It's funny when you think about it. How your friends can just forget who you are and abandon you in the tick of a second hand. This is where he found himself now. No friends, no wife, and even his own family had wanted nothing to do with him. Even after he told them that it would get better, it actually made him look like a fool when everything fell apart. Even if he knew a guy they probably would not want to be associated with him now.

Bad investing, the economy was not working to his advantage, sure-fire investments that never worked out. These are the things that led him to the situation he is in now. He looks up from his makeshift cardboard shelter and wonders just how he arrived at this point in his life. Sure he could always fend for himself, but he lost the most important thing in his life. Kate.

When the onslaught had started, she was wise enough to keep her account separate when they were married. He knew that she would be alright. It's just he wishes that he had listened to her. Now she was on her own living in a warm apartment. She filed for a divorce, but since he had no address she had no way of serving him with the legal papers. He could not blame her at all. He was a washed up mystery writer, who was now destitute. Not a cent to his name. She had been granted a divorce by absentia. If he had not spent all of his time trying to make her see that they could be something good together and actually write something to support his needs, well then things would be a lot different.

She had always asked how rich he was and he always responded with "There's more than enough to go around." Man how he wished he could take that statement back now. The first red flag was the house in the Hamptons. To cover his losses, he sold it quickly and for much less than he what he paid for it. What he should have done is bank the $13.4 million and live somewhat comfortably. But no he kept seeing the next best investment. Losing that cash, the next thing to go were the toys. His red Ferrari had only netted him $226, 850 dollars. The Benz only $45,000. the restored 64 ½ Mustang rag top even less. The Harley low rider he practically gave away. Still he had kept some of that cash.

That was until the SEC wanted to have a talk with him. It seems that his financial adviser had inside information and gave him bad advice. Along with the bad advice, he was also responsible for taking 20% of his money with every transaction he made. This made the SEC question his investments. The fines were staggering. It was just too much for him to pay and after it was all said and done he wound up owing the government a whopping $16.8 million dollars.

Being just about broke he sold everything he had and still owed. Without any income from his book sales, he was reduced to actually working. That was until he was asked to leave the job he was doing because he was such a perfectionist. He was able to clear his debt with the sale of the loft. It did, however, make his mother scramble to find somewhere new to live. Alexis was okay. Since she had finished her schooling at Columbia she had landed a decent internship with a world famous plastic surgeon. She had been seeing a man who gave her hope. It was serious, so serious that he had never received an invite to her wedding. No, no one needed him anymore. He was such a failure. Thinking about his next move he needed to find something to eat. The homeless shelter down on Vessy street had the best food however, it was too far to walk in this cold temperature. So he just sat in his cardboard shelter.

About 6 hours later the local precinct had set out to get all the homeless into warmer shelters. The temps were to dip way below freezing tonight. It was already 9 degrees out there. Two beat cops had walked to the cardboard city and found many homeless men and women there. Rousing them up to get into the warmer temps they passed a card to them with the local shelter address that could provide them with a meal and heat. Something was better than being in this frigid weather and most of them had taken the offer. Making one last pass, they came upon one last cardboard shelter. Pulling the flap back of what had once been a refrigerator box, they peered inside. In it there sat a man who had waited too long to get out of the cold. He had a look of despair on his face and he sat there frozen solid. Even wrapped in blankets around him and newspapers stuffed in his shoes but the temperature was too much.

"Steve, looks like we lost one." The one cop said to his partner.

"John, see if he has any ID on him. And check for a pulse."

The cop pry's what is left of this guys frozen wallet from his hand. For some strange reason, it looked like he knew he was going to freeze to death tonight and had his wallet in his hand waiting for them. Opening it the cop looked inside and read his drivers license.

"Richard Alexander Castle"

"493 Broome Street, New York, N.Y. 10019"

John looks back into his wallet for an ICE card. Finding one he calls the only contact number on the list. The phone rings twice before a sleepy voice responds.

"Captain Beckett"

"Captain are you familiar with one Richard Castle?"

"I was at one time. Why what's going on? We have been divorced for some time now."

"Captain I'm sorry I did not know that you were estranged from this individual. Please forget that I called you."

"No, Wait what's going on?" Kate wanted answers and she knew that if it involved Rick she wanted them.

