Author's Note: I wasn't planning on writing another Castle story, but people seemed to enjoy the first one (A Fresh Start), so I thought I would give it another shot. Here's an attempt at a more traditional format (short story instead of script).
The story is set immediately after the events of A Fresh Start but should be understandable as long as you've seen "Always" (Castle 04x23). For those of you who haven't read A Fresh Start, Castle and Beckett have been in a relationship for a couple weeks and at the end of A Fresh Start, Castle receives a phone call from Mr. Smith in the middle of the night during which it is revealed that a stranger – which the readers, but not Castle, know is Cole Maddox – has found Mr. Smith and is planning to kill Beckett.
Chapter One
Richard Castle is sitting on the beach boardwalk in the Hamptons, watching the sunset on a beautiful summer day. He is thinking about her now. She has been gone for a very long time, and each day of her absence feels like a weight pressing down on his chest. He does not cry, only because Richard Castle is not the kind of person to cry. He lets out a heavy sigh. He had planned this trip to the Hamptons to get away from the city, away from the thought of her, but it is clearly not working. No matter what he does, everything seems to remind him of Kate Beckett.
Richard Castle is sitting by himself on the boardwalk, as he has done every night for the summer. His family knows not to disturb him. He needs to be alone, just for a little bit. He needs to find a time when he does not have to put on a happy-go-lucky face for his fans or his publishers or any of the hundreds of people he sees at fancy parties and pretends to care about. This moment, just after dinner, just before it gets dark, Richard Castle can take off his mask and just be himself.
What he feels is regret. He remembers her beautiful face, the twinkle in her eyes when she smiles, the way her nose ruffles when she gets angry. He remembers her determination at making sure justice was served, her compassion as she spoke to a victim's family, her beauty and grace and the mysterious allure that had drawn him to her so many years ago. He imagines Kate Beckett standing on the beaches of the Hamptons, her long brunette curls swept up in the wind. Even now, he still hopes that she'll be there. That somehow, defying everything, he will look up and see her walking towards him in that confident, sexy manner that she always does. He wants so badly to see her again. He even considers committing a felony, maybe stealing another police horse, in the hopes that she would be the one arresting him. He wouldn't even mind the handcuffs.
But who is he kidding? Kate Beckett is gone – erased from his life like a flame blowing out, its light disappearing into the darkness. Richard Castle knows he needs to accept that and move on with his life. But he just can't. His life had changed so much since meeting Detective Kate Beckett. All he could think about now is her and everything they should have done together. Why had he been so slow? He should have told Kate how he felt sooner. He should have tried harder to win her love. He should have taken Beckett to the Hamptons, just once, as soon as he had known her life might be in danger. At the very least, they would have had that one time together. He could have seen her on this very beach, in all her beauty and wonder, just once in his life. Now, he never would.