Hi everyone :)

Finally the next chapter of Ray of Hope. Hope you'll enjoy it.
Sorry if I get something wrong with the bank issue, but I have no idea about those things in the US.
So if there are any mistakes about the process I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.

Chapter 8

Kate turned angrily into her street. She has had an appointment with the bank today, concerning her house. Her home. To say it went well would be a total lie. The bank remained stubborn, not even once going into one of her proposals. Somebody out there was distributing blows of fate and she seemed to attract them all to her.

Fact was that the house wasn't paid off yet. Fact was that it hadn't been a problem till now. Both her dad and her mom were successful lawyers and had easily paid off the instalments of the house. Unfortunately it was also a fact that her mother had died and that her dad rather worker on his alcohol level instead of performing his duties as a lawyer in the office. And all of this led to the final fact that the instalments couldn't be paid off and now the bank was taking appropriate steps.

Kate had no idea where she should get the money from. She didn't earn a lot. It would be just a drop on the hot stone. They directly told her that she should just cope with this consequence. She and her dad would be soon homeless.

She entered her property and suddenly stopped when she saw Castle sitting on her front porch. That was exactly what she needed to finish off this miserable day. A sprinkling of Castle in the fervently bubbling pot that threatened to boil over anytime soon. She knew she shouldn't think like that. All in all he always meant good but she had enough of this day and just wanted it to end.

"What are you doing here?"blurted out Kate. His presence hit her unexpected. The last time she had seen him was a week ago.

Castle smiled softly at her. "I've heard that you had an appointment with the bank today. How did it go?"

It all at once bubbled out of her. The whole stain of the day. She exhaled deeply and sat down beside Castle. "Horrible! They didn't even want to listen to me! I've talked and talked, presented proposal after proposal but nothing was good enough for them. They just want as much profit as they can get and they won't get it from us. Not anymore."

Castle looked over to her but she stubbornly kept looking straight ahead. They bodies already touched slightly due to the minimal space of the step. If she turned her head now – it was just too close! So she simply ignored him and left his glance an unanswered one. "You know that I could help you and your dad."

She immediately turned to him. The closeness forgotten. "No." He had already offered his help once but just like now she had turned him down. "As I already told you before, I won't accept your offer."

"Why not?"

"Because." Kate remained stubborn.

"Come on, just give me one good reason."

Now Kate got up. Suddenly she was glad about his unexpected visit. A chance to get rid of her pent-up energy. "Castle, I'm not a charity project. I don't need your money."

"But you do."

"No, Castle. I have my pride. I'd feel obliged to pay the money back and it would take me years to do that!"

"You don't have to pay anything back."

"I'm not someone who just accepts such amounts of money. Besides we don't know each other that well. I wouldn't feel fine with that and neither would my dad."

"Your dad is in a state he can't feel anything but the intoxication he's in." breathed Castle and if Kate had heard him, she made no further comment on it. "I don't care for the money, Kate. It doesn't hurt me."

"But I care!"

He lifted his hands placatory. "Okay, okay. You don't want my money, I get it. Let's approach this differently. How about you move into my guest room?"

Before Kate could reject his offer again, he continued. "Just temporarily. And if you feel better with it you can pay rent, take a part in the daily household chores and watch Alexis if both, my mother and I have appointments."

Kate bit the lower lip. She had been on the verge of rejecting his offer again, but then he was making the offer more attracting with things she could do to pay off her stay in his loft. It was a tempting offer. She'd have a chance to see Alexis more often and had enough time to search for a new home for her and her dad. Looking at real estates without time pressures.

"And how do you imagine all of this, Castle? My dad and I both live in your guest room for undeterminable time?" Ha, she found a hole in his little perfect plan.

He looked everywhere but at her. "I actually thought of just you moving in."

"What, my dad is just going to be living on the street?" she asked unbelievingly. Was this being serious?

"No! For God's sake, no. But I think he should take care of his little problem first. You know, getting better and all."

"Oh, so I'm moving into a loft and my dad into rehab?"