"Ma'am myself and my partner had the task of moving the homeless to warmer shelters. We had made our initial sweep and moved most of them inside. It was not until our last sweep that we found Mr. Castle."

"Okay and?" Kate thought that Rick should just be grateful that the NYPD made an effort to get him help since he screwed up his life so badly.

"Well Captain there was only your number in his ICE contact list, and I'm sorry to say that he had waited too long."

Kate was not following the cop. Why had he not gone to a shelter earlier. Now she would get down there in person and talk him into going to the shelter herself. She was more aggravated than concerned. The fact that she had to get out of bed and help him yet again really made her night.

"I'll be down there as soon as I can. What is your location?"

"Captain there's no need for that."

Kate pulled the phone away from her ear looked at it and wondered what in the hell was going on.

"Officer what do you mean?"

"Captain there is no easy way to tell you this, but Mr. Castle succumbed to the cold temperature. The only person coming down for him will be the coroner."

The cop heard the phone hit the ground and a faint Nooooo was heard in the background. It was then followed by a gentle sobbing. Something told him that while they might have been divorced, she still cared about him. After about a minute, she came back on the line composed and asked where they were going to take him.

"He will be taken to the OCME on East 26th street here in Manhattan."

"Thank You, officer. I will meet the body there in the morning. Can you do one last thing for me?"

"Sure" the officer replies.

"Take a look and see if there is a silver chain around his neck with a wedding band hanging from it."

The officer comes back to the phone "Captain no there is no ring on a necklace"

"Okay, thanks for checking."

"Sir, there are two. One large one and one smaller."

Kate starts to weep once more. He would never stop loving her. The fact that he kept their rings with him after all this time proved that. Now with all that had happened to cause his spiral into being penniless, she thought that maybe they could have survived his problem and she should have been more understanding instead of throwing him to the wolves. She hangs up with the officer and places a call to Lanie. She quickly tells her that he will be there at the morgue within the hour and to take care of him. She sadly agrees.

Arriving down at the morgue she steps in and notices that he is still thawing out. His clothes were still on. He looked like shit. He needed a shave, in fact, he almost had a full beard. She walked over to his still form lying on the exam table.

"Kate how do you want me to do this?"

"Lanie, just make him, like he was before all this happened. I'll send you an Armani suit and everything to make him presentable."

"Sure thing, sweetie."

Lanie leaves Kate with Rick and she takes a good look at him. It's been a while, but he looks like he has aged considerably. The worry lines on his forehead are more pronounced, his hands that once capable of writing such great books are all cut up and swollen. She looks to his eyes and they are void of any life. She takes her fists and starts hitting his chest and asking him why he did what he did to them. Why didn't he listen to her when she told him that he was in trouble. Tears roll down her face and she hits him harder. This goes on non-stop until Lanie comes back to Kate's side. Lanie lets her vent knowing that for Kate it is a type of grieving and closure.

/

Rick was wakened from his wife beating on his chest. He is not quite awake yet, but he sees that Kate has the most determined look on her face. She has a faraway look like she was still asleep...maybe dreaming or experiencing a nightmare? He tried hard to remember if it was wise to wake someone who was sleepwalking or in a state of sleep. He could not remember what it was he needed to do. Soon the thumping of her fists on his chest slowed. He kept an eye on her and thought that whatever it was that she was dreaming it had to be bad. A couple of minutes later Kate came out of her haze...sort of. She looked at him shocked and asked,

"Rick why aren't you on the table in the morgue?"

"Kate what's wrong with you. You were using me as a punching bag and then you ask why I'm not lying dead on Lanies table?"

Kate shakes her head a little to release her sleepy state. That was some nightmare she had just experienced. But that's only what it was a nightmare. Her lover was alive and well. But to her this dream felt so real.

"Kate what's wrong?"

"Rick you would not believe it if I told you. Just be glad that I woke up when I did." Rick looked at her with understanding in his eyes. Kate looked down at his chest and noticed that there were cuts all over his chest where she had been hitting him.

"Rick why is your wedding band hanging off a chain around your neck?" Kate got a chill remembering her nightmare.

"Oh that well, this band is the first set of rings that I ever bought us. But after giving it careful consideration I made the decision that we should pick out our bands together. I have this one around my neck so that I'll have you close to my heart...Always."

Kate started to cry realizing that this man was so giving and loving towards her that she would take him in any form he was in. For richer or poorer.