A/N: Thanks to those who've read and reviewed! I love you!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. It's very sad, really.

xxx

Kate paced around her apartment. The TV and computer were off. It made her sick to even look at them.

Her name was everywhere. The press was having an absolute field day. A cop in the middle of a scandal was good on its own. And when that cop was the real life Nikki Heat—it was like a real live soap opera. The public was eating it up.

She hadn't liked the attention from the beginning. Being Castle's inspiration brought her into the spotlight and she was far from comfortable there. He'd never exploited her before, though, and she couldn't fathom why he'd start now—when it hurt the most.

She couldn't even believe the stories that were already circulating about her. They made her sick. And the idea of her personal life splashed all over Castle's next book made her want to scream.

She'd trusted him. She'd actually trusted him and he'd betrayed her in the worst way possible. Being ditched for the summer she could handle. Taking his obnoxious ex-wife to the Hamptons she could deal with. But this…this was unthinkable.

She was considering calling her dad and asking if she could stay with him for a few days—away from the city and the spotlight—when a knock sounded on her door. Groaning, she went to get it.

It was him.

"Go away, Castle," she said coldly. She started to shut the door but he caught it, sandwiching himself between the door and the frame.

"We need to talk," he said.

She couldn't believe it. He wanted to talk?

"Why the hell would I want to talk to you?" she demanded. "You really are an egotistical jackass." She moved to shove him from her doorway but he stood his ground.

"Kate," he begged. "Just hear me out, please."

"Why should I?" she snapped. "Why should I listen to you after what you did?"

"I didn't," he said desperately. "It was Gina. I had no idea about any of it until I saw it all over my website this morning. I swear, Kate."

Caught off guard, she stepped back. She'd been so sure he'd been behind it himself, that he'd let his books and his success come before her.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked. She couldn't let him off the hook just yet.

"Because you know me?" he offered. "Kate, I promise, I didn't know. I've already made a statement on my website denying what Gina said about the books. I've got my people deleting any threads about you from the message boards." He looked desperate, utterly tortured. "I swear," he reiterated. "I'd never hurt you like that."

She sagged, her anger slipping away. She couldn't help but believe him. She knew him better than that. And it was far easier to believe his story than think he'd actually set out to hurt her.

"Come in," she sighed. He entered her apartment looking relieved.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "If I'd known what Gina was planning, I would have stopped her."

"I know," she murmured.

"If it's any consolation," he added. "I fired her. Told her to get out and never come near me again." He caught her arm, forcing her to look at him. "Kate, I promise I'll do whatever I can to fix this," he said. "If you want me to help you nail this Hammond bastard, I will. If you want me to do nothing, I will. I'll defend you as much or as little as you want."

"Castle," she began to interrupt but he kept going.

"If you want me to leave and never come back, I'll do that too. If you want me to stop writing Nikki Heat, I will. Anything you want."

She stared at him. He'd basically just told her he'd do whatever it took to help her, even if it sucked for him.

"I don't know what I want yet," she said. "But I don't want you to leave." She studied him briefly, noticing for the first time the bruise darkening his cheekbone. "What happened to your face?"

"Esposito," he said grimly. "Showed up at my beach house and socked me."

"Oh. Sorry about that."

"Hey, if I'd done what you all thought I'd done, I would've deserved it. I would've hit me, too." He grimaced. "As it was, I nearly decked Gina."

She smiled slightly. "I would've liked to have seen that."

"Oh yeah," he teased. "A good old-fashioned smackdown." After a pause his expression grew serious again. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"You said that already."

He shook his head. "No…I mean, yeah, I did. But that was about my idiot publisher. Now I'm talking about what happened to you. I'm sorry, Kate."

Tears stung at her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to quell them. He studied her for a moment before closing the remaining distance between them and wrapping her in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she asked raggedly.

"Hugging you." He tightened his arms, refusing to let her go. A sob escaped her throat and a moment later her face was buried against his shoulder.

"I thought it was over," she gasped. "I thought it was behind me…"

"I know," he said. "I know." He rubbed her back gently, rocking back and forth.

"I was such a fool," she continued, the words spilling out. "What kind of idiot doesn't know her boyfriend's a rapist?"

He held her at arm's length to look her in the eye. "No," he said fiercely. "Stop it. You are not an idiot. You are not to blame for anything that happened."

"If I'd known I would have stopped it…" she murmured. "I should have known…"

He pulled her sharply back toward him, wrapping her in a rib-crushing embrace. She started crying all the harder and found herself clinging to him.

He held her for a long time, letting her cry. When the tears finally slowed and she lifted her head, his jacket was sopping wet.

"Sorry," she croaked.

He kissed her forehead. "Don't apologize."

She squared her shoulders and stepped back slightly. "He can't get away with this," she said decisively. "I can't let him get away with making everyone think he's innocent. Because he's not."

