Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the recognizable characters used in this story. As for other influences, please see the author's note at the end of chapter two.
A/N: Down below.
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Beckett
Beckett has to stifle a laugh as she sees her father waddle out of the cabin in a wetsuit. He's never been especially sporty and the neoprene and lycra make him look ridiculous. His facial expression completes the ensemble, a mix of betrayal and infinite forbearance that reminds her of a cat that's already been dunked in water.
It was kind of Castle to think of outfitting dad, though I'm not sure he agrees right now. At least he stayed away from neon colors.
"Lookin' good, old man," Beckett teases as her father steps toward her on the deck.
Jim opens his mouth to retort but can't muster any words. Instead, he scrunches his face even more in displeasure as he gingerly seats himself next to Beckett on the bench.
"It'll be worth it, I promise," she says gently as she pats his knee.
Castle distracts them by hopping off the ladder from halfway up, hitting the deck with a thud. "Be right with you," he says as he ducks into the cabin. Jonas, who has stayed behind the wheel and studiously ignored Beckett, keeps them on course with the throttle wide open as they encounter the rougher water of Raritan Bay.
She's just wondering about how Castle's feeling about trusting himself on the open ocean when the cabin door slides open, revealing her partner wearing just a swimsuit. Despite the seriousness of their circumstances, her mind flashes briefly to their original plans for this trip...
Jim's huff pulls her from her daydream and tells her that he's noticed Castle's lack of a wetsuit. "How is it that the guy going into the water is in swimming trunks while I need a wetsuit to sit in a raft?" Jim asks peevishly.
"Now, now, honey," she says while patting his knee. "Criticism needs to be constructive or it's just whining."
"How long have you been waiting to throw my words back at me?" he grumbles, having hoped for sympathy and gotten a scolding instead.
"Years and years," Beckett admits with a laugh before standing to help Castle, who's trying to wrestle something out of the cabin.
"Give you a hand there, partner?" Beckett asks as she steps up to Castle and rubs his lower back as he bends over to tug something that's caught on the doorframe. Before he can reply, the object comes loose unexpectedly, sending Castle backwards onto his backside.
"My faith in this plan is starting to waiver," Jim says from the bench, earning a very Beckett-like eye roll from Castle.
"You Becketts are a hard lot to satisfy," Castle grumbles as he returns to his task, which turns out to be extracting the pieces to assemble a table on the deck. It's custom fit, with grooves and pins to lock it in place.
"I don't think you have the evidence you need to make that statement about me," Beckett purrs softly, a wicked look in her eyes. "Not after changing our plans for this trip."
Castle blushes immediately, unable to help himself from looking quickly at Beckett's father, sitting right there just feet away.
"We'll get there, Beckett," he promises. "That's incentive to do this right. Now stop talking about anything like that while I'm standing here in swimming trunks."
Laughing, Beckett helps him set up the table. Castle ducks behind the door again and comes back with two boxes that reveal foodstuffs when opened. "Dive in," he says with a gesture. It's an odd mix of food: Greek yogurt, nutritional shakes, fruit, chicken, whole-wheat rolls, and… tofu?
"Interesting breakfast, Castle," Beckett says with lifted brow as her father joins them at the table.
"This isn't a 'no food before surgery' kind of deal. What we're going to do is going to burn a lot of energy. Eat as much as you can now and we'll still probably have to eat during the… treatment, I guess you'd say," Castle says with some embarrassment.
"What, exactly, is the treatment?" Jim asks as he loads his paper plate, studiously not making eye contact but unable to hide the warble in his tone.
"You did it right, Jim," Castle says kindly. "Of all the cancers you could've had, this one gives us the most to work with." Castle pauses to pluck some pieces of chicken out of the container and drop them onto his plate, while Jim looks at him like he's crazy. "What did your doctors say about percutaneous ablation?"
Is Castle suddenly a doctor or something? How did he have the time to look into all of this after visiting me in the hospital?
