Title: One Time Too Many

Pairing: R. Castle and K. Beckett

Summary: Castle has been taken advantage of many times in his life due to not only his fame and wealth but his forgiving nature, Beckett is guilty of this and Castle has finally had enough.

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle

Words: 1 265

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Chapter One

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RC POV:

With my jacket in hand and a frown on my face, I closed the door to Kate's apartment behind myself, surprisingly doing so in a calm manner. She had been keeping secrets from me, lying to me, again. The boarding pass was proof enough of that; I had thought that we were past all of this.

I thought that we had changed over the past year, that the dynamic in our relationship was now different given the fact that we were in an actual relationship. That we had reached the point where we were completely honest with each other, no more secrets and lies between us, it would seem that I had been terribly wrong.

I felt unsteady as I walked out of her apartment building and down the dark streets of New York, my mind whirling away. But no matter what way I looked at the events of tonight, all I could feel was disappointment. A completely new emotion when it came to Katherine Beckett for me.

I had looked up to her since the day that I met her, she was brave and just, upholding the law to its fullest extent. She was honest and didn't compromise in her beliefs. That was the woman who I had fallen in love with, the one that fought for the truth of those who were no longer here.

There were times when I had been frustrated by her, the stoic shoulder she had often given me, sometimes coming off cold and distant. She had also hurt me in the past through her actions and sometimes her words, when we had a real fight it was that of epic proportions. We hadn't had one in a while though.

That is until tonight.

There were many things I could have said to her tonight, voiced the betrayal and hurt I felt at her actions but I knew that engaging in a fight when anger was swirling through me was never a good idea. Having been married twice already I knew that at times it was best to just let things cool down before trying to sort the problem out.

We had hit a bit of a rough patch lately, yet I thought that we could work things out, fix it, if we just tried. I had been trying to make her happy, that was all I wanted for her, but I had failed. She wasn't happy with me any longer.

I didn't understand why though, when I had been ready to wash my hands of her, to walk away once and for all from her, it was she that showed up at my doorstep. She had been armed with an apology and a declaration of wanting me, just me.

However, it would seem as if that was no longer true.

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment, my heart clenching painfully at my latest realization. With a shuddering breath, I slowly carried on with my walk home. My head was bowed, my eyes on my feet as my mind raced, trying to come up with some sort of solution.

She would get the job, there was no question about it, I firmly believed in that. She was the best at what she done, any government branch would be lucky to have her. Ambition was a good thing yet it could sometimes bring out the worst in people, Kate was driven, if she wanted something badly enough she would go after it no matter what.

This new job no doubt held some allure; it must entice her in some way, the real question though was if she really wanted it. Because if she did, then she would take it, she wouldn't hesitate.

When I arrived at the loft not a single light was on, I done nothing to change that. Instead, I sat in the dark, looking out at the night lights. I knew what I had to do.

I would have willingly followed her to DC if only she had been honest from the start, told me what was going on but she hadn't. When I had found the boarding pass tonight and confronted her on the matter, she had turned everything around.

I knew that not everything in our relationship was about me, I knew that. It should be about us, I hadn't tried to make it about me tonight, logically I knew that, but the way she had turned it all around to make it seem as if though I had, made me doubt myself. She made me wonder if just maybe I was overreacting, if she had been right in the first place.

I shook my head fiercely trying to get rid of such thoughts; I wasn't the one in the wrong this time.

She had repeatedly stated that it was her life, no regard for the relationship we were in or how it would affect it. Or how her lying would hurt me and damage what we had. She was right though, it was her life, and as far as I was concerned she could do whatever the hell she wanted to with it now.

I was done.

I was done with this relationship, our partnership; I was done with Kate Beckett.

Real people weren't perfect, Kate wasn't perfect, and I wasn't perfect. Life was messy, people got hurt and not all dreams came true but I had always tried my best to be optimistic. To be positive and upbeat about everything, when we had first met my life had been spiralling out of control. I had been out of control, having killed of Derik Storm, divorcing Gina; it had all been a bit too much.

I had felt lost, turning to parties and easy woman, struggling to write as much as a sentence. But she had changed all that, it hadn't been overnight though yet I knew in the last five years that I had changed. Changed for the better, I was a better person.

Some things though hadn't changed; my mother often felt the need to point out when someone was using me. Taking advantage of me let be it for their five minutes of fame or to give capital for their ideas, she had my best interest at heart. It had been easy to forgive such actions, to allow it to happen again and again.

Kate had taken advantage of my forgiving nature before; she didn't use me to get her photo on page six or to buy her a Ferrari. Instead, she had always depended, expected me, to be willing to forgive her no matter what. That night when she had showed up at the loft soaking wet and asking for my forgiveness was proof enough. Or when she had exiled me from the hospital after she had gotten shot, promising to call, instead after three months she had just shown up at a book signing, expecting me to forgive her.

And foolishly enough, I had.

I always forgave her, welcomed her back with open arms like the loyal puppy that I was. Eager to just have some sort of relationship with her, some type of connection.

I wouldn't forgive this; I was no longer willing to allow her the opportunity to hurt me again. To make a fool of me and what I felt for her.

My decision was made and nothing was going to change my mind, not her and certainly not myself. I was going to be my own worst enemy but I had to remain firm in my resolve, I had to.

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AN: Like many others I believe that Kate is often unfair towards Castle, always expecting him to be the loyal puppy or just to forgive her instantly. Several readers have pointed out that in Work In Progress I made Castle forgive her too easily and I honestly agree with that statement. But as a reviewer pointed out, it was in fact a one-shot, this however isn't. Hope you enjoy this!