He positively beamed. "That's my girl," he said proudly, squeezing her arm. "And if your plan doesn't work, I'll get Lanie and the guys to help me kill him."

She chuckled. "Lanie could probably do it without leaving evidence behind," she mused. "But let's try my way first."

"And if it doesn't work we kill him?" he asked hopefully. She rolled her eyes.

"We'll see."

"Excellent! Now, do you have any food around?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Um, some. Why?"

"Because," he said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "I'm going to make you dinner."

Xxx

After they'd eaten, Castle hovered near the doorway. He didn't want to leave her alone but neither did he want to crowd her.

"Maybe I should go," he said slowly.

She was quiet for a moment, biting her lip. Finally, she looked at him.

"Um…maybe…Could you stay?" she asked. His heart twisted in his chest. He knew her well enough to understand what it had taken her to ask. And understand what kind of pain necessitated such a request.

"Of course," he said. He followed her to the couch and they sat down side by side. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently.

"About what happened?" She shook her head. "No. I don't think so. I'm not even sure how to talk about it."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "That's okay," he said softly. He hadn't really expected her to open up—at least not right away. After a few minutes, though, she spoke.

"I thought he loved me," she said distantly. "I really did. I never suspected. Not for a single second. If I had…"

"I know," he cut her off. "I know."

She fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

"You know," he ventured after a moment, "I kind of expected Demming to be hanging around…"

She turned to him. "Oh," she said absently, "we broke up."

He hadn't been expecting that.

"When?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound too excited.

"Right before your going away party, actually," she told him. She was refusing to meet his gaze now and it actually looked like she was blushing.

"That's what you were trying to tell me," he realized, his heart sinking.

She nodded.

Damn.

"Our timing really sucks," he mused. She cracked a smile and actually looked at him.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It really does."

Slowly, he lifted a hand to cup her cheek. She shuddered under his touch, eyes widening.

"Castle," she sighed. "I…I can't right now…I just…" She shook her head. "It's too much. I'm sorry…"

"Hush," he said. "It's okay. I'm not going to push. But I'm not leaving. I'm not walking away again. I'm here for you."

"I know," she whispered.

He pulled her into his arms and tucked her neatly under his chin. She was a tall woman, he knew, but right now she felt tiny and fragile. Like she could shatter at any second.

"I'm here," he repeated. "Every step of the way."

She nodded against his chest. "I'm sorry I believed the worst of you," she whispered. "I should have known you'd never betray me like that."

"Never," he agreed. "You're one hell of an inspiration, Kate, but I'd never exploit you that way. You're far too important to me. I'm so sorry this all happened."

"Not your fault," she murmured. "You can't control your fans. And besides, whoever leaked the information to Gina would've gotten it out no matter what. Even if you'd never written the books."

He kissed the top of her head and was surprised when she didn't pull away. "I know. But I'm still sorry. I wish I could hunt down every single one of those media bastards and cause them bodily harm."

Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. He straightened up fast, holding her at arm's length.

"Causing them bodily harm won't do anyone any good," he observed.

She frowned. "Right," she said slowly.

"But I can do damage to their careers."

"And put yours on the line as well," she retorted. "Don' be stupid, Castle."

He shook his head. "I told you," he said, "I'm willing to do anything."

She smiled slightly, a welcome sight. "That's very sweet. But we need to play nice on this, okay? I don't want to do anything underhanded. And that includes threats."

He sighed, seeing her point. Fighting dirty would help no one.

"Fine," he agreed. "I just really want to crush them for what they're saying about you. How is anyone believing this garbage?"

She shrugged. "Everyone loves a scandal. The dirtier the better."

She was right, of course. People thrived on scandal and gossip. His own life had gotten enough attention over the years. As long as Alexis wasn't negatively affected, it didn't bother him much. But having Kate thrust into the middle of it was something else entirely. Especially when it was over something so horrific and deeply personal.

"Castle?" she prodded. "You zoned out on me."

He shook his head. "Sorry. What can I do? How can I help that doesn't involve bodily harm or the ruining of careers?"

She smiled slightly. "You could stay with me," she said softly. "I don't want to be alone."

"You're not," he promised, pulling her into his arms again. "You're not alone. I'll stay as long as you want—forever, even."

She laughed quietly. "I might get sick of you before then," she teased.

"Lies," he shot back. "Lies, lies. You never get sick of me. I'm too charming."

"Hmm," she said. "Nice try."

"Fine," he sighed. "You win. But I'll still stay as long as you want me to."

"Promise?" she asked. The teasing tone was gone and she sounded painfully vulnerable. He tightened his grip around her.

"Promise," he said.

Xxx

A/N: Long chapter, I know. But I wanted some resolution with the whole Kate-Castle relationship. I can't have her mad at him for too long :)