"They said it's not an option," Jim says sadly. "'Unfortunate tumor location' was the phrase my oncologist used."
"Percutaneous ablation," Castle says while turning to Beckett, "is fancy doctor talk for killing the area around tumors by exposing them to temperature extremes using lasers, microwaves, and cryotherapy. The problem, as your dad mentioned, is that you can't use this approach if the tumors are too close to things your body needs to function – other organs, blood vessels, that stuff. Is that right, Jim?"
"Yes," Jim says, mildly impressed. "Though my doctor took a lot longer to provide an explanation that didn't make as much sense."
"That's what we're going to do – we're going to take care of those tumors with temperature extremes. I can focus enough so that we can target the tumors and not worry about the surrounding tissue. Who knows? Maybe we can even do something about the cirrhosis, too," Castle says optimistically.
Jim looks torn: incredulous about Castle's blithe planning to tackle something that his doctors have said is impossible, but hopeful that his daughter's faith might be well placed.
"When," Jim tries to speak, but his voice cracks and defeats his efforts momentarily. He tries again after his daughter rests a supportive hand on his arm. "When are we going to do this?"
"In about twenty minutes, so eat quick," Castle chuckles. "At full throttle, it'd take us about three hours to get to the Hamptons. But Jonas is going to take us out into the deep water and let us drift while we do this. You'll be in the dinghy," he says while looking at Jim, "I'll be in the water, and Kate will be watching over us from the boat."
After a relatively quiet meal, Castle stands and excuses himself, making his way back to the cabin. Needing a little private time with her partner, Beckett follows.
"Hey, you okay?" Beckett asks as she joins him.
"Just nervous," Castle replies. "I hope I can help him. I don't want you to lose your dad, Beckett."
"He's in good hands," Beckett replies, wrapping Castle in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry about ruining our plans. You get it, though, right?" he asks. "Why we had to do this first?"
"I understand why you're helping us," Beckett says with a raised brow, "but I'm not sure why it couldn't wait until after our romantic getaway."
Castle steps out of their embrace and sits down on a bunk. "This is going to sound bad, but give me a chance to explain?" he says while running this hand through his hair. "It's about priorities. Yesterday didn't go well with Cali," he says with a sigh. "I don't think she bought my explanation for tearing out of our lesson two days ago. Combined with this trip, she's on edge."
Oh, Castle, what have you done?
"So, you chose healing my father over our romantic time away?" Beckett asks.
"If I only have time to do one, I thought that having your father alive and well would be more important for you than memories that couldn't be repeated," he admits.
I don't want to choose!
"I want it all, Castle," she says, tugging on his hands to get him standing again. He opens his arms for a hug, which leaves him completely exposed for her sharp poke to his chest. "And I want us to plan these things together. Don't you think that I should have some role in making these decisions?"
"I'm sorry about that," Castle answers, ignoring her poke and wrapping her up anyway. "I kind of pulled this all together quickly. I didn't want Jim to know that I got a read on him when we were visiting you at the hospital, and I didn't want you to know too early."
"Why not?" Beckett asks, hurt but also curious about the ruse.
"I was worried that you might approach him right away, on land," Castle answers. "I was pretty sure you'd go right at him as soon as you heard anything about his health situation," he says while Beckett blushes, "and I thought he might retreat and retrench."
You mean you worried that he might run off and hide in a cabin for three months.
"You're probably right," Beckett admits. "But what about you? I don't mean to frighten you here, Castle, but we're in the open water. Are you okay?"
"To be honest," Castle says with some chagrin, "I've been too nervous about healing your dad to worry about the ocean."
"Distraction therapy," Beckett says with a nod. "If it helps, I can offer something else to distract you," so offers with a sweet kiss.
"Before I forget, take this," Castle says a few minutes later, looking more calm and centered. Reaching into a drawer, he hands Beckett a padded manila envelope. "I'm not sure how much this'll take out of me. I might need to stay on the water to recuperate and I don't know how long that'll take. There's a rental car waiting at the marina. The rental paperwork and directions to my house are in the envelope, along with a key and the security codes."
