Redux
What if Kate was never shot at Montgomery's Funeral? 3x24 & S4 AU
Author's Disclaimer: This was written in 2014 and I kind of forgot about it, but I'm posting it now per request. The story's a little odd at times; please keep that in mind while reading. There are 8 chapters
ONE
For many people, the clear beautiful sky and low-seventies temperatures on the day of Montgomery's funeral seemed a cruel joke, but not for Richard Castle. Castle liked funerals on pleasant days—not that there was anything to really like about a funeral, but if there was, agreeable weather was on his list. To him, a funeral on a beautiful day was a sign that the deceased had found happiness and contentment after moving on to whatever came after life on earth. It was a sign that, despite a tragic end, they had found peace.
The funeral, like the days leading up to it, had been difficult, though he would have been lying if he did admit to finding the slightest glimmer of hope in it. The words from her eulogy resonated in his mind hours after she spoke them. If you're very lucky, you find someone willing to stand with you.
That someone was him; he was certain of it beyond any doubt. He'd known it for months—that as her partner on the job and off he would stand by her to the bitter end. After their fight in her apartment the night before Montgomery's death, his seamless belief in that notion faltered, but when she looked at him as she spoke those words, he knew that deep down there was a part of her that believed in them as well.
She needed time and that was fine. He would wait for her so long as he knew there was something to wait for. Sitting in the Montgomery family home after the funeral, he waited for a chance to pull her aside and speak with her. Perhaps it was not the best time, but he simply could not go another second; the twisting in his gut was too much.
Castle had sent his mother and Alexis home after the funeral itself, just as Kate had done with her father. The wake was an all cop affair and any outsiders would have felt simply that: entirely out of place. Though he had not been issued a badge in any official capacity, he had been through enough shoot-outs, bombings, and perp chases to earn himself a lifetime guest pass into the officer's cub.
After yet another round of "Best of Montgomery" stories, Castle was able to flag Kate down and usher her out onto the front porch of the home. She had her hat tucked under her arm and had loosened the top button of her collar, but otherwise looked as professional as she had at the funeral.
"Listen, I," he began, leaning against the porch railing with one hand, "I just wanted to check with you to make sure you're alright."
She looked at him. "Montgomery's dead, Castle. And I'm-"
"It wasn't your fault," he said quickly, knowing that was the direction her thoughts were headed. "There was nothing you could have done."
"Maybe," she said, turning her gaze out into the yard, where Montgomery's youngest daughter sat beside one of her cousins, pulling blades of grass of out the lawn one at a time.
Swallowing hard, he brought up the subject he was most dreading. "About that night in your apartment. The things I said. I just wanted you to-"
"Look Castle," she cut him off as she turned back to face him. "Maybe you were right; maybe you were wrong. Maybe we both were. The thing is at this point I'm honestly not sure about anything at this point, except that this has to stop."
Thinking she meant their partnership, Castle felt a fresh sheen of sweat form instantly across his forehead. "Kate, I know you're upset with me but I just-"
"I'm not upset with you."
"You're…not?"
She shook her head. "I know you were afraid for my life and that you were trying to say anything to get me to stop. Like usual, you said the completely wrong thing." As she turned away from him, he caught a wry half smile crossing her face.
He thought a moment before speaking. Yes, he had been desperately trying to get her to stop as he was genuinely afraid for her life, but he had most certainly meant all the things he said, though admitted he could have said them in a gentler manner. "So…you don't want to stop our partnership?"
She glanced back to him. "You know what I want—need—to stop Castle? Everything to do with my mother's murder. And I really want you to hear me when I say this: I'm done. Montgomery was somehow involved and lost his life because of it—because of my digging. So I'm done; I won't let this thing take anyone else from me."
Castle considered her words for a moment. If she wanted him to back off, he would one-hundred percent, but he was afraid that she wouldn't abide by her own decree. "I hear you Kate and I won't bring the subject up again; I won't do any more research but…are you sure this is what you really want?"
"It has to be," she replied simply. She took a deep breath and turned her body to face his, her hip resting against the railing of the porch. "Listen, Castle I'm going to need some time. Time to process everything. Time to grieve. Time to move past my mother's murder. And I think I need to do that alone."
He nodded, instinctively taking a step back. "Right. You want some space—I totally-"
"No, I need some time. And space. I'm not closing the door on our partnership, Castle, but I do need a hiatus."
Castle nodded and took a slow breath in through his nose. Okay. Hiatus. He could handle that. Considering he was prepared for her to slam the door and bolt it shut as he tried to claw his way through, this was certainly a preferable alternative.
"Okay, a hiatus; I can do that," he said. "Actually, it's good timing. I have a Nikki Heat book tour coming up soon so-"
"How long will that be?" she asked.
"Well the publisher said eight weeks but I-"
"Eight weeks, sounds good. I'll, uh, call you when you're back and we…we can see where things are."
Hearing her Kate-is-not-to-be-argued-with tone, Castle respected the aura of the funeral and did not challenge her. "Right. Okay, Kate. I'll see you when I get back." He turned, took a step to leave, but paused and looked back over his shoulder at her. "You know if you need anything or want to talk before then…"
"I'll be fine, Castle," she said curtly. Then added, "Have a nice book tour," before going back inside the house.
A/N Because this story is kind of silly and not well plotted out, I'll post a chapter a day
Also thanks to the Twitter ladies (you know who you are) for more or less insisting I post this - this is for you :)