Just thought I'd give you a taste of the next escape from boredom. Not as long or as angsty after the first 2 chapters. Give it a try. Think - Last of the Mohicans.
OM
No Matter Where You Go by Oldest Man
Chapter 1
12th Precinct
Homicide
Castle sat in his usual spot beside Beckett's desk fiddling with his new phone trying to send his favorite Princeton student a text message but it wouldn't send and he was rapidly reaching the point where the phone would find itself the victim of traumatic disassembly when it hit the wall of the squad room.
"Ever try reading the directions first, Castle? It works wonders." She stood beside him, closer than she would have a month ago, and smirked at down at him. Such a boy with a toy.
"Ha-ha-ha, Beckett, you're a riot. I'll figure it out. Besides, figuring things out is half the fun." He fiddled with the phone and almost dropped it when it suddenly trilled an unknown ring tone.
Beckett glanced over at him and saw how his face paled and then how his thumb hovered over the 'ignore' key but he made up his mind and accepted the call.
"Excuse me, Detective, I have to take this call." He stood and walked to the break room and, rare for Castle, closed the door. She knew it wasn't anything to do with his family because he would have told her. They had no secrets from one another any more.
They'd been dating for about 4 months and had reached a 'comfortable' level of intimacy. She still saw other people but she knew Rick had been 'exclusively' hers since the first time she'd said 'yes' to his dinner invitation a few weeks after she and Josh had parted ways. She needed someone who was 'hers' and would put her first above all else and thus she'd said 'yes' to Castle.
Sometimes she'd cook for him and other times he'd cook for her or they'd order in or go to small restaurants for intimate dinners. They went to galleries, openings, and once he took her to a Broadway show that was sold out for weeks in advance. She casually mentioned it and the next thing she knew, she was sitting in one of the best seats in the house with Castle sitting beside her, holding her hand and rubbing those damned circles on the back of her palm.
She had yet to share his bed but knew it was only a matter of time. He hadn't pushed, letting her set the pace for physical intimacy. She was pretty sure he was the one for her but like Lanie said, she kept one foot on the floor ready to scoot if something better came along.
She didn't see the hypocrisy everyone else apparently did and would have ignored it anyway. It was just the way she was, unsure of her choices in men and always ready to move along to the next one in her search for the sure thing, the mystical 'one and done'.
Castle didn't seem to mind and he never got jealous or uptight when she mentioned a date with someone else. He seemed satisfied with the status quo and she had no desire to rock the boat. She hadn't gone out with the same guy twice. It wasn't her rule. It just seemed to be the way things worked out.
Her subconscious recognized something she either couldn't or wouldn't. None of them were Rick Castle.
Rick closed the break room door and leaned back against it. He answered the call with his usual 'Castle' and spoke with rare intensity.
"Hello, Jordan. I've been dreading your call." He liked Jordan Shaw but since being assigned to him as his liaison instead of being a profiler, she tended to be surly, abrupt and curt, not her usual way of dealing with a man she might have had the hots for long ago. "Tonight? No! No way! I haven't begun to prepare Alexis or Mother. You haven't given my plan a fair shot, Jordan. No way. You promised me more time."
He didn't know why he was surprised. People lied to him all the time for their own purposes. Even Beckett. What was it that cranky doc on TV says all the time? "Everybody lies."
"I know Jordan, I know. Just – just promise me you'll check in from time to time with Alexis and my mother? The Trusts are in place for both of them but…yeah, well, I appreciate it."
She'd about browned her drawers when he'd brought up redistributing his not inconsiderable wealth 'in anticipation of death' and she'd beaten him verbally about the head and shoulders until he explained what he'd planned and then she reluctantly agreed.
"I'll meet your people at the usual place. Remember your promise if anything happens to me. Remember your promise, Jordan!" He was adamant. He didn't really trust the Feds anymore than regular cops did. Pushy, arrogant, condescending – he remembered Sorenson. Yeah, typical Fed.
There was a long pause while he listened to Agent Jordan Shaw talk. She sounded almost as sad as he did, trying to calm him down and trying to make amends for doing what her superiors thought he was being ungrateful for. After all, they were 'giving him a new life' not recognizing or caring that it was at the expense of his 'old life'.
"Okay, okay, I'll calm down but you're not the one they're after. Yeah, well, Jordan, face it, Beckett and I were never going anywhere any way. She is still in the market and I am just someone to fill the time with."
Another pause. Not as long but from the look on his face…
"Yeah, I know it's sour grapes but she's still dating others while she is exclusively the only woman in my life. Pathetic, I know but it's my fate I guess."
Another pause, this one causing him to respond angrily.
"Damn it, Jordan Shaw! I know my role in this little one-act travesty. Remember your role in it. It's just a bit part after all. I'll be there. Jordan – tell Beckett – nothing, nothing. I'll be there on time."
He disconnected the call and leaned back against the door. Tonight he was going to die in a most spectacular manner but he would die at peace knowing he was ensuring the safety of his mother and daughter.
He'd run out of time and now everything would change. He was angry at Beckett, the FBI, Jordan Shaw, the Syrian terrorist cell, the asshole who sold him the MP-5 out of the trunk of his car and overcharged him - everyone.
His cell phone trilled again and he answered, as always, with 'Castle'.
"We have your daughter…"