"Thank you, Rick," she replies intensely. "As much as I was looking forward to our time away together, my dad's important to me. Thank you for watching out for him. And me," she adds. "I do have to admit, though, that what I packed isn't exactly appropriate for a trip with my dad," she teases with an upturned brow.
"Feel free to pillage from my clothes or Alexis' if you need something more dad-appropriate," he answers with a laugh.
"Either it's a long drive, you live in Fort Knox, or there's something else in here," Beckett challenges, waving the envelope to test its heft.
"There're also instructions for reaching out to Simon Chu, a friend of mine who's an oncologist. He'll test your dad on the down low. I'm sure your dad has good doctors," Castle says quickly to allay Beckett's concerns, "but if this works I don't want to draw a lot of attention to Jim's sudden improvement. Will you talk to him about that?"
Wait a minute. This is sounding suspiciously like a 'what to do in the event of my passing' situation.
"There's no risk to you, is there?" Beckett asks earnestly. "You're not, like, absorbing his burdens to bear them yourself, are you?"
"I don't think so, not physically," Castle shrugs. "The greatest risk is that I'll screw up and estrange the love of my life by failing to save her father."
"Hey, none of that. You're the optimist in our partnership. You'll do everything you can and then you'll come back to me. We're just postponing our trip, not canceling it," Beckett rallies. "Come back safely and I'll make it worth your while," she tempts, lightening the mood.
"Still wearing just a swimsuit here, Beckett, and still have to face your father," he grumbles.
"Just think of how cold the water will be," she sasses back, getting an exasperated look in return.
After that, the planning goes quickly. Grumbling while he waddles, Jim moves to the cabin to visit the head one last time while wondering how he's going to get out of and back into his wetsuit. Castle and Jonas wrestle with inflating the dinghy and securing it to the Writer Buoy with a tow line. When Jim returns, Castle's donning a water-skiing jacket through which he's tied a line to lash himself to the raft. Five minutes later, Jim's floating in the raft about twenty yards behind them, Castle's bobbing in the water holding his hand, and Beckett is left alone on the boat with Jonas.
This'll be a pleasant afternoon. Guess I'd better at least try to be polite.
"Jonas, would you like some food?" Beckett asks, cursing herself for sounding hesitant. Treat him like a suspect. Don't ask questions, just tell him how it's going to be.
"Oh, no, princess," Jonas says silkily, "that's all for you. You're going to need it," he finishes with a challenging look.
"Do we really have to do this?" Beckett replies in exasperation, though she moderates her voice to include some frustration, too. "I didn't know what he went through until just recently. I'm here now, and I'm staying. Doesn't that count for something?"
"How is this any different than last summer?" Jonas challenges. "All I see is him going through hell for you again. You got any cousins, any sick pets for him to tear himself up for after this?"
"What am I supposed to do?" Beckett asks in dismay. "I love my dad and want him to be okay. I love Castle and want him to be okay. Rick thinks that he can help dad, so I'm going to sit here and do whatever I can to help, even if it's just watch over them and pray."
What she said or how she said it causes Jonas to bite down on his next insult and reconsider for a moment. "Tell you what, tough girl, we'll talk again when they're done," he says with a nod out toward the raft. "Let's see how you're feeling later, then we'll talk."
I'm not sure what that means, but I can deal with a cease-fire.
"Fine," Beckett replies, trying to be polite.
"You'd better get set up," he says while jerking a thumb toward the cabin. "You'll need all your food and drink within reach, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna be your nursemaid."
Grumbling but unwilling to ignore Jonas' advice lest it cost her dearly later, Beckett steps into the cabin to set things up only to see that Castle's already taken care of it. She's not sure how he managed to get this done with everything else going on, but it makes her smile. Which is probably why he did it. She sits down on the bunk, testing her reach and adjusting certain items, going out to the deck to retrieve a couple extra bottles of water, just in case. Then it's back to the deck to sit and watch Castle and her father bob on the waves.
