Author's Note:
Hello, I'll try to make this short and sweet. I don't watch Castle, I use to but I fell out of it. I know, I know bad Megan how could you. I apologize; however my roommate is addicted to the show and tells me what happens sometimes. After last night she was in a frenzy over the finale that would be coming up and told me short snippets of it. I got inspired and wrote this. So I apologize if this doesn't do the show justice or the characters.
Latisha, this is for you. Hope I made you proud!
Also, I do not own Castle nor is any of this mine.
Moments
Life is composed of a series of moments, each of them spinning together to create the beautiful picture that we call our life. Some moments are minuscule, others are enormous and take up such an obscene amount of space that we wonder if anything else can come and replace it. The decision to be in the field of law enforcement had seemed like such a small step to take, caused by such a huge moment. Everything that has come from that step though has managed to become much larger than she could have ever hoped for. The biggest moment of all though had to be the day she met him. The day Castle stumbled into her life had sent her spiraling into a frenzy of new experiences and new feelings.
She had always thought that she'd never leave him that should they part it would be by his doing and not hers. She had hoped that it would never come to that, but sometimes at night when he was fast asleep and she lie awake beside him her thoughts drifted. She wasn't anything special; not really, she didn't have some glamorous job like him. Sometimes she worried that someone else would come along, someone even more beautiful than he claimed her to be. Someone who understood what it was like to be in the public eye, someone who didn't constantly go to work every morning wondering if this would be the last time. Sometimes he'd wake up and he'd recognize that look and brush the hair out of her face. He'd kiss her forehead and his lips would linger there for what seemed like and eternity until finding their way to her mouth. His kiss would be slow, measured, and full of love. The kiss alone would tell her everything she thought was silly, because even though she didn't know where they were going, he wasn't leaving her not anytime soon.
When the job in D.C. came into her life Beckett would admit she was terrified, and that was saying something considering the types of situations she had been in since she started her career. New York was her home, the precinct was her family, and her teammates were her people. More importantly New York held Castle, and even though she was scared to admit it Castle held her heart. But Beckett was Beckett and would always be herself. Never before had she thought a guy would keep her from taking an opportunity to further her career and her dreams. Had she been dating anyone but Castle she would have hesitated for a second but then agreed wholeheartedly. After all D.C. was an opportunity that someone would be stupid to pass up.
Yet here she was, his words replaying like a broken record in her mind. She was fumbling over the idea the pros and con list scattered on the floor. While the pros side was much longer than the other, the con list had something important and special listed on it making it hard to choose. Her father had been no help, reciting something about birds and happiness and doing what she wanted. But the thing was she wanted them both, and she wondered if it was possible to want them both equally. Her days were dwindling though; soon she would have to come to a decision. They couldn't wait for her answer forever after all. Still though all this time to her self to think wasn't helping, and Castle wasn't helping either. He had been treating her normally, like the choice wasn't even there, he was giving her time to figure out what she wanted. He knew that if she wanted his input she would come to him, and in the meantime he would treat every day like it was the last day to love her.
Despite her hesitation, despite the wishes that the sun wouldn't rise and the night would live on forever decision day did come. The light spilled in, everything it touched waking up and sparkling with its help and Beckett hated it. Today was goodbye to either Castle or to an opportunity. They had called her while she was at work, Castle was getting coffee and Beckett was alone. The call was short; her answer was definite and final. There had been no hesitance in her voice like she feared there would be and when she hung up she felt okay, not great but okay. Okay at least until she noticed him standing behind her, coffees in hand. "So that's it?" He didn't try and hide the fact he had heard her side of the conversation, "That's the end of it... the end of-" He couldn't finish his sentence and Beckett didn't want him too, it would hurt too much to come from him. "It is, I just... I love you so much but this is something I have wanted forever and I don't want to leave you but I can't say no to D.C. either."
There had been words said, feeling expressed, body parts connecting together after Beckett's decision came about. However at the end of the day she had still shipped her things to D.C., she had still gotten on that flight, and she had still chosen to try and tough it out there. The airport had been the hardest though; Castle was there, cradling her face his lips lingering on her forehead as her eyes stayed tightly shut. "I will be here when you get back, we may be done but I can't quit you Kate." Those had been his parting words, and each syllable had sounded like it was dipped in love.
That had been two months ago, that had been the last words he said to her before she boarded the plane. Since then she hadn't heard from him, but Alexis tried to keep her updated. It was hard though, it was even harder because D.C. turned out to be a nightmare not a dream. That was the funny thing about the moments in a person's life though. Sometimes they were grand and one would want to relive them until they couldn't anymore, and others were tucked away in the dark recesses of the mind because they hurt. D.C. hurt, it wasn't home, it was cold and she hated every second she had to spend there.
It was late but Castle had been up, he had been working on something for a new book. A book he hated because it wasn't Nikki Heat through. Then again he hated anything that made him remember she was gone. He had longed for her since before his hands had left her face at the airport. Every second of the day seemed hard to get by and he wondered if this is what heartbreak felt like. Sleep was the happiest time of all, though it was hard to come by, it allowed him to indulge in fantasies of the two of them. Fantasies of Kate in all her glory differing from scenes at work, past experiences, or made up times that he wished he could experience.
It had been that kind of indulgence Castle had really been partaking in when the knock lifted him out of the hazy fog he was in. He almost didn't get it, almost, but eventually he got up and he opened the door. He couldn't tell you what he expected to find on the other side. Maybe a crazed fan, an ex-wife, perhaps a random neighbor locked out again wanting to use his phone. Whatever it was though the site before him was much better, it was more than he could hope or expect to find.
She was just as elegant and beautiful as the last time he had seen her, though her eyes had heavy bags under them. Still though, despite the obvious sleep she needed she looked perfect. No words were said as she came forward, and to be honest Castle had worried this was another of his nighttime dreams. But the feel of her hand on his face, the smell of her perfume filling up his senses, and the warmth that being in the same space as him made it clear she was real. That this was real and he wasn't dreaming anymore.
Their lips collided, each of the hungry for the taste of one another that they had been denied of for months. No words were said, they spoke what they needed to through actions and affection. A kiss for I miss you, winding their fingers together saying I love you, a touch on the face saying I'm sorry I left you, a grab of the hip whispering you're forgiven. Words weren't all they needed to use to communicate; their bodies did enough of that for them. And when the sun rose there would be questions to answer that they were both aware of the night was for tracing patterns of skin with fingertips.