Okay, this has been done before, but this plot bunny popped into my head last night after the season 5 finale. Can't say I really liked the ending because it felt forced. This is a fix-it story – sort of. I promise I'll get back to "The Offer" after this story is done because it hopefully won't be too long.

Also sorry that the POV breaks didn't show up. They are in the original version and I keep adding them and then uploading the edited chapter again, but they keep not showing up. And thanks for the reviews - you guys rock.

Disclaimer – don't own Castle, just write for fun. Marlowe and ABC own Castle.

Summary – Kate takes the job in Washington, D.C.; Alexis is in Costa Rica; and Martha is doing summer stock in Upstate New York. Rick is kidnapped and no one is at home to take the call about the ransom demands.

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The Call – Chapter 1

Castle stared over the steering wheel of the Ferrari, not really paying attention to the scenery as he drove wherever his car was taking him. Kate had turned him down – not outright, but her answer to his marriage proposal had been a "Not yet." She felt the proposal was forced, that his heart really wasn't into it, whatever that meant. He should be happy when he asked her, not desperate, not angry, and definitely not asking her when his back was against the wall. He should ask when he really truly wanted her.

The problem was that he really truly wanted her but he was also desperate and unhappy – he didn't want to lose her, to lose what they had together. And she didn't want to lose him, but apparently he wasn't enough for her.

He had let her walk away from the swing set and had never gone back to the 12th – he had no reason to go back there anymore after Kate accepted the job offer in D.C., not even to say goodbye to the others.

Several days later, he dropped Alexis off at the airport for her trip to Costa Rica without telling her what had happened, although she knew something was wrong. Martha was directing a summer stock production in Upstate New York for the summer; true to her mother's instinct, she had known what had happened. The final thing she said to him was that they would find their way, kiddo.

So he simply turned off his cell phone, got in his car, and started driving. He couldn't go to the Hamptons because of the memories of Kate and him there. His plan was to go somewhere to think and then be back in plenty of time to pick Alexis up from her trip.

Castle finally paid attention to the blinking red light on the dashboard that indicated if he didn't get gas immediately, he would have a long walk in front of him, so he pulled into the dilapidated gas station in the middle of nowhere.

A man in a dirty attendant's uniform came out to greet him. "Fill 'er up, sir?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," Castle said as he got out of the car and stretched, trying to work the kinks out of his back. How long had he been driving anyway? "Restroom?" he asked.

"Around the back – the key's inside."

"Thanks," Castle replied as he walked into the store. He asked an equally scruffy-looking attendant at the desk for the restroom key and headed in the direction that the man pointed. When he opened the door, he almost balked at going in, but he finished quickly and walked out without gagging too much.

Realizing that it had been a while since he had eaten, Castle picked up several items in the store and walked to the counter to pay. He pulled out his wallet and leafed through the bills he had.

If he hadn't been so lost in thought, he would have noticed the man at the counter eying the contents of his wallet and then nodding at the man outside.

"Here's your change," said the man as the outside attendant came into the store. "Where you headed?"

Castle shrugged. "Don't know yet."

"Well, have a safe trip," the man said as Castle started to walk through the door. "Oh, hey, you forgot your drink."

Castle turned back around and then paused, realizing his drink was in the sack in his hand. That was the last thing he remembered as the outside attendant pressed a stun gun into his back.

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Alexis paused as the doorman to their building opened the front door to let her enter.

"Good afternoon, Miss Alexis. It's nice to have you back. How was your trip?" he asked.

"Wonderful, Mr. Brewster," said Alexis, "but it's great to be home."

"I'll get the rest of your bags," Brewster replied. "And you have several packages at the concierge's desk."

"Thanks, Mr. Brewster," Alexis said, smiling. The trip had been great but she really missed being home. She thought her dad knew when she was coming in and would be at the airport to greet her, but after waiting an hour and making several calls to his phone which he never picked up, she decided to take a taxi home.

She stopped by the concierge's desk. "Hi, I'm Alexis Castle. You have some packages for me?"

"Oh, yes, Ms. Castle," said the cute young man behind the desk. "Let me get your packages." He quickly returned with two packages, one in a sealed plastic bag. "Sorry," he said as he handed her the packages. "This one started stinking several days after it came in. It wasn't marked perishable, but we put it in a bag and put it in the refrigerator."

"Thanks," said Alexis, taking the packages from him, their eyes lingering for a moment until a quick "Ahem" from Mr. Brewster caused them to blink.

"Miss Alexis, this is my nephew, Matthew. He's on break from college and he'll be working here through the summer."

"Thanks, Matthew," said Alexis, blushing slightly. "Mr. Brewster, have you see my dad? I thought he was going to pick me up from the airport."

"No, I haven't, but I've been out for a while."

"Thanks," said Alexis. "It's probably nothing. Can you let me up? I thought he'd be picking me up, so I didn't bring my fob with me."