It's only fifteen minutes later when she begins to feel dizzy. Standing to make her way to the cabin, an unexpected twist of her stomach has her on her knees, perilously close to losing what she's managed to eat so far. Fighting the nausea, she struggles to pull herself upright and make her way to the cabin. Looking up as she reaches the door, she sees Jonas watching her, silently.
She makes it to the bunk just as another twist radiates out from her midsection. It's hard to understand where the pain is coming from – there's no sharp spike, just a diffused, hollow emptiness that seems to be pulling her apart from the inside. Fumbling about for a bottle of water, she finally succeeds in grasping one, wrenching it open and downing half in one draught. The rest she pours on her chest and head, seeking some solace from the burning sensation that followed the pain, radiating outward from her scar.
A while later the process starts again: hollow, freezing pain followed by a wave of fire. She's struggling for another bottle when someone lifts her hand, placing an open bottle into it and holding on until it's clear that she has control. After using this bottle as she used the first, she flops her head to the side to see something shocking: Jonas, looking compassionate.
Must be hallucinating.
"Your connection is working in reverse," Jonas says softly while opening one of the nutrition shakes and inserting a straw. "Rick's burning hot right now and his body is reaching out for help. You need to keep drinking," he says as he nudges her lips with the straw.
"Not… nursemaid," Beckett manages to speak before another wave of pain radiates through her, forcing her to grit her teeth and clench her jaw. If this is what childbirth feels like, I might just settle for adopting Alexis, she thinks, too tired and hurting to consider the broader implications of that thought.
"I'm lookin' out for me, not you," Jonas replies, rummaging around for a paring knife before breaking an apple down into slices so thin they practically dissolve in her mouth. "Rick might be a big dope about you, but he's a good guy. He lets me live on his boat for free and he owns a bar. Can't bite that hand just 'cause he's got shitty taste in women."
"Thanks," Beckett grinds out, though the burning sensation that follows the initial pain is fading. "How much longer?" she manages to ask, hating herself for how weak she sounds.
"He guessed it'd take about four hours," Jonas replies in a doubtful tone, "but it's not like he's done this before. Hell, even Joseph didn't try anything this stupid." Jonas stops talking until he sees the pleas in her eyes, which prompts him to recall her question. "So, just over three hours left if he's right."
I'm not even a quarter of the way there?!
Her despair fades quickly, though, as she remembers why she's doing this. With her eyes closed, Jonas can't see her building her internal resolve, so he tries for his version of a pep talk.
"I thought you were stronger than this," he chides, probably trying to stoke her anger (or cheer himself up). "Big, bad NYPD detective. Your soft, tagalong writer went through this for a week, and you're bitching about four hours?"
A week – I want to cry about a couple hours and he did this for a week? And all for the reward of being blown off for three months. Oh, Castle, how did you manage?
"He managed because it was you, the damned fool," Jonas grumbles, making Beckett realize she spoke out loud. "'Love makes the weak man strong' and all that crap," he continues, waving a bottle of water around as he gesticulates. "You don't know how many times I told him to just let go."
"He'd never do that to me," Beckett cringes, feeling another wave coming on.
"Which's why you don't deserve him," Jonas replies as he hands the water to Beckett, who almost misses the "yet" he adds softly.
Jim Beckett
"Katie, it's time to wake up," Jim says as he gently nudges his daughter's shoulder. It takes several tries before she shows the initial signs of rousing.
Just like old times. Let's hope she's less of a bear now than she was as a teen.
"Castle?" Beckett asks as she blinks, trying to fight through her confusion.
"No, just your old dad," Jim says with a smile. "Rick's still asleep out in the dinghy."
