Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Castle, either the show or the characters. I wish I did. A girl can dream, can't she?
A/N: Thank you guys so much for all the alerts and reviews- they really mean a lot to me. I apologize that I haven't updated in a while. We had a three day weekend and I couldn't get ANY writing done.
Thank you for your patience. All errors, grammatical and other wise are mine...
Oh and spoilers for Set-Up, Countdown and One Life to Lose.
"You know what we could call Esposito and Laine? Esplanie! Cause they're always explain things!" He was a little child.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. The events of the previous night, though not forgotten, were neatly compartmentalized to be dealt with at a later date. She was some what pleased that he didn't bring it up either.
"You know what we'd be? Castle and Beckett… Caskett!" He exclaimed, but quickly shut his mouth when the realization of the implication hit him.
She stopped in her tracks and raised a brow, "Caskett? That's the best you can come up with. Quite morbid don't you think?" She cracked a smile. "Why does it have to be Castle and Beckett? Why not Beckett and Castle?" She argued.
He looked at her wondering if she was being serious. He thought for a moment, "Caskett is quite fitting though. You know, since we solve murders and seriously, Beckstle sounds absolutely ridiculous!"
She shook her head at him, at his comments and proceeded with their investigation of the cast of Temptation Lane.
As the case progressed, they had learned a lot more about the private lives of the cast than she preferred, almost shattered the illusion the show created and in the process, she had revealed a lot more of herself to him than she realized.
She had always been comfortable with him, comfortable telling him things about herself, about her life. She opened herself to him when she told him of her mother's murder, well he did that on his own, behind her back. As she was finishing up the paper work, a small smile formed on her lips thinking of all the good things that he did for her when she thought she had only herself to rely on.
She knew he was approaching her, she could smell his cologne. She turned to face him as he placed an envelope on her desk. She slowly opened it and smiled when she saw the cast photo of Temptation Lane.
"Thank you Castle." She said softly, truly touched by his gift.
"You're welcome." He smiled at her. He was happy that she was happy. It wasn't a grandiose gesture of his feelings for her. He didn't want to overwhelm her let alone scare her off. A gift in friendship, he said to himself.
Her phone started to vibrate. He caught it out of the corner of his eye. His heart sunk to the pit of stomach.
She looked up at him, her gaze unwavering. She followed his line of sight and noticed her phone. Josh the screen read. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to speak. "I should get that."
He nodded. "Good night," he wished her.
She was a bit taken back. He hardly ever said 'goodnight.' Actually, she could only recall him saying it a handful of times. Before she could respond, he walked away from her. She looked down at her phone and forced a smile to grace her lips.
"Hey..." She started.
"Hey Kate. How're you doing?" He asked her.
"Good. You?" She asked as pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I don't know even why I called. I guess I missed you. It feels so weird not to come home to you, or to speak to you. I don't know what to do Kate. I feel so lost without you." He sighed.
She was taken aback by his confession. She wasn't expecting him to call her ever. She side swiped his confession. "I was cleaning the other day and found some of your stuff in the closet. I can leave the box with the doorman. You can come pick it up whenever."
A small "Oh" escaped his lips. "Ok. I'm sorry I got so intense on you. I really don't know what's gotten into me. One minute I'm working on something, the next something or someone reminds me of you and I'm lost in thought about you. I'm just sorry I guess that things didn't work out between us."
She sighed. "I know Josh. I wish things were different, because you really are an amazing man, a good man-but you were right. I don't have feelings for you, not like I should. I think for me it just a temporary fix. I care about you Josh, I really do and I want you to be happy."
Josh took a deep breath. "No, I think it was the right thing to do. I know you would've tried to make it work. I know we both would have, but we wouldn't have been happy, just content." He paused. "I've been asked to work on the Haiti relief project. They want me to be the liaison between DWOB and the Red Cross. I've been thinking about it and I think I want to do it. I'll be away for at least three years, but I can't sit here and wallow, can I?"
"Wow, that's amazing Josh. I'm happy for you. I never wanted to hold you back. You're a wonderful man, who's caring and loving and so kind. You deserve to be happy, to have only wonderful things in your life. I hope everything works out for you." Beckett finished.
After a cordial parting word from Josh, she hung up the phone. She smiled. She cared for him, she really did and if hadn't been for the Writer, she would've been completely happy with Josh, willing to spend the rest of her life with him, if he wanted. But it was too late to think about what ifs. She was happy with the decision that Josh had made for them, for their relationship. She would move on, she would move forward.