"Kate, we'd not push him away. This would be good for him. You have to admit that this can't go on forever. Besides I have a little girl at home. As much as I want to help you, I can't let your dad anywhere near her in the state he's in at the moment."

She shook the head. She already had lost her mother, she will not let her dad down now. "And I can understand that. But as much as you have to think about your daughter, I have to think about my dad." She grabbed her keys and opened the door. "I'm really grateful that you want to help me. But I think you should go now."

She heard him calling for her but she close the door. Kept him out of her life. Her problems. She knew he didn't deserved it to be treated like that. He just wanted to help her. However she couldn't deal with him right now. With his extreme courtesy. God, he hardly knew her! Why did he want to help her so much?

As she stepped further into the house, the smell of alcohol and vomit became more intensive. She made a brief glance into the living room and saw her dad passed out on the couch. Sadly a familiar picture. Her dad, lying around passed out, surrounded with various bottles of alcohol.

Castle's words echoed through her head. Should her life really look like that? What would her mother think if she'd see them now? She'd definitely be anything but proud. She had always been full of life. Both she and her dad.

Was Castle's offer a chance to get a better life again? He was right with one thing though, it couldn't go on like this. A time will come were one has to pull the emergency brake, so why not now?

But she couldn't do it alone. Wasn't able to. Rehab wouldn't be working if her dad didn't want it to. They had to pull together.

Normally she'd let her dad in peace, letting him sleep off any drunkenness he was in. But not today. She strode into the living room, opened the blinds he had closed to darken the room and sat opposite of him. "Dad?"

No reaction. She tried it again. This time a little louder and a soft shove. "Dad!"

"Wha?" he mumbled. If she wouldn't react now he'd slip back into his intoxicating darkness again.

Kate reached for a glass that was still slightly filled with some alcoholic beverage and dumped it over his head. She was sorry. She really was. She'd never treat her dad like that but she didn't know how to wake him properly otherwise.

Finally Jim opened his eyes and stared at her. His eyes were foggy. "Wha'te hell?"

"Dad, this can't go on like this. For months now you did nothing else than wander through the house like a ghost and drink yourself into oblivion. This has to stop!"

"Don't know what you mean." He looked away.

"This dad! I mean this." Kate fired back and indicated to all bottles that were scattered in the room. "Do you think mom would be proud of this?"

That hit home. He looked at her with big eyes, looking more focused than before. She knew that she had entered a taboo topic, but what else could she do? To pretend that all of this never happened?

"She's dead, Katie."he whispered in a fragile voice and her heart broke one more time in thousand pieces. This time it mourned the man Jim Beckett had once been. The affectionate husband who helped his wife with the chores was gone. The one who took her out on dates and adored her was gone. It mourned the protective dad who looked for monsters under the bed of his daughter and chased them away. The one who took his daughter in his arms if she was sad and scared away every boy when she had entered her rebellious phase.

She missed that man.

"I know." Her answer was also just a whisper. She looked back up. "But Mom wouldn't want this for us."

"I don't know how I should live without her."

"Neither do I. But we have to learn it. For mom. For us."

"How?" he asked.

"First you have to let go of the alcohol. But you can only get away from it if you really want it to."

"I do." he said in a much firmer voice than before. It had a strength in it that she hadn't heard in a while. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. Maybe they were finally on their way to get better again. They could do it. Together they'll find back into life.

Later that day she was sitting on the patio and looked over their garden. Her mother had loved to sit here and enjoy the silence. She grabbed her cell that laid on her lap. She dialled the number and waited.

"Good day, you have reached the Castle residence. Your majesty King Richard speaking. How may I help you?" answered Castle with a thick British accent. She could hear Alexis giggling in the background. She had to smile as she pictured the two of them goofing around at the loft.

"It's me, Kate."

"Hey, everything okay?" he asked in a now sober voice. He seemed generously concerned in her well-being.

"I'm calling because of your offer. I'd like to accept it. If it's still open, that is."

Wish you a good start into the weekend :)