Fighting to rise into a sitting position, Beckett feels dizzy and weak and achy, as exhausted and sweaty as if she'd run a marathon. It takes her a few minutes to get herself under control, after which she looks at her dad. There's a nearly audible *click* as she comes back to herself, her eyes showing her usual focus.
"How are you feeling, dad?" she asks, the last word slurred by a massive yawn that sneaks up on her.
"I feel fantastic," Jim beams, "though that might just be the result of getting out of that wetsuit."
That must be the looks she uses with criminals. And Rick.
At his daughter's piercing stare, he tries a different answer. "I do feel great, Katie. Too soon to tell if today's adventure did anything, but I feel better than I have in years."
"We'll get you checked out," Beckett promises as she throws her legs over the side of the bunk, preparing herself to stand. "Where are we?"
"The marina in the Hamptons," Jim answers, looking at his daughter with concern. "Jonas just tied us up. He's gone to get the car for us, then he's taking the boat back out. Something about Rick doing better out on the water?"
"Need to see him," Beckett says as she stands and sways, nearly toppling over before Jim catches her. In an awkward, sideways shuffle, Jim maneuvers them out of the cabin and onto the deck. Helping his daughter perch on the side, he grabs the towline and starts reeling in the dinghy.
Getting old, Jim. Pulling in a dinghy shouldn't be this much work.
Just as he's congratulating himself for bringing the dinghy in, he hears an odd flop while wiping his brow. Looking round, he sees his daughter has abandoned ship to end up sprawled out atop a pale and feverish Rick. He's just trying to figure out how to get her back into the boat when Jonas arrives. It takes Jonas a moment to realize what Jim's looking at, since he can't see it from his position on the dock. But when he jumps aboard, he looks down with a long sigh.
"Do you suppose we could pile in some blankets or something and let them both sleep in the raft?" Jim asks hesitantly.
Even exhausted, they look like they belong together.
Heaving another massive sigh, Jonas merely nods before grumbling into the cabin and returning with several wool blankets and a picnic box. Dropping it all on the dock, Jonas manages to pull the dinghy around so that he can remove Castle's life-jacket and move the passed out occupants into a position that looks somewhat comfortable before burying them in blankets.
Levering himself up with a groan, Jonas stretches before addressing Jim. "You wanna sleep at his place or on the boat?"
"Maybe we should stick together," Jim says, feeling guilty about how their efforts seem to have exhausted his daughter and her partner.
"Just so ya know, it's a small cabin and I snore like a drunk grizzly on a Harley," Jonas warns, but Jim dismisses him with a casual wave. Then, with a huff, Jonas goes about returning the rental car to the parking area before taking them back out to sea.
Beckett
"Castle, wake up," Beckett whispers in his ear before she kisses his cheek, scratching herself on his stubble. She repeats this a few times, testing the other side of his face, too, until she notices the slight upturn of his lip that reveals that he's awake.
Not this again. You need some new tricks, partner.
Discarding thoughts of dumping him out of the dinghy or dousing him, Beckett instead grabs both ears as she plants an enthusiastic kiss atop his blossoming grin. She pulls away when he pursues her mouth, admonishing him with a waggling finger.
"No way, Romeo," she says with a smile. "We're almost to the dock and my dad is here. You need to get cleaned up and take me out to dinner before we take that any farther."
"We're almost to the Hamptons already?" Castle asks with a little confusion, stretching his arms as high as they'll go while pointing his toes, too, providing Beckett with a taut, bare abdomen that she can't resist rubbing.
Just you wait, Castle. We're going to repeat this scenario without observers sometime very soon.
Apparently exhausted by the effort of stretching out, Castle slumps back into position in the raft, but manages to keep his eyes open and on Beckett.
"Castle, we spent two nights in the Hamptons before heading out this morning. We're almost back to Pier 32. You've been out for more than 48 hours," she says while failing to resist the urge to cuddle back into him.
"Seriously?" Castle asks, bringing an arm up to rub her back. "How's your dad? How're you? Alexis!"
