"Babe, I'm home," Kate called, slipping out of her jacket and kicking her shoes off.
She just got home from lunch with Lanie. She still managed to see her best friend at work on some days, but ever since she had announced that she was pregnant, things had changed slightly. While she insisted that her pregnancy didn't restrict her ability to solve a murder and that she would be fully capable of actively working crime scenes for a little while longer, Esposito and Ryan had begun to not-so-subtly take as much of her workload as possible. It only got worse as the months passed, and her barely visible bump got bigger and bigger.
And although Beckett did not want to receive special treatment, she had to admit that it definitely helped relieve her of stress. Not to mention that the pregnancy messed with her sense of smell, and so having the boys make trips to the morgue, instead of fighting the urge to throw up every time she stopped by, was actually kind of wonderful.
It did, however, mean that she no longer saw Lanie several times a week, and that catch-ups on each other's' lives needed to be planned in advance. So this Friday afternoon, both women had finally managed to clear their schedules and meet up for lunch. After hours of talking, the two eventually parted ways; Lanie headed home in order to prepare for a date that she scored with a cute bartender, while Kate made her way to the loft, looking forward to a relaxing evening on the couch.
Rick would be at home waiting for her. When she talked to him last, he informed her that he planned on getting some writing done. She had expected the burst in motivation, because he was working on the final chapter of the new Nikki Heat novel, and the promise of accomplishment and completion typically made him all the more eager to finally write the last few sentences that wrapped up the storyline neatly.
Kate smiled to herself. Years ago, she regularly checked information on when a new Richard Castle book would be released. And now, not only did she get live updates on his progress, she had also inspired the main character, and got to read the books before anybody else, save for Alexis, who would probably always be one of Castle's most trusted critics.
Despite her initial hesitance to be his muse, she was now incredibly proud to have provided him with the inspiration. She was proud of everything her husband had accomplished in his career and the success that he had had with the Nikki Heat series. Castle once told her that his book publisher called the books "one hell of a love letter," and when she now read the books, she always managed to see the appreciation and fascination that Castle had for her in between the lines. Having several hundred pages dedicated to showing his love for her wasn't so bad.
Since then, he'd also shown his love for her in other ways, she thought with a grin as she gently touched her stomach. Eight months. Not much longer, and they would finally be able to welcome their daughter into the world. Their household brimmed with excitement. All family members and friends were incredibly eager to finally meet their little girl, and with all the terrible things that she saw going on at her job every day, it reassured Kate that she would be born into a community that was so loving and caring.
Kate quickly brushed a hand through her hair, trying to put some of the strands that had gotten tousled and messy in the wind back into place. Upon entering the loft, she had already seen that Rick wasn't in the living room or kitchen, and so her best guess was that he had actually followed through with his plan to write.
Rick had been putting off writing for a while now, and she wasn't about to hinder him from finally finishing the book, so instead, she went into the kitchen and made herself some coffee. He had most likely heard her call when she entered the loft, and considering that he hadn't emerged from the office to greet her, she assumed that he was fully concentrated on his work.
Coffee in hand, Kate sat on the couch and grabbed a book from the table. Castle had recommended some of his favorites to read, and she now tried to get through those that she hadn't already read herself. Planning to occupy herself until her husband would join her on the couch while bragging about finally finishing a potentially future bestselling novel, she flipped the book open and continued reading.
After reading several chapters, she looked up. By now, the sun had gone down slightly, and a quick glance at her watch told her that more than two hours had passed. Odd. Lunch with Lanie had lasted for a few hours, and by now, Castle should have been done or at least left his office to grab a snack or complain about being stuck so close to the end. But she had heard no growl of frustration, and no laughter that would indicate that he had gotten distracted and opted to play videogames instead.
Deciding that it would now be acceptable to interrupt, Kate pushed herself up from the couch with some effort, laid the book down, and strolled over to his office. She gently knocked on the door before opening it and peaking inside.
Castle sat at his desk, blankly staring at his laptop screen, hands placed at the sides of his keyboard, not typing. So maybe he was actually stuck, Kate contemplated. A moment passed while Kate watched him, but then he lifted his eyes and his gaze found hers. She gasped when she saw his eyes glistening.
"Rick, are you okay?" she questioned, now moving into the office and approaching him.
At first, he didn't respond, remained quiet even as she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She quickly looked at his laptop screen, noticing that the current page was filled and that the word count had definitely gone up since the last time that she had seen the document.
She returned her attention to the man in her arms. She looked at his face from the side, noticing how tired he looked and how sadness was evidently visible in his eyes, parts of it now running down his cheeks.
Kate straightened, pulled his chair back slightly, walked around, and carefully sat on his lap so she could face him. But he still didn't respond, only sighed and closed his eyes.
"What's wrong?" she tried again, the genuine worry audible in her voice.
Staring at his laptop screen when he had writer's block was normal, she would have even expected him to loudly growl in frustration or pace through his office. Crying, however, wasn't part of his usual response to being stuck. That only ever happened when whatever he was writing was incredibly emotional, but even then it was rare. But he didn't appear to have been stuck today, nor was he currently writing anything.
Kate lightly brushed his lips with hers. "Babe, what is it? I can't help you if you won't say anything. So, come on, talk to me."
"It's over," he finally whispered back.
Her brows furrowed. "You mean you finished the book? You actually made it before the deadline this time. Isn't that a good thing?"
"It's… no, it's not. It's over," he repeated, his eyes still shut.
"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific than that," Kate replied, gently pushing him to reveal the reason why he was so upset.
