Unwritten
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be, either. ;)
Summary: In the pouring rain, Kate realizes her life is now her story to tell. Contains spoilers for Always. Oneshot.
This is all yours, Li. Awesome challenge, my friend!
The rain pours down, soaking through her clothes, making them hang heavily on her skin.
But it's okay. It's not anywhere near the weight she once carried - the weight she let drop from her shoulders as her fingers slipped off the edge...
Now, only one piece remains.
Kate finds the park through the storm and sits on a swing, staring at the one Castle - Rick - sat in those many months ago. She sees him, sitting there, in her mind, but it's not the same.
Her hair sticks to her neck and shoulders and rivulets of rain trail all over her body. She stands, extending her arms as far as they will go, her head tilted back. Her body aches from the battle on the roof and is stiff and resists the movement, but it makes her stretch even more.
The rain is a welcome balm to her sore body as it cleans the past from her and leads her to something more worthwhile, something more real. She's meeting her future with eyes wide open; not tied to an action from so many years ago.
It's new territory, and it's frightening. She breathes for the first time in this life, awakening the tigress within.
There's a blank page before her, ready for her to write her own story. Her own story. Not one handed to her by a man armed with a knife, or by the guilt of something she had nothing to do with.
She's free. She's free. And her mind is clear for the first time in thirteen years. She knows exactly what happens on page one, yet beyond that, life will happen as it so wonderfully does each day; with a new breath and a ray of light.
It has never been so obvious, so simple, in her heart and mind what should happen next. She's going to let him in.
There will never be a better time.
Her heart sings in the light of what's ahead of her. Blank pages... so many blank pages to bring her story into reality. HER story.
She runs across the park. So much pent-up energy inside... it needs, wants, to be released. Down sidewalks, across streets, the rain beats down on her, making her new, as she finds her way to him.
Is he even home?
Kate takes out her phone and hits his speed dial, only for it to go to voice mail. His voice is so happy, so Castle, but she doesn't leave a message. Something about hearing his voice reminds her of the last words he said to her.
It's not going to stop her now. She gets into the elevator. She will break down his front door if she has to. She can, after all.
And there it is.
In one full, deep breath, she knocks on the door and waits.
When Castle opens the door, the change in the way he's looking at her breaks her heart. "What do you want, Beckett?"
Such a simple question; such a simple answer.
"You."
She reaches for him, the page no longer blank as she writes the first page of their story.