"We're fine," Beckett soothes. "Not sure about how things went – dad's appointment with Dr. Chu is tomorrow. I called Alexis, told her that we were away for a case and that we were lying low. Martha made sure to be around for her."
"Thank you," Castle says, visibly relieved that someone looked after his daughter. "I'm not going to raise any hopes before Simon takes a look, but I think I did all that I can for your dad. How long did it take?"
A lifetime.
"Almost ten hours," Beckett answers, proud of herself for answering without flinching.
"It drained you, didn't it?" Castle asks, not fooled. Damn that connection.
"A little," Beckett plays down, causing a huff from Castle. "Okay, fine," she admits. "It wasn't fun and I've shocked the precinct by taking a sick day. How did you do that for a week?"
"You needed me to," Castle answers simply. "I think I could do it in less time now that I have some idea what I'm doing, but let's not test that theory, okay?"
Beckett can only reply with a fierce hug, hoping that it conveys her appreciation for his effort on their behalf. Castle doesn't object, tightening his hold for a moment, too.
"So, uh, what did you think of the beach house?" Castle asks with some embarrassment.
"Never saw it," Beckett replies. "Didn't seem right to go without you. We stayed on the boat. Well," Beckett clarifies, "dad stayed on the boat with Jonas. I stayed here with you."
But trust me, Castle, we'll be heading back to the Hamptons. I still want my do-over.
Castle's about to reply when he hears the Writer Buoy's engine downshift as Jonas guides the boat into Slip 47. Shortly thereafter, the engine cut off entirely, leaving them to drift until Jonas and Jim start to pull them in.
"Are you telling me that we spent more than two days together in this tiny raft, wearing very few clothes, and I don't remember any of it?" Castle asks incredulously.
"You were incredible," Beckett husks. "I'm hoping I'll be able to walk when we get to the dock."
Oops. Overdid it.
Castle appears to be petrified, mind jammed into neutral by the shocking thought that he finally made love with Beckett and can't recall a second of it. Better snap him out of it before he goes fully catatonic.
"You are so easy, Castle," she says with a chiming laugh, prompting a slowly dawning realization for Castle. "I slept nearly the whole time, too," she says with a smile and a nudge. "Trust me, the next time we sleep together, it'll be unforgettable," she says, drawing out the last word until she nips his ear playfully.
"Not again," Castle groans. "Still in swim trunks, still need to face your father."
"Actually, Castle, dad and I are going to catch a cab and head home," she says gently. "I don't think you're ready for prime time yet. Not that you don't look ruggedly handsome, but I don't think you have the strength to stand right now. How about one more night on the water? Jonas and I think you need to recharge a bit more."
"'Jonas and I'? When did that happen?" Castle asks. "You two weren't exactly pals when we left for the Hamptons."
"I think we've reached a fragile accord," Beckett answers. "Let's just say we understand each other a little better now. Good enough to make some plans, anyway."
"Oh yeah?" Castle asks, intrigued and a little bit jealous. "Anything I should know about?"
"Let's just say this: you'd better rest on the water tonight, because Jonas is going to make himself scarce tomorrow night," Beckett says in a sultry voice. "It might not be the Hamptons, but pick me up from the precinct tomorrow afternoon and we'll go for a moonlight cruise that'll be much more fun if you're well rested."
A/N2: Posting early this week since I'll be off at a recruiting event this weekend. If things go well, I'll have another chapter ready by early next week.
Back in chapter three I mentioned that this story has an intermediate ending point and one that's a little farther out. The intermediate end is written and will appear in chapter ten. I'm trying to push through to the longer resolution. I'll know if it'll work by the time chapter ten posts.
Finally, a big, big thanks to my fanfic friends GeekMom and Aalon. Both have had kind words for my stories. And CaskettFan5, who writes great stories and provides very good beta and encouragement. One of the best, most humbling aspects of writing is getting nice comments from great writers. If you haven't given their stories a try, you're missing out on great reads.
