These characters do not belong to me. They're just so well-written by Mr. Marlowe and co. that I cannot resist continuing their story. Any mistakes are entirely my own.
He feels lost. His mind tells him he just crashed a car. His body, however, tells him that something more heinous has occurred. His skin feels scrubbed raw, and he feels so tired. He's researched typical airbag injuries, caused Derrick Storm to crash many a fancy car in high-stakes chases. So he knows what he should be feeling. Yet when he catalogues his body, he finds none of the expected hurts. And when he looks into her eyes, hears her say that he's been gone for two months, he feels the beginnings of a blind panic that he does not want to think too closely about. He tries to brush it off with humor. And then when she accuses him of staging his own abduction, he feels the world drop away from under his feet. He's angry at her until he sees the fear in her eyes, hears it in the pitch of her voice. Then the only thing he can think to do is to somehow, somehow convince her that he could never have done what she is accusing him of. He could never, ever leave her.
He's been to the loft after being discharged from the hospital. Loved being spoiled by his daughter and his mother. But she's stayed away. His daughter tells him she stayed away almost the entire time he was gone. She remained in the lot for about a week, but after the fifth consecutive time either Alexis or Martha shook her awake from a nightmare, screaming and crying in the big, empty, bed, she returned infrequently and never stayed the night. He lies in bed imagining he can still smell her, cherries and fear, and feels hollow with the longing to wrap her up in his arms. He waits for her to come back now that he's here, but three days pass, and she does not return. She knocks on his door the morning of the fourth day, her eyes still wary, her demeanor that of a cornered wild animal, and demands that he come with her to the campsite. He does not protest. He dons a suit even though his skin chafes from the weight of the material. Because, as cheesy as it sounds, it isn't home without her.
The confused guy in the trailer proves at least one part of his story. He sees her eyes clear a bit. The fear has diminished, but the pain is still there. So he tries to joke and cajole her back into being normal. Even though everything hurts, he puts on a good suit and a smile for Ryan and Esposito and the rest of the precinct. They look at him half-ashamed, half-defiant, but curious. Even Gates acknowledges him with a nod of her head. Beckett is the only one who avoids eye contact. He catches her looking at him constantly, but she will not meet his gaze. And he feels helpless. The universe has got to be conspiring against them, he thinks.
He stays at the precinct as long as he can bear it. His skin is still tender from his ordeal and his whole body still hurts. Eventually, he stands up from his chair. She flinches but still doesn't look at him. "Beckett," he speaks quietly, "Kate. Could I talk to you for a minute?" Finally, she raises her eyes to meet his. In them, he sees a mix of wariness and guilt and pain and fear and underneath it all, love. She looks like she is about to cry. She takes his hand gently, mindful of the scrapes on the palms and the still-burnt skin on the outside, and leads him into an empty interrogation room.
She stills just inside the door. Slowly, her entire body starts to shake. "I'm sorry, Castle!" she sobs out. "I shouldn't have accused you of faking your own disappearance. But I was so afraid." Her voice breaks, and it's more than Castle can take. He wraps his arms around her, and whispers into her hair, "Shh, Kate, sweetheart, it's okay, we're gonna be fine, just come back home, Kate, please come home with me. Please don't stay away any more. I miss you, I love you, Kate." She lifts her head from his chest then, and smiles a smile that takes his breath away. It's the perfect mixture of hope and love, with a tinge of sadness that makes him want to go back to their wedding day and erase everything that's happened in between, until he realizes that that is exactly what someone has done to him. She must see the sudden darkness in his eyes, because she chooses that moment to rise ever-so-slightly to her toes and place a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I love you, too, babe. Let's go home."