Someone was crying, and trying to hide it. A short sniffle, a truncated sob, a word or two muffled as though spoken against hands covering one's face.

"Castle?" Kate whispered.

She heard someone breathe deeply, then a voice answered. "Um, are you looking for someone?"

She opened her eyes and started to speak - but what she saw stopped her cold.

"Castle?"

It wasn't Castle. It was a young man who might have been Castle twenty years ago: tall, gangly, not quite filled out yet, with a mop of dark hair and eyes that would have been prettier if they hadn't been red from weeping. He stood with his hands shoved in his pockets, struggling to put composure back on his face.

"Are you lost, miss? There's no castle here...I've lived here my whole life, and...oh, God."

He turned away, swiping a hand over his face where tears spilled.

Kate stepped a little closer and laid her hand on his arm. "Hey. Are you okay? Can I help?"

She didn't know what was going on - she seemed whole and healthy, and this man didn't know her, but her instincts always ran to finding people to help.

The young man looked up, not at her, but at the twilight horizon and the hillside dotted with lights from a town.

"Nobody can," he said sadly. "I'm just a fool, that's all."

Yeah, well, aren't we all, thought Kate. "What's your name?"

"Joey - I mean - Joe," he told her. "Joe Buchanan. I live down there - at least, I did. I don't ever want to go back."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated." His voice was dull and defeated. "My mother will probably never speak to me again, and Dorian - "

He picked up a stone from the dirt path and flung it, hard, at nothing. Then he deflated.

"It doesn't matter. Nothing matters."

Kate gambled on what did matter and asked, "Dorian - is that your girlfriend?"

He turned to stare at her. "You don't know? Dorian Lord?"

"I don't. I'm not from anywhere near here."

"Lucky you. Well, the short version is that I fell in love with a woman I thought loved me - and as it turns out - she only - only meant to seduce me to get back at my mother."

Good Lord, thought Kate. It's Temptation Lane. Aloud, she said, "She and your mother had a grudge of some kind? Your mom didn't like her?"

Joe barked out a laugh. "You could say that. They've hated each other for years. Probably since - well, before I was born." At Kate's puzzled look, he went on, "Dorian's older than me. Close to my mother's age. I thought - to me, she was beautiful regardless of age."

"Are you sure about her?" When he bristled, Kate added, "When did you find out she was stringing you along?"

"Just today, a few hours ago. I'm - trying to calm down enough to go talk to Dorian."

"You haven't talked to her yet?" Kate asked incredulously. "You have to get her side of the story, Cas- - Joe. You need to know her story before you make up your mind."

"I know her story," said Joe stubbornly. "At least, I thought I did. What are you, a marriage counselor?"

"I'm a cop," said Kate. "Or - was, before I was shot."

"Wow. How long ago was that?"

She couldn't very well say she wasn't sure. She didn't want to lose the confidence of this angry young man, by admitting she might be hallucinating.

"A while back," she hedged. "I'm on leave, recovering."

"Good luck with that," he said without malice. "I'd almost rather have a bullet wound than a broken heart."

"Oh, for Pete's sake," Kate muttered, then spoke up. "Listen, Joe, I don't know you, and I don't know Dorian or your mother. What I do know is that you have to live life one moment at a time - don't let your wounds fester, whether they're physical or metaphoric. Don't assume you know someone's story until they themselves tell it to you."

His expression was startled, but he was listening.

"And above all," Kate said, "if you find someone you think might be the love of your life, don't let them go. I don't mean act on what you feel, not always - but don't pass up a chance to know them better. The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder, if only."

Joe Buchanan heaved a deep breath, and his countenance seemed to settle into earnest resolve.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Kate. Kate Bec - Kate Castle." She gave him a sheepish smile. "Newlywed. Still getting used to it."

"Well...It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Castle."

He stuck his hand out and she took it; on impulse she stretched up on her toes to kiss his cheek. God, he even smelled like Rick - clean and warm and all male.

When she stepped back, Joe was smiling, just a little curl of his lips.

"You want to walk into town with me? I'd offer you a ride, but I'm on foot myself."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," said Kate. "I forgot - Castle's supposed to meet me up the road a bit."

He nodded. "Thanks for the talk. I - I think it helped."

"You're going to be okay, Joe Buchanan," Kate told him, and turned to walk on.


Joey Buchanan is a character from the American daytime drama One Life To Live, played by Nathan Fillion from 1994 to 1997.