1x10 - A Death in the Family

Kate Beckett didn't waste another second. She didn't have to listen anymore. She didn't have to be forced to listen to something she didn't want to. No one could do that! Especially someone who so blatantly misused her trust. She had really thought he was different. Just different, not like this! It wasn't fair. Why did the people she trusted the most always betray her? When she got to her car, her phone beeped.

A reminder for dinner with her dad. God, not this! Not today! She had completely forgotten about it, but now it was too late to cancel. She couldn't. Kate took a deep breath, wiped away the few involuntary tears and got in her car.

When she drove out of the hospital garage, she turned her radio on. Normally, Kate Beckett wasn't one to listen to music while driving, but today, she really needed the distraction. It didn't always have to be this difficult to meet her dad for dinner, they could always choose a different restaurant - but neither of them wanted to. And now she also had to worry about Castle - she only hoped her dad wouldn't see it right away.

She arrived at exactly 7 pm. Not a minute too late - even if she had crossed about four red lights - and just when she got to the restaurant door, her father got out of a taxi. Kate felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

He was there. This was all that mattered in that moment. This was the one appointment where you couldn't be late and shouldn't be early. One person was always going to worry. He immediately saw her, came to her and hugged her.

"Good evening, Katie," he said. Kate tried to look like she hadn't just cried on an empty parking lot.

"Good evening, dad."

Jim Beckett let go off her and looked at his daughter. "Your hair gets longer," he noted.

Kate nodded. "I'm letting it grow out. It got way too short the last time."

Jim smiled and pointed at the restaurant. "Shall we go in?" Kate followed him inside and instinctively made her way to the table by the second window on the right. When they sat down, the owner of the restaurant, Antonio, came to them.

They had to get up again to hug him and to assure him they were both okay. Antonio obviously didn't believe them but soon went back to the kitchen. He didn't even ask for their order - he didn't need to. They always took the same. The same they had also ordered on that one night almost ten years ago: Saltimbocca with potatoes for Kate and Penne al Pesci for Jim.

They waited for their meals in silence, neither of them was a big fan of words - and to be honest, neither knew what to say. Kate still thought about what Castle had done and Jim tried to figure out what was wrong with his daughter. In the last weeks she had seemed happier, more relaxed and suddenly, there was a certain sadness in her eyes.

"Katie?", he finally said.

Kate looked up and tried to smile. "Is… is everything alright?" Jim took his daughter's hand. Surprised, she looked into his eyes and he saw the answer to his question. She wasn't okay. "What happened?", he simply asked.

"It's really not that important, Dad." Kate pressed her lips together and pulled her hand back. "I can handle it."

"You don't have to."

Kate sighed. "It's about Mom."

Jim's reassuring smile fell. This was actually one of the first times they openly mentioned her in this restaurant and it always brought back unpleasant memories.

"I mean… it's not exactly about her, it's about her case", Kate continued, fiddling with her napkin. "I put it past me and I'm okay with that. I really am. But Castle…"

Jim's eyes widened. "You told him about her? Did he force you to tell him? Is that why?"

"No!" Kate shook her head. "I told him a couple of weeks ago and that's not what this is about. I just told him, he kind of deserves to know. Well, I thought he did. But… he couldn't stay away."

"What do you mean, stay away?"

"He somehow managed to get his hands on her file. Probably bribed a guard or something." Kate made a mental note to ask Ryan and Esposito if they knew anything about this. "And he looked into it. He showed it to a friend and apparently, that friend is a whole lot better than the M.E.s working the case."

"And?" Despite the fact that he knew, what this meant for his daughter, Jim was curious. "Did he find something?"

Kate nodded. "He did. Castle said something about one single wound that caused her death and something about the other wounds having occurred postmortem."

Jim raised his eyebrows. "Something about? Didn't you listen to him?"

"Not really, no. I kind of ran away, somehow managed to get to my car and then I drove here. Don't ask me how much time I spent walking through corridors, looking around every corner so I wouldn't have to meet him." Kate gave him a sad smile. "It looks like I really can't trust many people anymore."

"Why can't you trust him anymore?" Jim asked.

"I… I told him what this case means to me. And he still had to investigate. He can't let go. I trusted him with information only a few people know and he… he didn't think a second about what this would mean for me." A single tear formed in her eye and she quickly brushed it off. She wouldn't cry because of him.

Jim reached out for her hand again and this time, she took it and didn't pull back. "Let me ask you one thing, Katie," he said. "If you could go back, would you still tell him?"

"Yes." Kate had spoken without thinking about it and now bit on her lip. "I mean…"

Jim shook his head. "If that's your answer, then there's no reason not to trust him anymore."

"Dad…"

"I know, I know, it's none of my business. It really isn't. But you are. And trust me when I tell you that you should not let this be the end of whatever it is you two are having. You're smiling again, Katie."

Kate sighed. "Alright, I'll think about it."

"That's all I'm asking for." Jim smiled. "And now let's eat, or Antonio will be mad at us for not eating his food!"

A/N: New chapter either tomorrow or on Friday! And with this chapter, I'm done with season 1! Now only... 4 seasons left ;)

As always, I hope you like it, if not, let me know if there's anything I could improve! Also, if there's anything you want to see in future chapters (aka after future episodes), tell me and I might use it!

K xx