Finishing a book that had been long in the making was normally cause for celebration, usually always prompted him to buy champagne and celebrate. This reaction was more than weird, and she was determined to find out what had caused it. He opened his eyes and looked at her, seeing her smile at him in encouragement.
"Nikki Heat. The series. I'm done."
Her smile fell. He continued to eye her with a sad look on his face, another tear escaping his eyes. The real implication of what he had just said began to sink in. He hadn't just finished the book, he'd finished it all. Whatever words he had last typed were the words that would end the series that he had worked on during that past eight years.
Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears. His writing was what had brought them together, his first Nikki Heat novel and the continuation of the series what had kept him around, and his novels had been written – albeit largely fictional – proof of all the things that they had survived and gone through together. The series held such a special meaning to their relationship, and now, it would be no more.
Part of her realized and had always known that he wasn't going to keep the series going forever, but no part of her had expected him to end it now. She swallowed hard, now seeing why Castle was so upset, but still needing to understand, to comprehend what had driven him to stop now.
"W-why?" she stammered. "Did your publishing company want you to finish it?"
Castle hesitated. "No," he said with a bitter laugh. "Everyone there thinks the series is a gold mine. If it were up to them, I'd probably write fifty more books for the series."
Kate began to feel a slight wave of insecurity, absentmindedly stroking her baby bump. "Then… are you no longer inspired? Did you get bored like you did with Storm? Does this," she said, pointing to her stomach, "make you think that there is nothing more exciting to write for the character?" She knew that the question was ridiculous, that she was probably being overly emotional, that none of those things made Castle stop with the series… but a small, insecure part of her couldn't help but wonder.
Castle's eyes widened. "No, no, how could you think that," he rushed to assure her. He carefully placed his hand over hers and the bump. "I'm not bored. And I will never stop being inspired by you. If anything, this has inspired me more."
"Then why stop now?" she murmured, her confusion at his words evident.
He sighed again and tried to find the right words. "I looked back, and realized something very important. With everything that went on in the past years, everything that we – and consequently also the characters – had been through, what I wanted most for them was happiness."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… look at everything that has happened. Think of how many times we were in danger, how many times one of us nearly died," he began to explain. "Think of how much suffering your mom's case put you through."
Kate tensed, but she felt his other hand rub her back slightly and began to relax again. She didn't say anything though, and waited for him to continue his explanation.
"All that pain and desperation. All the anger and sadness. We went through that, and because the series largely reflects what you and even I lived through, Jameson Rook and Nikki Heat endured a lot of crap."
Castle paused, momentarily taking his hand of Kate's back to wipe away another tear that rolled down his cheek.
"And I decided that I didn't want to make them suffer any more. Writing has helped me work through stuff. But now…" He looked up and managed a smile. "Everything is great now. We made it. I realize that your job continues to be dangerous, but still. After everything that has happened, we are still here. I'm married to the love of my life, about to have another, beautiful daughter, and I couldn't be happier, Kate."
She automatically smiled. His words warmed her and turned the frown that she had worn earlier into a bright smile. Hearing him proclaim his happiness and excitement made her practically beam. But then his face became serious again, and she took the hand that was placed on her belly into hers, lightly pressing it to encourage him to continue speaking.
"In a way, the series is a reflection of what goes on in our lives. But in order for the books to continue being exciting and suspenseful, in order for the series to move forward, I would need more drama, more pain, more intrigue. And I've decided that – if we get to live our happy lives – Rook and Heat deserve the same."
Kate nodded slowly. "So you decided to give them a happy end?"
"I didn't kill them off like Storm, if that's what you mean," he joked, trying to lighten the mood a little. Kate laughed. "I couldn't do that. No, the two really got the happy ending they deserved. No spoilers though." He winked at her, causing Kate to roll her eyes at him.
He began to speak again. "I think I realized that this would be the final one halfway through the book. It's why I put off writing for so long, why I absolutely dreaded writing this last chapter. I feel like I'm leaving the characters behind, but there is no way I can continue and give them a completely happy life. So… this is it," he concluded.
It was silent for a while. "You know, you're not leaving them behind," Beckett remarked. "You're giving them a proper send-off… you are giving them a proper send-off, aren't you?"
He laughed. "Yeah. It's an epic finale."
"So they get an epic final showdown and a happy end. You're not leaving them behind, you're only allowing them to have their adventures off the pages."
"Kate Beckett, since when did you become so poetic?" he teased.
"Married to the right person, I guess," she replied with a grin on her face, taking a moment to give him a quick kiss. "And if you ever wonder what they are up to later," she continues, "just look around you. Parts of us and this world are present in Rook's and Heat's universe. But that also means that parts of their world is in ours as well. They won't get left behind, they'll always be a part of us and our story."
"I guess you really did marry the right person. I'm loving the optimism," Castle stated, causing the second eye roll in just a few minutes. "You're right though. Thank you."
"Always. Now, come on," she said, pushing herself up and turning around to tug on his arm. "Send it to your publisher for review and then get out of this office for a while. You've been here for hours."
He nodded in agreement and typed for a while before finally closing the lid of his laptop and following her as she led him into the living room. They ordered takeout for dinner, no one too keen on cooking that evening, and they quickly moved on to discuss lighter subjects. The initial shock eventually left Kate, replaced by the satisfaction of knowing that the fictional version of her would get to experience true happiness as well.
As the two laid in bed that night, he draped his arm over her and buried his face in her hair.
"I'm gonna miss them. I like their story," he whispered.
"Yeah, me too."