Author's Note: I was recently watching the first season of "Castle" and was struck by the dynamic between Castle, Beckett, and Sorenson in the last two episodes. This idea planted itself in my brain and just wouldn't leave. Enjoy!
Medicated
"You'll have to forgive him. He's heavily medicated," Kate tells Castle as he closes the door to my hospital room behind them. Well, I may be medicated, but I'm not stupid.
Even when we first got together, I knew that Kate had a thing for Richard Castle. Back then, though, it wasn't much more than anybody has for their favorite author. She had all of his books, and not long after we started dating she stood in line for an hour to get one of them signed. It wasn't uncommon for me to come home and find her curled up in bed fast asleep with a Castle book lying open on her chest because she'd fallen asleep reading.
I finally asked her why, after a day of investigating murders, she'd want to come home and read about more. It took a couple of weeks before she admitted that something about the books spoke to her: the way Castle wrote the crimes, the way he explained the murderer's motive. It was, she finally admitted, the type of detail she had one day hoped to find about her mother's murder.
I'd meant what I said on that child abduction case: I had hoped that she'd follow me to Boston. When she didn't, I was heartbroken. Part of the reason I could never follow through with calling her was because I thought that it would be too painful to hear her voice. Then, I was back in New York and was able to request her help on a case.
I think the reason that I was so put off by Castle was because he was so observant. And I could tell right away that Kate likes him. A lot. Even though she pretended otherwise.
And Castle definitely likes her. A lot. He, at least, doesn't pretend otherwise.
I think that the biggest sign of that was our kiss. It was great, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't the same as kisses that we had shared during our relationship. And Kate's reaction when Castle barged in was extremely telling.
When she showed up at the office with the donut, I thought that maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe she did want to get back together. But then I discovered that she'd only come to ask for help on a case. I was surprised when she brought Castle to the meet, but even more surprised when she let him sit in on the interrogation.
I was surprised but relieved when I woke in the hospital to find her there. It's nice to know that she still cares about me. But I saw how she perked up when Castle appeared.
So I may be medicated. But I'm not stupid.