Disclaimer: Forgot to post one last chapter. Sorry! Don't own anything though, obviously.

A/N: Just wanted to say that this might get AU-ish. I mean that in a sense that it won't actually follow Season 4's timeline. Hope you guys like this chapter.

CHAPTER 02

"I don't know. It was just weird… you know?"

"Well you did stop talking to him for three months. Or anyone for that matter."

Kate sighs. "Not really helping, Lanie."

Lanie Parish shrugged and raised her eyebrow. She was sitting across Kate from the latter's kitchen island over a glass of wine. She's known Kate long enough to not take her bouts of extreme independence personally. So when she finally received a call, she showed up at her apartment without even a flinch. "I'm just telling the truth, girl. But, you haven't really talked by the looks of it. Maybe he really was just in a hurry."

Kate watches her best friend swirl her wine around in the glass while chewing on her lip thoughtfully. She knows there wasn't anything surprising in the way he reacted, and she acknowledges that she may have just caught him at a bad time, yet she cannot shake off the feeling of uneasiness.

"Hey, if you're so worried about it then you should just call him, you know. You owe him that at least after all this time." Lanie says after a few seconds of watching her worry herself. "Maybe you could also drop in your current relationship status with Josh while doing that."

Kate rolls her eyes. "That's not even relevant right now."

"Oh, that is so relevant for him, girl. Believe me. Did you know that he did nothing but trail every single lead he could get a sniff off the first two months you were gone? If that does not make you relevant, then I don't know what does."

"The guys told me. He was just being helpful, Lanie. And curious. He's being Castle. That doesn't really mean anything."

"Umhmm. Tell me that again once you believe it yourself."

Silence.

"Something happened, Kate. After that shot was released and hit you on your chest, something happened with him. You disappearing without so much a call or a goodbye made it worse. But I'm not judging you, you know I'm on your side. All I'm saying is, that's a lot for someone to take. Especially someone who cares about you that much. He had to cope somehow."

Kate stares off into space, absentmindedly swirling the drink in her hand. "He told me he loved me."

She could practically hear her friend's eyebrows rise up on her forehead, but she avoids looking at her and trudges on. "When I was shot, lying on the grass. He told me."

"And…?" Lanie pushes.

"And I told him I didn't remember, at the hospital. Then I left."

"This is messed up in ways I can't even comprehend."

Kate groans and buries her face in her hands. "Again with the helpfulness."

"What, I'm just saying. No wonder he's mad."

"I couldn't exactly spill my heart out to him on a hospital bed, can I? That would be so horribly cliché. Besides, I was not even in the right state of mind or emotional wellness to even consider delving into that then."

"Well, what about now?"

"I-I'm trying. I told you how I've spent my time away. I'd like to think I made some progress with Dr. Burke. But… not yet. There's still too much. My mom… and now this. And… me. I just - I can't dive into this half-baked, Lanie. It would destroy us. I would destroy us."

Lanie takes her hand then. "He knows enough about you to know not to ask you to dive into anything you're not ready for. And he knows you far better than you give him credit for, sweetie. As much as I don't like to say it, considering how incredibly annoying he is, he's a good guy. Just try to lay it out for him. You might be surprised."

It was just after dinner; Rick and Alexis were cleaning up the remnants of their meal. His mother was off gallivanting with some friends probably. He could feel Alexis shooting him looks that whole night. He was trying his best to behave as normally as possible in front of her. But after seeing Beckett today, his careful façade may have cracked a bit.

His daughter, finally not able to take his unusual silence anymore, suddenly speaks up.

"You okay, dad? You're a lot quiet tonight."

He looks up, can't help but smile at her concern. Whatever happens, he will always have Alexis. He puts his arm around her and squeezes her to his side affectionately.

"I'm alright, pumpkin. Just a little tired from the signing this afternoon."

"Wow. Really? Is this a transformation I see? Tired from hoards of women asking for your signature? I must say, dad, I'm worried about you growing up too fast." She smirks.

"You're funny. Really, daughter. "

Alexis snorts, eyes sparkling. "Of course, I had to get something out of you, didn't I?"

"You mean, aside from my good looks?" He smiles, but it doesn't quite meet Alexis' expectations.

She hugs him tighter from the side. "Don't think I don't know what this is about, dad. And I've let you be. But I think you've had enough time, now it's time to move forward. Besides, I don't want you all mopey on our trip."

They stack up the last of the dishes before Rick fully turns to look at his now grown up daughter, focusing everything in him to give her the smile she deserves. Her face lights up, with an expression in her face that makes him ache for the young child she used to be. One who was naturally curious, but untouched by the unkindness of the world.

He could try, for her he could try anything. Even glue back together his devastated heart.

"Well, you should know by now, pumpkin, that I could never be truly sad whenever I'm with you."

She beams. And it makes it all worth it, even if his face was starting to hurt a little bit. She gives him a hug and a kiss goodnight, seemingly satisfied for now, before heading to her room.

His shoulder slumps the moment her door closes.