My first ever fanfic! We were given an assignment for English to take a character and continue their story. I chose Castle & Beckett, and my 500 word assignment turned into more like 5,000. Enjoy. :3
Chapter One ; An Unexpected Encounter
"I guess the question is, do you want it badly enough to get over being hurt."
After an evening of ice cream and college talk, Alexis has chosen Stanford. Rick realized that if his daughter could forgive and move on, he could too. And that's exactly what he was doing late that night. Alexis had gone upstairs, so he didn't feel the need to explain to her where he was going. Grabbing his coat by the door, he left the loft.
Instead of driving to Kate's he decided to walk. It'll clear his mind and prepare him for what to say to Kate, he knew he had to watch his mouth. He didn't think Kate knew that he had heard her, so he really wanted to give Kate a chance to tell him. He knew of one thing that was certain for tonight, he was going to leave her tonight with her knowing everything, even if that meant the end of their partnership. She deserves the truth.
"Lanie, I did wait too long!" Kate was pacing around her apartment. It was another girl's night with Lanie, wine, and gossip.
"Girl, how do you know that? Castle could just be taking some time off-"
"Lanie, he followed Slaughter. He nearly got himself killed, but he went through with it."
"But you saved his little ass, you told me not 5 minutes after he left!"
"Yeah, I helped him finish out the case, but he didn't come after me like he was supposed to. I walked away leaving it open for him to join in and he just, he just -"
"He left, Kate. But you said yourself he looked at you like he hasn't in weeks."
Kate's face hinted the slightest of smiles, "Yeah, he did. I mean, he had just been punched in the gut by Slaughter, but his eyes weren't all narrowed and angry looking."
"Well?"
"Well what? He still didn't come and talk to me!" Exasperated, Kate fell onto her couch next to her friend.
Lanie gave her another look, "You said he acted really surprised that you were helping him out?"
"Yeah, and I told him that's what partners are for…"
"Girl Imma smack you!" the medical examiner pursed her lips.
"What did I do?"
"Partners help each other out, yeah. They stand up for each other. But you put your career on the line. Your career is your life, Kate. Without it, you don't know who you are."
"So? It's…Castle! I can't just leave him all by himself; he's like…a puppy! You don't leave a puppy to clean up a mess. It needs help."
Lanie only glared at Kate, a slow grin growing.
"Hey, stop it!"
"You care about him, don't you? You really care a lot about this man."
"We've already been over this." Kate ran a hand through her hair, stood up, and began to pace again, her voice starting to waver.
"And you haven't done anything about it. Listen. I'm your friend, Kate. I can't just let you sit here loving him and watch you get hurt as he's forced to move on. Before now, he probably thought you didn't care much about him. Tonight you showed him you care. He's vulnerable, he's open. You need to seal the deal."
Kate snapped her head up at Lanie's last comment. "So, what should I do?"
"Go to him."
"I'm sure he'll come into the precinct tomorrow, he forgot his jacket, Slaughter left it on my desk." Kate was wringing her hands together, nervous.
"KATE!"
"What? Oh, you mean now! It's eleven o'clock!" The detective sat down, trembling with what she sensed was coming.
"Don't let him sleep on what happened today. You're bound to be in his mind right now, so go give him more to think about."
Kate started for the closet, grabbing her coat. She stopped as she noticed Lanie turning on her television and curling closer into the couch. Lanie answered her question before she could even ask, "My presence on your couch shows I don't want you back here for another two, maybe three or four hours. But give me a heads up if you're returning with writer boy. I'll clear out faster."
"Lanie! I'm just going to talk!"
"Mmmmhmmm." Lanie rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the ruerun on tv.
"Well, ummm," Kate's hand hovered above the doorknob.
"Stop stalling!" Lanie didn't even turn around. Kate took a huge breath and opened the door. She walked into the hall, still trembling. Why was she so nervous?
She walked slowly down the steps of her apartment. It suddenly hit her that Lanie had driven them home. She was going to have to walk to Castle's, not wanting to ride alone in a taxi so late at night.
Castle decided that if he wanted to say anything tonight, he needed to be awake. On the way, he passed numerous shops that offered coffee beverages, but he wanted this to be special, so he chose her favorite place only about two blocks from her apartment. He stepped inside the shop to see only one small man in the corner, typing furiously on his laptop. Rick knew the feeling—knowing exactly what you want to say and how to say it, but scared you'll lose it.
"Evening Mr. Castle, you're out might late. New case?" the barista, Jon, interrupted his chain of thought.
"Nope, just picking up some drinks then I'm off to see someone." Castle said, starting the barista in the eye.
John's eyebrows lifted slightly, "The usual then?" Hinting he wanted Castle to elaborate, "For you and…Detective Becket?"
"Yes." Clearly, Castle was in no mood to discuss what he was about to do, especially not to John. He was constantly interested in Castle's everyday life, and his relationship with Kate. Patiently, he waited for the beverages.
"Here you are! Have a great night!" John winked, handing over the coffees.
Castle took the steaming cups and turned for the door, just as Kate was walking in.
I have a few more chapters already ready, should I put them up? Again, this is my first fic, so please be patient with me. I'm still figuring this all out. (:
