Part 3
Going from the darkness of the storage facility into the bright sunshine had a blinding effect on Kate.
When she could finally open her eyes completely, she found herself across the street from the 12th. All around her, people hustled and bustled as they went about their day.
Assuming that the precinct was her next destination, she glanced quickly at the traffic before stepping off the curb to cross the intersection. Seemingly out of nowhere, a red mustang came speeding down the street. Kate reacted immediately but didn't have time to get out the way. She was going to be hit.
In the half second before impact, she braced herself and heard a scream that she assumed was her own, but then nothing happened. The car passed completely through her without stopping or slowing. Then she remembered, that although she was there, she wasn't really there.
A woman dashed toward her. "Are you OK! Are you hurt!"
Kate, sprinted out of the road and shielded her eyes to see who was approaching.
When recognition hit, it was as if the car actually had struck her. "Mom?"
Johanna and Kate ran to each other's open arms and held each other for a long time. Both women wept and laughed and wept some more.
Eventually Johanna stepped back so that Kate was at arm's length. "Look at you. My baby is a police officer! I always knew you were meant to protect the people. I couldn't figure out why you wanted to study design, but I was just your mother, what did I know?"
"I'm a cop because of you mom."
"Because you wanted to help the helpless like I did?" Johanna's face was glowing with love and pride, but Kate's face fell.
"Not really. At least not at first. I joined the academy to find out what really happened with your murder. And if I were to be completely honest to get justice and, and... revenge on whoever took you from me."
"Oh Katie."
"Don't worry mom, as I grew up, I grew into the job and now I'm one of the top homicide detectives in the entire city. And even though I still seek answers from your case. It isn't what drives my work anymore. Now I'm the cop you'd be proud of."
"Of course I'm proud of you, Punkin. I've never doubted that whatever you grew up to do, you would do it to the very best of you abilities. That's just who you are."
Kate fell into her mom's arms again, while tears streamed down her face.
"Mom, I've missed you so much."
"Oh Sweetheart, I can only imagine what all these years have been like for you. Which reminds me, what year is it? How much time has passed?"
The young woman tried to compose herself again. "It's 2011. It's been over 12 years."
"And your father?"
"He's doing OK. It took a while. He tried to drown his sorrows for a few years, but he was able to work though that. He's been sober for a long time, but he still misses you."
"That poor man. Jim was such a good husband and father. And now..." Johanna let the words fade before she said any more. "I know what it means if we're together. What happened Kate? Did something happen in the line of duty?"
"Yes and no. A sniper got me while I was giving the eulogy at my boss' funeral. We've been working on your case and so much has come out. Everyone involved or who knows too much becomes a problem and gets eliminated. I was got too close."
"I don't understand. Why would people get killed because of my murder?"
"Your death was part of something huge. Something almost no one knew about and those who did know, have spent their lives covering it up. We still don't know the scope of it, but we keep finding new pieces that we try to fit into the puzzle." Kate paused a moment and looked at her mom who was still wearing the clothes she was killed in. She had spend so many hours staring at the crime scene photos, that it was a bit eerie to see her now looking much the same except without the pool of blood and pallor of death. "Do you know who killed you or why, Mom?"
"No, I never saw it coming. I was working on a couple projects at the time, and that night I went to check out the crime scene of one of my clients. Before I knew what happened, it was all over."
Kate continued to ask her mom questions, but wasn't able to find out anything new.
"Thanks for telling me. I know I can't work the case anymore, but I just feel like we were so close, that I still can't let it drop."
"You've never been one to give up. Do you remember when you were taking piano lessons when you were little and learned "The Entertainer" in one night because that's what you set your mind too?"
She chuckled. "Actually, I do."
Recalling that memory just a little while ago with Montgomery at her side reminded her that they were practically standing in front of the 12th. "Hey Mom, would you like to see where I worked?"
"Are we close?"
Kate looked up at the familiar building next to them. "Couldn't be much closer. Come on. This is the 12th precinct."
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On the first floor everything was quite routine. People scuttled about their business, and probably never would have noticed them even if they were visible, but then they stepped off the elevator onto the floor of the detective's bureau, and there wasn't a soul around.
Johanna looked around intently. "Is it usually this quiet?"
"No, never. Even in the middle of the night there's always a couple people here."
"Where are they?"
"I don't know. This isn't exactly the real world here, now is it?"
"No, I suppose it's not. But that shouldn't stop you from giving me the grand tour. If I know you at all, I'm sure this place consumed more of heart, mind and time that it should."
"You're probably quite right about that."
Johanna followed Kate to the break room.
"This is probably our favorite room here. It gives a brief reprieve when we need it. Not to mention we've all spent our share of nights crashed on this couch during tough cases."
Her mom looked around the room. It was pretty much what she'd expect in any police station except for one thing. "Is that an espresso machine? The police must be getting a lot better funding these days if you've got one of those!"
"No, the funding is crap. That was a gift to the department from Castle."
"Castle?"
"Yeah, Richard Castle. He's an author, maybe you've heard of him?"
"Sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't think I've read any of his books. Why did a writer give you guys a coffee machine? Did you solve a case for him?"
"Nope, actually it was kinda the other way around." Kate told her mom about how she and Castle became acquainted and he started following her.
"So you're saying he's written a book based on you?"
"Actually, three. The latest of which is going to be released at the end of the summer. Now that I think of it, I'm sure there's at least a copy or two in here somewhere. He always leaves a couple in here for anyone who wants to read them. "
Kate started searching through the cabinet that held some decks of cards, DVDs, and books.
"What do you think about being in the spotlight like that?"
"At first I wasn't too thrilled about being portrayed as Nikki Heat, but it's grown on me and he's grown on me. So I usually don't mind. Besides he's a good writer. I admired his work even before I met him. So it's kind of an honor."
"Nikki Heat? That sounds like..."
"A stripper name. I know. If that weren't bad enough, Nikki's counterpart is Jameson Rook, who's based on Castle, and there are always sex scenes in every book that happen between them. Trust me. I've taken a lot of flack for that."
Kate found "Heat Wave" and gave it to her mom.
"So he's written your dating life into his books? Isn't that a bit... tacky?"
"Um no no no, Mom. We've never been together. That is all fiction, or perhaps fantasy for him."
"Oh. The way you light up when you talk about him, I thought for sure you guys were together. Ooops!"
"No, he's one of my best friends, and has even become my partner but it never went farther."
Johanna wasn't in a place to argue, but if Kate was anywhere near being the same person that she was so many years earlier, she'd swear her daughter wasn't being completely honest with either her or herself.
She looked through the book for a while and when she looked up, found her daughter staring out a window toward an office.
"Whatcha looking at?"
"Captain Montgomery's office."
"Is that the boss who's funeral you were speaking at?"
"He was. He was killed in the line of duty, protecting me."
Johanna didn't say anything because Kate had already left the lounge and was walking toward the Captain's office. She followed quietly, while still trying to let her daughter have her space.
Kate went to Roy's desk and sat down in his chair. She ran her hands along the smooth wood of the heavy piece of furniture. Files were stacked neatly on one side, a coffee cup at home on the other. Family pictures were dotted around the small room. It looked like it always did at the end of the day.
Without looking up, Kate knew her mother had followed her.
"Mom, they killed him because of me."
"What?"
"The people behind your murder wanted me dead because I was getting too close. He knew that and stood up to them. He felt responsible for me and thought that if he took them out, I'd be safe. He did and died in the process, and I still wasn't safe. He gave his life for no reason. Another senseless death."
"He gave his life doing what was right. He took a stand against evil and that is never senseless." As Johanna's words faded in the silence of the room, she turned and left, knowing that Kate needed time alone.
Ten minutes late, Kate emerged from the office, and closed the door behind her, finalizing all that had happened.
She went to her desk where her mom was sitting, reading Heat Wave and munching on jelly beans from her candy bowl.
"Why is your desk the only one with a chair next to it? I thought at first it was for witnesses or something, but then other desks should have chairs too."
"Nope. It's Castle's chair. He was determined to stick around, so I had to do something to keep him out of my chair."
Kate unconsciously caressed the seat and then closed her eyes as she sat down in it. This did not go unnoticed by her mother, but she was wise enough not to comment on it.
For a time probably longer than an hour, the two women sat at the desk and just talked about the missing years between them. Johanna didn't have much to add but letting Kate talk was therapeutic for both of them.
After finishing telling the story about how Castle saved them and the city from the dirty bomb, Kate paused thinking she heard music again.
"Do you hear music?"
They both sat quietly for a bit.
"No. What kind of music?"
"I don't know. I've heard it before, or at least I think I do, but I can never pick it out."
They sat silently for a while, both straining to hear the elusive notes.
Eventually Kate gave up and stood saying she had more that she wanted to show Johanna. So she took her to Esposito and Ryan's desks and told of how they'd gone from being part of her police brotherhood
to actually being brothers in her weird unconventional family.
"Is Castle a brother to you too?"
"No, that would be weird he's more like... um.. well he's..."
"Isn't he part of the family?"
"Of course he is! Hell, Ryan calls us Mom and Dad!"
Johanna raised an eyebrow at the implication.
"I know what you're thinking! You're as bad as Lanie! And maybe if things had gone differently it would have worked out like that, but it didn't and now what's done is done. Come on. I'll show you where we interrogate people."
