A/N: I am so so so sorry at how ridiculously long it took for me to update. Life really got in the way. I hope you're still interested. Let me know?

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Obviously.

At the end of the tunnel

Chapter 19

"Mommy!"

Kate felt the impact of her little boy on her legs as soon as she walked through the front door. Alex looked up at her with wide eyes, fear evident in his expression as he took in her swollen cheek and the bruise that covered it. Brushing his hair away from his eyes, she tried to smile reassuringly at him before painfully reaching down to pull him into her arms.

"Hey, baby bear." She kissed his nose gently and sighed sadly when he still didn't relax.

"You're hurt." He whispered simply, reaching out to touch her bruised cheek lightly, almost as if he was afraid she was going to break right in front of his eyes. "Livie says daddy hurt you." His bottom lip stuck out, trembling. "Why did he do that?"

Kate had to take a deep breath to keep the tears at bay, the knot in her throat closing up so tight that she felt like she would suffocate any second. The door closed behind her and she felt Rick's hand touch the small of her back comfortingly, as he caught Alex's attention for a moment.

"Hey, buddy." He ruffled his hair gently and offered his arms as she looked at him gratefully. The effort of holding her son was a little more than she could handle right now. After everything that happened, adrenaline seemed to finally be leaving her veins and her entire body hurt. "You gotta be careful with your mom, alright? So she'll heal faster." Rick said quietly, as she transferred the boy into his arms.

"But why did daddy hurt her? I don't get it." Alex talked quietly, as if he was afraid that anything louder would hurt her more.

"Katie" Her father interrupted the boy before he could ask any more questions that she still didn't know how to answer. "Honey, we made dinner. And there's cake."

Jim wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her further into the living room, in the kitchen's direction. Kate felt like she was slowly going numb, her thoughts seemed slow and foggy. Maybe it was the shock of seeing Alex's fear and the adrenaline of the events wearing off. Whatever it was, she needed to shake it off fast, put on a brave façade in front of her children.

"Thanks, dad." She told her father quietly, once they had entered the kitchen. "How are they? Where is Olivia?"

"They're as okay as can be expected, honey." He touched her chin, so he could look more closely at the damage Jake had done. "Olivia cried a lot after you left, but Alex and the new kitten managed to distract her. She fell asleep a little while ago." He sighed, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Alex was just confused."

"I still can't believe he did this, dad." She let out a shaky breath and averted her eyes. It seemed that every time she found herself relaxing even a little bit, the overwhelming need to cry tried to take over her. "And in front of Olivia. On her birthday. God."

"If he ever shows his face here again, I can't be held responsible for my actions, Katie." She looked up at the anger in his tone and took his hand, giving it a grateful squeeze. "I hope you guys catch him and lock him up for what he did to my little girl. Because right now I really, really want to kill him."

"We'll catch him, dad. We've got an arrest warrant out for him already. It's just a matter of time." She sighed heavily and leaned against the counter as he poured her some tea. "I just want this to be over."

She felt so humiliated and powerless. Even though she knew they had taken all the necessary measures against him, she still felt like a scared little girl, as hard as she tried to feel otherwise. The man she had once loved so much had turned on her physically, in front of their daughter, no less… it was too much. On top of everything that was going on, this was the final straw for her and she was holding so tightly to the last shred of strength she had to keep it together.

Esposito had gotten an arrest warrant out for Jake and had alerted everyone to keep an eye out to catch him. When they did catch him – and she hoped it wouldn't take too long; she couldn't stand the thought of him out there where he could still hurt them – he would have to pay some very good money to bail himself out. The only comforting thought through this whole mess was that he would have absolutely no chance at getting custody of Alex and Olivia now, so she figured that at least this part of the nightmare was over.

"Mommy, me and Rick want some cake. Can we have some, please?"

She snapped out of her reverie when she heard her son's voice and smiled, relieved, when she saw him dragging Rick into the kitchen by the hand, while he held his sister's kitten carefully with the other. He already seemed to be back to his normal self, albeit still a little shaken when he focused on the huge hematoma on her cheek. Jake had really done a number on her.

"Of course, baby." She told him and ran her fingers gently through his brown hair when he leaned against her leg. Looking up at Rick, she found him watching her with a touch of concern. "Can you get it for him?" She asked, reaching out for his hand for a quick, comforting squeeze.

"Sure. You okay?" He asked quietly and she nodded, threading her fingers through his. He leaned in for a quick kiss, apparently very aware that her father was standing just a few feet away, and turned back to her boy. "Alright, Mr. Alex, ready for some awesome birthday cake? I hear it's filled with chocolaty goodness." He told the boy conspiratorially, making Alex giggle delightedly.

"Yes!" The boy exclaimed happily while Rick cut a small piece and put it on a plastic plate for him.

"You should put the kitten down first, buddy." Kate warned amused and took the little ball of fur from her son's hands, before setting it down on the floor. The kitten was so small that it fit right into her palm. "Did you guys name her?" She asked the boy as he dug right into the chocolate.

God, they so shouldn't be feeding him sugar right now.

Rick sat across from him at the table, cutting another three pieces of cake for himself, Kate and her father.

"No, Livie said she couldn't choose a name just yet." Alex explained, smearing chocolate over his lips with his enthusiasm. "She didn't even want her cake, mommy." He told her and Kate was startled at his sudden mood change. His eyes looked so sad all over again and he played with the cake on his plate for a moment. "She said that daddy did something very bad."

Kate took a deep breath and knelt down to his height, brushing her lips gently over his hair.

"He did, baby. But he won't do it again. Ever." She reassured him, biting her lip to keep it together when she saw tears well up in his eyes.

"But what if he does it again, mommy? What if he hurts Livie and me next? You shouldn't hurt people, right? It's very, very bad to hurt people, you always say." He said in one breath and Kate touched his chin, making him look at her.

"He won't hurt you, Alex. Or your sister. I will never, ever let anything happen to you, baby." She told him seriously and looked at Rick for reassurance for a second, before turning back to her son. "We will always protect you. Rick, Grandpa, Uncle Javi, Uncle Kevin. Nothing is going to happen to you guys."

"Promise?" He asked in such a small voice, a tear finally making its way down his cheek, that she pulled him into her arms and hugged him close.

"Oh, I promise, baby. Cross my heart." She whispered, rubbing soothing circles on his back, her eyes searching out Rick and her father. They nodded at her, her father making his way over to wrap her in his arms.

She let out a heavy sigh, a stubborn tear escaping her eyes at the sad mess her life had become.

A/N: Thoughts? Anyone still out there?