"Sure thing," Mr. Brewster said, walking to the elevator with her and then waving his fob at the controls inside the car. "I'll bring your bags up shortly."

"Thanks," Alexis said again as the doors slid shut.

The loft was quiet as Alexis unlocked the door and walked in.

"Dad?" she called loudly. "Are you home?"

She frowned as she walked around, noticing that it looked like no one had been home for a while. That was confirmed when she opened the refrigerator door and found the curdled milk and old take-out cartons.

She pulled out her phone and thumbed through her messages again. Were her dad and Kate in the Hamptons and had called her to let her know? But there weren't any messages from him or Kate at all.

Alexis quickly dialed the number she had for Kate, but it went to voice mail. "Hi, Kate – this is Alexis. I just got back and was wondering if my father was with you. He's not home and I don't know where he is. Call me please."

Her grandmother was still in upper state New York for summer stock, so she probably wouldn't know where her father was.

Alexis walked into Castle's office and quickly opened his computer and checked for the last time he had been on. It was obvious he hadn't written in a while because the last date was the day before she had left for Costa Rica. But he didn't have any chapters due for another month and preferred to write at the last minute anyway – said he did his best work then.

Alexis walked back into the kitchen where she had set the packages and opened the first one. Her eyes grew wide and her face grew paler as she read the note inside and looked at the phone. With trembling hands, she unsealed the bag the second package was in and quickly opened it and then screamed.

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Lanie had just started on the autopsy for that morning's body drop when her phone rang.

"Dr. Parish," she answered, only to find a hysterical Alexis on the other end. "Whoa – slow down, Alexis – what's happened?"

"It's Dad – I can't get ahold of Kate!" the terrified girl screamed into the phone.

"Are you at the loft, honey?" Lanie asked. "Is he hurt?" Seeing that she was getting no response other than sobbing, Lanie said, "I'm sending someone over right now. Ryan, Espo, and I will be there in 15 minutes."

Two police cars with lights on were parked outside of Castle's building when Lanie, Espo, and Ryan arrived at the loft. Alexis sat outside in the hallway, wrapped in a blanket, quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking.

Lanie knelt beside her as Espo and Ryan went inside. "Hey, Alexis," she said. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"On the counter," Alexis sobbed, not raising her head. "It's on the counter."

Lanie nodded at the police woman who stood near Alexis and went inside to find a grim-faced Espo and Ryan.

"These were in the boxes," Espo said, motioning to the notes and phone on the counter. He held up a small plastic bag. "And this was in there too."

Lanie's eyes widened as she looked at the severed finger in the bag.

"Castle was kidnapped about five weeks ago," said Ryan flatly. "There wasn't anyone home to take the ransom demand."

"Oh, no," Lanie said. She quickly walked back into the hallway and knelt by Alexis, stroking her hair. "We'll find him, sweetie," she said softly.

Alexis nodded slowly. "I tried Detective Bec – Kate – but she didn't answer. Why didn't she know about this?"

"Oh, honey," said Lanie, sadly. "Kate's not here – she took a job in Washington, D.C., and moved there 6 weeks ago."

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Beckett stared out the window of her office. The job was great – it was all that she imagined and more – but it still felt slightly off. For the first couple of weeks here, she had called Castle several times, but he never returned her calls and his mailbox was now full, so she had quit trying. What he said was true; they were over. Her heart did a quiet flip-flop. This wasn't the way she wanted it to end – she had truly thought they were forever, no matter what. She quickly squelched the feeling as she turned her attention to the files on her desk.

One of them required her supervisor's signature so she checked his calendar and saw that he was in his office now.

She picked up the file and quickly walked out the door, pausing slightly when she noticed conversations quickly stopping and people looking extremely busy as she walked by. This had been happening more and more frequently for the last week. She knew she was good, but had she done something wrong? Did she have some type of secret mark on her back?

Kate knocked on her supervisor's door. "Mr. Gonzales, if you have a moment, I have a file I need you to sign."

She handed the man the file, which he quickly signed and returned to her. She turned to go and then turned back. "If I could have a word with you, sir," she said as she shut the door.

"What's on your mind, Agent Beckett?" Gonzales said, leaning back in his seat.

"Sir, have I done something wrong?" Kate asked outright. "Is there some problem with my performance?"

Gonzales studied her for a moment. "No, we're quite pleased with the initiative you've shown so far."

"Then, sir, what is the problem? In the last week, people have started avoiding me. They quit talking when I show up and they stare. Have I broken some unwritten rule?"

Gonzales paused a moment longer. "No, you haven't done anything. The problem is not with your performance, but who you are."

"Sir?" asked Kate, confused.

Gonzales paused a moment longer and then took a file out of his drawer. "We recently took over this case due to its high-profile nature. It's a kidnapping case, possibly a murder case, and due to unfortunate circumstances, the trail has grown cold."

"But, sir, what does that have to do with me?"

"Because the victim is Richard Castle."