under Liam and Charlie and placing a throw blanket over the pair. When it was apparent that they were still sleeping, she moved to meet Rick in the kitchen.

"Yeah, much later than I would've liked." He reached for her, hands grazing her hips before he pulled her body to align with his own, pressing a kiss against her temple. Kate hummed in response as she sank into the warmth of his arms, all the stress from the day finally easing from every inch of her body.

"I needed that. I've missed you today." The statement was probably the biggest understatement she could make, but he was already so worried about her obsession with this case, there was no reason to make it worse.

"Hmm, really? Well how about we get the munchkins in their beds and then you can show me how much in ours?" he asked, the seductive tone of his voice, swirling through her thoughts and sensitizing her skin. The idea of some time alone with him in bed before getting back to the case was too good to pass up.

"You've got yourself a deal, Mr. Castle."

"Kate," he groaned. "You know what it does to me when you call me that."

"I do. That's why I said it," she said with a laugh, nipping at his jaw before turning to tend to their kids. She was just about to scoop Charlotte into her arms, when she heard her phone buzzing on the kitchen counter.

Damn.

"The precinct?" Rick looked at her in question. She slammed her eyes shut with a sigh, pressing a kiss to Charlie's forehead and jogging towards the counter. Who else would be calling her at this time of night.

"It has to be." She grabbed her cell, jabbing at the screen. "Beckett."

There was a pause on the line, before Ryan started talking. "Beckett, there's another one."

"Shit." Her heart dropped. She was too late. Another life gone and she wasn't any closer to catching the psychopath.

"But that's not why I'm calling…" His voice broke causing dread to rush over her body. There was something wrong, something that she couldn't pick out from his tone alone. "I know Montgomery told you to take the night off, but - he left you a message…"

"Who did?"

"Tyson."

Oh God.

"Beckett, there's an envelope addressed to you."

TBC

Thanks for reading this tale and I'm sorry for the delay. Hope you're still with me.

xoxo

Thanks to Alex, Esther, and Laura for help.