Kate successfully diverted the conversation and Johanna again let it drop as they headed into the small room next to the bull pen.
The door clicked softly after the pair were both in the room.
"I've spent a fair amount of time in rooms like this with clients. Of course I was on the opposite side of the table from where you would be."
"I never thought about that."
Kate looked like she was going to say something more, but something in the two way mirror caught her attention. Instead of seeing her reflection like she should have, it was like watching the screen of a TV.
There were no sounds, but scenes from the last couple years of her life moved across the glass like a slide show.
Johanna saw it too and stood beside her statuesque daughter as they watched the images together.
Kate showed her mom, who Lanie and Ryan and Espostito were.
Johanna guessed who Montgomery was and then recognized a few friends from Kate's teen years.
Whenever images with Jim Beckett in it came up, Johanna's face spoke volumes to what she was feeling, causing both women to tear up more than once.
Soon the first scene with Castle came up.
"That's him isn't it?"
"Yeah that's Castle."
"He's very attractive!"
"Yes he is."
Another image appeared and then another and another. There didn't seem to be any order or chronology to the memories, just random glimpses into Kate's life.
One thing she did notice though, was that during all the years' worth of pictures of family and friends, there was not one of Josh or any of her ex boyfriends. In fact if she hadn't seen the image of Ryan dressed as a dead doctor at Rick's Halloween party, she never would have thought of him at all.
After hundreds of scenes passed before them, one final one froze in the glass.
It was from Kate's perspective on the ground. The image of Rick hovering above her, the cheery blue spring sky above him, a stark contrast to the raw anguish etched into his face.
Johanna took her daughter's hand. "What was this from?"
Kate couldn't tear her eyes away. "It's the last thing I saw before everything went black," She choked.
As she watched, the image began to fade back into the mirror and for a brief moment both Castle's face and her own reflection were visible.
When he was completely gone, Kate's entire body began to tremble, and her tears began to fall. "I loved him Mom. I loved him and I never told him."
Johanna hugged Kate to her for a long time, but Kate wasn't consoled. Soon her chest began to hurt from the sheer pain of it all.
"I knew that I care for him, but I was too stubborn to admit it. And now I'm gone and it it hurts so bad I can actually feel pain in my heart."
Johanna's head shot up. "The heartache is a physical pain?"
Kate nodded and sobbed.
"Then we need to go. Someone else is waiting for you, and they can heal that pain."
Kate wasn't thinking clearly so it took a little while for her mom's words to sink in. When they did, they were already at the elevator.
Johanna pushed the button and waited.
"No mom. Please. We can't go. I can't go."
"It's time Katherine."
"No Mom, No!"
"Katie, I love you so much, and this isn't goodbye. It's see you later, OK?"
"What? I don't understand."
The elevator doors opened, and Johanna guided Kate back into the lift and then kissed her before stepping back out. Kate didn't see the blood on her mom's hands.
"Tell your Dad I love him. OK, Honey?"
The door slid shut before Kate could stop them.
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The car of the elevator began descending slowly at first, but it quickly gained enough speed to knock Kate back into the wall.
Faster and faster she fell, making it harder to move and even harder to breath.
Kate tried to call out, but the breath caught in her throat and her lungs burned.
The lights began to blink on and off hurting her eyes. She squeezed them closed as tightly as she could but couldn't completely block it out.
The car was falling even faster.
Music started again. This time she was certain.
Castle's voice began to echo in her head, "They're gonna kill you Kate. And if you don't care about that, at least think about how that's gonna effect those people who love you."
More music played and it seemed to be getting louder.
It's took all of Kate's strength but she was able to pulled her arms up over her head as she tried to block everything out.
The music was now muffled but that only made Montgomery's voice sound clearer. "We speak for the dead. That's the job. We are all they've got once the wicked rob them of their voices. We owe them that. But we don't owe 'em our lives."
Kate writhed on the floor as the panic and pain consumed her.
The music reached a crescendo just before Rick's voice penetrated the chaos again. "Shhhhh Kate please! Stay with me, Kate! Don't leave me! Please! Stay with me OK? Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate."
For a brief second everything was filled with bright white light. The voices stopped. The music stopped. The elevator stopped, everything stopped.
Then a new song being played by a piano started and the floor of the elevator dropped open. Kate was plunged into darkness as she floated downward through the void.
Oh, why you look so sad?
Tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'Cause I've seen the dark side too
Except for pain in her chest and being able to hear the song, all of her senses were impaired. She couldn't see or smell or taste. She was even emotionally numb. There was no fear or anxiety, there was just her and the song.
