Wow.

This story has left me breathless. It's 2 am and I'm still here, reading. I just couldn't stop. I dismissed it at first, the angst too much, but my gosh such great angst. I felt it gripping my chest, dripping on my cheeks...beautiful. I'm not even making sense now and I'm reviewing a story that is 5 years old, but I had to say this.

Seeing them like this after ten years...Wow. Wow. So, so much love. So much. In all this pain, it was wonderful to see. This story was a blow to your gut whenever Castle had to deal with his captivity and Kate and Alexis talked about the time he was missing, then it became the softest of stories, with whispered love confessions and tentative hugs, of a reclaimed routine after years of longing.

Kate and Alexis together were beautiful, the way Castle could see Kate in Alexis was beautiful. Sammy and Elliot, and finding family was incredibly, heartbreakingly beautiful. I wasn't mad that Kate had tried to move on with Tim, I wasn't, but it was so clear that she never could, and I appreciate that he never tried to push her. He was an honorable character, thank you for not making him just a cheap rebound or kind of an asshole.

It was also beautiful to see Castle come out of his shell. The fact that he wrote a book is a testament to all of this. And the fact that Kate is still is muse is so sweet and so true.

I loved this story, thank you for sharing it with us. Thank you so much.

No matter how many times I read this (my 4th?), I start crying halfway through. It is so well written, and with such stark emotion, you can’t help but feel their pain. Great story!

Wow! Such an amazing story! There were so many times I was brought to tears reading Castle’s torture and Kate’s devotion to him. I held out hope that they would eventually find their way back to each other and was so glad when that did happen. I also enjoyed the special bond Alexis and Kate shared. Great writing!

Just read this story for what seems like the millionth time. It's one of my all-time favorites. Thank you for writing it.

THANK YOI SO MUCH. WHAT A WAY TO CHANGE TO THE WAY IT WAS. CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE REST. AGAIN, THANK YOU !

This was quite an emotional rollercoaster! I'm quite grateful that after breaking my heart into a million pieces you worked at putting it back together again. I thought your way of handling all the emotions - the anger, the guilt, the sadness - just felt so incredibly real. The way memories return in phases and it's steps back before steps forward can be made again. I felt for Castle so much as he tried to find a new way to move forward in this life that went on without him.

I loved the relationship between Kate and Alexis, and how they needed each other to cope after Castle disappeared. Alexis telling Kate that she couldn't lose her too, and Kate hearing herself in those words, had me crying. I looove Elliot, and the way he makes everything a little easier by just being someone Castle has no history with; Castle asking him about how he and Alexis met was the first smile in this story and I was so happy with that.

"He inhales again, and his heart rate regulates for the first time all day. Kate." - That ending of chapter 4 made me feel all warm and fluffy. I liked how we got to see both of their perspectives of the same events.

"It feels to much like a balancing act, and he wants to end the conversation before something sends them over the edge." - That first phone call had my heart beating out of my chest, both in anxiety and in excitement. When Kate calls him after that, I almost screamed in the same combination of emotions.

I was so happy for Castle and so proud when he could admit out loud for the first time that he had been kept against his will. His grin must have freaked Helen out so much, but I was just grinning along with him! And then when he just feels so natural at the next family dinner, that just morphed into general happiness.

KATE TELLING CASTLE SHE LOVES HIM. I had not expected that to happen, let alone so soon, and I was so happy when it did. Even when it didn't change anything, because that was real too, that sometimes love is not enough, it takes time and patience and maybe even then it won't be enough. I am happy they gave themselves the time they needed to heal, and I am grateful to you that this time, time and patience was enough.

I’ve just reread this fanfic and it’s, without any doubt, one of the bests I have ever read.
Thank you so very much (again).
Hope one day you would like to write a sequel. It would be a gift to know how Rick and Kate are living in San Francisco.
Thanks again!
Laura

Regardless of what has happened since they found Castle, no matter what happens tomorrow, she's thankful to be living in a world in which he's alive. - "Elliot watches it hit home, soft pride in his eyes as she relaxes visibly." poetic...simply...poetic ;)

You are very talented I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this story. I found by finding the sequel so I read this first amazballs as Stana would say. Thank you for sharing your gift

Holy crap on a cracker,Batman! Well you got the cliffhanger part down. My stomach just twisted itself in a knot. OMGOMGOMG So glad I found your stories Thank you for sharing your gift

I stumbled across Nic’s sequel recently so obviously I had to come back and read this first. And all I can say is wow. You evoked so many emotions over the course of this journey. I smiled, I laughed, I bawled my eyes out. I was frustrated, I was proud, I was sad, I was happy. You broke my heart with their pain but then you put it back together again so beautifully. Incredible story, thank you for sharing it with the fandom!

Diana

just re read this story and its even better the second time thru. I do hope u still plan on writing the sequel.

This was a heartbreaking story, but very well written. Your note says a sequel is in the works - is that still happening?

Great story can't wait to read the sequel

Great story. Couldn’t stop reading it once I started. Are you still planning a sequel?