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothin' you confess, could make me love you less
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
As the the song continued to play, the melody began to penetrate her subconscious. She knew this song. It was part of her distant past, but she was pretty sure it was part of recent events too.
So, if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'Cause even if you're wrong
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
Then it came to her. After Roy's death, Rick wouldn't leave her side. He stayed at her place. He made sure she ate and slept took care of herself. He held her and cried with her. He was her silent strength when there were no more words.
But the morning of the funeral, before the boys came over to talk, he played this song while he was making breakfast and she was getting dressed. She thought it was a sweet gesture and figured it was supposed to make her feel better about Montgomery, but now she knew better. Rick was trying to tell her what she needed to hear. He loved her and needed her as much as she did him. They weren't alone. They had each other.
And when, when the night falls on you, baby
You're feelin' all alone
You won't be on your own
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Yeah
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
Suddenly Kate realized she was no longer falling or floating. There was something firm but soft below her back. Her chest still hurt but it wasn't unbearable. Her senses started coming back online. She could hear a distant beeping along with the music. She scent of disinfectant filled her nose. Something strong and warm was holding her face.
I'll stand by you
No, no, no, no, no
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Kate fought past the fog and tried to blink. It was light and then dark again.
"Come on Kate. You can do it. Wake up for me."
She blinked again. Light. Dark. Light. Dark. The music continued but had moved on to a different song.
She fought even harder to win the battle over her body and finally opened her eyes all the way.
Rick was hovering over her just as he was the last time she saw him, but this time they were definitely inside a hospital.
Tears streamed down his face, and dripped onto hers as he kissed her forehead and cheeks. "You're awake! Oh my God. You're awake!
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Epilogue
After Kate woke up, doctors and nurses began to trickle in. Castle called Jim who had only just left the hospital for the first time in three days. Then he called Esposito who was with Lanie and Ryan. And last, he called home to tell the good news to his mother and daughter.
Kate's loved ones all rushed to her side, but Rick never left it. When the doctors told them that Kate needed rest. She held onto to Rick's hand and wouldn't let go.
When Kate slept Rick slept in a chair beside her.
When they removed her breathing tube and feeding tube, he hovered as close as possible, just within her sight.
The first word from her parched lips was his name, and it had never sounded as sweet.
He was at her side immediately.
The nurse got her to drink some water and then watched her for a while to make sure she was stable before leaving, but the moment they were alone; she bared her soul.
"I love you Rick. I'm sorry it took so long for me to be able to tell you, but I'm done playing games and building walls. I love you and I don't want to ever be without you again."
It was what he'd waited months if not years to hear. Knowing she loved him was a healing balm to his soul.
"I love you too Kate, I always will."
The End
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A/N: Hello my friends. I hope you enjoyed "Threshold". After watching the finale, I had a couple ideas for finale based fic, but a lot of those crumbled as I read some of the Marlowe interviews and spoilers for next season. Then a couple days later while I was in the shower, the idea for "Threshold" came to me. I wanted to race to my computer and start writing right away but I was still finishing "Reservations" and knew that if I let my dyslexic ADHD brain jump to this ship, I might never finish the other story. So I focused on that project until it was complete and then planned to take a short break before starting this, but couldn't help myself and began writing sooner than I thought I would.
I hope this story is different from the others out there. To be honest I know there's a lot post-"Knockout" fics out already, but I wouldn't let myself read any of them, so that I could keep a clear mind for this story. Sometimes its hard to keep your thoughts organized when you read other stuff with a similar feel to it, especially for a brain as spastic as mine! Now that I've completed both of my big projects I'm looking forward to going back and reading about 5 weeks of missed fanfic! That should keep me busy for a while!
I'd like to give credit to everyone involved in the making of "Knockout" for creating such a fantastic episode. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed some of your scenes and dialogue for this story. It wouldn't have worked without it.
Also the "Royceisms" are not mine but I'm not sure who to give credit to except for the real men and women in the US police force. I stumbled across them on a police message board, but can no longer find the site to credit the screen names. So to all the real law enforcement, thank you for your service and your awesome quotes! I'm grateful.
I also need to recognize the band, "The Pretenders", who's song I used in part 3. Ever since I watched Knockout, this song has been my creative theme, if you will. I feel it's just so appropriate for Rick and Kate.
And one more person I need to thank is my "real life" friend Melissa. You listen to me rant and ramble about all this craziness and even take the time out of your busy day to indulge my hobby and I appreciate it. You understand the crazy that is me and just laugh with me, not at me. Thanks! :)
Please let me know if this story is something you enjoyed. It was a little different from what I'd usually write, so I'd love to know if it actually worked.
Have a wonderful day!
And as always, Happy Reading!
Your friend in fic,
DeBo81
